BBVA, which recently went through a rebranding process, selected two Houston startups for its accelerator program. Photo via bbva.com

Two socially minded entrepreneurs in Houston are getting a big boost from a bank-sponsored accelerator program.

The pair of entrepreneurs — leaders of socially focused ventures Eight Million Stories and Small Places LLC — are among 19 social entrepreneurs from across the U.S. chosen to join the BBVA Momentum accelerator program.

This year, BBVA Momentum features five months of online and in-person education lasting from June to November. Headspring Executive Development by Financial Times runs the online component, while the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business manages the in-person training. Each social entrepreneur is paired with a mentor from banking giant BBVA to provide one-on-one support throughout the program.

At the end of the program, BBVA awards prizes to ventures that have been identified as being highly sustainable and creating the most social impact. Last year's top venture took home $75,000 in equity funding.

Eight Million Stories

One of the two Houston-based startups that was selected for the program is Eight Million Stories, which was founded by Marvin Pierre. The organization helps formerly incarcerated youth (16 to 18 years old) through a free, voluntary four-month program designed to help them:

  • Build strong relationships in their communities.
  • Gain access to an array of social services.
  • Develop life and job skills.
  • Continue their education.
  • Secure meaningful employment.

Pierre says his program "seeks to upend the school-to-prison pipeline by supporting previously incarcerated young people in successfully transitioning back into their communities, and by curbing unnecessary referrals from schools to the juvenile justice system."

Pierre hopes to eventually roll out Eight Million Stories across the country.

"We believe that there are a lot of commonalities in terms of why kids end up in the juvenile justice system, whether it's broken homes or lack of support in the school system or other factors," Pierre says. "If you interview every kid in the system, you'll find there's a common thread. That's what we're trying to undo. If we attack those commonalities, then we can aggressively work to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline."

Small Places

Finca Tres Robles/Instagram

Today, the main focus of Small Places, co-founded by Daniel Garcia-Prats, is Finca Tres Robles (Spanish for Three Oaks Farm), Houston's only private farm inside the 610 Loop. The farm grows fruits, vegetables, and herbs that are sold to consumers directly by the farm and at local farmers markets.

"Agriculture is fundamentally about people, not plants," Finca Tres Robles says on its website. "While food is central to the work we do, the farm has the capabilities to impact other important areas of health. As an organization, our focus is on developing farms and agricultural spaces that can provide critical health-related services to communities that are need of basic infrastructure to support health."

Among the farm's projects is the Pre-K Produce Program. Finca Tres Robles estimates that thanks to the program, anywhere from $250,000 to $1.25 million in healthcare costs will be saved over the lifetime of the preschoolers.

Small Places also helps run the community farm at the Harris Health System's Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital and operates Houston's 3 Oaks Farms, which focuses on production of the moringa tree, the source of a nutrient-packed superfood.

In a nutshell, Small Places offers:

  • Farm development, management, and consulting services.
  • Education.
  • Community outreach.
  • Job training.

Small Places says it concentrates on "placemaking and community health, helping community- and health-related nonprofits, municipalities that have food security/access issues and progressive commercial developers that want to establish a culture of health in their neighborhoods."

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Houston biotech company expands leadership team

growing biz

An innovative Houston startup that's working with energy companies to decarbonize their operations has made changes to its C-suite.

Tara Karimi, who co-founded Cemvita with her brother Moji, has transition to the company's chief science officer. Liz Dennett has been hired to Karimi's previous role of CTO. The changes enable Karimi to focus on leading Cemvita's scientific research and development efforts as well as participating in driving innovation within the biotech industry as a whole, according to the company's press release.

"I'm excited to take on the role of chief science officer at Cemvita and what it represents for our company's growth," says Karimi in the release. "As chief science officer, I look forward to shaping policy and driving the conversation around the role of biotechnology in the energy transition."

As CTO, Dennett will lead the development of Cemvita's unique biotech products that tap into microbes to decarbonize operations on energy plants. Most recently, Dennett was vice president of data architecture and data engineering at Wood Mackenzie. She previously worked in tech and sustainability-focused roles at Hess Corp., Biota Technology, and Amazon Web Services.

“Working with biological systems presents a unique challenge but also a unique opportunity," says Dennett in the release. "It’s uniquely difficult to go from benchtop to in-situ reactors or oil wells with microbes and to achieve the kind of incredible results that we’re seeing in the lab. You need to build teams with deep specializations in chemistry, biology, energy systems, and geology.”

Dennett, who has her PhD and Master's from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has served on Cemvita's advisory board for about a year, will report to CEO Moji Karimi directly.

“I know that Tara and Liz are going to make history at Cemvita,” says Moji Karimi in the release. “With 15 years of experience using data-driven approaches to solve pressing energy challenges, Liz brings to bear the kind of creativity and expertise that can quickly and meaningfully advance Cemvita’s impact on the Energy Transition.”

Houston medical device startup names new CEO

now at the helm

Houston-based medical device company Saranas has tapped a veteran of the healthcare industry as its new CEO.

Mike MacKinnon most recently was president and partner at Madison Ventures +, a private equity firm based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The firm invests in companies in healthcare, real estate, finance, and other sectors.

Before joining Madison Ventures +, MacKinnon was CEO of Zidan Medical, a startup focused on treatment of airway lesions in patients with early stage lung cancer. He served in that role from 2019 to 2023.

Earlier, he was CEO of ROX Medical, a medical device company specializing in minimally invasive vascular therapy for patients with uncontrolled high blood pressure. He held that role from 2018 to 2019. He previously worked at Philips North America, Volcano, AtheroMed, Hansen Medical, Access Closure, and FoxHollow Technologies.

In a news release, Dan Wolterman, chairman of Saranas’ board and former president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System, calls MacKinnon “an accomplished executive with an impressive record of bringing disruptive technology to market, guiding strategy, and driving significant growth.”

Now president and CEO of Nashua, New Hampshire-based medical device company Conformal Medical, James Reinstein was president and CEO of Saranas from 2020 to 2022. Prior to Reinstein, Zaffer Syed held that position from 2017 to 2020. He's still an adviser for the company and recently announced his role as entrepreneur in residence at the Texas Medical Center.

Saranas is working on commercializing its Early Bird Bleed Monitoring System, touted as the first and only system FDA-approved bleeding detection system for procedures involving blood vessels. It is designed to detect bleeds early, enabling physicians to reduce medical risks and potentially avoid costly medical problems.

“Bleeding remains a common issue during and after endovascular procedures and can result in life-threatening complications,” says MacKinnon.

Since being founded in 2013, Saranas has treated over 1,200 patients with its device and has received $29.2 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. This includes a $12.8 million Series B round that Saranas got in 2021 from Chicago-based Baird Capital and Austin-based S3 Ventures.

The Early Bird device was developed at Houston’s Texas Heart Institute. The FDA approved the device in 2019.

Houston expert: How to embrace cognitive diversity in the workplace

guest column

Everyone thinks and processes information in their own unique way. Cognitive diversity refers to these differing styles, perspectives, and problem-solving approaches among individuals in a group. Cognitive diversity, in today’s evolving workplace, is recognized as a valuable asset. Teams that are cognitively diverse can enhance their innovation, creativity and overall performance. The challenge comes with group dynamics when there may be communication barriers, conflicts and biases.

Effective strategies to consider for managing cognitive diversity in the workplace are as follows.

Communicate and take action

Business leaders who recognize and embrace the value of diverse perspectives and cognitive styles are better able to manage any challenges that may arise within the organization. Leaders and managers should communicate the importance of cognitive diversity to their team and encourage employees to share their unique viewpoints and approaches. This also means managers should be aware of their own biases and avoid making assumptions about people in order to create a more inclusive environment.

When a company uses hiring practices that embrace cognitive diversity, brings forth varying perspectives and ways of problem solving. Identifying those who may think differently than others or who may challenge the status quo is many times identifying those who will become the company’s best innovators. Embracing a diverse group of thinkers will help foster a culture of inclusivity, open-mindedness, and innovation.

Encourage collaboration

Collaboration is key to the success of any team. When working together, different cognitive styles can complement each other’s strengths and compensate for any weaknesses. Studies show cognitive diversity within groups can accelerate learning and performance when faced with challenges. In order to get through some of businesses’ most complex situations, there needs to be different perspectives and viewpoints.

For the most innovative thoughts to be heard, people must have the space to raise their hand and speak up, but also, people must actively listen to what the person has to say. Managers should work to create opportunities for collaboration, whether it is building cross-functional teams or other group projects and encourage employees to openly communicate and give feedback to improve the outcome.

Provide training and development

Training and development opportunities focused on cognitive diversity can help employees understand their own communication styles and the communication styles of others. By educating and applying, taking action steps after training will help reduce biases and misunderstandings. Additionally, these trainings can increase empathy, which does not come natural for some, and respect among team members.

Businesses should also evaluate their current company training programs to make certain they are inclusive of different learning styles, such as using infographics for visual learners or having hands-on demonstrations. Another consideration is to incorporate self-paced learning into training and development plans. No matter the type of training, solicit feedback, and take it under consideration to continuously improve how teams can develop their skills. Feedback that is thoughtfully considered and implemented leads to more engaged employees overall.

Manage conflicts

Conflicts are inevitable; however, organizations should set clear expectations and policies for performance and behavior. Unfortunately, conflict can be exacerbated in a diverse environment. Managers should be primed with knowledge on how to resolve conflicts and help facilitate constructive conversations among both parties. Also, managers should know when to reach out for help from their supervisor or human resources.

For business leaders to successfully manage cognitive diversity in the workplace, they must intentionally work to develop a culture that embraces the differences in others. Savvy business leaders will enlist the help of their HR team or outside council, such as a professional employer organization, to ensure their strategies and policies for managing a cognitively diverse workplace are inclusive.

Most importantly, when the company culture embodies a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace, the employees tend to have the same values, especially when the expectations are clearly set. As a result, the business will become a more innovative and engaging environment where employees know how to leverage their own strengths and the strengths of others, no matter their cognitive style.

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Fernanda Anzek is managing director of HR services with Insperity, a Houston-based provider of human resources and business performance solutions.