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10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for January

Here's your one-stop shop for innovation events in Houston in January. Getty Images

Start off the new year — and new decade — strong with tech and innovation events across Houston. From networking and panels to workshops and meetups, here's what Houston startup and tech events to attend in January.

If you know of innovation-focused events for this month or next, email me at natalie@innovationmap.com with the details andsubscribe to our daily newsletterthat sends fresh stories straight to your inboxes every morning.

January 9 — TransMedia Marketing® A New Paradigm

Phil and Karen Snyder are professors of Digital Media at University of Houston's College of Technology, and are the creators/developers of the University's unique Transmedia Marketing® Online Certificate Program. Reinventing the concepts of multi-platform storytelling, the Snyders apply them to marketing strategies. They share their experiences in their presentation: Transmedia Marketing® A New Paradigm.

Details: The event is from 11 am to 12:30 pm on Thursday, January 9, at The Cannon (1334 Brittmoore Road). Learn more.

January 9 — SBIR 101: A Practical Approach to Engaging with the US Air Force

At this event you will hear from Lt. Col. Eric Frahm, AFWERX chief product officer, and Ryan Erickson, AFWERX head of operations, who will present the details of engagement with the Air Force via the AFWERX SBIR process. Additionally, you will hear from Gustavo Sanchez (Pandata Tech) and Scott Schneider (HTX Labs), two Station Houston member companies that are on current AFWERX SBIR Phase II contracts, who will share their journeys through the SBIR process from customer discovery to securing customer MOUs to navigating bureaucratic hurdles such as non-US citizen employees.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Thursday, January 9, at Station Houston (1301 Fannin Street, Suite 2440). Learn more.

January 9 — How to be a side hustler

So, how do you make your aspirations of becoming your own boss come to life? Enter the side hustle. Come join General Assembly's lineup of speakers as they delivers a highly tactical tips and tricks on the how (and why) behind starting a successful side hustle while keeping your day job.

Details: The event is from 6:30 to 9 pm on Thursday, January 9, at GA Houston (1301 Fannin St, Floor 21). Learn more.

January 14 — Employable in 2020: Closing the skills gap

What jobs will exist in 2030? Come along and hear from a panel of industry leaders on how to stay relevant in the rapidly changing space for 2030 and beyond.

Details: The event is from 6:30 to 9 pm on Tuesday, January 14, at GA Houston (1301 Fannin St, Floor 21). Learn more.

January 16 — Practice Makes: Inclusion

Inclusion means a better world for all. It's about correcting mismatched human interactions and opening up experiences/products for everyone to participate.

Details: The event is from 6 to 8 pm on Thursday, January 16, at Accenture Houston (1301 Fannin Street). Learn more.

January 22 — Bots and Brews

"Bots & Brews," is the winter meetup of the Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition. It offers insights from energy unmanned experts, and rapid-fire use cases from cutting-edge drone, robotics solutions and startups for the energy, and industrial autonomous challenges of today and tomorrow.

Details: The event is Wednesday, January 22, from 4 to 7pm at Saint Arnold Brewery (2000 Lyons Ave). Learn More

January 23 — JLABS x IGNITE: Girls Just Wanna Have Funds

Join JLABS and IGNITE for an evening of rotating round table discussions as we tackle these questions and aim to forge a path forward for two of the most prohibitive factors at play: a lack of a robust network of female mentors and lack of investment dollars in female-led startups.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Thursday, January 23, at JLABS @ TMC (2450 Holcombe Blvd.). Learn more.

January 24 – 11th Annual WISE Luncheon

By celebrating the achievements of women leaders in science, we want to inspire others to pursue research and applications that will spur economic prosperity and improve the quality of life for our region and our state as a whole. WISE is more than just a luncheon. It is a place where everyone can come together to share their ideas, tell their stories and fall in love with math and science all over again.

Details: The event is from 11 am to 1 pm on Friday, January 24, at River Oaks Country Club (1600 River Oaks Blvd.). Learn more.

January 28 — E-Commerce Meetup & Panel Discussion with Kim Roxie

E-commerce is one of the industry's producing tech billionaires, and this panel will discuss the path to get there.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7 pm on Tuesday, January 28, at Station Houston (1301 Fannin Street, Suite 2440). Learn more.

January 29 — MassChallenge Texas in Houston 2020 Launch Event

MassChallenge Texas is launching both its Austin and Houston programs simultaneously. It's a good networking opportunity and a chance to learn more about this year's cohort.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, January 29, at the Four Seasons Hotel (1300 Lamar St.). Learn more.

January 30 — Digital Storytelling for Your Startup: Deconstructing Digital and Social Media

Savvy digital storytelling is a powerful tool in your entrepreneurial toolbox. JLABS has tapped into The Black Sheep Agency for this workshop, where we'll break down digital strategy, tools, tips and tricks that will set you up for success both online and offline.

Details: The event is from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on Thursday, January 30, at JLABS @ TMC (2450 Holcombe Blvd.). Learn more.

January 30 — Intro to the Houston Startup Community

This free event is an orientation to help newcomers to the startup scene get acquainted with the exciting world of tech in Houston. A panel of professionals will give you the inside scoop on Houston's key events and meetups, people, companies, VCs, blogs, programs, and more.

Details: The event is from 6:30 to 9 pm on Thursday, January 30, at GA Houston (1301 Fannin St, Floor 21). Learn more.

January 31 — Innovate Integrate Inspire

The Society of Petroleum Engineers' Gulf Coast Section is hosting its WIN Congress 2020. Expect to come away with invaluable gems and insights as an eclectic mix of oil and gas professionals talk about their challenges, opportunities, and give their best advice on how to reach the success you want.

Details: The event is from 7 am to 5 pm on Friday, January 31, at Hilton Garden Inn NW American Plaza (14919 Northwest Fwy). Learn more.

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Building Houston

 
 

Here's what startups took home wins at CERAWeek. Photo by Natalie Harms/InnovationMap

Over 200 startups participated in CERAWeek this year, and 18 of those companies pitched at a Greater Houston Partnership event.

The Houston Energy Transition Initiative, an initiative to promote Houston's work within the energy transition, hosted its second annual HETI Energy Ventures Competition at CERAWeek Innovation Agora. The competition was divided into four categories. The first batch of startups consisted of five companies from the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy, or TEX-E, a collaboration with Greentown Labs, MIT’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, and universities across Texas.

The winning startups shared $50,000 of prizes, sponsored by TEX-E. Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies — which has developed high-speed, high-efficiency filter systems derived from technology originating at NASA — won both the first place prize and fan favorite for the category. Helix's co-founders, Rawand Rasheed and Brad Husick from Rice University, walked away with $25,000 in prizes

Founded by Bryon Praslicka, Daniel Zamarron, and Craig Newman from Texas A&M University, Flux Works LLC, and its magnetic gear technology, took second place and $15,000 home. Tierra Climate, a two-sided marketplace for carbon offsets and other sustainability efforts founded by Emma Konet and Jacob Mansfield from Rice University, won third place and $10,000.

Helix Earth Technologies walked away with the top prize of the TEX-E category. Photo via greentownlabs.com

The next sets of startup pitches we broken down by funding stages — pre-seed and seed, series A, and series B and beyond.

Red Shift Energy, uses plasma energy to produce hydrogen from hydrogen sulfide, won fan favorite in the pre-seed and seed category sponsored by HX Venture Fund. A member of Halliburton Labs, the company also was recognized as Chevron favorite.

Per the judging panel, CanaGas won the title of most promising in the pre-seed and seed category sponsored by Alchemy Industrial. The Canadian company liquifies natural gas without costly cryogenics or stripping of the gas.

Houston-based Criterion Energy Partners won both the most-promising series A company category sponsored by SLB, but also the fan favorite series A category sponsored by Guerrella LLC. A geothermal energy tech company, Criterion was also a member of Rice's inaugural Clean Energy Accelerator cohort.

OptiSeis Solutions also won in both categories for the series B track. The company, a geophysical acquisition design and software company, won the title of most promising in the series B category sponsored by Pana LCE Investments and the series B fan favorite category sponsored by Halliburton Labs.

Lastly, the competition named the Most Impactful DEI, a category sponsored by Pana LCE Investments. Austin-based Gazelle Ecosystems, a social innovation startup with eco-solutions for corporations, won that category.

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