New app with tips for solo women travelers takes flight from Texas

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Many women worry about traveling alone, but having allies can be a game-changer. Photo by Faith D on Unsplash

We all have that one friend whose office seems to be the nearest airport gate. We go to them for travel advice and hit save on their latest post for that hole-in-the-wall restaurant that had the best local food. That type of advice — especially between women — is indispensable for solo travelers, and now a new travel app based in Austin is helping organize it on a new platform without the social media noise.

Solo travel has gained a lot of momentum in the past few years, and it’s no longer just something one does during a gap year before or after college. It’s become the preferred way to travel for many, and women are at the forefront.

According to Condor Ferries, 72 percent of American women like to take solo trips, and the term “female solo travel” has increased 62 percent over the past three years across all search engines. What if there was a place where women solo travelers could get recommendations and travel itineraries created by other solo women travelers?

This concept is the backbone of Airheart, which aims to revolutionize the travel industry by offering a safe space for solo female travelers to find itineraries and travel guides that were crafted with them in mind.

"Traveling solo as a woman is an empowering act of independence," said Airheart founder Lindsey Renken in a press release. "At Airheart, we celebrate and support this journey, helping women discover new places, connections, and strengths."

The platform includes integrated planning tools, interactive maps, itineraries, and video tips all conveniently located in one place and customizable to the traveler’s preference. Once a user creates an account and accesses the site, the navigation is pretty straightforward.

There’s an explore option at the top of the home screen showcasing all the travel guides available for purchase within the platform, with destinations all over the world. At the moment, most are within the US, Mexico, Western Europe, and Asia. Once the user chooses a guide, a sidebar populates with a list of recommendations or a day-by-day itinerary. The right side of the screen is a map with all the pinned recommendations for easy navigating.

For those wanting to travel more within Texas this summer, Airheart offers a few destinations with a wide range of activities:

  • Big Bend/West Texas: For nature lovers, explore the beautiful mountain desert region of West Texas with a comprehensive guide that includes tips on how to get there and how to choose the best accommodation for your trip — something that becomes more complex in such a remote place.
  • Glen Rose: Escape to this charming small town just an hour-and-a-half Southwest of Dallas-Fort Worth, that is perfect for a weekend getaway full of outdoor adventures. These recommendations come from a local.
  • Fredericksburg: Indulge in the best wineries and restaurants that Central Texas has to offer with an itinerary crafted by a Texas native. This one is ideal for a quick day trip or a fun girls’ weekend.

Airheart, named after the pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, is also focused on empowering female travel creators by allowing them to act as a type of modern travel agent. They can monetize both new and existing travel content by creating these guides and itineraries, while reaching a new audience on the platform.

“As an avid traveler, I’m always looking for something like this created by expert travelers. I can’t wait to be a seller and consumer,” said Tanna Wasilchak who contributed guides for Waco, Glen Rose, and Georgetown. “Solo traveling as a female can be intimidating at first, but it’s one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. Airheart is going to be such a game changer for this community.”

Perhaps the only downside for now is that Airheart is limited in what it can offer to its users with only 22 guides published on the site. However, the features and community-based aspect give the platform the potential to stand out in an otherwise saturated market. Guides ($29 each before taxes and fees) are available for users to browse and purchase at airheart.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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A Houston company has raised additional funding as it grows its encrypted lodging booking platform. Photo via Gustavo Fring/Pexels

Houston-based travel tech startup raises nearly $1M to continue expansion

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A travel booking technology company that's looking to alleviate some of the stresses of finding and making hotel reservations has raised additional seed funding.

Houston-based Pinktada has raised additional funding to the tune of $975,000. Ireland-based Selenean Capital contributed to the seed funding round, joining the company's previous investor True Global Ventures 4 Plus, which has invested $2 million to date. According to Crunchbase data, the latest investment brings the company's total to $3.9 million.

“Selenean Capital’s approach to partnership is identifying real world future needs and then working relentlessly to achieve those goals," says Davin Browne, Selenean’s CEO, in a news release. "Pinktada encapsulates this perfectly with a transformational approach to the hotel booking model built around a brilliant team. We look forward to the partnership and journey with them."

Founded in 2020, Pinktada launched its booking platform earlier this year. The technology — backed by NFT encryption — allows users to sell or trade existing lodging reservations. As many hotels and third-party booking sites offer cheaper non-refundable booking options, Pinktada gives travelers a secure alternative if their plans change. The company's hotel partners can benefit from the transactions, too, per the company's statement.

“We are thrilled with the market validation we are receiving,” says Mark J. Gordon, chief hospitality officer, in the release. “We launched in May with properties in Hawaii and the Dominican Republic, have since added exquisite hotels in Mexico, New York, Miami and San Francisco, and have another 18 in the process of being on-boarded. More important though is the caliber of our partners, which are leading hotel industry names.”

According to the company, membership grew 20 percent in August and 40 percent in September as the platform added new hotel partners.

“We could not be more excited about our prospects," says Lyon Hardgrave, Pinktada’s CEO, in the release. “This investment reflects the significant progress we have made this year. It will allow us to accelerate the onboarding of new hotels, dial up marketing efforts, and continue to evolve our technology to embrace other large opportunities.”

B2B travel company grows its Houston presence

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Real-time inventory software enables travelers to book a last minute flight and have their boarding passes in hand at security a few minutes later. But that technology isn't utilized in other aspects of a vacation — tour companies, for example. That's where San Francisco-based Xola comes in.

Scott Zimmerman and his co-founder Anush Ramani realized real-time technology was a glaring hole in a multi-billion-dollar business. It's why they founded Xola, a booking and marketing software system designed for tour and activity companies.

"So many smaller tour companies operate with pen and paper," Zimmerman explained. "And for many cities and countries, tourism is the number-two or number-three industry — it's a huge driver of economic growth. It's a $120 billion global market."

They created Xola as a B2B solution that created a platform for operators to promote their offerings, and allow customers to purchase tours and activities. Meanwhile, Xola's custom-design software platform managed the tour inventory and payments, providing real-time inventory management.

Since its inception in 2011, Xola has emerged as a leading B2B solution for travel industry operators. The company started in San Francisco, but opened an office in Houston in 2016 in the Heights Clock Tower. Xola's Houston operation began with six people; today, it employs 17. Zimmerman says he sees potential to grow the team with additional marketing, sales, and support staff.

"We serve customers around the world, and Houston has everything we need to continue our growth."

Zimmerman acknowledged the cost of doing business in the Bay Area is expensive, but when he went looking for cities in which to expand, price wasn't his only concern.

"We wanted a large metropolitan area, with a diverse ecosystem, good universities, a great talent pool, a high quality of life and an affordable cost of living. Houston has all these things. And the more I get to know the city, I realize just how much it has going on."

Zimmerman said that the city has "totally exceeded" his expectations in terms of Xola's growth. He said every one of the Houston employees is wonderful to work with, and loves that they come from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds.

"I can't quite describe what the office is like, but there's a great energy and enthusiasm. [The team] easy to work with. It's been fun in that regard."

Zimmerman said that Houston's talent pool is so extensive, he can't imagine "ever exhausting" the city's resources. He also sees Houston as an asset for Xola's continued growth. The company currently has offices in San Francisco, Houston, Bangalore, and Belgrade and anticipates more expansion in the coming years. Xola's ticketing and software system has received multiple five-star reviews from its customers, who praise not only its ease of operation, but also the company's stellar customer service. In fact, Xola just won a 2018 Ease of Use Award from Capterra.

"In addition to Xola's core booking system, we're building next-generation automated marketing features that help our customers maintain a competitive edge. And our Houston team will continue to grow as we do, so we can continue to serve markets around the world."

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Texas universities develop innovative open-source platform for cell analysis

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What do labs do when faced with large amounts of imaging data? Powerful cloud computing systems have long been the answer to that question, but a new riposte comes from SPACe.

That’s the name of a new open-source image analysis platform designed by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University and the University of Houston.

SPACe, or Swift Phenotypic Analysis of Cells, was created to be used on standard computers that even small labs can access, meaning cellular analysis using images produced through cell painting has a lower barrier to entry than ever before.

“The pharmaceutical industry has been accustomed to simplifying complex data into single metrics. This platform allows us to shift away from that approach and instead capture the full diversity of cellular responses, providing richer, more informative data that can reveal new avenues for drug development,” Michael Mancini, professor of molecular and cellular biology and director of the Gulf Coast Consortium Center for Advanced Microscopy and Image Informatics co-located at Baylor College of Medicine and TAMU Institute for Bioscience and Technology.

SPACe is not only accessible because of its less substantial computational needs. Because the platform is open-source, it’s available to anyone who needs it. And it can be used by academic and pharmaceutical researchers alike.

“The platform allows for the identification of non-toxic effects of drugs, such as alterations in cell shape or effects on specific organelles, which are often overlooked by traditional assays that focus largely on cell viability,” says Fabio Stossi, currently a senior scientist with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the lead author who was at Baylor during the development of SPACe.

The platform is a better means than ever of analyzing thousands of individual cells through automated imaging platforms, thereby better capturing the variability of biological processes. Through that, SPACe allows scientists an enhanced understanding of the interactions between drugs and cells, and does it on standard computers, translating to scientists performing large-scale drug screenings with greater ease.

"This tool could be a game-changer in how we understand cellular biology and discover new drugs. By capturing the full complexity of cellular responses, we are opening new doors for drug discovery that go beyond toxicity,” says Stossi.

And the fact that it’s open-source allows scientists to access SPACe for free right now. Researchers interested in using the platform can access it through Github at github.com/dlabate/SPACe. This early version could already make waves in research, but the team also plans to continually improve their product with the help of collaborations with other institutions.

The Ion names new coworking partner for Houston innovation hub

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Rice University subsidiary Rice Real Estate Co. has tapped coworking company Industrious as the new operator of the Ion’s 86,000-square-foot coworking space in Midtown. Industrious replaces WeWork-owned Common Desk in that role.

The Ion, owned by Rice Real Estate and located at 4201 Main St., is a 266,000-square-foot office building and innovation hub in the 16-acre Ion District.

Features of the coworking space include private suites and offices, dedicated desks, phone booths and conference rooms. In 2022, Common Desk said it was expanding the space by 28,000 square feet, bringing it to the current size.

“(Industrious’) unparalleled expertise in delivering quality, hospitality-driven workspaces complements our vision of creating a world-class ecosystem where entrepreneurs, corporations, and academia converge to drive innovation forward,” Ken Jett, president of Rice Real Estate, said in a statement.

Natalie Levine, senior manager of real estate at Industrious, says her company will work with Rice Real Estate “to continue to position the Ion as an invaluable contributor to the growth of Houston’s innovation community.”

Dallas-based commercial real estate services company CBRE said Jan. 14 that it had agreed to acquire Industrious in a deal valued at $400 million.

The Ion is Industrious’ second location in Houston. The company’s other local coworking space is at 1301 McKinney St.

Office tenants at the Ion include Occidental Petroleum, Fathom Fund, Activate, Carbon Clean, Microsoft and Chevron Technology Ventures.

Texas ranks among the 5 best states to start a business in 2025

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As one of the largest states in the U.S., it's no surprise Texas is big on business and entrepreneurship. Now the state is earning new praise among WalletHub's 2025 list of "Best & Worst States to Start a Business."

The Lone Star State claimed the No. 4 spot in the report's rankings, proving that Texas is in a much better business shape than it was last year when it earned No. 8 in WalletHub's annual report.

The study compared all 50 states across 25 metrics to determine the best places to start, grow, and find success with a new business. Factors that were considered include the number of startups per capita, job growth rates, financing accessibility measures, labor costs and corporate tax rates.

The three states to outperform Texas in the 2025 report are Florida (No. 1), Georgia (No. 2), and Utah (No. 3). Idaho rounded out the top five.

Across the study's three main categories, Texas performed the best in the "business environment" category, earning No. 1 nationally. This section compares the states based on five-year business survival rates, average business revenues growth and more.

Texas ranked No. 12 in the nationwide comparison of "access to resources" – which covers working age population growth, venture investment amounts per capita and other means – and earned a fair No. 34 in the report's "business costs" ranking.

But Texas can still do better with its business friendliness to reclaim a top-three overall ranking, which the state last earned in 2023.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report that it is imperative for potential new business owners to establish their enterprise in a place that can maximize their ability to succeed.

"Around half of all new businesses don’t survive five years, so the idea of becoming a business owner can be daunting, especially with the current high cost of living," Lupo said. "The best states have low corporate tax rates, strong economies, an abundance of reliable workers, easy access to financing and affordable real estate. On top of that, you’ll need to make sure you start in a place with an engaged customer base, if you’re operating locally."

Houston has also proven to be at the top of the destination list for entrepreneurs who are looking for their next venture.

The top 10 best states to start a new business in 2025 are:

  • No. 1 – Florida
  • No. 2 – Georgia
  • No. 3 – Utah
  • No. 4 – Texas
  • No. 5 – Idaho
  • No. 6 – Oklahoma
  • No. 7 – Nevada
  • No. 8 – Colorado
  • No. 9 – Arizona
  • No. 10 – Kentucky
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This story originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.

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