Brent Dawson
Co-Founder, Managing Member, & President
BS 2006, Cockrell School of Engineering, Life Member

Ashley Dawson
Co-Founder
BS 2006, College of Education, Life Member

2024 Returning Winner

Steve Painter
CFO
BBA 1990, MBA 1991, McCombs School of Business, Life Member

CloudServus is a top 1% Microsoft partner focused on cloud consulting and licensing. They strive to provide top-tier professional services to help clients get the most from their Microsoft solutions in the form of migrations, upgrades, new deployments, or implementing new solutions. They also help our clients save money on Microsoft Licensing and provide invaluable advice on ways to maximize the features and benefits of what they are buying.
2024 Returning Winner

Michael Lyons
Managing Partner
BA 1995, College of Liberal Arts, Life Member

Lyons & Simmons, is a record setting plaintiff's personal injury trial law firm, representing clients in matters involving life-altering wrongful death, personal injury, and products liability litigation. In the past year, the firm has obtained over $1B in verdicts and settlements. It has earned the National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers finalist distinction twice in the past three years and received four consecutive top three Dallas personal injury firm honors from Texas Lawyer.
2024 Returning Winner

Winton Coleman
Co-Founder& CEO
BBA 2003, McCombs School of Business, Life Member

Alto is a vertically integrated fleet management and ride hailing platform using company-owned fleet and W2 employee drivers to deliver the safest, most consistent, and highest quality mobility solutions for passengers and drivers across the U.S. Alto is the largest W2 employee fleet provider for Uber in the country.

Ross Buhrdorf
Co-Founder & CEO
BA 1988, College of Natural Sciences

Shanaz Hemmati
Co-Founder & COO
BS 1985, Cockrell School of Engineering

ZenBusiness is a company that provides an easy, all-in-one platform and trusted guidance for small business owners. They’ve consolidated all the tools, services, and expert support needed to start, run, and grow a successful business. Think of it as the operating system for small business success. Customers can protect their liability, manage finances, and get customers all in one place.
2024 Returning Winner

Jorge Rodriguez
CEO
MBA 2023, McCombs School of Business

Hamperapp is the ultimate online marketplace for garment care, connecting individuals and businesses with trusted local service providers to handle laundry and dry-cleaning needs effortlessly. By leveraging strategic partnerships, Hamperapp streamlines access to high-quality services, offering convenience, reliability, and eco-friendly practices. From residential customers to commercial accounts, Hamperapp ensures tailored solutions that fit every need, making garment care simpler and more efficient across all markets it serves.

Kinesh Patel
Co-Founder & CTO
BS 2006, Cockrell School of Engineering

SevenRooms is the leading CRM, marketing, and operations platform within the hospitality industry. With more than 13,000 customers globally across restaurants, hotels, membership clubs, entertainment venues, wineries/breweries, and nightclubs and bars, the technology helps turn every guest interaction into a personalized experience that drives loyalty, increases revenue, and improves overall operational efficiency. The CRM-driven suite of products includes reservations, waitlist and table management, review aggregation, email/text marketing, and marketing automation.

Drew Bagot
CEO
BBA 2008, McCombs School of Business, Life Member

Christine Bagot
President
BS 2008, Moody College of Communication

Byron Bradshaw
Vice President
BA 2009, College of Liberal Arts, Life Member

Texas Standard is a clothing brand created in the spirit of the state's ethos of independence, tradition, and pride. Their product lineup included wardrobe essentials for the Texas gentleman: button-downs, guayaberas, polos, bottoms, and a lot of burnt-orange gear!
2023 & 2024 Returning Winner

Rene Larrave
Founder & Chairman
MBA 1987, McCombs School of Business

MangoChango helps software companies (SaaS) around the world build state-of-the-art software. MangoChango is a wholly owned subsidiary of CommandHound.

Will Rogers
Founder & CEO
BA 2004, Life Member, College of Liberal Arts

Rogers Capital meticulously advises family-owned businesses to maximize generational wealth by guiding them through prudent acquisitions and efficient divestitures of assets.