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CELEBRATING
SECOND-CHANCE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Table Guest Registration

  1. Select Your Table Host: Use the dropdown menu to find the table host you’re joining. Each host has curated a unique experience for their guests, ensuring you’re part of a community from the moment you arrive.
  2. Fill Out the Form: Provide your details to secure your spot. Let us know your preferences and any dietary restrictions—we strive to accommodate all our guests.
  3. Confirmation: Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email with all the details you need to prepare for the event. Stay tuned for updates as we get closer to the date!

Impact Investing for Social Change

The Barbed Wire to Business Accelerator is a tangible expression of PEP’s mission to unite executives and former inmates through entrepreneurial passion. Think “Shark Tank… PEP Style”! We will showcase our alumni and how PEP creates the opportunity for second-chance citizens to develop their own businesses.

For 20 years, Prison Entrepreneurship Program has been the national pioneering leader in innovative programming that assists incarcerated men in Texas prisons by developing the life skills and knowledge to be successful and productive citizens upon their return to society.”

Man in a blazer speaking into a microphone on stage at a PEP event, with an audience seated at round tables in a ballroom with chandeliers.
Group of six people in formal attire holding a large presentation check for $35,000 awarded to IronRod Steel Co. at a PEP Barbed Wire to Business Accelerator event.

Meet the "Sharks"

PEP recruits difference-makers in our community who will evaluate business pitches
from our second-chance entrepreneurs

Matt Creason

ShiftKey

Michael Rasa

Runway Roofing

Andrew Swartz

SBI Investments

Matt Creason

co-founder of ShiftKey

Matt Creason is a Dallas entrepreneur best known as a co-founder of ShiftKey, a tech platform that revolutionized healthcare staffing and scaled to a $2B+ valuation. Matt is now entering an exciting second act by investing in the city’s startup ecosystem, advising founders, and sharing hard-earned lessons from his own journey to help shape the next generation of entrepreneurs. While the ShiftKey story will always be a cornerstone of his legacy, Matt hopes his engagement within the tech community will create an equally meaningful impact. Whether speaking at conferences or working 1 on 1 with founders, his focus is to give back to the community that helped shape his own success. Outside of business, Matt has carved out space for personal passions. As a certified HondaJet pilot he balances his professional life with a love of aviation, travel, and new experiences. In many ways, his personal approach reflects his professional philosophy: stay focused, stay grounded, and enjoy the journey.

Michael Rasa

Managing Partner & Co-Founder Runway Roofing

Michael Rasa is a Dallas entrepreneur and investor best known as the founder of Rasa Floors, which he built from a startup in 1994 into a regional powerhouse with 11 locations and 637 team members before executing a successful exit with Saw Mill Capital in 2021. Since the exit, the platform has expanded to 25 locations across 23 states, and Michael continues to serve on the Board of Directors.

A former U.S. Army servicemember decorated with the Army Achievement Medal and Army Commendation Medal, Michael credits adversity early in life for shaping his leadership philosophy: systems, discipline, vision, and people drive everything.

Today, he and his wife Debbie lead the Rasa Family Office, overseeing multiple entities including Runway Roofing, Rasa Aviation, Rasa Properties, ADS Land Company, WR & Associates, and Debbie Rasa Coaching & Consulting. In 2025, they launched Runway Roofing, applying scalable systems and financial controls to build a fast-growing residential roofing company focused on insurance replacement.

An ATP-certified pilot with 11 type ratings, Michael operates a Falcon 900 and Falcon 300 out of Dallas and regularly flies humanitarian missions and cancer patients in need. He and Debbie also serve as Executive Directors and Board Members for Marriage Health, where Michael is a Certified Marriage Health Coach and longtime board member of the Association of Biblical Counselors.

Married with three daughters, three sons-in-law, and six grandchildren, Michael remains focused on building businesses, strengthening families, and investing in causes that create lasting impact.

Andrew Swartz

Founder/CEO SBI Investments

Andrew Swartz is founder/CEO of private equity firm SBI Investments. Most recently SBI became a Partner/investor at HalBar Partners, a global Search Fund. Andrew served as Chief Investment Officer of J Cleo Thompson Investments, and prior to that as President-Investments at Henry Investment Group, both of which are Texas-based single-family offices. Andrew has served on over a dozen private company boards, including CapturePoint (Carbon sequestration), System Beauty (E-comm fulfillment provider), McMahon Contracting (Heavy infrastructure construction), TruEnergy (Utility brokerage), Briarcliffe Partners (FINRA registered placement agent) and Legacy Knight (Multi-family office/wealth manager).

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