Author - Guest Author

September 26By Comments OffRead more...

Fostering What’s Next in Fort Worth Highlights

The Startup Champions Network (SCN) Fall Summit is happening in Fort Worth this October. Ashley Ray, the Social Media and Communications lead at SCN, has been shining a light on the University of North Texas Health Science Center team hosting this event in Fort Worth. Here are some highlights of Cameron Cushman, the Assistant VP of Innovation Ecosystems at HSC Next.  Cameron is on our Summit Host team and is working side by side with fellow committee members Marco Johnson and Kendel Rogers to create a unique, Fort Worth experience for attendees. Cameron is a movement maker, who started on the...

September 12By Comments OffRead more...

Innovate Fort Worth Podcast: Favorite FW Innovators, Part V

Fort Worth is full of innovation and innovators. The Innovate Fort Worth podcast was launched in 2019 to provide a platform for those local innovators to tell their stories and share their latest projects with our community. At the end of each episode the host, Cameron Cushman, asks each guest who their favorite innovator is in Fort Worth. We compiled a list of our guests’ favorite local innovators. Be sure to check out the favorite innovators in our previous posts here.  Episode 41: Gary Davis is the president and CEO of Smart Action, a company trying to improve the quality of...

September 8By Comments OffRead more...

10 Takeaways From This Summer

A few weeks after my high school graduation, I found myself entering the 9 to 5 business world. To be completely honest, it was a bit of a shock to the body. That was partly because I was wearing business professional clothes instead of t-shirts and shorts in the summer, but also because I was immersed in such a new environment.   Not only was this position my first internship, but my first real job as well. Fortunately, I began working with a staff who welcomed me with open arms, making the acclimation much easier. While friends my age were out working...

August 16By Comments OffRead more...

Nashvegas vs. Funkytown Startup Scene

There are 16 cities that have raised at least one billion dollars in early-stage capital from 2015-2020. Of those 16 cities, nine of them have less than one million people. If we remove outliers like San Francisco, Boston, and Austin which are well-established hotbeds for startup activity, we are left with Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, Oakland, Washington DC, and Nashville. These six cities have an average population of 630,603: roughly 300,000 less than the estimated population of Fort Worth in 2022. This begs the question: What are these cities doing right from an entrepreneurial perspective that Fort Worth can learn from?...

August 4By 0 CommentsRead more...

The Fastest Growing Companies in Fort Worth

Inc. Magazine annually publishes a list of the top 5,000 fastest growing companies across the nation. As of March 2020, there were an estimated 11 million companies in the United States. That being said, the top 5,000 fastest growing companies only comprise the top .05% of companies. This list is the honor roll of all honor rolls. Arguably, the term ‘honor’ is an understatement.  To comprehend the metrics of the list, it’s important to delve into how the list is calculated. First, Inc. Magazine doesn’t take any company into account until it applies to be on the list. So hypothetically, the...

July 25By Comments OffRead more...

Innovate Fort Worth Podcast: Favorite FW Innovators, Part IV

Fort Worth is full of innovation and innovators. The Innovate Fort Worth podcast was launched in 2019 to provide a platform for those local innovators to tell their stories and share their latest projects with our community. At the end of each episode the host, Cameron Cushman, asks each guest who their favorite innovator is in Fort Worth. We compiled a list of our guests’ favorite local innovators. Be sure to check out the favorite innovators in our previous posts here.  Episode 31: Former Mayor Betsy Price shares her views on why Fort Worth is a great city for startups and...

July 18By Comments OffRead more...

Massive One-Time Tax Credit for Startups

Starting a business under “normal” circumstances is a journey but if you started a business in 2020 or 2021 it was grueling. How about some free money to take the sting out of it?   The CARES Act, introduced on March 27, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, contained a variety of programs designed to get money out to individuals and businesses and to stimulate the economy. One of these programs was the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), which allowed employers to receive a tax credit for qualified wages paid to their employees. The Cares Act was subsequently modified to include ERC...

July 1By Comments OffRead more...

Life Lessons from Pitching

As my life has morphed over the past ten years (from uber-domesticated mom to career woman for starters), I've discovered a passion for pitching, coaching and judging competitions. Over the COVID-19 shutdown, the things I missed most were:  random hugs  my cousins  pitch competitions  As we have re-emerged into an event-friendly world and pitch competitions are back in action, I've realized that many of the things that make pitches great are also pretty useful life skills. So, here's my take on ways you can elevate your business pitch to the next level—and also just be better at life.   Are you surrounded by seasoned investors, potential...

March 28By Comments OffRead more...

The Age of the SHE-cosystem!

Have you ever heard the term “women rule the world”?  Of course you have, and if not, tadaaahhh, today is your day!  What an awesome time to be a woman!  As we look at the landscape and how the professional scope is changing, it is important for us to know and understand how we fit into the fold of what some may call….The SHE-cosystem.  As life evolves and the landscape of the workplace changes, taking on additional tasks, assuming higher positions and taking on life’s everyday challenges can become a bit overwhelming at times.  As tradition would have it, women tend...

March 24By Comments OffRead more...

Women and Mentorship

Mentoring is widely considered critical to career advancement as well as success as an entrepreneur. This is even more true for female business owners and professionals. Mentoring is a key element that when utilized more frequently, we would advance more women in the workplace and help more women take their businesses to the next level.   There are stereotypes about women competing and rivaling each other as professionals. However, according to the  Women as Mentors: Does She or Doesn’t She?, A Global Study of Businesswomen and Mentoring, the number one reason cited for why women mentor is because they want to be...