The Creative Work Behind Building Something

When founders walk into TechFW, we want them to feel something before they ever sit down for a coaching session. A reminder that what they are building belongs in the story of Fort Worth that we are all building.

That is what local artist and muralist Kristen Soble helped bring into our entryway this summer. This project was more than a new piece of art on the wall though - it was truly a full-circle moment.

Muralist Kristen Soble unveils her mural at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County’s north Fort Worth branch April 15, 2026, in Fort Worth. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)

Kristen first came to know the TechFW campus through the Fort Worth Business Plan Competition with our neighbors at the Devoyd Jennings Business Assistance Center (better known as the BAC). What she remembers most from that experience was not just the competition, but the connection she felt with other business owners. Kristen is a Fort Worth-based professional artist specializing in large-scale public art, illustration, and graphic design. It is bold, approachable, and deeply rooted in the community that helped shape her career.

That spirit felt familiar when we invited her back to the campus in a new creative role. This time, she was not pitching her business. She was helping TechFW visually tell its story.

Art as Entrepreneurship

Kristen started working as an artist painting murals and large works since she was a kid. Family and friends began employing her at a very young age to paint murals for them in their homes. For Kristen, being an artist has always been more than the act of creating.

"I think people underestimate how much work happens. Creating the art is the part I love most, but it's also far more physically and creatively demanding than most people realize, especially with large-scale public art, where you're often working long days on lifts, in the elements, while still finding ways to stay inspired and create something meaningful. I've learned that success isn't just about talent. It's about consistency, professionalism, resilience, and genuinely caring about the people you work with. Those relationships have been just as important to my career as the artwork itself."

Entrepreneurship is not confined to software, biotech, manufacturing, or venture-backed companies. It also lives in studios, sketchbooks, client calls, ladders, paint cans, invoices, proposals, and the physical work of turning imagination into something tangible.

"Creating the art is the part I love most, but running a creative business also means managing projects, meeting deadlines, building relationships, solving problems, and constantly learning."

Founders often come to us with an idea they love. But building a business around that idea requires discipline, resilience, communication, and the ability to keep showing up through uncertainty. Kristen’s path as a creative entrepreneur reflects that same reality. As Kristen put it, success is not just about talent. It is about genuinely caring about the people you work with.

Modern mural designed and created by Kristen Soble for TechFW.

Why Local Art Needs to Be in Innovation Centers

Kristen believes local art transforms a space from somewhere people simply work into somewhere they actually want to be.

“In a place like TechFW, where people are taking risks, solving problems, and building new ideas every day, the environment matters,” she shared. “Art can spark creativity, start conversations, and remind people that innovation isn’t limited to technology."

And local artists like Kristen Soble bring something to a project that cannot be replicated because they are not simply interpreting a place from the outside. They are part of the community they are helping represent.

"Fort Worth has been the foundation of my career, and much of my work celebrates the spirit of this city. Through projects for organizations I’ve seen firsthand how color, collaboration, and storytelling can transform spaces and uplift communities."

Fort Worth Builds Together

The project began as a possible mural and evolved into a large-scale printed piece on metal sheeting that could move with TechFW as it continues to grow and evolve into future spaces. That flexibility mattered. The artwork needed to feel rooted in TechFW’s current home while still carrying the organization’s long-vision forward.

I wanted to do something really different and boy did we accomplish that! Rather than reading as a single scene, it functions as a collage where multiple ideas coexist and interact within central themes of technology, innovation, and where the west begins.

The central theme is the evolution of Texas-sized innovation without losing its roots within cowboy culture. Throughout the composition, there is a dialogue: ranching and robotics, aerospace and filmmaking, transportation and biotechnology, all existing within the same visual ecosystem. The work asks the viewer to imagine a future that is built on Fort Worth’s existing strengths.

When asked what Fort Worth’s creative and entrepreneurial community means to her right now, Kristen pointed to something we see every day at TechFW. Fort Worth is growing. But what makes it special is not only the growth. It is the willingness to help one another succeed.

That is the thread running through this project. This artwork is a spark for conversations about what it means to build in Fort Worth. And now, when founders, coaches, investors, students, and community partners walk into TechFW, they are greeted by a piece that reflects the same truth we believe about entrepreneurship:

The future does not appear fully formed.

Someone has to imagine it. Someone has to build it.

And in Fort Worth, we do that together.

A Community Investment in Pride

This project was also made possible by people who believed the space itself deserved care. A special thank you to our private donor for sponsoring this pride project and helping us create an entryway that better reflects those who walk through our doors.

We’re also grateful to Home Glow Exteriors for supporting the lobby repaint and helping give the space a fresh foundation for Kristen’s work.

At TechFW, we talk often about building companies. But building an ecosystem also means tending to the places where people gather, connect, and begin to see what is possible. This entryway refresh is one more example of what happens when local artists, local businesses, and local supporters come together to invest in Fort Worth’s future.

About Kristen Soble

Kristen Soble is a Fort Worth-based professional artist specializing in large-scale public art, illustration, and graphic design. She is also the in-house artist for the Fort Worth Zoo and has created work for organizations including the Fort Worth Zoo, Siemens Corporation, Caliber Collision, and the Gladney Center for Adoption. Learn more about Kristen’s work at kristensoble.com.