Overheard: 2024 Houston Innovation Awards finalists share top advice for fellow founders

weighing in

Clockwise from top: Lori-Lee Elliot, Anwar Sadek, Mimi Healy, Ram Prasad, Tatiana Fofanova, Prabhdeep Sekhon, Raisha Smith, and Mitra Miller.

There's a great deal of advice swirling around the world today about how to find success business. Why not take it from mentors and founders with a proven track record, like the finalists for this year's Houston Innovation Awards?

From how to grow your customer base to tips on combating funding gaps and making room for yourself at the table, they shared priceless tokens of advice in their applications for the 2024 awards.

Here's what some of the leading founders and supporters in Houston's Innovation community had to say.

"Just because you don't look like everyone else in there room, or aren't offered a seat at the table, doesn't mean you don't deserve to be there. If anything, it means the world needs you there more."

–Lori-Lee Elliott, Co-Founder and CEO of Dauntless XR, female-founded business finalist

"Don’t shy away from seeking non-traditional forms of funding like grants and non-dilutive capital, especially if VC funding seems out of reach. Surround yourself with mentors who understand your challenges, and be intentional about expanding your network to build strategic connections. Above all, stay confident in your vision, use every opportunity to learn, and never hesitate to give back by helping othersalong the way. Your success not only opens doors for you but for future generations of minority founders."

-Anwar Sadek, CORROLYTICS CEO and co-founder, minority-founded business finalist

"Being an entrepreneur is fun and hard and exhilarating and frustrating and simple and complicated and joyful and exhausting and worth it. Make a plan so you can change your plan because the market changed, because the competition grew, because your data showed something different than what you expected, because you hired or lost a team member, because you raised more money, because you didn't raise enough money. Take the time to make the plan and think about all the ways it could change, so that whenit does, it is not the first time you thought about what to do because it will be too late."

–Mimi Healy, CEO of StimulusBio, mentor of the Year finalist

"My go-to advice for entrepreneurs is to prioritize their health while building their business. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle, but long-term success comes from sustaining your physical and mental well-being. Entrepreneurs need to be at their best to make good decisions, lead effectively, and navigate challenges, so focusing on health isn’t just a luxury—it’s essential.Another key habit I always recommend is setting aside at least one hour a day to actively find new customers. Customer acquisition is the lifeblood of any business, and dedicating this time daily can help you build momentum, create relationships, and discover new opportunities that may have been overlooked."

–Ram Prasad, CEO of Delence, minority-owned business finalist

"Learn to sit on the other side of the table and think about things from the other person's perspective. When seeking funding, this means thinking about the investor's point of view. When selling, it means thinking about the customer's POV. How are you—the founder—helping them win?"

--Mitra Miller, Vice President of Houston Angel Network, mentor of the Year finalist

"Leverage the strength of your community. And as a founder, you are the secret sauce, not the imposter. Building a network of supportive peers and mentors who understand your unique challenges can be a game-changer. At EveryDopeGirl, we've seen how powerful it is when minority founders come together to share resources, insights, and encouragement. Don't hesitate to seek out and participate in events that foster these connections. Remember, your journey is not just about overcoming obstacles, but also about celebrating your successes and the unique perspectives you bring to the table."

-Raisha Smith, founder of EveryDopeGirl, female-founded business finalist

""Focus on your strengths rather than getting caught up in perceived gaps or doubts. Embrace the diversity in your team, just as we’ve done at Gold H2, where 50 percent of our team is female and 80 percent are visible minorities. Diversity brings strength ... Trust yourself, and don’t be afraid to shape your journey in both your career and personal life."

–Prabhdeep Sekhon, CEO of Gold H2, minority-owned business finalist

"Surround yourself with two types of people: the lovers and the fighters. First, surround yourself with people that love you and believe in your vision–they'll be the ones who pick you up when your spirit takes a beating and you feel like giving up. Second, surround yourself with those who you can categorically trust to fight to the bitter end-when life happens, they'll be the ones running the ship andkeeping the dream alive while you sort things out. These will almost never be the same people, so you have to find both."

-Tatiana Fofanova, CEO of Koda Health, female-founded business finalist

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Rice Alliance, Greentown name winners of Houston Energy and Climate Week pitch competitions

winner winners

Approximately 100 startups from around the world pitched their breakthrough technologies and businesses during Houston Energy and Climate Week, with a select few taking home top prizes and bragging rights.

Each year, investors at the Rice Alliance Energy Technology Venture Forum name the 10 most-promising startups. Greentown's Climatetech Summit also culminates in a pitch event, where member companies can earn cash prizes.

Here's who won at two of the week's anchor events and competitions.

Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum

The 23nd annual event was held Thursday, Sept. 17, at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business. The most-promising companies were selected by industry experts and participating investors attending the event.

The 10 most-promising companies included:

  • Australia-based Aquafortus, which has developed a non-thermal liquid to liquid desalination technology for resource recovery from wastewater brine
  • Houston-based Focis AI, which converts industrial laser scans into a queryable digital twin of refineries and plants
  • Houston-based ironlattice, a semiconductor manufacturing company
  • Houston-based Licube, which has developed technology to produce ultra-high-purity lithium compounds for the fusion energy, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and high-performance solid-state battery sectors
  • Houston-based Mars Materials, a clean chemical manufacturing business that is working to convert captured carbon into resources, such as carbon fiber and wastewater treatment chemicals
  • Dallas-based MCatalysis, which has developed a suite of proprietary microwave-driven catalysts to produce high-quality, ready-to-use fuels compatible with existing infrastructure
  • Oslo, Norway-based OTee, an automation machinery manufacturer
  • Houston-based Pike Robotics, which deploys its Wall-Eye robot to inspect hazardous tanks without taking assets offline
  • New Mexico-based Spiritus, a direct-air-capture (DAC) technology company
  • San Francisco-based UptimeAI Inc., which develops AI reasoning agents for industrial operations teams

Stellai won the People's Choice Award. The Norwegian company develops AI products for the waste management industry.

The energy technology ventures selected to participate in the forum were named earlier this year. See the full list here, and read about last year's winners here.

Greentown Lab's Climatetech Summit

The annual summit was held Wednesday, Sept. 16, featured a number of Houston startups in its pitch competition and lighting pitch round. Judges included Dave Dreessen,, Jon Greene, Naval Preet Singh, Philip Llewellyn, Erin Madro, Justin Yeung, Jay Kim, Rawand Rasheed and Moji Karimi.

Pitch winners included:

  • First place: Elementium Materials' CEO Matthew Dawson, winning a $10,000 cash prize sponsored by TotalEnergies plus another $10,000 in legal services sponsored by Foley Hoag. The company develops advanced battery electrolytes. It is a Greentown Boston member; though Dawson is based in Houston.
  • Second place: Houston-based Solidec CEO and co-founder Ryan DuChanois, winning $5,000 in legal services sponsored by Foley Hoag. The company electrolyzes air, water and electricity into onsite hydrogen peroxide.

Lightening pitch winners included:

  • First place: Montana-based MagDrive Technologies, winning a $1,000 cash prize sponsored by Energy Transition Ventures. The company develops magnetically actuated, zero-emission valve systems that eliminate fugitive emissions and improve reliability.
  • Second place: Houston-based HEXASpec, winning a $500 cash prize sponsored by Foley Hoag. The company has created a new material to improve heat management for the semiconductor industry.

Read Greentown's recap of the summit here.

Houston Energy and Climate Week announced that the 2027 event will move to the spring, held April 4-10.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Eli Lilly breaks ground on $6.5B pharmaceutical factory in Houston

lilly lands

Leading pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly broke ground today, Sept. 21, on its $6.5 billion manufacturing site at Houston's Generation Park.

The 236-acre, state-of-the art factory is expected to come online in 2030 and will manufacture Foundayo, the company's first synthetic oral GLP-1 medication, as well as other advanced therapeutics.

"We are thrilled to break ground on our latest ‘medicines made in America’ site in the great state of Texas," David Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO, said in a prepared statement. "This $6.5 billion investment will help change the game for tens of millions of people suffering from overweight, obesity and its consequences like diabetes. We will make and ship Lilly’s latest products from Texas to people here at home and around the world.”

Houston was up against more than 300 locations in the U.S. for the factory, as part of Lilly’s $50 billion investment in domestic medicine production that has launched 10 manufacturing sites since 2020. Lilly first announced Houston had been selected for the site last September.

Photo via gov.texas.gov

As Abbott mentioned, the site is expected to create hundreds of jobs, and will hire engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians once up and running. It will create 4,000 construction jobs while being built.

In an effort to support workforce development, Lilly also announced a $12.5 million commitment to Houston's San Jacinto College in addition to a $2.5 million charitable donation to the San Jacinto College Foundation. The funding will go toward hands-on training, equipment and facilities to support future technicians, operators, maintenance professionals, and other manufacturing talent, according to Lilly. The charitable donation will fund scholarships for students.

"This relationship will build a strong, sustainable talent pipeline for Lilly while creating meaningful, high-demand career opportunities across our region,” Brenda Hellyer, chancellor of San Jacinto College, said in the release.

"When you invest in a place like Houston, you invest in its people first," Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations, added. "This facility will run on the talent of this community, powered by our relationship with San Jacinto College. We're hiring across the greater Houston area to help residents build careers close to home."

Rendering courtesy Eli Lilly

Lilly previously said it chose Generation Park, a 4,300-acre, master-planned commercial district near Lake Houston, because of factors such as financial incentives, access to utilities and transportation and the region’s business-friendly environment. Generation Park is home to campuses for San Jacinto College and Lone Star College.

Since Lilly first announced plans for the site, another fellow pharma giant has made plans to move into Generation Park. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. announced last month that it would build a $2.3 billion factory in the district. The site is expected to manufacture small molecule, biologic and antibody-drug conjugates and will also come online around 2030. Read more here.

UH Health names leader of new digital health institute

new exec

Recently launched UH Health has named the first-ever executive director of its new Institute for Digital Healthcare Transformation at the University of Houston.

Beto López has been tapped to lead the new initiative that aims to help develop and commercialize health care technologies centered around university research.

Launched in August, the Institute for Digital Healthcare Transformation leans on experts from UH’s engineering, medicine, business, law and other departments and will connect with industry partners. It will initially focus on mobile health applications, sensors, wearables and artificial intelligence, according to UH.

“Most digital health initiatives and commercialization efforts start with the technology and hope adoption follows. But the translation gap isn't a science problem — it’s a scaffolding problem between researchers, the community and the market,” López said in a news release. “I've spent the past 10 years building that scaffolding in places that weren’t wired for it, and I'm looking forward to building it here at UH to help ensure new health care technologies reach the people and communities that can benefit from them most.”

López previously spent 10 years at San Francisco-based innovation consultancy company IDEO, where he led over 100 projects for Fortune 500 companies and public agencies. He co-founded and served as managing director of the Design Institute for Health at UT Austin’s Dell Medical School; and also co-founded a social venture studio/venture capital fund focused on health care innovation. He worked alongside Houston’s Legacy Community Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Beto understands that breakthrough technology alone doesn't transform health care — it has to be designed around the needs of patients, providers and communities and have a clear path into practice,” Jonathan McCullers, vice president for health affairs at UH, added in the news release. “His experience spanning academic health care and venture capital equips him to bring together researchers, health care organizations, entrepreneurs and investors. This makes him uniquely suited to lead this institute and help turn the university's innovation into solutions that improve people's lives.”

The University of Houston launched UH Health, its new cross-disciplinary academic venture, in July. It aims to bring together the university's health-related education, research and community impact under one umbrella.

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