Nominations closed: Houston Exponential and InnovationMap launch nominations for awards event

Introducing: The Listies

Calling all movers and shakers in Houston innovation — nominations are now open for The Listies. Photo via Getty Images

The nominations have closed. The original story below has been edited to reflect the extension.

Calling all Houston startups — you're going to want to hear this. Houston Exponential and InnovationMap have teamed up to create an event to honor the best of Houston innovation.

The awards program — dubbed The Listies, a nod to the HTX TechList that launched earlier this year — will take place on Friday, November 20, online as a part of Impact Hub's annual The Houston Innovation Summit (THIS). Click here to register for the event.

The Listies will feature 11 awards — some honoring startups and others focusing on mentors, corporations, and investors. To nominate an MVP in Houston innovation, click the appropriate category and submit a nomination. Note: All nominees will need to have a page on the HTX TechList to be considered for the award. If they do not, they will be contacted to create one. Join the HTX TechList here.

The Listies Categories

Startup awards:

Soonicorn: Which company do you think will be Houston's next unicorn ($1 billion and up valuation)?
COVID pivot / COVID Phoenix: Which company had the best rebound after the negative effects of the COVID pandemic?
Civil Innovation: Which company led the charge in positive transformation for the city of Houston and the greater Houston area?
Welcome to Houston: What is the most promising startup that relocated their headquarters to Houston this year?
People's Choice Award: Who is your all-around favorite Houston startup company? (Voting will begin after nominations close.)

Individual awards:

DEI Champion: Who has gone above and beyond in fighting for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the ecosystem?
Individual contributor (MVP within a startup): Which non-founder has made the biggest contribution to their company?
Mentor of the year: Which mentor has made the biggest impact on startups and the startup community this year?
Outstanding leadership:Who best demonstrated excellence in leadership for their organization or the larger community?

Corporate and investing awards:

Corporate Innovation: Which corporation made the biggest strides in innovation?
Investor of the Year: What fund has gone above and beyond for your company?

The winners will be selected by a group of judges representing the Houston innovation ecosystem. The deadline to submit a nomination is November 6.

Barbara Burger, president of Chevron Technology Ventures, discusses Chevron's deal with The Ion and its commitment to Houston. Courtesy of CTV

Chevron exec shares why the company is invested in the Houston innovation community

Q&A

Chevron's innovation arm continues to be a leader among Houston's innovation ecosystem, and recently the energy company announced it is the first to lease space at a rising innovation hub.

Last week, Chevron was announced to be the first tenant at The Ion, and that includes opportunities for Chevron Technology Ventures as well as the whole company. Barbara Burger, president of Chevron Technology Ventures, discussed with InnovationMap why this is a great opportunity for the company and what else she's excited about in terms of Houston innovation.

InnovationMap: Chevron has been announced as the first tenant in The Ion. Why are you and CTV excited about this new innovation hub?

Barbara Burger: Chevron is excited because the innovation of The Ion is really a great example of the burgeoning innovation ecosystem in Houston. The Ion actually is almost a model of the ecosystem. It is a physical space, it is a set of programs, and it is a community and Chevron wants to be a part of all of that. We're excited about being able to be the first tenant and encourage others to join in with us because the community will work when it is full, diverse, and active. If we can lead the charge or play a role in leading the charge, we will.

I also want to say we are excited because this isn't just for CTV. We also want to encourage Chevron Houston employees — some 8,000 of them — to be a part of this innovation ecosystem. And The Ion is one place where they can venture out and see what's happening — outside of our office buildings in town and outside of their daily responsibilities — and get a taste and a feel and let it go from there.

IM: What opportunity does the new space provide for you and your team?

BB: We need innovation from everyone. Our industry and our company, like any other industry or company is undergoing dramatic change. And the more you know about where the world is going and the more you can partner with all kinds of different players, the more solutions you have to navigate successfully in that transformation.

We're known as a company that partners. Partnership, I think, is going to be critical in the world going forward and we value the ability to partner with firms and people that are both like us and not like us. I view The Ion is one example where you're bringing together lots of different kinds of people, because if you only just bring the same kinds of people together, you're missing the element of diversity. So, this allows our employees to experience that on one more level.

IM: CTV has been an integral part of Houston innovation for 21 years now. What do you see you and CTV’s role in the ecosystem?

BB: I've told this story many times, but when I moved here and took the job as the head of CTV, I did some homework and found out that we had more portfolio companies from Stavanger, Norway, than from Houston, Texas. And, that was a data point that, to be honest, baffled me a little. And the more we've looked at that we've said we will invest around the globe. We will collaborate with all kinds of players, but how come there's no hometown advantage? And so that sort of thirst and quest for that coincided with the GHP and the mayor's initial work on innovation. It was like right place, right time. And then we saw a role as a longstanding player in corporate venture and that investing in the ecosystems will bear fruit for us and for the work we do.

We prioritized helping to grow this ecosystem — investing in it for the future. It is our home court. We had a lot of the relationships and we continued to build them. And we also knew, because of our longstanding experience in tech ventures and our large presence in Houston, that when Chevron did something people would notice, and they would want to get on board. And it's not a competitive thing. It's really a leadership thing because it will take a lot of us to make that happen.

IM: You also serve as board chair for Houston Exponential. Why are you passionate about serving on the board?

BB: Every single board member wears a hat associated with their role in the ecosystem. And everybody wears a hat that says Houston on it. Without their sort of self-interest hat, they would have no interest in being on this board. But without the Houston hat, they don't work together towards the goal.

IM: You recently spoke at the HTX TechList launch. What difference is the new platform going to make for corporate venture?

BB: Corporate venture is a diverse group. There are some of us who have been around for a really long time and new companies, just starting out. And it is all in our best interest to help each other be good corporate ventures. I think the tech list is one of the tools by which you do that so that you know who's out there — it's like the global address list except for external.

IM: How does Chevron’s Catalyst Program work with CTV’s investment arm?

BB: We think holistically about how to access external innovation and really do the integration play with Chevron. We have to look really broadly at a complete set of tools.

The catalyst program is early stage — some people call it seed stage. It's a milestone-based grant program. It is an early look and an early relationship with a company that has something that we're interested in and is aligned with some of the problem sets we're looking for. We want to take an early look and we want to support them there. There is a financial support in the form of a grant — so that's good for the startup. It's a chance for them to demonstrate their abilities — not just technical, they're a company, so also their ability to execute and get things done. It's a chance for us to see, "does this really align with the problem sets we want to do?" And then, their last milestone is a series A term sheet. So, we have plenty of chances to invest in them afterwards. We didn't have a tool in that space. And I think, you know, pre-series A or pre-institutional investment is an important area of support that's required for innovation.

IM: Chevron is also a launch partner for Greentown Labs. What are you excited about for that partnership?

BB: We've supported Greentown in Boston since the early days, and what we liked about Greentown as an incubator was that they're trying to solve tough problems. A lot of their innovation involves either hard tech or process tech. They provide physical space, a set of programs, and community — similar to the three prongs I talked about with The Ion. And, importantly, they provide a specialized facility that early companies can never afford to have on their own — lab space, machine shop type of things, etc.

As a city, we do want to be — and we can be — the leader in the energy transition. So, we need to have the pieces of the puzzle so that we can play a leading role in that. And we saw Greentown as one of the ingredients in that overall recipe.

IM: What is it that Houston needs to do to be a leader in the energy transition?

BB: We're doing a lot of things right — almost in spite of the world being crazy. I think commitment to that vision is important, including collaboration across the different parts of the city — at the city level, at the corporate level, at the investor level, at the universities. I think just like everybody in Houston is connected to the industry — even if you're not in the energy industry, you know a lot about it just by living in Houston. So, I think being able to rally around that as a city is going to be important.

Again, I think constancy of purpose is important. Despite the headwinds from COVID and despite the headwinds that industries are facing, we need to stay committed to that. That's what I think we need to do. All these pieces are like pieces of a puzzle. But innovation is not a straight path. We've got to plant a bunch of these seeds and see how they grow — we need to water them every day, and then I think we'll have a beautiful garden.

------

This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

The HTX TechList is officially launched, and the Houston Exponential team is calling for everyone to register on the site. Screenshot via htxtechlist.com

The HTX TechList has launched — here's why you should get involved

Logging on

Houston Exponential has hit launch on the HTX TechList, and now startups, investors, entrepreneurial hubs, and corporations can officially opt into the data-focused and networking-enabled platform.

The HTX TechList went live yesterday, August 13, at a virtual event hosted by HX. (Note: InnovationMap was the media partner for the event.) The platform acts as a one-stop shop for Houston's innovation ecosystem. Mayor Sylvester Turner joined the stream to explain the role the platform will play in connecting the various players within the industry.

"The HTX TechList is our city's leading resource for in-depth information about Houston startups, investors, hubs, and corporations," Mayor Turner said at the event. "Within the Houston region, the HTX TechList will build the connections and density that were never before possible in such a huge spread-out city."

Another benefit to the new platform, as HX Chief of Staff Serafina Lalany says, is the data it is going to be able to provide about the ecosystem.

"We needed a centralized datasource classifying startups, investors, startup development organizations, and corporate innovators," she says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "There was not any good resource on the internet that was verified, centralized, and adhered to a data standard."

The platform, which has derived from an initiative from Startup Nation Central in Israel, has already proven its usefulness abroad and has over 70,000 monthly users. In a panel at the event, Eran Levy of Enel Innovation Hub Israel described how the tool has benefitted him and his work in scouting startups.

"The ability to have a tool to map, in our case, 8,000 startups, when we look for specific categories or a specific tech area, it helps us a lot," he says. "It saves a lot of time and effort, and, more importantly, it makes it much more effective because I reach out to the right startups."

On the panel, Barbara Burger, president of Chevron Technology Ventures and chair of Houston Exponential, echoed the opportunity for connectivity the platform will enable — but in a specific way for her organization as an investor.

"I view the TechList as the tool that's going to enable a couple of things. One is the scouts to access even more opportunities, but I think the other piece is also for co-investors in startups to be able to find us," she says, adding that while CTV has been around for a couple decades, visibility is always something they'd like to improve on.

Now that the platform is launched, anyone can join to make a profile on the site. Startups, investors, hubs, and corporations can also launch profiles that will be vetted by HX's data team.

Serafina Lalany, chief of staff at Houston Exponential, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the HTX TechList, which launches this week. Photo courtesy of Serafina Lalany

Innovation leader shares more on what Houstonians can expect from the HTX TechList

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 44

When Serafina Lalany first visited Houston, she didn't want to leave. So, she didn't.

Lalany first came to Houston 2017 by way of Austin for SXSW — at the time she was living in Boston working in the biotech space. She kept meeting interesting startup founders and extended her flight home three times.

"There was a groundswell of activity here, and I had to pay attention," Lalany says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast.

Eventually, she moved in and started working for High Drive Network interviewing entrepreneurs and later was tapped to work for venture design studio Fractal River at Station Houston.

Now, as chief of staff at Houston Exponential, she is helping lead new initiatives and projects that plan to grow business and awareness in Houston's innovation space. For the past year, that has meant working on the HTX TechList launch — a new platform that aims to connect and quantify Houston's innovation scene.

"We needed a centralized datasource classifying startups, investors, startup development organizations, and corporate innovators," she says. "There was not any good resource on the internet that was verified, centralized, and adhered to a data standard."

The platform launches Thursday, August 13, following a free, online event hosted by Houston Exponential, and Lalany discusses what users can expect from the platform in the podcast episode. (Note: InnovationMap is a media partner for the event.) You can listen to the full interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.

Log on to one of these informative online events happening throughout the rest of the month. Getty Images

10+ can't-miss virtual business and innovation events in Houston for August

Where to be online

Another month, another roundup of events Houston innovators should attend — and yes, they are still all virtual. From Houston Exponential launching its new virtual database and networking platform to informative workshops and panels, here's what you need to attend this month.

August 5 — IP Agreements Every Startup Should Know About

Every startup should protect their Intellectual Property (IP) as means to protect their developing products and/or concepts, but often do not know where to start. Join The Ion and Baker Bots as we explore different IP agreements your startup should consider.

Details: This event takes place online on Wednesday, August 5, from 1 to 2 pm.Learn more.

August 5 — Texas Founder Hotseat: Pitch Texas Investors & Experts Online

Do you have a startup, or a strong idea for a startup? Could you use blunt, honest feedback on your startup ideas? On this live and interactive online event you can pitch your ideas to a panel of Houston startup investors and experts for ratings and feedback, all from the comfort of your home. Even if you don't want to pitch, you are invited to hear startup ideas and watch how the experts analyze businesses.

Details: This event takes place online on Wednesday, August 5, at 4 pm.Learn more.

August 6 — Bayou Startup Showcase

Celebrate the launch of the newest startups from Rice University's OwlSpark and University of Houston's RED Labs. Sixteen startups from Class 8 of the program will be pitching and demonstrating during an expo.

Details: This event takes place online on Thursday, August 6, from 2 to 4:30 pm.Learn more.

August 11 — LGBTQ+ In Tech Summit

Capital Factory is hosting its first virtual LGBTQ+ In Tech Summit. The organization is dedicated to increasing diversity in the entrepreneurial and tech community while making our coworking space an inclusive environment for all. Attendees can look forward to a special keynote guest, insightful fireside chats, discussion sessions, a startup showcase, Epic Office Hours, and panels on relevant topics facing the tech ecosystem.

Details: This event takes place online on Tuesday, August 11, from noon to 5 pm. Learn more.

August 12 — Managing Your Digital Presence in a Post-COVID Era

Your startup's digital presence is more important now than ever. In a world where everything has gone virtual, your digital presence is the first thing your potential customers will see prior to contacting you. If you are struggling to create your digital marketing strategy, you're not alone. But fear no more, Allie Danziger of Integrate, is here to help.

Details: This event takes place online onWednesday, August 12, at 11 am. Learn more.

August 13 — HTX TechList Launch

Join Houston Exponential for a live launch of Houston's innovation discovery platform, HTX TechList, featuring speakers from Start-Up Nation Central, Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Greater Houston Partnership, and a demo by Houston Exponential. Join live virtual breakout sessions moderated by members of the innovation ecosystem influencer. Editor's note: InnovationMap is a media partner for the event.

Details: This event takes place online on Thursday, August 13, at 11 am. Learn more.

August 14 — How Women in Tech Can Affect Change in the Workplace

The Suffragist movement has long been known for its effectiveness in creating grassroots efforts that created laws to give women the right to vote. 100 years later women are still fighting for equal rights and inclusion. Women's votes will have a tremendous impact on the 2020 election. It's time to organize the collective power of our votes to fight for equality in the workplace.

Details: This event takes place online on Friday, August 14, at 11 am to 12:30 pm. Learn more.

August 18 — Intro to the Texas Startup Scene & Ask Me Anything

Are you an entrepreneur starting a new company? Recently moved your company to Texas? Want to find out how to connect with other entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors in the startup ecosystem? Join Capital Factory VIRTUALLY to hear an overview from experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and community partners at Intro to Texas Startup Scene & Ask Me Anything.

Details: This event takes place online on Tuesday, August 18, at 2 to 3:30 pm. Learn more.

August 19 — Igniting Innovation: Business Roundtable

Join serial entrepreneur Dr. Juliet Breeze as she moderates a conversation with experienced healthcare executives to explore what the impact of the pandemic has meant to their businesses. They'll share insights regarding ways in which they're adapting and positioning for survival and continued success.

Details: This event takes place online on Wednesday, August 19, at 1 to 2 pm. Learn more.

August 25 — HAN + Carta Cap Table Workshop

The Houston Angel Network has teamed up with Carta, the experts in capitalization table management and valuation software. Carta helps companies and investors manage their cap tables, valuations, investments, and equity plans. During this workshop Carta will discuss cap table basics, common mistakes, and tips for responsible equity management. There will also be a real life cap table scenario where both founders and investors can ask their questions about the often little understood mechanics of cap tables and how they evolve with each fund raise.

Details: This event takes place online on Tuesday, August 25, at 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. Learn more.

August 26 — Equity in Tech: How We Can Do Better

The tech industry is incredibly powerful — not only through the products created, but with its economic force (forecasted to reach 1.7 trillion in the US in 2020). With great power comes great responsibility. Tech can – and must – do better to create and nurture diversity, equity and inclusion within the industry.

Details: This event takes place online on Wednesday, August 26, at 11:30 am to 1 pm.Learn more.

The HTX TechList — launching August 13 — will help connect the dots in Houston's sprawled and burgeoning innovation ecosystem. Getty Images

Exclusive: New digital platform goes live to help connect the Houston innovation ecosystem

Introducing HTX TechList

With a city as diverse and sprawling as Houston, the local innovation ecosystem could stand to benefit from a platform that connects all the dots virtually. So, that's exactly what Houston Exponential created.

HX — a nonprofit dedicated to promoting innovation in Houston — is launching HTX TechList August 13, and the platform will consist of profiles for startups, investors, startup development organizations, and corporations and will act as both a database as well as a forum for innovators to interact.

"The problem we've been solving for such a long time has been [not having] dependable data that you can rely on," says Serafina Lalany, chief of staff at HX. "We're taking responsibility for the curation for it and the quality assurance of it."

The fact of the matter is there's no one source for data and information on startups in Houston. While platforms like Crunchbase and Pitch Book exist — and the HTX TechList will factor in their data — they can have costly memberships and be far from complete, since they only represent venture capital-backed startups.

"For the first time ever, you're pulling up a startup page and you're seeing all their fundraising history, the SDOs they're a part of, a blurb of what they're working on, and, the thing I'm most excited about is, their tags," Lalany says, adding that there's over 2,000 tags. "It makes the whole thing super searchable."

Lalany emphasizes that accuracy is HX's goal, and the organization has a data team to help to ensure validity. After launch, the emphasis will be on calling Houston innovators to create accounts for themselves and their companies. HX's next hire will likely be for a marketing person, Lalany mentions.

The technology has been white labeled from Israel's Startup Nation Central, which launched Israel Startup Finder in 2017.

"Israel, a couple years ago, was also an emerging ecosystem," says Lalany, explaining that the country wanted to work toward global attention. Meanwhile, she continues, "Houston has access to global markets, but there's been an misconception that innovation wasn't happening here."

The HX team has been working with Startup Nation Central for a while and been training on the platform since January, which has included a buildout of 300 profiles for the site. The TechList will launch on August 13 with a free virtual event featuring Mayor Sylvester Turner, Israel's Startup Finder team, and several. Houston innovators. (Note: InnovationMap is a media partner for the event.)

"When we were thinking about the launch event and just the sheer number of virtual events that happen now, we wanted to be sure that whatever we produce is of absolute value to our audience — the founders," Lalany says.

The event, which has registration open online, will feature breakout rooms focused on topics that are important to Houston founders:

Early stage investment
Building your team
How to pitch to the press
Landing an enterprise customer
Opportunity in Houston
Resources for founders of color

While the idea for the platform has been considered for years at HX — even in its early days, the need for the HTX TechList has been enhanced in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lalany says.

"The world changed in March, and our mission has become realized even more profoundly than before. Our mission has always been to help connect the dots in Houston — it's such a large city, and outsiders are always overwhelmed," she says. "Once we went digital, we were able to do 10 times as much of the curation function that we did pre-pandemic. It's increased a lot of our efficiency."

One-stop shop

Screenshot courtesy of HX

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Houston organizations launch collaborative center to boost cancer outcomes

new to HOU

Rice University's new Synthesis X Center officially launched last month to bring together experts in cancer care and chemistry.

The center was born out of what started about seven years ago as informal meetings between Rice chemist Han Xiao's research group and others from the Baylor College of Medicine’s Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Baylor College of Medicine. The level of collaboration between the two teams has grown significantly over the years, and monthly meetings now draw about 100 participants from across disciplines, fields and Houston-based organizations, according to a statement from Rice.

Researchers at the new SynthX Center will aim to turn fundamental research into clinical applications and make precision adjustments to drug properties and molecules. It will focus on improving cancer outcomes by looking at an array of factors, including prevention and detection, immunotherapies, the use of artificial intelligence to speed drug discovery and development, and several other topics.

"At Rice, we are strong on the fundamental side of research in organic chemistry, chemical biology, bioengineering and nanomaterials,” Xiao says in the statement. “Starting at the laboratory bench, we can synthesize therapeutic molecules and proteins with atom-level precision, offering immense potential for real-world applications at the bedside ... But the clinicians and fundamental researchers don’t have a lot of time to talk and to exchange ideas, so SynthX wants to serve as the bridge and help make these connections.”

SynthX plans to issue its first merit-based seed grants to teams with representatives from Baylor and Rice this month.

With this recognition from Rice, the teams from Xiao's lab and the TMC will also be able to expand and formalize their programs. They will build upon annual retreats, in which investigators can share unpublished findings, and also plan to host a national conference, the first slated for this fall titled "Synthetic Innovations Towards a Cure for Cancer.”

“I am confident that the SynthX Center will be a great resource for both students and faculty who seek to translate discoveries from fundamental chemical research into medical applications that improve people’s lives,” Thomas Killian, dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, says in the release.

Rice announced that it had invested in four other research centers along with SynthX last month. The other centers include the Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience, the Center for Environmental Studies, the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies and the Rice Center for Nanoscale Imaging Sciences.

Earlier this year, Rice also announced its first-ever recipients of its One Small Step Grant program, funded by its Office of Innovation. The program will provide funding to faculty working on "promising projects with commercial potential," according to the website.

Houston physicist scores $15.5M grant for high-energy nuclear physics research

FUTURE OF PHYSICS

A team of Rice University physicists has been awarded a prestigious grant from the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Physics for their work in high-energy nuclear physics and research into a new state of matter.

The five-year $15.5 million grant will go towards Rice physics and astronomy professor Wei Li's discoveries focused on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), a large, general-purpose particle physics detector built on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, a European organization for nuclear research in France and Switzerland. The work is "poised to revolutionize our understanding of fundamental physics," according to a statement from Rice.

Li's team will work to develop an ultra-fast silicon timing detector, known as the endcap timing layer (ETL), that will provide upgrades to the CMS detector. The ETl is expected to have a time resolution of 30 picoseconds per particle, which will allow for more precise time-of-flight particle identification.

The Rice team is collaborating with others from MIT, Oak Ridge National Lab, the University of Illinois Chicago and University of Kansas. Photo via Rice.edu

This will also help boost the performance of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), which is scheduled to launch at CERN in 2029, allowing it to operate at about 10 times the luminosity than originally planned. The ETL also has applications for other colliders apart from the LHC, including the DOE’s electron-ion collider at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York.

“The ETL will enable breakthrough science in the area of heavy ion collisions, allowing us to delve into the properties of a remarkable new state of matter called the quark-gluon plasma,” Li explained in a statement. “This, in turn, offers invaluable insights into the strong nuclear force that binds particles at the core of matter.”

The ETL is also expected to aid in other areas of physics, including the search for the Higgs particle and understanding the makeup of dark matter.

Li is joined on this work by co-principal investigator Frank Geurts and researchers Nicole Lewis and Mike Matveev from Rice. The team is collaborating with others from MIT, Oak Ridge National Lab, the University of Illinois Chicago and University of Kansas.

Last year, fellow Rice physicist Qimiao Si, a theoretical quantum physicist, earned the prestigious Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship grant. The five-year fellowship, with up to $3 million in funding, will go towards his work to establish an unconventional approach to create and control topological states of matter, which plays an important role in materials research and quantum computing.

Meanwhile, the DOE recently tapped three Houston universities to compete in its annual startup competition focused on "high-potential energy technologies,” including one team from Rice.