Startup gift guide: Shop local from these Houston companies

startup santa

Support Houston startups by shopping local this holiday season. Photos courtesy

'Tis the season for giving — and what if you could check off your holiday to-do list and simultaneously support some local startups? This year's Houston startup gift guide includes comfortable-yet-stylish heels, culinary treats, and more.

Need some more ideas? Browse last year's roundup of Houston startup-created gift ideas and check out the 2020 and 2019 startup gift guides as well for even more options.

For the family fashionista: All-day comfort shoes

Steffie Tomson founded a company to prioritize comfort — without sacrificing style — for women on the go. Photo via getawaysticks.com

Before starting her business, Houstonian Steffie Tomson ordered $2,000 worth of shoes and sliced them all in half with a bandsaw just to see what was inside. Tomson, a neuroscientist by trade and the founder and CEO of footwear startup Getaway Sticks, had an idea for a different kind of shoe — one that was redesigned to prioritize women’s comfort.

Earlier this year, Tomson shared the Getaway Sticks origin story with InnovationMap. The heels are available online for around $200 per pair.

For the resident chef: Fresh fish delivered

Sugar Land-based Fish Fixe floated their seafood delivery service on Shark Tank last year. Photo via Shark Tank

Houstonians Melissa Harrington and Emily Castro saw how beneficial incorporating fish into your diet can be — so they decided to launch an easier way to do it. They launched Fish Fixe in 2017 to deliver seafood with easy-to-access instructions on storage and thawing — plus cooking recipes that take around 20 minutes.

The duo appeared on the 13th season of Shark Tank last year. In 2020, as InnovationMap reported, the company saw a 400-percent increase in sales. They pitched asking for $200,000 in investment. Lori Greiner, the "queen of QVC," took the bait — and 25 percent equity.

Shoppers can stock up on various boxes from $109 to $219, or opt for a gift card for their loved one.

For the health nut: Sustainably-sourced nutrients

A Houston-based fund has deployed capital into a local nutritional supplement business. Photo via Instagram

Houston--based iwi creates nutritional supplements for the brain and the heart — and they are doing it in a sustainable setting: algae farms. These football field-sized farms operate on desert land using just salt water and sand and produce algae sustainably — all while absorbing CO2. Miguel Calatayud, CEO of the company, tells InnovationMap that the farms even area able to reuse 98 percent of the water involved in the process. Earlier this year, iwi received an investment from a local group in an $8 million deal.

The company has almost a dozen options online for around $30 per canister of supplements.

For your aging loved ones: Afterlife planning and memory keeping

The Postage — a Houston-based company that's streamlining afterlife planning — has rolled out a new app. Photo courtesy of The Postage

There's a lot that goes into legacy and afterlife planning, and a Houston startup has emerged to make the process a whole lot easier. The Postage helps its users generate their wills and organize information to leave behind, the company's founder, Emily Cisek, shares with InnovationMap. The platform also every user to leave messages, photos, and memories in a digital vault that will stand the test of time.

Giving the gift of legacy planning can be an option for anyone in your family — from the grandparents to the newlyweds.

For someone seeking luscious locks: Hair growth tracking kit

This startup is making sure every follicle of hair on your head is counted. Photo via myhaircounts.com

While it might seem odd to gift someone a hair loss tracking kit, this product from a Houston company has helped many men and women suffering from hair density challenges. MyHairCounts created a hair density imaging kit and app based on proprietary and patent-pending software. The kit includes a variety of items such as scalp imaging guides, a comb, and gel to help individuals photograph their hair follicles at specified angles. Users then upload these photographs into the app for analyses which are delivered within 48 hours. These analyses inform the user whether or not their hair regrowth treatment is effective.

The kit itself is just $40 and available online. Users can work with the company on a longer hair growth plan, too.

Bonus: What to bring to the table

Support Houston startups by bringing these goodies to your next festive shindig. Photos courtesy

Sometimes your presence is the present, and if you're headed to some holiday dinner parties, here are some innovative ideas for the potluck.

  • Houston-based Dream Harvest Farming Co., a vertical indoor farming company producing leafy greens and herbs and delivering them locally to grocery stores in Texas and nearby states. Pick up Dream Harvest products at a Whole Foods location, and read more about the company.
  • This year has been a big one for the growing Bread Man Baking Co., as the company expanded from its 5,000-square-foot kitchen and moved its operations into a new 40,000-square-foot facility on the northeast side of Houston. Pick up some of the company's products at Whole Foods or HEB. Read more about the company.
  • A new, “hyperpure” oxygen-enriched water brand has rolled out in Houston in single-serve and subscription options. Dubbed HOW — Hyperpure Oxygenated Water — the award-winning super-filtered water (via a 14-level filtration process that removes impurities down to the nano-level .0001 microns) is now available at 35 specialty retailers around town. Read more about the company.

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Sugar Land-based Fish Fixe floated their seafood delivery service on Shark Tank last year. Photo via Shark Tank

After catching a deal on Shark Tank, these Houston-area fish foodies swim toward more funding

reeling in cash

The benefits of working more fish into your diet are as endless as the vast ocean itself, but going about buying and cooking fish is an expensive and daunting process.

Houstonians Melissa Harrington and Emily Castro thought they could help and launched Fish Fixe in 2017 to tackle these challenges and bring high quality seafood direct to consumers. Fish Fixe delivers seafood with easy-to-access instructions on storage and thawing — plus cooking recipes that take around 20 minutes.

The duo launched the company in 2017 and appeared on the 13th season of Shark Tank last year. In 2020, with more people avoiding grocery stores and restaurants, they saw a 400-percent increase in sales. They pitched asking for $200,000 in investment. Lori Greiner, the "queen of QVC," took the bait — and 25 percent equity.

“COVID-19, which forced more people to eat at home and adopt direct-to-consumer services, and Shark Tank were both spring boards for our sales, and through these events we've been able to retain many customers,” says Harrington.

In order to sustain this growth and provide more opportunities to scale, Harrington and Castro put the Shark Tank investment into their distribution line and moved everything into a centralized distribution center which replenishes distribution centers in other parts of the country.

“By late Q2, we will have four distribution centers that can hit 99 percent of the US in less than two days,” says Harrington.

Up next, Harrington and Castro have their sights set on the customer experience and the content space, which they hope to support with some outside funding.

“We are going to go raise some money because we truly feel that with the right resources we can scale and serve more people and spread the message,” says Harrington. “The hard work, we kind of feel like, has already been done in the setup and now it’s time to go have fun and go market, which is really fun.”

Prior to Fish Fixe, Harrington and Castro both worked in food and beverage. Harrington worked in the live lobster business and sold lobsters to high-end Houston restaurants and HEB. Castro worked in wine and spirits and managed a team of 50 sales professionals. Leveraging that depth of experience, they were able to bring Fish Fixe from concept to market in 90 days.

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7+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events in June 2026

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Editor's note: The FIFA World Cup comes to Houston this month, joined by major energy conferences and a lineup of fan-favorite, recurring events. Here’s what not to miss and how to register. Please note: this article may be updated to add more events.


June 1-4 — CLEANPOWER 2026 Conference and Exhibition

CLEANPOWER unites policymakers, experts, and corporate leaders to solve the challenges that none can solve alone. This must-attend, four-day conference is packed with cutting-edge discussions about wind, solar, storage, and transmission; dealmaking; networking; and fun.

This event begins June 1 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Register here.

June 2 — Humans of Healthcare

Houston Methodist Center for Innovation will present its quarterly speaker series, Humans of Healthcare. The series will feature a panel of experts who will share about their career paths and discuss the nuances of the health care industry. This month's session will focus on today’s nursing landscape, the industry’s expectations of nurses and what career paths are possible in the field.

The event is Tuesday, June 2, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Ion. Register here.

June 9 — Greentown Go Make Kickoff

Head to the Ion to celebrate the Greentown Go Make 2026 cohort. The open-innovation program with Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies focuses on catalytic solutions for industrial decarbonization and the energy transition. Hear pitches from the founders and network with a select group of startups while enjoying food and drink.

This event is Tuesday, June 9, from 5:30-8 p.m. Register here.

June 9-10 — Texas Brain Economy Summit

The Center for Houston’s Future and UTMB are bringing the Texas Brain Economy Summit back to Houston this summer to continue to position the region as a global leader in brain health. Expect to hear from leaders of global institutions, including the World Economic Forum, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, McKinsey Health Institute, Global Brain Economy Initiative, Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, Business Collaborative for Brain Health (UsAgainstAlzheimer’s), Rice University, Memorial Hermann, MD Anderson and many others. Read InnovationMap's full preview of the event here.

This event begins Tuesday, June 9. Purchase tickets here.

June 10 — MIT Future of Healthcare Technology Forum

The MIT Club of South Texas will host an in-person forum to explore how innovation, government and policy are changing the healthcare industry. The event will feature MIT alumni and Houston healthcare leaders, including Dr. Tim Boone, dean of the Texas A&M School of Engineering Medicine; Cynthia Reinhart-King, chair of bioengineering at Rice University; Dr. Tony Lin, CEO and chairman emeritus of Kelsey-Seybold Clinic; and others.

This event is Wednesday, June 10, from 5:15-8:30 p.m. at the TAMU EnMed Building. Register here.

June 11 — Goals & Gigawatts: Houston Energy & Climate Week The Power of & Kickoff Party

Come watch the Mexico City FIFA opening match while celebrating energy and innovation at the Goals & Gigawatts Kickoff Party. The event will feature food, drinks, and a showcase on Houston Energy & Climate Week. Learn what to expect and how to get involved in HECW before closing the night with a DJ and karaoke.

This event is Thursday, June 11, from 1:30-6:30 p.m. Find more information here.

June 16-17 — Energy Projects Conference & Expo

The Energy Projects Conference & Expo (EPC Show) is the largest event in North America for professionals working at the heart of major energy projects. The essential event for engineering, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance across multiple energy sectors brings together five leading conferences under one roof. Conference subjects span LNG exporting, hydrogen and ammonia, midstream, petrochem and refining, and sustainable aviation fuels.

This event begins June 16 at George R. Brown Convention Center. Register here.

June 25 – 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 they can be leveraged by Houston’s innovation community. Stick around after for drinks and networking at Second Draught.

This event is Thursday, June 25, from 6-7 p.m. at the Ion. Register here.

Houston researchers report promising first in-human trial for implantable cancer therapy

cancer breakthrough

When it comes to cancer remedies, the treatment can be as challenging for the body as its cause. But what if immunotherapy could be localized? That’s precisely what a Houston team may soon make a reality.

Rice University researchers, in partnership with MD Anderson Cancer Center, recently published their findings from the first in-human trial of an implantable cancer-fighting treatment in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. The paper details testing of AVB-001, encapsulated cells engineered to release interleukin-2 (IL-2)—a naturally occurring signaling protein that boosts immunity—in the peritoneal cavities of 14 patients. The goal is to avoid the toxicity usually experienced with less targeted treatments, as well as find a solution to IL-2s’ abbreviated half-lives.

“Traditional IL-2 therapy has shown potent antitumor activity, but its clinical use has been limited by severe side effects and delivery challenges,” Omid Veiseh, director of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, professor of bioengineering at Rice and a senior author on the study, said in a press release. “This platform allows us to localize and sustain cytokine exposure directly where tumors reside while minimizing systemic toxicity.”

Serous ovarian carcinoma is especially well-suited to the use of AVB-001 because it tends to spread throughout the abdomen. After a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure, patients implanted with the cells were noted to tolerate the treatment well. Half of the enrolled patients’ cancer was stabilized, with several among them reporting extended signs of benefit. No maximum tolerated dose was reached and there were no life-threatening events tied to the study.

If that sounds like less-than-earth-shaking results, this is only the beginning. The capsules were implanted for about one week because IL-2 activity drops off after that. The researchers now know that further testing should include either higher levels, repeated doses, or a combination thereof, in order to create stronger advances.

The team has already made early headway on this next step. Preclinical studies in nonhuman primates were not only tolerated well, but without added toxicity, the apes had consistent pharmacological effects.

“This is a foundational step,” Veiseh explained. “We now have evidence that the platform is safe, biologically active and potentially scalable. The next phase is optimizing dosing and exploring combination therapies to unlock its full clinical potential.”

The combination would also include a checkpoint inhibitor, which might improve AVB-001’s tumor-fighting power. “What is exciting is that we are not just delivering a drug, we are programming a microenvironment,” added Dr. Amir Jazaeri, professor of gynecologic oncology at MD Anderson, member of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad’s clinical advisory board and a senior author on the study. “This opens the door to combination strategies that could amplify immune responses in ways that have not been feasible before.”

5 must-read innovation headlines: Pharma giant considers Houston hub + more

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Editor's note: With May coming to a close, it's time to look back at the biggest innovation headlines for the second half of the month. Major moves were made in May, with NuScale Power entering the market, Persona AI inking a deal with Under Armour, and a pharma giant considering Houston for its next manufacturing hub. Here are the most-read InnovationMap stories published May 15-29, 2026:

1. Pharma giant considers Houston for $1 billion manufacturing campus

Another pharmaceutical giant is considering Houston’s Generation Park for a manufacturing hub. According to a recent filing with the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation (JETI) program, Bristol Myers Squibb Co. is considering the northeast Houston management district for a new $1 billion multi-modal pharmaceutical manufacturing campus.

2. Modular nuclear reactor co. NuScale Power moves into Houston market

The nuclear energy renaissance continues in Texas with an announcement by NuScale Power. The Oregon-based provider of proprietary and innovative advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology announced in April it would be opening office space in Houston’s CityCentre.

3. Persona AI teams with Under Armour to protect next-gen robots

Houston-based Persona AI has cemented a partnership with sportswear manufacturer Under Armour to provide materials to protect future robots operating in dangerous conditions. Through the partnership, Persona AI and Under Armour will launch a research initiative to explore whether advanced performance textiles can improve the durability and resilience of humanoid robots operating in harsh industrial environments.

4. Houston quantum energy chip startup emerges from stealth with $12M round

Houston-based Casimir has emerged from stealth with a $12 million seed round to commercialize its quantum energy chip. The round was led by Austin-based Scout Ventures. Lavrock Ventures, Cottonwood Technology, Capital Factory, American Deep Tech, and Tim Draper of Draper Associates also participated in the round. The oversubscribed round exceeded the company’s original $8 million target.

5. Global summit spotlights Houston's growing role in brain health, innovation

The Center for Houston’s Future and UTMB are bringing the Texas Brain Economy Summit back to Houston this summer to continue to position the region as a global leader in brain health. The summit, held June 9-10 at the Texas Medical Center's Helix Park, will bring together more than 500 executives, researchers, policymakers and innovators from around the world to discuss the global brain economy.

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