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: Rogers Healy on Dallas’ Rise as the ‘Ultimate Founders Hub’

by | Jan 7, 2025
From tech and finance to fashion and food, "Dallas is becoming a melting pot of industries—and that diversity is a recipe for innovation," Healy says in D CEO. "Dallas is where dreams become reality, period."
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The Last Word: Sky Elements on Its Record-Setting, 5,000-Drone Holiday Light Show
by | Dec 20, 2024

Editor’s update: Sky Elements Drones, which was set to perform in Dallas on Dec. 31, has “informed Reunion Tower that they will not be able to fly their New Year’s Eve show,” Reunion Tower President Dusti Groskreutz said in a statement on Thursday, Dec....

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The Last Word: Kendra Scott on the Launch of Yellow Rose in Dallas’ West Village
by | Dec 17, 2024
After launching in Austin in 2023, the Western lifestyle brand Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott opened Friday in Dallas' West Village retail and multifamily development at 3699 McKinney Avenue. Dallas Innovates first wrote about the expansion last month, sharing how the brand reimagines Western style with new product categories including hats, footwear, home goods, and apparel. 
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The Last Word: Fort Worth’s Robert Sturns on How ‘Full‑Contact’ Government Drives Innovation
by | Dec 16, 2024
Fort Worth's “explosive growth”—nearly 6% population growth since 2020—isn't happening by accident. It takes what Economic Development Director Robert Sturns calls "full-contact local government," a term once coined by the city manager to describe Fort Worth's unique approach to progress.
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The Last Word: The Economist Asks, ‘Does Dallas Offer a Vision of America’s Future?’

by | Dec 10, 2024
A recent column in The Economist asks the question "Does Dallas offer a vision of America's future?" The answer in a nutshell: "In America Inc’s fever dreams, more cities turn Dallas-like in their pro-business temperament—and America as a whole transforms into a continent-size small-government Texas."
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The Last Word: Pizza Hut’s Elyse Slayton on Her Company’s New Tomato Wine
by | Dec 5, 2024
Think wine just comes from grapes? Plano-based Pizza Hut has poured out an innovative twist that may surprise you. Just before Thanksgiving, the company launched Tomato Wine by Pizza Hut, a limited-edition offering it says "captures the essence of your favorite slice in every sip." The splashy launch has proved so popular, you have to get on a wait list to order some.
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Michael Gorton on data centers in space
The Last Word: Dallas Entrepreneur and Investor Michael Gorton on Moving Data Centers — to Space
by | Dec 4, 2024
Dallas-based innovator Michael Gorton, a 15-time entrepreneur and investor, points to a growing challenge: AI, blockchain, and cloud computing are consuming massive amounts of energy in traditional data centers. The terrestrial facilities—often spanning 6 million square feet—can use more power than medium-sized towns. Over the next decade, he notes, nearly a trillion dollars will be invested in power infrastructure improvements just to meet data center demands.
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The Last Word: On the Passing of Dallas Businessman and Philanthropist Pete Schenkel
by | Dec 3, 2024
Pete Schenkel—who owned Dallas-based Schepps Dairy before its sale to Suiza Foods in 2000—led a long, accomplished life of leadership in Dallas before his death Wednesday at age 89. But the former board chair of the State Fair of Texas, DFW Airport, and the Methodist Health System Foundation may be best known for preserving something truly valuable: keeping the Texas-OU game at the Cotton Bowl at least through 2036.
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The Last Word: Gov. Greg Abbott on Texas’ Advanced Nuclear Energy Future

by | Nov 21, 2024
Earlier this week, Governor Abbott announced the release of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group’s final report on Texas’ plan to build "a world-leading advanced nuclear power industry to enhance electric reliability and energy security, promote economic development, and unleash new opportunities for the growing Texas workforce."
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The Last Word: Thrift for Good Co‑Founder on Leveraging AI to Transform Thrift Stores
by | Nov 20, 2024
Founded in 2019, Thrift for Good enables people to buy and donate used goods while helping out charities, in an industry where 84% of donated clothes end up either dumped in a landfill or destroyed. Cooper and her fellow co-founder and co-owner, Taylor Watts, are building AI-based software for thrift stores to try to reduce that waste and inefficiency—while working to grow their DFW footprint.
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The Last Word: Chili’s Triple-Dips Its Way to a New ‘Sleep Collection’
by | Nov 19, 2024
Dallas-based Chili's says its Triple Dipper—a plate loaded with cheese pulls, burger bites, and sauced Chicken Crispers—went viral on TikTok this year, snagging "over 200 million views." Now the company's following that up with an eye-opening (uh, make that closing) marketing stunt.
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The Last Word: DFW’s ‘Fastest-Growing Company’ CEO on Being David in a Goliath Industry
by | Nov 18, 2024
McKinney-based Maverick Power tops both Dallas Business Journal's Fast 50 and SMU's Dallas 100 private company rankings with record-breaking recent growth.
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The Last Word: John Goff on ‘Topping Out’ Texas A&M-Fort Worth’s Law and Education Building

by | Nov 13, 2024
Texas A&M is putting a major stamp on downtown Fort Worth, thanks to a $350 million research campus under construction in the Panther City. On Monday, a milestone was marked 250 feet above the future site of Texas A&M Fort Worth, which is slated to become a major hub for education, research, and innovation for years to come.
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The Last Word: Ross Perot Jr. on the Strength of the North Texas Economy
Inside the sprawling, cowboy-chic Texas Barn at the Perot family’s Circle T Ranch in Westlake late last month, an elite group of investors, founders, and key stakeholders gathered for an exclusive VIP event kicking off the 2024 Venture Dallas business summit. Ross Perot Jr. sat at center stage in a fireside chat with Venture Dallas Co-Founder and Board Chair Aaron Pierce and Anurag Jain, founder and managing partner at early-stage VC firm Perot Jain. 
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The Last Word: Texas Trees Foundation CEO on Partnering with TXU to Plant 400 Trees Across Texas
by | Nov 7, 2024
Irving-based TXU Energy and the Dallas-based Texas Trees Foundation are launching a statewide tree-planting campaign, celebrating 20 years of working together to create “greener, healthier communities” via the TXU Energy Urban Tree Farm and Education Center at Dallas College's Richland campus.
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The Last Word: $3B Island’s CEO on Recruiting Tech Workers to North Texas
Mike Fey—co-founder and CEO of Dallas-based enterprise browser unicorn Island—launched his company in 2020 during the pandemic and has since seen its valuation rocket to $3 billion. Speaking at the Venture Dallas conference last week, he talked about why he decided to found his company in Dallas instead of in Silicon Valley. 
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