What Houston startup founders looking for funding need to know about working with VCs

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Raising funds anytime soon? Take these tips from a venture capital insider into consideration. Photo via Getty Images

I have had the incredible opportunity to work with New Stack Ventures as a venture fellow, and after sourcing investment opportunities, shadowing calls with founders, and even leading a couple calls of my own, I have learned a few lessons that might resonate with startup founders who are raising capital.

Responsive founders make a difference

The first and likely most important lesson I have learned during my tenure as a fellow is this: responsive founders truly make a difference in whether or not they raise capital.

I have sent several emails and LinkedIn messages to really intriguing companies, in hopes of connecting for a call and inquiring about their raise. And, I look back and see that many of those outreach messages were left unread. I have also engaged in calls with really intriguing companies where the founder never follows up, and the idea of moving forward with next steps dissipates.

On the flipside of the forgetful founder, I have also witnessed extremely attentive founders: founders who send follow-up messages when they don't receive an immediate response, respond to their emails within the hour, and go above and beyond by sending pitch decks and executive summaries (even when unasked). This type of founder persona excites me with their enthusiasm and eagerness to make a deal. Their responsiveness with the investment process sheds light to how they likely run their businesses.

At the end of the day, many founders can say that they are hustlers and go-getters, but I believe the founders that show me through their actions in the investment process.

Great founders are great storytellers

When I do connect with founders in introductory calls (after the back-and-forth, hopefully responsive email exchange), the thing I look forward to most is hearing their stories. I want to know your story. I want to know what you were doing before your startup (and how that helped prepare you), how you thought of your idea, how you validated your assumptions, how you grew your business, and… everything in between (but all in less than five minutes of time).

Great founders are great storytellers. The great storytellers I have come across invite me into their companies' journeys, and leave me actually caring about their success.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the founder who gives short responses and shows no real connection to their work (giving off the vibe that this is just another startup for them) leaves me unattached to them and their business.

Venture capitalists are more accessible than you might think

Perhaps, I gave this point away when I said that I was sending several emails and LinkedIn messages to founders (which sounds a little desperate), but VCs are way more accessible than you may think. Before working with New Stack Ventures, I had this perception that VCs were extremely hard to reach, exceptionally busy, and a little bit scary. And while one of the two latter characteristics still remains true, I can say with certainty that VCs are not hard to reach.

I can't speak for everyone in venture capital, but I do know that the VCs I work with will respond to founders who message them. Putting yourself out there, as a founder, can lead to advice (which bodes well for your business), a new connection in the industry (which bodes well for your network), and even an investment (which bodes well for the future of your startup). In the end, VCs are spending hundreds of hours, searching for a tractable startup that will change the game, and your startup could be the very gem they are looking for.

So, be bold, be responsive, and tell your story to any and every VC who will listen. I'm all ears.

Note: I was inspired to write this piece by by The Full Ratchet's tips for fundraising entrepreneurs, I thought I would share.

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Christa Westheimer is a Rice University student and the managing director at Rice Ventures. She is a current venture fellow at Chicago-based New Stack Ventures.

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Jim Havelka of InformAI, Christa Westheimer of New Stack Ventures, and Charles Turner of Kare Technologies. Courtesy photos

3 Houston innovators to know this week

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Editor's note: In the week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three innovators recently making headlines — from health tech founders to a venture capital rising star.

Jim Havelka, founder and CEO of InformAI

Jim Havelka, founder and CEO of InformAI, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the difference his technology can make on the health care industry. Photo courtesy of InformAI

InformAI is providing solutions for data optimizations in health care — something that'll allow for better diagnoses and treatment. Jim Havelka shares on the Houston Innovators Podcast last week that his company's success is due to being headquartered in Houston and tied to the Texas Medical Center. The company's team works out of JLABS @ TMC as well as TMC Innovation Institute.

"Those relationships have been very helpful in getting data to build these particular products," Havelka says. "Just the Texas Medical Center alone has roughly 10 million patient encounters every year. The ability to get access to data and, equally important, the medical experts has been a tremendous benefit to InformAI." Click here to read more and stream the podcast.

Christa Westheimer, venture fellow at New Stack Ventures

Need an in with a venture capital firm? This Houstonian has an idea. Photo courtesy

As a venture fellow, Christa Westheimer — who's a student at Rice University — works hard to find startups working on the next great thing. And she realizes there are so many Houston startups seeking funding, so she has some advice: get in touch.

"During my tenure as a venture fellow, I have been sifting through online resources — from Crunchbase and AngelList to LinkedIn — with the hopes of finding a really neat startup that would earn an investment from New Stack Ventures," she writes in a guest column for InnovationMap. Click here to read more.

Charles Turner, founder of Kare Technologies

Charles Turner founded Kare Technologies on the heels of a crisis — and the pandemic has accelerated the company's growth. Photo courtesy of Kare

Charles Turner saw an inefficiency in senior health care staffing — even before the industry was rocked by a pandemic. He founded Kare Technologies to use software to address this problem. In light of COVID-19, the need for better staffing solutions grew across industries and Kare expanded its features to reach hotel and restaurant workers.

"We'd always plan on doing this, and with the advent of COVID we accelerate our development on the hospitality side," Turner says. Click here to read more.

Need an in with a venture capital firm? Here's an idea. Photo via Pexels

Looking for VC funding? This Houstonian says to connect with venture fellows

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Every venture capitalist is searching for the next greatest startup that can change the world — as well as provide a sizable return on their investment. Everyone knows this. And because everyone knows this, most entrepreneurs are sending their pitch decks and executive summaries to venture associates and deal leads. But, I'd like to propose that every entrepreneur who's interested in raising capital begin to pitch their startups to venture fellows, college-aged students who work with investment firms.

I am a venture fellow at New Stack Ventures where my main objective is to source investment opportunities. During my tenure as a venture fellow, I have been sifting through online resources — from Crunchbase and AngelList to LinkedIn — with the hopes of finding a really neat startup that would earn an investment from New Stack Ventures.

A few weeks ago, Crunchbase had run dry of Houston startups that I hadn't reviewed. Because of this deal drought, I posted in the Houston Startups Facebook Group, asking if anyone had any startups that might fit our pre-filter criteria, and I was introduced to 15 startup founders in a matter of minutes. I posted again in the Austin and Dallas/Fort Worth Startups Facebook Groups with similar results.

These experiences showed me that there are several hidden startups that need funding. And there are several venture fellows that need to meet deal quotas and strongly desire to source a startup that earns an investment from their firm. So, perhaps, we could marry these two groups and help them both succeed.

Here are three tips for connecting with venture fellows.

1. Find your firm fit.

VC-RANK.com allows you to compile a list of best-fit venture capital firms for your startup. You can begin with your curated list. You likely won't find venture fellows on the firm's "Team" or "About Us" pages, so you might have to do some digging by looking at the firm's LinkedIn page and their employees.

If your curated list of VC firms doesn't happen to have venture fellows, you can always try reaching out to venture fellows from these firms: Open Scout, Ripple Ventures, .406 Ventures, Crescent Ventures, Alley Corp, and Fin Venture Capital.

2. Share your startup with several venture fellows.

Through a quick LinkedIn message, you can share your startup by including your company website, your contact email address, and your basic raise information (i.e. How much have you previously raised? How much are you raising right now?).

3. Await further communication.

I can't speak for all venture fellows, but most of us are just college kids who have been given the opportunity to learn a whole lot at VC firms. Contacting venture fellows can be a great (and low-risk) way to get your company's name immediately on the list of potential investment opportunities for your ideal firm. And, you would be helping any venture fellow out by making the effort.

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Christa Westheimer is a Rice University student and the managing director at Rice Ventures. She is a current venture fellow at Chicago-based New Stack Ventures.

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TMC, Memorial Hermann launch partnership to spur new patient care technologies

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Texas Medical Center and Memorial Hermann Health System have launched a new collaboration for developing patient care technology.

Through the partnership, Memorial Hermann employees and physicians will now be able to participate in the TMC Center for Device Innovation (CDI), which will assist them in translating product innovation ideas into working prototypes. The first group of entrepreneurs will pitch their innovations in early 2026, according to a release from TMC.

“Memorial Hermann is excited to launch this new partnership with the TMC CDI,” Ini Ekiko Thomas, vice president of information technology at Memorial Hermann, said in the news release. “As we continue to grow (a) culture of innovation, we look forward to supporting our employees, affiliated physicians and providers in new ways.”

Mentors from Memorial Hermann, TMC Innovation and industry experts with specialties in medicine, regulatory strategy, reimbursement planning and investor readiness will assist with the program. The innovators will also gain access to support systems like product innovation and translation strategy, get dedicated engineering and machinist resources and personal workbench space at the CDI.

“The prototyping facilities and opportunities at TMC are world-class and globally recognized, attracting innovators from around the world to advance their technologies,” Tom Luby, chief innovation officer at TMC Innovation Factor, said in the release.

Memorial Hermann says the partnership will support its innovation hub’s “pilot and scale approach” and hopes that it will extend the hub’s impact in “supporting researchers, clinicians and staff in developing patentable, commercially viable products.”

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Memorial Hermann and open the doors of our Center for Device Innovation to their employees and physicians—already among the best in medical care,” Luby added in the release. “We look forward to seeing what they accomplish next, utilizing our labs and gaining insights from top leaders across our campus.”

Google to invest $40 billion in AI data centers in Texas

Google is investing a huge chunk of money in Texas: According to a release, the company will invest $40 billion on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, with the development of new data centers in Armstrong and Haskell counties.

The company announced its intentions at a meeting on November 14 attended by federal, state, and local leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott who called it "a Texas-sized investment."

Google will open two new data center campuses in Haskell County and a data center campus in Armstrong County.

Additionally, the first building at the company’s Red Oak campus in Ellis County is now operational. Google is continuing to invest in its existing Midlothian campus and Dallas cloud region, which are part of the company’s global network of 42 cloud regions that deliver high-performance, low-latency services that businesses and organizations use to build and scale their own AI-powered solutions.

Energy demands

Google is committed to responsibly growing its infrastructure by bringing new energy resources onto the grid, paying for costs associated with its operations, and supporting community energy efficiency initiatives.

One of the new Haskell data centers will be co-located with — or built directly alongside — a new solar and battery energy storage plant, creating the first industrial park to be developed through Google’s partnership with Intersect and TPG Rise Climate announced last year.

Google has contracted to add more than 6,200 megawatts (MW) of net new energy generation and capacity to the Texas electricity grid through power purchase agreements (PPAs) with energy developers such as AES Corporation, Enel North America, Intersect, Clearway, ENGIE, SB Energy, Ørsted, and X-Elio.

Water demands

Google’s three new facilities in Armstrong and Haskell counties will use air-cooling technology, limiting water use to site operations like kitchens. The company is also contributing $2.6 million to help Texas Water Trade create and enhance up to 1,000 acres of wetlands along the Trinity-San Jacinto Estuary. Google is also sponsoring a regenerative agriculture program with Indigo Ag in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and an irrigation efficiency project with N-Drip in the Texas High Plains.

In addition to the data centers, Google is committing $7 million in grants to support AI-related initiatives in healthcare, energy, and education across the state. This includes helping CareMessage enhance rural healthcare access; enabling the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University to address energy challenges that will arise with AI, and expanding AI training for Texas educators and students through support to Houston City College.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

TMCi names 11 global startups to latest HealthTech Accelerator cohort

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Texas Medical Center Innovation has named 11 medtech startups from around the world to its latest HealthTech Accelerator cohort.

Members of the accelerator's 19th cohort will participate in the six-month program, which kicked off this month. They range from startups developing on-the-go pelvic floor monitoring to 3D-printed craniofacial and orthopedic implants. Each previously participated in TMCi's bootcamp before being selected to join the accelerator. Through the HealthTech Accelerator, founders will work closely with TMC specialists, researchers, top-tier hospital experts and seasoned advisors to help grow their companies and hone their clinical trials, intellectual property, fundraising and more.

“This cohort of startups is tackling some of today’s most pressing clinical challenges, from surgery and respiratory care to diagnostics and women’s health," Tom Luby, chief innovation officer at Texas Medical Center, said in a news release. "At TMC, we bring together the minds behind innovation—entrepreneurs, technology leaders, and strategic partners—to help emerging companies validate, scale, and deliver solutions that make a real difference for patients here and around the world. We look forward to seeing their progress and global impact through the HealthTech Accelerator and the support of our broader ecosystem.”

The 2025 HealthTech Accelerator cohort includes:

  • Houston-based Respiree, which has created an all-in-one cardiopulmonary platform with wearable sensors for respiratory monitoring that uses AI to track breathing patterns and detect early signs of distress
  • College Station-based SageSpectra, which designs an innovative patch system for real-time, remote monitoring of temperature and StO2 for assessing vascular occlusion, infection, and other surgical flap complications
  • Austin-based Dynamic Light, which has developed a non-invasive imaging technology that enables surgeons to visualize blood flow in real-time without the need for traditional dyes
  • Bangkok, Thailand-based OsseoLabs, which develops AI-assisted, 3D-printed patient-specific implants for craniofacial and orthopedic surgeries
  • Sydney, Australia-based Roam Technologies, which has developed a portable oxygen therapy system (JUNO) that provides real-time oxygen delivery optimization for patients with chronic conditions
  • OptiLung, which develops 3D-printed extracorporeal blood oxygenation devices designed to optimize blood flow and reduce complications
  • Bengaluru, India-based Dozee, which has created a smart remote patient monitor platform that uses under-the-mattress bed sensors to capture vital signs through continuous monitoring
  • Montclair, New Jersey-based Endomedix, which has developed a biosurgical fast-acting absorbable hemostat designed to eliminate the risk of paralysis and reoperation due to device swelling
  • Williston, Vermont-based Xander Medical, which has designed a biomechanical innovation that addresses the complications and cost burdens associated with the current methods of removing stripped and broken surgical screws
  • Salt Lake City, Utah-based Freyya, which has developed an on-the-go pelvic floor monitoring and feedback device for people with pelvic floor dysfunction
  • The Netherlands-based Scinvivo, which has developed optical imaging catheters for bladder cancer diagnostics
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