Texas-based startup investor and mentorship network announces new Houston HQ

innovation collaboration

Capital Factory's Houston HQ will be in The Ion. Photo courtesy of The Ion

A company that supports entrepreneurship and startups across the Lone Star State with mentorship and funding has announced its new homebase in Houston.

Capital Factory has revealed a new programming partnership with The Ion. Through the collaboration, Capital Factory will host programming, events, and resources within the innovation hub to grow, educate, and support Houston-based startups and entrepreneurs.

"Capital Factory's presence at The Ion will further expand the opportunities for startups and innovators in the Houston region, while strengthening an important pillar of the Texas Startup Manifesto," says Joshua Baer, founder and CEO of Capital Factory, in a news release.

Capital Factory was founded in Austin in 2009 and boosts on being the most active investor in Texas, deploying smaller investments to a multitude of early-stage startups. According to Crunchbase's data, the entity has invested in over 160 companies with 20 exits. Capital Factory officially entered the Houston market in 2019 and doubled down its presence last year when it merged with Station Houston.

Now, with its Houston headquarters moving into The Ion, the two innovation partners will take an inclusive approach to creating connections between innovators, mentors, investors, and markets, per the release.

"We are thrilled to have Capital Factory as a programming partner at The Ion" says Jan E. Odegard, executive director of The Ion, in the release. "The Ion seeks to work with key partners and established brands to help build a rich and inclusive set of startup services that can support all innovators and startups wherever they are in their entrepreneurial journey. Capital Factory brings a proven track record for providing entrepreneurs with services and investments that brings great value not only to The Ion ecosystem, but also to the entire Houston innovation ecosystem."

Capital Factory's first event at The Ion will be Open Coffee on November 16th followed by Open Coworking all day, Baer adds in his statement.

Houston-based DonateStock is $50,000 richer after claiming a recent pitch competition win. Photo via donatestock.com

Houston fintech startup snags Capital Factory's $50,000 pitch investment prize

winner, winner

Capital Factory, one of the most active startup investors with a presence across Texas, recently hosted a virtual pitch competition — and one Houston startup took home the big prize.

As a part of the Houston Tech Rodeo, Capital Factory hosted its $50K Houston Investment Challenge with five finalists — DonateStock, Elastique, Elemental Coatings, M&S Biotics, and ScalaMed. The panel of judges included Andy Cloyd, vice president of Revolution; Aleece Hobson, venture partner at HX Venture Fund; and Juliana Garaizar launch director of Greentown Labs.

DonateStock, a tech-enabled tool that automates the stock donation process, took home the big win. Steve Latham, founder and chairman of DonateStock, presented the company's pitch and explained how the tool has the potential to unlock $100 billion for nonprofits.

"A lot of people aren't aware about the benefits of donating stock," Latham explains. "If you're sitting on stock that you've owned or several years that's appreciated quite a bit. If you sell it, you pay capital gains tax — anywhere from 15 to 30 percent. If you donate it, you avoid the tax and you get a big write off, you can deduct the full market value of the donated stock."

He goes on to explain how only 2 percent of people donate stock — and its due to the archaic process that it takes. DonateStock's platform optimizes the education of donors, the connection of nonprofits to new donors, and the simplification of the process. What used to take hours now takes just 10 minutes, Latham says.

Nonprofits get a free page, free customer support, and there is no fee to be on the platform, and DonateStock makes a 2 percent transaction fee. The company already has 40 nonprofits on the platform, and over 70 in the queue to sign up. The goal, Latham says, is to have 900 organizations online by the end of the year. He's already seen a lot of interest in light of the pandemic.

"This is the time to solve this problem," Latham says. "If you have friends at nonprofits or charities, you know what the pandemic did to giving programs. They've all been devastated and they have gotta find new ways to diversify and grow their revenue."

DonateStock anticipates a seed round later this year. It's the third startup Latham has worked on with his co-founder.

"We see a path to building a billion-dollar company over the next five years while impacting millions of lives around the world," he says.

Each of the other finalists' consolation prize is a connection and a foot in the door at Capital Factory, says CEO Joshua Baer.

"Every time we do one of these, we meet a bunch of companies that we end up working with — and many of whom we end up investing in," he says at the virtual event. "We're going to be following up with all of the companies from today. Anyone who was a finalist and up on the stage is someone we are excited about and interested in working more closely with."

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Rice University partners with astronaut foundation to offer new STEM scholarship

space scholars

Rice University has partnered with The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) to offer a new scholarship opportunity for junior or senior STEM majors, beginning this spring.

The prestigious Astronaut Scholarship includes up to $15,000, mentorship, networking and a paid trip to the ASF Innovators Symposium and Gala. The scholarship is funded by the James A. Lovell Jr. Family Endowment, in honor of the late American astronaut and founder of the ASF.

“This scholarship opportunity represents an exciting new avenue for Rice STEM students to synthesize their experiences in courses and research and their commitment to advancing the public good as leaders in their field,” Danika Brown, executive director for the Center for Civic Leadership at Rice, said in a news release. “We are so grateful to the Lovell family and to the foundation for investing in Rice students, and we are confident that the foundation will be impressed with our nominees and that selected students will have a life-changing experience as astronaut scholars.”

The Rice Space Institute and the Center for Civic Learning recently hosted the ASF at the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science.

At the ASF event, Jeff Lovell—son of James Lovell, who commanded Apollo 13 and flew on Apollo 8—announced the scholarship aimed at Rice STEM students. Charlie Duke, who served as spacecraft communicator for the Apollo 11 Moon landing and as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 16, also spoke at the event.

The ASF awarded 74 scholarships to students from 51 universities across the U.S. last May.

The ASF awarded its first seven $1,000 scholarships in 1986 to pay tribute to the Mercury 7 astronauts. It has since awarded more than $10 million to more than 850 college students.

So far, only students from Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin have received the scholarship in Texas.

Houston hospital first in U.S. to use new system for minimally invasive surgery

sharper images

Houston’s Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center has introduced an innovative new surgical imaging system that will allow surgeons to increase the number of minimally invasive procedures as well as reposition on the fly during operations.

Minimally invasive surgery has been shown across the board to improve patient outcomes with less chance of infection and shorter recovery times compared to traditional open surgery. However, the human body is not exactly easy to work on through small incisions, necessitating the development of state-of-the-art cameras and imaging technology to guide surgeons.

Enter GE HealthCare’s Allia Moveo, now a part of the Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center operating room. Using cutting-edge technology, it uses the same high-definition imaging usually seen in the catheterization lab at speeds fast enough to respond to shifting surgical conditions. Its cable-free setup allows surgeons to switch positions much faster, and it features advanced 3D imaging that compensates for breathing motion and interference from metal implants.

Its design supports a range of cardiovascular, vascular, non-vascular, interventional and surgical procedures, according to CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit Catholic health network, of which Baylor St. Luke's is a member.

“This innovative platform enhances how our clinicians navigate complex minimally invasive procedures by improving mobility, image clarity, and workflow efficiency. It strengthens our ability to deliver precise, patient-centered care while supporting our teams with technology designed for the evolving demands of modern interventional medicine,” Dr. Brad Lembcke, president of Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, said in a news release from Baylor and the Texas Heart Institute.

Baylor St. Luke’s is the first hospital in the U.S. to use the Allia Moveo technology. The definition and responsiveness of the new system allow surgeons to navigate the body with greater accuracy and smaller incisions, even for very delicate operations.

“Allia Moveo gives us the flexibility and image quality needed to manage increasingly complex minimally invasive procedures with greater confidence,” Dr. Gustavo Oderich, vascular surgeon and professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, added in the release. “The ability to quickly reposition the system, obtain high-quality 3D imaging, and integrate advanced guidance tools directly into the workflow enhances procedural accuracy. This technology supports our mission to push the boundaries of what is possible in endovascular and interventional surgery.”

Houston clocks in as one of the hardest working cities in America

Ranking It

Houston and its residents are proving their tenacity as some of the hardest working Americans in 2026, so says a new study.

WalletHub's annual "Hardest-Working Cities in America (2026)" report ranked Houston the 37th most hardworking city nationwide. H-town last appeared as the 28th most industrious American city in 2025, but it still remains among the top 50.

The personal finance website evaluated 116 U.S. cities based on 11 key indicators across "direct" and "indirect" work factors, such as an individual's average workweek hours, average commute times, employment rates, and more.

The U.S. cities that comprised the top five include Cheyenne, Wyoming (No. 1); Anchorage, Alaska (No. 2); Washington, D.C. (No. 2); Sioux Falls, South Dakota (No. 4); and Irving, Texas (No. 5). Dallas and Austin also earned a spot among the top 10, landing as No. 7 and No. 10, respectively.

Based on the report's findings, Houston has the No. 31-best "direct work factors" ranking in the nation, which analyzed residents' average workweek hours, employment rates, the share of households where no adults work, the share of workers leaving vacation time unused, the share of "engaged" workers, and the rate of "idle youth" (residents aged 16-24 that are not in school nor have a job).

However, Houston lagged behind in the "indirect work factors" ranking, landing at No. 77 out of all 116 cities in the report. "Indirect" work factors that were considered include residents' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, the share of residents who participate in local groups or organizations, annual volunteer hours, and residents' average leisure time spent per day.

Based on data from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), WalletHub said the average American employee works hundreds of more hours than workers residing in "several other industrialized nations."

"The typical American puts in 1,796 hours per year – 179 more than in Japan, 284 more than in the U.K., and 465 more than in Germany," the report's author wrote. "In recent years, the rise of remote work has, in some cases, extended work hours even further."

WalletHub also tracked the nation's lowest and highest employment rates based on the largest city in each state from 2009 to 2024.

ranking

Source: WalletHub

Other Texas cities that earned spots on the list include Fort Worth (No. 13), Corpus Christi (No. 14), Arlington (No. 15), Plano (No. 17), Laredo (No. 22), Garland (No. 24), El Paso (No. 43), Lubbock (No. 46), and San Antonio (No. 61).

Data for this study was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Travel Association, Gallup, Social Science Research Council, and the Corporation for National & Community Service as of January 29, 2026.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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