Women in Business

Dallas entrepreneurs compete Shark Tank-style for pop-up at Victory Park

The Dumpling Bros. food truck got a boost from NextSeed.

Photo by The Dumpling Bros

A Houston company is coming to Dallas with an event that aims to help women entrepreneurs.

The company is called NextSeed, and they'll host a pitch competition and pop-up shop at Victory Plaza on May 12.

Local female-owned businesses can pitch their ideas, Shark Tank-style, to a panel of successful businesswomen in front of a live audience.

The winner gets a three-month pop-up lease at Victory Plaza, courtesy of Trademark, the property management company; plus $5,000 in legal services from national law firm Polsinelli, which has a history of servicing small businesses and entrepreneurs.

NextSeed is a crowdfunding platform that allows people to invest in a business for as little as $100 and experience those businesses as well, since they might be located right around the corner.

The idea is to invest in local businesses, says spokesman Dillon Sorensen.

"In the same way that consumers today have the ability to choose to buy local products and consume local foods, our goal is to provide everyday investors with the opportunity to invest in local businesses," Sorensen says.

The platform also helps businesses with debt financing. To be listed with NextSeed, business owners must have a proven track record as entrepreneurs. Their business must be producing revenues, and they must be able to show that they can pay off the loan.

According to a release, women-owned businesses have lower access to capital than their male counterparts. A Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 2016 report found that only $1 in $23 in small business loans go to women-owned businesses.

"Substantial amounts of research clearly show that women and minority entrepreneurs are largely underserved by traditional banks, and our platform is playing a small part in attempting to change that," says NextSeed co-founder Bob Dunton.

Since its founding in 2014, NextSeed has raised $8 million for 30 small businesses, including two businesses in the Dallas-area: The Dumpling Bros., a food truck in Denton; and Leela's Raw Bar & abv establishment, a Greenville Avenue restaurant.

The Dallas competition has attracted 15 applications so far. Judges include Leah Frazier, Courtney Sinelli (WhichWich), Julie McCullough (Folksie, The Pin Show, Harkensback), Tillie Borchers (Civitas Capital), and Stacey Barton (Trademark).

The deadline to apply is April 30; go to NextSeed.com/femalefounders.

inspiration

Highway closure

Roadway project to close I-30 both ways in downtown Dallas all weekend

Google Maps

Traffic will be diverted to Woodall Rodgers Freeway.

A major freeway shutdown will be deployed in downtown Dallas beginning this weekend: All lanes of east and westbound I-30 will be closed between the I-35E and I-45/US 75 interchanges throughout the weekend of Friday, January 16 at 10 pm to Monday, January 19 at 5 am.

The shutdown is part of the ongoing I-30 Canyon corridor improvement project.

Traffic will be detoured to the SH 366/Woodall Rodgers Freeway as an alternate east-west connection between I-35E and I-45/US 75 during this time. Other alternate routes may result in increased travel distance.

Significant delays can be expected; avoid unnecessary travel in the area if possible. Plan ahead for extra travel time and be alert to slower or stopped traffic.

Another identical weekend closure and detour is expected to be scheduled again in late January; details will be provided once finalized.

Dallas roadway construction i30 Map of affected area.Map courtesy of TxDOT

Longterm road closures
A number of other closures, also part of this project, will be deployed but with much longer timeframes:

All lanes of Cesar Chavez Boulevard will be closed and detoured at I-30 beginning Monday, January 12 at 9 pm through late 2028.
All lanes of Cadiz Street will be closed and detoured at I-30 on Tuesday, January 13 at 9 pm. It will be rebuilt on a new alignment and reopen later in the project.
All lanes of Akard Street will be closed and detoured at I-30 on Tuesday, January 13 at 9 pm through summer 2028.
Good Latimer Expressway will narrow to one lane in each direction on Tuesday, January 13 at 9 pm through early 2028.

Signed detours will be in place for the closures at Cesar Chavez Boulevard, Cadiz Streeet, and Akard Street. Drivers should plan ahead for extra travel time. No pedestrians are allowed inside the closed work zones.

This is part of the $888 million I-30 Canyon project between the I-35 and I-45 interchanges. Overall completion is expected in late 2030. Future scheduled lane and ramp closures for this project will be posted in www.DriveTexas.org as information becomes available.

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