Google launches new program to serve Houston's minority small business owners

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The Grow with Google Digital Coaches program has expanded to Houston. Photo via Unsplash

A new Google initiative is expanding its Texas presence this month. The Grow with Google's Digital Coaches program, which has already launched in Austin, has expanded to the Bayou City — making the Lone Star State the only state to have two locations of this entrepreneur-centric tool.

The program aims to provide digital skills training and coaching to Black and LatinX small business owners and create economic opportunity. Houston is one of eight new cities the program has recently expanded into.

"Houston has a vibrant and growing Black and LatinX small business community," says Lucy Pinto, Google's Digital Coach program manager, in a news release. "The Digital Coaches program will provide business owners in these communities with ongoing workshops and hands-on coaching sessions focused on techniques and digital tools to reach new customers, thrive online and grow."

Houston entrepreneur Joy M. Hutton, founder of Joy of Consulting, will serve as the Grow with Google Digital Coach for Houston. Hutton also runs a restaurant-focused consulting business called The Restaurant Girl and founded go GLAM, a beauty on demand platform.

"The Grow with Google team is making an effort to close the gap in resources that Black and LatinX small business owners have not generally had access to — in Houston and beyond," Hutton says in the release. "I live and breathe entrepreneurship, so I'm honored to participate in the Google Digital Coaches program and excited to work with Houston entrepreneurs who are traditionally underrepresented."

Joy M. Hutton will lead Grow with Google in Houston. Photo courtesy

According to the release, the program is expanding with inclusion in mind. This year, the program will grow to 20 mentors.

"As the representative of Houston's 18th District, a diverse and historic district, I know firsthand the importance and positive impact that investing in diverse communities and their residents can have on the entire population," says Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the release. "As Houston continues to prosper and grow, it is critical that we continue to invest in our minority-owned and small businesses to ensure an even brighter economic future for our city."

The program's first free workshop is called Connect with Customers and Manage Your Business Remotely and will be held virtually tomorrow, Friday, November 20, at 5:30 p.m. Moving forward, Grow with Google workshops will be hosted by Hutton on a regular basis, including the following sessions:

    • Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. CDT - Get Your Local Business on Google Search and Maps
    • Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. CDT - Reach Customers Online with Google
    • Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. CDT - Digital Skills for Everyday Tasks

    Both Google as well as local leadership are excited for the opportunities this program will provide Houstonians.

    "As a 'majority-minority' city that is the fourth-largest in the U.S., it is critical that our Black and LatinX business owners have the tools and knowledge to reach new customers, grow their businesses and help continue to make Houston a prosperous, skilled and inclusive city," Mayor Sylvester Turner says in the release. "The city of Houston is appreciative for the opportunity to provide invaluable resources and opportunities to our city's Black and LatinX small business owners."

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    Innovation Labs @ TMC set to launch for early-stage life science startups

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    The Texas Medical Center will launch its new Innovation Labs @ TMC in January 2026 to better support life science startups working within the innovation hub.

    The new 34,000-square-foot space, located in the TMC Innovation Factory at 2450 Holcombe Blvd., will feature labs and life science offices and will be managed by TMC. The space was previously occupied by Johnson & Johnson's JLABS @TMC, a representative from TMC tells InnovationMap. JLABS will officially vacate the space in January.

    TMC shares that the expansion will allow it to "open its doors to a wider range of life science visionaries," including those in the TMC BioBridge program and Innovation Factory residents. It will also allow TMC to better integrate with the Innovation Factory's offerings, such as the TMC Health Tech accelerator, TMC Center for Device Innovation and TMC Venture Fund.

    “We have witnessed an incredible demand for life science space, not only at the TMC Innovation Factory, but also on the TMC Helix Park research campus,” William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, said in a news release. “Innovation Labs @ TMC enables us to meet this rising demand and continue reshaping how early-stage life science companies grow, connect, and thrive.”

    “By bringing together top talent, cutting-edge research, and industry access in one central hub, we can continue to advance Houston’s life science ecosystem," he continued.

    The TMC Innovation Factory has hosted 450 early-stage ventures since it launched in 2015. JLABS first opened in the space in 2016 with the goal of helping health care startups commercialize.

    13 Houston businesses appear on Time's best midsize companies of 2025

    new report

    A Houston-based engineering firm KBR tops the list of Texas businesses that appear on Time magazine and Statista’s new ranking of the country’s best midsize companies.

    KBR holds down the No. 30 spot, earning a score of 91.53 out of 100. Time and Statista ranked companies based on employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and transparency about sustainability. All 500 companies on the list have annual revenue from $100 million to $10 billion.

    According to the Great Place to Work organization, 87 percent of KBR employees rate the company as a great employer.

    “At KBR, we do work that matters,” the company says on the Great Place to Work website. “From climate change to space exploration, from energy transition to national security, we are helping solve the great challenges of our time through the high-end, differentiated solutions we provide. In doing so, we’re striving to create a better, safer, more sustainable world.”

    KBR recorded revenue of $7.7 billion in 2024, up 11 percent from the previous year.

    The other 12 Houston-based companies that landed on the Time/Statista list are:

    • No. 141 Houston-based MRC Global. Score: 85.84
    • No. 168 Houston-based Comfort Systems USA. Score: 84.72
    • No. 175 Houston-based Crown Castle. Score: 84.51
    • No. 176 Houston-based National Oilwell Varco. Score: 84.50
    • No. 234 Houston-based Kirby. Score: 82.48
    • No. 266 Houston-based Nabor Industries. Score: 81.59
    • No. 296 Houston-based Archrock. Score: 80.17
    • No. 327 Houston-based Superior Energy Services. Score: 79.38
    • No. 332 Kingwood-based Insperity. Score: 79.15
    • No. 359 Houston-based CenterPoint Energy. Score: 78.02
    • No. 461 Houston-based Oceaneering. Score: 73.87
    • No. 485 Houston-based Skyward Specialty Insurance. Score: 73.15

    Additional Texas companies on the list include:

    • No. 95 Austin-based Natera. Score: 87.26
    • No. 199 Plano-based Tyler Technologies. Score: 86.49
    • No. 139 McKinney-based Globe Life. Score: 85.88
    • No. 140 Dallas-based Trinity Industries. Score: 85.87
    • No. 149 Southlake-based Sabre. Score: 85.58
    • No. 223 Dallas-based Brinker International. Score: 82.87
    • No. 226 Irving-based Darling Ingredients. Score: 82.86
    • No. 256 Dallas-based Copart. Score: 81.78
    • No. 276 Coppell-based Brink’s. Score: 80.90
    • No. 279 Dallas-based Topgolf. Score: 80.79
    • No. 294 Richardson-based Lennox. Score: 80.22
    • No. 308 Dallas-based Primoris Services. Score: 79.96
    • No. 322 Dallas-based Wingstop Restaurants. Score: 79.49
    • No. 335 Fort Worth-based Omnicell. Score: 78.95
    • No. 337 Plano-based Cinemark. Score: 78.91
    • No. 345 Dallas-based Dave & Buster’s. Score: 78.64
    • No. 349 Dallas-based ATI. Score: 78.44
    • No. 385 Frisco-based Addus HomeCare. Score: 76.86
    • No. 414 New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises. Score: 75.75
    • No. 431 Dallas-based Comerica Bank. Score: 75.20
    • No. 439 Austin-based Q2 Software. Score: 74.85
    • No. 458 San Antonio-based Frost Bank. Score: 73.94
    • No. 475 Fort Worth-based FirstCash. Score: 73.39
    • No. 498 Irving-based Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Score: 72.71

    Texas ranks as No. 1 most financially distressed state, says new report

    Money Woes

    Experiencing financial strife is a nightmare of many Americans, but it appears to be a looming reality for Texans, according to a just-released WalletHub study. It names Texas the No. 1 most "financially distressed" state in America.

    To determine the states with the most financially distressed residents, WalletHub compared all 50 states across nine metrics in six major categories, such as average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

    Joining Texas among the top five most distressed states are Florida (No. 2), Louisiana (No. 3), Nevada (No. 4), and South Carolina (No. 5).

    Texas' new ranking as the most financially distressed state in 2025 may be unexpected, WalletHub says, considering the state has a "bigger GDP than most countries" and still has one of the top 10 best economies in the nation (even though that ranking is also lower than it was in previous years).

    Even so, Texas residents are stretching themselves very thin financially this year. Texans had the ninth lowest average credit scores nationwide during the first quarter of 2025, the study found, and Texans had the sixth-highest increase in non-business-related bankruptcy filings over the last year, toppling 22 percent.

    "Texas also had the third-highest number of accounts in forbearance or with deferred payments per person, and the seventh-highest share of people with these distressed accounts, at 7.1 percent," the report said.

    This is where Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

    • No. 5 – "Loans" search interest index rank
    • No. 6 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
    • No. 7 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
    • No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
    • No. 13 – Credit score rank and “debt” search interest index rank
    Examining these financial factors on the state level is important for understanding how Americans are faring with economic issues like inflation, unemployment rates, or natural disasters, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.


    "When you combine data about people delaying payments with other metrics like bankruptcy filings and credit score changes, it paints a good picture of the overall economic trends of a state," Lupo said.

    On the other side of the spectrum, states like Hawaii (No. 50), Vermont (No. 49), and Alaska (No. 48) are the least financially distressed states in America.

    The top 10 states with the most people in financial distress in 2025 are:

    • No. 1 – Texas
    • No. 2 – Florida
    • No. 3 – Louisiana
    • No. 4 – Nevada
    • No. 5 – South Carolina
    • No. 6 – Oklahoma
    • No. 7 – North Carolina
    • No. 8 – Mississippi
    • No. 9 – Kentucky
    • No. 10 – Alabama
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    A version of this article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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