Pitch Party

Dallas business summit to feature college students in Shark Tank pitch

There will be no sharks nor Mark Cuban.

Photo via Wikipedia Commons

A new business summit launching in Dallas is being hailed as a dream event for entrepreneurs.

It's called "Changing The World For Good - The 2023 SMU & GSV Mission Summit," and it's a three-day event from May 22-24 with big names and big ideas.

Leading businesses, investors, educational innovators, and entrepreneurs will convene for an inspiring three days of panel discussions, creative huddles, and company presentations designed to bring business + ideas + financing together.

The event was created by GSV and builds on the tradition of an annual summit that GSV holds with Arizona State University. "GSV" stands for “Global Silicon Valley,” an investment platform that has invested in businesses such as Facebook, Twitter, Snap, Palantir, and Spotify.

In addition to host university SMU, partners in Dallas' inaugural Mission Summit include Hoque Global and American City Business Journals.

GSV’s work in Dallas also includes a partnership with Hoque Global in the development of SoGood in Downtown Dallas and an Innovation District at its core. SoGood is a master-planned urban community adjacent to the Famers Market, Deep Ellum, the Cedars, and Fair Park just south of Interstate 30.

Student pitch
One especially inspiring element of the event is The Texas Cup, a Shark Tank-like competition in which students from Texas universities will present business ideas and compete for funding.

Students will give live pitches before a panel of judges. Finals will take place Wednesday, May 24, at the Varsity room at SMU Hughes-Trigg Student Center at 3140 Dyer St, and promise to be a one-of-a-kind live event emceed by Gina Miller, FC Dallas VP of Communications.

The pitches will come from 12 finalists among 100 students who competed statewide from pretty much every DFW college or university: Dallas College, Dallas Baptist University, Paul Quinn College, SMU, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M, TCU, TWU, University of Dallas, UNT, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Dallas, and UT Southwestern.

Judges include executives from Goldman Sachs, Mt. Vernon Investments, Interlock Partners, CDX Advisors, Artemis Agency, and Hoque Global, who are co-hosting the event. They'll consider criteria such as the market, business model, the inspiration, and what kind of impact it'll have.

Three winning pitches will receive funding from SoGood by HG and GSV. Every participant will receive a free “pitch practice” session with the world’s top vocal coach, Roger Love, plus a free ticket to the Summit, and the chance to rub elbows with other mission-minded entrepreneurs.

“This is a dream event for entrepreneurs, to be able to see great ideas win support to become a reality,” says Hoque Global CEO Mike Hoque in a statement.

Participants leading the Summit include:

Clark Hunt, CEO, Kansas City Chiefs
Robert Kaplan, Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas
Avery Johnson, Partner, Avery Capital
Jennifer Chandler, Managing Director, Bank of America
Michael Sorrell, President, Paul Quinn College
Michael Moe, founder of Global Silicon Valley and
Co-Author of the best-selling The Mission Corporation
Elizabeth Loboa, Provost, Southern Methodist University
Mike Hoque, CEO, Hoque Global
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt

technology festivals

Drive time

Tesla’s driverless Cybercabs are preparing to hit the roads in Dallas

X/Tesla

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Tesla’s self-driving Cybercabs, already on the roads of Austin, will be roaming the streets of Dallas in the near future.

In an October 10 post on the X social media platform, Tesla’s vice president of AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, said Cybercabs are coming “soon” to Dallas. He offered no timeline.

The futuristic Cybercab differs significantly from Tesla’s more laidback Model Y Robotaxi, which cruised into the Dallas area this spring.

Both autonomous electric vehicles are manufactured in Austin, where Tesla is based. The Robotaxi Tracker website shows 319 Cybercabs and 420 Robotaxis are registered in Texas today.

Perhaps the most striking difference between the Cybercab and Robotaxi is the absence or presence of driving controls.

The Cybercab — made especially for driverless ride-hailing trips — lacks a steering wheel, gas pedal, and brake pedal, among other typical fixtures. The vehicle uses camera vision and sensors to navigate streets, highways, parking lots, and more. The Robotaxi features a traditional steering wheel and pedals.

Another difference: The Cybercab’s bench-style seating accommodates only two passengers. Depending on the configuration, a Robotaxi can carry up to four or five passengers in the front row and rear row. Touchscreens are installed in both rows. The Cybercab comes with a single touchscreen.

A Cybercab’s exterior color stands out — either a matte or glossy golden shade — and comes with two butterfly doors. The Robotaxi has a less-flashy paint scheme and a more conventional four-door setup.

Also unlike the Robotaxi, the Cybercab isn’t equipped with side mirrors, a rearview mirror, or a back window.

Inside the Cybercab, you’ll find a large interactive touchscreen, and enough cargo room for large items like luggage, golf clubs, and scooters.

Elluswamy’s comment about Dallas came in response to an X post saying Austin had more than 300 Cybercabs. The cars, which launched in Austin last month, were spotted throughout the city during the just-concluded ACL Music Festival.

In Tesla’s July call with Wall Street analysts, Elluswamy praised the Cybercab as “a phenomenal product.”

“Anyone who rides in it instantly falls in love with the experience,” he said.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) may not be in love with the Cybercab, though. It has launched two investigations into them.

In September, NHTSA opened an investigation into data that Tesla supplied to obtain federal certification of the Cybercab. Investigation paperwork notes their lack of a steering wheel, gas pedal, brake pedal, and mirrors.

This month, the federal agency opened an investigation into reports that Cybercabs and Robotaxis had exceeded posted speed limits in active school zones.

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