8 Houston entrepreneurs recognized on annual EY awards program

regional winners

Eight Houston entrepreneurs are among 16 recipients of EOY’s Gulf South Award, which recognizes leaders of high-growth companies in Central Texas, South Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Photo via Getty Images

Eight Houston-area entrepreneurs have been named regional winners in Ernst & Young’s 2024 Entrepreneur Of The Year program.

The eight entrepreneurs are among 16 recipients of EOY’s Gulf South Award, which recognizes leaders of high-growth companies in Central Texas, South Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

A panel of judges chose the winners based on factors such as:

  • Creation of long-term value through entrepreneurship.
  • Commitment to the purpose of their business.
  • Demonstration of growth and “substantial impact.”

“The 2024 Entrepreneur Of The Year Gulf South Award winners are exceptional business leaders fueling innovation within their industries and growth within their companies,” says Anna Horndahl, an EY partner who is co-director of EOY’s Gulf South program.

The Houston area’s Gulf South winners for 2024 are:

  • Hal Brumfield of Tachus Fiber Internet, a provider of fiber-to-the-home internet service based in The Woodlands.
  • Stuart Hinchen and Peter Jenkins of QuVa Pharma, a Sugar Land-based provider of ready-to-administer injectables.
  • Andrew Levy of Avelo Airlines, a low-cost airline based in Houston.
  • Derek Maetzold of Castle Biosciences, a Friendswood-based provider of diagnostic tests.
  • Shannon Payne of Allied Fire Protection, a Pearland-based provider of fire prevention products and services.
  • John Poindexter of JB Poindexter & Co., a Houston-based provider of automotive and manufacturing goods and services.
  • Ting Qiao of Wan Bridge, a Houston-based developer and operator of build-to-rent communities.

“These entrepreneurs are shining examples of how to lead a scaling business and also care for their employees, customers and communities,” says Travis Garms, an EY partner who is co-director of EOY’s Gulf South program.

The regional winners now qualify for consideration in the EOY national awards program. The national awards are scheduled to be presented in November.

From Your Site Articles
Headed to SXSW? Here's what you need to know. Photo courtesy of SXSW

Podcast: The Houston founder's guide to navigating SXSW 2024

houston innovators podcast episode 227

Tens of thousands of people are descending upon Austin for SXSW — many of whom are ambitious startup founders. For Houston entrepreneurs, there's a lot to consider before heading down the street to Austin, and Marc Nathan can help.

The native Houstonian, who works with startups as senior director of market development at Michael Best and is based in Austin, has attended the conference for over 20 years. Every year, he assembles a comprehensive SXSW guide including round up of must-attend events, tips, and more.

He joined the Houston Innovators Podcast this week to provide his thoughts on how Houston founders can make the most of the tech-focused Interactive track — or the unofficial experiences taking place around Austin.

"You do not need a badge to enjoy and get the most out of SXSW," Nathan says, explaining that having a badge is ideal for a first timer experience. "For struggling founders who are typically broke, if you can swing the travel to get to Austin — getting here, staying here, and eating here, which are all not very cheap to start with — if you can swing that, then a badge is not that critical."

He also reminds founders that getting an invite to speak on a panel, pitch in the competition, or volunteering can score you a free or discounted badge.

On the show, Nathan shares more tips — from registering to everything you're even remotely interested in to making sure you have on your comfiest walking shoes and bring your external phone charger — on the podcast, but explains that there's really one big mistake new SXSW attendees should avoid.

"The biggest mistake I see year after year — and it's really an entrepreneur problem — but don't be too sales-y. Listen before you talk," Nathan says. "Everybody at SX is going to get it — they are going to understand the language you're speaking. It's not like explaining what your startup is to your 80-year-old grandmother. But you gotta give them a reason and a way to help you."

Headed out to SXSW? Here are a few Houston-focused events to attend.

March 9 - A $20 Trillion Challenge: Financing the Energy Transition (badge required)

A couple of Houstonians join the panel of a topic that is very prevalent in the energy capital of the world: funding of the energy transition. Juliana Garaizar joins the conversation on Saturday, March 9, at 4 pm.

March 10 - How NASA Supports Startups and Individuals to Collaborate on its Mission (badge required)

Last month, a Houston tech company launched a lunar lander in collaboration with NASA — and that's just one of countless examples of NASA's work with tech and startup companies. Join NASA for a panel discussing innovative partnerships on Sunday, March 10, at 4 pm.

March 11 - Houston House @ SXSW 2024 (badge required)

On Monday, March 11, at the LINE Hotel, the Greater Houston Partnership is hosting four panels and a happy hour. More info on the full-day event, which features over a dozen Houston-based experts, startup founders, and more, is available online.

March 12 - Women in VC Breakfast (registration required)

Houston Women in VC and Austin Women in VC are teaming up to host a breakfast with partners JP Morgan Chase and Born Global Ventures for all the female investors headed to SXSW on Tuesday, March 12, at 9 am. Request your registration online.

Learn from the mistakes of a successful Houston entrepreneur — from teamwork tips to reasons why you should network with other startups. Emilija Manevska/Getty Images

6 things this Houston entrepreneur wishes he’d known before starting his company

Guest column

Recently, I was asked what it took to build a startup in Houston. It has taken me three attempts to create a successful startup, and there were a few things that I wish I'd known right out of the gate.

Whether your goal is to exit through a sale, an IPO, or turn your team of pirates into something that looks like a company, your business model will determine how you earn revenue and profits, and you want it to be repeatable and scalable to survive. With that in mind, here are the things I've learned along the way and what I wish I had known before I started my career as an entrepreneur.

Location does matter 

Houston is great for food, sports, and massive rainfall, but it's difficult to find a large pool of talented full-stack software engineers who speak cloud. I recruited some of the best, but it was incredibly difficult to find them compared to markets like Austin, Denver, and San Francisco.

I've seen successful companies build two separate offices, one for a headquarters, and another for development, but for us, we didn't need to build a massive team, so we remained close to customers in Houston and hired a remote team in California. If you need to build a large engineering team, consider a different city or go remote.

Startups have well-defined phases 

Your startup is not a snowflake. There have been thousands upon thousands of entrepreneurs that have succeeded and failed, and a few people have studied them to understand their histories and roadmaps. I wish I learned from them before I began, instead of spending every waking hour building a product, and competing with development time for research.

Looking back, we followed the same trail taken by many other B2B startups, like: Product-market fit, sales optimization, customer success, marketing focus, and eventually scale. It's important to know which phase you are in, who you need to hire in each phase, and most importantly, how your role changes in each one.

Partner roles need to be well understood 

One of largest factors on your probability of success is your team. When choosing your partners, I would suggest using an odd number of people to break stalemates, and to always have a CEO. One person needs to be in charge of execution, I can tell you first hand that committees do not scale well when you need a high velocity of decision making.

When choosing your team, make note of Cal Newport's research on career capital, which is the rare and valuable skills that one can leverage help your startup succeed. If your friend knows how to code or understands databases, ask yourself if he/she is the best in their class, because these are skills that you can hire for or contract out. The traits that accelerated our success were a unique blend of domain expertise, petroleum-specific software knowledge, deep business development expertise, and strong sense of diligence and commitment, which is what became our culture.

Finally, you and your partners need to know what needs to be done, and how you can individually contribute. Your contributions will change in each phase, and each of you need to understand how your roles will change, and be prepared to adapt quickly. If one of your partners writes the first line of code, doesn't mean they'll be the CTO when you have 150 people, the person that makes the first sale may not be the CRO when you have a 30 person salesforce. For those with a large ego, it's one of the hardest things to accept, but must be acknowledged in order for a team to succeed.

Your idea is probably wrong, but that is okay 

We used agile and lean philosophies to build our organization, and our approach was centered around what Steve Blank calls "customer discovery," the understanding of how to find a product-market fit. These methods subscribe to the hypothesis that successful startups are defined by their team's execution, and not the idea alone. We ditched our first idea after two weeks and pivoted to a new one, and we learned from our customers very quickly and created over 115 prototypes in 10 months before making the first sale. Each group of customers saw a different prototype, and each beta-tester used a different design, a different stack, a different user experience. We had to learn quickly. Agile and lean processes helped us iterate quickly and discover what our customers needed, but a highly skilled team was needed to figure out how to use the processes correctly.

Connect with others who have made it

Success is a multi-variate formula that compounds every good and bad decision unequally. If you don't know the answer to a key decision, your team can help, if they don't know, then find another team that has navigated your trail to provide advice.

In Houston, there are not many teams who have been through this, we leaned on help from the Austin network. I'm a big believer in helping the community of entrepreneurs, and I am more than happy to throw down the rope to help others in their ascent.

Money is your oxygen

Lastly, learning to hold your breath isn't a long-term strategy for deep sea dives. You'll need to know how many months of oxygen you have in your bank account at all times. There is no magic number of months for runway, but I can tell you from experience that three months is too little for oil and gas tech startups, especially when OilCo's take three to six months to sign and pay your invoices.

I can't emphasize how difficult starting a company can be. By reflecting on the points I mentioned here, I believe that I would have avoided some pitfalls, and maybe even made it a little farther in the journey.

------

James Ruiz is the founder of Houston-based Q Engineering, a data driven solutions company for E&P professionals.

Entrepreneurs' Organization had seven of its members give TED-style talks on April 25. Ammar Selo

Overheard: 9 powerful quotes from TED-style talks by Houston entrepreneurs

Eavesdropping in Houston

Moving the needle on something — whether it's changing the world or growing your business — hearing how others accomplished their own goals can be a beacon of hope and guidance for others.

The local Entrepreneurs' Organization chapter, EO Houston, hosted a series of seven TED Talk-style talks by members of the organization. These seven entrepreneurs discussed everything from being an introvert in a world of extroverts to the biggest security threat to American citizens: obesity. EO Talks took place at a breakfast event on April 25 at Houston Baptist University. If you missed the event, check out these overheard quotes from the day of discussions.

“When you get people involved in your organization, your job (as CEO) is alignment. Keep your team aligned with the strategic objectives of your company.”

— Paul Sarvadi, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Insperity, in his talk, "Take Care of Your People: An Entrepreneur's Journey." Connectivity is key, says Sarvadi.

“Taking care of your people is not rocket science. In fact, rocket science would be easier. It involves math and science — it works the same every day. But as soon as you put people in the mix, what worked yesterday might not work today.”

— Sarvadi continued in his talk about the importance of human resources in the the work place.

“What if everyone in the world knew what they stood for — imagine what that world would look like. We would know how we fit. We would be the best versions of ourselves. And, the world would be the best version of itself.”

— Winnie Hart, founder of TwinEngine in her talk, "What Do You Stand For?" Hart discussed finding one's identity and motivators — both in business and in life.

“Everywhere we look introverts are living in an extroverted world. It’s natural if you’re an introvert, like me, to feel a little insecure or that you feel the need to compete with your extraverted friends.”

— Darlene Gagnon, CEO and co-founder of Kinnect Global Management Services in her talk, "The Introverted Entrepreneur Competing in an Extroverted World." Gagnon says that introverts on track to be the most successful entrepreneurs with their execution skills, detail oriented nature, and ability to tune out the noise.

“It is the men in our lives that need to take action. Gentlemen, stand with us. Help us create a better presence so that we can sustain a future.”

— Shoshi Kaganovsky, CEO and founder of SensoLeak Global, in her talk, "Women Entrepreneurs—To Be..Or..To Be The Best." Kaganovsky compared how people say, "behind every great man is a woman," to how female leaders also need the support from the other gender.

“Entrepreneurship is an endless circle of reinventing yourself, being able to change, and keeping a positive attitude while doing so.”

— Kaganovsky continued in her talk as advice to the room of entrepreneurs.

“We can escape this crushing threat we call obesity. How are you going to make your escape?”

— Dr. Joe Galati, liver disease expert, radio host and author in his talk, "America's #1 National Security Threat." Galati argued that it's not Russia or North Korea that pose a major threat to the United States — it's our own health issues caused by obesity.

“We’ve all heard of the term ‘side hustle.' Maybe my dad invented the ‘side hustle.’”

— Chris Hotze, CEO and founder of Crescere Capital, in his talk, "Understanding the Power of Recurring Revenue." Hotze tells the story of how his father created a residential real estate side business out of necessity, and how that entrepreneurialism affected his own business career.

“As entrepreneurs, as long as we see control, we visualize an opportunity far greater than we see the risk.”

— Ali Nasser, CEO of AltruVista in his talk, "The Entrepreneur's Opportunity Cost," Nasser explains how entrepreneurs are hesitant to put money in the stock market, yet dive into ownership and risks for their own businesses.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Eli Lilly scoops up Houston biotech startup in $300 million deal

big pharma deal

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has acquired Houston biotech startup CrossBridge Bio, which develops antibody-drug conjugates for cancer, in a deal worth up to $300 million. The deal was celebrated by TMC Venture Fund and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston last week.

CrossBridge, founded in 2023, is developing ADCs based on research by Kyoji Tsuchikama and Zhiqiang An, both of UT Health Houston. Tsuchikama is an associate professor of medicinal chemistry and a globally recognized ADC pioneer, and An is a professor of molecular science and vice president of drug discovery.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a potent combination of targeted therapy and chemotherapy that kills cancer cells while saving healthy tissue.

Clinical trials for CrossBridge’s primary ADC candidate, CBB-120, are expected to start this year, pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“I’m proud of how well our team has executed and advanced our platform in such a short time since the company’s founding,” Michael Torres, co-founder and CEO of CrossBridge, said in a news release. “By becoming a part of Lilly, a leader in patient-focused therapeutic development, we are well-positioned to further accelerate the clinical potential of this approach.”

Under the Lilly deal, CrossBridge shareholders were expected to receive an upfront payment along with a follow-up payment based on the achievement of certain milestones.

In 2024, CrossBridge closed a $10 million seed round. Among the investors in CrossBridge are the Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, CE-Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Portal Innovations, Linden Lake Labs, and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). It was formed in TMC Innovation’s Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics program."Built within the TMC ecosystem, CrossBridge Bio grew with the support, funding, and resources that helped shape its trajectory. TMC led the company's early financing and watched it evolve from its earliest days to its acquisition by Eli Lilly," William McKeon, president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center, shared in a LinkedIn post. "[This is a] strong reminder that breakthrough science and the right early backing can change what’s possible."

7 Houston neighbors named to U.S. News' best places to live in 2026

Living Well

Several Houston suburbs have been crowned the best places to live in the U.S. for 2026, according to U.S. News & World Report. Sugar Land is the highest-ranked city in the Houston metro, and it ranks as the 10th best place to live in the country.

The annual list of Best Places to Live in the U.S. is designed to help readers make the most informed decisions when choosing where to settle down, using data from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce, the Federal Reserve and the Bureau for Economic Analysis, as well as state and local sources.

For the 2026-2027 rankings, U.S. News featured 250 U.S. cities and ranked them across four livability indexes — quality of life, value, desirability, and job market — weighted by importance based on survey results of approximately 500 Americans. The rankings were also broken down state-by-state, as well as the best big, medium, and small cities overall.

Sugar Land is the No. 4 best places to live in Texas, and it soared into the No. 10 spot overall in the nation after ranking 16th last year. Sugar Land also ranks as the fourth-best mid-sized city to live in America for 2026-2027.

According to U.S. News, Sugar Land's median household income is far higher than the national average. Residents make $140,511 per year, while the average American household income is only $83,181.

Additionally, the $431,815 median home value in Sugar Land is also far greater than the $359,870 national average.

After ranking in the top 10 in the 2025 report, League City and Pearland now both rank outside the national top 10 for 2026. League City slipped from No. 6 to No. 13 this year, while Pearland dropped from No. 3 nationwide to No. 16.

These three Houston suburbs also boast highly desirable job markets for potential newcomers or current residents that want to start or change their career.

Houston proper, however, remains outside of the top 250 and is the 327th best place to live in the U.S., and it's the 60th best place to live in Texas.

Other cities in the greater Houston area that ranked among the top 100 include:

  • No. 28 – The Woodlands
  • No. 38 – Katy
  • No. 61 – Missouri City
  • No. 82 – Spring

The Lone Star State had a "strong showing" in the overall top 10 thanks to its "high affordability scores," a release said. Besides Sugar Land, three more popular Texas suburbs made the cut: Leander (No. 8) outside Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs Flower Mound (No. 3) and Frisco (No. 9).

"As prices of everyday goods continue to rise, consumers are considering affordability as a top priority when choosing a place to live," said U.S. News consumer lending analyst Erika Giovanetti. "While U.S. News’ consumer survey indicated that quality of life and affordability were close in importance, cost-of-living concerns resulted in many Americans putting what they can afford above their aspirations."

---

This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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

where to be

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.

View All Listings