These are the Houston companies headed to MassChallenge Texas in Austin

Texas road trip

A handful of Houston startups will be bouncing back and forth to Austin for the second annual MassChallenge Texas accelerator. Getty Images

It's the second cohort for Boston-based MassChallenge Texas in Austin, and this year's 74 selected finalists are well represented by Houston.

"Coming from an extremely competitive application pool, the startups in our second Austin-based cohort represent an incredibly high bar of creativity and talent, all of who are poised to make an impact," says Mike Millard, managing director of MassChallenge Texas, in a release. "This year's program will offer the finalists innovation at scale with direct access to resources through our programs in Houston and Austin, and our community around the state. Through these channels, startups will have more opportunities to test and validate their ideas with partners while creating meaningful engagements to help them get to pilot or pivot as fast as possible."

While there is the upcoming MassChallenge Texas inaugural Houston cohort, these seven companies opted for a spot in the Austin-based cohort where the stakes are higher and cash prizes are on the line — $500,000, the largest equity-free cash prize in Texas, to be precise. (Houston's inaugural set of prizes reportedly don't included money.)

These are seven of the Houston-related companies that will be trekking back and forth to Austin from June until October.

crewcollar

 Getty Images

It's crewcollar's mission to optimize hiring for industrial and blue-collar jobs, simplifying the entire process from curated job posts to paperwork filing. The company is based just outside of Houston in Missouri City.

"We are super excited to be joining MassChallenge Texas, and know that this experience will help us take it to the next level," says M. Siler, CEO and founder, in a release.

GotSpot Inc.

Courtesy of GotSpot

Houston-based GotSpot is Reda Hicks solution to finding temporary space quickly and easily — in a way that benefits all sides of the transaction. The model is like AirBnb, but for retail, meeting, and even emergency space. The corporate lawyer has grown the platform over the past few years and the MassChallenge opportunity is another move in the right direction. Click here to read more about Hicks and GotSpot.

Grant Source

Photo via grantsourceapp.com

Grant Source is like the magic genie to help organizations find funding through grants and opportunities. The Houston startup has a database of opportunities and can help match businesses with appropriate grants to apply to — all within the Grant Source mobile app.

Guzo

Getty Images

Guzo is the tool every traveler has dreamed up. The Houston-based app connects travelers — not just in the planning phase — but throughout the travel process. The company was created by two brothers — Joshua and Gordon Taylor — and is the recreation of Croozen, formerly a long-distance carpool app.

"One of the things that got Gordan and I excited in the beginning of Croozen was just the idea of someone else in the car with you and that shared experience," Joshua Taylor tells InnovationMap in a previous interview about revamping Croozen as Guzo. "Looking past that, just being focused on the car was hindering us. Let's divorce the car and focus on travel as a whole."

Lazarus 3D

Photo via laz3d.com

Practice makes perfect, and surgeons should be as close to perfect as possible, right? Lazarus 3D uses 3D printing to make realistic body parts and organs so that surgeons can rehearse their surgeries before ever slicing into a patient. The company is conveniently located in the Texas Medical Center.

Pilot Plus

Photo via pilotplus.com

The trucking industry needs a rebrand. It's a tireless job that's go-go-go, and the unappealing nature of the career isn't ideal. Pilot Plus puts the humanity back in the process that benefits the driver and makes for bragging rights for the company employing the trucker. The logistics company allows for a system of drivers that work together for the long haul so that drivers can actually spend time resting in their own homes.

Topl

Courtesy of Topl

Topl's MassChallenge bio lists their HQ in the Netherlands, but the blockchain startup founded by three Rice University alumni has some of its operations right here in town. Topl has a goal of using blockchain technology to connect the dots and enhance transparency in various applications from retail to even being able to track the success of investments or scholarships.

"We are a generation that wants a story," Kim Raath, president at Topl, tells InnovationMap in a previous interview. "We want an origin, and don't want to be fooled. And, because you might be able to reduce the cost by having this transparency, you might be able to bring down the cost on both sides."


Houston-based entrepreneurs have launched Guzo, a travel social networking app. Getty Images

Updated: Houston startup relaunches to connect the dots for travelers

All aboard

This story has been updated to reflect new information.

A year or so ago, Gordon Taylor had thousands of college students using his rideshare app focused on roadtrips, Croozen, across almost 20 universities in the United States. But, as the company grew to the general population, he realized his concept wasn't sustainable for a wider range of people.

First of all, the average Houstonian doesn't drive across Texas too frequently. And, if they do, they look to busses, planes, or driving themselves, Taylor says. Plus, Americans are very conditioned to fear rides from strangers.

"There are successful platforms in Europe that were doing this, but Americans are so different in terms of cultures," he says.

Six months ago, Taylor, along with his brother, Joshua, decided to pivot his travel company and relaunch it as Guzo — "melkam guzo" means "have a great trip" in Ethiopia.

"One of the things that got Gordan and I excited in the beginning of Croozen was just the idea of someone else in the car with you and that shared experience," Joshua Taylor says. "Looking past that, just being focused on the car was hindering us. Let's divorce the car and focus on travel as a whole."

Guzo is a collaborative social network that will be a one-stop platform for experiencing and planning travel. Users can register to the app and connect with friends, acquaintances, and even strangers to solicit ideas for different vacation spots. Rather than spread across apps like text message, Google Docs, Instagram, and Pinterest, for example, you can have all your ideas right in one app. The brothers asked their friends, family, and previous Croozen users to see what they'd want from a travel app, and that played into how they designed Guzo.

The new app launched January 29 at a party at City Hall. The mayor has even declared it Guzo Day. Both native Houstonians, the Taylor brothers say Guzo will focus solely on travel in Houston at first, but they will branch out to other cities, states, and international destinations down the road.

The brothers have a lot of ideas and goals for the app, including Guzo Guides, which will be a select number of influencers in each city that can offer their professional advice on things to do. More details on the app and the guides will become available when the app launches.

For the Taylor brothers, Guzo is all about connecting people when they travel.

"Whatever business you run, there are people involved," Joshua Taylor says. "So, we want to be able to use our platform to bring people together and have them travel more efficiently."


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Innovation Labs @ TMC set to launch for early-stage life science startups

moving in

The Texas Medical Center will launch its new Innovation Labs @ TMC in January 2026 to better support life science startups working within the innovation hub.

The new 34,000-square-foot space, located in the TMC Innovation Factory at 2450 Holcombe Blvd., will feature labs and life science offices and will be managed by TMC. The space was previously occupied by Johnson & Johnson's JLABS @TMC, a representative from TMC tells InnovationMap. JLABS will officially vacate the space in January.

TMC shares that the expansion will allow it to "open its doors to a wider range of life science visionaries," including those in the TMC BioBridge program and Innovation Factory residents. It will also allow TMC to better integrate with the Innovation Factory's offerings, such as the TMC Health Tech accelerator, TMC Center for Device Innovation and TMC Venture Fund.

“We have witnessed an incredible demand for life science space, not only at the TMC Innovation Factory, but also on the TMC Helix Park research campus,” William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, said in a news release. “Innovation Labs @ TMC enables us to meet this rising demand and continue reshaping how early-stage life science companies grow, connect, and thrive.”

“By bringing together top talent, cutting-edge research, and industry access in one central hub, we can continue to advance Houston’s life science ecosystem," he continued.

The TMC Innovation Factory has hosted 450 early-stage ventures since it launched in 2015. JLABS first opened in the space in 2016 with the goal of helping health care startups commercialize.

13 Houston businesses appear on Time's best midsize companies of 2025

new report

A Houston-based engineering firm KBR tops the list of Texas businesses that appear on Time magazine and Statista’s new ranking of the country’s best midsize companies.

KBR holds down the No. 30 spot, earning a score of 91.53 out of 100. Time and Statista ranked companies based on employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and transparency about sustainability. All 500 companies on the list have annual revenue from $100 million to $10 billion.

According to the Great Place to Work organization, 87 percent of KBR employees rate the company as a great employer.

“At KBR, we do work that matters,” the company says on the Great Place to Work website. “From climate change to space exploration, from energy transition to national security, we are helping solve the great challenges of our time through the high-end, differentiated solutions we provide. In doing so, we’re striving to create a better, safer, more sustainable world.”

KBR recorded revenue of $7.7 billion in 2024, up 11 percent from the previous year.

The other 12 Houston-based companies that landed on the Time/Statista list are:

  • No. 141 Houston-based MRC Global. Score: 85.84
  • No. 168 Houston-based Comfort Systems USA. Score: 84.72
  • No. 175 Houston-based Crown Castle. Score: 84.51
  • No. 176 Houston-based National Oilwell Varco. Score: 84.50
  • No. 234 Houston-based Kirby. Score: 82.48
  • No. 266 Houston-based Nabor Industries. Score: 81.59
  • No. 296 Houston-based Archrock. Score: 80.17
  • No. 327 Houston-based Superior Energy Services. Score: 79.38
  • No. 332 Kingwood-based Insperity. Score: 79.15
  • No. 359 Houston-based CenterPoint Energy. Score: 78.02
  • No. 461 Houston-based Oceaneering. Score: 73.87
  • No. 485 Houston-based Skyward Specialty Insurance. Score: 73.15

Additional Texas companies on the list include:

  • No. 95 Austin-based Natera. Score: 87.26
  • No. 199 Plano-based Tyler Technologies. Score: 86.49
  • No. 139 McKinney-based Globe Life. Score: 85.88
  • No. 140 Dallas-based Trinity Industries. Score: 85.87
  • No. 149 Southlake-based Sabre. Score: 85.58
  • No. 223 Dallas-based Brinker International. Score: 82.87
  • No. 226 Irving-based Darling Ingredients. Score: 82.86
  • No. 256 Dallas-based Copart. Score: 81.78
  • No. 276 Coppell-based Brink’s. Score: 80.90
  • No. 279 Dallas-based Topgolf. Score: 80.79
  • No. 294 Richardson-based Lennox. Score: 80.22
  • No. 308 Dallas-based Primoris Services. Score: 79.96
  • No. 322 Dallas-based Wingstop Restaurants. Score: 79.49
  • No. 335 Fort Worth-based Omnicell. Score: 78.95
  • No. 337 Plano-based Cinemark. Score: 78.91
  • No. 345 Dallas-based Dave & Buster’s. Score: 78.64
  • No. 349 Dallas-based ATI. Score: 78.44
  • No. 385 Frisco-based Addus HomeCare. Score: 76.86
  • No. 414 New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises. Score: 75.75
  • No. 431 Dallas-based Comerica Bank. Score: 75.20
  • No. 439 Austin-based Q2 Software. Score: 74.85
  • No. 458 San Antonio-based Frost Bank. Score: 73.94
  • No. 475 Fort Worth-based FirstCash. Score: 73.39
  • No. 498 Irving-based Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Score: 72.71

Texas ranks as No. 1 most financially distressed state, says new report

Money Woes

Experiencing financial strife is a nightmare of many Americans, but it appears to be a looming reality for Texans, according to a just-released WalletHub study. It names Texas the No. 1 most "financially distressed" state in America.

To determine the states with the most financially distressed residents, WalletHub compared all 50 states across nine metrics in six major categories, such as average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Joining Texas among the top five most distressed states are Florida (No. 2), Louisiana (No. 3), Nevada (No. 4), and South Carolina (No. 5).

Texas' new ranking as the most financially distressed state in 2025 may be unexpected, WalletHub says, considering the state has a "bigger GDP than most countries" and still has one of the top 10 best economies in the nation (even though that ranking is also lower than it was in previous years).

Even so, Texas residents are stretching themselves very thin financially this year. Texans had the ninth lowest average credit scores nationwide during the first quarter of 2025, the study found, and Texans had the sixth-highest increase in non-business-related bankruptcy filings over the last year, toppling 22 percent.

"Texas also had the third-highest number of accounts in forbearance or with deferred payments per person, and the seventh-highest share of people with these distressed accounts, at 7.1 percent," the report said.

This is where Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

  • No. 5 – "Loans" search interest index rank
  • No. 6 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
  • No. 7 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
  • No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
  • No. 13 – Credit score rank and “debt” search interest index rank
Examining these financial factors on the state level is important for understanding how Americans are faring with economic issues like inflation, unemployment rates, or natural disasters, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.


"When you combine data about people delaying payments with other metrics like bankruptcy filings and credit score changes, it paints a good picture of the overall economic trends of a state," Lupo said.

On the other side of the spectrum, states like Hawaii (No. 50), Vermont (No. 49), and Alaska (No. 48) are the least financially distressed states in America.

The top 10 states with the most people in financial distress in 2025 are:

  • No. 1 – Texas
  • No. 2 – Florida
  • No. 3 – Louisiana
  • No. 4 – Nevada
  • No. 5 – South Carolina
  • No. 6 – Oklahoma
  • No. 7 – North Carolina
  • No. 8 – Mississippi
  • No. 9 – Kentucky
  • No. 10 – Alabama
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A version of this article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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