Marcelo Cordini, co-founder of December Labs, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the unique service his company provides an evolving tech workforce. Photo courtesy of December Labs
For tech startups, a great business idea is step one, design and development is that next, make-or-break step. A Houston company exists to help staff development teams with talented specialists across various fields.
December Labs, which has offices in Uruguay and Houston, has seen the industry evolve since its founding in 2014. Nowadays, it's a competition for startups and corporations alike to get the best tech teams.
"Developers are kind of rockstars nowadays — it's very hard to attract them and keep them happy. We can help with that," says Marcelo Cordini, co-founder of December Labs, on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast.
Cordini and his co-founders — Martin Palatnik, Diego San Esteban, and Washington Miranda — designed their business's service to provide development teams to companies of all sizes and industries, from startups to big companies.
"We are always learning new technologies — that's our focus," Cordini says. "If you have a big company focused on real estate, your focus is on real estate — not technology. So, if you partner with a company like us, it will give you that value to have someone who knows how to hire developers and how to train them."
Similar to most companies, the pandemic posed its challenges to December Labs, but one thing that the company has going for it is the evolution of the workforce. Now, it's way less important to have your team in house, as Cordini explains.
"It's the same to have your developers in South America as having them in the U.S., right? Because we are all working from home," he says. "We were lucky and prepared [for the pandemic]."
You can listen to the full interview with Cordini below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.
When Marcelo Cordini moved his company to Houston, he didn't know what to expect. Now, a couple years later, he's poised for growth. Courtesy of December Labs
In December 2014, four guys from Uruguay banded together and created December Labs, a company specializing in UX and UI design, web development and mobile development for startups. After three years of success there, co-founder Marcelo Cordini's wife had her job transferred to "a city full of companies from everywhere" — Houston.
"To be honest, I came without expectations, not knowing what to do with the tech space here," Cordini says. "But I discovered that the city's innovation scene was rising and that the whole startup environment too. We didn't know Houston had a startup environment."
Cordini, along with co-founders, Martin Palatnik, Diego San Esteban, and Washington Miranda, have created a base here in Houston at Station Houston, with headquarters stationed in San Francisco as well as Uruguay.
The company's international presence can be seen in their client base, which includes industry giants like Google, Accenture, and Nest.
"When I got here, people told us that we should just go to Austin," Cordini says. "But, to be honest, this is a big city with lots of great companies — not just corporations, but startups — that are growing and thrive and have good connections. So, maybe you don't hear much about the startup world outside the U.S., but I think the startups right now are at a different level here."
December Labs has started working with local startups around the city and has grown to have around 15 engineers and designers working for the company.
Cordini says that their experience working at Station Houston has really broadened their horizons and allowed them to make connections that they wouldn't have made otherwise.
"It's great to have connections, and that's something that I love here in Houston," Cordini says. "People are willing to help each other."
A main goal for December Labs is to help other companies succeed through their mission-driven, people-focused work. But they're focused on the future.
"We've been growing like crazy over the past year," Cordini says. "We would love to keep growing here in Houston by getting more clients and helping more startups and corporations. Our idea is to continue our expansion here in Houston and all around Texas, for sure."
A national startup accelerator has announced its fifth local cohort, which includes five Houston companies participating in the spring 2022 class.
Madison, Wisconsin-based gener8tor has announced today the five participating startups in gBETA Houston. The program will be led by Muriel Foster, the newly named director of gBETA Houston, which originally launched in Houston in 2020 thanks to a grant from from the Downtown Redevelopment Authority.
The program, which is designed to help guide early-stage startups find early customer traction, connect with mentors, and more, is based in the Downtown Launchpad, and is free and does not take equity in the participating companies. The cohort kicked off on April 21 and concludes on June 10.
The new cohort includes:
Founded by CEO Steffie Thomson a year ago, Getaway Sticks has designed a shoe that gives women the painless support they need using athletic foam to create a shoe that gives women the painless support they need. Getaway Sticks provides the solutions to women’s #1 wardrobe complaint of high heel pain. Since launch, the company has earned over $35,000 in revenue from over 150 customers.
Through a combination of software and hardware technology, LocBox is rethinking the shopping experience for online and local purchases. If you shop, ship, or have food delivered to your house, LocBox will make your life easier. Led by CEO Sterling Sansing, LocBox has previously participated in the Texas A&M MBA Venture Challenge.
SpeakHaus is focused on equipping young professionals and entrepreneurs with public speaking skills through its on-demand training platform and group coaching program. Since launching in October 2021, SpeakHaus has facilitated 6 corporate trainings and coached 61 business leaders generating over $49,000 in revenue. The company is led by CEO Christa Clarke.
Led by CEO LaGina Harris, The Us Space is creating spaces intentionally for women of color, women-led businesses, and women-centric organizations. Since launching in June 2021, The Us Space has created partnerships with more than a dozen community organizations, sustainable businesses, and organizations creating positive economic impact in the City of Houston.
Founded in August 2021, Urban Eatz Delivery is a food delivery service app that caters to the overlooked and underrepresented restaurants, food trucks, and home-based food vendors. Urban Eatz Delivery has earned over $88,000 in revenue, delivered to over 2,000 users, and worked with 36 restaurant and food vendors on the app. The company is led by CEO D’Andre Good.
“The five companies selected for the Spring 2022 cohort tackle unique problems that have propelled them to create a business that solves the issues they once faced," Foster says in a news release. "From public speaking, apparel comfort, and food delivery from underrepresented restaurant owners, these founders have found their niche and are ready to continue to make an enormous impact on the Houston ecosystem."
it's Foster's first cohort at the helm of the program. A Houston native, she has her master’s in public administration from Texas Southern University and a bachelor’s in marketing from Oklahoma State University. Her background includes work in the nonprofit sector and international business consulting in Cape Town, South Africa, and she's worked within programming at organizations such as MassChallenge, BLCK VC, and now gener8tor.
The program is housed at the Downtown Launchpad. The five startups will have access to the space to meet with mentors, attend events, and run their companies.
"Creating (the hub) was a little like a moonshot, but it’s paying off and contributing enormous impact to the city’s economy. The five startups selected for the gBETA Houston Spring cohort will continue that legacy,” says Robert Pieroni, director of economic development at Central Houston Inc., in the release. “As these entrepreneurs chase their dreams and create something epic, they will know Downtown Houston is standing behind them. I am so proud of what Downtown Launchpad is already, and what it will become.”
Muriel Foster, a native Houstonian, is the new director of gBETA Houston. Image via LinkedIn
Since 2019,
alliantgroup and the Houston Independent School District have been partnering for the SPARK Award, a program that rewards outstanding HISD science teachers who are increasing student engagement and achievement through innovative lesson plans that emphasize both the importance and fun aspects of science.
The overall winner receives a $3,500 personal award plus $500 for their classroom, and the other five finalists receive $1,300 each plus another $500 to spend on their classrooms.
After working for three years as an accountant,
Lynell Dillard taught a weekly finance class where her students became her inspiration to pursue a full-time career in the classroom.
She secured her first teaching position in 2002 and hasn’t looked back. For three years now, she has been teaching science and giving her students hands-on learning opportunities they may not experience outside of the classroom.
Dillard explains that for many of her students, her role as a teacher is to give them as many opportunities to interact with the natural environment as possible. She knows many of her students and their families would not have access to these resources if it were not for the school district.
"We all learn in a different way, so we have to be willing to help that other person if they don’t get what I get, and there’s no criticism in it," Dillard says. "I tell them they are my future. Every single part of your education is important."
"Before I went to foster care, I was not doing well in my education,"
Ruth Giles says. "My foster mom, Nancy, took the time to figure out how I learned. She figured out I’m good with memorization, flashcards, and practicing. I would not be here without her today."
Sadly, Nancy passed away in January from COVID-19. Now, more than ever, it’s important to Giles that she continue sharing her experiences with her students to keep Nancy’s legacy alive.
Giles says the best part of teaching fifth-grade science is helping her students view the world in a different way, just like Nancy did for her.
Melanie Jenkins has been a fifth grade ESL teacher at Katherine Smith Elementary School for three years, but first got started in substitute teaching. She then went on to fulfill her childhood dream of working in finance, but found it wasn’t all she thought it would be.
"I still had in the back of my mind these kids whose lives I touched and who remembered me and understood what I was trying to teach them," she says.
Now she can't imagine doing anything else. It's challenging that many of her students are learning English for the first time, but she focuses on vocabulary and giving them resources in both English and Spanish is key, along with truly forming relationships with them.
“I try to figure out who likes what and how I can bring that into the classroom,” says Jenkins. “If you are a hands-on learner, we have the opportunities to put our hands on things. If you are a project-based learner, you have the opportunity to do projects. So there’s no one size fits all.”
According to science teacher
Mimi Muñoz, STEM education is important but learning to be kind should be first in any classroom environment.
She also works hard to get her fifth-grade students engaged in their lessons and understand why science is important to their everyday lives.
“They get so excited to do hands-on activities, experiments, and projects,” Muñoz explains. “One thing I really want them to understand is that you need learning every day of your life. And learning science, as well as the world around us, is their real life. The things I’m teaching you [in the classroom] are important.”
Muñoz has been teaching for three years and spent her entire career at Seguin Elementary. She says the last two years were very tough on her students because of the pandemic, but despite virtual learning, it has only strengthened the way she connects to her students.
An educator of 17 years,
Gerjuan O’Neal is following in her family’s footsteps.
"My maternal grandmother was a second and third grade teacher, and my maternal grandfather was a high school government teacher," she says. "My great-aunt was an elementary teacher and then a homebound teacher. My favorite thing is that I teach kindergarten through fifth grade, so every day is different."
She loves teaching STEM to her students because they can see how it applies to the other subjects they are also learning in school.
"I really like for my students to be creative problem solvers, and I like to show them all the different components of STEM," O’Neal explains. "If we are doing a science technology map, everything fits together. If we do a Lego build, we’re doing estimating with numbers. If we are coding, they get to see where math is involved and where they must be critical thinkers."
Although this is her first year teaching at Bonner Elementary School,
Leticia Sifuentes is a veteran of the classroom with 24 years of experience.
Her favorite part about teaching is seeing her students become just as passionate about science as she is.
“I tell my students I’m a science nerd. We watch a movie — where’s the science? We go somewhere — where’s the science? They’re able to bring science to everything they talk about. It’s in reading, it’s in math, it’s just the way we can incorporate science in everyday life.”
Sifuentes was named an honorable mention teacher for alliantgroup’s 2019 SPARK Award, but three years later she says she is a better educator after working through the challenges of a pandemic and virtual learning. She now realizes that as an educator it is not only her responsibility to ensure her students are performing well academically but also emotionally, socially, and mentally.
Known for its diversity, Houston ranks as the third best major metro area in the U.S. for Asian American entrepreneurs, according to a new study.
Personal finance website SmartAsset analyzed data for 52 of the largest metro areas to come up with the ranking. The analysis looked at nine metrics in three categories: prevalence of Asian-owned businesses, success of new businesses, and income and job security.
About 9 percent of the Houston metro area’s residents identify as Asian.
The SmartAsset study puts Houston in fifth place for the number of Asian-owned businesses (nearly 19,900) and in fourth place for the share of Asian-owned businesses (almost 17.9 percent) among all businesses. Furthermore, Houston ranks 14th for the increase (nearly 9.6 percent) in the number of Asian-owned businesses from 2017 to 2019.
Leading the SmartAsset list is the San Francisco metro area, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth. Austin comes in at No. 11 and San Antonio at No. 14.
The largest minority-owned business in the Houston area, as ranked by annual revenue, is Asian-owned private equity firm ZT Corporate.
Founded in 1997 by Chairman and CEO Taseer Bada, who was born in Pakistan, ZT Corporate is valued at more than $1 billion. ZT Corporate generates more than $600 million in annual revenue and employs over 3,000 people.
“As we look ahead, the vision for ZT Corporate is limitless. Our team will continue pushing boundaries and finding the bright spots in the economy that produce consistent financial gains for our investors,” Bada says in a news release marking his company’s 25th anniversary.
ZT Corporate’s flagship businesses are:
Altus Community Healthcare, a provider of health care services.
ZT Financial Services, a wealth management firm.
ZT Motors, which owns and operates auto dealerships. Last year, ZT Motors bought three Ron Carter dealerships in the Houston area.
“ZT Corporate is a vital asset to our citizens as a longtime local employer,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says, “and has positively affected many lives through their health care organizations and philanthropic efforts.”
Muriel Foster, a native Houstonian, is the new director of gBETA Houston. Image via LinkedIn
