North Texas RCIC Team

North Texas RCIC is a team of four dedicated professionals committed to working with entrepreneurs to advance innovation, commercialize a technology based product, or prepare the start-up venture for investment. Please contact us if we can be of assistance. We look forward to working with you.
Main Office: 972-883-4920

Maria Smith, Director Stakeholder Relations of the North Texas RCIC, the North Texas regional vetting and marketing arm for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. The RCIC identifies entrepreneurs and technology based start-ups that are seeking equity investment, resources and services to advance product from lab to market. Previous to the RCIC, Smith specialized in Economic Development programs for the State of Texas and at the regional level for the Richardson Chamber of Commerce, creating partnerships with industry, academia and government agencies to foster community wealth. Smith understands the world of entrepreneurship from experience. She founded Benchmark Technologies in 1998, a staffing augmentation firm and is a partner in Two Peppers Sales & Marketing, a family owned business.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts & Science degree from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She attended the University of Texas at Dallas to complete a one-year thesis on competitive industry cluster growth and globalization trends. She currently serves as Chair on the board of the North Dallas chapter for CVT-IEEE, Chair for the North Central Texas Workforce Board Logistics and Advanced Manufacturing Council for North Texas and volunteers for non-profit organizations that invest in entrepreneurship. Smith lives in Wylie with her husband Gary, also an entrepreneur, and daughter Grace.

W: 972-883-5360
marias@ntxrcic.org

Freddie Carroll, Director Mentor Programs joined the North Texas RCIC in September 2007. Prior to the RCIC, Freddie Carroll was a Partner at STARTech Early Ventures from 2000 to 2007 after more than 25 years in the computer and telecommunications industries. STARTech was a seed stage investor in technology based startup companies. Prior to STARTech, Freddie served as Vice President of Sales for Lucent Technologies' value-added services organization. Additionally, he was the VP of Sales at Tigon, a voice messaging services company which was later acquired first by Ameritech and subsequently sold to Octel Communications, which was in turn acquired by Lucent Technologies. He also worked at VMX, Inc., Data General Corporation, Westinghouse Computer Division and Collins Radio.

Freddie has been through two start-ups, one IPO and three acquisitions. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University.

W: 972-883-5316
freddiec@ntxrcic.org

Vik Thapar, Director, Commercialization Programs joined the North TX RCIC in 2009 to oversee the regional commercialization process for the Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) in North Texas. Vik leads the engagement process and assists in the mentoring and deal vetting of early stage technology companies from pre, during and post ETF funding. Prior to joining the NTXRCIC, Vik worked with Dallas based private equity firm Lone Star New Markets conducting financial and business analysis projects. He also spent the initial first years of his career working in the Information Technology field for Fortune 500 companies such as Zale’s, Lockheed Martin and start-ups Univesco, Inc. and Best Crossmark, managing enterprise application implementations, customizing solutions and developing software on the Microsoft platform.

Vik has a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and a Bachelor of Science from University of Texas at Dallas. He is very active in the Texas entrepreneur community and currently serves on the board of TeXchange. Vik lives in Las Colinas with his wife Geetha and daughter Maya.

W: 972-883-5317
vikt@ntxrcic.org

Vanessa Secor, Marketing & Operations Manager, joined the North Texas RCIC in January 2012 to execute the marketing strategy for the NTXRCIC. Prior to the RCIC, Vanessa was the Executive Assistant to Keller William's Realty Plano's CEO/Team Leader, overseeing adminstration, marketing, and event planning for the market center.

Vanessa has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Oklahoma and lives in North Dallas.

W: 972-883-4918
vanessa@ntxrcic.org