MORE►
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.
Paul Allen, shown here giving his son a piggyback ride, built his new family office and venture platform on the belief that when people thrive, business does too. [Photo: Courtesy Ashla]
The Last Word: Embark Founder on Building Family Office and Venture Platform Ashla as a ‘Flywheel for Good’
by Quincy Preston | Dec 11, 2025
Paul Allen’s Ashla platform has already backed Dallas ventures including Mother, a modern plumbing company, and Stonethrow, a private family club founded by Nick Clark and Dawson Williams.
by David Seeley |
Dec 9, 2025
The Good Foundation, an Addison-based nonprofit founded in 2017 Ashlee and Chris Kleinert, focuses on community empowerment by serving populations in need of a chance. One way it does that is through its annual Good Foundation Gift Guide, which offers #GiftsThatGiveBack.
MORE►
![Erica Kosemund, Chief Brand Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Gillian Breidenbach, Chief Partnership Officer, North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; Chief Gary Batton, Chief of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Monica Paul, Executive Director of Dallas Sports Commission and President of North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; John Hobbs, Senior Executive Officer of Communications, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and Heidi Grant, Senior Executive Officer of Commerce Administration, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, celebrate Choctaw Casinos & Resorts becoming an Official Dallas World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. [Photo: North Texas FWC Organizing Committee/Choctaw Casinos & Resorts]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FIFA-Choctaw-dec-2025-360x203.jpg)
by Quincy Preston |
Dec 4, 2025
Monica Paul, president of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, describes what's ahead after Friday's 2026 FIFA World Cup draw in the Dallas Morning News—after announcing a new host city supporter this week.
MORE►
by Quincy Preston |
Dec 3, 2025
Cindy Weber, who's landed in all 50 states and a half dozen countries, offers advice as TWU's pioneering woman-focused aviation program doubles enrollment.
MORE►
Jeff Karcher [Composite illustration: DI Studio; Credits: peterschreiber.media/ Anastasiia Strokach/, saicleistockphoto, Karcher/LinkedIn]
The Last Word: TXSE’s Jeff Karcher On Exchanges as the ‘Plumbing of Capitalism’
by Quincy Preston | Nov 19, 2025
In a LinkedIn post, the TXSE global managing director pointed to a recent article from The Daily Economy, a publication of the American Institute for Economic Research, which analyzes the upstart exchange's potential to shake up the capital markets landscape. As the article explains, "Exchanges are the plumbing of capitalism—the place where savings become investment and new industries find their footing."
MORE►
by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report |
Nov 18, 2025
The outgoing Dallas Regional Chamber chief executive received the Dallas Business Journal's Lifetime Achievement Award after 12 years of helping elevate the region's economic standing.
MORE►
by David Seeley |
Nov 13, 2025
Dallas’ first skate park south of the Trinity River is one ollie, kickflip, and grind closer to coming to life, thanks to the closing of a $400,000 private fundraise, which will lead to $400,000 in matching public dollars. According to a report by the Oak Cliff Advocate, that $800K will be added to $1 million in 2024 bond funds and will cover design and construction of the Westmoreland Park Skate Park.
MORE►
by Quincy Preston |
Nov 12, 2025
“There used to be a time to say, ‘Let’s see how much pain this causes us, and we’ll see what we’re going to do.”
Shane Williams
Managing Director of Global Trade
Ernst & Young
…on the uncertainty around potential new tariffs, via The Dallas Morning News
At the annual Fort Worth Chamber Economic Impact Forum at the Kimbell Art Museum, EY trade expert Shane Williams told attendees that the old “wait it out” approach to tariffs no longer works, according to the DMN....
MORE►
Cait Brumme CEO of MassChallenge. [Photo: MassChallenge]
The Last Word: MassChallenge CEO on INNOVATE ’25 and Looking Ahead at Forces Shaping Economies
by Quincy Preston | Nov 5, 2025
Cait Brumme says the event at Dallas' Pegasus Park on Nov. 6 will explore the technologies and economic forces defining the future for entrepreneurs and innovators.
MORE►
![Social entrepreneur Byron Sanders, a former nonprofit exec, is CEO of Arete Health, launched in January 2025. [Photo: Michael Samples]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/27_ByronSanders-STEM-STEAM-STREAM-970_courtesy_Oct2019-1-360x203.jpg)
by Quincy Preston |
Oct 28, 2025
Creatives Care Dallas brings virtual care, behavioral health, 2,000+ medications with zero copay, and more to Dallas County's gig workers. The community initiative is powered by Arete Health Shield in partnership with the Dallas Music Office.
MORE►
by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report |
Oct 22, 2025
Fort Worth’s film industry has boomed with nearly $1 billion in impact, 50,000 jobs, and Taylor Sheridan's 101 Studios planning to move its HQ to the city, NBC DFW reports.
MORE►
by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report |
Oct 16, 2025
Dallas tech studio founder Jeff Francis says one of the best quotes about artificial intelligence comes from the 19th century. And it captures exactly what's wrong with how companies rush into AI coding.
MORE►
The Clear Envelope handbag from Dallas-based Show Tote. [Photo: Show Tote]
The Last Word: On the Inspiration Behind Dallas-Based Show Tote
by David Seeley | Oct 7, 2025
Kane co-founded Dallas-based Show Tote with Deborah Bowles, after both of them ran into trouble getting their handbags past security and into concert events. Now their new company offers bags that "follow the rules and turn heads," including the Clear Envelope design seen above.
MORE►
by David Seeley |
Oct 2, 2025
Hats off to Garland, the Cowboy Hat Capital of Texas. It got that title from the Texas Legislature in 2013 in recognition of the city’s three hat manufacturers, HatCo, Master Hatters of Texas, and Dorfman Milano. Together, they roll out more than a million cowboy hats each year with labels including Stetson, Justin, Resistol, and Scala. The city only needed one more thing—a really big hat—and now it's got that, too.
MORE►
![ABC 20/20 co-anchor Deborah Roberts (left) in conversation with moderator Sara Madsen Miller at the "Leading the Lone Star State: Texas Women in Public Service Summit." Roberts shared hard-earned wisdom with the audience: "Be self-assured. Know your story. Don't doubt who you are." [Photo: Leo Gonzalez/TWU]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Sara-Madsen-Miller-Deborah-Roberts_TWU-event-092025-360x203.jpg)
by Quincy Preston |
Oct 1, 2025
Roberts and NY Times best-selling author Jen Hatmaker headlined the Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership summit in Denton on Sept. 19. The conference brought together women in public service and featured an award for retired Texas Rep. Myra Crownover.
MORE►
The Last Word: Suzanne Palmlund on the Inspiration Behind Her ‘Enjoy Fun Fudge’ Truffles and Bonbons
by David Seeley |
Sep 25, 2025
Suzanne Palmlund is a third-generation fudge lover. Her grandmother's specialty was peanut butter fudge. Her mother perfected dark chocolate fudge. Now "over 80," Palmlund is fashioning a fudge renaissance of her own with Enjoy Fun Fudge, an e-commerce business offering over 14 varieties of handmade, small-batch peanut butter fudge and dark chocolate fudge rendered as elegant truffles, and bonbons dipped in many various varieties of chocolate. "I've been a fan of chocolate decadence for as long as I can remember," she said in a statement.
MORE►
