HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 191

Long-time innovator shares why she's optimistic about Houston's future as a hub for startups, tech

Emily Keeton has worn a lot of hats in Houston's innovation ecosystem and beyond. She shares on the Houston Innovators Podcast how she's engaging with companies these days, what the future holds for Houston, and more. Photo courtesy

As she describes, Emily Keeton's strength and her curse is that she lacks patience. For this reason, her career, launched originally in investment banking, has taken her from the startup world to media and beyond.

"I'm a person of action, and I think that works well when you work with a startup. You tend to get things done," Keeton says on the Houston Innovators Podcast, adding that she's been called a change agent, and while the terminology isn't her preference, she agrees its an accurate identifier for her. "I can step into a situation, and, after many years of working with so many different companies, I have a lens of pattern recognition of what's worked in the past and potential footfalls. It's what keeps me coming back to startups."

Keeton was one of the founding members of Station Houston — along with John "J.R." Reale, Grace Rodriguez, Blair Garrou, and some other innovators who played a central role in the organization almost a decade ago. The goal was to create a community where startup founders in Houston can go for support from mentors and peers. The organization rolled into into a few entities like the Ion and Capital Factory in 2018.

After her role at Station, Keeton's career took her back to New York, where she worked with WeWork, Mercado, Tempest, and other consumer-facing businesses. She always had one foot still in Houston, until she recently relocated to Houston entirely. She served as COO of Houston Landing, a new nonprofit journalism platform, and her latest endeavor is working with Michael Loeb on Loeb.nyc, a New York-based investment firm with shared services — marketing, design, etc. — with his portfolio.

"I'm based here, and I'll be doing a couple of things, working with a few of the portfolio companies," she says. "And I'm on the lookout for early stage companies here in Texas."

Keeton's perspective, having seen the Houston innovation ecosystem develop — first hands on in Houston, and later from outside looking in from New York — is hopeful. She says that with Station, they realized the power of mentorship — specifically of mentors who have led a startup through scale and exit. Now, Houston just needs more exits and success stories to grow that mentorship base.

"I am very optimistic about the future of Houston. It's a long game, and I think people need to keep showing up," she says on the show.

She adds that what's happening right now is a winter for startups, and she notes that this isn't just something seen in Houston. But this period of time can be an advantage to innovators.

"It's a great time to launch a company," Keeton says, explaining that a few years ago, checks were being written without significant due diligence. Now, this pace has slowed. "It provides a bit of breathing room for people to figure out their business model."

Keeton shares more on her observations of Houston's tech and startup scene and what she looks for in the startups she invests her time and money in on the show. Listen to the interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


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Originally expected to raise $150 million, Mercury's latest fund is the largest raised to date. Photo via mercuryfund.com

A Houston venture capital firm has announce big news of its latest fund.

Mercury Fund, founded in 2005 to invest in startups not based in major tech hubs on either coast, closed its latest fund, Mercury Fund V, at an oversubscribed amount of $160 million. Originally expected to raise $150 million, Fund V is the largest fund Mercury has raised to date.

“We are pleased by the substantial support we received for Fund V from both new and existing investors and thank them for placing their confidence in Mercury,” Blair Garrou, co-founder and managing director of Mercury Fund, says in a news release. “Their support is testament to the strength of our team, proven investment strategy, and the compelling opportunities for innovation that exist in cities across America.”

The fund's limited partners include new and existing investors, including endowments at universities, foundations, and family offices. Mercury reports that several of these LPs are based in the central region of the United States where Mercury invests. California law firm Gunderson Dettmer was the fund formation counsel for Mercury.

Fresh closed, Fund V has already made investments in several companies, including:

  • Houston-based RepeatMD, a patient engagement and fintech platform for medical professionals with non-insurance reimbursed services and products
  • Houston and Cheyenne Wyoming-based financial infrastructure tech platform Brassica, which raised its $8 million seed round in April
  • Polco, a Madison, Wisconsin-based polling platform for local governments, school districts, law enforcement, and state agencies
  • Chicago-based MSPbots, a AI-powered process automation platform for small and mid-sized managed service providers

Mercury's investment model is described as "operationally-focused," and the firm works to provide its portfolio companies with the resources needed to grow rapidly and sustainably. Since 2013, the fund has contributed to creating more than $9 billion of enterprise value across its portfolio of over 50 companies.

“Over the past few years there has been a tremendous migration of talent, wealth and know-how to non-coastal venture markets and this surge of economic activity has further accelerated the creation of extraordinary new companies and technology," says Garrou. "As the first venture capital firm to have recognized the attractiveness of these incredible regions a dozen years ago, we are excited to continue sourcing new opportunities to back founders and help these cities continue to grow and thrive.”

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