Houston founder shares expansion plans for female-focused coworking

houston innovators podcast episode 169

Stephanie Tsuru joins this week's Houston Innovators Podcast to share her growth plans for 2023. Photo via LinkedIn

Stephanie Tsuru didn't know much about coworking when she decided to jump headfirst into creating SheSpace.

On this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast, Tsuru, founder and CEO of SheSpace, explains that she saw an need for a place for women — entrepreneurs, independent contractors, remote workers, etc. — to congregate and collaborate. So, she filled that need.

"The idea wasn't about coworking — it was a place to bring women together so that they didn't have to sit by themselves in a coffee shop," she says on the show.

Tsuru opened the membership-based space with her daughter-in-law Katie in November of 2020, and has already expanded to support its growing membership. In August 2021, SheSpace added an additional 1,500 square feet. Now, the company has 250 women in its network, whether they rent a private office, hotdesk, or just attend for events — something Tsuru says was created based on interest from potential members.

"We had so many people who wanted to be a part of the community — so we started a social networking group," she says.

SheSpace was designed very intentionally, Tsuru explains on the podcast. Everything from the colors on the walls to the parking and surrounding retail access was intentional.

"Women have a lot of stuff on their plate," she says, explaining how SheSpace has a gas station, a grocery store, a nail salon, and more within the same retail property. "We don't get our stuff done in an office complex."

SheSpace has a busy year ahead. While the Heights-area location will be SheSpace's flagship and where programming will continue to be held, Tsuru says she has plans to open a satellite location to accommodate a growing membership and Houston's sprawl.

"We are looking at satellite areas for more offices, workspace, and meeting rooms," she says. "We'll make a decision and have a location this year."

She shares more about what she's accomplished with SheSpace in its first two years — as well as what's next on the podcast. Listen to the interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


In observance of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on November 19, here are four key considerations for women who want to start their own businesses. Photo via Getty Images

Houston expert: 4 things female founders should know before starting a business

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Almost four years ago my business partner and I started Volante Integrated Planning, a Houston-based office of Northwestern Mutual focused on comprehensive financial planning. I always aspired to run a business; however, I knew there were many factors to consider before making that leap.

According to the 2022 Northwestern Mutual Great Realization survey, 24 percent of respondents say they want to start a new business in the next two years. While starting your own business sounds appealing, leaving your current job and becoming an entrepreneur can be a difficult transition — and it’s no secret that women have to approach our career paths differently than men.

As I recognize there is no one-size-fits-all approach to starting and managing your own business, I wanted to share a few valuable lessons and key takeaways that I learned from my own experience:

1. Seek advice and counsel

When it comes to starting your own business, it’s important to go through the proper financial and legal steps. In order to do this, there are three people you should consider developing a relationship with. The first is a financial planner who can assist you in growing your business by creating a budget and finding ways to leverage your current assets to set you up for long-term success. The second is a Certified Public Accountant who has experience in your industry to help you navigate the unique intricacies of being a business owner. Lastly, an attorney who can help you draw up the necessary documents and think through what needs to be included to protect you and your family.

2. Build your team

You will always need a support system and business team to lean on no matter how much experience you have in your industry or in running a business. I knew early on that I wanted to partner with someone to make it more fun and add higher value to our clients. Before launching our business partnership, we went through varying business cycles together to ensure we would mesh well, from a value standpoint, both financially and personally. This business “courtship” is critical to ensure you build the kind of trust needed. It is also important to develop the culture and values you want for your business first and choose partners or team members that align with those values.

3. Don’t be afraid to be authentic

People are drawn to authenticity rather than if you try to fit into a box, which is why it’s important to stay true to yourself in all aspects of your business. By being your true, authentic self, you can put a plan in place to start a business that is a reflection of your values and morals. If being a working mom is a part of your identity, don’t be afraid to make that known to the team. There is nothing that says you have to start a business a certain way, so make it yours and own it.

4. Give yourself grace

As women, we have a tendency to want to do it all, but it’s important to give yourself grace and be intentional with how you prioritize your time. There are certain life factors and considerations that ultimately influence how women prepare for their financial futures, especially when it comes to running a business. If starting or managing your business is the priority at the time, it’s OK to let your social life or fitness routine, for example, take the back burner for a period of time.

Being a female business owner has its challenges, but it is also extremely rewarding. If you’re considering starting your own business, it’s important to remember to stay true to yourself and do your due diligence to prepare for whatever unique challenges may be thrown your way.

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Jennifer Steil is a Houston-based Northwestern Mutual wealth management adviser.

Sesh Coworking's new space is 10 times as big as its previous location. Photo courtesy of Sesh

Exclusive: Houston coworking company plans to move into larger Midtown location

room to grow

A Houston startup with an inclusive approach to coworking has announced where its new location will be and plans to open in its first phase in the new year.

Sesh Coworking, which bills itself as the first female-centered and LGBTQ+-affirming coworking space, has announced its new 20,000-square-foot space at 2808 Caroline St, Suite 100 and 201. The team is all hands on deck to move over the next few weeks and formally beginning operating in the Midtown location in January 2022.

The two-story space is about ten times the size of its original location, which opened in February of 2020. Current and new tenants will move into the space's second floor in January while the first floor, the larger of the two floors, completes construction.

The new space will open in two phases. Image courtesy of Sesh

"Being able to grow our community at our beautiful original location in Montrose through the pandemic is a testament to the grit and resilience of Houstonians. We are so honored and grateful to be a part of their journey,” says Maggie Segrich, founder of Sesh Coworking. “We are excited that our new location in Midtown, near the Innovation District, will provide more Houstonians with the workspace and support they need."

The new location has hassle-free parking in a walkable part of town. In terms of layout, Sesh plans to have 25 offices, three conference rooms, four phone booths, an amphitheater, library, demo kitchen, pop-up retail shop, locker room with showers, and interactive art installations. A huge new perk of the space: 24/7 access for members.

"We plan to offer a robust calendar of programming featuring community partners such as networking events, lunch and learns, breakfast clubs, cooking classes, book clubs, business development and more," the founders tell InnovationMap.

According to Sesh, membership pricing will remain at the current rate of $199 per month, but individuals will now be able to opt into private offices starting at $789 per month for space that can accommodate teams of up to 15 people.

Sesh worked with real estate developer, The Deal Co, to customize the space in order to best meet the needs of its dynamic female and LGBTQ+ members. The new location was funded in part by a crowdfunding campaign, which raised $40,000, which represented the company’s goal. Sesh also received grant funds from the TWU Center for Women Entrepreneurs, an organization aiming to help women grow into successful business owners.

Founders Maggie Segrich (right) opened Sesh with Meredith Wheeler in 2020. Photo courtesy of Sesh

The five finalists in the Female-Founded Business category for the inaugural InnovationMap Awards share the challenges they overcame as female founders. Photos courtesy

Houston founders share the challenges they've had to overcome as women in tech

innovationmap awards

Even in 2021, women face discrimination in the workplace — whether it's running their own businesses or climbing the corporate ladder.

The five female finalists of the Female-Founded Business category for the InnovationMap Awards presented by Techwave were asked to share their challenges overcame as female founders. Here's what they had to say. Click here to register for the livestream.

Raising capital

Carolyn Rodz, founder of Hello Alice, says raising capital was her biggest challenge.

"We overcame it through insane networking and persistence," she continues. "Each round got easier as we proved that we knew how to grow this business and build a fiercely loyal owner community.

Katharine Forth, co-founder of Zibrio, agrees that raising early funding was her biggest challenge.

"To overcome it, I was very creative with the limited funds to generate the progress we created until we reached a threshold that was more comfortable for investors," she explains.

Being the only woman in the room

"This is a hurdle in and of itself, but it brings lots of other little behavioral hurdles too," says Kim Raath, CEO and co-founder of Topl. "Because men and women are socialized so differently, women often have to adapt to or accommodate for male-pattern behaviors."

Raath continues, saying how men tend to up-sell what they are doing, while women undersell. Additionally, she says, men are more likely to make statements while women suggest their ideas.

"It takes a lot of courage to fight for yourself and your ideas in a room full of men," Raath says. "You can't expect others to do it for you. Even further, those of us that are in the room have a duty to speak up, not just for our own sake, but for other voices that are still excluded. Being a woman in the tech space means learning how to accommodate, navigate, and hold your ground."

Being treated equally

For Samantha Snabes, co-founder of re:3D, her biggest challenge was being treated the same as her male co-founder.

"I've learned that I need to be more confident and to be proud of the differences in my leadership or communication style," she explains.

Being mistaken for the secretary

Shoshi Kaganovsky, founder of RingOn, says electronics is a very male dominated arena.

"Every time I approach a man — whether to interview him for a job or to partner up on another level — they think I'm the CEO's secretary," she says.

"When male investors talk to me they often times think I don't understand what I'm doing or that they need to dumb it down for me," continues Kaganovsky, who speaks five languages and has six degrees. "Second conversations are completely different usually."

The new app is live on three Houston-area college campuses. Photo via campusconciergeapp.com

Houston startup addresses gaps in the gig economy with new app

there's an app for that

Two Houstonians are making student side hustles on college campuses a whole lot safer and easier.

When Madison Long and Simone May were undergraduate students at Purdue University, their only option for scoping out basic services — like getting their hair done or hiring a DJ for an event or a photographer for graduation photos — was to ask around among older students. This planted a seed of a business idea in the two women.

Now, the duo has founded Campus Concierge to provide a platform that acts as a marketplace to connect students who have skills or services with potential clients in a safe way. The company, which was a member of DivInc's inaugural Houston accelerator, launched on three college campuses this year — Texas Southern University, Rice University, and Prairie View A&M.

Campus Concierge timed its arrival to the marketplace with the reopening of college campuses for in-person instruction, knowing there would be a need for connection and access.

"Building community is so critical given the fact that it's nerve-wracking any time to ask someone for help — especially now that you are coming back to school after a year of being virtual," says Long, CEO and co-founder of Campus Concierge.

But prior to launch, all Long and May had was virtual. The duo rolled out a six-week social media campaign, which brought over 2,500 students across six different universities onto the Campus Concierge waitlist before they even stepped foot on a college campus to recruit in person.

Campus Concierge's co-founders Madison Long (right) and Simone May met in college. Photo via campusconciergeapp.com

After initial design and testing, Long and May worked on their product during their time at the DivInc. The accelerator, which was announced to launch in Houston last year, aims to build a more inclusive innovation ecosystem and focuses their work on people-of-color and women-founded businesses. Now, Campus Concierge is looking for investors, and credit DivInc for connecting them with potential VCs, angel groups, and angel investors.

"The institutional investment landscape still does rely on very traditional ways of getting in touch with investors — through intros, warm connections," Long tells InnovationMap. "We've been very lucky to be part of DivInc, who has broken down a lot of those doors and a lot of that ambiguity and created a level of transparency plus formal partnerships with folks like Mercury Fund."

The startup founding experience for Long and May has been a positive experience. Long says Houston's innovation ecosystem has been warm and welcoming.

"It doesn't feel like people are working against you or competing with you," May, the company's CTO, adds. "It feels like everyone is working together, and it is very collaborative."

As Black female founders, Long and May say they are encouraged by the diversity and camaraderie of Houston.

"Coming to a city that is so diverse, we're not the exception to everything," Long says. "There are other founders who look like us who are doing really well that we can lean on as mentors, advisers, and take notes from them. ... There is no other place we would have liked to start this platform."

Carrie Colbert saw an opportunity is funding female-founded companies, and she's taking it. Photo courtesy of Curate Capital

Houston investor goes all in on funding female founders

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 81

Carrie Colbert wasn't planning on becoming a venture capital investor — it just happened organically.

"This has been kind of a backwards process. Our fund was driven by demand," Colbert, founder and general partner of Houston-based Curate Capital, says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "We were getting such good deal flow in terms of quantity and quality."

Colbert says she originally carved out a practical career and worked her way up the corporate ladder within the energy industry — first at Anadarko Petroleum and then at Hilcorp Energy Co. — for almost 20 years. On the side, she was also establishing herself as a prominent content creator specializing in all things colorful on her blog and Instagram.

It was through the network she created that she started learning about up-and-coming businesses that she wanted to get involved in — first as an angel investor for a few years and now through her VC.

"Instagram turned out to be one of the best networking tools for me," Colbert says. "You can connect with people wherever they are and wherever you are."

A prime example of this interaction was Jordan Jones, founder and CEO of Austin-based consumer goods company, Packed Party. Jones suggested meeting up with Colbert, and the two hit it off. Down the road when it came time to fundraise, Colbert became Jones' first outside investor.

"I've never had to search for deals," Colbert says. "I connect with them on social media or, in pre-pandemic days, I meet them at creative conferences."

Now, under her Curate Capital, Colbert is raising an initial $10 million fund — and she's already committed about 40 percent of that into companies across industries — consumer packaged goods, fintech, health tech, and more.

"We are not industry specific," Colbert says. "Rather, where I have found our sweet spot to be is businesses by women, for women... That's where I think I can provide the most value."

Female founders continue to be funded less than their male counterparts, and Crunchbase reported that last year the discrepancy increased drastically. Colbert recognizes this need and carved out her niche accordingly.

"Women control so much of the spending, and yet are getting so few of the VC dollars. We really see that as an opportunity. It's not a problem we're trying to fix necessarily — we certainly can't rectify it on our own," Colbert says.

Colbert expects her first fund's initial close around July, and she also plans on announcing new investments in the next few weeks. She's also working on bringing on new limited partners and will soon be launching a crowdfunding opportunity to get more women in her network involved.

Colbert shares more about Curate Capital and her advice for her fellow female entrepreneurs on the episode. Listen to the full interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


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Houston's Texas Medical Center wins prestigious global award recognizing leaders in life science innovation

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Last month, a global organization honored innovation leaders in life sciences, and the Texas Medical Center was among the recipients of the prestigious awards program.

The 18th annual Prix Galien Awards Gala awarded TMC Innovation with the win in the "Incubators, Accelerators and Equity" category. The Galien Foundation created the awards program in 1970 in honor of Galien, the father of medical science and modern pharmacology. Alongside TMC, the other winners represented biotech, digital health, startups, and more.

"We are super proud of this distinction," Tom Luby, director of TMC Innovation says at Envision 2024 last month, crediting the TMCi team and TMC leadership for the award. "We lean on a lot of advisers and experts — people who volunteer their time to work with startups. Without (them), we would not have been successful."

Luby explains that a Prix Galien Award holds a Nobel Prize level of significance for the community.

TMCi was named a finalist in August, and competed against programs from Cedars-Sinai, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, TechConnect, and more.

"The Awards Committee is honored to witness the exceptional dedication and creativity of our nominees as they turn visionary ideas into transformative solutions for patients worldwide," says Michael Rosenblatt, chair of the Prix Galien USA Awards Committee, in a news release. "Their unwavering commitment to advancing patient care is truly commendable, and we are honored to celebrate their outstanding contributions to global health."

The award is displayed at TMC Innovation's office, located in the medical center at 2450 Holcombe Blvd.

Houston energy transition tech SPAC goes public through IPO

BLANK CHECK

Houston-based CO2 Energy Transition Corp. — a “blank check” company initially targeting the carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) sector — closed November 22 on its IPO, selling 6 million units at $10 apiece.

“Blank check” companies are formally known as special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). A SPAC aims to complete a merger, acquisition, share exchange, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination in certain business sectors. CO2 Energy Transition will target companies valued at $150 million to $250 million.

Each CO2 Energy Transition unit consists of one share of common stock, one warrant to purchase one share of common stock at a per-share price of $11.50, and the right to receive one-eighth of a share of common stock based on certain business conditions being met.

The IPO also included the full exercise of the underwriter’s option to buy 900,000 units to cover over-allotments. Kingswood Capital Partners LLC was the sole underwriter.

Gross proceeds from the IPO totaled $69 million. The money will enable the company to pursue CCUS opportunities.

“Recent bipartisan support for carbon capture legislation heavily emphasized the government’s willingness to advance and support technologies for carbon capture, utilization, storage, and other purposes as efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [continue],” Co2 Energy Transition says in an October 2024 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Brady Rogers is president and CEO of CO2 Energy Transition. He also is CEO of Carbon Capture Development Co., a Los Angeles-based developer of direct air capture (DAC) technology, and president of Houston-based Antelope Energy Partners LLC, a provider of oil and gas services.

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

Mastering control room management for smoother critical infrastructure operations

Up to Date

Control room management (CRM) systems play an integral role in ensuring the safe and efficient remote operations of automated processes for the world's most critical infrastructures (CI). If anything goes wrong with these CIs, the risks are major: loss of life or catastrophic environmental disasters. For this reason, rigorous regulatory requirements are crucial.

CRM systems give operators the ability to automate and take control of CI processes, giving operators situational awareness and real-time visibility of remote assets. This minimizes the need for manual work and inspection, and scales a company's ability to safely manage many assets over a large geographical area from one control room.

Most CI have to handle hazardous material in some, if not all, of their operational areas. Though different by industry, regulations and oversight are extremely necessary.

ICS (Industrial Control Systems) and CRM tools are key components of real-time monitoring for advanced warning and emergency alarming. The combination of a “green, amber, red” alert on the screen of an operator's control console will prompt them to respond, and potentially lead to following emergency shut-down response procedures. Training and testing of the control systems and their related standards, procedures, and activities are all recorded in a system of record in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Current challenges
One of the biggest challenges is the ability to easily aggregate the data from the many different systems and integrate them with the operator's daily activity and responses to the many notifications they receive. This makes it difficult for handover, when a new control room operator comes in fresh to take over from the operator coming off duty. Ensuring a clean and clear handover that encompasses all the pertinent information, so that the new operator can take over the console with ease and clarity, is much more difficult than some would imagine.

Another issue is the sheer volume of data. When you have thousands of sensors streaming data, it is not unrealistic for a console to receive a few thousand data points per second. Performance and continuity are priorities on a CI control room console(s). So there is no room for error — meaning there is no room for big (quite literally) data.

All of this means that real-time data must be pushed off the operational and process control network and moved into an area where there are no controls, but big data can be stored to produce big-data analytic capabilities, enabling AI, machine learning, and other data science.

Controller/operator fatigue is also an issue. Manual tracking, documenting, and record-keeping increases fatigue, leading to more mistakes and omissions.

Opportunities for improvement
The Houston-based Tory Technologies, Inc.is a corporation specializing in advanced software applications, creating and integrating various innovative technologies, and providing solutions for control room management and electronic flow measurement data management.

Tory Technologies, Inc. can help with the auto population of forms, inclusion of historical alarms and responses, and easy handover of control with active/open issues highlighted, making for an easier transition from one operator to the next.

"CRM is essential for keeping operations safe and efficient in industries where mistakes can lead to serious problems," says Juan Torres, director of operations - MaCRoM at Tory Technologies, Inc. "While many control rooms have worked hard to meet compliance standards, challenges remain that can affect performance and safety. It's not enough to just meet the basic rules; we need to go further by using smarter tools and strategies that make CRM more than just compliant, but truly effective."

Shaun Six, president of UTSI International, notes that, "CRM solutions are scalable. A smart integration with relevant systems and related data will reduce 'white noise' and increase relevance of data being displayed at the right time, or recalled when most helpful."

The future state
Offering CRM as a service for non-regulated control rooms will give economies of scale to critical infrastructure operators, which will allow dispatching, troubleshooting, and network monitoring so operators can focus on more value-add activities.

It can also virtualize network monitoring, ensuring that field machines and edge computers are compliant with industry and company standards and are not exposed to external threats.

Even better: Much of this can be automated. Smart tools can look through each device and test that passwords are changed, configurations are secure, and firmware/software has been properly patched or safeguarded against known exploits.

The sheer volume of data from these exercises can be overwhelming to operators. But a trained professional can easily filter and curate this data, cutting through the noise and helping asset owners address high-risk/high-probability exploits and plan/manage them.

Ultimately, the goal is to make control rooms efficient, getting the right information to the right people at the right time, while also retaining and maintaining required documents and data, ensuring an operators “license to operator” is uninterrupted and easily accessible to external parties when requested or needed.

Integrating smart CRM systems, network monitoring tools, and testing/validating processes and procedures are all easily accessible with current technological capabilities and availability, letting operators focus on the task at hand with ease and peace of mind.

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