Clifton Harness

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."
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Dallas’ TestFit To Launch Generative Design Tool for Building Site Planning
by | Jun 26, 2024
The new tool from TestFit allows AI to test building site solutions "on its own," based on specific project requirements. "With Generative Design, a machine can test every possible configuration, inclusive of what we would never even think to try.” says Co-Founder and CEO Clifton Harness.
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Venture Titans Gather at Circle T Ranch to Power North Texas’ ‘Next-Level’ Growth
by | 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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Venture Dallas Names Three Winners in Inaugural ‘Startup of the Year’ Awards
by | Nov 6, 2023
The winning companies were selected from 100+ nominees and eight semifinalists. They reflect "strong themes" in the Dallas-Fort Worth ecosystem: FinTech, DefenseTech, and PropTech, says steering committee member David Evans.
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The Future 50 in Dallas-Fort Worth 2023: Meet the Game-Changing Disruptors Driving Innovation and Impact

by | Mar 16, 2023
These standouts—startup founders, tech pioneers, educators, creators, social innovators, and business leaders—are transforming entire industries and making waves in their respective fields. 
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Disruptors and Visionaries: The Startups of Dallas-Fort Worth’s Future 50 for 2023
by | Mar 16, 2023

Meet the startup innovators who are driving change in their industries and beyond. These startups are among the Future 50 in Dallas-Fort Worth, our editors’ picks of forward-thinking innovators who are shaping their industries and communities.

From the healthcare sector to the real estate industry, these trailblazers are disrupting the status quo with their groundbreaking technologies and solutions....

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Follow the Money: Dallas Unicorn Adds Cisco Investments as New Backer; Fort Worth Glove Maker Lands $58M for Facility, HQ Upgrades; and More
by | Jul 29, 2022
Plus: Southlake SPAC to take financial services firm public; real estate startup Nada Closes $8.1M seed round; Southlake PE firm is raising two biotech-focused funds; Jones family-backed investment firm acquires travel software company; and more North Texas deals.
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Dallas Startup TestFit Lands $20M for AI-powered Building Configurator Technology
by | Jul 26, 2022
Co-Founder Clifton Harness says TestFit is the first company to connect pro forma, construction cost, and asset design through building configurator software. The technology allows companies to "de-risk decisions" and log critical time savings when they develop new real estate. The funding will help the startup expand its R&D, quadruple its product and engineering teams, and build a new HQ.

“With TestFit, we see a disruptor driving a paradigm shift in the real estate industry,” said Gregg Hill, co-founder and managing partner at Parkway Venture Capital, which led the funding round.
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