Dallas—Ask around Dallas who the city’s entrepreneurship ambassador is, and it’s likely that Trey Bowles’ name will quickly pop up.
Bowles, who founded the Dallas Entrepreneur Center in 2013, is a high-profile supporter of the various accelerators, programs, and other efforts that have cropped up in North Texas to support innovation.
In addition to running the DEC, Bowles has sought to connect the organization to community-wide efforts such as a pitch contest with Comerica Bank that would support women and minority entrepreneurs and opening facilities in Dallas’s southern sector, a largely minority area of the city that has historically been neglected.
Bowles’ work to expand entrepreneurship opportunities has expanded beyond North Texas. The DEC has franchised its model to other places including one in San Antonio.
In our latest installment of “Five Questions for …, ” Bowles speaks about why he didn’t work with Skype, “The Lie Detector,” and why he doesn’t love being the boss. Here is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.
Xconomy: If you could go back in time and get five minutes with any major historical figure, who would it be, and what would you want to say to them?
Trey Bowles: I would want to go back and talk to Jesus. Seems like a fairly stereotypical answer but I have really strong faith. You need to talk to the person that builds your faith. I would want to listen more than anything. I probably would say what’s the most important thing to you? What makes a successful life in your eyes? I probably would ask for clarification on a few things. Things like so much of what was said in Biblical times, if you interpret it, could [interpretations] be culturally relevant based on the time versus the time in the Old Testament? If you’re hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Do you really mean that? Or, as I was talking with some friends about this. Is it harder for a rich man to go to heaven? Well, what does that mean? If you’re rich, you can’t go to heaven?
How do I love my neighbor as myself; what does that mean? The ultimate question would be, ‘What do I, at the end of my life, what are the things you would like to see in my life?’
X: How do you relax outside of work when you want to tune out the noise?
TB: I don’t relax often. I
