Fort Worth’s Sundance Square is looking for the next crop of entrepreneurs to open their shop doors in its location.

Sundance Square owners Ed and Sasha Bass have launched the Next Big Idea challenge, aimed at finding the next small business to set up a brick-and-mortar shop in the 37-acre mixed-use development.

“Sundance Square was built on creativity and opportunity,” Ed Bass said in a statement. “The Next Big Idea initiative will build on these same traits and help launch a cohort of talented entrepreneurs into new endeavors.”

Sundance Square said it’s looking for entrepreneurs and artisans with a passion for their craft and for the Fort Worth community. Applications are open now, with a deadline of April 18. After that, finalists will be selected to make pitches at an upcoming event at the development. Sasha Bass added that there will also be a focus on having a diverse lineup of entrepreneurs.

Winner will receive a one-year lease agreement, potential seed money

“Locally owned businesses are critical to bringing vitality to any community,” Sasha Bass said in a statement. “We’re searching for local entrepreneurs who are ready to bet on themselves; those who have lacked access to developments like ours, and who are ready to turn their passion into a full-time business.”

The winner of Next Big Idea will receive a one-year lease agreement that Sundance Square says will help the business “thrive,” in addition to things like interior design and marketing consulting and potential access to seed money to help build out the space.

Past success with Next Big Idea

Sundance Square said it’s already seen success with a pilot program of Next Big Idea, which helped bring in shops like Cary O’Keefe Jewelers, Urban Plantology, and Coleccion Mexicana.

“We want creators and makers who will help change the narrative of what ownership looks like,” Sasha Bass said.

Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.

Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.