Rice accelerator names innovative second summer cohort

ready to grow

The 12-week program received a record number of applications, that spanned the campus' degree offerings. Photo via rice.edu

Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, or Lilie, has named eight teams to the second cohort of the Lilie Summer Venture Studio.

The teams are focused on a range of innovative concepts, from health care solutions to running shoe design to automating recruiting from the NCAA Transfer Portal.

According to Rice, the 12-week program received a record number of applications, that spanned the campus' degree offerings.

“We are thrilled to see such a high level of interest and excitement from Rice students for a high-growth venture accelerator,” Kyle Judah, executive director of Lilie, said in a statement. “The diversity and creativity in this year's applications were truly inspiring, and we’re excited to support these promising ventures with the resources and mentorship they need to hit escape velocity and create the next generation of pillar companies for Houston, Texas and the world.”

The selected teams will receive $15,000 in non-dilutive funding from the accelerator, along with access to coworking space and personalized mentorship in the Liu Idea Lab.

Here are the teams for the 2024 Lilie Summer Venture Studio:

Coflux Purification, a patent-pending in-stream module that breaks down PFAS using a novel absorbent for chemical-free water
Docflow, focused on streamlining residency shift scheduling
JewelVision, building virtual fitting rooms for jewelry e-commerce retailers using generative AI
Levytation, using data science and AI to answer critical questions about sales and customers for coffee shop management
OnGuard, a marketplace to book off-duty police officers and security professionals
Roster, leverages data on athletes in the NCAA Transfer Portal to automatically send updates on players to coaches
Solidec, a technology platform that extracts molecules from water and air, transforms them into pure chemicals and fuels without any carbon emissions
Veloci, a running shoe venture that addresses common pains through shoe design

Lilie launched the Summer Venture Studio last year. According to Rice, two out of the six teams selected, Helix Earth Technologies and Tierra Climate, raised venture capital funds after completing the accelerator program.

Helix Earth Technologies also went on to earn the inaugural TEX-E Prize at CERAWeek in 2023.

“The track record of our Summer Venture Studio Accelerator speaks for itself, despite being early in our second year," Taylor Anne Adams, head of venture acceleration programs at the Liu Idea Lab, said in a statement. "This is the power of entrepreneurship programming that is designed by founders, for founders, that happens at the Liu Idea Lab.”

Last year, Lilie also named 11 successful business leaders with ties to Houston to its first Lilie’s Leadership Council. Each agreed to donate time and money to the university’s entrepreneurship programs. Click here to see who made the list.

This year, Rice University's NRLC started with 100 student venture teams before being whittled down to the final five at the championship. Photo courtesy of Rice

Rice University's student startup competition names 2024 winners, awards $100,000 in prizes

taking home the W

A group of Rice University student-founded companies shared $100,000 of cash prizes at an annual startup competition.

Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship's H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge, hosted by Rice earlier this month, named its winners for 2024. HEXASpec, a company that's created a new material to improve heat management for the semiconductor industry, won the top prize and $50,000 cash.

Founded by Rice Ph.D. candidates Tianshu Zhai and Chen-Yang Lin, who are a part of Lilie’s 2024 Innovation Fellows program, HEXASpec is improving efficiency and sustainability within the semiconductor industry, which usually consumes millions of gallons of water used to cool data centers. According to Rice's news release, HEXASpec's "next-generation chip packaging offer 20 times higher thermal conductivity and improved protection performance, cooling the chips faster and reducing the operational surface temperature."

The rest of the winners included:

Second place and $25,000: CoFlux Purification
Third place and $15,000: Bonfire
Outstanding Achievement in Social Impact Award and $1,500: EmpowerU
Outstanding Achievement in Artificial Intelligence and $1,000: Sups and Levytation
Outstanding Achievement in Consumer Goods Prize and $1,000: The Blind Bag
Frank Liu Jr. Prize for Creative Innovations in Music, Fashion and the Arts and $1,500: Melody
Outstanding Achievement in Climate Solutions Prizes and $1,000: Solidec and HEXASpec
Outstanding Undergraduate Startup Award and $2,500: Women’s Wave
Audience Choice Award and $2,000: CoFlux Purification

The NRLC, open to Rice students, is Lilie's hallmark event. Last year's winner was fashion tech startup, Goldie.

“We are the home of everything entrepreneurship, innovation and research commercialization for the entire Rice student, faculty and alumni communities,” Kyle Judah, executive director at Lilie, says in a news release. “We’re a place for you to immerse yourself in a problem you care about, to experiment, to try and fail and keep trying and trying and trying again amongst a community of fellow rebels, coloring outside the lines of convention."

This year, the competition started with 100 student venture teams before being whittled down to the final five at the championship. The program is supported by Lilie’s mentor team, Frank Liu and the Liu Family Foundation, Rice Business, Rice’s Office of Innovation, and other donors

“The heart and soul of what we’re doing to really take it to the next level with entrepreneurship here at Rice is this fantastic team,” Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice Business, adds. “And they’re doing an outstanding job every year, reaching further, bringing in more students. My understanding is we had more than 100 teams submit applications. It’s an extraordinarily high number. It tells you a lot about what we have at Rice and what this team has been cooking and making happen here at Rice for a long, long time.”

HEXASpec was founded by Rice Ph.D. candidates Tianshu Zhai and Chen-Yang Lin, who are a part of Lilie’s 2024 Innovation Fellows program. Photo courtesy of Rice

Applications are now open for the Summer Venture Studio. Photo via rice.edu

Rice University kicks off new program for student startup founders

student entrepreneurship

Students at Rice University will have a new opportunity to have a taste of entrepreneurship this summer.

The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, or Lilie, has established a new startup accelerator program called the Summer Venture Studio. The program, which will run May 15 through August 7, is open to students of any major or year, including recent graduates.

“The Summer Venture Studio will empower student teams to accelerate their ventures and hit escape velocity,” says Kyle Judah, executive director of Lilie, in a news release. “We believe that with the right personalized program and resources, and led by our team of experienced founders, we can unlock students’ limitless potential to create the next generation of pillar companies for Houston, Texas and the world.”

The accepted students will work full-time with Lilie's one-on-one mentorship, programming, and up to $15,000 in equity-free funding per team — all provided in a dedicated coworking space.

“Summer Venture Studio offers Rice students the opportunity to work on their venture ideas with individualized programming customized to their experience, background and venture stage,” says Yael Hochberg, the Ralph S. O’Connor Professor in Entrepreneurship and head of the Rice Entrepreneurship Initiative. “The program is designed to blend seamlessly into students’ curricular and co-curricular experience throughout the academic year, ensuring that each student is met where they are in experience and entrepreneurial knowledge.”

The accelerator is looking for student teams of up to five members. The team lead must be a current student or have graduated within a month of the program's start. Applications are now open online and will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

The annual H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge awarded equity-free cash prizes to three impressive student startups. Photo courtesy of Rice University

Rice University student startups win $65,000 in competition

winners revealed

A Rice University startup competition concluded with a big win for a company started by students trying to use tech to help prevent veteran suicide.

The startup, rutd: resources united. technology driven., a secure platform that can deliver more than 14,000 mental health resources to veterans, won first prize at the virtually held H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge last week. The prize included a $27,500 check.

Seven other Rice-affiliated startups pitched for judges at the event for a shot at equity-free seed funding. The program is a part of Rice's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, or Lilie.

"With the biggest and most diverse field of competitors in the history of the competition, it shows that at Rice and Lilie, you don't have to choose between being a student and working on your startup. We empower you to do both," says Kyle Judah, executive director of Lilie, in a press release. "These founders took advantage of all our resources and opportunities — which is why they had million-dollar partnerships and tens of thousands of users at competition time."

Second place went to Green Room, a startup that aims to provide tools — like payments and tax compliance — for Houstonians in the live music industry. The Green Room team won $20,000.

In third place was A440, a company focused on "bringing the creator economy to classical music, helping a centuries-old art form find new life in the modern era," according to the release. A440 won the $15,000 third place prize, as well as the $2,500 Norman Dresden Leebron Audience Choice Award.

The competition, which was sponsored by was sponsored by Mercury Fund and T-Minus Solutions and supported by the Napier family and the Liu Family Foundation, also provided mentoring and pitch coaching opportunities from experts and the Rice community.

The judges included Rice alumni Claire Shorall, CEO and co-founder of Topknot; Sunit Patel, CFO of Ibotta; Monica Pal, founding partner of How Women Invest; Chris Staffel, managing director of GOOSE Capital; and Brad Husick, CEO and founder of IdeaSense.

This week's innovators to know in Houston includes Kyle Judah of Rice University, and Devin and Peter Licata of Headquarters. Photos courtesy

3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: This week's Houston innovators to know are each looking to positively effect Houston's startup and innovation ecosystem. From making innovation more representative starting with on campus to looking to help companies most affected by COVID-19, here's what these innovators are up to.

Kyle Judah, executive director of Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Rice University

Kyle Judah joins the Houston Innovators Podcast last week. Photo courtesy of Lilie

To Kyle Judah, who recently joined Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, establishing Houston's innovation ecosystem as unique and reflective of the city is of extreme importance. From diversity of people to diversity of industry, Judah is hard at work at making Rice's programs reflective of Houston.

"We can't just copy and paste what works for the Bay Area or what works for Boston," he says. "We have to figure out what is going to be the authentic right sort of centers of excellence for Rice and for Houston — areas like energy, health care, space. It just so happens that these areas that Houston and Rice have historically done better at than anyone else — those happen to be the most grand challenges for all of humanity."

Judah joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss this and what else he has on his radar in his new role. Read more and stream the episode here.

Devin and Peter Licata of Headquarters

Headquarters is looking to give away coworking space to two startups affected by the pandemic. Photo courtesy of Headquarters

A brother-sister team, Peter and Devin Licata are running Headquarters, a coworkering space just east of downtown Houston. And, after watching how COVID-19 has affected startups, they are looking to donate space to two deserving companies.

"For Devin and I being local Houstonians," says Peter. "It was very exciting to bring a product to Houston that we had never seen before in the city. When we started the search for a building, we had a very specific idea of how we wanted it to look and feel, and the amenities we wanted to provide."

Headquarters is currently accepting submissions from startups, founders, and entrepreneurs to be considered for free office space through Friday, October 2, with recipients set to be announced the week of October 5th.

Kyle Judah is executive director of Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Photo courtesy of Lilie

New innovation leader at Rice University plans to take campus innovations to the world

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 50

When Kyle Judah accepted his position as executive director at Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, he had spent less than 48 hours in the city of Houston. In fact, his first two months in the role have been spent completely remote and out of town.

Still, his limited in-person interaction with the city and with Rice made an impact.

"One of the things I found so exciting about what's going on in Houston right now that, quite frankly, was incredibly attractive about the opportunity to come and join Lilie and Rice was that Houston has these big pillar companies in energy and health care and all these critical areas that the world, the economy, and the society needs," Judah says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "That's all in Houston right now."

Judah and Lilie's goal is to help identify the innovation happening on campus at Rice and bring it to the world. And, he says, Rice as a whole has a huge place in the greater Houston innovation ecosystem. The challenge is identifying what industries Houston and Rice have an opportunity to disrupt.

Another priority Judah has leading Lilie, which was founded at Rice in 2015, is to make sure opportunities are available for everyone. This month, the university launched the Rice Experiment Fund — a $500 semesterly stipend available to all students. The funds are meant to be used on early market testing and experiments, which can be prohibitive obstacles for students.

"We want to make sure that the diversity of entrepreneurship at Rice speaks to the diversity of the city in our backyard," says Judah, adding that diversity and inclusion is at the top of mind for programs like this.

Judah shares more on where he plans to lead Lilie and his early impressions on Houston's startup scene in the podcast episode. Overall, he's found it extremely welcoming.

"I found that everyone here wants Houston to win," he says. "We're really playing as a broader collective, and that's incredibly special."

You can listen to the full interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.

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Shipley Donuts launches AI-powered ordering assistant

fresh tech

Popular Houston-born doughnut chain Shipley Donuts has added a first-of-its-kind AI-powered assistant to its online ordering platform.

The new assistant can create personalized order recommendations based on individual or group preferences, according to a news release from the company. Unlike standard chatbox features, the new assistant makes custom recommendations based on multiple customer factors, including budgetary habits, individual flavor preferences and order size.

"We're not just adding AI for the sake of innovation — we're solving real customer pain points by making ordering more intuitive, personalized and efficient," Kerry Leo, Shipley Vice President of Technology, said in the release.

The system also works for larger events, as it can make individual orders and catering recommendations for corporate events and meetings by suggesting quantities and assortments based on group size, event type and budget.

According to Shipley, nearly 1 in 4 guests have completed orders with the new AI technology since it launched on its website.

“The integration of the AI ordering assistant into our refreshed website represents a significant leap forward in how restaurant brands can leverage technology to enhance the customer experience,” Leo added in the release.

Houston company wins AHA competition for pediatric heart valve design

winner, winner

Houston-based PolyVascular, which develops minimally invasive solutions for children with congenital heart disease, was named the overall winner of the American Heart Association’s annual Health Tech Competition earlier this month.

The company was founded in 2014 by Dr. Henri Justino and Daniel Harrington and was part of TMCi's 2017 medical device cohort. It is developing the first polymer-based transcatheter pulmonary valve designed specifically for young children, allowing for precise sizing and redilation as the child grows while also avoiding degradation. PolyVascular has completed preclinical studies and is working toward regulatory submissions, an early feasibility study and its first-in-human clinical trial thanks to a recent SBIR grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

With the new AHA honor, PolyVascular will be invited to join the association’s Center for Health Technology & Innovation Innovators’ Network, which connects entrepreneurs, providers and researchers to share and advance innovation in cardiovascular and brain health.

“This is a tremendous honor for PolyVascular—we’re especially proud to bring hope to families and children living with congenital heart defects,” Justino said in a news release. “Our technology—a minimally invasive valve that can be expanded over time to grow with the child—has the potential to dramatically reduce the need for repeated open-heart surgeries.”

The Health Tech Competition is a live forum for health care innovators to present their digital solutions for treating or preventing cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

Finalists from around the world addressed heart failure, hypertension, congenital heart defects and other issues that exist in cardiovascular, brain and metabolic health. Solutions were evaluated on the criteria of validity, scientific rigor and impact.

The judges included Texas-based Dr. Eric D. Peterson, professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and Dr. Asif Ali, clinical associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston and director at Cena Research Institute.

According to the American Heart Association, nearly half of U.S. adults live with some form of cardiovascular disease or stroke.

“The American Heart Association plays a pivotal role in advancing innovative care pathways, and we’re excited that our solution aligns with its guidelines and mission,” Justino said in a news release. “It’s time these life-changing technologies reach the youngest patients, just as they already do for adults.”

EO Houston is where ambitious founders go to scale smarter

Don't Go It Alone

Scaling a business from early traction into true growth is one of the most exciting — and punishing — chapters of entrepreneurship. Houston founders know this better than most. Our city is built on ambition: fast-moving industries, talent from around the world, and opportunities that expand as large as the Texas sky.

But as many entrepreneurs eventually learn, scaling isn’t simply “more of what worked.” It requires new systems, new thinking, and often, a new version of the founder. Even the most capable founders eventually face decisions, pressures, and turning points that only other entrepreneurs can truly understand.

Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a global peer-to-peer network of more than 18,000 business owners across 220 chapters in 75+ countries, exists for exactly this stage. One of the largest chapters in the organization, EO Houston brings that global community to life locally, offering founders the connection, learning, and accountability needed to grow sustainably and to grow up as leaders.

A community where founders learn at the highest level
The real value of EO emerges in the lived experiences of other entrepreneurs. When Houston-area founders talk about the moments growth nearly broke their companies, a universal theme appears: you can’t do it alone.

EO Houston member Robert De Los Santos of Sky High Party Rentals learned this the hard way when rapid post-COVID growth made expansion feel limitless — until it wasn’t.

“After COVID, we doubled every year and assumed inventory was the limit. In 2023 we overbought, only to realize demand had peaked. That taught us a hard truth: growth in one city has ceilings. Expanding into Austin and Dallas — the Texas Triangle — gave us new markets to put our inventory to work while we figured out how to penetrate Houston better. The challenge shifted from a strategy of ‘buy more units for demand’ to learning how to tackle the challenges of ‘leading across cities.’”

Founders often enter EO exhausted from trying to maintain control as things grow more complex. Many discover, like Jarred King of Summit Firms, that scaling requires the difficult shift from doing everything to building the team that can.

“We grew quickly because of my network, relationships, and hustle… but I was doing all the work,” King says. “I realized at that point you have to delegate — not just busy work, but important decisions to your key team, as well as set up really effective SOPs.”

“The uncomfortable truth is that you are no longer the best person for most jobs in your company," agrees Darren Randle of Houston Tents & Events. "Your inability to delegate or hire people smarter than you in key leadership and management level roles will become the single biggest drag on the entire business. You have to accept that your original 'hustle' is now a scalability risk."

Making hard decisions, such as walking away from customers or contracts, can feel like less of a sting when you know others have also been faced with tough choices. Aaron Gillaspie of West U's My Salon Suite recalls, “You can’t be everything to everyone, it’s ok to say no, and just understand some customers aren’t the right fit. It’s a two way street and both must win.”

Perspective is perhaps the most important reality check that members find at EO.

“Bigger volume will not make problems go away — you just got to get used to walking the tightrope," says Roger Pombrol of Emerald Standard. "Develop a system for good balance and do not freak out. Scared is no way to live your life. It’s ok if you fall. Your family will still love you. Money is just money. Love is love. The world tries to make you conflate them, but don’t."

Actionable insights from entrepreneurs who’ve already scaled
Conversations like these are happening every month inside EO Forum Meeting. Each EO chapter is divided into several small Forums. These confidential, committed group of 7–10 entrepreneurs who meet to share the real five percent of what they’re experiencing. It’s not advice, but experience — shared candidly, respectfully, and with the kind of vulnerability that leads to breakthroughs.

What makes Forum so impactful is the honesty it draws out. Entrepreneurs are often surrounded by employees, partners, and even family members who rely on them for answers, but seldom do they have a group where vulnerability is not only welcomed, but expected.

Learning experiences that match your ambition
EO supports that growth far beyond peer groups. Through the organization’s global partnerships with institutions like Harvard, Oxford, and INSEAD, Houston members gain access to executive-level learning experiences designed specifically for entrepreneurs.

These programs help founders step out of the day-to-day and think strategically about competitive advantage, innovation, and organizational leadership. Paired with ongoing learning through EO Jumpstart, Nano Learning, and its global library of member-created content, founders stay informed, challenged, and ahead of emerging trends.

And through global communities — ranging from EO Women and EO Under 35 to industry-specific groups — Houston members tap into expertise that spans continents and sectors. Whether someone is navigating M&A, exploring international expansion, or integrating new technologies, the right perspectives are always within reach.

What truly distinguishes EO Houston, however, is its culture. Houston’s entrepreneurial landscape is uniquely diverse and resilient, filled with founders who are hungry to build, innovate, and elevate the city’s business community. EO Houston amplifies that spirit, creating relationships that are as supportive as they are strategic. Many members describe the chapter not simply as a network, but as a catalyst for becoming better leaders, better thinkers, and — just as importantly — better human beings.

Your next level starts here
For entrepreneurs who are ready to scale—beyond their first million, beyond their current comfort zone, and toward a future that requires sharper leadership and stronger community—EO Houston offers an unmatched platform. It is a place where ambitious founders grow faster, think bigger, and gain the confidence to take bold next steps.

If you’re ready to elevate your business and your leadership alongside people who understand the journey, EO Houston is ready to welcome you. Your next level starts with the peers who can help you reach it. Learn more and become a member here.

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