Every Last Word

Dallas Innovates’ signature series capturing what leaders across North Texas are saying — in their own words — about innovation, impact, and what’s next.

The Last Word: Steve Case On a “Once in a Lifetime” Kind of Opportunity

by | Sep 15, 2023
Investor and tech pioneer Steve Case, best known as the co-founder and former CEO of AOL, made this call to action yesterday while visiting North Texas at Dallas Startup Week in Frisco. The pandemic "created an opening that's a unique, maybe even once-in-a-lifetime, kind of opportunity," he added.
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The Last Word: John Quinn of EXOS Aerospace on Competing with SpaceX and Blue Origin
by | Sep 14, 2023
Quinn's Greenville-based company, EXOS Aerospace, is one of three that are currently licensed by the FAA to fly resusable rockets, the CEO told KXAS. The other two? They're just a little bigger: Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. 
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The Last Word: Kamal Sagar on Building $1M Frisco Homes with Grass Roofs and Courtyards
by | Sep 13, 2023
Sagar's company is building a Tapestry community of 121 homes in east Frisco with eco-friendly grass rooftops and lawned terraces and courtyards built into each new abode, according to the Dallas Morning News.
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The Last Word: AT&T’s David Williams on the Rapid Rise of AI
by | Sep 12, 2023
Williams was just one of the experts on hand at the Dallas Regional Chamber's late August Q3 Executive Circle event. Presented by McKesson at AT&T’s Dallas headquarters, the panel focused on the impact of AI on how companies do business and shared practical insights into how companies can navigate and utilize AI.
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The Last Word: McKesson CIO/CTO Nancy Avila’s Surprise Announcement at the Future of AI Summit

by | Sep 6, 2023
In a closing announcement at the "Future of AI" summit Tuesday, Nancy Avila, EVP, CIO,  and CTO at Irving-based McKesson, announced that her company and Accenture will be presenting Convergence AI Dallas, a sales conference slated for spring 2024. 
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The Last Word: Alkami CEO Has a Song Line for ‘Trapped Home Equity’
by | Aug 29, 2023
Writing on LinkedIn, Shootman tapped the Humperdinck song "Please Release Me, Let Me Go" to describe the situation faced by many homeowners, who aren't eager to give up their low mortgages in exchange for a much higher one at another address.
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The Last Word: SMU’s Elizabeth Loboa on the Impact of a $30M Gift from The O’Donnell Foundation
by | Aug 28, 2023
Loboa was explaining a critical need that SMU and other universities are addressing—one that was got a boost last week when The O’Donnell Foundation announced its donation of $30 million to SMU to create 10 endowed academic positions in engineering and data science, as well as to support research in those fields. 
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The Last Word: Designer Joel Baldazo on Dwell with Dignity’s Thrift Studio Popup
by | Aug 25, 2023
Today marks the opening day of Dwell With Dignity's annual fall Thrift Studio popup, where luxury home furnishings and art are sold at "steeply discounted prices" to benefit Drell With Dignity's nonprofit mission: furnishing living spaces for families in need.
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The Last Word: Spotting Big Tex’ Newly Designed Boots Truckin’ Toward Fair Park

by | Aug 23, 2023
It's going to be 106 degrees all weekend in Dallas-Fort Worth, but don't worry—fall is coming! The proof's in a viral video posted by user 23CUPS on Facebook and Instagram. There, in the next lane on the highway, an 18-wheeler is trucking gigantic Big Tex boots toward Fair Park, where the State Fair of Texas will open on September 29.
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Ben Lamm Hypergiant
The Last Word: Dallas Serial Entrepreneur Ben Lamm Exits Another Company
by | Aug 22, 2023
Dating apps can be a great way to find romance. But increasingly, according to the Wall Street Journal, users are finding something else instead: business come-ons from tech recruiters, networkers, children's book authors, and more.
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The Last Word: How Dating Apps Are Being Used for Business Networking, Not Romance
by | Aug 21, 2023
Dating apps can be a great way to find romance. But increasingly, according to the Wall Street Journal, users are finding something else instead: business come-ons from tech recruiters, networkers, children's book authors, and more.
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The Last Word: Anna Mayor Nate Pike on the Region’s Northward Growth
by | Aug 18, 2023
Dallas-Fort Worth has been growing northward for generations. But momentum kicked up a notch when two big semiconductor wafer fabrication plant projects were slated for Sherman: a $30 billion plan by Texas Instruments to build four "fab" plants, and GlobiTech's planned $5 billion silicon wafer facility. Together, the projects are expected to bring 4,500 jobs to the area.
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The Last Word: UTA’s Meghna Tare On How to Solve Big Problems, Like Turning DFW Airport Into a Zero-Waste Zone

by | Aug 16, 2023
So how do you start in approaching big problems? Tare says it's all about the basics: "You start from the very basics and think about data collection. What you measure now, you need to measure again in the future to see if there’s a trend line."
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The Last Word: Farmers Branch Mayor on Why His City Moved to a 4-Day Work Week
by | Aug 15, 2023
Farmers Branch has officially launched a four-day work for city employees. The move followed earlier approval by the city council, and a few months of schedule-testing by various city departments.
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The Last Word: Holy Rollie Pastry’s Kimberly Matthews Has Advice for Founders
by | Aug 14, 2023
Williams is one of four North Texas entrepreneurs we profiled last week who got funding through The DEC Network from the Small Business Administration's Community Navigator Pilot Program. 
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The Last Word: What Californians Say When They See Home Prices in Dallas
The California-to-Texas relocation trend grabbed attention from coast to coast last week when USA Today reported on it in a story titled "'We kept getting outbid': Californians moving to Texas explain why they're changing states."
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