3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Jim Gable of Chevon, Brad Burke of Rice Alliance, and Chris Romani of illumipure. Photos courtesy

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from academia to energy tech — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Houston energy innovator on why now's the right time for energy transition innovation

Jim Gable, vice president of innovation at Chevron and president of Chevron Technology Ventures, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo courtesy

The cleantech innovation space has momentum, and Chevron strives to be one of the incumbent energy companies playing a role in that movement, Jim Gable, vice president of innovation at Chevron and president of Chevron Technology Ventures, shares on the Houston Innovators Podcast.

"People call it cleantech 2.0, but it's really cleantech 3.0," Gable says, explaining how he's been there for each wave of cleantech. "The people are better now — the entrepreneurs are better, the investors are better. Exits are here in the cleantech space."

"It's all driven by policy-enabled markets, and the policy is here now too. Twenty years ago, you didn't have nearly the same level of policy influence that you do now," he continues. "Things are coming together to help us really create and deliver that affordable, reliable, ever cleaner energy that's going to be needed for a long time." Read more.

Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, has received an impressive award for his leadership. Photo via Rice.edu

A figurehead in Houston's innovation ecosystem has received an award for his career leading innovation in higher education.

Brad Burke, who's served as managing director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship since its inception 22 years ago, received the Outstanding Contributions to Advancing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education Award. Burke was presented with the award at the 2023 Deshpande Symposium for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education.

Recognizing an individual who has proven to be successful in leading entrepreneurship within higher education, the award was founded by serial entrepreneur Desh Deshpande. The event attracts academics, policy planners, and practitioners every year to share thought leadership within higher education entrepreneurship and innovation. Read more.

Chris Romani, chief marketing officer for illumiPure

If mobile marketing isn't in your startup's toolkit, it should be. Photo courtesy

When it comes to marketing tools, there's a lot out there. Some aren't worth it, but some can make a huge difference. Chris Romani, chief marketing officer for illumiPure, Houston-based medical device company, in a guest column for InnovationMap, outlined some of the tools that make an impact.

"For startups, when and how to begin marketing their business can feel like a cumbersome task," he explains. "As a chief marketing officer, I was asked to list services and channels that I oversee, and I came up with 16. For founders of startups who must often take on the roles of CEO and COO in addition to CMO as they look to expand their teams, that time commitment is not reasonable for someone who also has a personal life." Read more.

If mobile marketing isn't in your startup's toolkit, it should be. Photo via Getty Images

How to leverage mobile marketing for your startup, according to this Houston expert

Guest column

Consumer privacy is driving startups to immediately begin marketing and data collection. Google and Apple have recently stressed the importance of first-party data collection for businesses. For the last two decades, businesses have had access to cookies to advertise to people who visited their digital assets. Digital advertising has already changed with Apple’s iOS 14.5 alterations, switching the default of ad tracking from yes to no and both Google and Apple expect data privacy to increase.

For startups, when and how to begin marketing their business can feel like a cumbersome task. As a chief marketing officer, I was asked to list services and channels that I oversee, and I came up with 16. For founders of startups who must often take on the roles of CEO and COO in addition to CMO as they look to expand their teams, that time commitment is not reasonable for someone who also has a personal life.

Entrepreneurs need tools that are simple to institute and not cost prohibitive, to meet their respective milestones. First, we need to collect first party data, so that when we get to our minimum viable product we have plenty of people waiting to buy it. Next, marketing must work even when we can’t focus on it. Third, we must focus on revenue generating activities, whether they are marketing or not. Finally, we want to create an environment where successful entrepreneurs have a work and life balance.

Before doing anything else — get a virtual phone number

A virtual phone number is the first marketing tool I would use for any business. This number can be connected to your cell phone during certain hours of the day and disconnected for others. This allows people to reach you on your schedule. Put this phone number on every asset you have, so it can be integrated into future tools, such as customer relationship management and Google My Business. With proper opt-in information, it also creates an immediate list for SMS marketing in the future. A virtual phone number typically runs $1 to $2 a month plus usage fees, so it can be used by any business.

It is important that this is set up first, because without this, you can’t use the following marketing tools effectively.

Tool 1: Missed Call – Text Back

An entrepreneurs’ worst nightmare is missing an important phone call, whether it’s an investor or closing your first sale. Constant phone and email checking causes anxiety, but more importantly, it is a low revenue activity, so you are actively hurting your business.

Missed Call – Text Back, or MCTB, allows a customizable text message to be delivered to a client when you miss their phone call. It moves the caller towards resolution (sales or otherwise) immediately encouraging them to give you more information about their problem. The best part is, that once you have the system in place, it costs you zero time. Imagine walking out of a meeting and instead of 10 missed calls, you have 10 text messages that you can quickly answer. How much time did you just get back?

Pro Tip: In many cases, you can automate your emails in a similar way.

Tool 2: A funnel page

Now that we have a tool that allows us to work productively without constant phone checking, we need to increase our book of business. This is where a funnel comes in.

A funnel is a unique digital experience you would like a specific person — a client or investor — to have. When you start a business, a funnel can be your website because you only have one specific thing you want any visitor to do, like collect information.

Almost every consultant to new businesses is promoting funnel building. Why? Because a good funnel motivates people to act in a specific way. If you are raising funds, you want an investor to have a specific experience to garner interest, not hope they navigate to the correct webpage. If you have a new technology, you want early adopters to learn and then provide a simple way to collect their information, so that you can contact them when your product is ready. Finally, if you’re about to hit the market with your new product, providing customers with a simple purchase method will improve revenue during your important proof-of-concept period.

Funnels, like MCTB, can grow and adapt with your business, providing different groups of people with different experiences, with minimal effort. For instance, suppose I created a dating app and needed early adopters. Instead of creating one funnel, let’s say I created two. The only difference between the two funnels, is the first one’s headline was “The No. 1 new dating app for men” and then the second one said women. Everything else remains the same, but the experience is immediately different for the consumer. The more you can change the funnel to cater to their personal experience, the better it will be, but even simple changes can go a long way.

Pro Tip: Funnels are easiest to keep track of when they are subdomains of your website.

Tool 3: Automated SMS marketing

The final tool I recommend to start is Automated SMS Marketing. Assuming you have people properly opted in from your funnel — review Telephone Consumer Protection Act (1991) to ensure legal compliance — you can make sure they receive a welcome message in the first 5 minutes.

The most important part of text messaging marketing is allowing your customer to believe they are really having a conversation with you. If you can avoid it, never tell a customer that your digital number is automated. If you need, tell them it is automated but overseen by you. You are the owner of the business or the inventor of the technology, people want to talk to you. Customers want to pretend that they know you. Allow them this feeling. Once the customer responds, you should be picking up an organic conversation with them anyway.

Bringing it together

Using these tools, we have created a simple, repeatable method to gather customer data and start their customer journey. Your funnel may also help you gather an email list, but your most active prospects will be more than willing to communicate with you over the phone.

When you can’t take calls, whether it’s because you are in a meeting or with your kids, you can rest easier, knowing that potential customers get an immediate response that helps them get where they need to go, or at the very least, when you get back to work, you can help them quickly.

And the best part for a new entrepreneur is that this can all be done cost effectively. Personally, I recommend a service called HighLevel, a feature-rich cost-effective CRM, that includes all of the tools previously discussed. Most tech savvy entrepreneurs can figure out how to institute all these practices quickly from one platform in a no code environment. If you’d rather have assistance, there are 20,000 agencies that use the platform and just as many YouTube videos.

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Chris Romani is the chief marketing officer for illumiPure, a Houston-based medical device company.

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes John Higgins of illumiPure, Natara Branch of HX, and Daniel Murray of Covenant Underwriters. Photos courtesy

3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from insurtech to entrepreneurship — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

John Higgins, CEO of illumiPure

CleanWhite can quickly and continuously sanitize high-touch areas through its light-based technology. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston-based illumiPure recently announced that it has received a worldwide patent for its LED white light disinfectant earlier this year, known as CleanWhite. The product can quickly and continuously sanitize high-touch areas while a room remains occupied and has shown an elimination of 99 percent of surface bacteria, spores, mold, biofilms, and viruses including SARS-CoV-2 through light-based technology. It's intended to be used in areas like kitchens, restrooms, and locker rooms and is safe for humans and pets.

CleanWhite uses spikes of light wavelengths at 405 and 470 nanometers to kill surface pathogens. Unlike other products on the market, CleanWhite can emit these levels without also emitting a visible purple-violet light while also suppressing blue light wavelengths.

"CleanWhite features technology that makes it the first of its kind, achieving a sought-after solution to produce 405+470 nm blue light as white light," John Higgins, CEO of illumiPure, says in a statement. "As a result of this revolutionary finding, we anticipate the patent’s success across a myriad of industries, including education, healthcare, hospitality, and retail.” Click here to read more.

Natara Branch, CEO of Houston Exponential

Meet Natara Branch — the new CEO of HX. Photo courtesy of Natara Branch

Ever since she accepted the new position as CEO of Houston Exponential, Natara Branch has been on a listening tour of Houston's innovation ecosystem. Branch explains on the Houston Innovators Podcast that she has a passion for the city of Houston, and she's got open ears to anyone in the ecosystem who wants to contribute to the advancement of the city's tech ecosystem.

As she explains, she is getting her fair share of feedback — but she has an ask for anyone who she's met.

"I am challenging people. You're not just going to give me feedback and sit back and watch. You're going to participate," Branch says. "I have not met one person who doesn't want Houston to win — they wouldn't be here if they didn't." Click here to read more and listen to the podcast.

Daniel Murray, co-founder and chief underwriter of Covenant Underwriters

The emerging insurtech industry has a plethora of opportunities for job seekers and more. Photo courtesy

More than 100,000 Houstonians work in insurance, according to Daniel Murray, co-founder and chief underwriter of Covenant Underwriters, a Houston-based insurtech start-up, building e-commerce insurance products for underserved niches. But the 400-year-old industry is hungry for tech talent.

In a guest column for InnovationMap, Murray explains the need for tech and innovation within insurance — and the opportunity the industry has.

"The adage goes that everyone in the insurance industry was either born into it or tricked into it," he writes. "This may have applied to the last generation, but today’s insurance industry offers vast opportunities (including remote) for every discipline, especially for tech job seekers." Click here to read more.

CleanWhite can quickly and continuously sanitize high-touch areas through its light-based technology. Photo via Getty Images

Houston tech company earns worldwide patent for LED disinfectant product

zip, zap

Houston-based illumiPure announced that it received a worldwide patent for its LED white light disinfectant earlier this year.

Known as CleanWhite, the product can quickly and continuously sanitize high-touch areas while a room remains occupied and has shown an elimination of 99 percent of surface bacteria, spores, mold, biofilms, and viruses including SARS-CoV-2 through light-based technology. It's intended to be used in areas like kitchens, restrooms, and locker rooms and is safe for humans and pets.

CleanWhite uses spikes of light wavelengths at 405 and 470 nanometers to kill surface pathogens. Unlike other products on the market, CleanWhite can emit these levels without also emitting a visible purple-violet light while also suppressing blue light wavelengths.

The product's ability to safely and continuously emit these levels of white light allows it to kill dangerous bacteria and pathogens in just a few hours.

"CleanWhite features technology that makes it the first of its kind, achieving a sought-after solution to produce 405+470 nm blue light as white light," John Higgins, CEO of illumiPure, said in a statement. "As a result of this revolutionary finding, we anticipate the patent’s success across a myriad of industries, including education, healthcare, hospitality, and retail.”

CleanWhite uses spikes of light wavelengths at 405 and 470 nanometers to kill surface pathogens. Photo via illumipure.com

The fixtures appear much like any other LED light and have been customized for the commercial, retail, healthcare, transportation, hospitality industries. illumiPure has already partnered with six Houston school districts, including Tomball ISD, Humble ISD, Galena Park ISD and Barbers Hill ISD.

“Nurses love illumiPure technologies because they feel protected,” Ricky Shelton, Energy Manager at Barbers Hill ISD, said in a statement.

According to the company, it is also in testing with a major sports franchise and is working with the Reem Mall in Abu Dhabi, which is slated to be the largest mall in the world once complete.

Founded in 2017, illumiPure focuses on air purification, surface disinfection and indoor/outdoor air quality monitoring.

In addition to CleanWhite, the company also has developed an air purifier product known as the Air Guardian, which has been shown to process air for longer dose times and uses intense ultraviolet light and plasma-like oxidizing energies to kill particles.

It also released The Portable by Air Guardian, a mobile version of the air purification system, and the Vertices AQS indoor/outdoor air quality sensor this year. A residential version of the Vertices sensor is slated to roll out later this year, as is one more new product, according to the company.

Earlier this year the company brought some of its production in-house, by the use of 25 3D printers for its Vertices units as well as other auxiliary components. The growing company plans to expand its headquarters in northwest Houston sometime next year.

John Higgins is the CEO of illumiPure. Photo via LinkedIn

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America's first Ismaili Center set to open in Houston in December

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The long-awaited Ismaili Center, Houston is set to open to the public next month. The 11-acre site has been painstakingly designed and constructed to offer indoor and outdoor public spaces for Houstonians to enjoy, connect, and engage. As the only Ismaili Center in the United States — and seventh in the world — it joins its international communities in London, Vancouver, Lisbon, Dubai, Dushanbe, and Toronto.

Nearly 20 years in the making, the Ismaili Center, Houston features a prayer hall, rotating art installations, a black box theater, a cafe, numerous social halls for weddings and other events, and nine acres of outdoor space and landscaped botanical gardens. Involved parties hope that the community will see the space as an extension of the neighboring parks along the bayou, and have included a garden entrance to the north lawn and gardens at the corner of Montrose Boulevard and Allen Parkway.

While Houston is known for its many community engagement centers, the architects and designers believe that the seamless integration of indoor and outdoor spaces sets the Ismaili Center, Houston apart from all others.

“What we know is the connections between buildings, environment, quality of life, and landscape — this is nothing new,” structural and facade engineer Hanif Kara says. “But, certainly, it’s hard to see that in other developments, particularly when they are done by developers. It’s quite difficult to find community spaces, and to see how quality of life is improved for everyone. I think we’ve all experienced that kind of hope that it will play out something like this.”

Designed by Farshid Moussavi Architecture and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, the remarkable 11-acre site is designed both to receive LEED Gold certification and to withstand the tests of Houston’s sometimes extreme weather conditions.

Principal architect Farshid Moussavi looks forward to seeing the Houston community utilize the space she’s worked so hard to deliver: “We’ve given the hardware to the community, now the software needs to come in. So I hope that there will be music recitals, or lectures, or book fairs, or other kinds of markets that can happen—even simultaneously. This is not an experiment, it’s the seventh in the world.”

Community welcome events are scheduled for December 12 and 13, but, until then, here are 10 features and things to know about the Ismaili Center, Houston.

What is the Ismaili Center, Houston?

“The use of the building is really meant for, or our hope, is that we are able to—on an enhanced view of what the community does today—have engagement on service projects, arts and culture, interfaith dialogue, and even just in bringing people together,” Omar Samji, Ismaili Council for the United States of America, says. “The notion of bringing people together in a place where it is easy to create connections because it’s an open space, and because it’s specifically designed to be a place where people interact and where people find commonality. Because whether you’re out in the gardens, or on the environs, or in the atrium, this enables connection.”

Who is His Highness the Aga Khan?

His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V is the 50th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He was educated at Philipps Academy in Andover and Brown University (Class of 1995). He became Imam in February 2025 upon the passing of his father, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV.

The Aga Khan promotes an understanding of Islam rooted in values of generosity, tolerance, pluralism, environmental stewardship, and the shared unity of humanity. He also chairs the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), one of the world’s largest private development agencies, which works across more than 30 countries to improve quality of life for marginalized communities regardless of faith or background.

The scale

The center stretches across an 11-acre site along Montrose Boulevard, from West Dallas to Allen Parkway. The physical building is 150,000 square feet, leaving nine acres for garden spaces on both the north and south sides of the building. The south side of the property is more formal, with gardens and community spaces that flank an 80-foot reflection pool and other water features. The gardens on the north side of the building are more informal, but densely planted and vast.

Photo by Iwan Baan

The creation

The development of the Ismaili Center was led by the Ismaili Council. It was initiated by His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV (1936-2025), and completed under the leadership of his eldest son, Prince Rahim Aga Khan V.

The project was designed and constructed by a team of both local and international firms. Farshid Moussavi Architecture joined forces with structural and facade engineer Hanif Kara, co-founder and creative director of AKT II. DLR Group is the architect and engineer of record, while contractor McCarthy Building Companies built the project. Thomas Woltz, senior principal and owner of landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz, along with principal Jeff Aten taking lead on the nine acres of garden space. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification.

The focus on native Texas plants and trees

The center will be recognized as a leading cultural asset for the City of Houston, complementing nearby institutions such as The Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel, Asia Society Texas, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. While the surrounding gardens will add to the other notable Nelson Byrd Woltz projects within close proximity at Memorial Park, Rothko Chapel, and Rice University.

“We’ve been building massive projects in Houston for 12 years,” Woltz says. “We know the horticultural community in the region, and we did a deep, deep dive in ecological research to understand ‘What are the native plants of whatever region?’ It’s just baked into our process. Right when we are starting any project in Houston—right to the river. Look at the soils, ‘What are the plants appropriate to that place?’ Its solar aspect, its humidity, it’s moisture in soils, the shadow of the building.

But then, this idea of taking a section across the state of Texas, so that each of those distinct ecological regions is represented by one of the terraced gardens — so it’s very clear. It’s a diagram of the state of Texas and all of its native plants. This is functioning like a botanic garden and a repository for biodiversity — this is work in service.”

The eco-friendly exterior

The exterior of the building is clad in stone, a durable material with low embodied carbon. The stone cladding is a rainscreen over in-situ ‘fair-faced’ concrete walls, exposed on the interior to minimize additional material use. The concrete mix used has replaced 35-62 percent of Portland cement with fly ash and slag, reducing CO2 emissions by roughly 30 percent compared to standard mixes. The exterior stone rainscreen uses smaller tiles to increase the stone yield, utilizing 20-25 percent more of the irregular blocks they are cut from. This reduction in waste has also lent itself to crafting the cladding in a unique way.

The tessellation of the stone pieces changes across the building's surfaces to create different patterns on different sides of the buildings and at the corners. Relief stone tiles are used to add texture to the facades.

The space for outdoor events

The north-facing botanical gardens that will accommodate the 200-year flood plain offer a 27 foot gradient toward the building. This allowed for various levels of seating and gathering areas that culminate at an elevated terrace that will act as a stage for various events such as plays and concerts. Attendees can stretch out and enjoy the shows from an extensive lawn area that is surrounded by dense gardens of native trees and plants.

The black box theater

A 2,600-square-foot black box multipurpose space which seats 125 people is found on the second floor of the building’s west wing. It can host public events, such as exhibitions, film screenings, theatrical performances, music recitals, and other artistic programs throughout the year. It will also serve as a flexible space for teaching and learning. With acoustic isolation to surrounding spaces and the mechanical mezzanine above, it is designed to operate simultaneously without disrupting other events in the building. Design includes an upper-level control room, pipe grid, and flexible drapery and seating configurations to allow for a wide variety of programming.

The cafe

The center’s café is a 1,600-square-foot, double-height space located in the west wing (Montrose side) that opens onto an enormous terrace, offering visitors the option to enjoy their coffee or food outdoors. The terrace near the cafe is lined by an exterior wall and long, trough-style fountains that aid in noise reduction from Montrose Boulevard. The second-floor wall overlooking the Café is fully glazed, creating visual connection with the levels above.

The prayer hall

The prayer hall is 12,240 square feet, featuring a unique structural system of seven interlocking squares, formed from steel beams spanning the 115-by-115-foot open space. These beams are clad in concrete to enhance durability, beneath which lies a two-layer perforated aluminum ceiling with integrated diffused lighting. Its intricate pattern recalls the traditional jālī screens of Islamic architecture creating a soft, seemingly infinite ceiling effect, adding to the serenity of the prayer hall.

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A version of this article first appeared on CultureMap.com

Intuitive Machines to buy satellite maker Lanteris for $800 million

space deal

Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines has agreed to buy satellite manufacturer Lanteris Space Systems for $800 million from private equity firm Advent International.

Intuitive Machines co-founder, president and CEO Steve Altemus said the combined revenue of his company and Palo Alto, California-based Lanteris exceeded $850 million as of Sept. 30, and their backlog of orders totaled $920 million.

Until recently, Lanteris operated as Maxar Space Systems. Its origins date back to 1957.

The deal—comprising $450 million in cash and $350 million in Class A shares of Intuitive Machines stock—is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

The acquisition “marks the moment Intuitive Machines transitions from a lunar company to a multi-domain space [company], setting the pace for how the industry’s next generation will operate,” Altemus said.

Altemus said the acquisition would enable Intuitive Machines to better compete for Earth orbit, lunar, Mars and deep space projects. Among the opportunities that would open up thanks to the Lanteris deal are the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system and a large lunar lander capable of carrying astronauts, he said.

“The new Intuitive Machines will combine rapid innovation and precision spacecraft production to meet the growing demand for responsive, high-reliability space infrastructure and services,” Altemus said.

Intuitive Machines, founded in 2013, develops lunar landers and provides aerospace services. In 2024, it became the first U.S. company to land a spacecraft on the moon in half a century.

Altemus said Intuitive Machines is already building three satellites for NASA’s near-space network, and it might upsize two more satellites now that it plans to buy Lanteris.

Aside from satellites, Lanteris is developing the power and propulsion element for NASA’s Gateway, a lunar orbiting command module that will support Artemis missions and deep space exploration.


Lanteris was a division of Maxar Technologies, which Advent and minority investor British Columbia Investment Management took private in a 2023 deal valued at $6.4 billion

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Meet 6 mentors who are helping the Houston startup scene flourish

meet the finalists

Few founders launch successful startups alone — experienced and insightful mentors often play an integral role in helping the business and its founders thrive.

The Houston startup community is home to many mentors who are willing to lend an ear and share advice to help entrepreneurs meet their goals.

The Mentor of the Year category in our 2025 Houston Innovation Awards will honor an individual like this, who dedicates their time and expertise to guide and support budding entrepreneurs. The award is presented by Houston City College Northwest.

Below, meet the six finalists for the 2025 award. They support promising startups in the medical tech, digital health, clean energy and hardware sectors.

Then, join us at the Houston Innovation Awards this Thursday, Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs, when the winner will be unveiled. The event is just days away, so secure your seats now.

Anil Shetty, InformAI

Anil Shetty serves as president and chief medical officer for biotech company Ferronova and chief innovation officer for InformAI. He's mentored numerous medical device and digital health companies at seed or Series A, including Pathex, Neurostasis, Vivifi Medical and many others. He mentors through organizations like Capital Factory, TMC Biodesign, UT Venture Mentoring, UTMB Innovation and Rice's Global Medical Innovation program.

"Being a mentor means empowering early-stage innovators to shape, test, and refine their ideas with clarity and purpose," Shetty says. "I’m driven by the opportunity to help them think strategically and pivot early before resources are wasted. At this critical stage, most founders lack the financial means to bring on seasoned experts and often haven’t yet gained real-world exposure. Mentorship allows me to fill that gap, offering guidance that accelerates their learning curve and increases the chances of meaningful, sustainable impact."

Jason Ethier, EnergyTech Nexus

Jason Ethier is the founding partner of EnergyTech Nexus, through which he has mentored numerous startups and Innovation Awards finalists, including Geokiln, Energy AI Solutions, Capwell Services and Corrolytics. He founded Dynamo Micropower in 2011 and served as its president and CEO. He later co-founded Greentown Labs in Massachusetts and helped bring the accelerator to Houston.

"Being a mentor means using my experience to help founders see a clearer path to success. I’ve spent years navigating the ups and downs of building companies, struggling with cash flow, and making all the mistakes; mentoring gives me the chance to share those lessons and show entrepreneurs the shortcuts I wish I’d known earlier," Ethier says. "At Energytech Nexus, that role goes beyond just helping individual founders — it’s about creating a flywheel effect for Houston’s entire innovation ecosystem."

Jeremy Pitts, Activate Houston

Jeremy Pitts serves as managing director of Activate Houston, which launched in Houston last year. He was one of the founders of Greentown Labs in the Boston area and served in a leadership role for the organization between 2011 and 2015. Through Activate, he has mentored numerous impactful startups and Innovation Awards finalists, including Solidec, Coflux Purification, Bairitone Health, Newfound Materials, Deep Anchor Solutions and others.

"Being a mentor to me is very much about supporting the person in whatever they need. Oftentimes that means supporting the business—providing guidance and advice, feedback, introductions, etc," But just as important is recognizing the person and helping them with whatever challenges they are going through ... Sometimes they need a hype man to tell them how awesome they are and that they can go do whatever hard thing they need to do. Sometimes they just need an empathetic listener who can relate to how hard these things are. Being there for the person and supporting them on their journey is key to my mentorship style."

Joe Alapat, Liongard

Joe Alapat founded and serves as chief strategy officer at Houston software company Liongard and chief information officer at Empact IT, which he also owns. He mentors through Founder Fridays Houston Group, Software Day by Mercury Fund, SUPERGirls SHINE Foundation, Cup of Joey and at the Ion. He's worked with founders of FlowCare, STEAM OnDemand, Lokum and many other early stage startups.

"Being a mentor to me means unleashing an individual’s 10x—their purpose, their ikigai (a Japanese concept that speaks to a person’s reason for being)," Alapat says. "Mentoring founders in the Houston community of early stage, high-growth startups is an honor for me. I get to live vicariously through a founder’s vision of the future. Once they show me that compelling vision, I’m drawn to bring the future forward with them so the vision becomes reality with a sense of urgency."

Neal Dikeman, Energy Transition Ventures

Neal Dikeman serves as partner at early stage venture fund Energy Transition Ventures, executive in residence at Greentown Labs, and offices in and supports Rice Nexus at the Ion. He mentors startups, like Geokiln, personally. He also mentored Helix Earth through Greentown Labs. The company went on to win in the Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability contest at SXSW earlier this year. Dikeman has helped launch several successful startups himself, most recently serving on the board of directors for Resilient Power Systems, which was acquired by Eaton Corp for $150 million.

"Founders have to find their own path, and most founders need a safe space where they can discuss hard truths outside of being 'on' in sales mode with their team or board or investors, to let them be able to work on their business, not just in it," Dikeman says.

Nisha Desai, Intention

Nisha Desai serves as CEO of investment firm Intention and mentors through Greentown Labs, TEX-E, Open Minds, the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, Avatar Innovations and The Greenhouse. She currently works with founders from Solidec, Deep Anchor Solutions, CLS Wind and several other local startups, several of which have been nominated for Innovation Awards this year. She's served a board member for Greentown Labs since 2021.

"When I first started mentoring, I viewed my role as someone who was supposed to prevent the founder from making bad decisions. Now, I see my role as a mentor as enabling the founder to develop their own decision-making capability," Desai says. "Sometimes that means giving them the space to make decisions that might be good, that might be bad, but that they can be accountable for. At the end of the day, being a mentor is like being granted a place on the founder's leadership development journey, and it's a privilege I'm grateful for."

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The Houston Innovation Awards program is sponsored by Houston City College Northwest, Houston Powder Coaters, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and more to be announced soon. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact sales@innovationmap.com.

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