Interview with Caroline McKnight from Create Fort Worth

Fort Worth’s newest addition to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Create Fort Worth, is officially open and welcoming small businesses and entrepreneurs to take advantage of its resources and coworking space. We interviewed one of the powerhouses behind this space’s success, Caroline Mcknight, Create Fort Worth‘s Community Coordinator.

The Abilene Christian University alumna is bringing her classroom experience with non-profit and corporate communications to Fort Worth’s small business owners and entrepreneurs as the “house mom” of the new space. McKnight will be leading tours, directing onboarding and offboarding, meeting with community members, and everything in between to make sure that Create Fort Worth is welcoming to everyone. Although, she firmly believes that the tenants are what make the space come alive. When asked about significant takeaways from her role so far, McKnight says, “Sitting in the seat of an observer and listener rather than being a doer and a fixer has been the most helpful thing. Listening is doing.” As a natural helper, she takes joy in getting to know individuals and understanding how Create FW can help them achieve their dreams.

She has never been an entrepreneur herself, but being such an integral part of building Create Fort Worth has given her a unique perspective to aid entrepreneurs. McKnight and her team are overcoming hurdles and celebrating milestones similar to the uncharted territory of starting and maintaining your own business. She navigates the uncertainties of such an endeavor by embracing the camaraderie of the process, feeling incredibly grateful for her team and the resources the city of Fort Worth, community leaders, and the DEC Network have given them. She says, “It’s very humbling to get to work with people who have done so many amazing things for the city of Fort Worth.”

In addition to her gracious manner, McKnight brings such energy to every interaction and it is no surprise that she is very excited about Create Fort Worth‘s future. She is especially excited about working with the plethora of resources Fort Worth offers in close proximity. Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth and CO.STARTERS Fort Worth are moving directly into the space. The Small Business Administration and Tech Fort Worth are not far away. And the Southside community itself has played a huge role in welcoming Create Fort Worth to the neighborhood. McKnight emphasized the lack of competition and encouragement of collaboration between all of these entities in pursuit of their common goal: the entrepreneur’s success.  

We closed the interview with McKnight stating her personal goals for this position: “meet as many people as possible… and help people get that one networking connection that will help them in other directions.” She is carrying this attitude to Create FW’s Grand Opening on November 8th. Register for this celebration of Fort Worth’s creativity and potential HERE!