Historic downtown Houston building plans to expand inclusive coworking for entrepreneurs

moving on up

Esperson Flex plans on expanding within the historic Niels Esperson Building in the next five years. Photo via espersonflex.com

A nearly 100-year-old building in downtown Houston is welcoming in entrepreneurs, small business owners, and enterprise firms with a new opportunity to innovate outside of traditional office spaces.

Esperson Flex — a coworking concept managed by Cameron Management in The Niels Esperson Building, which has stood out in Houston's skyline since its inception in 1927 — offers various membership tiers in its facility featuring private offices, desk space, conference room, and access to the overall area for freelancers. As an add-on option to the membership, members will have the opportunity to connect with other entrepreneurs through offering reciprocal daily use passes to Cannon members and allow them to book the conference rooms.

“Coworking allows small entrepreneurs to have a community and startup ecosystem that is very cheap and very flexible," Cameron Management CEO Dougal Cameron tells InnovationMap. “They can invest money in their enterprise instead of signing expensive long leases.”

Photo via espersonflex.com

Esperson coworkers have access to The Cannon's digital platform, Cannon Connect, which provides a digital platform for connections, resources, and services to investors, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses.

Currently, the offering of the venue is 12,300 square feet and 62 percent of it is leased.The company hopes to expand the coworking facilities to 62,000 square feet in the next five years, according to Cameron.

There are seven groups who are growing their own coworking business under the Esperson and Cameron Management umbrella, and some include working with groups that are specifically targeting often overlooked demographics, including Hispanic, Black, and female entrepreneurs. The Us Space, for instance, is a women of color-focused collective providing support and coworking for its community.

“We believe that entrepreneurship is the answer to many important problems in our world,” Cameron Management CEO Dougal Cameron tells InnovationMap.

In addition, the facility works with the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, which is a comprehensive re-entry program to help empower those trying to change their lives.

Photo via espersonflex.com

Located downtown, Esperson Flex is the latest in flexible work spaces by Cannon, which also include locations in the Energy Corridor, Houston Galleria, Galveston, The Woodlands, and, as of this week, Memorial.

Spaces like Esperson Flex have become increasingly popular for remote workers, and in some cases, have shown increases in overall productivity. In a survey conducted by Airtasker, remote employees worked 1.4 more days every month, than office workers, which equals 16.8 more days every year. In a similar survey by the Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey, 43 percent said that flexible working hours helped them achieve more productivity.

The Cannon, too, has seen coworking and community-building opportunities from all corners of Houston, as the company's CEO, Jon Lambert, shared on the Houston Innovators Podcast.

Golden Section Studios will support early-stage B2B software companies as they grow and scale. Photo via Getty Images

Exclusive: Houston software development co. and venture fund launches startup studio concept

startup support

The team behind Houston-based Golden Section Technology and Golden Section Ventures is introducing a new concept called Golden Section Studios to focus on advancing and supporting early-stage software companies.

"The Studios is a holistic ecosystem that aims to be a growth partner of early-stage companies in order to help them build their company strategically and efficiently, build out operational procedures, and help them find mentors and advisors," Studios Director Kristen Phillips tells InnovationMap.

The new concept, which launches officially today, June 8, will work off of the lessons learned by GST over the years to guide pre-seed and seed-stage B2B software companies as they scale. GSV, an early-stage fund launched in 2019 that now has over $20 million under management with eight current portfolio companies, will also contribute up to $500,000 in rounds less than $1 million.

"At Golden Section, we are good at learning from our mistakes and the list is 121 and counting," says Dougal Cameron, co-founder, Golden Section, in a press release. "These mistakes are core to our value add and enable us to transport founders through decades of experience. They come from our own experience as founders and of selling more than $350M in B2B software and partnering with more than 400 software founders at all stages. The result is less risk and less capital consumed, and a better outcome for founders, customers, employees, and investors."

Phillips explains the concept of GSS is something new and different from what accelerators and incubators do, but also goes beyond just an investment.

"We wanted to be different from what's out there in the Houston ecosystem. We wanted to be more value adding," says Phillips.

GSS's first startup in residence is Austin-based Swoovy, a volunteer matching platform that connects nonprofits, companies, and volunteers. Swoovy is launching in the Studios on June 14 and will be focused on the buildout of their enterprise level software.

Kristen Phillips leads Golden Section Studios. Photo courtesy of GSS

In the golden age of software companies, here's what SaaS entrepreneurs need to focus on to thrive. Getty Images

Local investor shares how Houston SaaS companies can stay afloat amid the pandemic

guest column

The COVID pandemic has created a macro environment that is similar to that of the 1918 Spanish Flu and the 2008 downturn and B2B software-as-a-service companies, like Salesforce, found the 2008 downturn an advantageous environment for cheap revenue growth — I've discussed this in a previous column. Now, I'd like to explore how B2B SaaS founders can position their businesses to capture this opportunity and better prepare themselves for the $400 billion of private equity looking for IT investments.

A prolonged recession due to the global response to COVID-19 provides opportunities for smart founders. Talent and partnerships from non-tech industries are likely to be much easier to access in a recessionary environment. Widespread adoption of technology is likely to result in a much more open and fruitful sales environment. And robust exit opportunities mean that this over performance will be rewarded.

So, how should smart founders operate given this opportunity? Here are a few implications that are congruent with our research.

Know your sales performance data

Many companies forsook effective KPI management while growing. Now is the time to home in on metrics so that you can discern the payoff of different tactics. Knowing sales performance metrics will help founders deploy capital wisely. Good quality and frequent data will also help you assess whether this thesis is working out for your firm.

Get whatever funding you can — and fast

In 2008, funding dropped by 20 percent, valuations by 20 to 25 percent and check sizes by 35 percent, and the current environment could be more drastic. This is paradoxical given the incredible opportunity for B2B SaaS right now, but it is in line with the human urge to run from risk. Despite claiming to be risk-seeking and long-term focused, most venture firms will pull back in this environment. Get what you can and be flexible on valuation. A smart founder who sees the opportunity can overcome additional dilution now.

Hire expert sales talent

The urge to cut back on salaries and freeze pay is high right now. Don't make that mistake, especially not in sales. There will be many firms that make this mistake, giving you the opportunity to hire expert sales talent. Pay them at the top of market, give them uncapped commission plans, and capture the growth opportunity.

Create a survival plan and set limits

This growth opportunity might not materialize. Fortunately for most B2B SaaS, there is operational flexibility built into the cost model. You can cut back on aggressive sales growth and pull expenses within your recurring revenue. Once you have a cash floor in mind and a downside plan of what you will do if either 1) you get to your cash floor or 2) the sales metrics are not proving attractive, you are safe to charge ahead. Armed with compelling acquisition data and a stable customer base, it would be easy to find additional capital.

Prepare for inflation in you customer contracts

While most B2B SaaS investors love long term contracts, the unprecedented level of fiscal and monetary support in the wake of a global shutdown will likely lead to above average levels of inflation. Current inflation expectations are muted (measured by the spread on the 10 year TIPS and the 10 year treasury). Inflation may not take off, but it is wise to prepare for it and include annual increases on multiyear contracts or a CPI price adjustment each year.

Be nice

Most companies are beating up on their vendors right now, if for no reason other than this is 'what you do during a downturn.' It is worth exploring what your vendors can do for you, but this should be a partnership driven discussion. Invite your vendor in and explore how to reach a win-win during this time. Communicate often and clearly and try to their point of view. Larger companies have programs in place to help where smaller ones might not have as much flexibility. This downturn will pass, but how you treat people will have consequences.

Build flexibility into your growth plan

This environment is a great opportunity to add flexibility and optionality into your cost profile. Leveraging flexible development resources from a firm like Golden Section Technology can get you expert talent and execution with month-to-month flexibility. This will help you scale down if your survival plan kicks in, but it will also help you ensure the product keeps up with a successful sales push.

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Dougal Cameron is director of Houston-based Golden Section Venture Capital.

While everyone always looks to Silicon Valley as the model of the ideal startup ecosystem, Houston is forging its own path. Getty Images

Houston isn't Silicon Valley — and that's a good thing, according to these experts

Houston Voices

As WeWork's fall from grace continues to dominate the headlines and we monitor the slew of layoffs and dipping share prices afflicting this year's Silicon Valley darlings, we reflect on Houston's own startup ecosystem. How are Houston startups and investors similar to and different from Silicon Valley early-stage deals? What are the drivers and factors that may be unique to Houston and how do they influence outcomes?

Jamie Jones, executive director of Lilie, sat down with early stage investor and Rice Business alum, Dougal Cameron of Golden Section Technology Venture Capital (GSTVC), to discuss the Houston startup and funding ecosystem. From that discussion, a number of key features emerged:

From Cameron's experience, Houston investors have historically focused on unit economics and profitability, in addition to top line growth, as their key performance measures. As an enterprise software investor, he notes that an indicator of a healthy venture that warrants early stage investment is one where profitability can be achieved as the venture reaches the $1 million revenue mark. Cameron, like other early stage investors in Houston, are interested in ventures that produce sustainable growth not only growth for growth's sake.

While early stage investment capital in Houston does flow, it does not do so at the same check sizes and the same velocity that you may see in Silicon Valley. Analysis of Pitchbook data indicates that Houston firms raised $28.1M in seed and early-stage funding in Q3 2019 versus $2.86B for Silicon Valley based ventures. The belief is that the density of the capital network in Silicon Valley means that if you get one $500,000 check then you will very likely to get others. Cameron noted that he believes the effects of loss aversion are on full display — no firm wants to be the one that passes on the next Google.

However, in Houston, entrepreneurs must be scrappy to pull together funding and ensuring they hit milestones along the way in order to drive scarcer investment into their ventures. From Cameron's perspective, Houston entrepreneurs own their cash balance and strive to keep their overhead low by working out of cheaper spaces, leveraging friends and family to contribute to the venture in its early days, etc.

With fewer investment dollars flowing in Houston, the use of Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs), which are common in Silicon Valley, are rarely used in Houston. Why? Cameron believes that using unpriced and loosely binding agreements may work in an ecosystem where startups are pushed for rapid top-line growth and may be burning through tens-of-thousands of dollars per month and will need to raise capital quickly, which will drive a pricing event. However, in Houston, investors may prefer arrangements that provide some downside risk.

Examples include convertible notes that include a lien on assets, which would be virtually unheard of in Silicon Valley, or through priced fundraising rounds. Without broad and deep capital networks and the pressure of rapid top-line growth, near term pricing events are not guaranteed, pushing Houston investors to prefer other deal structures.

While everyone agrees that Houston and the robust startup ecosystem that is growing across the city needs more cash to catalyze growth, Cameron firmly believes that new capital coming into the city must be the right type of capital. Capital that will not negatively distort the ecosystem by driving early-stage entrepreneurs to strive for top-line growth that is not sustainable through a profitable business model. This type of capital will not offer exorbitantly-sized seed rounds removing the entrepreneur's need to be scrappy and cost conscious.

We must understand that many Houston entrepreneurs seek to build businesses that have lasting impact and are not only "growing to close," the model Silicon Valley seems to have embraced over the past 7 to 10 years. Cameron is nervous that first big checks that come from outside Houston will push unprofitable businesses forward and will sour the market for local investors that are starting to engage in startup-investing.

While everyone always looks to Silicon Valley as the model of the ideal startup ecosystem, Houston may offer a look into the model of the future — one that is focused on building durable, profitable businesses by right-sizing growth over the venture's life-cycle. For Houston-based entrepreneurs, this means the opportunity to access capital that emphasizes sustainable, smart growth.

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Jamie Jones, executive director of the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Rice University, and Dougal Cameron, managing director of Gold Section Technology Ventures and 2013 Rice Business alum, wrote this article for LILIE.

This article originally appeared on Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship's blog.

The new, Houston-based GSTVC fund will dole out $20 million to scalable SaaS companies. Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Houston startup consulting firm launches $20 million venture capital fund for early stage software companies

Follow the money

A new venture capital fund has launched in Houston to serve seed-stage, software-as-a-service companies. The $20 million fund plans to make its first investment by the end of the third quarter of this year.

The fund is launching under Golden Section Technology, a Houston-based software consulting firm focused on demystifying technology and providing training and counseling for entrepreneurs. Managing director, Dougal Cameron, says he and a small group of investors made investments in some of the companies that GST has worked with over the years.

"Along the way, we've had the opportunity to invest in some businesses that were our clients," Cameron tells InnovationMap. "A couple years later, we realized that we've invested $8 million — the majority being in Houston-based startups."

Most of these investments saw successful exits, Cameron says, and now, with interest from other investors, Cameron wants to expand the company's reach and contribution with the GSTVC fund.

The GSTVC fund will invest in $500,000 to $750,000 increments and will have a strong presence in each of the portfolio companies.

"Where most capital wants to be hands off, we are going to be incredibly hands on and view that as an augmentation to the management team," Cameron says.

The hands-on approach isn't surprising, considering GST's specialty since its founding in 2011 has been helping scale its client companies. During the early stages of company growth, GST helps its clients make the right growth-centered decisions, and as the company scales up, the firm continues to provide C-level support and trained development teams.

Combining the $20 million of capital with GST's years of entrepreneurial and upscale expertise makes for a fund unlike anything else available in Houston.

"We have done things a bit differently than the traditional investment fund as we supply far more than just working capital," says Isaac Shi, managing partner at GSTVC, in a release. "We have the full strength of our software development company, Golden Section Technology, as well as deep experience in early stage B2B Sales and Marketing. The combination of our experience, capital and hands on approach has the potential to substantially decrease the risk for our investment companies and increase the return for our investors."

One of the GST clients that has already received an investment is QMSC LLC, a Houston-based, B2B SaaS company that enables cloud technology and analytics to help businesses lower operating costs. QMSC has already seen the benefit of GST's funding and consulting working together.

"The world doesn't need one more B2B investment fund like all the others, but there is surely room for one which reduces the risk of execution and accelerates product development in the manner that GSTVC can," says Marshall Williams, founder of QMSC, LLC, in a news release. "They are doing something very different."

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Houston startup debuts bio-based 'leather' fashion collection in Milan

sustainable fashion

Earlier this month, Houston-based Rheom Materials and India’s conscious design studio Econock unveiled a collaborative capsule collection that signaled more than just a product launch.

Hosted at Lineapelle—long considered the global epicenter of the world's premier leather supply chain—in the vaulted exhibition halls of Rho-Fiera Milano, the collection centered around Rheom’s 91 percent bio-based leather alternative, Shorai.

It was a bold move, one that shifted sustainability from a concept discussed in panel sessions to garments that buyers could touch and wear.

The collection featured a bomber-style jacket, an asymmetrical skirt and a suite of accessories—all fabricated from Shorai.

The standout piece, a sculptural jacket featuring a funnel neck and dual-zip closure, was designed for movement, challenging assumptions about performance limitations in bio-based materials. The design of the asymmetrical skirt was drawn from Indian armored warrior traditions, according to Rheom, with biodegradable corozo fasteners.

Built as a modular wardrobe rather than isolated pieces, the collection reflects a shared belief between Rheom and Econock in designing objects that adapt to daily life, according to the companies.

The collection was born out of a new partnership between Rheom and Econock, focused on bringing biobased materials to the market. According to Rheom, the partnership solves a problem that has stalled the adoption of many next-gen textiles: supply chain friction.

While Rheom focuses on engineering scalable bio-based materials, New Delhi-based Econock brings the complementary design and manufacturing ecosystem that integrates artisans, circular materials and production expertise to translate the innovative material into finished goods.

"This partnership removes one of the biggest barriers brands face when adopting next-generation materials,” Megan Beck, Rheom’s director of product, shared in a news release. “By reducing friction across the supply chain, Rheom can connect brands directly with manufacturers who already know how to work with Shorai, making the transition to more sustainable materials far more accessible.”

Sanyam Kapur, advisor of growth and impact at Econock, added: “Our partnership with Rheom Materials represents the benchmark of responsible design where next-gen materials meet craft, creativity, and real-world scalability.”

Rheom, formerly known as Bucha Bio, has developed Shorai, a sustainable leather alternative that can be used for apparel, accessories, car interiors and more; and Benree, an alternative to plastic without the carbon footprint. In 2025, Rheom was a finalist for Startup of the Year in the Houston Innovation Awards.

Shorai is already used by fashion lines like Wuxly and LuckyNelly, according to Rheom. The company scaled production of the sugar-based material last year and says it is now produced in rolls that brands can take to market with the right manufacturer.

Houston startup debuts leather alternative fashion collection in Milan

Houston clean energy co. secures $100M to deploy tech on global scale

Going Global

Houston-based Utility Global has raised $100 million in an ongoing Series D round to globally deploy its decarbonization technology at an industrial scale.

The round was led by Ara Partners and APG Asset, according to a news release. Utility plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing, grow its teams and support its commercial developments and partnerships.

“This financing marks a critical step in Utility’s transition from a proven technology to full-scale global commercial execution,” Parker Meeks, CEO and president of Utility Global, said in the release. “Industrial customers are no longer looking for pilots or promises; they need deployable solutions that work within existing assets and deliver true economic industrial decarbonization today that is operationally reliable and highly scalable. Utility’s technology produces both economic clean hydrogen and capture-ready CO2 streams, and this capital enables us to scale and deploy that impact globally with speed, discipline, and rigor.”

Utility Global's H2Gen technology produces low-cost, clean hydrogen from water and industrial off-gases without requiring electricity. It's designed to integrate into existing industrial infrastructure in hard-to-abate assets in the steel, refining, petrochemical, chemical, low-carbon fuels, and upstream oil and gas sectors.

“Utility is tackling one of the most difficult challenges in the energy transition: decarbonizing hard‑to‑abate industrial sectors,” Cory Steffek, partner at Ara Partners and Utility Global board chair, said in the release. “What sets Utility apart is its ability to compete head‑to‑head with conventional fossil‑based solutions on cost and reliability, even as it materially reduces emissions. With this new funding, Utility is well-positioned for its next chapter of commercial growth while maintaining the technical excellence and capital discipline that have defined its development to date.”

Utility Global reached several major milestones in 2025. After closing a $53 million Series C, the company agreed to develop at least one decarbonization facility at an ArcelorMittal steel plant in Brazil. It also signed a strategic partnership with California-based Kyocera International Inc. to scale global manufacturing of its H2Gen electrochemical cells.

The company also partnered with Maas Energy Works, another California company, to develop a commercial project integrating Maas’ dairy biogas systems with H2Gen to produce economical, clean hydrogen.

"These projects were never intended to stand alone. They anchor a deep and growing pipeline of commercial projects now in development globally across steel, refining, chemicals, biogas and other hard-to-abate sectors worldwide, Meeks shared in a 2025 year-in-review note. He added that 2026 would be a year of "focused acceleration to scale."

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston Methodist awarded $4M grant to recruit head of Neal Cancer Center

new hire

Armed with a $4 million state grant, the Houston Methodist Academic Institute has recruited a renowned expert in ovarian and endometrial cancer research to lead the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center.

The grant, provided by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, enabled the institute to lure Dr. Daniela Matei away from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. There, she is the Diana Princess of Wales Professor in Cancer Research and chief of the Division of Reproductive Science in Medicine.

Matei will succeed Dr. Jenny Chang, who was hired last year to run the Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

At the Neal Cancer Center, located in the Texas Medical Center complex, oncologists work on innovations in cancer research, treatment, and technology. The center opened in 2021 after the Neals donated $25 million to expand Houston Methodist’s cancer research capabilities. It handles about 7,000 new cases each year involving more than two dozen types of cancer.

U.S. News & World Report puts Houston Methodist Hospital at No. 19 among the country’s best hospitals for cancer care, two spots below Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston sits at No. 1 on the list.

Matei’s research related to ovarian and endometrial cancer holds the potential to benefit tens of thousands of American women. The American Cancer Society estimates:

  • 21,010 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and 12,450 women will die from it.
  • 68,270 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with endometrial cancer, and 14,450 women will die from it.

Matei is leaving Northwestern in the wake of widespread cuts in federal funding for medical research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has canceled or frozen tens of millions of dollars in grants for Northwestern, the Wall Street Journal reports, and the university has been plugging the gaps with its own money.

“The university is totally keeping us on life support,” Matei told the newspaper last year. “The big question is for how long they can do this.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Matei’s $5 million NIH grant supporting 69 cancer trials has been caught up in the federal funding chaos, so Northwestern stepped in to cover trial expenses such as nurses’ salaries and diagnostic procedures.

Trial participants include some patients with rare, incurable tumors who are undergoing experimental treatments aligned with the genetics of their condition, the newspaper says.

“It’s certainly a life-and-death situation for cancer patients on these trials,” Matei said in 2025.

Matei is among the beneficiaries of more than $15 million in grants approved February 18 by CPRIT’s board. The grants went toward recruiting five cancer researchers to institutions in Texas.

One of those grants, totaling $1.5 million, went to the University of Houston to recruit Akash Gupta, a research scientist at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. The remaining grants went to recruit scientists to The University of Texas at Dallas and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
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