New certificate course trains a ready workforce as biotech companies in Pearland take off

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There's a much greater need for biotech workers. Photo courtesy of Lonza

Biotech companies in Pearland are thriving, with big names such as Lonza, Millar Inc. Inc., and Abbott all experiencing tremendous growth in recent years.

The only challenge to this success is the increased demand for a faster workforce pipeline. Fortunately, the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC) has a solution.

PEDC has partnered with Alvin Community College (ACC) and Lonza to create a two-level Biotechnology Certificate Course designed to address the need for a better-equipped entry-level workforce.

This initiative offers two options to quickly train individuals for employment in the biotech field: Level 1, a six-week commitment for Biotech: Material Handler; and Level 2, a twelve-week commitment for Biotech: Lab Technician. Each level consists of 64 contact hours, with lectures delivered online and labs and assessments conducted on-site.

Alvin Community College is offering this course, which commenced on August 21, under its Continued Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) department. This department provides programs that incorporate current and new technical courses, training partnerships with businesses and industries, and other opportunities for individuals to acquire and upgrade skills or pursue personal enrichment.

Before this initiative, the region's two- or four-year programs were only graduating a dozen or so individuals. Early discussions focused on how to expedite workforce development through a local community college's certificate program. Alvin Community College was prepared to respond to the local workforce's needs.

PEDC played a pivotal role in establishing an advisory committee comprised of industry partners responsible for vetting the Biotechnology Certificate Course curriculum. Industry partners included the University of Houston Clear Lake (UHCL) at Pearland, Lonza, Millar Inc., Merit Medical, and the nonprofit organization BioHouston.

These partners are invaluable as plans continue to expand these certification programs.

Given the ever-increasing demand for a biotechnology workforce in the Pearland area, the future wish list includes expanding the certification program to other education partners.

For more information about the Biotechnology Certificate Program at Alvin Community College, visit this link.

Photo courtesy of Kemlon

One business reveals how relocating to Pearland has paid off — and then some

Growing and Thriving

The city of Pearlandhas been ramping up its assistance and support for local businesses over the last several years, but it's long been an ideal choice for companies seeking a place for their companies to grow and thrive.

One major reason is its location, which was certainly a draw for multi-discipline energy and manufacturing company Kemlon Products.

Kemlon's vice president of engineering, Chris Ring, says relocating to Pearland in 1998 was a strategic move — one that has definitely paid off.

"We're located only four miles south of William P. Hobby International Airport, and are accessible to customers and employees via State Highway 35 and Beltway 8," says Ring.

Kemlon's 120,000-square-foot headquarters on State Highway 35 secured it as the first major high-tech manufacturing company to relocate to Pearland.

Since then, the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC) has assisted Kemlon with expansion efforts, providing incentives and helping it acquire 23.5 acres purchased from the City of Pearland, as part of Catalyst No. 2 Business Park North outlined in the State Highway 35 redevelopment strategy.

But that's not all. Pearland’s affordability was another reason the company chose the city, along with exceptional schools and a potential employee base.

In 2021, PEDC conducted a survey of all businesses in the community to gain a better understanding of their needs. The survey found that 92 percent of business owners felt that Pearland is a great place to live, work, and operate a business, and more than 80 percent of survey respondents gave excellent or good marks to Pearland as a place to do business — higher than the national comparison.

With such satisfied employees and the support and incentive to continue to grow, Kemlon has now invested more than $10.8 million in the community and employs more than 120 people on its 30-acre campus.

"Many of our customers are from outside the Houston area, and especially abroad," Ring says. "As soon as these customers enter Pearland from Beltway 8, it is evident they are entering a quality community that has quality businesses."

Courtesy photo

This Pearland-based CEO explains why his city is the best HQ for small businesses

Serial Entrepreneurship

Small businesses often need a supportive home base from which to work, and there’s one Texas city in particular that has worked hard to become that haven for business owners over the years.

Pearland offers assistance and a diverse workforce for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. In fact, 83 percent of businesses in Pearland are locally owned. And when it comes to having an entrepreneurial spirit, no one is more passionate than David Graham, CEO of Pearland’s FranchiCzar.

Graham has been focusing on FranchiCzar, which provides franchise development, consulting, marketing, and vendor networks in a suite of services to help franchisees develop and scale their business.

FranchiCzar joins a collection of life science, energy, and manufacturing companies that have expanded their reach in Pearland: Millar, Inc., Lonza, Merit Medical, Cardiovascular Systems, and Endress+Hauser, to name a few.

One of Graham’s most exciting ventures launching this year is Valhallan, a youth e-sports program. Valhallan was born from the belief that video games can enrich lives and create community for young people and was developed to provide premier e-sports programming while teaching life skills. Twenty Valhallan arenas are opening soon around the country.

Graham’s serial entrepreneurship not only extends to franchise development and e-sports, but to exercise and education.

In the “exercise” category, Graham created the Iron 24 concept to offer a convenient gym experience that's accessible 24/7, all from an app. The Iron 24 app allows members to manage membership details and unlock the gym at any time, day or night, with no staff required on-site. Currently, five locations are opening around the Greater Houston area, including two in Pearland.

Going back to his educational and enrichment roots, Graham hopes to launch Math Reactor in the near future. Math Reactor is a revolutionary, fun-first approach to math that helps children in grades five through eight learn math concepts in an engaging and relevant way. Math Reactor was created from the knowledge that the best way for kids to learn math is to make it fun and practical.

Graham is also the founder and creator of a children's code-learning platform Code Ninjas, which sold just last year.

Most recently, Graham recently acquired Pinot’s Palette, a popular paint and sip franchise with more than 80 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Graham takes pride in being a longtime Pearland resident; other cities throughout the nation have failed in their attempts to poach him from Texas.

During the times when other communities were trying to entice him to leave the city, Graham shares that he was impressed by how the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC) and local business leaders “stepped up in a big way to ensure Pearland kept me here, by offering us incentives.”

One way PEDC enhances Pearland's innovation entrepreneurship culture is through its Pearland Innovation Hub, which launched in May 2022. The Hub connects the city to local and regional entrepreneurship assistance programs, service providers, and funding sources to help businesses maximize their growth potential and overall success.

Additionally, Graham shares that he appreciates how “PEDC is helping to bring in powerhouse companies every year, and it has really rejuvenated our business community here.” Pearland’s diverse population has long been known as an asset, and in recent years the city has become even more racially and ethnically diverse.

“While there is no lack of diverse opinions and abilities in Pearland, everyone stands together as residents of Pearland and can all rally around making our community a better place to live and work," Graham says.

Photo courtesy of Lonza

How Pearland is setting local businesses up for growth and success

Becoming the Best

Over the past few years, Pearland has worked hard to become a desirable home for major life sciences and manufacturing companies. Building on that, it's also leading the way in workforce development, providing access to the tools and resources necessary to create and grow a successful business.

Here's a closer look at just a few of the many resources the community offers to local businesses:

WorkinPearland
This virtual job board and resource center is an immersive and interactive website launched through a partnership between the Pearland Chamber of Commerce and the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC), where participants can register to view local jobs, regional training programs, workforce support services, and workforce ecosystem partners in the region.

Area businesses can showcase their organization and career opportunities to the community through a customizable virtual booth. The WorkInPearland platform will be launched to the community in March 2023.

Pearland Innovation Hub
Created in 2022, the hub provides valuable programming, events, and resources and establishes partnerships to start, scale, and sustain a business.
The hub cultivates Pearland’s entrepreneurship culture through networking events and activities geared to the unique needs of startups and small business owners, such as assistance programs, business coaching, service providers, and funding sources, to maximize their growth potential and overall success.

BizConnect
This resource is another result of a Pearland Chamber of Commerce and PEDC partnership, and it helps businesses expand and create jobs in the Pearland area.
Through the BizConnect program, participants can access a network of professionals willing to help with any business need.

Pearland’s workforce strategy aspires to achieve the vision of the workforce and talent focus area by leveraging existing workforce strategies and initiatives being performed by area partners, as well as implementing new strategies that respond to the needs of businesses.

It strives to bring together representatives from the business community, education and training providers, relevant nonprofits, and other vital partners dedicated to strengthening Pearland’s talent pipeline and ensuring employers have access to a competitive workforce.

To find out more about Pearland's initiative, visit here.

Get the resources you need. Courtesy photo

Pearland's Innovation Hub gives entrepreneurs and small businesses a leg up

The Hub Spot

Last May, Pearland launched the Innovation Hub, proving just how much the city values businesses of all sizes.

When the Pearland Prosperity Community Strategic Plan called for the creation of a hub for entrepreneurship and small business assistance, the idea of the Innovation Hub was born.

Customized for Pearland, the valuable program connects local entrepreneurs and small businesses with the resources they need to grow and succeed.

In order to identify market opportunities and create a supportive plan, the Market Assessment and Business Plan stepped in. It laid out how to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship culture, and connect entrepreneurs and small businesses to resources within the region.

The hub provides valuable programming, events, resources, and establishes partnerships that entrepreneurs need to start, scale, and sustain a business.

This incudes networking events and activities geared to the unique needs of startups and small business owners such as assistance programs, service providers, and funding sources to maximize growth potential and overall success.

Business-plan competitions, proactive coaching, networking events, and student programs are also offered.

Through the events — which feature members as speakers and panelists — and through business spotlights, the hub provides additional business exposure for its members in hopes that it will lead to increased clientele and growth.

Members also have exclusive access to learning opportunities as they relate to starting or scaling their business. This may include topics such as tax advisory, human resources, marketing, operations, IP and patents, and fundraising opportunities.

Pearland Innovation Hub also hosts various educational opportunities such as small business pop-ups, business-plan competitions, pitch parties, hackathons, and reverse pitches.

Upcoming events include Understanding Your Value Proposition on September 17, Addressing Your Pain Points on October 5, and Pitch Desk Prep on October 27.

Pearland Innovation Hub is funded through the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC). Oversight of the hub is provided by an advisory board and it will transition into its own nonprofit organization.

From sports to education, it's all here. Photo courtesy of PEDC

How living in Pearland puts a priority on health and happiness

Home Sweet Home

Texas is full of small towns, big cities, and everything in between, which gives residents a wide range of options when choosing where to live.

A closer look at Pearland, located south of Houston just outside of Beltway 8, reveals why it offers an ideal lifestyle for both employers and families looking to relocate.

Education is a priority in the community, evidenced by an educational attainment level that's well above the national average.

An impressive 49.7 percent of Pearland’s adult population holds a four-year degree or higher, compared to the national average of 32.9 percent, according to the latest American Community Survey estimates.

Located just off Pearland Parkway, the University of Houston-Clear Lake Campus provides the Pearland community convenient access to nationally accredited, career-building education opportunities. It offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in areas such as healthcare, education, business, criminology, and more.

Younger students in Pearland can benefit from the excellent public-school systems, with most students attending either Pearland Independent School District or Alvin Independent School District.

In Pearland, sports and recreation are a key component in the community. There are ample opportunities for children of all ages to participate in youth sports programs, and Pearland is home to the 2010, 2014, and 2015 Little League World Series finalists.

Between Pearland High School and Shadow Creek High School, a local school has played in four football state championship games in the last decade alone.

The city features world-class recreational opportunities for members of the community at any age. The 107,000-square-foot Pearland Recreation Center and Natatorium contains a gymnasium, weight room, activity room, racquetball courts, locker rooms, elevated indoor track, and a 50-meter competition pool.

With miles of trails and nearly 20 community and neighborhood parks, residents of Pearland are never far from accessible ways to prioritize their family’s health and wellness.

Pearland recently celebrated the grand opening for the second phase of the Sports Complex at Shadow Creek Ranch, which includes two turf fields and a multipurpose Miracle Field area designed to accommodate special needs athletes.

Pearland also offers public golf courses, sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, soccer and multipurpose fields, numerous playgrounds and dog parks, a local YMCA, and several national and local health clubs.

To see more of what Pearland has to offer, head here.

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Biosciences startup becomes Texas' first decacorn after latest funding

A Dallas-based biosciences startup whose backers include millionaire investors from Austin and Dallas has reached decacorn status — a valuation of at least $10 billion — after hauling in a series C funding round of $200 million, the company announced this month. Colossal Biosciences is reportedly the first Texas startup to rise to the decacorn level.

Colossal, which specializes in genetic engineering technology designed to bring back or protect various species, received the $200 million from TWG Global, an investment conglomerate led by billionaire investors Mark Walter and Thomas Tull. Walter is part owner of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tull is part owner of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

Among the projects Colossal is tackling is the resurrection of three extinct animals — the dodo bird, Tasmanian tiger and woolly mammoth — through the use of DNA and genomics.

The latest round of funding values Colossal at $10.2 billion. Since launching in 2021, the startup has raised $435 million in venture capital.

In addition to Walter and Tull, Colossal’s investors include prominent video game developer Richard Garriott of Austin and private equity veteran Victor Vescov of Dallas. The two millionaires are known for their exploits as undersea explorers and tourist astronauts.

Aside from Colossal’s ties to Dallas and Austin, the startup has a Houston connection.

The company teamed up with Baylor College of Medicine researcher Paul Ling to develop a vaccine for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), the deadliest disease among young elephants. In partnership with the Houston Zoo, Ling’s lab at the Baylor College of Medicine has set up a research program that focuses on diagnosing and treating EEHV, and on coming up with a vaccine to protect elephants against the disease. Ling and the BCMe are members of the North American EEHV Advisory Group.

Colossal operates research labs Dallas, Boston and Melbourne, Australia.

“Colossal is the leading company working at the intersection of AI, computational biology, and genetic engineering for both de-extinction and species preservation,” Walter, CEO of TWG Globa, said in a news release. “Colossal has assembled a world-class team that has already driven, in a short period of time, significant technology innovations and impact in advancing conservation, which is a core value of TWG Global.”

Well-known genetics researcher George Church, co-founder of Colossal, calls the startup “a revolutionary genetics company making science fiction into science fact.”

“We are creating the technology to build de-extinction science and scale conservation biology,” he added, “particularly for endangered and at-risk species.”

Houston investment firm names tech exec as new partner

new hire

Houston tech executive Robert Kester has joined Houston-based Veriten, an energy-focused research, investment and strategy firm, as technology and innovation partner.

Kester most recently served as chief technology officer for emissions solutions at Honeywell Process Solutions, where he worked for five years. Honeywell International acquired Houston-based oil and gas technology company Rebellion Photonics, where Kester was co-founder and CEO, in 2019.

Honeywell Process Solutions shares offices in Houston with the global headquarters of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies. Honeywell, a Fortune 100 conglomerate, employs more than 850 people in Houston.

“We are thrilled to welcome Robert to the Veriten team,” founder and CEO Maynard Holt said in a statement, “and are confident that his technical expertise and skills will make a big contribution to Veriten’s partner and investor community. He will [oversee] every aspect of what we do, with the use case for AI in energy high on the 2025 priority list.”

Kester earned a doctoral degree in bioengineering from Rice University, a master’s degree in optical sciences from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s degree in laser optical engineering technology from the Oregon Institute of Technology. He holds 25 patents and has more than 25 patents pending.

Veriten celebrated its third anniversary on January 10, the day that the hiring of Kester was announced. The startup launched with seven employees.

“With the addition of Dr. Kester, we are a 26-person team and are as enthusiastic as ever about improving the energy dialogue and researching the future paths for energy,” Holt added.

Kester spoke on the Houston Innovators Podcast in 2021. Listen here

Startup funding, sportstech win and more trending innovation news for January

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