While Houston has historically been known as an oil and gas town, it's been slow on the uptake for being known for its energy tech — something these three entrepreneurs are looking to change. From a new energy startup accelerator to an oil and gas podcast, these three energy tech innovators are ones to know this week.
Jacob Corley and Collin McClelland, co-hosts of the Oil and Gas Startups Podcast
Courtesy of Oil and Gas Startups Podcast
Despite having experience in the oil and gas field and in entrepreneurship, Jacob Corley and Collin McClelland learn something new each episode of the Oil and Gas Startups Podcast. The show has seen surprising success to the duo and has been attracting around a thousand new listeners each week.
"You think thing not many people would listen to a podcast that's so focused on something they do for their job, but that's completely wrong," Corley says.
The primary goal for the pair is to share the stories of entrepreneurs who are revolutionizing an industry that tends to be known as a slow adaptor or conservative. Great startups exist here in Houston, and McClelland and Corley want to tell you about them.
"We kind of wanted to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and oil and gas and show the world what was going on in the industry — and specifically in Houston," McLelland says. Click here to read more.
Patrick Lewis, managing partner of BBL Ventures
Patrick Lewis has worked for years trying to rethink how energy companies and private equity interact with startups. Startups have trouble proving themselves to big oil and gas companies and private equity things energy tech is more trouble than its worth.
"Energy tech is a grossly underfunded industry. Venture capitalists hate it — the hyper cyclical industry, extremely long sales cycles, slow adopters — but that creates opportunities," Lewis says.
But Lewis, managing partner of BBL Ventures, has created a software that tracks oil companies' pain points and then allows him to tap startups that are solving those issues. Now, with BBL Labs, Lewis and his team will help to accelerate these energy tech startups into the market. Click here to read more.