Houston early stage startup accelerator introduces latest cohort

growing gains

The latest cohort from gBETA Houston has been announced and is currently underway at the Downtown Launchpad. Photo courtesy of Downtown Launchpad

Five Houston startups are joining a global accelerator for a seven-week program to strategically grow their businesses.

Houston's gBETA, a part of gener8tor in partnership with the Downtown Launchpad, has launched its spring cohort — the seventh cohort since its launch in Houston in 2019 — this month. The free program lasts seven weeks and connects companies to gener8tor's network of mentors, customers, corporate partners, and investors.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Downtown Launchpad to bring these programs to life and bolster the technology and sustainability industries in Houston,” says Lauren Usher, gener8tor gBETA vice president, in a news release.

gBETA's equity-free model provides coaching for its cohort companies, which are all Houston-based, home-grown.

“It’s exciting to see the seventh cohort of gBETA Houston come together. We’ve seen so much growth from our previous alumni from our program, and we’re excited for that same impact to flourish with this incoming cohort,” says Muriel Foster, gBETA Houston director, in the release.

The ongoing cohort's members include:

  • Adaptagym revolutionizes the fitness and rehabilitation industries by offering a comprehensive and user-friendly platform that caters to the unique needs of all persons on the ability spectrum. The company matches users with the appropriate fitness and allied health professionals. Adaptagym is currently partnering with one clinic and four individuals for beta testing.
  • Circle.ooo is a B2B2C technology company streamlining event tech for small-to-medium event hosts, attendees and sponsors. The app-within-app concept allows event holders to create a free ‘Circle’, and Attendees create a single 'universal profile' digicard to instantly register for any Event without having multiple accounts, profiles or inputting data fields. Circle is a Houston-based Delaware C-Corp, is currently testing v 2.0 of the app, and has 27 customers on their waitlist.
  • Financial Aid Frenzy transforms the way students pay for college, one dollar at a time. Financial Aid Frenzy's crowdfunding platform is tailored to assist students in getting the money needed for their education by connecting them with donors who are passionate about helping them achieve their educational fundraising goals. Financial Aid Frenzy is a Houston-based Delaware C-Corp, with 40 customers interested in the platform.
  • Kash-In Academy utilizes digital “kash” to increase student engagement through monetized lessons and quizzes. With the Kash-In Academy platform, teachers are able to deposit “kash” for positive behavior and academic achievement. Kash-In Academy is approved in 12 school districts servicing 932 teachers and 8,069 students.
  • MendIt’s apparel care marketplace amplifies the choices for consumers to manage their closets more sustainably and empowers retailers with aftercare solutions that elevate their brand. Retailers work with MendIt to offer long-term product care to customers, helping to extend the life of their clothing, save money through reduced returns, and direct capital to local businesses. MendIt’s product is live and available nationwide via shipping, with three local drop-off locations in the Houston market, a waiting list of “menders” across 9 states, and hundreds of garments mended to date.
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Houston sportstech startup shoots, scores in Pharrell Williams competition

on the rebound

Anyone who's witnessed even just a minute of basketball knows how important accuracy is in sinking shots on the court. One Houston startup has developed a device to help practice make perfect in a game.

GRIND’s portable basketball shooting machine, the first of its kind, was created by founder and CEO Thomas Fields, former basketball phenom at Houston’s Reagan High School (now Heights High School).

“I remember being on varsity as a freshman and shooting thousands of shots every day trying to be the best,” says Fields. “My school bought a shooting machine, but they never let me use it. It was a game-changing piece of equipment, and I didn’t even have access because the gyms were always closed or closing.

“And another major problem was getting your rebounds, so we set out to make a portable basketball rebounding machine, so you could take it anywhere like home, the park, or the gym. It was also important to make it affordable, too.”

The GRIND shooting machine is available online. Photo via grindbasketball.com

At just 110 pounds, the GRIND shooting machine is 54 percent lighter than other home shooting machines, has a 12-foot net, and needs just 90 seconds to set up or take down.

“Our portable shooting machine has been on the market for about three, four years now,” says Fields. “So now it's time to kind of accelerate the growth, and that’s pretty exciting. We really have our sights on NBA Africa for a partnership there. Another one is Adidas; we are collaborating with them right now and they're also one of the sponsors of Black Hat Mission. And hopefully, we would like to land some NBA guys to invest and really get behind our sportstech company, but also make a significant impact in the community by getting kids into tech through sports.”

To that end, GRIND recently won second place in a competition from Black Ambition, an organization founded by Pharrell Williams. With the tagline, “Uninterrupted ambition. Unmatched impact,” the Black Ambition Prize celebrates underrepresented founders globally.

“When I initially heard of Black Ambition, I just kind of heard that Pharrell had started a venture fund aimed at uplifting black and brown entrepreneurs,” says Fields. “And when I read more about it, I realized that their mission perfectly aligned with GRIND. Our goal is to try to get kids into tech and STEM, but use sports as the conduit and the bridge to get them there.

“We applied for the million-dollar cash prize for first place, but took second place, which is a $250,000 investment in the company. So now that Pharrell and Black Ambition are behind us, we are going out and raising some more capital to hit that hyper stage that we're going into. We are launching our software next year and our hardware has really been growing.”

Fields pitched GRIND on Shark Tank in May of 2021, where he was offered a joint deal for $250,000 for 25 percent of the company from both Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran. While Fields agreed on the show, the finalized terms of the deal were not disclosed.

- YouTubeThomas Fields is seeking $250000 for a 5% stake of GRIND. From Season 12 Episode 23 Watch Now: ...

As a startup, GRIND, a consumer brand developing the world’s first smart ecosystem of sports equipment products, represents the continued uptick with sportstech innovation in Houston.

“We want to revolutionize the world of sports equipment by leveraging cutting edge technology by developing sports equipment that can seamlessly connect to software, enhancing athletic performance, and pushing athletes to achieve their peak potential,” Fields says.

As GRIND continues to push forward and expand its footprint, it’s also looking to expand its customer base.

“I think the target users are middle school and high school athletes,” says Fields. “These are the kids that are striving to be great athletes and striving to get into college. We also have colleges that have our product, as well. But mostly, the customer is the parents of those athletes. That's really who we're trying to get excited.

“And then, of course, there are the coaches and trainers. They own gyms; they own organizations and need equipment for their schools and universities. That's another target customer of ours for sure.”

Ultimately, GRIND will continue to build on Fields’ initial inspiration to design products and technologies with the athletes — especially hoopers — in mind.

“Our goal in the next few years is to really amp up the scholarships that we facilitate to funnel kids into STEM tech careers and pathways,” says Fields. “GRIND Day, which is a proclamation the City of Houston gave us for August 12 each year, is a day where we bring sports, tech, and culture all under one umbrella. Kids see us using 3D printers and lasers to cut the products that we make in our warehouse, which is in an underserved community, which hopefully makes them think it’s cool and want to get into technology.”

Houston airport cut traffic congestion by 99 percent during peak travel season

A Soaring Improvement

Years of physical improvements and other initiatives paid off this holiday season at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Despite seeing a record number of flyers, traffic congestion at the airport dropped by an astounding amount.

“Our goal was to deliver a seamless journey during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year,” said Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for Houston Airports. “The results show that our investments in infrastructure, technology and customer service are paying off. We are proud of our team and the traveling public for working together to make this holiday season a success. Our coordinated efforts between Houston Airports and Houston Police kept traffic flowing smoothly at our departure curbs while passengers followed instructions and used cell phones lots effectively. These efforts, paired with infrastructure improvements like the new International Arrivals Curb and expanded Terminal C garage entrance, demonstrate our commitment to delivering world-class service and efficiency.”

The holiday flying season officially lasts from December 20 to January 6. Data from Houston airports shows that between December 20 and December 30, 1.7 million passengers passed through IAH, a 21 percent increase over the same period in 2023. However, the number of heavy traffic periods fell 90 percent and periods of severe traffic fell 99 percent. To put it another way, passengers at IAH spent 4.4 hours in severe traffic during Christmas 2023. This past Christmas, it was just 2 minutes, an astounding reduction.

This was accomplished with the long-awaited new IAH International Arrivals Curb, which opened for public use on December 14. The new arrivals curb features seven lanes for dedicated drop-off and pick-up, greatly increasing the places for passengers to enter and exit the airport. IAH also opened the previously closed entry roadway lane before Thanksgiving, further reducing traffic snarl.

For those leaving their cars at the airport, a new cashless, automated system was built at HAS garages and ecoparks. New curbside agents were also hired, and Houston police helped direct traffic during the stressful and busy time.

“Our focus is always on providing a safe, stress-free experience,” said Kelly Woodward, chief operating officer for Houston Airports. “These upgrades allowed us to accommodate record passenger numbers while keeping traffic flowing. It’s a win for travelers and our city.”

IAH will continue to improve in 2025 as the new International Central Processor terminal comes fully online. As IAH becomes one of the main Gateways to Latin and South America, it will continue to serve the increasing number of flyers heading south of the border. Some time in 2025, 11 new lanes will open on the upper level, keeping traffic moving briskly.

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This story originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.com.

Houston construction tech tool acquires Y Combinator-backed co.

M&A moves

A Houston-based platform that connects skilled electricians with top electrical contractors has made a strategic acquisition.

Buildforce announced it has acquired Ladder, which is a Y Combinator-backed, technology-enabled construction labor marketplace.

The acquisition is part of Buildforce’s expansion plans into the southeastern U.S. and during a time of increased demand for skilled construction talent. Buildforce will work to leverage the Ladder customer base of over 200 customers across six states, as well as its extensive electrician network of over 10,000 pre-screened electricians, which is the largest in the Southeast.

In addition to expanding to Georgia with the Ladder acquisition, Buildforce launched in Arizona in October and will expand into several additional high-construction volume states in 2025. Also in October, Buildforce launched an easier product to manage a flexible time approval process with its Activity Log and Comments for Time Entries update. Contractors in these regions will be introduced to a more “integrated, technology-driven approach to talent acquisition and workforce management that drives efficiency and delivers higher quality project outcomes,” according to Buildforce.

“There are two major problems plaguing the construction labor market,” Moody Heard, co-founder and CEO of Buildforce, says in a news release. “One, the project-based nature of construction work means tradesmen are constantly ‘working themselves out of a job’, meaning high employee turnover. And two, the industry is experiencing a secular decline in the supply of tradesmen relative to surging demand.”

Ladder Founder and CEO Alex Stewart will continue on in a leadership role as a senior executive with Buildforce.

"I am incredibly excited to join the Buildforce team to further its expansion into new markets, while staying true to its mission of helping people in the construction trades find more security and fulfillment,” Stewart said in a news release. “Buildforce is at the forefront of workforce management for the construction industry, and I look forward to working with Moody and the rest of the talented Buildforce team to drive the business towards continued growth.”

Buildforce was founded in 2019 to help close the gap in the construction labor market that affected skilled tradespeople and contractors. In 2021, the company raised a $4 million round backed by Houston-based Mercury.

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