Breaking news: 2 media startups expand to Texas

coming soon

Two new media startups coming to Texas in 2024. Photo via Getty Images

Houston is already a media-rich town, with multiple newspapers, magazines, and online sites. But it's about to get richer in 2024, with two newcomers arriving and setting up shop.

Here's two new media startups coming to Texas in 2024:

Amaré Magazine Texas
A quarterly print and digital magazine covering lifestyle, fashion, reality TV, celebrities, philanthropy, entertainment, events, arts & culture, cuisine, breaking news, and pop culture — phew, that's a lot — is launching an edition in Texas.

Their "about us" page says they began in L.A. in 2016. Their founder/CEO is George Rojas, a fashion/stylist expert, event producer, and according to his bio, former meth addict. The mission: shine a light on artists, entrepreneurs, and businesses via a business model that allows professionals to expand their network, grow their social media, and work with advertisers and investors. Prior issues include "profiles" similar to the Voyage-type sites where the subjects write the profiles themselves.

Helping to launch in Texas is skincare doctor and "Bravo TV personality" James Mercer and editor Lindsay Stevenson.

While short on experience, they're long on enthusiasm. They breezed through Texas in May, stopping at Dallas restaurant Bistro 31, as well as the Highland Park home of D’Andra Simmons and the Houston home of reality-TV star and famed closet-owner Theresa Roemer — the latter of whom will be on the cover of the first issue which they say will debut in August. They claim to also be launching an edition in New York.

Courier Texas
National pro-democracy news network founded in 2019 is opening a bureau in Texas, and advertising for positions — based in Dallas — that include political reporter, operating/managing director, and a statewide social media manager, with a launch slated for summer 2024.

Courier's mission is to build a more informed and engaged America by providing factual, values-driven news, and analysis online. Their reporting is produced primarily for social media and online channels, with an emphasis on video, graphics, and skimmable newsletters.

Their CEO is Tara McGowan, who has worked in journalism and politics, mostly for Democratic candidates, as have a number of their staffers. To avoid spreading misinformation, they eschew the "both sides" approach followed by so many mainstream media sites under the guise of being "balanced."

They currently have outlets based in 10 states: Arizona, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

------

This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Here's what Houston lifestyle innovation news trended this year on InnovationMap. Image via Getty Images

Feature focused: 5 most-read Houston lifestyle innovation stories of the year

year in review

Editor's note: As the year comes to a close, InnovationMap is looking back at the year's top stories in Houston innovation. In the lifestyle category on InnovationMap, top stories included features on Houston startups with consumer-facing apps and reports related to life in Houston. Be sure to click through to read the full story.

A Louisiana-born, Houston-backed outdoors activity startup is expanding into the Bayou City

Mallard Bay, which won big at the Rice Business Plan Competition, is expanding in Houston. Photo via Getty Images

A Louisiana-founded hunting and fishing startup is growing its operations and expanding into Houston.

Mallard Bay, a marketplace for booking guided fishing and hunting trips, will move half of its employees to Houston and will join the Greater Houston Partnership, according to a release from the GHP. The company hopes the move will help it tap into the large corporate and convention entertainment market in Texas.

The company was founded in 2021 by a group of Louisiana State University students after noticing a gap in the outdoor travel space. Last year, founders Logan Meaux, Joel Moreau, Wyatt Mallett and Tam Nguyen entered in the Rice Business Plan Competition and won the fourth-most in investments and prizes, totaling $218,000.

“Entering the Rice Business Plan Competition helped close out our $1.8 million seed round last September,” Meaux, co-founder and CEO of Mallard Bay, says in a statement. “Not only did it help us raise money, but the recognition and the contacts we made were instrumental in growing the business and sparked the idea to expand to Houston. Prior to the competition, we were unaware of all that the Houston startup ecosystem had to offer, but quickly realized the value of having a network here in Houston.” Read the full story.

Houston could be 2nd biggest metro in U.S. by year 2100, new report says

Everyone wants to live here. Photo by Kevin Hernandez on Unsplash

Start spreading the news: Houston will eclipse New York City as the 2nd biggest metro area by the year 2100, a new report predicts.

An analysis by moving services site moveBuddha published June 22 says Houston's population could swell to 31.38 million people in the next 77 years.

Based on current population and migration trends, in fact, America’s three biggest metropolitan areas by 2100 will be Dallas-Fort Worth (No. 1), Houston (No. 2), and Austin (No. 3), replacing New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago as the country’s most populous metros, the report predicts. Read the full story.

Houston startup addresses mother-daughter dynamic with first app of its kind

A Houston-founded company is targeting mothers and daughters with their teletherapy app. Photo courtesy of Passport Journeys

When Lacey Tezino’s mother died of cancer she vowed to help other mothers and daughters find their own ways to bond in beautiful, nurturing ways.

Tezino turned that vow into a mission that is now available for others to embark on with an online therapy app tailored specifically for the mother-daughter dynamic Passport Journeys.

The Houston-based company is billed as the first mother-daughter teletherapy application that stands out in a crowded market place on online therapy like Better Help. Tezino, the founder and CEO, partnered with seven Houston-based licensed behavioral health clinics to make the dream a reality.

The app, which launched aptly on Mother's Day, can be downloaded via Apple or Google Play, and includes video therapy sessions, journal opportunities, interactive worksheets, and help those who need access to this form of mental health help with ease. Read the full story.

Houston again plummets on list of best places to live in new national report

Houston didn't even crack the top 100 in the new list. Photo by Alisa Matthews on Unsplash

In a surprise turn of events, Houston has fallen from grace in U.S. News and World Report's "Best Places to Live" ranking for 2023-2024.

Last year, Houston ranked No. 59 on the annual report — not surprising, considering all the Newstonians. However, the Bayou City plummeted to a shocking No. 140. Two years ago, the city ranked as No. 39, so this year's report represents a series of slips for Houston.

But why? According to the report: "A paycheck goes further in Houston than it does in other major metro areas, with affordable housing and free or cheap attractions like biking along Buffalo Bayou and exploring the 7,800-acre George Bush Park. The affordability of this region, which is located in southeastern Texas and home to more than 7 million residents in the metro area, is attracting new people from across the country and around the world." Read the full story.

Houston restaurant tech now serving optimized mobile ordering

This new restaurant technology allows for eateries to upgrade to mobile ordering for no cost. Photo courtesy of Cloche

A new Houston company has designed a platform that enables mobile ordering at no cost to restaurants.

Cloche, a mobile software platform named after the bell-shape dish cover that's known to come with room service orders, has launched in Houston and is currently looking for restaurants interested in utilizing their technology to upgrade their eatery with mobile ordering at no cost to the restaurant.

Alfredo Arvide, co-founder and managing director, tells InnovationMap that the idea for the platform came after the pandemic forced restaurateurs to quickly pivot to touch-free menus. Now that the consumer has adapted to scanning QR codes to view menus, the next step is to optimize ordering — something that will also help with the labor shortages that restaurants are now facing.

"Now is the time transform this industry by creating a better meal experience for the consumers, an easier job for the restaurant staff and a more efficient, more profitable business for restaurant owners," Arvide says. Read the full story.

From a new, innovative mixed use development to food and fitness startups, here's what lifestyle innovation trended in Houston this year. Courtesy of The MKT

New mom-designed swimwear line makes a splash in Houston

mommy made

Houston mom Ana Carolina Rojas Bastidas feels there's been an oversight in the fashion industry when it comes to women who are in the breastfeeding stage of motherhood. With her new swimwear line, she hopes to spark a movement for women's fashion.

Bastidas, founder and CEO of Orolait, launched the swimwear line in September 2018 specifically for breastfeeding individuals. Orolait, which floats the tagline "by a mama for mamas," aims to give breastfeeding individuals back the dignity they deserve with bathing suit options.

"I decided to build this company to challenge and change the way we depict one's breastfeeding journey," Bastidas says on the website. "I stand on the pillars of advocacy, education, and inclusion. You will see the sizing and advertising featuring all shapes, sizes, and shades because each of us is so different and that is what makes us so incredible and I am going to unapologetically celebrate that in the most ethical way I know how."

Bastidas, originally from Bogota, Colombia, has been blogging about postpartum body positivity on her platform PowerToPrevail since 2015, sharing her personal journey with her children.

"I was spending a lot of time by the pool and water parks with my two older children," her website states. "I had a big fear of public breastfeeding, but I had a life to live and memories to make with my kids."

Orolait currently offers four different types of bathing suits, each designed to make breastfeeding easier. The suits range from $36 per piece to $72 for a full suit. The suits are designed manufactured by MIYH Design Services, a local business owned by adjunct Art Institute of Houston professor David Dang.

Bastidas tells InnovationMap that she noticed the need for specifically designed suits after experiencing discomfort herself, explaining that traditional suits were not accommodating for swollen milk ducts with the cut and wiring. Bastidas surveyed mothers across all walks of life to see what they struggled with when finding a bathing suit and found that the list was endless. She tells InnovationMap that they got 100 responses in three days.

Her survey found that moms worried about body image, functionality, confidence, feeling fashionable, and comfort, all when looking for a bikini. It became clear to Bastidas that the current market was not working for moms and causing even more stress.

"Our goal is not to be modest," says Bastidas. "I don't believe in modesty when it comes to breastfeeding, but I do believe that people are at different levels and we need to meet them where they are at."

This past November, Orolait launched their first-ever equity crowdfunding campaign through LetsLaunch, a platform based out of Houston, with a goal of raising $250,000. The company reached 10 percent of its goal within its first few days of going life.

"Our goal is to help women who decide that breastfeeding is a journey that they would like to take, to be able to take that journey," says Bastidas. "There are so many obstacles that are already in our way biologically, that to have a lack of product be the reason why you become so discouraged is unacceptable."

Bastidas tells InnovationMap that her goal for the company is to eventually expand offerings in addition to bathing suits and move into brick and mortar retail spaces. She hopes that Orolait will be a representation of all varieties of breastfeeding journeys.

"We want to make sure we represent those moms who are never represented," says Bastidas.

Houston-based iCRYO has a few Texas franchise locations expected to open in 2019,and more coming nationwide. Courtesy of iCRYO.

Houston-based cryotherapy chain grows its national presence

Cold news

A Houston entrepreneur has taken his cryotherapy and wellness brand and franchised it from its origin in League City to upstate New York. But, that's only the beginning.

The brand, iCRYO, currently has four locations in the Houston area and one in New York, and has four more coming to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Austin, and another upstate New York location. But that's only the start, says co-founder and COO, Kyle Jones.

Jones says he was among the first in the country to see the potential for cryotherapy as a retail business. He was managing a physical therapy clinic, and they added a cryotherapy machine as a treatment for patients. Jones says he was blown away by how fast the patients were recovering — some even accelerating their healing process by 50 percent.

"I told my boss that we needed to scale this thing. This is a real business, not just an add-on for a PT clinic," Jones says.

As patients overwhelmed the small operation and as retail cryotherapy centers began popping up, Jones decided to branch out on his own. He was 24 at the time.

In 2015, he opened his first location of iCRYO in League City. Jones says he used the location to work out the kinks of his business model, since he didn't really have much to model after. One thing that was most important to Jones, with his PT background, was safety of the patients. He cared about this more than making money, he says.

"I knew first and foremost the one thing that the cryotherapy space didn't have was a certification program, which is kind of terrifying to me," Jones says. "Any therapy has some type of schooling or certification — massage therapy and acupuncture both have it. Cryotherapy even to date does not a certification to it."

He teamed up with equipment manufactures and professionals at the gas companies that handle the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy uses and they created a cloud-based certification platform for cryotherapy. He still uses that program with all iCRYO employees — everyone from the owner to the technician has to pass with a 90 percent and above.

After two years of business and settling on the company's marketing, Jones started to franchise. He sold eight locations in Houston, three have opened already. The first Austin iCRYO location plans to open in May, and three Dallas-area locations are also expected to deliver in 2019.

Jones says he is still actively looking for new franchisees, and is in talks to sell franchise rights to the entire states of Florida and Georgia, more locations in New York, San Antonio, and other cities scattered around. It's an intriguing market to franchisees, Jones says, because there's just not that much competition yet and the technology has so much potential.

"The more that people find out about it and research it, the crazier it's going to get," Jones says. "There's just no peak of people wanting to feel better."

The Bayou City has its own Blue Apron-style startup with locally sourced produce. Courtesy of The Blonde Pantry

Houston nutritionist introduces new, locally sourced meal delivery business

Farm to table

Marla Murphy, a local entrepreneur and nutritionist, has helped Houstonians make healthy decisions with her food blog and consulting company for years, but she wasn't sure she was doing enough.

"I didn't feel like I was making as big of an impact as I could have," Murphy says.

Murphy took this feeling and ran with it. She decided to relaunch her company, The Blonde Pantry, in March of last year she says to create the only local meal delivery service for the greater Houston area.

"This is a passion project to me," she says.

Growing a health foods company
While The Blonde Pantry has had meal services for a few years, Murphy says that last spring the company relaunched with a new brand and expanded product offerings.

"We are a healthy meal delivery service that offers clients vacuum sealed that meals that are prepped, weighted, marinated, and chopped," says Murphy.

The Blonde Pantry gained momentum initially from Murphy's local connections.

"I had only $3,000 in my bank account," says Murphy. "The right people came into my life at the right time."

Murphy says she was able to trade meals and barter down prices for her website, photography, and marketing to launch her company. She rented a kitchen by the hour and had little wiggle room for her profits. She credits part of the company's success to their popular Instagram page and her involvement in the Houston community.

"You can really tell we love what we do," Murphy says. "We are deep rooted in this community. I was born and raised here. My family lives here. We are growing our family here."

How it works
Murphy writes on the company's website notes that her mission is "to bring nutritious meals to busy Houston foodies who love tasty food as much as I do, but also want to be mindful of living a wholesome lifestyle."

The meal kits are ready in 10 minutes or less, Murphy says, and customers order by Thursday evenings and can either opt to have their meals delivered to their doorstep or pick up their package at The Village Gym, located off the Katy Freeway.

"We deliver everywhere within Highway 99," says Murphy, including Friendswood, Clear Lake, Dickinson, and League City."

Meals on The Blonde Pantry website include shrimp, chicken, pork, and beef skillet dishes paired with cauliflower, carrots, squash, and other fresh vegetables; fully cooked casseroles; pre-packaged salads, soups, and smoothies; hummus; breakfast muffins; and a variety of desserts including black bean brownies and flourless chocolate almond cookies.

"Our average is meal is about $10.25 a serving," says Murphy. "We try to make it something everyone can afford, whether you're a young college girl or a 60 year-old-couple."

Murphy tells InnovationMap that her team kicks into gear first thing Friday morning once all the orders are placed, then they prepare and prep on Saturday and Sunday for a Monday delivery.

"We like to source as locally as possible," says Murphy when describing her vendors. The Blonde Pantry has two full time employees, and seven part-time kitchen workers, and three contract workers for delivery.

In addition to The Blonde Pantry meal service, their website notes offerings in nutrition consulting for corporations, groups, and individuals.

"It's not about selling meals and moving on, I want this to be a lifestyle company that is really founded and has deep roots in Houston," says Murphy.

Murphy tells InnovationMap that in the next year she hopes to expand into the retail space and find a bigger commercial kitchen to function as their own. She also hopes to partner with companies outside of food and continue to nourish lives in someway.

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston engineers develop breakthrough device to advance spinal cord treatment

future of health

A team of Rice University engineers has developed an implantable probe over a hundred times smaller than the width of a hair that aims to help develop better treatments for spinal cord disease and injury.

Detailed in a recent study published in Cell Reports, the probe or sensor, known as spinalNET, is used to explore how neurons in the spinal cord process sensation and control movement, according to a statement from Rice. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Rice, the California-based Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the philanthropic Mary K. Chapman Foundation based in Oklahoma.

The soft and flexible sensor was used to record neuronal activity in freely moving mice with high resolution for multiple days. Historically, tracking this level of activity has been difficult for researchers because the spinal cord and its neurons move so much during normal activity, according to the team.

“We developed a tiny sensor, spinalNET, that records the electrical activity of spinal neurons as the subject performs normal activity without any restraint,” Yu Wu, a research scientist at Rice and lead author of the study said in a statement. “Being able to extract such knowledge is a first but important step to develop cures for millions of people suffering from spinal cord diseases.”

The team says that before now the spinal cord has been considered a "black box." But the device has already helped the team uncover new findings about the body's rhythmic motor patterns, which drive walking, breathing and chewing.

Lan Luan (from left), Yu Wu, and Chong Xie are working on the breakthrough device. Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

"Some (spinal neurons) are strongly correlated with leg movement, but surprisingly, a lot of neurons have no obvious correlation with movement,” Wu said in the statement. “This indicates that the spinal circuit controlling rhythmic movement is more complicated than we thought.”

The team said they hope to explore these findings further and aim to use the technology for additional medical purposes.

“In addition to scientific insight, we believe that as the technology evolves, it has great potential as a medical device for people with spinal cord neurological disorders and injury,” Lan Luan, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice and a corresponding author on the study, added in the statement.

Rice researchers have developed several implantable, minimally invasive devices to address health and mental health issues.

In the spring, the university announced that the United States Department of Defense had awarded a four-year, $7.8 million grant to the Texas Heart Institute and a Rice team led by co-investigator Yaxin Wang to continue to break ground on a novel left ventricular assist device (LVAD) that could be an alternative to current devices that prevent heart transplantation.

That same month, the university shared news that Professor Jacob Robinson had published findings on minimally invasive bioelectronics for treating psychiatric conditions. The 9-millimeter device can deliver precise and programmable stimulation to the brain to help treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Houston clean hydrogen startup to pilot tech with O&G co.

stay gold

Gold H2, a Houston-based producer of clean hydrogen, is teaming up with a major U.S.-based oil and gas company as the first step in launching a 12-month series of pilot projects.

The tentative agreement with the unnamed oil and gas company kicks off the availability of the startup’s Black 2 Gold microbial technology. The technology underpins the startup’s biotech process for converting crude oil into proprietary Gold Hydrogen.

The cleantech startup plans to sign up several oil and gas companies for the pilot program. Gold H2 says it’s been in discussions with companies in North America, Latin America, India, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The pilot program is aimed at demonstrating how Gold H2’s technology can transform old oil wells into hydrogen-generating assets. Gold H2, a spinout of Houston-based biotech company Cemvita, says the technology is capable of producing hydrogen that’s cheaper and cleaner than ever before.

“This business model will reshape the traditional oil and gas industry landscape by further accelerating the clean energy transition and creating new economic opportunities in areas that were previously dismissed as unviable,” Gold H2 says in a news release.

The start of the Black 2 Gold demonstrations follows the recent hiring of oil and gas industry veteran Prabhdeep Singh Sekhon as CEO.

“With the proliferation of AI, growth of data centers, and a national boom in industrial manufacturing underway, affordable … carbon-free energy is more paramount than ever,” says Rayyan Islam, co-founder and general partner at venture capital firm 8090 Industries, an investor in Gold H2. “We’re investing in Gold H2, as we know they’ll play a pivotal role in unleashing a new dawn for energy abundance in partnership with the oil industry.”

------

This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: Every week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators to know recently making headlines with news of innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week's batch includes an e-commerce startup founder, an industrial biologist, and a cellular scientist.

Omair Tariq, co-founder and CEO of Cart.com

Omair Tariq of Cart.com joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to share his confidence in Houston as the right place to scale his unicorn. Photo via Cart.com

Houston-based Cart.com, which operates a multichannel commerce platform, has secured $105 million in debt refinancing from investment manager BlackRock.

The debt refinancing follows a recent $25 million series C extension round, bringing Cart.com’s series C total to $85 million. The scaleup’s valuation now stands at $1.2 billion, making it one of the few $1 billion-plus “unicorns” in the Houston area.

Cart.com was co-founded by CEO Omair Tariq in October 2020. Read more.

Nádia Skorupa Parachin, vice president of industrial biotechnology at Cemvita

Nádia Skorupa Parachin joined Cemvita as vice president of industrial biotechnology. Photo courtesy of Cemvita

Houston-based biotech company Cemvita recently tapped two executives to help commercialize its sustainable fuel made from carbon waste.

Nádia Skorupa Parachin came aboard as vice president of industrial biotechnology, and Phil Garcia was promoted to vice president of commercialization.

Parachin most recently oversaw several projects at Boston-based biotech company Ginkjo Bioworks. She previously co-founded Brazilian biotech startup Integra Bioprocessos. Read more.

Han Xiao, associate professor of chemistry at Rice University

The funds were awarded to Han Xiao, a chemist at Rice University.

A Rice University chemist has landed a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Health for his work that aims to reprogram the genetic code and explore the role certain cells play in causing diseases like cancer and neurological disorders.

The funds were awarded to Han Xiao, the Norman Hackerman-Welch Young Investigator, associate professor of chemistry, from the NIH's Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) program, which supports medically focused laboratories. Xiao will use the five-year grant to advance his work on noncanonical amino acids.

“This innovative approach could revolutionize how we understand and control cellular functions,” Xiao said in the statement. Read more.

View All Listings

INNOVATIONMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME