“Success shouldn’t come at the cost of your life.”

Paul Allen
Founder, Ashla
Founder, Embark
… on launching Ashla, a family office and venture platform

Paul Allen, a Dallas entrepreneur who built financial consulting firm Embark on a “Happy Works” philosophy has launched Ashla, a family office and venture platform that backs founders and companies designed to make work, community, and innovation “more human.”

The name comes from two places: In the “Star Wars” universe, Ashla is what the Jedi call “the light side of the Force.” In Hebrew, it means “happy” or “blessed.”

“Everything I learned from building Embark—the culture, the alignment, the belief that people matter most—is baked into Ashla,” Allen said. “It’s a continuation of that same heartbeat, just expressed in new ways.”

Ashla’s four verticals—Labs, Ventures, Scouts, and Capital—are already backing startups like Mother Home Services, a Dallas plumbing company where employees share in ownership; CoverZero, an analytics platform for coaches that tripled its user base in 2025; and Stonethrow, a private families-only club in East Dallas founded by Nick Clark and Dawson Williams that secured a 3.65-acre property with plans to break ground next spring.

The platform also includes the Ashla Foundation, which channels profits back into communities worldwide through partners like Acumen and Atlas Free.

“The more successful we are, the more fuel we have for the Foundation,” Allen said. “Business can be a flywheel for good—it can create dignity in work, bring people together, and shape a future that feels worth working toward.”

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