A unique event that brings those interested in technology, entrepreneurship and venture capital, together to exchange ideas was held recently at the Naveen Jindal School of Management.
Innovate Dallas attracted more than 450 attendees to the Aug. 26 event presented by The Iranian Network of Visionaries and Technology Entrepreneurs (INNOVATE). The nonprofit organization is hosting events all over the world to foster collaboration between Iranian tech professionals and global companies.
The majority of those who attended the Dallas event were current or former JSOM students, according to organizers, and three of the featured participants have connections to the Jindal School.
George Brody, a member of the Jindal School’s Advisory Council, CEO of technology solutions company InfoNet of Things, and chairman of TiE Dallas Angels was the moderator of a panel discussion on venture capital. David Evans, managing partner of venture capital firm Sentiero Ventures, member of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Advisory Council and an adjunct professor at the Jindal School, teaching innovation and entrepreneurship courses, was a speaker on the same panel. Paul Nichols, BA’95, MBA’98, associate professor of practice in the Organizations, Strategy, and International Management Area at the Jindal School, participated on the venture capital panel and moderated the entrepreneurship panel.
Panel members also included Kooshiar Azimian, CEO of 310.ai, an end-to-end generative AI platform for protein design; Dave Copps, serial entrepreneur and co-founder/ CEO of software company, Worlds; Shanaz Hemmati, co-founder and chief operating officer of business platform company ZenBusiness; and David Mathews, managing director of venture capital firm RevTech Ventures.
One of the organizers of the event was JSOM student Pouyan Azizpour, who is pursuing a dual degree in Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation as well as an MBA. He started his entrepreneurial voyage at the age of 19 in Iran, where he launched several startup companies. He has had a longtime interest in building a network for entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts. In addition to starting Innovate Texas, he also founded Texan Startups, which provides direct assistance and resources to entrepreneurs.
“My involvement with ‘Innovate’ started a few months back, propelled by my friend Kooshiar Azimian,” Azizpour said. “In just three months, volunteers across major global cities organized tech and entrepreneurial meetups in places like Toronto, London, Amsterdam and beyond. I was one of the pioneering members to join this initiative. Recognizing its potential, I proclaimed that we would spearhead the Innovate Texas chapter, hosting it in Dallas—my hometown and educational hub.”
He worked with another organizer, his fiancé and UT Dallas alumna, Dr. Zohre R. Mojaveri, PhD’21.
“Our vision has consistently been to forge a platform that enlivens the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Azizpour said. “Our amazing team, comprised largely of UTD Ph.D. students from various departments, was instrumental in making this a reality.”
Innovate Dallas largely relied on its own funding, but Steve Guengerich, associate vice president of Innovation and Commercialization at UT Dallas also contributed on behalf of the Institute. Anricka Ziller, the Institute’s Strategic Events Manager facilitated organizers’ connection with JSOM.
In opening the discussion on venture capital, Brody talked about the early days of the technology industry in Richardson and Dallas.
“We had the Telecom Corridor, which was along N. Central Expressway, and one incubator, Star Tech, and that was all that was here,” he said. “The Telecom Corridor is now Richardson IQ (Innovation Quarter). Our venture capital ecosystem is going from only the Telecom Corridor to something much larger.”
Nichols also gave the audience insight into the evolution of the technology sector in the area.
“Texas Instruments and Collins Radio were the seeds of all the telecom companies here,” he said, “MCI (now Verizon) moved here and their suppliers and partners wanted to be near them, then the other telecom companies followed. The Telecom industry imploded around 2002, but we still had the skilled talent here. In the last 20 years, we have diversified our economy into many other industries and we’re far more robust than other cities. DFW provides a strong ecosystem for small companies to partner and work with companies of various sizes and multiple markets.“
Evans pointed out that Dallas is very much an entrepreneurial city.
“And a lot of those businesses are not venture capital stories,” he said. “Now, we have more opportunities to sell to big companies.”
Other topics covered by the panels were raising capital for a business, biotech and artificial intelligence. They also shared some of their own experiences as entrepreneurs.
“In the end, you need to identify a problem that needs to be solved and create a solution,” Copps said. “We go to the biggest companies and find a problem they have and we have a solution. But, when you get in, you have to be good.”
Brody shared that after hearing more than 20 pitches for funding from businesses recently, only seven were funded.
“The ones that were funded were all solving a problem,” he said.
After the panel discussions, attendees participated in a color-coded networking session. Each color represented a specific topic for discussion so that individuals could easily find the topic that interested them.
“While the origins of ‘Innovate’ have roots in the Iranian entrepreneurial community, our approach in Dallas was broad and inclusive,” Azizpour said. “We endeavored to connect this community to the larger global ecosystem, emphasizing that our gatherings are not just for Iranians but are open to everyone. It was our pleasure to have a diverse mix of attendees from various backgrounds, celebrating innovation and entrepreneurial spirit across all origins.
“Events like Innovate Dallas are not mere gatherings. They serve as idea incubators, motivators for budding entrepreneurs, collaboration platforms and most crucially, change catalysts. This particular event didn’t only highlight Dallas’s entrepreneurial spirit. It also resonated with the global mission of ‘Innovate,’ making it a nexus of innovation and inspiration.”
