Startup Grind calls itself "the world's largest startup community," with 600 chapters from Beijing to London to New York. Now a new chapter is set to launch in Fort Worth with a kickoff event on January 9—joining existing chapters in Dallas and Frisco.
The annual conference of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers featured more than 700 leaders from universities around the world taking part in more than 140 breakout sessions. More than a year and a half in the making, it saw the presentation of honors and awards to 12 universities—including a key honor for UTD's Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which hosted the event.
The new board is comprised of Margot Carter, president of Living Mountain Capital and co-founder of Cien; Ka Cotter, formerly The Staubach Company's top revenue producing broker; Russell Denson, chairman of Gulf Energy Information and director of Peerless Media; and Debra von Storch, longtime Americas Director for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program.
Although VariDesk first garnered global attention for its standing desk solution, it has grown to offer more than 200 workspace products since founding. "Today, we’re much more than a desk," CEO Jason McCann says. "We’re Vari."
Varidesk announced the purchase Tuesday noting it aligns with the company’s mission to transform workspaces for all ages into more active environments.
Varidesk employees use Varidesk products throughout the headquarters including their own desks and communal conference tables. [Photo by Sarah Bradbury]
Defense tech firm Shield AI said it completed a live drone swarm exercise in Taiwan in which three Taiwanese-built drones flew a coordinated search mission under its Hivemind AI software instead of human pilots....
Dallas-based Stream Data Centers has named Nikki Kresse its chief human resources officer. She is joining an executive bench that has been evolving since Apollo funds took majority control of the hyperscale developer in August 2025....
Defense tech firm Shield AI said it completed a live drone swarm exercise in Taiwan in which three Taiwanese-built drones flew a coordinated search mission under its Hivemind AI software instead of human pilots....
Dallas-based Stream Data Centers has named Nikki Kresse its chief human resources officer. She is joining an executive bench that has been evolving since Apollo funds took majority control of the hyperscale developer in August 2025....