Q&A: How the Houston tech community can support LGBTQIA+ innovators

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Tammi Wallace of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce is a panelist on The Ion's Pride in Tech event. Photo via LinkedIn

It's Pride Month, and the Houston tech community is celebrating its LGBTQIA+ community — as well as addressing some challenges faced within the business arena.

The Ion Houston, Austin-based Pride.VC, and Houston-based Sesh Coworking are collaborating on a Pride in Tech event, tomorrow, June 24, at noon at the Ion. It's free to attend and all is welcome. The Ion is also encouraging attendees to come early for a cup of coffee at Common Bond for the weekly Cup of Joey networking happy hour from 8:30 to 10:30 am.

The event will feature a panel moderated by Sesh's Maggie Segrich and Meredith Wheeler, and will tackle topics around how Houston can do more to build a truly inclusive business community. The panelists include

Wallace, who co-founded the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce in 2016, joined InnovationMap for a quick Q&A ahead of the event.

InnovationMap: What kind of challenges do LGBTQIA+ founders in Houston face these days?

Tammi Wallace: First, LGBTQIA+ founders need to be at the table and have a voice. When we launched the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce in 2016, our primary goal was to make sure we were seen, heard and engaged.

A seat and a voice at the table matters because LGBTQIA+ founders often lack visibility in the broader economic ecosystem and continue to experience discrimination. This means they cannot engage with their full and authentic selves as entrepreneurs and experience unique challenges. More specifically, they face challenges with access to venture capital and angel investment funds and these entrepreneurs lack strong LGBTQIA+ role models and mentors.

In fact, some LGBTQIA+ business owners never come out because they fear losing customers or clients. We hear stories all the time about LGBTQIA+ founders not seeking either traditional or non-traditional funding because they fear that they will have to out themselves in the process and fear discrimination and a lack of acceptance in the process. Disclosing personal information, such as financial information, in some cases, can effectively out them as an LGBTQIA+ person. Funding paths must be fully inclusive and ensure that the process is viewed from the lens of the LGBTQIA+ entrepreneur and how that can impact their access to capital.


    IM: How would you recommend these founders find the community and support they are looking for? 

    TW: Definitely get involved with the Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Since 2016, the chamber has been working to build a strong community to support LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs and get them access to resources to help their businesses grow and thrive.

    We create connections and give LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs a space and place to walk through the door as their full and authentic selves. Through the Chamber, LGBTQIA+ founders can find support, whether from other entrepreneurs, mentors and Corporate Partners. We collaborate with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) as well as the other LGBTQIA+ chambers in Texas to drive connections and build a strong LGBTQIA+ business network across the country and the state.

    We encourage LGBTQIA+ businesses to get LGBTBE® Certified as well which offers even more connection with other certified businesses, major corporations and other key stakeholders and mentoring opportunities with major companies. We can help these founders get started with the LGBTBE® certification process and tap into national, regional and statewide resources.

    IM: How do you recommend startup development organizations, investors, and other businesses become better allies to the LGBTQIA+ startup community? 

    TW: Ensure that LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs and business and community leaders are engaged with your organization. Organizations like the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Ion are working "boots on the ground" to support the LGBTQIA+ business community and can offer the opportunity for meaningful collaboration. We also recommend advocating for others -- when you are around a table, look around and if the LGBTQIA+ community is not being represented, ask why.

    If representation is around the table, be intentional to ensure that we have a voice. As organizations that are involved in Houston's economic ecosystem, be strong and visible advocates for the LGBTQIA+ business community through engagement of businesses and the Chamber throughout the year. Be engaged -- not just during Pride Month, but twelve months out of the year.

    Whether a startup, investor or a business, you can help raise the profile for LGBTQIA+ businesses and the LGBTQIA+ business movement.

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    Rice leads Texas colleges on LinkedIn's first-ever career success ranking

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    Houston’s Rice University leads the Texas schools in LinkedIn’s first-ever ranking of the 50 best U.S. colleges for long-term career success.

    Rice appears at No. 31 in the ranking. Southern Methodist University, located in the Dallas suburb of University Park, lands at No. 37 and the University of Texas at Austin shows up at No. 46.

    LinkedIn, a career networking site, says the ranking is based on exclusive data about alumni, such as job placement rates, advancement into senior-level jobs, post-graduate formation of startups, and pre-graduation internships.

    “A four-year bachelor’s degree is a significant investment of time and money, especially as tuition costs rise and the job market shifts,” the LinkedIn report says. “For millions of Americans, the return on investment is worth it. Those who earn the degree can see an enduring impact on their earning potential and overall career trajectory.”

    Where someone earns a degree can have an even bigger impact, according to LinkedIn, as graduates of top programs often land jobs more rapidly, build strong professional networks, and rise to leadership roles more quickly.

    “Long-term success isn’t just about landing a great first job; it’s about sustained career growth and opportunity years after graduation,” Andrew Seaman, senior editor-at-large for jobs and career development at LinkedIn News, told Fortune. “For this list, that means looking at how well a school sets alumni up for the long haul.”

    Here’s a breakdown of some of the data about the three Texas schools on the LinkedIn list:

    Rice University

    • Top industries of graduates: Technology, business consulting, higher education
    • Top post-graduation destinations: Houston, San Francisco Bay Area, New York City
    • Notable skills: MATLAB programming language, engineering design, data science

    Southern Methodist University

    • Top industries of graduates: Financial services, business consulting
    • Top post-graduation destinations: Dallas, New York City, Los Angeles
    • Most notable skills: AMPL programming language, Avid iNews content creation system, data science

    University of Texas at Austin

    • Top industries of graduates: Technology, medical practices, advertising
    • Top post-graduation destinations: Austin, Dallas, Houston
    • Most notable skills: SOLIDWORKS computer-aided design software, architecture, Avid Media Composer video editing software

    TMC lands $3M grant to launch cancer device accelerator

    cancer funding

    A new business accelerator at Houston’s Texas Medical Center has received a nearly $3 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

    The CPRIT grant, awarded to the Texas Medical Center Foundation, will help launch the Accelerator for Cancer Medical Devices. The accelerator will support emerging innovators in developing prototypes for cancer-related medical devices and advancing them from prototype to clinical trials.

    “The translation of new cancer-focused precision medical devices, often the width of a human hair, creates the opportunity to develop novel treatments for cancer patients,” the accelerator posted on the CPRIT website.

    Scientist, consultant, and entrepreneur Jason Sakamoto, associate director of the TMC Center for Device Innovation, will oversee the accelerator. TMC officials say the accelerator builds on the success of TMC Innovation’s Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics.

    Each participant in the Accelerator for Cancer Medical Devices program will graduate with a device prototype, a business plan, and a “solid foundation” in preclinical and clinical strategies, TMC says. Participants will benefit from “robust support” provided by the TMC ecosystem, according to the medical center, and “will foster innovation into impactful and life-changing cancer patient solutions in Texas and beyond.”

    In all, CPRIT recently awarded $27 million in grants for cancer research. That includes $18 million to attract top cancer researchers to Texas. Houston institutions received $4 million for recruitment:

    • $2 million to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to recruit Rodrigo Romero from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City
    • $2 million to MD Anderson to recruit Eric Gardner from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City

    A $1 million grant also went to Baylor College of Medicine researcher Dr. Akiva Diamond. He is an assistant professor at the medical college and is affiliated with Baylor’s Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

    Musk’s SpaceX spends $17B to acquire spectrum licenses from EchoStar

    SpaceX Update

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX has reached a deal worth about $17 billion with EchoStar for spectrum licenses that it will use to beef up its Starlink satellite network.

    The deal for EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses includes up to $8.5 billion in cash and up to $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock. SpaceX will make approximately $2 billion in cash interest payments on EchoStar debt through November 2027.

    SpaceX and EchoStar will enter into a long-term commercial agreement which will allow EchoStar’s Boost Mobile subscribers to access SpaceX’s next generation Starlink Direct to Cell service.

    Shares of EchoStar surged 19% before the market opened Monday.

    Last month AT&T said that it will spend $23 billion to acquire wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar, a significant expansion of its low- and mid-band coverage networks.

    EchoStar said that it anticipates that the AT&T deal and the SpaceX transaction will resolve recent inquiries from the Federal Communications Commission about the rollout of 5G technology in the U.S. The FCC had been calling for hearings on whether Echostar was properly using the spectrum that it is now selling, and its efforts to make 5G more available to communities.

    EchoStar said Monday that it will use the proceeds from the sale partly to pay down debt. Current operations of Dish TV, Sling and Hughes will not be impacted, the company said.

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