Trailblazing entrepreneur brings big ideas to new Yahoo Finance show

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Hello Alice co-founder Elizabeth Gore launched "The Big Idea with Elizabeth Gore" with Yahoo Finance this week. Photo courtesy Hello Alice.

Elizabeth Gore, co-founder and president of Houston's Hello Alice, debuted the first episode of her new video podcast series with Yahoo Finance on Thursday, April 24.

The weekly series, known as "The Big Idea with Elizabeth Gore," will focus on providing information and resources to small business owners and sharing stories of entrepreneurship, according to a news release from Yahoo Finance.

“Entrepreneurs and small business owners drive our country’s economy forward. With a record number of small businesses launching in our communities, my goal is to help every citizen live the American Dream. On the Big Idea, we will break down barriers for entrepreneurs and lift up opportunities for every person wanting to be their own boss,” Gore said in the release.

“By hosting the 'Big Idea' on Yahoo Finance, I’m looking forward to elevating business owners’ stories and providing actionable insights to small business owners at a scale like never before. I am blown away to be joining the number one finance news source that is already trusted by so many.”

Gore was joined by Hello Alice co-founder and CEO Carolyn Rodz in the premiere episode, titled "Got a big idea for a small business? Here's your first step," to discuss the steps they took when launching the business.

Gore and Rodz founded Hello Alice in 2017. The fintech platform supports over 1.5 million small businesses across the nation. It has helped owners access affordable capital and credit and distributed over $57 million in grants to businesses across various industries. The company raised a series C round backed by Mastercard last year for an undisclosed amount and reported that the funding brought the company's valuation up to $130 million at the time.

According to Yahoo Finance, Gore's experience and expertise build on its "mission to be the trusted guide of financial information to all investors, and democratize access to quality content."

“Over the past year, we invested in expanding our programming lineup with the launch of new shows and podcasts, and welcomed new financial creators and influencers into our newsroom,” Anthony Galloway, head of content at Yahoo Finance, added the release. “By diversifying our programming and talent roster, Yahoo Finance is introducing unique points-of-view that make financial topics more engaging, actionable, and personalized. Small business owners are a vital part of our audience, so we’re excited to welcome Elizabeth Gore from Hello Alice, whose insights and expertise will help us serve and connect with this important cohort in meaningful ways.”

The show is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Pandora, and Amazon Music for listening. Streamers can view it on yahoofinance.com, Amazon Prime Video, Samsung TV, Fire TV, Vizio, Haystack, DirectTV and other streaming platforms. Watch the premiere here:

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Houston's Karim and Mansour Arem won second place for their ZWITA Spicy Traditional Harissa last year. Photo courtesy of H-E-B

Texas grocer seeks innovative foodies for 10th annual high-stakes competition

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For nine years, H-E-B has been a star maker. Through its annual Quest for Texas Best competition, small companies have become literal household names, filling pantries across the state. Now, a new crop of products has the chance to be crowned as the high-stakes contest seeks entries for its 10th anniversary year.

H-E-B has announced that the Quest for Texas Best is taking applications from February 22 through April 6. Small business owners and entrepreneurs across the state can submit their unique and innovative products to win a combined $70,000 in cash prizes and the opportunity to feature their products on H-E-B shelves.

Since the competition started nine years ago, H-E-B has discovered over 960 exceptional products across the Lone Star State. These have included various food and non-food items, including cookies, coffees, beauty items, toys, home goods, and even roasted crickets. The contest has awarded nearly $2 million in prize money and provided valuable marketing, mentoring, and supplemental support to its winners.

Houston has always been well-represented among the winners. Last year, Karim and Mansour Arem won second place and a $15,000 prize for their ZWITA Spicy Traditional Harissa

To be considered for the contest, interested suppliers and manufacturers can submit details about their products online between February 22 and April 6. After the Call for Entries period is complete, H-E-B's Business Development Managers will select the top applicants who will present their products before a panel of judges chosen by H-E-B on August 9 at Fair Park in Dallas.

The panel of judges will determine the top four winning products and award $25,000 to the Grand Prize winner, the title of "Texas Best," and placement on H-E-B store shelves. The first-place winner will receive $20,000, the second-place winner will receive $15,000, and the third-place winner will receive $10,000.

"As we continue to expand the opportunities for small businesses in Texas and diversify our supplier base through programs like Quest for Texas Best, we look forward to seeing what our fellow Texans bring to the judges' table during the 2023 competition," said James Harris, Sr. Director of Diversity & Inclusion and Supplier Diversity for H-E-B, via a release.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Axiom Space wins NASA contract for fifth private mission, lands $350M in financing

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Editor's note: This story has been updated to include information about Axiom's recent funding.

Axiom Space, a Houston-based space infrastructure company that’s developing the first commercial space station, has forged a deal with NASA to carry out the fifth civilian-staffed mission to the International Space Station.

Axiom Mission 5 is scheduled to launch in January 2027, at the earliest, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew of non-government astronauts is expected to spend up to 14 days docked at the International Space Station (ISS). Various science and research activities will take place during the mission.

The crew for the upcoming mission hasn’t been announced. Previous Axiom missions were commanded by retired NASA astronauts Michael López-Alegría, the company’s chief astronaut, and Peggy Whitson, the company’s vice president of human spaceflight.

“All four previous [Axiom] missions have expanded the global community of space explorers, diversifying scientific investigations in microgravity, and providing significant insight that is benefiting the development of our next-generation space station, Axiom Station,” Jonathan Cirtain, president and CEO of Axiom, said in a news release.

As part of Axiom’s new contract with NASA, Voyager Technologies will provide payload services for Axiom’s fifth mission. Voyager, a defense, national security, and space technology company, recently announced a four-year, $24.5 million contract with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to provide mission management services for the ISS.

Axiom also announced today, Feb. 12, that it has secured $350 million in a financing round led by Type One Ventures and Qatar Investment Authority.

The company shared in a news release that the funding will support the continued development of its commercial space station, known as Axiom Station, and the production of its Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) under its NASA spacesuit contract.

NASA awarded Axiom a contract in January 2020 to create Axiom Station. The project is currently underway.

"Axiom Space isn’t just building hardware, it’s building the backbone of humanity’s next era in orbit," Tarek Waked, Founding General Partner at Type One Ventures, said in a news release. "Their rare combination of execution, government trust, and global partnerships positions them as the clear successor-architect for life after the ISS. This is how the United States continues to lead in space.”

Houston edtech company closes oversubscribed $3M seed round

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Houston-based edtech company TrueLeap Inc. closed an oversubscribed seed round last month.

The $3.3 million round was led by Joe Swinbank Family Limited Partnership, a venture capital firm based in Houston. Gamper Ventures, another Houston firm, also participated with additional strategic partners.

TrueLeap reports that the funding will support the large-scale rollout of its "edge AI, integrated learning systems and last-mile broadband across underserved communities."

“The last mile is where most digital transformation efforts break down,” Sandip Bordoloi, CEO and president of TrueLeap, said in a news release. “TrueLeap was built to operate where bandwidth is limited, power is unreliable, and institutions need real systems—not pilots. This round allows us to scale infrastructure that actually works on the ground.”

True Leap works to address the digital divide in education through its AI-powered education, workforce systems and digital services that are designed for underserved and low-connectivity communities.

The company has created infrastructure in Africa, India and rural America. Just this week, it announced an agreement with the City of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo to deploy a digital twin platform for its public education system that will allow provincial leaders to manage enrollment, staffing, infrastructure and performance with live data.

“What sets TrueLeap apart is their infrastructure mindset,” Joe Swinbank, General Partner at Joe Swinbank Family Limited Partnership, added in the news release. “They are building the physical and digital rails that allow entire ecosystems to function. The convergence of edge compute, connectivity, and services makes this a compelling global infrastructure opportunity.”

TrueLeap was founded by Bordoloi and Sunny Zhang and developed out of Born Global Ventures, a Houston venture studio focused on advancing immigrant-founded technology. It closed an oversubscribed pre-seed in 2024.

Texas space co. takes giant step toward lunar excavator deployment

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Lunar exploration and development are currently hampered by the fact that the moon is largely devoid of necessary infrastructure, like spaceports. Such amenities need to be constructed remotely by autonomous vehicles, and making effective devices that can survive the harsh lunar surface long enough to complete construction projects is daunting.

Enter San Antonio-based Astroport Space Technologies. Founded in San Antonio in 2020, the company has become a major part of building plans beyond Earth, via its prototype excavator, and in early February, it completed an important field test of its new lunar excavator.

The new excavator is designed to function with California-based Astrolab's Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover, a highly modular vehicle that will perform a variety of functions on the surface of the moon.

In a recent demo, the Astroport prototype excavator successfully integrated with FLEX and proceeded to dig in a simulated lunar surface. The excavator collected an average of 207 lbs (94kg) of regolith (lunar surface dust) in just 3.5 minutes. It will need that speed to move the estimated 3,723 tons (3,378 tonnes) of regolith needed for a lunar spaceport.

After the successful test, both Astroport and Astrolab expressed confidence that the excavator was ready for deployment. "Leading with this successful excavator demo proves that our technology is no longer theoretical—it is operational," said Sam Ximenes, CEO of Astroport.

"This is the first of many implements in development that will turn Astrolab's FLEX rover into the 'Swiss Army Knife' of lunar construction. To meet the infrastructure needs of the emerging lunar economy, we must build the 'Port' before the 'Ship' arrives. By leveraging the FLEX platform, we are providing the Space Force, NASA, and commercial partners with a 'Shovel-Ready' construction capability to secure the lunar high ground."

"We are excited to provide the mobility backbone for Astroport's groundbreaking construction technology," said Jaret Matthews, CEO of Astrolab, in a release. "Astrolab is dedicated to establishing a viable lunar ecosystem. By combining our FLEX rover's versatility with Astroport's civil engineering expertise, we are delivering the essential capabilities required for a sustainable lunar economy."

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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