Houston expert: How B2B industries can leverage go-to-market strategies for maximum impact

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By pinpointing and customizing efforts to meet the specific needs of the most lucrative customers, businesses can maximize ROI and achieve revenue objectives. Photo via Getty Images

Crafting a successful go-to-market strategy is a must for driving revenue and profit growth, especially for investor-backed, high-growth businesses. But there is no one size fits all approach. Companies need nuanced GTM strategies tailored to their unique products or services.

There are six key sales and marketing motions:

  • Inbound Marketing: Attract customers through valuable content like white papers, how-to guides, and market overviews and then deploy this content across blogs, social media, emails, and publications for broad engagement. Think about a client's needs, and then deliver them content that directly helps them.
  • Outbound Outreach: Employ targeted strategies for account engagement, reaching specific prospects through personalized emails, calls, and digital outreach. This pushes out that valuable content to the identified target accounts and markets.
  • Product-Led Marketing: Engage customers directly through the product with free trials or freemium models. This approach integrates marketing, sales, and the product itself. Encouraging hands-on interaction with the product or service is a great way to convert potential leads into buyers.
  • Channel Partner Marketing: Collaborate with distributors, resellers, or affiliates to advocate for products. Referrals, commissions, and "nearbound relationships" amplify market presence, turning partners into an extension of the sales team.
  • Event Marketing: Enhance visibility and connection through things like trade shows, webinars, and demo days. It’s an opportunity to reach a broad audience but also to get that one-on-one interaction.
  • Community Marketing: Foster advocacy through authentic engagement, leveraging social media influencers, user-generated content, and online forums. This is more common in B2C but can also be helpful with B2B.

Each company, characterized by unique products, budgets, and requirements, will employ these strategies in varying combinations. Using examples of three different types of companies — B2B services targeting the healthcare industry, an industrial services company, and SaaS (software as a service) — let’s see examples of how they can best leverage different tactics for maximum impact.

Strategic GTM Tactics for B2B Healthcare

We’ll start with a company that offers business services to healthcare organizations. Inbound marketing for this company means content that showcases specialized solutions, addressing unique pain points of the decision makers. Through blogs, social media posts, and targeted emails, the company demonstrates its expertise, attracting organizations seeking solutions.

To push this message out, the company identifies targeted healthcare institutions matching their ideal customer profile and begins more personalized outreach, like highly tailored emails or phone calls. A next step might be a complimentary trial of the company’s service, if that is possible within the business model. Are there any channel partners that could talk about the company’s product, or maybe even help sell it?

Healthcare industry trade shows provide a platform to showcase exactly how the service can benefit clients. To broaden the audience reach, webinars provide a digital platform for showcasing the service.If there are online communities for this target market, can your satisfied customers be there too? They can provide authentic advocacy for the service.

Strategic GTM Tactics for Industrial Services

This hypothetical company specializes in precision machining and fabrication services, serving clients from industries like automotive, aerospace, and general manufacturing. Inbound marketing includes case studies and industry-specific guides, showcasing how the company stacks up favorably to the competition.

Targeted follow up with key manufacturing and industrial companies emphasizes custom services based on in-depth industry research and analysis to determine target rich markets. Tell potential customers specifically how your company best meets their needs. Are you a better value? Best rated? How exactly are you different, or better?

Channel Partner Marketing looks for collaborations with distributors or resellers in industrial equipment. Leveraging existing distribution networks is another way to enhance market presence and accessibility. What unexplored avenues exist to broaden the company's reach?

Trade shows are an optimal way for this company to demonstrate its services. Preparation is the key to seek out targets in advance and set up one on one meetings.

Strategic GTM Tactics for SaaS

Lastly, consider a cloud-based project management software company that improves collaboration and boosts efficiency for businesses. The informative content potential buyers want to see includes software guides and case studies, highlighting the software's competitive edge and successful integration by other companies.

Look at how the company can further refine its outbound marketing strategy to effectively reach and engage its target audience. You want to forge one-on-one interactions with those prospects most likely to buy.

For SaaS, the free trial is a powerful strategy, while the freemium model, providing basic features for free and charging for premium options, boosts functionality and fosters adoption. Channel Partner Marketing can be a good strategy too, where consultants, resellers, or integrators endorse the SaaS product, and earn commissions for referrals.

Through webinars, the company directly demonstrates the capabilities of its solution to businesses who need more efficient software tools. Active involvement in virtual or industry-specific events can keep leads interested. In this case, this company has its own online forum where users share experiences and tips related to the SaaS software.

Conclusion

Once a company determines the ideal mix of marketing and sales tactics for optimal outcomes, it becomes necessary to prioritize them. This step in strategy is crucial for efficiency and profitability. There are always limits to budget and manpower. Companies can boost efficiency by prioritizing technology over manual processes in outreach strategies.

Strategic growth in revenue and margins, especially in challenging markets, entails concentrating on acquiring customers aligned with the company's ideal customer profile. By pinpointing and customizing efforts to meet the specific needs of the most lucrative customers, businesses can maximize ROI and achieve revenue objectives.

To achieve optimal results, Craig Group can help companies determine who these potential customers are and the best way to reach them, using a data-driven approach.

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Libby Covington is a partner with Craig Group, a technology-enabled sales and marketing advisory firm specializing in revenue growth for middle-market, private-equity-backed portfolio companies.

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This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Erik Ibarra of Magnolia Fund, Matthew Kuhn of Taurus Vascular, and Libby Covington of The Craig Group. 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 investment to biodesign — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Erik Ibarra, founder of Magnolia Fund

Erik Ibarra's latest venture is to give agency to residents in the neighborhood he grew up in. Photo courtesy

For years, Erik Ibarra has watched Houston's East End — La Segunda Barrio — evolve. Now, with tons of construction in the works, he's got a plan for a business that will tap into existing residents to give them ownership of their community.

Ibarra started Magnolia Fund, a mission-driven investment fund dedicated to enriching the East End community and preserving the neighborhood's culture and history. Ibarra, who has lived in the area the majority of his life, says on the Houston Innovators Podcast, that he's looking to turn residents into investors.

"Over the years, I've felt like there's so much development going on. But, the people from the neighborhood are very often just passive — they don't get a chance to benefit from or think about how they could participate in these new developments," Ibarra says. "The neighborhood is very close to my heart, and, about a year ago, I realized I wanted to do something about this." Read more.

Matthew Kuhn, co-founder of Taurus Vascular

A new innovation out of the Texas Medical Center's Biodesign Program is enhancing efficacy of a life-saving aortic aneurysm rupture procedure. Photo courtesy

As part of the current class of the TMC Innovation Biodesign Program, fellows Matthew Kuhn and his co-founder Melanie Lowther were tasked with creating a biomedical company in a year. The founders came up with Taurus Vascular, a medical device company that improves efficacy of abdominal aortic aneurysms treatment.

“It used to be if you had a AAA, you had a gnarly procedure,” Kuhn tells InnovationMap, which included a large incision across the abdomen. The standard treatment, endovascular aneurysm repair, or EVAR, eliminated that, but its problem is that it often results in endoleaks. As many as 20 percent of patients need another EVAR within five years.

Taurus Vascular’s technology improves on EVAR by placing a self-deploying stent to create a drainage pathway between the high-pressure aneurysm sac and a low-pressure nearby vein — mitigating the adverse impact of endoleaks that would otherwise cause the aneurysm to continue to grow. The simple solution will allow patients to live longer, healthier lives after their procedure. Read more.

Libby Covington, partner at The Craig Group

Houston expert shares how to use your data to improve your marketing efforts. Photo courtesy

Data can be hard to tap into when you're working within B2B sales, writes Libby Covington in a guest column for InnovationMap.

"When focusing on revenue growth in business to business companies, analyzing data to develop and optimize strategies is one of the biggest factors in sales and marketing success," she writes. "However, the process of evaluating B2B data differs significantly from that of B2C, or business to consumer. B2C analysis is often straightforward, focusing on consumer behavior and e-commerce transactions."

In her column, Covington shares her advice on navigating this process. Read more.

How you can use your data to improve your marketing efforts. Photo via Getty Images

Houston expert breaks down how B2B companies should leverage data for growth

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When focusing on revenue growth in business to business companies, analyzing data to develop and optimize strategies is one of the biggest factors in sales and marketing success. However, the process of evaluating B2B data differs significantly from that of B2C, or business to consumer. B2C analysis is often straightforward, focusing on consumer behavior and e-commerce transactions.

Unlike B2C, where customers can make a quick purchase decision with a simple click, the B2B customer journey involves multiple touchpoints and extensive research. B2B buyers will most likely discover a company through an ad or a referral, then navigate through websites, interact with salespeople, and explore different resources before finally making a purchasing decision, often with a committee giving input.

Because a B2B customer journey through the sales pipeline is more indirect, these businesses need to take a more nuanced approach to acquiring and making sense of data.

The expectations of B2B vs. B2C

It can be tempting to use the same methods of analysis between B2C and B2B data. However, B2B decision-making requires more consideration. Decisions involving enterprise software or other significant business products or services investments are very different from a typical consumer purchase.

B2C marketing emphasizes metrics like conversion rates, click-through rates, and immediate sales. In contrast, B2B marketing success also includes metrics like lead quality, customer lifetime value, and ROI. Understanding the differences helps prevent unrealistic expectations and misinterpretations of data.

Data differences with B2B

While B2C data analysis often revolves around website analytics and foot traffic in brick and mortar stores, B2B data analysis involves multiple sources. Referrals play a vital role in B2B, as buyers often seek recommendations from industry peers or companies similar to theirs.

Data segmentation in B2B focuses more on job title and job function rather than demographic data. Targeting different audiences within the same company based on their roles — and highlighting specific aspects of products or services that resonate with those different decision-makers — can significantly impact a purchase decision.

The B2B sales cycle is longer because purchases typically involve the input of a salesperson to help buyers with education and comparison. This allows for teams to implement account-based marketing and provides for more engagement which increases the chances of moving prospects down the sales funnel.

Enhancing data capture in B2B analysis

Many middle-market companies rely heavily on individual knowledge and experience rather than formal data management systems. As the sales and marketing landscape has evolved to be more digital, so must business. Sales professionals can leave and a company must retain the knowledge of the buyers and potential buyers. CRM systems not only collect data, they also provide the history of customer relationships.

Businesses need to capture data at all the various touchpoints, including lead generation, prospect qualification, customer interactions, and order fulfillment. Regular analysis will help with accuracy. The key is to derive actionable insights from the data.

B2B data integration challenges

Integrating various data sources in B2B data analysis used to be much more difficult. With the advent of business intelligence software such as Tableau and Power BI, data analysis is much more accessible with a less significant investment. Businesses do need access to resources to effectively use the tools.

CRM and ERP systems store a wealth of data, including contact details, interactions, and purchase history. Marketing automation platforms capture additional information from website forms, social media, and email campaigns. Because of these multiple sources, connecting data points and cleansing the data is a necessary step in the process.

When analyzing B2B data for account based marketing (ABM) purposes, there are some unique considerations to keep in mind. Industries like healthcare and financial services, for instance, have specific regulations that dictate how a business can use customer data.

Leveraging B2B data analysis for growth

B2B data analysis is the foundation for any sales and marketing strategy. Collecting and using data from multiple sources allows revenue teams to uncover gaps, trends, and opportunities for continued growth.

Acknowledging what’s different about B2B data and tracking all of the customer journey touchpoints is important as a business identifies a target market, develops an ideal customer profile, and monitors their competitors. Insights from data also single out gaps in the sales pipeline, use predictive analytics for demand forecasting, and optimize pricing strategies.

This comprehensive approach gives B2B companies the tools they need to make informed decisions, accelerate their sales and marketing efforts, and achieve long-term growth in a competitive market.

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Libby Covington is a Partner with Craig Group, a technology-enabled sales and marketing advisory firm specializing in revenue growth for middle-market, private-equity-backed portfolio companies.

Understanding your potential buyer's journey step by step helps the marketing and sales teams to be very intentional about strategy. Photo via Getty Images

Houston expert: Why you need to align your strategy with your buyer's journey

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Creating a successful go-to-market strategy involves several crucial steps that help define a company’s target market and potential buyers, as well as the differentiators, the competitors and the value that a product or service brings to the market.

CEOs of middle market companies know what a GTM strategy is although they may not often use the terminology. It is the sales and marketing strategy and how the company will acquire new customers, and thus grow revenue for the business.

Understanding the buyer's journey is crucial. In a nutshell, this refers to the different stages a potential customer goes through before finally making a purchase. First, there's the awareness stage, where the customer realizes their need, and starts researching possible solutions.

Next is the consideration stage, where customers weigh the pros and cons of various companies, comparing features, benefits, and pricing. Finally, in the decision stage, the customer decides on a specific solution based on the input they gathered along the way. By understanding and effectively utilizing this framework, marketing and sales teams can customize their strategy to promote trust, establish credibility, and meet revenue goals.

Understanding the journey step by step helps the marketing and sales teams to be very intentional about strategy.

Identifying an ideal customer profile (ICP)

A good way to approach this is by looking at the existing customer base for any common traits by conducting revenue analysis. Likely, there will be trends in the customer data that can be very informative on ways to target new customers. Look at data points such as duration as a customer, growth in revenue per customer, industry, region, etc. to define customer personas that may be ideal for the business.

Once the targets are determined, think about ways these potential buyers get their industry or professional information. Who do they follow? What do they care about?

Examining market trends and doing competitor research will lead to the creation of customer personas that may be outside of the current customer base.

Doing market research is critical to understanding the size of the market, so companies can determine their market share. Once a team really knows the target audience, it can create more effective content and digital marketing strategies that resonate with a company’s ideal customers and ultimately lead to higher conversion rates and revenue growth.

Catering to the buyer's journey

The potential buyer is going to need different things from marketing and sales at every stage of the journey. During the awareness stage, potential buyers are just starting to recognize that they have a problem, or a need. They aren’t ready to buy but they want information to better understand their situation. Show them content that addresses their pain points and provides a solution. Blog posts, e-books, whitepapers, and webinars are all ways to do this.

Once a buyer understands their problem better, they will actively search online for solutions. There is a lot of comparison going on now. Buyers in today’s market expect more transparency from B2B companies than in the past. To capitalize on this stage, a company needs to have detailed product information and case studies that demonstrate the value of a service or solution. Some companies will produce comparison guides to show their differentiators from the competition.

At the end of the journey, a buyer has narrowed down their options and is ready to make a purchase. They may need a little more information, or reassurance that their decision is the right one. Customer testimonials and reviews as well as interaction with the sales team will help to move a customer over the finish time.

Tailored messaging for different decision-makers

In complex B2B sales, there are usually multiple decision-makers involved, with stakeholders from various departments weighing in on the decision. Therefore, it is vital to have a different message tailored to each decision-maker, built into the overall messaging.

There is never going to be just one decision maker, especially if it’s a high dollar product or service. Finance is going to weigh in. The user is going to want a say. Communication to stakeholders across multiple departments in the company is key.

Prioritizing highly converting marketing tactics

An underappreciated element of any Go To Market strategy is prioritizing marketing and sales tactics. With limited resources and budget, identifying the most highly converting tactics is essential. And as with everything else, it also requires a deep understanding of the buyer.

For example, a company may prioritize trade shows as their most highly converting tactic because decision-makers and buyers in their niche market attend these events. Some companies may benefit more from paid advertising, while others may prioritize content creation or email campaigns. Tactics will be dependent on industry, target audience, and goals.

Companies should focus on tactics that are most likely to generate the highest ROI.

Both the marketing and sales teams need to understand the buyer's journey and focus on their needs and pain points at each step. This means adopting a customer-centric approach. By doing so, businesses can create a cohesive revenue team that works together to identify the most effective tactics and improve revenue growth.

At Craig Group, we have seen first hand that companies who implement a comprehensive go-to-market strategy, track their progress and adjust their approach as necessary, have a higher chance of meeting their revenue targets.

This approach is very effective if the necessary effort and resources are dedicated to the process. The strategic guidance and support of the right team can help develop and refine a GTM approach that is tailored to the company and aligned with its goals.

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Libby Covington is partner at Houston-based The Craig Group, a strategic digital marketing solutions consulting firm. Her specialty is in understanding how sales and marketing work together effectively.

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Stephanie Tsuru of SheSpace, Fareed Zein of Unytag, and Libby Covington of The Craig Group. 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 smart city tech to startup marketing — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Stephanie Tsuru, founder of SheSpace

Stephanie Tsuru joins this week's Houston Innovators Podcast to share her growth plans for 2023. Photo via LinkedIn

SheSpace opened with a splash, Founder Stephanie Tsure tells InnovationMap on last week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. After surviving through the pandemic, the female-focused coworking hub expanded — with a new type of membership as well as physically.

"We had so many people who wanted to be a part of the community — so we started a social networking group," she says.

Now, the entrepreneur is looking to expand this year to open satellite locations. She shares more on the show. Read more.

Fareed Zein, founder of Unytag

Unytag celebrated a big win at the Ion recently — and has taking its prizes into the new year. Photo via LinkedIn

As the father of four competitive-tennis-playing daughters, Fareed Zein spent years driving “from California to Florida,” he says. Throughout those years, he and his wife racked up toll violation after toll violation. “I thought, there’s got to be an easier way,” he recalls.

Fortunately, Zein wasn’t just any sports dad with thousands of miles on his car. The University of Texas grad put in 26 years developing IT systems at Shell. He retired from that role in 2015, which allowed him to spend more time on the road with his youngest daughter, now playing for UT Austin. In 2019, he used his technology expertise to start Unytag, a company focused on making it easier to drive around the country as the Zein family had so many times.

Unytag is a system that allows users to trash their multiple toll tags in favor of just one RFID (radio-frequency identification) sticker and an app. The app, which Zein says is currently in its testing phase, will be available on both IOS and Android phones in the second half of the year.

“A phone is a device everyone has nowadays, right?” says Zein. “Just like you use your phone to pay for a latte at Starbucks, we are going to simplify how you pay tolls.” Read more.

Libby Covington, partner at The Craig Group

It's undeniable that businesses are facing economic uncertainty in 2023. Here's what marketing tools to tap into to navigate the challenges ahead. Photo via LinkedIn

Make 2023 the year of optimized marketing for your startup — that's Libby Covington's advice. Partner at The Craig Group, she outlined her tips in a guest column for InnovationMap.

"Continued growth starts with goal setting and coming up with a marketing and business development strategy that fits the unique needs of a business," she writes. "This works most effectively when a company’s management team ensures that marketing and sales are working in lockstep. They are two sides of the same coin and need to see themselves that way to maximize results and therefore profit." Read more.

It's undeniable that businesses are facing economic uncertainty in 2023. Here's what marketing tools to tap into to navigate the challenges ahead. Photo via Getty Images

Houston expert: 5 marketing musts for business growth plans in 2023

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All indications point to a fair amount of economic uncertainty in the coming months. I think a lot of B-to-B companies, across many industries, are going to retrench in their spending, and deals will likely be harder to close because more approvals will be required. Still, there are going to be those companies who will continue to grow because they are using the right go to market strategies and tactics.

Here are some of the things for high growth company management teams to consider doing.

Invest in a CRM tool — and the time to set it up

A customer relations management, or CRM, tool is an essential component of data measurement — and every company needs to closely track those key performance indicators towards revenue and growth goals.

A CRM tool doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many low initial investment options such as Hubspot, SharpSpring, and others. The investment then becomes the staff or consultant time to set it up correctly so that it meets a company’s needs and to continue to monitor it.

How much time is spent depends on what you want the system to do. Some companies run their website out of a CRM platform, or send automated emails, or do their other social media through it. Others only use it to track their contacts and sales.

Data may show desired progress — or it may show stagnation — and a team needs to be able to analyze information expediently to reformulate a plan, or pivot to a new one, if needed.

Prioritize the digital toolkit

While companies have a lot of different digital marketing tools at their disposal, there are five basic elements to consider optimizing. If the resources aren’t available to tackle them all at once, the management team needs to determine their top priorities.

Website design and content: Think about this as a company’s virtual lobby. A well-designed website with relevant content is essential for attracting new business. Ranking well in organic web searches — SEO — is also a very important component.

Social media: LinkedIn, with its business focus, is a great place to start. Companies can share their story, interact with potential investors, and build relationships with potential clients.

Email marketing: An email marketing newsletter is the logical step after developing a compelling company website. The content should benefit the reader. What can you do for them?

Content marketing: Blog posts, videos and ebooks are just some of the value added content you can share with potential investors and clients. What makes your company different from your competitors?

Paid advertising: Companies can use paid advertising to target potential new customers through online channels such as search engines and social media. The nice thing about paid advertising is that the attribution is there — companies can pinpoint exactly what messaging resonated with a potential client.

Let goals drive strategy

SEO and digital ads are not the solution for every company. Some companies need to make only a handful of deals each year to reach revenue goals. Broad-based digital marketing is not the best strategy for these players. What is? Often content.

The internet has given potential customers unparalleled ability to comparison shop. They want to know what a company does differently than its competitors. Whether a service or product is cheaper or faster or easier to work with. So tell them.

In addition to web content, speaking opportunities at conferences are a powerful way for companies to position themselves as differentiated in a given marketplace.

On the flip side, high volume players who require a lot of smaller deals would do very well with a far-reaching digital outreach approach.

Listen to experts

No one is an expert in all areas. And they shouldn’t try to be. Whether that is financial analysis or digital marketing, hiring the right people to fill in any deficiencies is the smart move.

Trying to wing it through effort and good intentions is often frustrating for everyone. With digital marketing and lead generation, a lack of expertise can sometimes result in implementing a product or service that’s not really going to generate the expected results.

If a company spends big money on a digital marketing tactic, and it fails to land new business, then the assumption might be that digital marketing doesn’t work. That’s often not the case. It was simply the wrong tool for the job. An expert would help pinpoint the correct one.

Measure success first by revenue

Digital marketing should primarily be responsible for moving potential customers down the sales funnel. And sales revenue is the best evidence that the marketing was effective.

There has always been that push and pull with sales and marketing about what actions actually contribute to closing a deal but a good CRM tool will help.

There are other ways to measure the success of any campaign:

  • The number of visitors to a company’s website or social media page
  • The level of engagement a campaign generates or the amount of time a prospect engages with content
  • The number of leads generated, along with the quality of that lead
  • The return on investment

Continued growth starts with goal setting and coming up with a marketing and business development strategy that fits the unique needs of a business. This works most effectively when a company’s management team ensures that marketing and sales are working in lockstep. They are two sides of the same coin and need to see themselves that way to maximize results and therefore profit.

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Libby Covington is partner at Houston-based The Craig Group, a strategic digital marketing solutions consulting firm. Her specialty is in understanding how sales and marketing work together effectively.

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Fast-growing Houston-based geothermal energy co. secures $255M in additional funding

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A Houston company that's responding to rising energy demand by harnessing geothermal energy through its technology has again secured millions in funding. The deal brings Fervo's total funding secured this year to around $600 million.

Fervo Energy announced that it has raised $255 million in new funding and capital availability. The $135 million corporate equity round was led by Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund II with participating investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, CalSTRS, Congruent Ventures, CPP Investments, DCVC, Devon Energy, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Liberty Mutual Investments, Mercuria, and Sabanci Climate Ventures.

The funding will go toward supporting Fervo's ongoing and future geothermal projects.

“The demand for 24/7 carbon-free energy is at an all-time high, and Fervo is one of the only companies building large projects that will come online before the end of the decade,” Fervo CEO and Co-Founder Tim Latimer says in a news release. “Investors recognize that Fervo’s ability to get to scale quickly is vital in an evolving market that is seeing unprecedented energy demand from AI and other sources.”

Additionally, Fervo secured a $120 million letter of credit and term loan facility from Mercuria, an independent energy and commodity group that previously invested in the company.

“In surveying power markets across the U.S. today, the need for next-generation geothermal is undeniable,” Brian Falik, group chief investment officer of Mercuria, adds. “We believe in Fervo not just because their EGS approach is cost-effective, commercially viable, and already being deployed at scale, but because they set ambitious targets and consistently deliver.”

In February, Fervo secured $244 million in a financing round led by Devon Energy, and in September, the company received a $100 million bridge loan for the first phase of its ongoing project in Utah. This project, known as Project Cape, represents a 100x growth opportunity for Fervo, as Latimer explained to InnovationMap earlier this year. As of now, Project Cape is fully permitted up to 2 GW and will begin generating electricity in 2026, per the company.

Other wins for Fervo this year include moving into its new headquarters in downtown Houston, securing a power purchase agreement with California, growing its partnership with Google, and being named amongst the year's top inventions by Time magazine.


Investors from Houston, Boston fuel Greentown with $4M commitment

seeing green

Greentown Labs, a climatetech incubator with locations in the Houston and Boston areas, has announced it has received funding from a mix of investors.

The $4 million in funding came from both of the Houston and Massachusetts locations. Houston investors included Bobby Tudor, CEO of Artemis Energy Partners and chairman of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative; David Baldwin, co-founder of OpenMinds and TEX-E and partner at SCF Partners; and Rice University. Other investors included MassDevelopment and the City of Somerville.

“The challenges of the energy transition are immense, and the role played by technology incubators like Greentown Labs is essential,” Tudor says in a news release. “We believe this role, which is a partnership between academia, industry, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and governments, is the best way to get to effective, scalable solutions in a time frame that the urgency of the challenge requires. We need all hands on deck, and this partnership between Massachusetts and Texas can be a role model for others.”

According to Greentown, the funding will support its financial position and contribute to preparing the incubator for its next chapter of supporting its its leadership team prepare for Greentown’s next chapter supporting and growing its 575 startups.

“Greentown’s mission aligns closely with the Houston Energy Transition Initiative’s goal of accelerating global solutions to address the dual challenge of meeting growing energy demand globally while also significantly reducing CO2 emissions,” adds Steve Kean, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership.

With the announcement of the funding, Greentown named its board members, including Tudor, who will serve as Greentown Labs Board Chair. The other Houston-based board members are:

  • David Baldwin, co-founder of OpenMinds and TEX-E; partner atSCF Partners
  • Bob Harvey, former president and CEO of GHP; board member of TEX-E
  • Jane Stricker, senior vice president of energy transition and executive director of HETI

“With this new funding, Greentown is poised to expand its impact across its existing ecosystems and support even more climatetech startups,” adds Kevin Dutt, interim CEO of Greentown Labs. “We believe in the essential role entrepreneurship will play in the energy transition and we’re grateful for the support of our partners who share in that belief and our collective commitment to commercializing these technologies as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

According to Greentown, the incubator plans to announce its new CEO in the coming months.

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

From hiring tips to AI's impact on the workforce, here's what guest columns were the most read in 2024

year in review

Editor's note: Every week, InnovationMap runs one or two guest columns written by tech entrepreneurs, public relations experts, data geniuses, and more. As Houston's innovation ecosystem gets ready for 2025, here are some of this year's top guest contributor pieces — each with pertinent information and advice for startups both at publishing and into the new year. Make sure to click through to continue reading each piece.

Is your New Year's resolution to start contributing? Email natalie@innovationmap.com to learn more.

How to avoid bad hiring decisions when it matters most, according to this Houston expert

Despite the inevitability of bad hires, recruiters equipped with proper tools and training can identify red flags and take preventive measures. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

Written by Karen Leal, performance specialist with Houston-based Insperity, a provider of human resources offering a suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace.

Hiring the right people for the right roles is ideal and can make an organization reach new heights. The reality is every business has made a bad hire.

Finding the wrong fit for a team or organization is not uncommon, but it is important to know what it costs the organization, which can be detrimental to company finances and its workplace culture, especially small businesses and startups where the impact is magnified.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports a bad hire can cost up to 30 percent of the employee’s wage, which would be approximately $18,000 since the average American wage is $60,000. In addition, there are soft costs of managers and leadership time during the hiring and training process, which adds up quickly. Continue reading.

How AI is changing product management and what you need to know

A product management expert shares how artificial intelligence is affecting the process for the tech and startup worlds. Photo via Getty Images

Written by Natasha Gorodetsky, founder and CEO of Product Pursuits, a Houston company that helps early stage and venture-backed startups build products and create impact.

For the past 14 months, everyone has been talking about ways artificial intelligence is changing the world, and product management is not an exception. The challenge, as with every new technology, is not only adopting it but understanding what old habits, workflows, and processes are affected by it.

Product managers — as well as startup founders leading a product function — more than any other role, face a challenge of bringing new life-changing products to market that may or may not be received well by their users. A product manager’s goal is complex — bring value, stay ahead of the competition, be innovative. Yet, the "behind the scenes" grind requires endless decision making and trade offs to inspire stakeholders to move forward and deliver.

As we dive into 2024, it is obvious that AI tools do not only transform the way we work but also help product managers create products that exceed customer expectation and drive businesses forward. Continue reading.

Houston expert shares 3 ways to stay on top of employee mental health

Companies that intentionally focus on their employees’ mental well-being will reap the benefits of a happier, healthier workforce. Photo via Getty Images

Written by Dennis Yung, executive vice president and general manager at Skanska.

Conversations surrounding mental health have come to the forefront of business and is an imperative aspect that cannot be ignored by business leaders.

Approximately 20 percent of Americans, which is 50 million people (about twice the population of Texas), are experiencing a mental illness, 15 percent of Americans had a substance use disorder in the past year and nearly 5 percent, over 12.1 million adults, reported serious thoughts of suicide (Mental Health America). Notably, certain professions, such as construction, exhibit higher suicide rates, (CDC). With these staggering numbers, the foundation of workplace safety extends beyond physical well-being to encompass psychological health.

The landscape has undergone a transformation, stemming from the pandemic, and the stigma of mental health concerns and seeking help has loosened. Recognizing that September is Suicide Prevention Month, below are three ways businesses of every size can actively support the mental well-being of their employees. Continue reading.

Houston expert shares 3 business trend predictions for 2024

Here are predictions for what current and emerging trends will further shape businesses in 2024. Photo via Getty Images

Written by Bryce Lindner, senior vice president and market executive, commercial banking in South Texas at Louisiana at Bank of America.

Last year was a dynamic year for businesses across all sectors. Artificial intelligence went from a novel technology to a more widely utilized business productivity tool. Many companies invested additional resources in sustainable business practices. And digital business solutions helped companies thrive.

Here are predictions for what current and emerging trends will further shape businesses in 2024. Continue reading.

How this Houston innovator is using his personal connection to ALS fuel his fight for a cure

Daniel Barvin has a neurodegenerative disease in his near future. He joined Houston-based Coya Therapeutics to help fight for a cure to the aggressively deadly ALS. Photo via Getty Images

Written by Daniel Barvin, vice president of operations and patient advocacy at Coya Therapeutics.

We can never predict how our lives will turn out, but then maybe some of us can. Genetic testing showed that I, like my grandfather, aunt, uncle and father before me, would most likely die of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS, and/or frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) in my 40s.

Being 36, it’s possible that fear could have overtaken my life, but instead I chose to fight for every chance to change not only my life, but the lives of millions who are suffering or may one day suffer from neurodegenerative disease.

ALS is a rare disease that robs one of their ability to control their muscles, leading them to lose their ability to walk, talk and eventually breathe. Eighty percent of cases are sporadic (of unknown origin) and 20 percent have known genetic causes. Continue reading.

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