A-list achievers

4 Dallas entrepreneurs rank among Forbes' richest self-made women for 2020

Addison-based Poo-Pourri founder Suzy Batiz is one of the richest self-made women in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of Poo-Pourri

She may not be a household name, but Texas billionaire tech entrepreneur Thai Lee is wealthier than Oprah Winfrey, earning her a spot among the 10 wealthiest women in the U.S.

Forbes places Lee at No. 8 on its new list of America's Richest Self-Made Women, with a net worth estimated at $3.2 billion. Forbes estimates Winfrey's net worth at $2.6 billion, which puts her in ninth place.

Lee, a native of Taiwan and holds an MBA from Harvard University. She is founder, president, and CEO of SHI International Corp., a provider of IT products and services with a projected revenue of $11 billion in 2020. SHI is based in Somerset, New Jersey, but Austin is home to SHI’s corporate call center.

In all, eight female entrepreneurs from Texas appear in the elite club of America’s richest self-made women, and four are from Dallas-Fort Worth:

Robyn Jones, No. 16. Her net worth is estimated at $1.1 billion. Jones is founder of Westlake-based Goosehead Insurance Agency LLC, which has more than 1,100 franchised offices.
April Anthony, No. 29. Forbes puts her net worth at $700 million. She is CEO of the Dallas-based home health and hospice division of Encompass Health Corp.
Kathleen Hildreth, No. 59. Her net worth is estimated at $370 million. Hildreth is co-founder of M1 Support Services LP, an aviation logistics company based in Denton.
Suzy Batiz, No. 84. Forbes estimates her net worth at $215 million. Batiz is founder of the Addison-based maker of the Poo-Pourri bathroom spray.

Hildreth and Batiz were the only two DFW entrepreneurs to repeat from last year's list.

In addition to Lee, the three other Texans who appear on the list are from Austin.

Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of social media company Bumble, is worth an estimated $575 million, earning her the No. 39 spot. If recent reports are true, Herd could hit billionaire status if Bumble goes public.

Lisa Su ranks No. 44. The native of Taiwan is president and CEO of Santa Clara, California-based semiconductor company AMD. Forbes pegs Su’s net worth at $530 million. She lives in Austin, where AMD employs about 2,300 people.

Entrepreneur and new Shark Tank judge Kendra Scott comes in a No. 47. Forbes says she has amassed a net worth of $510 million as founder, chairwoman, and CEO of Kendra Scott LLC, which designs and sells jewelry.

Topping the Forbes list, released October 13, is Diane Hendricks. She is co-founder and chairwoman of Beloit, Wisconsin-based roofing, siding, and window distributor ABC Supply Co Inc. Her estimated net worth: $8 billion.

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Power News

Power company with built-in backup battery service expands to Dallas

Base Power

Base Power battery in the backyard.

Austin energy company Base Power has expanded into Dallas-Fort Worth, with service available in Dallas, Irving, North Richland Hills, Coppell, and beyond.

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Austin, Base Power is an energy provider that offers a home backup power system as part of its plan — providing battery-powered home energy that keeps the lights on during power failures.

When the grid goes down, the battery automatically powers the home.

Comparable "whole house" backup systems start at $15,000 and most need gasoline to run.

Base's goal is to provide backup power during outages more cheaply than a generator or comparable battery — keeping homes powered for 24 hours if/when the grid fails.

They send energy from their batteries back to the grid when demand surges, which can earn money back, which keep their prices down. Batteries may power your home to support the grid, even if there’s no outage. The battery charges at times when energy is cheap, such as overnight, and may share some power back when the grid is stressed.

Customers don’t actually buy the battery: They pay a $695 installation fee and a monthly fee of $19. They also make Base Power their electricity supplier, paying an 8.5 cents-per-kilowatt-hour.

In addition to Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Base also serves parts of Houston such as Harris County, Katy, Sugar Land, and Magnolia; and cities around Austin like Round Rock, Pflugerville, Temple, and Killeen.

They've also partnered with homebuilders like Lennar and forward-thinking utilities including GVEC and Bandera Electric Cooperative.

To support its DFW expansion, Base has opened an office and warehouse in Grapevine. The company now has 200-plus employees across Austin, its Bay Area engineering hub, and statewide field operations.

“Expanding into Dallas is a major milestone for Base—one we’ve been building towards since day one,” said Zach Dell, CEO and co-founder of Base Power. “This city reflects the scale and ambition behind our mission, and we couldn’t be more excited to finally serve the thousands of households that have been waiting for a better energy solution.”

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