Guide App, a Houston startup, is looking to help its users tap into social media better. Photo via Getty Images

Just look at any smartphone on the market and it becomes evident just how pervasive mobile apps have become, especially social media apps.

As the social networking sphere has revolutionized communication, technology has spawned multitudinous variants in the most organic way. That kind of technological momentum lends itself to why platforms like Guide App have a chance to be the next big thing in the space.

The company's CEO and co-founder, Tim Salau, tells InnovationMap that Guide is a social learning and development platform that aims to revolutionize learning experiences for creators, leaders, and organizations.

“Guide is a social learning platform for creators who are freelancers and work in the entertainment and media industry,” says Salau, Houston native and University of Texas graduate. “And they can use Guide to create and learn production skills. We pivoted in late 2019 as the pandemic hit, and we realized that Guide could be used as a B2B platform and solution for businesses to onboard and train their remote workers.

“So that's really what makes us money, and we really decided to build it because we saw that there was a huge gap in the business space of a bite-sized training platform and solution, and to do what TikTok and Reels was doing in the consumer space, but for professionals with security and privacy in mind for organizations,” he says.

With the pivot, businesses can now use Guide as a platform to onboard and train new hires for their respective companies.

“Ideally, it would be pretty much anyone within the marketing department, the product management division, or even engineers within their organizations who are creators in the sense of migrating to creative work in their own different disciplines,” says Salau. “And they could use Guide to potentially maybe create a video that's 90 seconds or less on everything a new hire needs to know within the first 90 days in the product management role or in the marketing role.”

Tapping into trends

Salau explains how he's got his ear to the ground when it comes to trends within media.

“With the way that things are moving in the entertainment and media industry and what's been happening with these strikes, I see the short-form content becoming even more important because people are not necessarily attending movie theaters at a high engagement rate,” says Salau. “Then there are multiple streaming platforms have so many gates and paywalls up, a lot of people aren't necessarily using all of these streaming platforms and seeing all of the long-form content out."

“I'm starting to see that in the next three to five years, macro content will become more important, and instead of the streaming era that we've seen in the last few years or in the last decade or so led by Netflix, I'm going to use our mock theory, we're going to start seeing a beaming era in which we're going to start seeing content being pushed to creators and consumers, that is literally tailored to what they want.”

According to Salau, platforms such as Instagram and TikTok push content based on their respective algorithms that followers don’t necessarily want to see, and that takes time away from the content they need, when they need it.

“Looking forward, it’s clear that in the sense of taking away all of the distractions that we see on these platforms, at Guide, we want to push content as it comes from the creators,” says Salau. “And for us, that focus will be on microcontent, which is content that’s 90 seconds or less.”

Data shows that the best micro content is video content that clocks in around 15 seconds.

“Content that goes up to 30 seconds is probably even cutting it a little bit too long, but the content that really goes a lot, and goes really viral on those platforms is 15 seconds,” says Salau. “And now that TikTok is becoming a more long-form entertainment platform, you're starting to see them kind of strip away from what really got them popular and buzzworthy.”

Monitoring monetization

Popularity aside, one of the major tenets of content creation is monetization.

“Getting to the point where creators will be able to monetize their content is our goal at Guide,” says Salau. “We have to build up towards that goal, but that’s the intent. We intend on having them be able to create profiles where they can actually list their merch. They can post about merch in their videos, and more importantly, get to a point where people can actually buy the entertaining content that they have.”

Once Guide reaches monetization, creators will be able to list content at the price they want it and have associated merchandise of their brand. This is a huge difference from how TikTok and Instagram and other consumer video platforms get creators paid.

“We see that it's better to actually go the other route and actually allow creators to monetize their own brand, which is what every creator often really wants,” says Salau. “That’s ideal because when a creator brings consumer brands into the picture, they have to play to what they want from an advertisement and dollars type of standpoint. So, we don't want to actually get into that world. We want to really keep everything creator oriented.”

Curating a culture of creators

At this point, Guide has about 150 creators, because they’ve been very selective with their icon program.

“We don’t believe that everyone’s a creator,” says Salau. “Because if everyone is a creator, then no one is a creator.

“And we kind of see this with a lot of the creator platforms out there. Just because anyone can create content with a smartphone doesn't mean it's content that's edifying or beneficial that people are actually enriching and learning from. So, we're really big on learning, because we see ourselves in that space.”

As Salau and team look forward with Guide, they plan on continuing to address the learning and talent development gap for remote and mobile teams. They’ll also remain focused on being the kind of platform where creators can talk about the behind-the-scenes and the process of how to make music or how to approach acting, or how to think about set production when on a set.

“With Instagram and TikTok, it’s really much more about fun and virality, and doing something that gets a reaction, versus helping people learn,” says Salau. “So, with us, the feedback we've received is, ‘I get it,’ and ‘I'm interested.’ And I want to continue learning and growing with y'all. Thank you.”

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Houston femtech co. debuts first holistic wellness suite following rebrand

work perks

Houston-based femtech company Work&, previously Work&Mother, debuted new lactation suites and its first employee wellness space at MetroNational’s Memorial City Plazas this month.

The 1,457-square-foot Work& space features three lactation rooms and five wellness suites, the latter of which are intended to offer employees a private space and time for telehealth appointments, meditation, prayer, and other needs. The hybrid space, designed by Houston-based Inventure, represents Work&'s shift to offer an array of holistic health and wellness solutions to landlords for tenants.

Work& rebranded from Work&Mother earlier this year. The company was previously focused on outfitting commercial buildings with lactation accommodations for working parents, equipped with a hospital-grade pump, milk storage bags, sanitizing wipes, and other supplies. While Work& will still offer these services through its Work&Mother branch, the addition of its Work&Wellbeing arm allows the company to also "address the broader wellness needs of all employees," according to an announcement made on LinkedIn.

"We are thrilled to bring Work&Mother and Work&Wellbeing to The Plazas," Jules Lairson, co-founder and COO of Work&, said in a news release. “This partnership brings every stakeholder together – employees, employers and landlords all benefit from this kind of forward-thinking tenant experience. We are excited to launch our Work&Wellbeing concept with MetroNational to ensure that all employees have their wellness needs met with private, clean, quiet spaces for use during the workday.”

The new space is available to all tenants across Memorial City Plazas, comprised of three office towers totaling 1 million square feet of Class A office space. In addition to the lactation and wellness suites, the space also features custom banquettes, private lounge seating and phone booths.

“As a family-owned and operated company, MetroNational is deeply committed to fostering a workplace that supports both productivity and the well-being of all our tenants,” Anne Marie Ratliff, vice president of asset management for MetroNational, added in the release. “Partnering with Work& reinforces this commitment, enhancing our workplace experience and setting a new standard for tenant amenities.”

Work& has five Houston locations and several others in major metros, including New York, Austin, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami. According to its website, the company will also introduce a Work&Wellbeing suite in New York.

Abbey Donnell spoke with InnovationMap on the Houston Innovators Podcast about why she founded the company and its plans for growth in 2021. Click here to learn more.

9 Houston universities make U.S. News' list of best grad schools 2025

Top of the class

Nine Houston universities have climbed through the ranks in U.S. News & World Report’s recently released report of the best graduate schools nationwide for 2025. Several graduate programs also appeared among the top 10 in a Texas-wide comparison.

U.S. News published its annual national "Best Graduate Schools" rankings on April 8. They look at several programs including business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, and many others.

For the 2025 report, the publication added new Ph.D. social sciences and humanities program rankings in English, history, political science and sociology for the first time since 2021. U.S. News also ranked graduate economics and psychology programs in the social sciences and the humanities for the first time since 2022.

Among the newcomers are Houston Christian University and Texas Southern University.

Here's how the nine local schools ranked, statewide and nationally, and how they compared with last year's national ranking:

University of Houston

  • No. 4 best graduate engineering school in Texas; No. 72 nationally
  • No. 5 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 81 nationally (down from No. 63 last year)
  • No. 5 best law school in Texas; No. 63 nationally (up from No. 68)

The University of Houston Law Center has the No. 9 best health law program in the nation, and ranked No. 15 for its legal writing program. The university's part-time MBA program ranked No. 38 nationally

University of Houston, Clear Lake

  • No. 12 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 166 nationally

The Clear Lake branch of the University of Houston tied for No. 166 for its part-time MBA program.

Houston Christian University

  • No. 21 best graduate education school in Texas; tied for No. 234-258 nationally

University of Texas Health Science Center

  • No. 1 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; No. 33 nationally (up from No. 45)
  • No. 2 best graduate nursing program in Texas; No. 41 nationally (down from No. 31)

Prairie View A&M University, Northwest Houston Center

  • No. 5 best graduate nursing program in Texas; No. 104 nationally (up from No. 117)
  • No. 7 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; tied for No. 143-158 nationally

Rice University

  • No. 2 best graduate business school in Texas; No. 29 nationally (unchanged)
  • No. 3 best graduate engineering school in Texas; No. 26 nationally

Rice's entrepreneurship program is the 9th best in the country, and its part-time MBA program ranked 13th nationally. The George R. Brown School of Engineering earned nods for its No. 10-ranking biomedical engineering and environmental engineering programs.

University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

  • No. 5 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; No. 76 nationally

South Texas College of Law Houston

  • No. 7 best law school in Texas; No. 138 nationally

Out of the 11 law programs ranked by U.S. News, the South Texas College of Law performed the best for its trial advocacy (No. 12), dispute resolution law (No. 23), and legal writing (No. 51) programs.

Texas Southern University

  • No. 10 best law school in Texas; tied for No. 178-195 nationally

More specifically, TSU has the 64th best trial advocacy law program in the nation, U.S. News said.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.com.

VC firm partners with Rice Nexus to open first global office

strategic partnership

Luxembourg-based venture capital and advisory firm MoreThan Capital (MTC) has established its first global office at the new Rice Nexus in Houston’s Ion District as part of a strategic partnership aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and growing Houston as an innovation hub.

MTC has committed to offering its “time, mentorship, industry expertise and global connections” to Rice Nexus. The state-of-the-art Rice Nexus, which opened earlier this year, aims to support and provide resources for ventures that are looking to scale and have "artificial intelligence (AI) as a central pillar of its innovation strategy," according to a statement from Rice.

“The Rice Nexus is a launchpad for world-changing ideas, and this partnership with MoreThan Capital is a key step in realizing that vision,” Sanjoy Paul, executive director of the Rice Nexus, said in a news release. “By combining Rice’s research and entrepreneurial talent with MTC’s global network and mentorship, we are creating an unparalleled engine for innovation that starts in Houston and reaches the world.”

MoreThan Capital has over 100 limited partners, including senior executives and professional investors, based in more than 35 countries.

“Establishing our first global office at the Rice Nexus within the Ion District is a significant milestone for MoreThan Capital,” Guillermo Ruiz, general partner of MoreThan Capital, said in a news release. “We are dedicated to partnering with top-tier academic institutions like Rice University and aligning with organizations that share our core values of trust, engagement and impact.”

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Rice Nexus announced its partnership with Google Public Sector to launch the new Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.