Overheard: What Houston corporates are looking for from startups

eavesdropping at the ion

At its annual Activation Festival, the Ion hosted a conversation about the relationship between corporates and startups. Photo courtesy of Shannon O'Hara/the Ion

Hundreds of innovators from Houston and beyond flocked to the Ion's annual Activation Festival, and one of the topics discussed at the series of programming was the relationship between corporates and startups.

One of Houston's points of pride is having the third most Fortune 500 companies headquartered here, but how can the city's innovation ecosystem take advantage of that market? And, on the other side of it, how can corporates make the most of Houston innovators?

At a panel on May 17 entitled "Corporate-Startup Partnerships: How to Build Them, Sustain Them, and How They’re Key to Fast-Tracking Innovation and Growth," three corporate leaders explained how they navigate relationships with startups and how cultivating these opportunities is key to the future of business.

Here are a few of the discussion's highlights.

“Investing in the startup community generally, you’re never going to have a line of sight of where that value is going to come back. You can expect it — I’m not saying it’s altruism, it just comes back in forms that you might not appreciate.”

— Scott Gale, executive director of Halliburton Labs says, explaining that corporate contribution doesn't just have to be financial.

“Ask for advice, don’t ask for money. Show up. Be curious. If you think a corporate is the right potential customer for you, spend the time to try to understand what the people are, who the champions are, what motivates them, and what they need to do to be successful.” 

— Tom Luby, director of TMC Innovation says, noting that it's tried-and-true advice, but still important to remember.

“The person who takes the most risk is the lead adopter — the lead user. That person puts their assets and their name on the line.”

— Nazeer Bhore, global manager, tech scouting, innovation and ventures at ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering, says. “What we bring to the table for startups is all the resources we have — technical resources, assets, use cases, testing facilities, and, of course, funding. Irrespective of what stage you’re in, or how many adjacencies you are, we’re always happy to engage with you," he explains. "The key is for us is to be a lead user.”

“The opportunity for us is to be generalists across a lot of different spaces and then work with our specialists to take a deeper dive. We listen to the market and try to find things our corporate partners or entrepreneurs are interested in and then surround them with the type of things they need to be successful. In many case, talent and expertise are top of that list.”

— Luby says, explaining the nature of the TMC's various programs, from creating startup tech directly and supporting them through their accelerators and even seeding them through the TMC Venture Fund.

“What startups bring is a lot of different ideas — but startups are temporary organizations that’s looking for a scalable and repeatable business model. And we’re not just interested in just the technology, but the business model.”

— Bhore says about what ExxonMobil looks for.

“The flywheel is spinning here in the city of Houston. The next five years are going to be incredibly exciting.”

— Gale says, explaining how much has changed in the past few years in Houston's innovation ecosystem.

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The Ion named three corporate partners ahead of its annual innovation-focused festival. Photo courtesy of the Ion

Houston innovation hub adds Oxy, United, and Woodside as partners

onboarding

Houston’s Ion innovation hub has recruited three heavyweight corporate partners, the hub announced earlier this week.

The new partners are:

  • Houston-based energy company Occidental (known as Oxy).
  • United Airlines Ventures, the sustainability-focused VC arm of Chicago-based United Airlines. United operates a major hub in Houston.
  • Australia-based Woodside Energy, which maintains an office in Houston.

Oxy, United Airlines Ventures, and Woodside will share their expertise in support of Ion’s mission to transform Houston into a global innovation ecosystem, according to an Ion news release. In addition, they will participate in Ion programming and network with Ion affiliates. Executives from all three of the new partners will serve on the Ion Leadership Advisory Roundtable.

“Welcoming our newest partners into Ion’s ecosystem is a further testament to our momentum in the aerospace and energy transition,” says Jan Odegard, who became executive director of the Ion in 2021 after a year of holding the interim position. “Each organization brings their own culture of innovation that aligns with what we are doing at the Ion.”

Michael Leskinen, president of United Airlines Ventures, says the VC firm believes “the Ion will be the epicenter for Houston’s rapidly growing innovation community — a one-stop shop to share ideas, foster startups, and to develop relationships with Houston’s brightest companies and academia.”

Oxy, United Airlines Ventures, and Woodside join Ion corporate partners such as:

  • Aramco Americas
  • Baker Botts
  • BP
  • Chevron
  • ExxonMobil
  • Global Custom Commerce
  • Intel
  • Microsoft
  • Transocean

The Ion announced the new corporate partners in advance of the second annual Ion Activation Festival, set for May 17-19. The Ion and Rice Management Co. host the festival, which shines a spotlight on entrepreneurship and innovation in Houston.

Activities will take place primarily at the Ion’s 16-acre campus. To register for the festival, visit the Ion’s website.

The inaugural festival, held in 2022, drew more than 2,500 attendees.

Paul Cherukuri, vice president of innovation at Rice University, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo via Rice.edu

This Houston innovator is set on bringing more innovation off campus and into the world

houston innovators podcast episode 180

Rice University was founded on a mission of an "unfettered pursuit of knowledge," says Paul Cherukuri, the inaugural vice president for innovation at Rice University. And that goal is specifically designed to be "for the greater good of society," — especially in Houston.

"Rice is right in the middle of one of the greatest cities in the world," Cherukuri says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "Houston is special on so many levels that it's ridiculous that no one outside of Houston seems to get that. ... We have a moral responsibility as Rice to do more for this city and the country."

Among the top action items on this overarching mission Rice is on is ensuring that the Rice University's inventions and research that have the potential to make the world a better place are able to commercialize to deliver on that impact.

For decades, university research that made it out into the world did so in two ways: papers and patents. While those two avenues are reliable and on going, they take a while. And, as Cherukuri says, the world needs innovative solutions quicker than ever. Cherukuri is focused on expanding those pathways so that more of this innovation — which he describes as invention and commercialization — to come to fruition.

One of the ways Cherukuri is hoping Rice innovators get "beyond the hedges" of the university, as he describes it, is through the Rice Nexus, a hub within the Ion that Cherukuri announced last month. He says Rice is leasing space in the hub, which is owned and operated by Rice Management Company.

"It's a two-way street," Cherukuri says. "We're going to solve problems out in the real world and get those solutions to scale, and we'll be able to find new problems in the real world and bring them inside of Rice and create that new tech. We want to be able to make solutions."

The idea is to create a bridge between the university and the Ion so that more innovation and research can be shared between the campus and Houston's innovation ecosystem.

"We've got so much technology in our labs that we've never shared with the world," Cherukuri says. "We're going to demonstrate that in the Ion."

Also important to Cherukuri is that other universities have a seat at the table, too.

"The Ion represents this catalyst — it's an aggregator and concentrator of excellence for around the city," Cherukuri says. "We're designing the place so that we can connect to the world better."

Hear more of Cherukuri's thought leadership on Houston, Rice University, and the challenges of advancing research and technology to address society's greatest needs on the podcast. Listen to the interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


David Cordúa, right, leads The Lymbar. Photo by Dylan McEwan

Houston restaurant royalty reveals details of at new Ion eatery

coming soon

A veteran Houston chef’s new Midtown bar and restaurant is taking shape. When it opens later this fall, The Lymbar will mark chef David Cordúa’s return to Houston's dining scene.

Cordúa's name is well known to Houston diners. The chef worked with his father, legendary Houston restaurateur Michael Cordúa, at Cordúa Restaurants — the hospitality group behind Churrascos, Americas, and Amazon Grill — before the duo parted ways with the company in 2018. They're teaming up again on this new project.

Located inside The Ion, Rice University’s innovation district in the former Sears in Midtown, The Lymbar describes itself as an all-day neighborhood craft cocktail bar and restaurant. Named for the street in Meyerland where Cordúa grew up, the restaurant will serve an eclectic menu of Latin and Mediterranean-inspired dishes in a space designed by local firm Gin Design Group (Eunice, Daily Gather).

“The Ion already has an exciting buzz of ‘greenergy’ with great minds, start-ups and entrepreneurs coming together. The Lymbar will be their living room,” Cordúa said in a statement. “The vibe is ‘Golden Girls Chic’ with inspiration from childhood nostalgia like ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and Shel Silverstein.”

Cordúa provided CultureMap with a preview of some of the menu items he plans to serve at The Lymbar. Those looking for a bar snack may order the 'Rosespud', oversized potato and plantain chips served with dips such as onion dip, chimichurri, and red curry romesco or items such as foie gras doughnut holes, Monte Cristo empanadas with raspberry dill vinaigrette, and sweet corn flan with Cracker Jacks. The truffle twinkie that won him the top prize at the first Truffle Masters competition will also be available.

Meals will begin with seasonal small plates such as fresh corn gnocchi with smoked tomato sauce, labneh and basil as well as rotating flatbreads like caramelized onions with new potatoes. Entree options include a stuffed chicken ballotine with sherry cream sauce and morels that draws upon the chef’s French training or go South American with a dish like arroz tumbado with oven-roasted branzino.

Expect to see The Lymbar’s build-your-own-taco boards on Instagram. They’ll combine proteins such as chicken shawarma, achiote pork belly, and sesame-seasoned tri-tip with basmati rice and house sourdough pita.

The chef has recruited an experienced group to help him open the restaurant. They include: executive chef Adolfo Lopez, Jr. (Brenner’s on the Bayou, Churrascos); general manager Jaime Rangel (Cordúa Restaurants); manager Travis Wingate (Churrascos, La Griglia); and bar manager Sean Stapleton (The Refuge in the Woodlands).

“We’re the lobby bar of The Ion,” Cordúa added. “We’ll be a place that celebrates the creativity and innovative spirit that makes Houston one of the best cities in the world.”

Already home to a location of Common Bond On-The-Go and Second Draught, a craft beer bar, The Ion will also soon welcome Late August, a Afro-Asian restaurant from Houston chef and Top Chef finalist Dawn Burrell.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

The Ion has announced its latest corporate partner — and more Houston innovation news. Photo courtesy of the Ion

Ion names latest partner, Houston startup raises more funding, and more local innovation news

short stories

As Houston ramps up for fall, the city's innovation news has followed suit, and there might be some headlines you may have missed.

In this roundup of short stories within Houston startups and tech, Houston investors announce new deals in sports and energy tech, veterans can apply for new grant program, and more.

The Ion announces latest partner

The Ion has named its latest partner. Image courtesy of the Ion

The Ion Houston announced that Switzerland Transocean has joined on as an affiliate partner. The oil and gas company joins other corporate partners — including Chevron, Baker Botts, Microsoft, and more — in providing programming and resources for the Ion community and taking a seat at the Ion’s Roundtable.

Transocean's Houston office is in the Energy Corridor.

Houston-based Codenotary has expanded its series B fundraising round

Codenotary's software enables tools for notarization and verification of the software development life cycle. Photo via Getty Images

A Houston software startup that raised $12.5 million earlier this year has announced additional funding of $6 million. Codenotary, whose technology helps secure software supply chains, closed its series B round in January. The fresh funding brings the company's total investment raised to $24 million — thanks to investors Bluwat and Elaia.leaders and following a series A round that was announced in 2020.

Codenotary, formerly known as vChain, was founded in 2018 by CEO Moshe Bar and CTO Dennis Zimmer. The additional capital, which will go towards scaling up sales in the U.S. and Europe as well as entering the Asian market, was raised as an extension of the series B round.

“Software supply chains are under constant attack and so every enterprise is looking for effective ways to protect their valuable software assets,” says Bar in a news release. “The additional capital will help us expand faster – increasing our ability to roll out additional features and build out our worldwide sales efforts that includes our partner network. Not every startup company is able to do that right now but we’re fortunate to have good growth and the right investors behind us.”

Houston-based energy investor announces latest portfolio company

Here's Energy Transition Ventures' latest investment. Image via Getty Images

Energy Transition Ventures, a Houston-based investment firm, has announced its latest investment. ETV led Rutgers University-spinout RenewCO2's $2 million seed round.The startup has created a "novel catalyst technology to convert carbon from hard-to-abate sectors and transform it into a feedstock for carbon-negative, plastic monomers at a fraction of the cost of plastics derived from fossil sources," per a news release.

Including this latest seed round, the New Jersey-based cleantech company has raised $10 million in grants and investment. RenewCO2 hops to start supplying its eCUT electrolysis systems to customers by 2025.

"Converting CO2 directly into negative carbon products is a game changer for the climate. With low-cost renewable power, combined falling costs and advancements in electrolysis, the RenewCO2 has the opportunity to be world-changing," says Neal Dikeman, co-founder and partner of Energy Transition Ventures. "They are completely rewriting how we make plastic and chemical products and how these industries will handle carbon emissions, regardless of the price of carbon or credits. We are excited about power to chemicals and working to use renewable energy to make CO2 the low-cost chemicals feedstock of the future, not the present pollutant."

Grants open for veterans

Veteran-owned businesses can apply for this grant. ​Photo via Getty Images​

National nonprofit Founders First CDC, which exists to empower expansion in diverse founder-led, revenue-generating businesses, has announced that applications are open online for qualified individuals to apply to its 2022 Stephen L. Tadlock Fund – a grant program to support U.S. veteran small business owners. Twenty-five veterans will receive a $1,000 grant.

To be eligible, the company’s founder must be a U.S. military veteran, have an active U.S.-based business, and employ between 2 and 50 employees, per a news release. Applications are open through October 18, and recipients will be announced on Veterans Day, November 11, 2022.

“Given the current state of our economy, small business owners are feeling the brunt of the rising cost of living, inflation and the challenges to provide goods and services for their customers,” says Shaylon Scott, executive director of Founders First, in the news release. “As our founder, Kim Folsom has strong ties to the military through her brother’s service in the U.S. Navy, this particular grant is incredibly special to Founders First, as we’re able to help veteran business owners by investing in their businesses during uncertain economic times. Grants such as these, no matter how large or small of an investment, are a vital and impactful way to help sustain businesses and provide growth opportunities, and we are incredibly proud to support veterans throughout the country during this critical time.”

The judging committee for the Stephen L. Tadlock Grant includes a panel of distinguished veterans, representing multiple branches of service.

Local investment group focuses next fund on sports tech

UCN is focused on sports tech. Image via UCN

The Urban Capital Network — a Houston-based organization focused on democratizing startup investment — has focused its most recent fund on sports tech. The fund, which will raise $500,000 to $1 million, will focus on sports tech businesses, including the first two investments in National Cycling League and Screen Skinz. The National Cycling League is innovating cycling with real and virtual interaction. Screen Skinz has created a new kind of screen protector and has been licensed by several sports entities. UCN investors can be a part of the fund for as little as $5,000.

The new Dream Lab from Teach For America Houston will take 25 ninth graders to the Ion for a mini-innovation accelerator. Image courtesy of TFA

National nonprofit launches Houston innovation lab for kids

dreaming up innovation

Teach For America's Houston chapter has announced a new initiative for children to check out educational opportunities within innovation.

TFA Houston's Network Learning and Innovation Hub is opening a new space, called The Dream Lab. The lab is a set of immersive spaces where students leverage their imagination and creativity to innovate and solve problems affecting their communities.

“The Dream Lab is one of the novel ways we’re re-imagining the ways we meet the needs of Houston’s most vulnerable students and communities,” says Sarah Essama, founder of The Dream Lab and director of social innovation at Teach For America Houston, in a news release. “It introduces a non-traditional approach to learning so that students are better equipped to handle the complexities of an ever-changing world.”

This Friday, the new concept is rolling out to high school students in partnership with DivInc Houston, a nonprofit focused on social and economic equity in entrepreneurship, and 25 ninth graders will get to spend the day at the Ion for a mini-innovation accelerator. The students will be tasked to creatively solve problems in their own communities.

“If there is anything we have learned over the last two and a half years, it’s the need to be innovative, and it’s a skill we must teach our younger generations so they can be adequately prepared for the future,” says Tiffany Cuellar Needham, executive director of Teach For America Houston, in the release. “We look forward to growing The Dream Lab initiative as we continue exploring ways to re-invent and re-imagine what schools can look like for students.”

TFA, which has operated out of Houston for over 30 years, has hosted two other Dream Labs for fourth graders in Houston. Those students were tasked with using technology to design their innovative dream space, and TFA Houston receved positive feedback from participants.

The Dream Lab is right in line with Teach For America Houston’s quest to create educational equity for all students regardless of their socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

“All students should have access to education that prepares them to become leaders and change-makers of tomorrow. While we have made great progress on this front, we know we have a lot more work ahead of us. Programs like Dream Lab will help us realize our mission of ensuring that one day all children in our country will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education,” says Essama.

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Rice University launches hub in India to drive education, tech innovation abroad

global mission

Rice University is launching Rice Global India, which is a strategic initiative to expand India’s rapidly growing education and technology sectors.

“India is a country of tremendous opportunity, one where we see the potential to make a meaningful impact through collaboration in research, innovation and education,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches says in a news release. “Our presence in India is a critical step in expanding our global reach, and we are excited to engage more with India’s academic leaders and industries to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.”

The new hub will be in the country’s third-largest city and the center of the country’s high-tech industry, Bengaluru, India, and will include collaborations with top-tier research and academic institutions.

Rice continues its collaborations with institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru. The partnerships are expected to advance research initiatives, student and faculty exchanges and collaborations in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and sustainable energy.

India was a prime spot for the location due to the energy, climate change, artificial intelligence and biotechnology studies that align with Rice’s research that is outlined in its strategic plan Momentous: Personalized Scale for Global Impact.

“India’s position as one of the world’s fastest-growing education and technology markets makes it a crucial partner for Rice’s global vision,” vice president for global at Rice Caroline Levander adds. “The U.S.-India relationship, underscored by initiatives like the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, provides fertile ground for educational, technological and research exchanges.”

On November 18, the university hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Bengaluru, India to help launch the project.

“This expansion reflects our commitment to fostering a more interconnected world where education and research transcend borders,” DesRoches says.

UH-backed project secures $3.6M to transform CO2 into sustainable fuel with cutting-edge tech

funds granted

A University of Houston-associated project was selected to receive $3.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy that aims to transform sustainable fuel production.

Nonprofit research institute SRI is leading the project “Printed Microreactor for Renewable Energy Enabled Fuel Production” or PRIME-Fuel, which will try to develop a modular microreactor technology that converts carbon dioxide into methanol using renewable energy sources with UH contributing research.

“Renewables-to-liquids fuel production has the potential to boost the utility of renewable energy all while helping to lay the groundwork for the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating a clean energy economy,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm says in an ARPA-E news release.

The project is part of ARPA-E’s $41 million Grid-free Renewable Energy Enabling New Ways to Economical Liquids and Long-term Storage program (or GREENWELLS, for short) that also includes 14 projects to develop technologies that use renewable energy sources to produce sustainable liquid fuels and chemicals, which can be transported and stored similarly to gasoline or oil, according to a news release.

Vemuri Balakotaiah and Praveen Bollini, faculty members of the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, are co-investigators on the project. Rahul Pandey, is a UH alum, and the senior scientist with SRI and principal investigator on the project.

Teams working on the project will develop systems that use electricity, carbon dioxide and water at renewable energy sites to produce renewable liquid renewable fuels that offer a clean alternative for sectors like transportation. Using cheaper electricity from sources like wind and solar can lower production costs, and create affordable and cleaner long-term energy storage solutions.

Researchers Rahul Pandey, senior scientist with SRI and principal investigator (left), and Praveen Bollini, a University of Houston chemical engineering faculty, are key contributors to the microreactor project. Photo via uh.edu

“As a proud UH graduate, I have always been aware of the strength of the chemical and biomolecular engineering program at UH and kept myself updated on its cutting-edge research,” Pandey says in a news release. “This project had very specific requirements, including expertise in modeling transients in microreactors and the development of high-performance catalysts. The department excelled in both areas. When I reached out to Dr. Bollini and Dr. Bala, they were eager to collaborate, and everything naturally progressed from there.”

The PRIME-Fuel project will use cutting-edge mathematical modeling and SRI’s proprietary Co-Extrusion printing technology to design and manufacture the microreactor with the ability to continue producing methanol even when the renewable energy supply dips as low as 5 percent capacity. Researchers will develop a microreactor prototype capable of producing 30 MJe/day of methanol while meeting energy efficiency and process yield targets over a three-year span. When scaled up to a 100 megawatts electricity capacity plant, it can be capable of producing 225 tons of methanol per day at a lower cost. The researchers predict five years as a “reasonable” timeline of when this can hit the market.

“What we are building here is a prototype or proof of concept for a platform technology, which has diverse applications in the entire energy and chemicals industry,” Pandey continues. “Right now, we are aiming to produce methanol, but this technology can actually be applied to a much broader set of energy carriers and chemicals.”

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

Houston innovator drives collaboration, access to investment with female-focused group

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 262

After working in technology in her home country of Pakistan, Samina Farid, who was raised in the United States, found her way to Houston in the '70s where business was booming.

She was recruited to work at Houston Natural Gas — a company that would later merge and create Enron — where she rose through the ranks and oversaw systems development for the company before taking on a role running the pipelines.

"When you're in technology, you're always looking for inefficiencies, and you always see areas where you can improve," Farid says on the Houston Innovators Podcast, explaining that she moved on from Enron in the mid-'80s, which was an exciting time for the industry.

"We had these silos of data across the industry, and I felt like we needed to be communicating better, having a good source of data, and making sure we weren't continuing to have the problems we were having," she says. "That was really the seed that got me started in the idea of building a company."

She co-founded Merrick Systems, a software solutions business for managing oil and gas production, with her nephew, and thus began her own entrepreneurial journey. She came to another crossroads in her career after selling that business in 2014 and surviving her own battle with breast cancer.

"I got involved in investing because the guys used to talk about it — there was always men around me," Farid says. "I was curious."

In 2019, she joined an organization called Golden Seeds. Founded in 2005 in New York, the network of angel investors funding female-founded enterprises has grown to around 280 members across eight chapters. Suzan Deison, CEO of the Houston Women's Chamber, was integral in bringing the organization to Houston, and now Farid leads it as head of the Houston Chapter of Golden Seeds.

For Farid, the opportunity for Houston is the national network of investors — both to connect local female founders to potential capital from coast to coast and to give Houston investors deal flow from across the country.

"It was so hard for me to get funding for my own company," Farid says. "Having access to capital was only on the coasts. Software and startups was too risky."

Now, with Golden Seeds, the opportunity is there — and Farid says its an extremely collaborative investor network, working with local organizations like the Houston Angel Network and TiE Houston.

"With angel investing, when we put our money in, we want these companies to succeed," she says."We want more people to see these companies and to invest in them. We're not competing. We want to work with others to help these companies succeed."

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