This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Emma Fauss of Medical Informatics Corp., Anas Al Kassas of INOVUES, and Scott Blair of Popable. Photos courtesy

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from health tech to energy efficiency — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Emma Fauss, CEO and co-founder of Medical Informatics Corp.

A Houston startup that created a remote monitoring and care platform has raised millions in financing. Image via michealthcare.com

Houston-based Medical Informatics Corp. closed a $17 million series B co-led by Maryland-based Catalio Capital Management and California-based Intel Capital. The financing also includes an additional $10 million in debt led by Catalio through Catalio’s structured equity strategy, according to a news release.

“We are excited to have had this round co-led by Catalio and Intel Capital," says Emma Fauss, CEO and co-founder of MIC, in the release. "Catalio brings significant financial and technical resources, while Intel Capital possesses strong operational and industry experience, and we look forward to continuing to leverage both firms’ expertise as we continue to scale.”

MIC created an FDA-cleared virtual care platform, called Sickbay, that gives health care providers and hospitals away to remotely monitor patients in any setting with vendor-neutral real-time medical device integration, workflow automation and standardization. Click here to read more.

Anas Al Kassas, founder and CEO of INOVUES

INOVUES Founder and CEO Anas Al Kassas joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss how he’s moving the needle on the energy transition within the construction and architectural industries. Photo courtesy of INOVUES

An architect by trade, Anas Al Kassas says he was used to solving problems in his line of work. Each project architects take on requires building designers to be innovative and creative. A few years ago, Kassas took his problem-solving background into the entrepreneurship world to scale a process that allows for retrofitting window facades for energy efficiency.

“If you look at buildings today, they are the largest energy-consuming sector — more than industrial and more than transportation,” Kassas, founder and CEO of INOVUES, says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. “They account for up to 40 percent of energy consumption and carbon emissions.”

To meet their climate goals, companies within the built environment are making moves to transition to electric systems. This has to be done with energy efficiency in mind, otherwise it will result in grid instability.

"Energy efficiency goes hand in hand with energy transition," he explains. Read more.

Scott Blair, CEO and co-founder of Popable

Walmart and Popable are teaming up just in time for the holiday shopping season. Image courtesy of Popable

With the holidays in full swing, and small businesses looking to gain back revenues lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, Walmart and Houston-based Popable are providing the opportunity to display and sell their products at Walmart can be highly beneficial to recoup profits, and unload new and extra products to a larger audience.

“Going into the holidays the timing is pretty good for a lot of brands looking to move some access inventory that they have loaded up from last year, but this (hopefully with Walmart) will be a year-round thing,” says Popable CEO and co-founder Scott Blair. “The pop-up opportunities we’ve been seeing with brands doing reach outs so far, a lot of them are looking for stuff into January and February too.”

Popable has assisted brands secure qualified spaces, get education and resources, and build community, and connections that are vital to helping small businesses expand their visibility in the marketplace. The platform simultaneously helps retail landlords find qualified retailers from a directory of tens of thousands of brands to fill vacancies and drive traffic to their shopping centers. Read more.

The five finalists in the Top Founder Under 40 category for the inaugural InnovationMap Awards share the challenges they have had to overcome. Photos courtesy

Overheard: Young founders explain the challenges they've faced

Eavesdropping in houston

It's not easy being the youngest person in a room, and that's certainly the case for startup founders looking to make an impact on an industry that's been doing things a certain way since before they were born.

The five finalists of the Top Founder Under 40 category for the InnovationMap Awards presented by Techwave were asked to share their challenges overcame as young founders. Here's what they had to say. Click here to register for the livestream.

"It wasn't until I stood my ground by being persistent, and by not being afraid to hand their responsibilities to someone else, that they finally took me seriously."

Photo courtesy of CaseCTRL

— Pamela Singh of CaseCTRL says. "While working as on a Department of Defense Contract, I was leading a development effort with other older white men who were mostly retired military," she explains."They did not appreciate a young ethnic female giving them orders, and would often ignore my email requests or assigned tasks. At first, I felt defeated, but then I had to remember that although they have a lot of knowledge in general, I was the one with the right knowledge for this specific project."

"Changing the minds of experienced executives, who have worked in the energy industry for decades, was an uphill battle that took time and a considerable amount of effort."

With fresh funds, this Houston entrepreneur plans to scale his industrial e-commerce startup

Photo by Colt Melrose for GoExpedi

— Tim Neal of GoExpedi. "Over the years, I have enjoyed great success in my professional career, but that has not come without a few challenges," Neal says. "I am incredibly grateful for my mentors who believed in my vision despite my age."

"I think my go getter attitude has always helped me out and aid me mature faster."

Photo courtesy of LAMIK Beauty

— Kim Roxie of LAMIK Beauty. "Since I started at such young age at 21, after being labeled 'at risk' in high school, I think I have always been seen as 'too young,'" she says. "However, My life motto is 'qualify yourself!'"

"Once I started just being myself and not carrying the weight of the no's it really improved my productivity, my leadership, and my overall success as a person and as a leader in my business."

Emily Cisek, CEO and co-founder of The Postage

Photo courtesy of The Postage

— Emily Cisek of The Postage. "I think advocating for myself and my business as a younger female founder has been a challenge mostly because as a person you want to please the people around you, investors, whoever, and sometimes no matter what you do, they aren't going to be on the same page and that's OK," she says. "But not carrying that forward is what's important. There's been times I've been told no, when I was trying to be exactly what I thought an investor or business partner wanted to hear."

"Typically, companies that have been around and have older leadership can have an advantage."

Photo via TMC.edu

— Emma Fauss of Medical Informatics Corp. She says she's experienced age discrimination early on within the health care industry.

A panel for women by women highlighted key things to keep in mind when starting a company. Getty Images

4 corporate housekeeping tips for female founders from Houston experts

women to women

Laying the proper foundation of a startup might be one of the most important parts of starting a company — right behind the innovative solution your startup aims to provide.

At a female-founder focused panel at Baker Botts cohosted by The Artemis Fund earlier this month, a group of experts gave their advice from managing contracts and hiring to salary and investment.

The panel was moderated by Grace Rodriguez, CEO and executive director of Impact Hub Houston, and featured an investor, a founder, and a legal representative — Leslie Goldman, general partner and co-founder of The Artemis Fund; Emma Fauss, CEO of Medical Informatics Corp.; and Katie Belleville, associate at Baker Botts L.L.P, respectively.

If you missed the event, here are four pieces of advice from the panelists.

Be aware of an investor's founder red flags

When asked about what she looks for in a potential investment opportunity, Goldman, who's fund invests in female-led startups, looks at a myriad of things, but the big one is the founder herself.

"Ninety percent of it is about the founder," Goldman says on the panel. "The founder is key."

She goes on to say that her founder red flags include lack of transparency, not knowing her numbers, and not having the proper legal paperwork in order.

Representing the legal side, Belleville echoed the importance of getting the proper legal paperwork together from day one.

"It is important to get you organizational documents in order in the beginning to avoid a problem later down the line," Belleville says. "Going to a lawyer to help you set up your company and what documents you need."

She adds that startup founders can expect to pay lawyers by the hour like most legal exchanges, but a lot of legal professionals will offer a preliminary meeting to understand each other for free.

Be smart about who's giving you money

For Fauss, who closed an $11.9 million round in January, and most entrepreneurs, finding investors is a huge challenge and commitment.

"Raising money is probably my least favorite activity. It's a brutal process," Fauss tells the audience. "You are getting married to someone for 20-plus years. And it's easier to get a divorce from your husband than it is to get a divorce from your board members."

She explains how keeping that in mind really led her to be picky about her investors and find ones that were right for her and her company.

When it comes to hiring and salary — get it on paper

Every founder will eventually get to a point when they'll need to hire as their company grows. Fauss says she was fortunate to find her early team members organically — through networking opportunities. When it comes to listing jobs online, she recommends being specific to what expertise you're looking for.

In tandem with hiring, founders must decide how they plan to compensate their employees and whether they offer equity — something Goldman says impresses her.

"If a founder convinced other people to join their team based on a promise of getting a part of the company, it means that they are a charismatic entrepreneur and it means that the people who join them believe strongly and passionately about the company," Goldman says.

Belleville adds that founders should be aware of employment agreements, which she doesn't think is necessary in every situation, and confidentiality agreements, which she highly recommends when it comes to protecting the company's intellectual property.

"If you make it part of the [on boarding] process, then everyone has one and you've got that security at the point when they're leaving," Belleville says.

At one point in the panel, Fauss brings up a salary issue she's passionate about.

"Don't forget to budget in your own salary," Fauss says. "Your sweat equity, your worth does have a cost."

She adds that even if you're not getting paid a full salary when you're starting out, it's important to keep in the budget especially when factoring VC money.

Keep your paperwork in order

This might be a no-brainer, but the panelists all echoed the need for properly organized paperwork, especially when it comes to contracts and letters of intent with clients, for general bookkeeping reasons but also for review of potential investors.

"I'm going to want to see that there's actually a binding contract there," Goldman says, adding that the legality and terms of those types of agreements are crucial for her role as an investor.

Belleville says that one way for founders to keep track is by making a detailed spreadsheet with all that's in the contracts — terms, renewal, and termination details, for example.

The panelists — and even some founders in the audience — recommended digital filing systems like Carta, or its free version called captable.io. DocSend was also recommended for sharing your pitch deck because it offers stats so you can see how much time was spent on each page. At the very least, founders should keep files backed up online in Google Docs or DropBox.

When it comes to issuing contacts, Fauss recommends working with a legal team to streamline that process. Ninety percent of contracts will stay the same between clients, she says, so put together a playbook to know which variables to use and when.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

9 can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for June

where to be

Editor's note: From lightning pitches to a female-focused AI summit and energy conferences, there's still plenty to do as Houston settles into the summer. Here are the Houston business and innovation events you can't miss in June and how to register. Please note: this article might be updated to add more events.


June 3 – Founders Live Houston 

Watch five Houston founders present their 99-second pitches at Founders Live Houston. Competing teams include AyeDu (Vinita Gupta), Omniscale (Tony Hernandez-Ferman), AnswerPath (Chris Mullins), Katana.video (Sam Bhattacharyya) and TraceWrap (Laketta B.).

This event is Tuesday, May 3, at 5:30 p.m. at the Ion. Register here.

June 4 – Center for Human Performance Research & Networking Event

Rice University and Houston Methodist's Center for Human Performance will host an event to support its work in the study of exercise physiology, injury prevention and rehabilitation. The organizations will share more information on seed grant opportunities, and the event will feature presentations from Rice and Houston Methodist leaders, networking sessions and a poster showcase.

This event is Wednesday, June 4, from 3-5:30 p.m. at the BioScience Research Collaborative at Rice University. Register here.

June 12 – Transition on Tap

Meet and hear lighting pitches from eight of Greentown Labs’ newest startup members. Attendees can network with entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders, philanthropists, students and other climate champions. Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO of Greentown Labs, and Victor Martinez, Greentown's memberships manager, will also speak.

This event is Thursday, June 12, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Greentown Houston. Register here.

June 16-18 — Energy Drone & Robotics Summit

This three-day summit, the largest of its kind, will connect 1,500-plus leaders in the global energy/industrial robotics, drone and data sectors. Attendees will glean the latest ideas, use cases, best practices, tech and trends from a wide variety of robotics and drone industry experts.

This event begins June 16 at Woodlands Waterway Marriott. Register here.

June 17 – SGSF’s #SUPERGirlsInSTEM Summit, The Intersection of AI & Workforce

SUPERGirls SHINE Foundation is hosting a one-day summit for women ages 18-24 focused on the evolving intersection of AI and the STEM workforce. The conference will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions and hands-on workshops.

This event is Tuesday, June 17, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Ion. Register here.

June 18 – 2025 Obsidi BNXT: Juneteenth Tech Forum

Obsidi.com, an online platform launched by the Black Professionals in Tech Network (BPTN), will host a forum for high-performing Black and allied tech executives. The event offers networking opportunities, keynotes and panels that feature executives from Echelon Health Partners, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, SAP, Intuit and more.

The event is Wednesday, June 18, at NRG Center. Register here.

June 24 — Houston Methodist Leadership Speaker Series

Head to the Houston Methodist Tech Hub at Ion to hear the latest installment of the Houston Methodist Leadership Speaker Series. Trent Fulin, vice president and CEO at Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital, will discuss the new 105-acre campus and its first 100 days of patient care, followed by a Q&A.

This event is Tuesday, June 23, from 4:45-6 p.m. Register here.

June 25-26 – Carbon Capture Technology Expo and  Hydrogen Technology Conference & Expo North America

Tackling climate change is one of the biggest global challenges that requires immediate action, and many industrial sectors are now looking to new technology to help meet net-zero emission targets. The Carbon Capture Technology Expo is North America's leading event for carbon capture, utilization and storage. The expo offers opportunities to network with industry frontrunners and best-in-class solution providers.

This event begins June 25 at NRG Center. Click here to register. It is co-located with the Hydrogen Technology Conference & Expo North America. Expo passes are free.

June 26 – NASA Tech Talk

Every fourth Thursday of the month, NASA experts, including longtime engineer Montgomery Goforth, present on technology development challenges NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the larger aerospace community are facing and how Houston’s innovation community can leverage them. Stick around after for drinks and networking at Second Draught.

This event is Thursday, June 26, from 6-7 p.m. at the Ion. Register here.

3 Houston innovators who made headlines in May 2025

Innovators to Know

Editor's note: Houston innovators are making waves this month with revolutionary VC funding, big steps towards humanoid robotics, and software that is impacting the agriculture sector. Here are three Houston innovators to know right now.

Zach Ellis, founder and partner of South Loop Ventures

Zach Ellis. Photo via LinkedIn

Zach Ellis Jr., founder and general partner of South Loop Ventures, says the firm wants to address the "billion-dollar blind spot" of inequitable distribution of venture capital to underrepresented founders of color. The Houston-based firm recently closed its debut fund for more than $21 million. Learn more.

Ty Audronis, CEO and founder of Tempest Droneworx

Ty Audronis, CEO and founder of Tempest Droneworx

Ty Audronis, center. Photo via LinkedIn.

Ty Audronis and his company, Tempest Droneworx, made a splash at SXSW Interactive 2025, winning the Best Speed Pitch award at the annual festival. The company is known for it flagship product, Harbinger, a software solution that agnostically gathers data at virtually any scale and presents that data in easy-to-understand visualizations using a video game engine. Audronis says his company won based on its merits and the impact it’s making and will make on the world, beginning with agriculture. Learn more.

Nicolaus Radford, CEO of Persona AI

Nicolaus Radford, founder and CEO of Nauticus RoboticsNicolaus Radford. Image via LinkedIn

Houston-based Persona AI and CEO Nicolaus Radford continue to make steps toward deploying a rugged humanoid robot, and with that comes the expansion of its operations at Houston's Ion. Radford and company will establish a state-of-the-art development center in the prominent corner suite on the first floor of the building, with the expansion slated to begin in June. “We chose the Ion because it’s more than just a building — it’s a thriving innovation ecosystem,” Radford says. Learn more.