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.
TestFit Co-Founder and CEO Clifton Harness [Photo: LinkedIn]
The Last Word: TestFit CEO on What’s Different About Founders
by David Seeley | 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."
by David Seeley |
Jul 8, 2025
From knowing your "why" to nailing the follow-up, the Dallas-based investor who's backed over 100 brands took to LinkedIn to share tips for making those crucial 60 seconds count.
MORE►
![The 2025 Southwest winners and stakeholders gather on stage at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards last weekend. [Photo via Dennis Cail]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/EY-southest-award-2025-Dennis-Cail-share-360x203.jpg)
by Quincy Preston |
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►
by David Seeley |
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►
[Image: semenovp/iStock; DI Studio]
The Last Word: Silent Ventures’ Jackson Moses on ‘Contrarian’ Defense Tech Bets
by Quincy Preston | 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►
by Quincy Preston |
Jun 10, 2025
Most people are getting AI all wrong—asking random questions and getting mediocre results, say Babar Bhatti and Masood Khan. Their new guide shows how to prompt like a pro and turn AI into your strategic team.
MORE►
by Quincy Preston |
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►
by Quincy Preston |
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►
Photo: Dayne's Craft Barbecue
The Last Word: 2 DFW Restaurants Make the Top 10 in Texas Monthly’s 2025 ‘Top 50 BBQ Joints’
by David Seeley | 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►
by Quincy Preston |
May 28, 2025
“Because we know that an investment in a woman is an investment in her family and in her community.”
Karen Hughes White
President and CEO
Texas Women’s Foundation
…speaking at the organization’s Leadership Forum and Awards Celebration earlier this month....
MORE►
by David Seeley |
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►
by David Seeley |
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►
[Photo: chendongshan/istockphoto]
The Last Word: On CFT’s North Texas Gives to Animals Campaign May 15‑30
by David Seeley | 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►
by David Seeley |
May 14, 2025
The chess world will turn its brainy gaze to North Texas on October 4, when "Checkmate: USA vs. India" hits the boards at Esports Stadium Arlington. The global chess showdown will feature five-time U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura taking on the current World Chess Champion, India's Gukesh Dommaraju—along with other headline-grabbing pairings.
MORE►
by Quincy Preston |
May 13, 2025
Our urban green space hosts a colony of ecological superheroes—aka bats—working tirelessly to pollinate plants and control pests while most humans are fast asleep.
MORE►
by David Seeley |
May 8, 2025
Last Thursday, SPARK! Dallas—a nonprofit that aims to ignite creativity in children through a fully immersive, hands-on learning environment—celebrated its 10th anniversary with a SPARKtacular fundraiser event. More than 160 guests attended, bid on silent auction items, and enjoyed appetizers and beverages at the home of Leigh and Bryce Williams. The goal: raise funds to help children learn about creativity. And as today's Last Word shows, SPARK! Dallas Executive Director Meg Bittner has high hopes for what that mission could lead to.
MORE►
