Cynthia Nevels, Founder of GrowthTech Summit
As North Texas continues to establish itself as a hub for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, Cynthia Nevels is helping shape what comes next. A longtime entrepreneur, technology leader and advocate for small business, Nevels is working at the intersection of AI, capital and business growth through Integrality LLC, KPIXAI and START.PIVOT.GROW. Her focus is straightforward: give entrepreneurs the tools, knowledge and connections they need to move from surviving to scaling.
As she prepares to bring entrepreneurs, investors and technology leaders together for the inaugural GrowthTech Summit on October 21, Nevels sat down with DeSoto Tribune to discuss AI, responsible innovation and why the next chapter of North Texas entrepreneurship depends on connecting opportunity with access.
Dallas has become an increasingly important hub for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. What makes this city uniquely positioned to lead the conversation around AI and the future of small business?
When I look at Dallas and North Texas, I don’t just see the businesses that make the magazines or the entrepreneurs whose names everyone knows. I see the thousands of business owners who keep the blood flowing through this region. Many of them are minority-led businesses that have been operating successfully for years but rarely receive attention for what they contribute to this economy. We have educational institutions, financial services, capital, corporations, technology and incredibly creative entrepreneurs. The disconnect is the connection. Dallas has the ingredients. The next chapter is about connecting them.
You founded START.PIVOT.GROW. to help entrepreneurs move from surviving to scaling. What have you learned about the specific ways AI and technology can change the trajectory of a small business?
One of the biggest lessons I want entrepreneurs to understand is this: The capital exists. The problem is that too many businesses are not prepared to access it. Now AI gives us another tool to accelerate that process. Technology can help an entrepreneur move from an idea to execution faster, increase capacity without immediately increasing overhead, analyze information, develop strategies, improve processes and make better decisions. But technology without business fundamentals can simply help you create chaos faster.
As a Black woman working at the intersection of entrepreneurship, AI and technology, what motivated you to build pathways for small business owners to gain access to these tools and resources?
I worked in Silicon Valley. I worked for Siebel Systems, which was later acquired by Oracle, and I saw wealth being created in real time. When I returned to Dallas, I knew that entrepreneurs here could build wealth and enterprises too. I became committed to helping more entrepreneurs understand how it works—not simply how to start a business, but how to build a true enterprise that can access capital, opportunities, technology and networks. There have always been barriers, but I have also seen people surpass those barriers because they were prepared. My personal and professional commitment is to help 100 businesses reach their first $1 million in revenue profitably.
The inaugural GrowthTech Summit brings together entrepreneurs, investors and technology leaders while putting more than $35,000 in accelerator grant funding into the hands of selected entrepreneurs. Why is the combination of technology, capital and community so important right now?
Because entrepreneurs don’t need another room where we simply tell them to dream bigger. They need the tools, relationships, intelligence and capital that can help them actually build bigger. Technology without capital can leave a great idea sitting on a laptop. Capital without strategy can be wasted. And strategy without the right community can take an entrepreneur years longer to execute. We are bringing those pieces together. That is the ecosystem we want GrowthTech to help create: insight to strategy, strategy to capital and capital to measurable growth.
There is a lot of excitement and uncertainty around AI. What do you think small business owners misunderstand most about AI, and what opportunities should they be paying attention to right now?
I understand the concerns about AI. There are legitimate conversations that need to happen around risk, safety and environmental impact, but I am equally excited about AI’s ability to remove barriers. For a small business, AI can be a great equalizer when it is used responsibly. How can I use this technology to increase the capacity of my company without increasing my costs at the same rate? I built four platforms in six months utilizing AI, and all four generate revenue for my firm. AI should not replace sound business judgment. It should increase our ability to act on it.
When you look five years ahead, what do you hope GrowthTech and START.PIVOT.GROW. will have contributed to Dallas’ entrepreneurial ecosystem and to the next generation of technology-driven businesses?
Five years from now, I want the impact to go much further. I want Dallas to have more businesses reaching their first million dollars profitably, more entrepreneurs creating jobs, more companies buying buildings and assets, and more entrepreneurs using technology to create intellectual property and new revenue streams. We don’t need to keep telling these entrepreneurs to work harder. They are already working hard. We need to help them work differently. I want us to help build enterprises.
The GrowthTech Summit
The conversation Cynthia Nevels is leading will continue at the inaugural GrowthTech Summit, taking place October 21 at Wells Fargo HQ in Las Colinas from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Presented by START.PIVOT.GROW., the half-day summit will bring entrepreneurs, investors and technology leaders together for conversations around AI, capital and business growth, with more than $35,000 in accelerator grant funding going to selected entrepreneurs. Nationally recognized investor Melissa Bradley will deliver the keynote address, making GrowthTech a timely gathering for North Texas entrepreneurs looking to move from surviving to scaling. Register today at the START.PIVOT.GROW. website.
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