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Aaron Pierce
Rachel Racz, Head of Listings for Texas, Southern U.S., and Latin America at Nasdaq [Composite illustration: DI Studio, Istockphoto, courtesy photo]
The Last Word: Nasdaq’s Rachel Racz on Being Public-Company Ready
by Quincy Preston | Nov 20, 2025
At a private dinner at the Petroleum Club ahead of the Venture Dallas Startup Awards—and just weeks before Nasdaq announced its new Nasdaq Texas exchange—Rachel Racz delivered a message that landed in a room full of high-growth founders.
![Among the leaders of the 2025 Venture Dallas Startup of the Year winners are BILT Inc. President and COO Ahmed Qureshi and Chairman and CEO Nate Henderson; Worlds CEO Dave Copps; and StableCore CEO Alex Treece and COO Nick Elledge. [Composite image: DI Studio]](https://dallasinnovates.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Venture-Dallas-2025-Startup-of-the-Year-Award-360x203.jpeg)
by Quincy Preston |
Nov 20, 2025
Breakout winners—and a $2B VC year—show how far the region’s ecosystem has come. Here are the 2025 winners and honorees, plus takeaways from a private dinner with Susser Bank and Nasdaq executives at the Petroleum Club.
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by Glenn Hunter |
Nov 5, 2025
From North Texas founders including John Carmack and Ben Lamm to investors like John Redgrave of DTX Ventures and Draper’s Andy Tang, the summit's speakers tackled hot topics from humanoid robots and tech transfer to AI, VC trends and Y’all Street. A call was also heard for more risk-taking by DFW’s innovation ecosystem: ‘We’ve got to be bravery hunters.’
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![Venture capitalist Tim Draper and NVCA President and CEO Bobby Franklin are the first speakers announced for the 2025 Venture Dallas Conference. [Images courtesy Venture Dallas]](https://dallasinnovates.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Tim-Draper-Bobby-Franklin-Venture-Dallas-2025-360x203.jpg)
by Quincy Preston |
Jul 15, 2025
The 2025 conference, backed by J.P. Morgan and Perot Jain, has become an established annual event for connecting capital to companies built in North Texas.
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[Source images: Venture Dallas; DI Studio graphic]
Innovation Meets Investment: Venture Dallas 2024 Summit Returns With J.P. Morgan and Perot Jain Leading the Charge
by Quincy Preston | Aug 19, 2024
With heavyweight backers like JPMorgan Chase and Perot Jain returning, the North Texas venture capital summit is gearing up for its fourth edition. Ahead of the event, the board offers insights on the region's tech boom and offers a glimpse of what’s to come.
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by Quincy Preston |
Nov 9, 2023
The exclusive Circle T Ranch reception—an annual highlight of the Venture Dallas franchise—drew founders and funders for pivotal connections and conversations. But the headliner unfolded on stage as Anurag Jain, Hill Perot, and Brendan Gaffey strategized the future of the startup and venture ecosystem in North Texas.
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by Quincy Preston |
Oct 31, 2023
To cap off the recent Venture Dallas summit—just like he closed out so many Dallas Mavericks games with a buzzer-beating one-legged fadeaway—Dirk Nowitzki shared stories of his journey from Germany to the NBA, his 21 seasons with the Mavericks, his post-Mavs moves as a business investor, and his enduring bond with the Dallas community.
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by Lance Murray |
Oct 12, 2023
Cecilian Partners offers end-to-end digital solutions for homebuilders and land developers, with a fast-growing client base in Dallas-Fort Worth, including Hillwood Communities—one of the country's largest community developers, a strategic partner of Perot Jain, and Cecilian Partners' largest client.
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Aaron Pierce, David Luttrell, Allie Laborde, and Sam Weatherford. [Courtesy photos]
How Family Offices Are Shaping the Venture Landscape
by Quincy Preston | Mar 9, 2023
As more families in North Texas look to diversify their portfolios and invest in promising startups, new investment opportunities are being given more attention than ever before. For founders, family offices are proving to be attractive partners with their flexibility and longer-term investment horizons. But how are the family offices themselves finding success in the venture landscape? Here's what experts have to say, along with some advice for startups.
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by Kevin Cummings |
Nov 7, 2022
At last week's Venture Dallas conference, more than 400 VCs, angel investors, startups, and business leaders gathered for a showcase of North Texas' entrepreneurial and venture ecosystem. Here's a look at the highlights—from Troy Aikman saying "There are no shortcuts" to Alto Founder Will Coleman on the power of doing "the opposite" to Mark Cuban's "ready, fire, aim" approach.
“Regions like Texas and Dallas-Fort Worth, we’re the model for the rest of the nation on how to get things done," Ross Perot Jr. said at the conference kickoff.
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by Kevin Cummings |
Oct 12, 2022
Aaron Pierce, the co-founder and board chair of Venture Dallas, has a deep investment background and a history of supporting the local entrepreneurial community. As partner at Perot Jain, his role is "all encompassing." One item on his agenda is overseeing the firm's investments in Major League Cricket—along with managing the firm's investment portfolio of more than 60 companies.
“We have the ingredients required to be a major player in the national investment landscape," Pierce says, "especially as the family office and private investment focus grows from funds to direct investments in venture-backed companies.”
“We have the ingredients required to be a major player in the national investment landscape," Pierce says, "especially as the family office and private investment focus grows from funds to direct investments in venture-backed companies.”
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by Kevin Cummings |
Oct 4, 2022
Venture Dallas 2022—a full-day conference to be held Nov. 3 at the George W. Bush Presidential Center—will connect investors from all over the U.S with the “best founders in our region” with the goal of sparking “collisions” and “meaningful connections," co-founder Aaron Pierce says. He adds that those could potentially lead to fundings—and successful exits.
Here's a look at why the North Texas startup and VC scene is hopping, and what Venture Dallas 2022 could mean for you.
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