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: Texas Monthly on What the Lone Star State Is Spending To Attract Hollywood Productions

by | Jun 23, 2023
In its 2023 session, the Texas Legislature approved appropriations of $200 million for incentives to attract film production in the Lone Star State. The state is trying to compete with states like Georgia, who've gone full tilt to lure Hollywood productions to the local economy. 
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The Last Word: UTSW’s Brad Phelan on the Rise of North Texas’ Biotech-Plus Ecosystem
by | Jun 22, 2023
The Health Supernova conference at Dallas' Pegasus Park gave the stage to innovators in Texas (and beyond) who are shaking up the status quo in biotech. From neurotechnology to mental health therapies, AI to robotics, the conference highlighted how these fields are intersecting and pushing boundaries.
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The Last Word: Akorbi’s Claudia Mirza on How To Lead with Empathy and Wisdom
by | Jun 21, 2023
As Mirza built Akorbi into one of the fastest-growing woman-owned business in the world, she learned a lot about leadership. She shared some of those lessons in a recent LInkedIn post titled "Leading with Empathy and Wisdom: A Leader's Dilemma." 
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The Last Word: Joshua Ingram on His 12-Hour Wednesday Concert for Alzheimer’s Research

“Playing for 12 hours straight wears on the body, and before it’s over I’ll have to superglue my fingers in order to keep playing.”

Joshua Ingram
Fort Worth Performing Artist
.…on
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The Last Word: BGSF’s Troy Chapdelaine on How Strongly Job Candidates Feel About Flexible Workplaces

The Dallas Regional Chamber conducted a Future of Work survey of its members in May to better understand the workplace arrangements of companies across the Dallas region. One key finding from DRC member BGSF: Job candidates are prioritizing hybrid and flexible workplaces above all else when considering their next placement.
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The Last Word: Rep. Giovanni Capriglione on How You’re Being Tracked and Why Texas Needs a New Data Privacy Law
Southlake resident Capriglione wants you to have a say in how your data is tracked every day, which is why he sponsored the “most consumer-friendly” data privacy law in the nation—the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, which passed in the legislature on May 29 and now awaits Gov. Abbott's signature.
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The Last Word: Why the New McKinney City Hall Will Have Flexibility Built Right In
by | Jun 9, 2023

“We can’t predict what city government is going to look like in 50 years.”

Barry Shelton
Assistant City Manager
City of McKinney

.…on why flexibility is being baked into the design of McKinney’s new city hall, via the Dallas Morning News.
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Copper Breaks State Park is an international dark sky park located northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth in Quanah, Texas. [Image: AmitabhClickz/Shutterstock]
The Last Word: Lyda Hill On the Power of Parks
by | Jun 8, 2023
In a recent centennial state parks commemorative issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, Lyda Hill offers her take on the power of parks. "Where parks are well-maintained and inviting, the surrounding communities are often also flourishing," she says.
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The Last Word: How an Iced-Coffee Kit from Keurig Got Rocked by The Rolling Stones

by | Jun 6, 2023
Frisco-based Keurig and The Rolling Stones announced the launch today of their limited-edition "Start Me Up" iced coffee kit. The bespoke kit was produced in partnership with Bravado, Universal Music Group's merchandise and brand management company. Keurig is hoping the kit will "channel the band's electrifying spirit" to help people "turn up their summer."
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The Last Word: Lucy Billingsley on Boosting Amenities at the Cypress Waters Development
by | Jun 5, 2023
The 1,000-acre Cypress Waters development built around North Lake in far northwest Dallas is already packed with amenities, from a free lunch shuttle to on-site fitness centers to outdoor ping-pong tables. There are also free yoga and boot camp classes plus restaurants and retail at The Sound that jut right out over the lake, and a new 9-hole putting green. But even more amenities are on the way, Lucy Billingsley tells the Dallas Morning News.
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The Last Word: StaffDNA’s Sheldon Arora on Filing 26 Patents To Safeguard New Platform Tech
by | Jun 2, 2023
Plano-based StaffDNA—whose staffing platform helps healthcare workers manage their careers by finding temporary and full-time positions—has announced the launch of new integrated platform technology. The company says its new tech "transforms the staffing ecosystem for candidates, agencies, and clients" in the healthcare industry. And beyond it, as well, for "global use cases across all employment verticals."
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The Last Word: Smokey John’s Brent Reaves on How Restaurants Pick Their Locations
by | Jun 1, 2023
A location can make or break a restaurant. So how do spots get picked for some of DFW's favorite eateries? Five Dallas-area restaurateurs talked with D Magazine about pinpointing their places, including Brent and Juan Reaves; Sawsan Abublan, co-owner of Shawarma Press; Tanner Agar, co-owner of Rye and Apothecary; Jon Alexis, the force behind TJ’s Seafood, Malibu Poke, Escondido, and Ramble Room; and Khanh Nguyen, who brought us ZaLat Pizza and DaLat.
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The Last Word: Dallas Jackals’ Rodd Newhouse on How Rugby Can Succeed in DFW

by | May 30, 2023
You'd think that Newhouse, who grew up in a football-focused home with the 12-season Dallas Cowboys fullback Robert Newhouse as his dad, would have eyes only for the NFL. But Rodd always had a thing for the sport of rugby, according to the Dallas Business Journal's David Moreno—preferring the helmet-less brawn of muscular scrums where a "try" is scored when you touch the ball down in the "in-goal" beyond the goal line. 
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The Last Word: OptiMIND Founder on Winning a $40,000 Award for Research Innovation at UTD’s Big Idea Competition
Associate Professor Chandramallika Basak entered UTD's recent Big Idea Competition in the alumni research commercialization category with OptiMIND, a series of brain training games designed to enhance brain and cognition across the lifespan. The games are designed to ensure that people stay sharp and focused at any age. After winning $40,000 in the competition, she recently tweeted that she's ready to start her startup.
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The Last Word: How LTK’s Amber Venz Box Launched Her $2B Company with $236
Dallas-based LTK helped create the creator economy when it launched in 2011, launching a new category that monetized Instagram and allowed lifestyle creators to become entrepreneurs. It was valued at $2 billion just 10 years later. But when Venz Box first started the company, she had only $236 in her bank account, according to Fortune Magazine.
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The Last Word: Why the NYTimes Says ‘Dallas Is the New Dubai’ of Luxe Restaurants
by | May 23, 2023
If you want a seat in some of Dallas' hottest new high-end restaurants, you'd better get in line. And according to the New York Times, that's just what some of the top restaurant groups in the U.S. are doing as put Dallas at the top of the list for their expansion plans.
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