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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5 Houston innovators who made headlines in July 2025

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Editor's note: Local innovators made headlines in July with a first-in-the-U.S. successful health procedure, the discovery of an ancient Mayan tomb, and new leadership roles that will shape Houston's future.

Here are five Houston innovators to know right now.

Dr. Kenneth Liao, Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Kenneth Liao and a team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center used a surgical robot to implant a new heart in a 45-year-old male patient. Photo courtesy Baylor College of Medicine.

A team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, led by Dr. Kenneth Liao, successfully performed the first fully robotic heart transplant in the United States earlier this year, the Houston hospital recently shared.

Liao, a professor and chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and circulatory support at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, used a surgical robot to implant a new heart in a 45-year-old male patient through preperitoneal space in the abdomen by making small incisions. Learn more.

Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase, University of Houston

Arlen and Diane Chase, UH

The Chases. Courtesy of UH

Two University of Houston archaeologists have made scientific history with the discovery of a Mayan king's tomb in Belize.

The UH team led by husband and wife scientists Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase made the discovery at Caracol, the largest Mayan archeological site in Belize. Their work used airborne light detection and ranging technology to uncover previously hidden roadways and structures that have been reclaimed by the jungle. Learn more.

Lawson Gow, Greentown Labs

Lawson Gow, founder of The Cannon, will lead Greentown Houston. Photo courtesy Greentown Labs.

Greentown Labs has added a new leader to its Houston team, naming Lawson Gow as its first Head of Houston.

Gow is the founder of The Cannon, a coworking space with seven locations in the Houston area. He also recently served as managing partner at Houston-based investment and advisory firm Helium Capital. According to Greentown, Gow will "enhance the founder experience, cultivate strategic partnerships, and accelerate climatetech solutions" in his new role. Learn more.

Pothik Chatterjee, Digital Health Institute

Pothik Chatterjee was named executive director of Rice University's and Houston Methodist's Digital Health Institute, effective May 1. Photo courtesy Rice University.

The creation late last year of the Digital Health Institute was a major step into the future for both Rice University and Houston Methodist, for whom the institute is a joint venture. The latest news for the new institute is the appointment of Pothik Chatterjee to the role of executive director.

Chatterjee’s role is to help grow the collaboration between the institutions and find commercial opportunities within the research portfolio. Learn more.

Rice University MBA programs rank among top 5 in prestigious annual report

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Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business MBA programs have been ranked among the top five in the country again in The Princeton Review’s 2025 Best Business Schools rankings.

The university's MBA program in finance earned a No. 3 ranking, climbing up two spots from its 2024 ranking. Finance MBA programs at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business and New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business were the only ones to outrank Rice, claiming No. 2 and No. 1 spots, respectively.

Rice's online MBA program was ranked No. 5, compared to No. 4 last year. Indiana University's Bloomington Kelley School of Business' online program claimed the top spot.

“These rankings reflect the commitment of our faculty and staff, the drive and talent of our students and the strong support of our alumni and partners,” Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice Business, said in a news release. “They are exceptional honors but also reminders — not just of our top-tier programs and world-class faculty and students but of our broader impact on the future of business education.”

Rice also ranked at No. 6 for “greatest resources for minority students."

The Princeton Review’s 2025 business school rankings are based on data from surveys of administrators at 244 business schools as well as surveys of 22,800 students enrolled in the schools’ MBA programs during the previous three academic years.

"The schools that made our lists for 2025 share four characteristics that inform our criteria for designating them as 'best': excellent academics, robust experiential learning components, outstanding career services, and positive feedback about them from enrolled students we surveyed," Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's editor-in-chief, said in a press release. "No b-school is best overall or best for all students, but to all students considering earning an MBA, we highly recommend these b-schools and salute them for their impressive programs."

Rice's finance program has ranked in the top 10 for eight consecutive years, and its online MBA has ranked in the top five for four years.

Rice and the University of Houston also claimed top marks on the Princeton Review's entrepreneurship rankings. Rice ranks as No. 1 on the Top 50 Entrepreneurship: Grad list, and the University of Houston ranked No. 1 on Top 50 Entrepreneurship: Ugrad. Read more here.

Houston named ‘star’ metro for artificial intelligence in new report

eyes on AI

A new report declares Houston one of the country’s 28 “star” hubs for artificial intelligence.

The Houston metro area appears at No. 16 in the Brookings Institution’s ranking of metros that are AI “stars.” The metro areas earned star status based on data from three AI buckets: talent, innovation and adoption. Only two places, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, made Brookings’ “superstar” list.

According to Brookings, the Houston area had 11,369 job postings in 2024 that sought candidates with AI skills, 210 AI startups (based on Crunchbase data from 2014 to 2024), and 113 venture capital deals for AI startups (based on PitchBook data from 2023 to 2024).

A number of developments are boosting Houston’s AI profile, such as:

Brookings also named Texas’s three other major metros as AI stars:

  • No. 11 Austin
  • No. 13 Dallas-Fort Worth
  • No. 40 San Antonio

Brookings said star metros like Houston “are bridging the gap” between the two superstar regions and the rest of the country. In 2025, the 28 star metros made up 46 percent of the country’s metro-area employment but 54 percent of AI job postings. Across the 28 metros, the number of AI job postings soared 139 percent between 2018 and 2025, according to Brookings.

Around the country, dozens of metros fell into three other categories on Brookings’ AI list: “emerging centers” (14 metros), “focused movers” (29 metros) and “nascent adopters” (79 metros).

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