Bevy co-founders and working moms Carissa Janeway (left) and Lynda Attaway wanted to create a service for helping busy families keep things moving smoothly. Photo courtesy of Bevy

So much to do and so little time? We feel you. In a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, 60 percent of U.S. adults said they sometimes felt too busy to enjoy life. Bevy, an organization company serving greater Houston, is helping the overwhelmed and active do it all.

"Bevy was actually born from our-real life experiences," explains Lynda Attaway, co-founder and CEO of Bevy.

As the former co-founder and chief strategy officer of Sunnova Energy, she led a complex schedule until the demands of doing it all got to her. While climbing the corporate ladder for 18 years, she would "do whatever it took and stay as late as it took," to succeed.

While trying to raise her three children and balance a large role, she soon realized that many of her male colleagues had a stay-at-home wife who managed the at-home projects that can take so much time.

"I finally came to the realization that I could not be everything to everybody, which is a very common kind of syndrome that we tend to have as women," she shares. "Something needed to change."

The power of an extra set of hands

Attaway's former employee, now Bevy co-founder and COO, Carissa Janeway, had a seven-month-old and another child on the way when she made a plan to leave their energy company. That's when Attaway approached her with the idea of becoming her at-home project manager.

Janeway spent 15 to 20 hours a week helping Attaway with tasks like project managing a bathroom renovation, organizing the children's wardrobe, sending flowers to her mother-in-law, and making sure the nanny got paid. The two women realized how much people could benefit from having an extra set of hands, and Attaway quit her corporate job in 2017. Together, they co-founded Bevy in 2019, an organizational service for individuals and families that specializes in project management.

"It started from ourselves, and not being able to see something out there that was scalable and had that community, local touch that could really help women and families enjoy the time that they have," says Attaway.

Unlike a virtual assistant or personal assisting service, the women feel Bevy offers a more sophisticated approach.

"We're able to provide an elevated white-glove service, almost like a concierge service, where we can completely absorb the entire project and the managing aspects of it because of the level of experience that we have," says Janeway.

The team at Bevy prizes itself as your go-to home project manager. From decluttering your children's playroom to taking on simple errands that never leave your to-do list — Attaway and Janeway pride themselves on a full suite of services. The company's offerings include home organization, planning family events, project management, room renovation, and packing for a move.

While some projects can be completed remotely, Attaway stresses that they are very much a "local" company serving the greater Houston-area.

COVID-19 demands have disproportionately impacted women in the workplace, and more than 2.2 million women had dropped out of the workforce as of October. According to the Washington Post, the percentage of women working in the U.S. is the lowest it's been since 1988. When the school year began, 865,000 women dropped out of the labor force, compared with 216,000 men. With many schools maintaining virtual learning, the brunt of education is continuing to fall on mothers.

Things like contacting the plumber, setting up your at-home office, virtual schooling, and planning your child's Zoom-accessible birthday party can stack up quickly in a global pandemic.

"How are you able to have the mental capacity to do that? [Even] before the pandemic, this service was needed," emphasizes Janeway.

During the summer, Bevy worked with one family to compile a curriculum of summer fun to entertain active children at a time where summer camps were closed.

"We put together activity kits for the kids. We were able to get them through a whole month of activities that were very family-friendly," explains Janeway. The kits included daily activities like a neighborhood scavenger hunt, rock painting, and baking bread as a family. The parents didn't have to do the "legwork" of planning or buying the items, she shares.

Something for everyone

Maybe you're not a parent or a woman to use Bevy. Maybe you're a busy startup founder, a hard-working CFO, or a healthcare worker on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

"You don't have to have kids to have our service. You don't have to be married. Everybody needs a hand," Janeway explains.

Attaway, who is currently teaming up with several HR departments on ways to incorporate Bevy in benefit packages, says companies for years have supported employees with offer gym memberships and massages — why not give them time?

"Bevy is the gift of time... We're told to delegate at work. We're told that's how you get better and how you become managers, that you need to learn to delegate. Then, we're told to go home and do it all yourself," says Attaway. "This is a service where you can actually delegate at home, and on a broader base so that we can take on the complexity of it," she continues.

The team of project managers and assistants, called "Bevs," do home visits and phone consultations. Bevy features long-term subscriptions, where clientele would have a set number of hours to work with the Bevy team, as well as project-based options. Attaway and Janeway offer free consultations to assess the project needs and what the client is most looking for from their services.

When onboarding a new client, the Bevs call it a "deep dive," where they can do a virtual meeting or a socially-distanced, masked-on meeting. The team does "a lot of listening" before making a full list of things that need to happen for the client based on what they hear.

"We just start pouring out all the things that need to be done... we pull more and will encourage them to explore other areas," explains Attaway. As they tour client homes, they might point to areas where they feel the client may need some extra help. "We help them pull all the things that are kind of lying on their shoulders, and you start watching them kind of lift up," she says, regarding clients' demeanor.

The business of giving time

Trust is at the core of Bevy's client relationships, as the co-founders work out the best plan for each project.

"We're here to take care of you, [and] to help you. You deserve to have this taken care of for you," says Janeway. "We make sure they know that they're not alone — and they've felt so alone. Society has put so many expectations on our shoulders."

After the consultation, Bevy compiles a list of all the needs communicated and priorities to share with the client for their feedback. From there, they compose different package options for consideration. Clients can also set their own pace based on how quickly they need a project completed. At last, the Attaway and Janeway will assign a Bev from their team — or in some cases, themselves — to a client.

While the Bevs take on tasks like research and execution, they present clients with options for each project they take one. "Our goal is that our clients are in the decision-making seat," says Attaway.

When it comes to design and renovation, Janeway and Attaway both use their personal expertise to work on major home projects. Janeway, passionate about interior design, has loved providing her keen eye to a family's home to find solutions for making a room aesthetically-pleasing and purposeful. Attaway grew up in a hands-on family and has grown a savvy knowledge of construction.

One satisfaction of the job is watching clients' stress melt away. During a recent home visit, Attaway was faced with an overwhelmed client. As she broke down what tasks Bevy would take off her shoulders, the customer said she felt so much better being able to relay the tasks to her team. The stress was "falling off of her," she says, "that's why we do this."

"We do this because it changes people's lives," says Janeway, emphatically, as she recalls some of her favorite Bevy projects.

Packages at four hours of service at $360, but Bevy offers various discounts for the subscription service and larger package offerings.

The company that once ran on word-of-mouth is now venturing into Facebook advertisements and other forms of traditional marketing as they continue to build its customer base. In the future, Attaway and Janeway plan to create a digital platform and scale Bevy to cities across the country.

"We have a mission to help society and blow open the doors of how families manage homes," says Janeway.

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State-of-the-art innovation hub opens in Houston Energy Corridor

flagship facility

French multinational company Schneider Electric has opened a new 10,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art Energy Innovation Center in Houston.

The new facility is located in Houston’s Energy Corridor and is designed to “foster increased collaboration and technological advancements across the entire value chain,” according to a news release from the company. The new Houston location joins Schneider's existing innovation hubs in Paris, Singapore and Bangalore.

The venue will serve as a training center for process control engineers, production superintendents, manufacturing managers, technical leads and plant operations personnel. It can simulate various real-world scenarios in refineries, combined-cycle power plants, ethylene plants, recovery boilers and chemical reactors.

It includes an interactive control room and artificial Intelligence applications that “highlight the future of industrial automation,” according to the release.

"Digitalization is significantly enhancing the global competitiveness of the U.S. through continuous innovation and increased investment into next-generation technology," Aamir Paul, Schneider Electric's President of North America Operations, said in the release.

Texas has over 4,100 Schneider Electric employees, the most among U.S. states, and has facilities in El Paso, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and other areas.

"This flagship facility in the Energy Capital of the World underscores our commitment to driving the future of software-defined automation for our customers in Houston and beyond,” Paul added in the release. “With this announcement, we are excited to continue supporting the nation's ambitions around competitive, efficient and cost-effective manufacturing."

Schneider Electric says the new Houston facility is part of its expansion plans in the U.S. The company plans to invest over $700 million in its U.S. operations through 2027, which also includes an expansion at its El Paso campus.

The company also announced plans to invest in solar and battery storage systems developed, built, and operated by Houston-based ENGIE North America last year. Read more here.

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This story first appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

9 can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for April

where to be

Two new conferences will launch while another longtime business competition celebrates its 25th anniversary this month in Houston. Plus, there are networking opportunities, family tech events and more.

Here are the Houston business and innovation events you can't miss in April and how to register. Please note: this article might be updated to add more events.

​Ion Block Party: Art Crawl

Network and socialize with other tech enthusiasts and business-minded individuals while taking in the new gallery at Community Artists’ Collective and experiencing the immersive dome at Omnispace360. See work by Joel Zika, who will showcase his digital sculptures through augmented reality screens, and other public art around the Ion while also enjoying food and drink.

This event is Thursday, April 3, from 4-7 p.m. at the Ion. Click here to register.

​CLA Presents: Raising Capital over Happy Hour

Gain a better understanding of the capital-raising process and various funding opportunities at this educational happy hour. Keith Davidson, the market leader for CLA in Dallas and former CFO of ICS, will present.

This event is Thursday, April 10, from 4-6 p.m. at The Cannon. Click here to register.

Rice Business Plan Competition 

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship will host the 25th annual Rice Business Plan Competition this month. Forty-two student-led teams from around the world, including one team from Rice, will present their plans before more than 300 angel, venture capital, and corporate investors to compete for more than $1 million in prizes.

This event is April 10-12. Stream the Elevator Pitch Competition and Final Round here.

RSVF Annual Conference

The Rice Student Venture Fund will host its first-ever Annual Conference to celebrate the university's entrepreneurial spirit and the rising generation of student-led innovation. The conference will include live startup demos, an RSVF fund update, a keynote fireside chat, a builder-investor panel and networking. RSVF welcomes students, alumni, investors, faculty and staff, and innovators and community members of the broader tech scene.

This event is Monday, April 14, from 4-8 p.m. at the Ion. Click here to register.

​TEX-E Conference

TEX-E will host its inaugural conference this month under the theme "Energy & Entrepreneurship: Navigating the Future of Climate Tech." The half-day conference will feature a keynote from Artemis Energy Partners CEO Bobby Tudor as well as panels with other energy and tech leaders from NRG, Microsoft, GE Vernova and TEB Tech.

This event is Tuesday, April 15, from 1-4:30 p.m. at the Ion. Click here to register.

Houston Methodist Leadership Speaker Series 

Hear from Dr. Jonathan Rogg, Chief Quality Officer and Vice President of Operations at Houston Methodist Hospital and a a practicing emergency medicine physician, at the latest Houston Methodist Leadership Speaker Series. Rogg will present "Leadership from the Bedside to the Boardroom."

This event is on Wednesday, April 23, from 4:45-6 p.m. at the Ion. Click here to register.

Ion Family STEAM Day– Let's Build a Tripwire Alarm

STEAM on Demand will host a hands-on, family-friendly engineering lesson for young ones on the Ion Forum Stairs. Kids will learn to create and test their own working alarm system. The event is geared toward those ages 7 to 14.

This event is Sunday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ion. Click here to register.

 Greentown Houston Fourth Anniversary Transition On Tap

Climatetech incubator Greentown Labs will celebrate its fourth anniversary with a special edition of its signature networking event, Transition On Tap. Entrepreneurs, investors, students, and friends of climatetech are invited to attend.

This event is Tuesday, April 29, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Greentown Labs. Click here to register.

Integrate Space Technology Into Your Small Biz

The SBA Houston District Office and the UH Technology Bridge will host a collaborative event designed to help small businesses leverage space technology for prototype development. Attendees will also hear from industry experts on resources and gain access free technical engineering assistance to help accelerate their businesses.

This event is Wednesday, April 30, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at UH Technology Bridge Innovation Center. Click here to reserve your spot.

Texas university's innovative 'WaterHub' will dramatically reduce usage by 40%

Sustainable Move

A major advancement in sustainability is coming to one Texas university. A new UT WaterHub at the University of Texas at Austin will be the largest facility of its kind in the U.S. and will transform how the university manages its water resources.

It's designed to work with natural processes instead of against them for water savings of an estimated 40 percent. It's slated for completion in late 2027.

The university has had an active water recovery program since the 1980s. Still, water is becoming an increasing concern in Austin. According to Texas Living Waters, a coalition of conservation groups, Texas loses enough water annually to fill Lady Bird Lake roughly 89 times over.

As Austin continues to expand and face water shortages, the region's water supply faces increased pressure. The UT WaterHub plans to address this challenge by recycling water for campus energy operations, helping preserve water resources for both the university and local communities.

The 9,600-square-foot water treatment facility will use an innovative filtration approach. To reduce reliance on expensive machinery and chemicals, the system uses plants to naturally filter water and gravity to pull it in the direction it needs to go. Used water will be gathered from a new collection point near the Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium and transported to the WaterHub, located in the heart of the engineering district. The facility's design includes a greenhouse viewable to the public, serving as an interactive learning space.

Beyond water conservation, the facility is designed to protect the university against extreme weather events like winter storms. This new initiative will create a reliable backup water supply while decreasing university water usage, and will even reduce wastewater sent to the city by up to 70 percent.

H2O Innovation, UT’s collaborator in this project, specializes in water solutions, helping organizations manage their water efficiently.

"By combining cutting-edge technology with our innovative financing approach, we’re making it easier for organizations to adopt sustainable water practices that benefit both their bottom line and the environment, paving a step forward in water positivity,” said H2O Innovation president and CEO Frédéric Dugré in a press release.

The university expects significant cost savings with this project, since it won't have to spend as much on buying water from the city or paying fees to dispose of used water. Over the next several years, this could add up to millions of dollars.

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A version of this story originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap Austin.