3 Houston innovators to know this week

Who's who

Here's who to know in innovation this week in Houston. Courtesy photos

As we head into May, this week's Houston innovators are all thought leaders keeping our city and state at the forefront of technology and innovation — from consulting to real estate, and everything in between.

Amy Chronis, managing partner of the Houston office of Deloitte

Amy Chronis runs the Houston office of Deloitte and serves on the sustainability board for the GHP. AlexandersPortraits.com

Shortly after Amy Chronis was named as Deloitte's Houston managing partner, she got the call to join the sustainability committee for the Greater Houston Partnership. Chronis did not take this position lightly, she says, and she immediately started researching what Houston needed as a business ecosystem.

In March, as the chair for the organization's sustainability committee, she brought together a group of constituents to engage in a Smart Cities study with the goal to identify what Houston needs to focus on — what it wanted to be known for. She learned a lot about the city through the study.

"It's affirming how much all types of people with different backgrounds care and are interested in this topic and are highly desirous of our region moving forward," she says. "I also learned that things are more complicated or difficult than we would like — in terms of funding initiatives, for instance." Read the full story here.

Brad Deutser, author and founder of the Deutser Clarity Institute

DCI has been described as the "Wonkaland for business." Courtesy of DCI

Brad Deutser is taking his approach to business consulting and creative thinking to a whole new level with the Deutser Clarity Institute. The idea accelerator, think tank, and learning lab opens this week in Uptown.

"The Deutser Clarity Institute has captured the imagination of leaders across the country," says Deutser in a release. "Even with the available science on environmental design and leadership learning, we took a chance and pushed creativity and innovation to the farthest reaches to develop a fundamentally different space, way of learning and learning curriculum. We are also producing game changing research which will influence how leaders drive engagement." (Deutser serves on the board of InnovationMap.) Read the full story here.

Alex Doublet, CEO of Door.com

Buying a home is more digitized than ever — and here's how that's affecting the industry. Photo courtesy of Door

Alex Doublet is an honorary Houston innovator to know this week after he authored a guest article about technology trends in real estate that greatly affect Houston real estate. The Dallasite cites a recent lawsuit in which homesellers claim The National Association of Realtors, Realogy Holdings Corp., HomeServices of America, RE/MAX Holdings, Inc., and Keller Williams Realty, Inc. violated the federal antitrust law by conspiring the sellers to pay an inflated amount to the buyer's broker.

"The lawsuit highlights a new need for home buyers and sellers: transparency," writes Doublet. "Gone are the days when real estate agents can take a hefty commission from his or her clients without providing value that is worthy of the price tag. The sellers who came forward to shed light on this issue have provided further proof that the current real estate model is outdated, and some serious changes could be on the way." Read Doublet's article here.

The opening of Houston-based re:3D's community space and factory is one of this week's top stories. Courtesy of re:3D

5 most popular innovation stories in Houston this week

What's trending

Editor's note: This week, tech news trended — from a 3D printing studio opening to the way technology is changing the real estate market. In case you've missed InnovationMap news over the week, here are the top read stories to catch up on.

Need more than just trending news on Fridays? Subscribe to our daily newsletter that sends fresh stories straight to your inboxes every morning.

How technology is disrupting — and improving — the real estate industry in Texas

Buying a home is more digitized than ever — and here's how that's affecting the industry. Photo courtesy of HAR

A recent lawsuit is rocking the residential real estate industry across the country. Home sellers whose properties were listed on one of 20 MLSs claim The National Association of Realtors, Realogy Holdings Corp., HomeServices of America, RE/MAX Holdings, Inc., and Keller Williams Realty, Inc. violated the federal antitrust law by conspiring the sellers to pay an inflated amount to the buyer's broker.

The lawsuit highlights a new need for home buyers and sellers: transparency. Gone are the days when real estate agents can take a hefty commission from his or her clients without providing value that is worthy of the price tag. The sellers who came forward to shed light on this issue have provided further proof that the current real estate model is outdated, and some serious changes could be on the way. Read the rest of the guest article here.

3 Houston innovators to know this week

These three Houstonians have a lot up their sleeves for their companies. Courtesy photos

This week's three Houston entrepreneurs are all about improving access for startups — either to capital or to resources — and that's no small undertaking in a market like Houston. With its urban sprawl and large population, Houston's been considered to have a connectivity problem. Luckily, these three folks have solutions. Read the full story here.

Energy tech company closes round, hospital introduces VR brain tours, Amazon bets on Houston schools, and more innovation news

Amazon has selected eight KIPP schools in Houston to received resources to create robotics programs. Courtesy of Amazon

From virtual reality-enabled brain scans to Amazon selecting Houston schools for its robotics program, the future is now with this latest batch of local innovation news. Read the full story here.

Overheard: Houston female entrepreneurs share advice and experience

At a conference focused on women in business, three Houston entrepreneurs gave their advice for the next generation of female innovators. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Hundreds of women gathered for the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce's annual Greater Houston Conference for Women. The full-day event on April 18th shined a spotlight on the work women are doing in business in the Bayou City.

One part of the programing included a panel of three Houston entrepreneurs who told their stories and meant to inspire the next generation of businesswomen.

"Innovation is critically important to our city," says Tandra Jackson, KPMG's Houston office partner and moderator of the panel. "Having an ecosystem where we bring innovative capabilities, solutions, and organizations to our community is absolutely paramount to the longevity of our city." Read the full story here.

3D printing company opens new space in the Houston area

The company's printer, called the Gigabot, is on display and able to be used in the newly opened space. Courtesy of re:3D

You now have access to large-scale 3D printers, thanks to re:3D. The Houston company opened its community space in its factory located next to the NASA Johnson Space Center in southeast Houston.

The company makes an affordable and customizable 3D printer, called the Gigabot, and has clients across industries in over 50 countries. Recently, re:3D introduced sustainable options, including printing using plastic waste. The new community space opened to the public on Saturday, April 13, with free tours and mingling. Read the full story here.

Buying a home is more digitized than ever — and here's how that's affecting the industry. Photo courtesy of HAR

How technology is disrupting — and improving — the real estate industry in Texas

Modern moving

Our next moves as a united industry in the wake of this lawsuit are critical. It is critical that we react positively. It is critical that we bring more value and transparency to our customers, and it is critical that we utilize the technology we now have at our hands to do so.

How is technology finding its way into real estate? Here are a few ways in the evolving world of home buying and selling has evolved over the past five years:

Online searching

Everything can be done online. In most modern real estate transactions, the buyer has already found the house they want before they even contact an agent to begin the process. To put that into numbers, 95 percent of buyers are looking for their home online, and over half find it before they engage an agent, according to the National Association of Realtors. Despite the fact that this big chunk of the traditional real estate agent's job has been cut out, the commission is still the same and the buyer will have to pay it indirectly through a higher listing price on the home.

Evolving past commissions and working towards a focus on the customer experience is the only way to provide value and stay relevant in the world of apps and search bars.

Accurate valuations

Algorithms and accuracy in information gathering are imperative to a successful real estate transaction. Traditional agents will often come to a potential seller client with high dollar signs, telling them they should list their home for a high price. This is a tactic used to earn the seller's business. Where is the data behind that hefty price? What kind of algorithm did the agent use to value the home?

Modern real estate brokerages should be utilizing advanced valuation algorithms to bring an accurate value of the home to the seller instead of wooing them with an unattainable price.

Targeted marketing

Due to the high dependency of the internet, mass marketing in physical publications aren't as effective as they once were — consumers have more options to find what they need faster. Fifty percent of people that will ever see a home that is advertised online will see it in the first seven days on the market. We all know the importance of target marketing, and here's where social media comes in.

Targeting the right people on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google will get a home sold faster than a newspaper or magazine can even be published. Effective agents will have built online audiences for each type of home to ensure a faster sale.

Simplifying and increasing visibility

Remember how important transparency is? Simplifying and streamlining the process is right up there with it on the priority list. Luckily, there's an easy way to solve both: custom portals. Clients love the fact that they can login and see their entire buying or selling experience in one neatly packaged, convenient tool.

The modern tools now at the hands of real estate brokerages should not diminish service, but rather enhance it. Acting as a specialized guide and using the technology to bring incredible value to clients should be the new norm when it comes to real estate transactions.

------

Alex Doubet is the founder and CEO of Door, Inc. (Door.com), which is a residential real estate startup company based in Texas.

Texas startups should be getting funded with Texas money, and here's why. Getty Images

Why it's important for Texas startups to get funding within the Lone Star State

Stay local

When you set out to disrupt a long-standing industry, one of the most important aspects is figuring out where you are going to get the money. Odds are, you are going to be OK with breaking the mold on other traditional practices such as forgoing the venture capitalist firms for smaller companies who share your innovative vision and want to invest in it.

That philosophy works well in Texas seeing as the big venture capitalists tend to stay on the East and West Coasts.

There are dozens of things to think about when starting a company. Funding can be the most important, and there are many ways to approach raising funding for your startup. Here are a few things to consider.

Think local

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and one thing is for certain, the Texas economy is thriving and historically very stable. Five of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in the U.S. are in Texas, and a recent Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report found that Texas is the top state for corporate relocations due to our business-friendly climate.

Benefits of the Texas economy

Business owners and investors alike are noticing the rapid job growth, low tax rates, minimal regulation, successful economic development, and the fact that Texas is the largest exporting state in the nation.

It's important to explore and evaluate all of your options because there are investors everywhere – big and small. I explored fundraising in other states and had I gone that route, it most likely would have led to a successful fundraising campaign. However, it would have looked a lot different. I learned during the first round of fundraising that as much as the angel investment matters, the first meaningful investment might matter even more.

Explore family office investors — it's personal

Traditionally, companies looking for investors seek out the venture capitalist firms with deep pockets. You can joke that Texas is a venture capitalist desert. Compared to the "coasts," there are not many venture capitalist firms here.

I realized that what Texas does have plenty of, is family office investors. And I quickly learned that it was this type of organization that I truly desired. Why? Because local family offices are more likely to share your "homegrown" startup vision. They have true vested interest and it is really personal for them.

Also, the younger generations of these family businesses often lead the way in extending beyond oil wells, fracking, shopping centers and agriculture in seeking to invest in technology startups.

Expert tip: We used our personal connections to target regional investors such as Court Wescott; the founder of 1-800-Flowers; retired Hollywood Casinos CEO Jack Pratt; The Murchison Family; and residential real estate developer Phillip Huffines. We were able to successfully reach around $12 million in the Series A round of fundraising.

When we were ready for the next round of fundraising, we had everything we needed right here in Texas.

Great ideas get funded

Venture capitalists who put a lot of money into a lot of companies also delegate to those companies a lifespan, or a timeline for getting their money back.

Since the family offices believed in our concept and understood what we were doing, we were seen as more of a long-term investment and therefore given a longer time horizon than we would if we had gone the more traditional route of fundraising.

Investors like to watch their investments grow and typically they have more money for second and third rounds of funding when you can prove your success in the first few years.

The bottom line: Investing in Texas companies is a beneficial strategy due to the Lone Star State's booming economy and investing in companies that you believe in makes for a more meaningful relationship, which helps everyone involved succeed.

------

Alex Doubet is the CEO and founder of Door Inc., a Texas-based, tech-infused real estate platform.

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston startup lands $10M to power up electrician staffing platform

money moves

Houston-based Buildforce, which provides a tech-enabled staff platform geared toward electricians and electrical contractors, has raised a $10 million Series A round led by Houston’s Saepio Capital.

Other investors in the round include Blue Heron Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, S3 Ventures and Chicago Ventures.

Buildforce says the funding will help fuel its national expansion and further development of its technology.

The startup, founded in 2019, connects electricians with electrical contractors for commercial and industrial construction projects. Buildforce’s mobile app helps electricians find and carry out work, and a web app helps electrical contractors find and manage electricians.

“This financing is a major milestone in furthering our mission to help people dedicated to a career in the construction trades lead more secure and fulfilling lives,” co-founder and CEO Moody Heard said in a news release.

Buildforce focuses solely on the electrical trade within the construction sector.

Nick Graziano, principal at Blue Heron, says the shortage of electricians is intensifying as demand for electricians accelerates, driven by data center construction, infrastructure development and energy transition initiatives.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the U.S. will need to hire about 80,000 new electricians per year through 2032 to catch up with demand. According to the National Electrical Contractors Association, the U.S. is grappling with a current shortage of 50,000 electricians.

A 2026 economic report from asset manager BlackRock says the electrical trade is expected to be the single fastest-growing employment category in the U.S. labor market over the next 10 years.

“Buildforce is capitalizing on a clear opportunity in America’s generational infrastructure buildout. We believe their mission to use technology to improve lives in the construction space will allow them to make a positive long-term impact on a large and important labor market,” added Jaan Bains, managing partner at Saepio Capital.

2 Houston companies tapped to build robots for Mars & more innovation news

Trending News

Editor's note: The biggest innovation headlines in July include robots for Mars, the launch of the Texas Stock Exchange, and cancer research funding. Below are the five most-read InnovationMap articles published July 15-31, 2026:

1. Houston space companies win NASA funding to build Mars exploration robots

Two Houston-area spacetech companies have landed a portion of a $17 million award from NASA to develop robots for exploring the surface of Mars, the agency announced. Houston-based Intuitive Machines and Webster, Texas-based MEI Technologies, which does business as Aegis Aerospace, were among the seven companies selected to receive the funding from NASA's Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration (STRIDE) initiative. Continue reading.

2. New Texas Stock Exchange officially begins trading in Dallas

Two-step aside, New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The Dallas-based Texas Stock Exchange, nicknamed Y’all Street, has kicked off live trading with five stocks — and lots of Lone Star ambition. “The Texas Stock Exchange aims to revitalize competition for [stock] issuers, establish the premier venue for listings, and create a world-class trading platform for all market participants,” the exchange says. The exchange — whose Texas-influenced nickname is a nod to New York City’s Wall Street — has collected at least $275 million in investments. Continue reading.

3. Rice, Houston Methodist award $90K for cancer research projects

Rice University’s Synthesis X Center, in partnership with the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, announced earlier this month the organizations would award $90,000 in seed grant funding to two projects that could help fight cancer. One would ease the pain of chemotherapy, while the other could change the way the progression of leukemia is tracked. “We’re excited to be collaborating with the Neal Cancer Center to support collaborative, novel and interdisciplinary proposals to improve cancer care and outcomes,” Han Xiao, Rice professor of chemistry and the director of the SynthX Center, said. “Together, we can achieve translational excellence.” Continue reading.

4. London AI startup selects Houston for first U.S. office after $20M raise

London-based AI firm Applied Computing has announced a $20 million Series A round and a new office in Houston. The new Bayou City office is Applied Computing’s first in the United States and part of its North American expansion. The company is known for its Orbital AI platform, which is tailored for energy operations. The funding round was led by Houston-based KBR Inc., with participation from San Francisco-based Databricks Ventures. KBR’s investment was first announced in March. Continue reading.

Report: Houston ranks among 10 most affordable metros to raise a child

Raising a child is not an easy or inexpensive feat, but a new study has determined Houston parents have the 7th lowest childrearing costs in the country. SmartAsset's new report, "Cost of Raising a Child in Major U.S. Metros – 2026 Study," calculated year-over-year changes in the annual cost of raising a child (factoring in childcare, additional housing costs, food, transportation, medical costs and other necessities) in the 48 largest U.S. metro areas. Continue reading.

Venus Aerospace adds government, C-suite leaders following $91M raise

new leaders

Fresh off its $91 million Series B, Houston-based Venus Aerospace has made several key additions and promotions to its leadership team.

The company says its expanded team will help it deploy its high-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), which completed its first U.S. flight test last summer.

"We flew the world's first high-thrust RDRE in just over four years on $80 million. We believe that makes it the fastest, most capital-efficient rocket engine program in history," Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace, said in a news release. "Adding this talent to our leadership team is how we bring that same discipline to the company itself, as we scale to meet the technical needs of defense and space customers who need range and speed legacy systems can't deliver."

The key hires include:

Lane Bodian, Vice President of Public Policy

Bodian previously served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs at the Pentagon.

Dan Rebnord, Director of Federal Government Relations

Rebnord most recently served as Senior Policy Advisor to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and previously worked in the Office of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Defense and as Staff Director for a national security subcommittee in the House of Representatives. Rebnord and Bodian will lead Venus' work with government stakeholders.

Tom Barron, Chief Operating Officer

Barron was promoted from his role as vice president of operations for Venus Aerospace. Before his time at Venus, he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and consulted aerospace clients at McKinsey & Company. He also served as a U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces officer.

Nick Cardwell, Chief Product Officer

Cardwell was promoted from his role as vice president of research and development. He previously held product and technology leadership roles at VC-backed tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin.

Venus also named Cameron Taylor as its new vice president of operations, Sarah Boland Heine as its head of communications, Matt Stohr as its head of business development, and Sheila Menz as general counsel.

The company also announced a joint technology development agreement to advance the RDRE with defense giant Lockheed Martin last week. Through the partnership, Venus and Lockheed will focus on evaluating the RDRE's propulsion architecture in defense systems, specifically for precision fires applications where weapons are designed to accurately strike targets at long distances.

Lockheed Martin Ventures, the investment arm of the aerospace and defense contractor, is an investor in Venus Aerospace.

"Lockheed Martin is focused on rapidly delivering advanced capabilities that strengthen deterrence and provide decisive advantages for the warfighter," Tim Cahill, president, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a news release. "Our collaboration with Venus Aerospace allows us to evaluate a promising propulsion technology and determine how it can be integrated into future precision fires solutions. Efforts like this help accelerate innovation, reduce risk and shorten the path from emerging technology to operational capability."

Venus' RDRE is expected to enable vehicles to travel four to six times the speed of sound from a conventional runway and is about 15 percent more efficient than traditional alternatives, according to the company.

Venus says the reusable, affordable and scalable RDRE is designed with a "common propulsion architecture" that can work for multiple industries and mission types. The company has previously estimated that the hypersonic market is projected to surpass $12 billion by 2030.

View All Listings

INNOVATIONMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME