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Sensori, co-founded by Shanna Watkins Pearre, Darean Rhodes, and Ashlyn Knox (far left), and The Blueprint University, an entrepreneurship hub founded by Kaila Cherie Wright (far right), are among five finalists in AT&T’s 2025 Small Business Contest. Also pictured: Bold Crumb House (Detroit), Nourish + Bloom Market (Fayetteville, Georgia), and SOJO Coffee Company (Los Angeles). [Photos: courtesy of AT&T; Composite image: DI Studio; Sources: berya113\/istock, photos courtesy of AT&T.]<\/p>\n
Two local startups have been named finalists in AT&T\u2019s 2025 Small Business Contest, advancing from a \u201crecord-breaking\u201d field of more than 11,000 applicants nationwide.<\/strong><\/p>\n Dallas-based Sensori and The Blueprint University are among five finalists selected by AT&T judges for their community impact, innovation, and business models.<\/p>\n In January 2026, AT&T will announce its grand prize winner, which will receive $50,000, a year of AT&T service with a new device, and a featured content spotlight with one of AT&T\u2019s athlete partners through the She\u2019s Connected by AT&T series. <\/p>\n AT&T said all five finalists will receive $5,000 to invest in their businesses.<\/p>\n Sensori: Non-alcoholic beverages with functional benefits<\/p>\n Sensori Co-founder and CEO Shanna Watkins Pearre left a successful eight-year PR career to launch the non-alcoholic beverage startup that infuses functional botanicals designed to support cognitive function and deliver mood benefits without alcohol\u2019s downsides.<\/p>\n Pearre, who most recently worked for Dallas\u2019 LTK, has credited its co-founder Amber Venz Box for showing her that \u201cturning a personal pain point could result in a multi-billion dollar business and kickstart an entire global economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Mission matters, says Pearre,\u00a0who co-founded the company with Darean Rhodes, and Ashlyn Knox. Launched in 2024, Sensori positions itself at \u201cthe intersection of wellness, culture, and conscious socializing,\u201d according to the announcement.<\/p>\n Pearre believes that \u201cfeeling good\u2014emotionally, physically, and socially\u2014shouldn\u2019t require alcohol or compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n On LinkedIn, the entrepreneur describes the recognition as a \u201cfull-circle moment<\/a>\u201d she never saw coming. AT&T was Pearre\u2019s first internship, and later, a corporate job.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch like AT&T, we\u2019re focused on redefining how people connect\u2014socially and in their self-care rituals\u2014through a non-alcoholic beverage experience that still feels meaningful,\u201d said Pearre. \u201cAT&T\u2019s belief that \u2018connecting changes everything\u2019 truly resonates with our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n The Blueprint University: Innovation hub and trade school for entrepreneurs<\/p>\n Kaila Cherie Wright founded The Blueprint University in 2022 as an innovation hub and trade school for entrepreneurs, which now has campuses in Dallas and Gadsden, Alabama. <\/p>\n The organization aims to create pathways for founders to enhance economic mobility and access capital while bridging the gap between small businesses and major corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cConnection is the currency of growth,\u201d said Wright. \u201cAt Blueprint, we\u2019re bridging the gap between small businesses and Fortune 500s\u2014that\u2019s the Blueprint way.\u201d<\/p>\n The founder, who started her first business selling earrings at the age of 12, now equips entrepreneurs with practical tools for success, from access to capital to corporate partnerships.\u00a0<\/p>\n More contenders for AT&T\u2019s 2025 Small Business Contest<\/p>\n The other three finalists are Bold Crumb House in Detroit, Michigan; Nourish + Bloom Market in Fayetteville, Georgia; and SOJO Coffee Company in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Bold Crumb House combines a bakery with storytelling and literacy workshops for children. <\/p>\n Nourish + Bloom Market operates what is described as the first 24\/7 AI-powered grocery store in the U.S. that accepts EBT\/SNAP benefits and gained attention after appearing on Shark Tank in Season 15<\/a>. <\/p>\n SOJO Coffee Company specializes in Salvadoran coffee and created what it calls the world\u2019s first canned cold brew made with 100% Salvadoran beans.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss what\u2019s next. Subscribe\u00a0to\u00a0Dallas\u00a0Innovates.<\/p>\n Track Dallas-Fort Worth\u2019s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \tR E A D\u00a0\u00a0 N E X T\t<\/p>\n Part of the 2025 iC\u00b3 Life Science & Healthcare Innovation Summit to be held September 16-17 in Dallas, the showcase pitch event is designed to connect university researchers with potential investors, industry executives, and strategic partners. This is the first year the showcase has expanded beyond Texas.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n More than 300,000 defense suppliers\u2014from major contractors to small businesses\u2014must meet new CMMC security standards or risk losing contracts; SMU’s conference tackles compliance requirements and implementation strategies Feb. 19-20.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n As drones, robots, and AI-powered systems reshape industries, virtual test beds could fill a cybersecurity gap. Researchers at SMU’s Darwin Deason Institute aim to uncover hidden vulnerabilities in next-generation systems\u2014before bad actors do.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The new center at Bridge Labs will train the workforce powering North Texas\u2019 biotech boom\u2014helping startups speed therapies, vaccines, and breakthrough biologics from lab bench to patients. Funded in part by Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing Satellite Campus is set to open this summer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Backed by the Department of Defense and $200 million in private capital, the new facility helps companies prototype and scale battery technologies for both commercial use and national defense. The launch comes at a time when supply chain independence is a growing priority. Government and industry leaders recently got a first look.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sensori, co-founded by Shanna Watkins Pearre, Darean Rhodes, and Ashlyn Knox (far left), and The Blueprint University, an…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":403691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,190800,24340,190801,1596,190802,190803,190804,190805,190806,190807,190808,358,190809,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-403690","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ashlyn-knox","10":"tag-att","11":"tag-bold-crumb-house","12":"tag-dallas","13":"tag-darean-rhodes","14":"tag-kaila-cherie-wright","15":"tag-nourish-bloom-market","16":"tag-sensori","17":"tag-shanna-watkins-pearre","18":"tag-shes-connected-by-att","19":"tag-sojo-coffee-company","20":"tag-texas","21":"tag-the-blueprint-university","22":"tag-tx","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-united-states-of-america","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115610620734534312","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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