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: Shaq On His ‘Teammate Mentality’ — and Why He Follows Mark Cuban’s Investment Moves

by | Jul 16, 2025
The NBA legend invested in BeatBox after reflecting on a call from Cuban, as he told People in a recent interview. Just weeks earlier, Shaq told WFAA he’s “75% gonna move [to Dallas] full time.”
MORE
The Last Word: Tech FW on How Nanoscope’s ‘Watch Us’ Moment Could Help Blind Patients See Again
by | Jul 15, 2025
North Texas' Nanoscope just filed an FDA bid for its gene-agnostic therapy. If approved, it could help restore sight for people with inherited blindness, and potentially millions more with other retinal diseases.
MORE
The Last Word: On the Growing Power of Women in Wealth Management
by | Jul 10, 2025
BFS Advisory Group President Debra Brennan Tagg is just one of several high-achieving female financial advisers quoted in D CEO's recent story "The Future of Wealth Management is Female." The article notes that by 2030, women in the U.S. will control nearly five times more wealth than they did 10 years ago. And increasingly, women are among the wealth managers who advise them on how to grow and protect their money.
MORE
The Last Word: TestFit CEO on What’s Different About Founders
by | Jul 9, 2025
Eight years after his first day at TestFit—a Dallas-based real estate development feasibility platform that's helped clients speed up site planning by as much as 10 times—Harness took to LinkedIn to share "8 things about founders." His insights include "We will work 80 hours a week for fun"; "We will not accept defeat, even at a 97% casualty rate"; and "Motivation is our own. No carrot. No stick. Just manic intent."
MORE
The 2025 Southwest winners and stakeholders gather on stage at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards last weekend. [Photo via Dennis Cail]

The Last Word: EOY Judge On What It Really Takes to Build Something Extraordinary

by | Jun 25, 2025
The 2025 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Southwest Awards were judged by a powerhouse panel of past winners—including Zirtue's Dennis Cail. What he saw in the 18 standout founders and executives? The grit and vision it takes to make it.
MORE
The Last Word: On Preserving Turtle Creek’s Iconic Bridges Amid $2B in Development Projects
by | Jun 24, 2025
Dallas is known for its huge, skyscraping bridges over the Trinity River. But just a few miles north, eight small bridges along Turtle Creek have their own place in the history of the city and the hearts of its citizens. Now these low-key yet iconic bridges are being preserved and revitalized thanks to "The Bridges of Turtle Creek," an initiative launched by the Turtle Creek Association (TCA), Turtle Creek Conservancy (TCC), and the city of Dallas.
MORE
The Last Word: Pegasus Film Festival’s Madeleine Beck on Giving Young Creatives a ‘Taste of Hollywood’
by | Jun 12, 2025
The student-led fest returns June 20–22 with 64 bold short films from DFW and around the world—including zombie substitute teachers, culture-clash comedies, and Kiwi tales of friendship. Plus: red carpet moments and real-world connections with film pros.
MORE
The Last Word: Silent Ventures’ Jackson Moses on ‘Contrarian’ Defense Tech Bets
by | Jun 11, 2025
Jackson Moses was named to Business Insider’s Seed 100: The Best Early-Stage Investors of 2025 in May. Today, the Dallas-based venture capitalist shared Voyager Technologies’ IPO surge—with a message for defense tech holdouts, in a LinkedIn post.
MORE

The Last Word: Colossal Biosciences’ Ben Lamm on Science, Skeptics, and the Sound of a Howl

by | Jun 5, 2025
In one of his first deep interviews since Colossal's dire wolf debut made global noise, Ben Lamm joins the TechStuff podcast to talk mammoths, backlash, and why he's not here to play it safe.
MORE
The Last Word: Schwab’s Susan Hirshman On How Generational Wealth Transfer Is About More Than Money
by | Jun 4, 2025

“Gifting is about more than passing down wealth—it’s about passing down purpose.”

Susan Hirshman
Director of Wealth Management
Schwab Wealth Advisory and Schwab Center for Financial Research
…on the motivations behind high net worth gifting, via Schwab’s latest HNW Client Pulse Survey....

MORE
The Last Word: SMU’s Bhavna Kumar on Why SMU’s New Spears Launch Accelerator Starts With Planting a Flag
by | Jun 3, 2025
The accelerator's first cohort is charting unknown entrepreneurial territory—with up to $100K investment potential.
MORE
The Last Word: 2 DFW Restaurants Make the Top 10 in Texas Monthly’s 2025 ‘Top 50 BBQ Joints’
by | May 29, 2025
Ashley Weaver and her husband, Dayne Weaver, have smoked themselves up a place of honor in Texas barbecue lore. Their Aledo restaurant, Dayne's Craft Barbecue, just cracked the Top 10 in the famed, every-four-years Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joints list. By ranking No. 7, Dayne's joins Fort Worth-based Goldee's Bar-B-Q as the only North Texas BBQ joints in the Top 10. (Goldee's, which ranks No. 3 in 2025, made it all the way to the top in 2021 by ranking No. 1.) 
MORE

The Last Word: Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers Featured in Sherwin-Williams ‘Loneliest Color’ Campaign

by | May 22, 2025
Paige Bueckers has been in great demand since being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2025 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings. Sadly, Sherwin-Williams' Radiant Lilac SW 0074 hasn't been much in demand at all. In fact, it's the brand's least popular color, with the fewest gallons created in 2024. Now, in an innovative marketing spin, AT&T is promoting Radiant Lilac as its "The Loneliest Color"—and hoping Bueckers will make it as hot as her shooting hand.
MORE
The Last Word: On Dallas’ Historic and Newly Renovated Reverchon Park Baseball Field
by | May 21, 2025
Conner—a serial entrepreneur, investor, and chief payment and logistics officer at Just Park U.S.—took part in the recent reopening of Dallas' historic Reverchon Park Baseball Field, following a multi-million-dollar renovation that has "restored it to greatness." 
MORE
The Last Word: On Dallas-Based Jam Vino’s Appearance on ABC’s ‘The View’
by | May 20, 2025
On May 6, "The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg shared some of her "favorite things" on a Mother's Day gift edition of the ABC show. One of her favorites? Jam Vino, a line of wine-infused jams from Dallas-based Founder and CEO Chef Lori Rogers. 
MORE
The Last Word: On CFT’s North Texas Gives to Animals Campaign May 15‑30
by | May 15, 2025
May is National Pet Month, and to help make sure local pets are healthy, safe, and homed, the Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) is presenting North Texas Gives to Animals, a fundraising campaign through the NorthTexasGivingDay.org platform.
MORE