New Houston startup development program to help launch corporate volunteer software

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 88

Kristen Phillips, director of Golden Section Studios, and Brooke Waupsh, founding CEO of Swoovy — the program's inaugural startup in residence — join the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss how they are collaborating on a new B2B volunteer platform. Photos courtesy

Brooke Waupsh wanted to change the way people volunteered and help increase access to volunteers for nonprofits. So, she launched Swoovy, a dating app that connected singles who wanted to do some good on their first dates. Now, the Austin-based company is looking to expand to connect corporates with community service opportunities.

As Swoovy works on this new B2B SaaS platform, it's tapped a new partner to help support its endeavors. Golden Section Studios has launched to focus on advancing and supporting early-stage software companies like Swoovy, which is its inaugural startup in residence.

"We had discussions around our vision for Swoovy and the momentum behind the business we'd had in the early stages in Austin and looking for strategic growth partners, investors, and resources," Waupsh says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "We had an instant relationship that we developed with the Studios as they were looking to launch this program."

Waupsh says that in addition to the financial support that comes with the arrangement — GSS plans to contribute up to $500,000 in its member companies — the Studios will offer Swoovy the chance to grow and scale, without having to hire a huge team right out of the gate.

"What's unique about the Studios for us is that as a startup and a small team, we have the bandwidth and a higher capacity to move faster on all cylinders — sales, marketing, technology — without having to staff up a team of 20," Waupsh says.

Kristen Phillips, director of Golden Section Studios, says that for years, Golden Section Technology — and its accompanying venture arm — has worked to develop SaaS technology and has created a large network of experts and mentors — all of whom will be made available to each of GSS's future member companies like Swoovy.

Additionally, Phillips says her team has a lot of lessons learned to share with the companies they will support.

"When you're dealing with early-stage companies, a lot of it just boils down to product-market fit and making sure you're able to develop a technology that's scalable that works with your customers as you scale," Phillips says on the podcast. "It sounds simple, but it's not easily mastered."

Startups also looking for this sort of guidance can learn more online and even apply to the program. In the meantime, GSS and Swoovy alike are focusing on the new technology that can really be a gamechanger for both corporates looking to provide volunteer opportunities as well as nonprofits with a huge need for workers.

"We're just excited to have the SaaS B2B platform coming out with Golden Section Studios and expand on empowering more people through businesses to be able to have access to a tool like this," Waupsh says.

Waupsh and Phillips share more about the their partnership and other major SaaS challenges on the episode. Listen to the full interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


Golden Section Studios will support early-stage B2B software companies as they grow and scale. Photo via Getty Images

Exclusive: Houston software development co. and venture fund launches startup studio concept

startup support

The team behind Houston-based Golden Section Technology and Golden Section Ventures is introducing a new concept called Golden Section Studios to focus on advancing and supporting early-stage software companies.

"The Studios is a holistic ecosystem that aims to be a growth partner of early-stage companies in order to help them build their company strategically and efficiently, build out operational procedures, and help them find mentors and advisors," Studios Director Kristen Phillips tells InnovationMap.

The new concept, which launches officially today, June 8, will work off of the lessons learned by GST over the years to guide pre-seed and seed-stage B2B software companies as they scale. GSV, an early-stage fund launched in 2019 that now has over $20 million under management with eight current portfolio companies, will also contribute up to $500,000 in rounds less than $1 million.

"At Golden Section, we are good at learning from our mistakes and the list is 121 and counting," says Dougal Cameron, co-founder, Golden Section, in a press release. "These mistakes are core to our value add and enable us to transport founders through decades of experience. They come from our own experience as founders and of selling more than $350M in B2B software and partnering with more than 400 software founders at all stages. The result is less risk and less capital consumed, and a better outcome for founders, customers, employees, and investors."

Phillips explains the concept of GSS is something new and different from what accelerators and incubators do, but also goes beyond just an investment.

"We wanted to be different from what's out there in the Houston ecosystem. We wanted to be more value adding," says Phillips.

GSS's first startup in residence is Austin-based Swoovy, a volunteer matching platform that connects nonprofits, companies, and volunteers. Swoovy is launching in the Studios on June 14 and will be focused on the buildout of their enterprise level software.

Kristen Phillips leads Golden Section Studios. Photo courtesy of GSS

MassChallenge Texas named its top three startups of its inaugural Houston cohort and the Houston Angel Network made an unexpected investment. Courtesy of MassChallenge Texas

MassChallenge Texas wraps up inaugural Houston cohort with top 3 startups and a surprise investment

Cha-ching

A new-to-Houston global accelerator program just concluded its inaugural cohort, naming three top startups and providing a platform for an unexpected prize — an investment.

MassChallenge Texas didn't originally intend to have monetary prizes for this first program, however, thanks to Houston Angel Network, one lucky startup is walking away from the program $40,000 richer.

HAN, one of Houston's oldest and most active group of angel investors, saw pitch decks from most of the companies in the cohort and then invited seven companies to pitch: Ask DOSS, Celise, DoBrain, NeuroRescue, Noleus Technologies, Sensytec, and Swoovy.

At the September 5 startup showcase event, HAN named Houston-based Sensytec as the winner of the $40,000 investment prize.

The night's other big winners were MassChallenge's top three startups, program: NeuroRescue, Noleus Technologies, and Sensytec, which were selected from the top six startups that were announced a couple weeks in advance.

HAN engaged with the MassChallenge group in a few ways — like mentorship or presenting — but managing director Stephanie Campbell says she knew she wanted to discuss investment opportunities from the very beginning.

"I just think it's really important that when a new group like MassChallenge or any other accelerator come into town that we find ways to fold them into our community and help them be successful," she tells InnovationMap.

All of this year's cohort will receive 18 months of free coworking space — six months at MassChallenge, six months at The Cannon, and six months at Station Houston — and the top three startups will receive automatic entry into another MassChallenge cohort. Because no one won a cash prize from MassChallenge directly, all of the startups are eligible to reapply for another program.

"We wanted to make sure that the companies that went through the shortened version of the program this year have the ability to apply next year to any other program," MassChallenge Texas' Houston managing director, Jon Nordby, says.

Next time around, MassChallenge Texas will likely have a longer program with money on the table. That money would be provided by the organization's corporate partners. The city of Houston has put forth $2.5 million to be dealt out over five years, and Houston-based Reliant Energy has become a central partner to MassChallenge.

"We believe in supporting organizations that are pushing the boundaries and really making an impact in the community as well as the economy and the industry," says Elizabeth Killinger, president at NRG Retail and Reliant.

Killinger says next year she expects Reliant to be just as if not more involved with the process. Campbell too says HAN is interested in continuing its work with MassChallenge, and even sees it setting an example for other angel investors to get involved too.

"We're just planting the seed for the next cohort," Campbell says.

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Intel Corp. and Rice University sign research access agreement

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Rice University’s Office of Technology Transfer has signed a subscription agreement with California-based Intel Corp., giving the global company access to Rice’s research portfolio and the opportunity to license select patented innovations.

“By partnering with Intel, we are creating opportunities for our research to make a tangible impact in the technology sector,” Patricia Stepp, assistant vice president for technology transfer, said in a news release.

Intel will pay Rice an annual subscription fee to secure the option to evaluate specified Rice-patented technologies, according to the agreement. If Intel chooses to exercise its option rights, it can obtain a license for each selected technology at a fee.

Rice has been a hub for innovation and technology with initiatives like the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, an accelerator focused on expediting the translation of the university’s health and medical technology; RBL LLC, a biotech venture studio in the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park dedicated to commercializing lifesaving medical technologies from the Launch Pad; and Rice Nexus, an AI-focused "innovation factory" at the Ion.

The university has also inked partnerships with other tech giants in recent months. Rice's OpenStax, a provider of affordable instructional technologies and one of the world’s largest publishers of open educational resources, partnered with Microsoft this summer. Google Public Sector has also teamed up with Rice to launch the Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.

“This agreement exemplifies Rice University’s dedication to fostering innovation and accelerating the commercialization of groundbreaking research,” Stepp added in the news release.

Houston team develops low-cost device to treat infants with life-threatening birth defect

infant innovation

A team of engineers and pediatric surgeons led by Rice University’s Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies has developed a cost-effective treatment for infants born with gastroschisis, a congenital condition in which intestines and other organs are developed outside of the body.

The condition can be life-threatening in economically disadvantaged regions without access to equipment.

The Rice-developed device, known as SimpleSilo, is “simple, low-cost and locally manufacturable,” according to the university. It consists of a saline bag, oxygen tubing and a commercially available heat sealer, while mimicking the function of commercial silo bags, which are used in high-income countries to protect exposed organs and gently return them into the abdominal cavity gradually.

Generally, a single-use bag can cost between $200 and $300. The alternatives that exist lack structure and require surgical sewing. This is where the SimpleSilo comes in.

“We focused on keeping the design as simple and functional as possible, while still being affordable,” Vanshika Jhonsa said in a news release. “Our hope is that health care providers around the world can adapt the SimpleSilo to their local supplies and specific needs.”

The study was published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, and Jhonsa, its first author, also won the 2023 American Pediatric Surgical Association Innovation Award for the project. She is a recent Rice alumna and is currently a medical student at UTHealth Houston.

Bindi Naik-Mathuria, a pediatric surgeon at UTMB Health, served as the corresponding author of the study. Rice undergraduates Shreya Jindal and Shriya Shah, along with Mary Seifu Tirfie, a current Rice360 Global Health Fellow, also worked on the project.

In laboratory tests, the device demonstrated a fluid leakage rate of just 0.02 milliliters per hour, which is comparable to commercial silo bags, and it withstood repeated disinfection while maintaining its structure. In a simulated in vitro test using cow intestines and a mock abdominal wall, SimpleSilo achieved a 50 percent reduction of the intestines into the simulated cavity over three days, also matching the performance of commercial silo bags. The team plans to conduct a formal clinical trial in East Africa.

“Gastroschisis has one of the biggest survival gaps from high-resource settings to low-resource settings, but it doesn’t have to be this way,” Meaghan Bond, lecturer and senior design engineer at Rice360, added in the news release. “We believe the SimpleSilo can help close the survival gap by making treatment accessible and affordable, even in resource-limited settings.”

Texas among 5 hardest working states and more innovation news to know

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Editor's note: As we look back at the top Houston innovation news for the first half of September, reports show that Texas is one of the hardest working states, while local startup activity has slowed down. Plus, exciting medical innovation advancements. Here are the most-read InnovationMap stories from September 1-14.

1. Texas is the 4th hardest working state in America, report finds

Texas is home to some of the hardest workers. Photo via Getty Images

It's no secret that Texans are hardworking people. To align with the recent Labor Day holiday, a new WalletHub study asserts that the Lone Star State is one of the five most hardworking states in America for 2025. The report ranked Texas the fourth most hardworking state this year, indicating that its residents are working harder than ever after the state fell into seventh place in 2024. Continue reading.

2. UH receives $1M grant to advance research on rare pediatric disorder

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation has granted $1.1M to the University of Houston to support research on Usher Syndrome. Photo courtesy University of Houston.

The University of Houston has received a two-year, $1.1 million gift from the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation to advance research on a rare genetic disorder that can lead to both deafness and blindness in children, known as Usher Syndrome. The current grant will support the research of UH biomedical engineering professors Muna Naash and Muayyad Al-Ubaidi, who work in the Laboratory for Retinal Molecular and Cellular Biology and Gene Therapy in the Cullen College of Engineering. Continue reading.

3. Houston's surge in new startups cools since pandemic peak, study shows

Startup applications in Houston have dipped since their 2021 peak, even as national entrepreneurship hits record highs, according to a new report from The Kaplan Group. Photo via Getty Images.

Startup activity in the Houston metro area has dipped since its pandemic peak, according to a new study. Dating back to 2005, the volume of applications to form new businesses in the Houston area hit its highest level in 2021 (151,804). Since then, though, the application volume has fallen, according to the study, conducted by business debt collection agency The Kaplan Group. Continue reading.

4. TMC lands $3M grant to launch cancer device accelerator

Recent funding from CPRIT will help launch the new Accelerator for Cancer Medical Devices. Photo via TMC

A new business accelerator at Houston’s Texas Medical Center has received a nearly $3 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The CPRIT grant, awarded to the Texas Medical Center Foundation, will help launch the Accelerator for Cancer Medical Devices. The accelerator will support emerging innovators in developing prototypes for cancer-related medical devices and advancing them from prototype to clinical trials. Continue reading.

5. 10 Houston billionaires make Forbes' list of richest Americans in 2025

Pictured: Nancy and Richard Kinder, the richest Houstonian, according to the Forbes 400. Photo by Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

America's wealthiest billionaires are $1.2 trillion richer in 2025, bringing their collective worth to a staggering $6.6 trillion. And Houston's own Richard Kinder has become the richest billionaire in the city, according to the new Forbes 400. The Kinder Morgan chairman is the 11th richest Texas resident and ranks as the 108th richest American. Kinder also dethroned Tilman Fertitta to claim the title as the wealthiest Houstonian. The annual Forbes 400 list is a definitive ranking of the wealthiest Americans, using interviews, financial data, and documentation provided by billionaires and their companies. Continue reading.

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