Texas coworking company plans Houston location in East Downtown

New to HOU

Along with Houston-based real estate developer Ancorian, Common Desk is headed for Houston. Courtesy of Common Desk

Houston will soon be home to another large coworking space. Common Desk, a Texas company, has announced plans for a Houston location in East Downtown — selected for its culture and opportunity.

The Dallas-born concept specializes in coworking in hospitality and has joined forces with Houston-based Ancorian, a real estate development company, for the project. Expected to open in summer 2020, Common Desk will occupy 25,000 square feet of a 42,000-square-foot warehouse redevelopment known as "The Block." The facility will also have an outpost of Dallas-based Bishop Cider.

"EaDo reminds us of Deep Ellum, which was the first location we ever opened in Dallas in 2012," says Nick Clark, founder and CEO of Common Desk, in a news release. "It has the cultural authenticity and significance that we as a brand love to build a foundation from, offering the diverse variety of concepts and convenience you want from a submarket, without the congestion and parking difficulties you might find in a central business district. We're excited to bring some of our soulful vibes and southern hospitality to Eado."

Houston's East Downtown Common Desk will occupy 25,000 square feet of a 42,000-square-foot warehouse redevelopment known as "The Block." Courtesy of Common Desk

Common Desk, which got its start in 2012, now has eight locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and three in in Austin, and its Houston members will eventually have access to these other locations. A common theme in the companies concepts is bridging the gap between coworking and dining and hospitality concepts. Fiction Coffee, Common Desk's coffee bar concept, is expected to open alongside the coworking space.

"Houston isn't just another market for us; it's a city we love, and we expect our approach to service and design to resonate well with Houstonians," says Dawson Williams, head of real estate at Common Desk, in the release. "We plan to go deep in Houston just as we have in Dallas, and our goal is to become the go-to coworking brand in the market."

Ancorian has previously worked on the East Village in the East Downtown area, which include concepts like Indianola, Truck Yard, F45 Fitness, Koffeteria, Rodeo Goat, and True Anomaly Brewing.

"We are heavily invested in East Downtown Houston, and we felt that our latest development 'The Block' was a perfect location for a coworking concept," says Michael Sperandio, founding partner of Ancorian. "We work very hard to choose tenants that fit each specific development we create. After meeting Nick Clark and Dawson Williams of Common Desk, we felt like they were the best operators in the coworking space industry."

Houston's Common Desk location will have a warehouse feel and is expected to feature various amenities and member perks, including:

Fitness and wellness center concept, complete with towels and shower facilities
Outdoor patio and terrarium
Multi-level seating
Wet bar and shared kitchen
Skylights that will bring in natural lighting
Event space
Murals and local art

"This group puts together all the necessary elements to draw people into their workspaces," Sperandio continues. "They focus on great design, thoughtful and functional space layout, and they have created an energetic and comfortable environment that attracts new members and keeps existing members loyal to the Common Desk brand. We feel that Common Desk's vision for an experiential workspace will make this one of the best locations to work in the entire city."

Houston's Common Desk members will have access to other Texas locations. Courtesy of Common Desk

Spaces plans to open a new location in Houston this month, Chevron Technology Ventures invests in autonomous vehicle tech, and more Houston innovation news. Courtesy of Spaces

New coworking space to open, Houston to host Accenture's health tech awards, and more innovation news

Short stories

A lot is happening in the Houston innovation ecosystem — so much that you may have missed a few key news items. Let's hit the highlights, shall we?

Applications are open for major health tech awards program that is coming to town, a Houston corporate venture fund doles out cash to self-driving cars, new coworking space to deliver, a diversity-focused partnership launches, and more Houston innovation news.

Chevron Technology Ventures invests in self-driving cars

Voyage is growing its fleet of self-driving vehicles with the help of a Houston corporate VC fund. Photo via voyage.auto

Silicon Valley's Voyage, a self-driving car technology company, closed its series B round at $31 million. Houston-based Chevron Technology Ventures contributed to the round.

The round's funds will go toward expanding the company's fleet of G2 autonomous vehicles in California and Florida, as well as introduce Voyage's G3 self-driving car, Oliver Cameron, co-founder and CEO at Voyage, writes in a release.

"Chevron has been supporting the public's transportation needs for over 100 years. As our customers' mobility needs and preferences change, we want to continue to be part of their journeys. Our investment in Voyage affirms this commitment," says Barbara Burger, CTV president, in a release. "We established the Future Energy Fund in 2018 with an initial commitment of $100 million to invest in breakthrough technologies that enable the ongoing energy transition. The fund looks for technologies that lower emissions and support low carbon value chains. Our investment in Voyage fits well within the objectives of the Future Energy Fund while also informing our perspective on the changing energy landscape."

Accenture to close out health tech challenge in Houston

The national challenge will conclude in Houston. Courtesy of Accenture

Applications are open for the fourth annual Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge and close on September 22. Finalists will present to judges from global health companies at one of two regional events — in Boston on Nov. 7 or in San Francisco on Dec. 5. The final judging event will take place in Houston on February 6, 2020.

"We look forward to this year's submissions as we continue to identify bold ideas from startups that deliver new solutions for health organizations to improve the lives of consumers, clinicians and employees," says Brian Kalis, managing director of digital health and innovation at Accenture, in a release. "Since its inception, the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge has brought healthcare organizations and startups together to tackle the world's biggest health issues where we have received more than 2,200 applications, invited more than 90 startups to compete and who have benefitted from the guidance of nearly 1,000 executive judges from the healthcare industry."

The submission form, including additional details about the challenge's criteria, eligibility, and requirements, is available at: Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge-Health.

GotSpot wins pitch competition

Reda Hicks claimed the win at a military spouse pitch event. Trish Alegre-Smith/Military.com

Reda Hicks, who founded Houston-based GotSpot Inc., won a $15,000 check from the StreetShares Foundation and Samuel Adams' Brewing the American Dream at the Great American Military Entrepreneur at the Military Influencer Conference in Washington, D.C.

GotSpot is a website that allows for people with commercial space — a commercial kitchen, conference room, spare desks, etc. — to list it. Then, space seekers — entrepreneurs, nonprofits, freelancers, etc. — can rent it.

"This award is a game-changer for me," Hicks says to Military.com. "This will allow me to hire more incredible military spouses and help GotSpot on its path to go global."

Rice University launches new sports business course

Rice University has a new sports business program. Photo courtesy of Rice University

Rice University, along with the Houston Texans, is introducing a new program for the university's sport management students. Pro Sports: Management is a course designed to teach the business side of the sports world.

"We are thrilled to partner with Rice University on a curriculum that will provide their best and brightest students with insight into the real-world opportunities and challenges facing today's sports teams," says Houston Texans President Jamey Rootes in a release from Rice. "This program is rather unique because our leading executives will work alongside Rice professors to teach current best practices in franchise management across every discipline. We believe that this type of practical industry exposure is the best way to prepare the next generation of leaders in the field of sports management and a valuable contribution to the level of professionalism within our industry."

The classes will be held weekly in the executive offices of the Texans. The course will cover ticketing, public relations, event management, human resources and more.

Spaces plans to open second coworking location in Houston

Spaces, an Amsterdam-based coworking space company that entered the Houston market with a lease in Kirby Grove announced in 2017, plans to open its newest location this month. Courtesy of Spaces

The new Spaces CityCentre One location is planned to open on Monday, September 30. It's the Amsterdam-based company's second coworking space in Houston, with a third already in the works. The first location was in Kirby Grove in 2017, and Spaces Galleria at Post Oak will be opening in the second quarter of 2020.

The CityCentre One location will have over 60,000 square-feet of workspace with perks, including a business club, dedicated desk space, private offices, and seven fully-equipped meeting rooms. Plus, the building is just steps away from CityCentre, a mixed-use development with restaurants, entertainment, housing, and more. Membership pricing starts at $111 a month at the new location.

Cemvita Factory receives more backing from oil and gas industry

Cemvita Factory

Houston-based Cemvita Factory, a biotech company that can mimick photosynthesis and convert CO2 into glucose and other substances, has received equity investment from BHP. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

The investment will help Cemvita Factory continue to develop its biomimicry technology for oil and gas applications to reduce the volume of greenhouse gas emissions.

"This strategic investment fits well with BHP's vision of the future: reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions, reducing environmental impact and the development of low-emissions technology, including increased application of carbon capture, utilization and storage technology," says BHP's chief geoscientist, Laura Tyler, in a release.

Last month, Occidental Petroleum's low carbon subsidiary, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures LLC, announced it invested an undisclosed amount of funds into Cemvita Factory.

Two organizations join forces to promote diversity in the Houston Startup Scene

Impact Hub Houston and The Cannon have teamed up to grow programming and events surrounding diversity. Photo courtesy of The Cannon

In an effort to promote diversity and inclusion within the Houston innovation ecosystem, The Cannon and Impact Hub Houston have teamed up. The collaboration will drive programming and events geared at growing the conversation and resources for startups and entrepreneurs.

"One of Houston's best differentiating qualities is that we are truly a melting pot," says Lawson Gow, founder and CEO of The Cannon, in a news release. "We want our community to reflect the amazing diversity across our city, so we have to move beyond simply discussing diversity and work to create an environment where innovation can thrive and real change can happen. We are confident Impact Hub will be the perfect partner to bring those aspects to our community."

Gow, who is the son of InnovationMap's parent company's CEO, opened the doors to its new 120,000-square-foot facility in July. Impact Hub Houston will have a presence in the space.

"Over the past few years, Lawson and I have brainstormed how we could work together to connect and grow our region's innovation ecosystem and demonstrate how organizations can evolve from competition to true collaboration," says Grace Rodriguez, CEO and Executive Director of Impact Hub Houston, in the release. "I'm so excited that those talks have developed into this partnership: Through The Cannon and Impact Hub Houston, we'll be able to effectively 'meet people where they are' geographically, socially, and culturally, helping diverse entrepreneurs and startups at the myriad intersections of place, purpose, demographics, psychographics, and business growth stages."

Houston innovator nominated for prestigious Silicon Valley award

Alley Lyles is up for an award for her work in digital transformation.

Alley Lyles, digital transformation manager at Direct Energy and Houston startup mentor, was nominated for a Women in IT - Silicon Valley award as Transformation Leader of the Year. The awards event is on October 9.

She is up against Emily Dunn at Anaplan, Windy Garrett at Atos, Manju Abraham at Delphix, Aashima Gupta at Google, Patricia Grant at ServiceNow, and Nataliya Anon at Svitla Systems.

"I am proud to represent Houston in Silicon Valley. The Houston hustle is real. I see it amongst my colleagues who got me here. The hustle isn't always glamorous, so I appreciate the moment when a kid from the East End can shine."

From tips on finding the best coworking spot for your company to the people in Houston leading innovation, here are this week's top stories. Leanne Hope/PDR

5 most popular innovation stories in Houston this week

What's trending

Editor's note: Ask anyone — people are the driving force within innovation. They are also what drives innovation stories, from founding companies, discovering new technologies, and providing advice to others. Here are this week's trending news stories that are focused on the people aspect in innovation.

3 Houston innovators to know this week

From fitness tech and interior design to super thin wearable technology, this week's innovators to know can't be stopped. Courtesy photos

Another week, another set of Houston innovators to keep your eye on. This week's cast of characters are from across industries — from fitness innovation to interior design for tech companies. Meet the people behind Houston innovation. Read more.

Houston educator plans to lead her university into the future with her new role

Former University of St. Thomas business school dean, Beena George, is taking on a new role at the university: Chief innovation officer. Courtesy of UST

High school graduation numbers are decreasing, and, by 2025, far fewer college freshmen will be starting school. Some project as high as a 15 percent drop, says Beena George, inaugural chief innovation officer of Houston's St. Thomas University.

UST is looking forward to and anticipating changes and challenges within higher education like this, and one of the steps the university has been to create George's position.

"My role is to ferment that culture of innovation," George says. "Not just sit here and think of ideas." Read more.

4 Houston health startups to look out for

It might come as no surprise that Houston, home to the largest medical center in the world, has many impressive health startups. Photo by Dwight C. Andrews/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Houston's growing life sciences industry has been a topic of discussion of late — and it's pretty obvious why.

In March, Houston was named the No. 2 top city for an emerging life sciences market, according to CBRE data. Houston was also named the No. 2 city for STEM jobs, per a report from American Enterprise Institute's Housing Center, which cited the city's growing life science industry as a factor. Even Amazon, which recently opened a Tech Hub in Houston, credited the city's life sciences as a reason for Houston's selection.

In fact, according to a report from the Greater Houston Partnership, Houston has over a fifth of the nation's clinical trials last year. With health care innovation abound in town, here are four startups to keep an eye on. Read more.

Houston clocks in as No. 2 most overworked city in the nation

Only D.C. is more overworked than Houston. Photo by Shobeir Ansari, Getty Images

A new study on work-life balance proves Houstonians work harder than almost anyone else in the country.

Mobile technology company Kisi set out to determine which major U.S. cities offer the best work-life balance, and which ones could use an adjustment, by examining work intensity, society and institutions, and livability. Overall, the Bayou City ranks fourth-worst for work-life balance (No. 37 out of 40), but even more sobering is how overworked our residents are.

According to the study, Houston is the second-most overworked city in the nation, behind only Washington, D.C. Fifteen percent of Houston workers work at least 48 hours a week, the highest figure in the study, and, on average, the Houston workforce stays on the clock 43.7 hours a week. While local workers arrive at work later than most Americans (9:56 am), they are on the road much earlier, commuting about 30 minutes just one way, the study says. Read more.

5 things to keep in mind when finding coworking space in Houston

Here's what all you should consider before settling into a coworking spot. Leanne Hope/PDR

If you're in the market for office space you've undoubtedly heard a lot about one of the fastest growing trends in commercial real estate – coworking. What started as a simple idea to help freelancers and startups find workspace is now beginning to disrupt the traditional office market. More than 1,000 spaces opened in the US in 2018 alone, according to Coworking Resources.

But, as this trend continues to take off, tenants now face a wide range of potential options. So many, in fact, it can seem overwhelming weeding through them. Where does one even start? How do you find the right space? Here are five things you should keep in mind when conducting your search. Read more.

Here's what all you should consider before settling into a coworking spot. Leanne Hope/Cresa

5 things to keep in mind when finding coworking space in Houston

Guest column

Location

We've all heard the old adage that the three most important things in real estate are location, location, location. Although it's become a well-worn cliché, it's overused because it's usually spot on. That doesn't mean, however, that you should limit yourself to the space just down the street. There are other factors you need to consider.

If you're looking to build a team, understanding where the labor force is can be vital for sustaining growth through recruiting. Some companies place value being in proximity to their client base to make visiting and hosting prospects easier. Others may want better access to area amenities such as gyms, restaurants and shopping that could help create a better work/life balance.

Fit

Coworking isn't a one-size-fits-all-solution. Each space has its own energy and community. Some are even specialized to tailor to unique niches. There are spaces for women only and the health conscious. There are others specifically designed for different industries, including tech firms, legal practices and even cannabis growers. Be sure to ask questions when touring to get a better sense of what each space is like.

Stylistically, coworking is also growing up. Bold colors and patterns are fun, but they may not be right for everyone. Your surroundings say a lot about your company's culture, and if you're hosting clients regularly you may opt for a more sophisticated space with higher end finishes. Understanding your business goals and needs should help you prioritize what's important.

Perks

Many perks, including access to coffee bars, high-speed WIFI, and conference rooms, have seemingly become commoditized by coworking operators. To help differentiate themselves, these operators are beginning to take a hospitality like approach.

Tenants today can find everything from on-site childcare and locker rooms to rentable private event space and organized networking events. Some providers also offer discounts to use preferred vendors for business services like payroll and technical support. Maximizing these added perks can really make or break the decision on a specific space.

Flexibility

One of the major advantages of coworking space compared to a traditional office lease is increased flexibility. Committing to space for a shorter period of time is great, but coworking space creates other ways to help tenants remain flexible.

If you're forecasting significant future growth, you may want to select a space with enough room to accommodate that need to avoid any interruption in business operations caused by relocation. Worried distractions could be overwhelming or that privacy could become an issue? There are plenty of options that offer a wide range of workspace solutions, from private desks to secured suites for teams.

Finding a coworking operator with multiple locations could provide a workspace solution for team members who are scattered across the country. This is also a great option if you find yourself traveling between the same locations repeatedly.

Price

Comparing pricing between locations isn't always apples to apples. Workspace providers may or may not include many things in their advertised pricing. Pay attention to the fine print as some coworking companies charge for things like parking, phone service, conference room time, printing/copying, admin services and coffee. Factor in any of these charges when comparing your options as sometimes a space may appear less expensive than it really is.

With more coworking options than ever before, find one that works for you. Don't settle. No two spaces are the same, but keep in mind that your surroundings say a lot about who you are. Pick one that conveys the message you want to send to employees and clients.

Maximizing perks could help offset some cost, but make sure you understand what you're being charged. If you do a little homework then you should be able to focus on what really matters most – your business.

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Sue Rogers is principal of Transaction Management Cresa in Houston.

The Cannon's new building is 88 percent leased and ready for move in. Courtesy of The Cannon

Photos: The Cannon unveils its 120,000-square-foot startup hub in West Houston

Homecoming

The Cannon is finally getting to move its 150 startups and partners into its 120,000-square-foot campus in West Houston.

The original plan was to open in March, but construction, which began in April 2018, faced a series of setbacks due to weather. Current grand opening celebration plans are expected to be in September.

The flagship building is just the first step developing the campus, which is dubbed the Founders District.

"Our team has worked tirelessly to build this community over the past eighteen months, and we are incredibly proud to see our vision coming to life with the completion of this building," says The Cannon's CEO Lawson Gow in a news release. "The work isn't over though, and The Cannon will continue to grow our network of resources and locations to cater to the needs of Houston's growing entrepreneurial community." (Gow is the son of David Gow, owner of InnovationMap's parent company Gow Media.)

The building is currently 88 percent leased. Cannon Ventures, the company's investor group, will operate out of the new building, as will Capital Factory's Houston outpost. Austin-based Capital Factory, a statewide startup accelerator announced it would have its Houston operations at The Cannon in May. Since then, the company hired two Houston-based employees to run the programming.

According to the release, The Cannon will continue to grow its community relations for a "full suite" of partners. Houston-based investment fund Work America Capital, which led The Cannon's initial fundraising round, will also be joining The Cannon's community in the new building.

"It has been incredible to watch The Cannon's exceptional growth from inception two years ago to the vibrant community they've built today," says Mark Toon, managing partner of Work America Capital, in the release. "We can't wait to see the progress first-hand as The Cannon continues to establish themselves as a leader in building entrepreneurial communities."

The Cannon previously operated out of a 20,000-square-foot adjacent building called "The Waiting Room," which will be torn down and the space will be used as a part of the bigger Founders District plan.

The Cannon's new space will feature:

A 16-TV video wall
Outdoor courtyard
Movie theater
Snacks, coffee, and beer
Office needs, such as printers, scanners, and mail services
Showers
24/7 accessibility
Professional and social events are organized on an ongoing basis for the community
Private event hosting for both members and non-members

Spacious setting

Courtesy of The Cannon

The Cannon is currently 88 percent leased.

Finding a new, larger office space is part of the startup growth process. Getty Images

When is it time to move? How Houston's small companies can find their next office space

Move it or lose it

There are a number of ways to measure the stage of growth a company is enjoying: funding, headcount, acquisitions, exit strategy, and more. But one telling indicator that often goes overlooked is the office space they call home.

In the early days of a startup, working out of someone's garage or at a nearby coffee shop, you dream of moving into a coworking space. Such a transition can mean a financial squeeze for some, especially when your prior solution was free. But paying for a space can mark a milestone — it signifies that you've made it to the next chapter. Houston has a number of great options for the many local early-stage startups undertaking this type of move.

Over time, though, as your company continues to grow, this solution may begin to cause strain. There's a big difference between a team of six sharing a room in a WeWork, and a team that's reached double-digits having to manage within a space that it has outgrown. Even external amenities like meeting rooms can become insufficient — as your team evolves, more meetings will be necessary, and the standards and needs at play will shift.

Finding your own private office space in Houston is not a challenge; it requires, however, acknowledging that the time has come to take this next step. Signals that it's time to move out and get your own space typically surface in two ways:

What used to feel like an intimate setting has turned into an untenable situation. People are spending too much time talking about the coworking space and its limits.
And, on the flip side, branding your company identity becomes a topic on your radar. If you find a great software engineer interested in joining your team, they might have some reservations about coming aboard with you if they discover you're sitting in a coworking space rather than your own space.

At SquareFoot, the commercial real estate company I founded in Houston in 2011, I have given special attention to companies looking for their first office space. It can be daunting at first, but our brokers know better than anyone how to be trusted advisors for small business owners searching for their first locations.

The most important question at this stage, we've found, is not which neighborhood they'd like to be in, what their budget is, or what amenities they want. Rather, it's a common growth question: Where do you see yourself in three to five years? By asking this question of CEOs in initial conversations, we can get a better idea of what type of growth they project, and how we can most efficiently find them the right space to accommodate their current needs and future goals.

We see office space as more than segments of larger office buildings. These spaces mean a great deal to the companies that inhabit them. It's our responsibility to fit the right team into the right space, and to advocate and negotiate on their behalf.

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SquareFoot Founder and CEO Jonathan Wasserstrum, who hails from Houston, has worked for over a decade in commercial real estate. Outside of work, Jonathan is interested in the three Bs — bourbon, buffalo wings, and brass bands.

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These 3 Houston research projects are aiming to fight or prevent cancer

Research roundup

Cancer remains to be one of the medical research community's huge focuses and challenges, and scientists in Houston are continuing to innovate new treatments and technologies to make an impact on cancer and its ripple effect.

Three research projects coming out of Houston institutions are providing solutions in the fight against cancer — from ways to monitor treatment to eliminating cancer-causing chemicals in the first place.

Baylor College of Medicine's breakthrough in breast cancer

Photo via bcm.edu

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have unveiled a mechanism explains how "endocrine-resistant breast cancer acquires metastatic behavior," according to a news release from BCM. This research can be game changing for introducing new therapeutic strategies.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and shows that hyperactive FOXA1 signaling — previously reported in endocrine-resistant metastatic breast cancer — can trigger genome-wide reprogramming that enhances resistance to treatment.

"Working with breast cancer cell lines in the laboratory, we discovered that FOXA1 reprograms endocrine therapy-resistant breast cancer cells by turning on certain genes that were turned off before and turning off other genes," says Dr. Xiaoyong Fu, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology and part of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor, in the release.

"The new gene expression program mimics an early embryonic developmental program that endow cancer cells with new capabilities, such as being able to migrate to other tissues and invade them aggressively, hallmarks of metastatic behavior."

Patients whose cancer is considered metastatic — even ones that initially responded to treatment — tend to relapse and die due to the cancer's resistance to treatment. This research will allow for new conversations around therapeutic treatment that could work to eliminate metastatic cancer.

University of Houston's evolved brain cancer chip

Photo via uh.edu

A biomedical research team at the University of Houston has made improvements on its microfluidic brain cancer chip. The Akay Lab's new chip "allows multiple-simultaneous drug administration, and a massive parallel testing of drug response for patients with glioblastoma," according to a UH news release. GBM is the most common malignant brain tumor and makes up half of all cases. Patients with GBM have a ﬁve-year survival rate of only 5.6 percent.

"The new chip generates tumor spheroids, or clusters, and provides large-scale assessments on the response of these GBM tumor cells to various concentrations and combinations of drugs. This platform could optimize the use of rare tumor samples derived from GBM patients to provide valuable insight on the tumor growth and responses to drug therapies," says Metin Akay, John S. Dunn Endowed Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering and department chair, in the release.

Akay's team published a paper in the inaugural issue of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society's Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology. The report explains how the technology is able to quickly assess how well a cancer drug is improving its patients' health.

"When we can tell the doctor that the patient needs a combination of drugs and the exact proportion of each, this is precision medicine," Akay explains in the release.

Rice University's pollution transformation technology

Photo via rice.edu

Rice University engineers have developed a way to get rid of cancer-causing pollutants in water and transform them into valuable chemicals. A team lead by Michael Wong and Thomas Senftle has created this new catalyst that turns nitrate into ammonia. The study was published in the journal ACS Catalysis.

"Agricultural fertilizer runoff is contaminating ground and surface water, which causes ecological effects such as algae blooms as well as significant adverse effects for humans, including cancer, hypertension and developmental issues in babies," says Wong, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Rice's Brown School of Engineering, in a news release. "I've been very curious about nitrogen chemistry, especially if I can design materials that clean water of nitrogen compounds like nitrites and nitrates."

The ability to transform these chemicals into ammonia is crucial because ammonia-based fertilizers are used for global food supplies and the traditional method of creating ammonia is energy intensive. Not only does this process eliminate that energy usage, but it's ridding the contaminated water of toxic chemicals.

"I'm excited about removing nitrite, forming ammonia and hydrazine, as well as the chemistry that we figured out about how all this happens," Wong says in the release. "The most important takeaway is that we learned how to clean water in a simpler way and created chemicals that are more valuable than the waste stream."

Deloitte lays out the benefits of digital innovation

Some workers fear technology, wondering "will a robot eventually replace my job?" Yet, Deloitte Insights and MIT Sloan Management Review found in a recent study that the more a company uses digital technology, the more likely it is to be innovative, which can benefit individuals, teams, organizations, and groups of organizations.

Deloitte and MIT collaborated for the fifth time to conduct a global study about digital innovation. They surveyed more than 4,800 businesspeople and interviewed 14 subject matter experts. The results were published in a June 2019 report titled "Accelerating Digital Innovation Inside and Out."

Deloitte and MIT shared two main findings from the survey:

Digitally maturing companies innovate at higher rates — both internally and externally — than companies with early or developing digital maturity.
Companies should know their ethics so that they can innovate wisely.

Internal innovation
Most digitally maturing companies innovate internally in two ways. First, they typically allow individuals to innovate within their jobs. The more digitally mature a company is, the more likely an employee was to say that more than 10 percent of their work involves the opportunity to experiment and innovate. The opposite was also true. Employees of less digitally mature companies were more likely to say that less than 10 percent of their work involves the opportunity to experiment and innovate.

In addition to encouraging individuals to innovate, most digitally maturing companies urge groups to innovate by establishing cross-functional teams. These teams are generally comprised of individuals from across multiple departments and roles and often exist to accomplish a specific task. Deloitte and MIT found that 83 percent of digitally maturing companies surveyed use cross-functional teams. This is far higher than respondents of either developing or early-stage companies' cross-functional team use — 71 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

External innovation
In addition to having employees innovate internally (both individually and in groups), digitally maturing companies often innovate externally by collaborating with others (e.g., their customers, their competitors, government institutions, and more) in their ecosystem. Ecosystems, which are formal or informal networks of organizations working toward a common goal, typically feed innovation in two ways. First, they integrate platform companies, meaning that companies that provide services to other companies — such as Amazon and PayPal — are both a part of the ecosystem and also strengthen it by being part of it.

Second, digitally maturing companies allow all organizations within the network to get better feedback. A company is not just getting feedback from their own customers, but from all customers within the ecosystem.

Ethics and innovation
In order to get the most benefit from their internal and external collaborations, companies should use "loose coupling," a term first coined by organizational theorist Karl Wieck. This means that individuals are linked to teams, teams to the organization, and the organization to fellow members of its ecosystem — but not too tightly. This model allows people the freedom to have both some autonomy and also some oversight as they innovate. If people are micromanaged, they are not able to innovate as well.

Because innovation requires loosening the reins somewhat, companies should have strong ethics systems in place. Otherwise, innovation can get out of hand, and a company risks having employees develop goods or services which aren't in line with organizational values.

Survey conclusion
Over half (56 percent) of survey respondents said they think their organization will exist and be in a much stronger position in 10-20 years due to the organization's use of digital capabilities. A similar percentage (44 percent) of survey respondents said that in 10-20 years, they think that their organization will have been bought out or gone out of business. Companies can act based on market and competitive forces but cannot control them. Companies can, however, decide how much of a priority digital innovation will be.

If they decide it is a priority, how can companies become more innovative? Companies should consider several tips:

Work with other organizations within your ecosystem.
Prioritize cross-functional teams.
Use loose coupling which allows room for trial and error.
Establish and continually update your ethics guidelines.

Innovation in Houston
The Houston innovation scene is thriving, and local organizations know that they are stronger together than apart. Houston Exponential is a "nonprofit organization created to accelerate the growth of Houston's innovation ecosystem" which hopes to "turn Houston into a hub for high-growth high-potential companies by creating pathways for innovation to flow at scale." Houston Exponential has stakeholders from companies, non-profits, government entities, and academic institutions.

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Growing Houston thrift startup aims to impact the unsustainability of the fashion industry

do goodfair

A Houston-based online retailer for second-hand clothing is quickly growing, aiming to make "No New Things" the mantra of the fashion world.

As the popularity of "Fast Fashion," or cheap clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers, begins to decline, brands are refocusing on upcycled, recycled, and sustainable clothing — and Goodfair has bet its business plan on this movement.

"I realized that there was too much stuff out there," says Topper Luciani, founder and CEO of Goodfair, "and there is an environmental crisis being caused by the clothing industry. They're manufacturing so many items, they're using slave labor, they're pumping dyes and other chemicals into rivers. It's absolutely wild."

The fashion industry contributes 10 percent of the world's carbon emissions, is the second-largest user of the earth's water supply, and pollutes the oceans with microplastics according to a report from Business Insider in October 2019. Additionally, the outlet reports that 85 percent of all textiles go to the dump every year.

"Still, we have an enormous demand for these clothes that are being thrown away and that demand is just being filled by more cheap new clothes at malls and things like that, instead of reintroducing second-hand clothes," says Luciani. "I've been working really hard on creating a way to make a frictionless process for reintroducing those clothes."

Luciani, tells InnovationMap that he predicts the size of the recycled clothing industry will grow to $51 billion by 2023. Following in the footsteps of second-hand online retail giants such as thredUP and Poshmark, Luciani takes things to the next level by focusing on adding ease to the online shopping experience, telling InnovationMap that it should be as easy as clicking one button.

The idea of Goodfair was surprisingly not inspired by the apparel industry at all. Luciani tells InnovationMap that he was influenced by the founder of Uber, Garret Camp, and Camp's idea for a one-click car service.

"Their whole concept was to just hit a button and a taxi comes, says Luciani. "I wanted to look at a thrift store through that lens."

Goodfair, which launched in 2018, adds to the trend of second-hand clothing with the introduction of "mystery shopping," shipping all of their clothing in variety packs chosen according to a customer's size and taste. This eliminates the cost of photographing, measuring, lowering the price for both the customer and the company.

"I had this idea that not only would mystery shopping eliminate the paradox of choice, but everyone loves a surprise," he tells InnovationMap.

Luciani tells InnovationMap that he sees a trend among Gen Z, individuals born between 1995–2009, for buying second-hand, noting that about 90 percent of Goodfair customers are between the ages of 18 and 25. thredUP also reports that Gen Z and Millennials are driving the growth of used clothing retailers, noting that "18–37 year-olds are adopting second-hand clothing 2.5 times faster than other age groups" in the company's 2019 Resale Report.

"This was the generation that was forged in the Great Recession and they saw the ills of decadence," says Luciani. "They saw the ills of not having financial literacy. Ultimately, these woke kids are aware that branding is kind of a heist."

Goodfair taps into this market, leaning into social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat to promote the company. The company recently kicked off an Instagram series called "In the racks, in the rags" where followers can win a random item from their warehouse, located in Houston's East End.

Goodfair joins the growing roster of local companies focused on sustainable fashion. For example, Magpies & Peacocks, the nation's only nonprofit design house, opened a new store in the East End last year. Houston is home to a number of brick-and-mortar stores which line Westheimer Boulevard in the heart of the city, including Buffalo Exchange, Leopard Lounge, Pavement, and LO-FI.

Luciani, who moved to Houston from Brooklyn, New York, leads Goodfair with Emily Keeton, COO. Keeton joined the company in October 2019, leaving her previous leadership role at WeWork. The company announced in January 2020 that they will be adding a vice president of marketing to the team.

In the coming years, Luciani tells InnovationMap that he hopes to launch an app for the brand, and also expand into offering other goods.

"I have a vision of essentially creating a used Amazon," says Luciani, "Everything that gets donated to thrift stores can get donated in this mystery mechanic."

Luciani has a long history in the textile industry. In 2004 while in college, he launched a men's polo shirt brand, Sir Drake.

"When I reflected on the experience and as I educated myself about the clothing industry, this was right when fast fashion was taking off, I realized that if I launched another fashion brand that I would just be contributing to industrial pollution problem," he says.

He tells InnovationMap that he then started selling used neckties on eBay, launching his mission with sustainable fashion.

"We expect that a year from now we will be generating five times the sales we did in 2019 and become a multi-million dollar business," Luciani says.

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