The growth of the Hispanic entrepreneur and small business owner, whether through corporate or individual support, is a positive for the entire state. Photo via Getty Images

Texas’ demographics are changing. The latest statistics from the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau states Hispanic Texans are estimated to be the largest demographic group in the state at 40.2 percent. However, the U.S. Small Business Administration reports Texas Hispanics make up only 29.4 percent of business owners.

Many times, small businesses are a good barometer for an area’s economic health. When Texas’ Hispanic businesses succeed, so does the state’s economy. Therefore, it is imperative for Texans to support its Hispanic entrepreneurs and small business owners so the local economy can thrive. There are a variety of ways to show support, both large and small.

Support supplier diversity

Supplier or vendor diversity programs serve both businesses well. These programs, when founded with the intention to help foster and grow businesses with shared values and behaviors, breed innovation through collaboration. Businesses do not have to be large to implement vendor diversity programs, but it helps if they are established with strong processes in place.

Training can be a major benefit for the entrepreneurs involved in vendor diversity programs. This is the best opportunity for entrepreneurs to fine-tune business processes and to streamline their work to become a more efficient vendor, which is ideal for all parties. In turn, these learnings foster growth, preparing them for more new business opportunities, and it give them the ability to compete at a higher level.

Back innovation hubs

There are numerous innovation hubs across the state where entrepreneurs can come together to research and create. Encouraging Hispanic entrepreneurs to plug into these diverse communities can only help accelerate their business to a profitable state and bring it to scale.

For the Hispanic executives who have found success, it is important to encourage these entrepreneurs and participate in programming. When an entrepreneur sees someone who looks like them succeed, it gives a boost of confidence that success is within reach. Mentoring is another avenue that can lead entrepreneurs to further success. Studies show entrepreneurs who are mentored have more profitable and long-lasting businesses when paired with a mentor.

Support and recommend business

The simplest way for anyone to help a Hispanic entrepreneur, as is the case with every small business, is to patronize and recommend them to others. When an entrepreneur with an exceptional product or service is found, purchasing directly supports the entrepreneur’s dream, and word-of-mouth marketing is priceless. This can be as easy as telling another business owner about their service or posting about it on social media.

At a corporate level, consider these businesses for events. A popular Hispanic-owned catering company could become a preferred vendor for client lunches or sales meetings. Prizes and gift bags are popular at larger events and stocking them with products from local entrepreneurs can help them land another loyal customer. Taking it a step further, highlight these entrepreneurs and small business owners throughout the event, giving them your company’s stamp of approval.

When Texans support Hispanic entrepreneurs and their businesses, there is a significant impact on the economy through job creation, increased wages and tax revenue. The growth of the Hispanic entrepreneur and small business owner, whether through corporate or individual support, is a positive for the entire state.

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Steve Arizpe is president and chief operating officer with Houston-based Insperity.

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Rice University team develops eco-friendly method to destroy 'forever chemicals' in water

clean water research

Rice University researchers have teamed up with South Korean scientists to develop the first eco-friendly technology that captures and destroys toxic “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, in water.

PFAS have been linked to immune system disruption, certain cancers, liver damage and reproductive disorders. They can be found in water, soil and air, as well as in products like Teflon pans, waterproof clothing and food packaging. They do not degrade easily and are difficult to remove.

Thus far, PFAS cleanup methods have relied on adsorption, in which molecules cling to materials like activated carbon or ion-exchange resins. But these methods tend to have limited capacity, low efficiency, slow performance and can create additional waste.

The Rice-led study, published in the journal Advanced Materials, centered on a layered double hydroxide (LDH) material made from copper and aluminum that could rapidly capture PFAS and be used to destroy the chemicals.

The study was led by Rice professor Youngkun Chung, a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Michael S. Wong. It was conducted in collaboration with Seoktae Kang, professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Keon-Ham Kim, professor at Pukyung National University, who first discovered the LDH material.

The team evaluated the LDH material in river water, tap water and wastewater. And, according to Rice, that material’s unique copper-aluminum layers and charge imbalances created an ideal binding environment to capture PFAS molecules.

“To my astonishment, this LDH compound captured PFAS more than 1,000 times better than other materials,” Chung, lead author of the study and now a fellow at Rice’s WaTER (Water Technologies, Entrepreneurship and Research) Institute and Sustainability Institute, said in a news release. “It also worked incredibly fast, removing large amounts of PFAS within minutes, about 100 times faster than commercial carbon filters.”

Next, Chung, along with Rice professors Pedro Alvarez and James Tour, worked to develop an eco-friendly, sustainable method of thermally decomposing the PFAS captured on the LDH material. They heated saturated material with calcium carbonate, which eliminated more than half of the trapped PFAS without releasing toxic by-products.

The team believes the study’s results could potentially have large-scale applications in industrial cleanups and municipal water treatments.

“We are excited by the potential of this one-of-a-kind LDH-based technology to transform how PFAS-contaminated water sources are treated in the near future,” Wong added in the news release. “It’s the result of an extraordinary international collaboration and the creativity of young researchers.”

Axiom Space announces new CEO amid strategic leadership change

new leader

Six months after promoting Tejpaul Bhatia from chief revenue officer to CEO, commercial space infrastructure and human spaceflight services provider Axiom Space has replaced him.

On Oct. 15, Houston-based Axiom announced Jonathan Cirtain has succeeded Bhatia as CEO. Bhatia joined Axiom in 2021. Cirtain remains the company’s president, a role he assumed in June, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In a news release, Axiom said Cirtain’s appointment as CEO is a “strategic leadership change” aimed at advancing the company’s development of space infrastructure.

Axiom hired Cirtain as president in June, according to his LinkedIn profile. The company didn’t publicly announce that move.

Kam Ghaffarian, co-founder and executive chairman of Axiom, said Cirtain’s “proven track record of leadership and commitment to excellence align perfectly with our mission of building era-defining space infrastructure that will drive exploration and fuel the global space economy.”

Aside from praising Cirtain, Ghaffarian expressed his “sincere gratitude” for Bhatia’s work at Axiom, including his leadership as CEO during “a significant transition period.”

Bhatia was promoted to CEO in April after helping Axiom gain more than $1 billion in contracts, Space News reported. He succeeded Ghaffarian as CEO. Axiom didn’t indicate whether Bhatia quit or was terminated.

Cirtain, an astrophysicist, was a senior executive at BWX Technologies, a supplier of nuclear components and fuel, for eight years before joining Axiom. Earlier, Cirtain spent nearly nine years in various roles at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He previously co-founded a machine learning company specializing in Earth observation.

“Axiom Space is pioneering the commercialization of low-Earth orbit infrastructure while accelerating advancements in human spaceflight technologies,” Cirtain said. “I look forward to continuing our team’s important work of driving innovation to support expanded access to space and off-planet capabilities that will underpin the future of space exploration.”

Among other projects, Axiom is developing the world’s first commercial space station, creating next-generation spacesuits for astronauts and sending astronauts on low-Earth orbit missions.

Houston billionaire benefactors will donate almost entire fortune to charity

Giving Back

Houston billionaires Rich and Nancy Kinder plan to donate an astounding 95% of their multi-billion-dollar wealth to charities, they told ABC13's Melanie Lawson.

The news comes as the Kinder Foundation announced an $18.5 million expansion project for Emancipation Park in the heart of Third Ward. That historic park was founded by slaves in 1872.

The Kinders are one of the wealthiest couples in the nation, worth $11.4 billion, according to Forbes. You've certainly seen the Kinder name on buildings and facilities around the city of Houston.

The Kinders are also among the most generous, giving away hundreds of millions to Houston institutions and charities. Their plan is to give away almost all of their wealth, or more than $10 billion.

Rich Kinder helped build oil and gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, but he stepped down as CEO more than a decade ago for a what he calls a bigger cause.

"Well, I think we'd all like to leave the world a little better place than we found it," he said. "And we just felt early on that the right thing to do was to try to give most or all of that away. So that's what we plan to do during our lifetime and after our death."

They found kindred spirits as one of the first couples to sign The Giving Pledge, established by billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

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Continue reading the full story, with video, on ABC13.com.