Editor's note: It's hot in Houston — like, really hot. It's hard to think of doing anything, much less hustling like any good startup leader and entrepreneur. But of course, the startup show must go on. Top stories this week include some of those entrepreneurs, a new nonprofit accelerator program for women in health care, and more.
3 female Houston innovators to know this week
This week's innovators to know are all female leaders in different industries within Houston innovation. Courtesy photos
Female leaders play a huge role in the Houston innovation ecosystem. This week's innovators to know are all women — and are each representatives for different industries. From health care and nonprofits to education, meet this week's who's who of Houston innovation. Continue reading.
Houston oil and gas software exec eyes M&A activity following private equity deal
Travis Parigi, CEO of LiquidFrameworks, is excited about the new doors that have been opened for his company. Courtesy of LiquidFrameworks
Travis Parigi has built his software within his own company for about 14 years. Now, he's in a position to further develop his product at a faster rate.
In January, LiquidFrameworks entered into a partnership with private equity firm, Luminate Capital. The new financial partner has opened doors for Parigi and LiquidFrameworks — including putting merger and acquisition activity on the table.
"I have historically written stuff from the ground up, and we're going to continue to do that, but we want to give our customers more than that," Parigi tells InnovationMap. "And I've never had the opportunity to go out and strategically target opportunities where it makes sense to compliment the product. And I think that's going to be a very exciting thing to do." Continue reading.
Houston nonprofit launches accelerator program to give women-led startup a leg up within health care
Ignite Healthcare Network has hosted a pitch competition for a few years now, but this is the first year for its mini-accelerator program. Courtesy of Ignite
Within health care, female consumers make 80 percent of the buying power while women hold 65 percent of the workforce's jobs, according to a recent study. However, when you look at the C-suites in the industry, those percentages fall drastically, says Ayse McCracken.
"For as many women as there are involved in health care, it's not reflected in leadership," says McCracken, founder of Ignite Healthcare Network. "That's what brought us together."
Just 30 percent of health care C-suites are women — and only 13 percent have female CEOs, per the report by Oliver Wyman. Houston-based nonprofit Ignite is an organization comprised of over 150 of these rare female health care execs and focused on clearing a path for future female leaders in the industry. Continue reading.
Overheard: Experts weigh in on what the energy industry will look like in 2050 at Houston summit
From fossil fuels to clean and sustainable energy, here's what experts postulate the industry will look like in 2050. Natalie Harms/InnovationMap
There are a lot of things up in the air within the energy industry when you look at the next 40 years — clean energy, regulation regarding fossil fuels, carbon footprint, and so much more.
At the Society of Petroleum Engineers' inaugural SPE Dot Energy Leadership Summit, the big question was what does 2050 look like for the industry. Tasked with the discussion were three energy leaders — Deanna Zhang, energy tech investment banking associate at TudorPickering Holt & Co., Lees Rodionov, vice president of Global Stewardship at Schlumberger, and David R. Hall, managing director of Hall Labs — on a panel moderated by Gabriella Rowe, CEO of Station Houston. Continue reading.
National business magazine names Houston one of the 'hottest startup cities'
As a a part of its annual Inc. 5000 findings, the magazine named Houston the ninth hottest startup city in America. Photo by Tim Leviston/Getty Images
It's not just Texas' weather that's hot. Three Lone Star State cities made Inc. magazine's list of hot startups cities — and Houston came in at No. 9.
The list came out of the Inc. 5000 report — the magazine's list of the fastest-growing 5,000 privately-held companies in the United States. The list was ranked by the three-year revenue growth of each of the cities' companies.
Houston had a three-year revenue growth 117 percent with 84 Houston companies on the 2019 Inc. 5000 list. Continue reading.