Editor's note: Houston innovators, concerns about The Houston Innovation District, university program success, and more startup news trended on InnovationMap this week. Check out this week's top stories.
3 Houston innovators to know this week
Meet a Houston native who scored $300,000 on TV, an entrepreneur with big plans for Houston, and a health care innovator looking to shake things up. Courtesy photos
From swimming away with $300,000 on Shark Tank to announcing new programming for Houston's innovation ecosystem, this week's Houston innovators to know have things to be excited about. Here's who to know this week in innovation. Continue reading.
Third Ward community expresses concerns with The Ion project that's underway
The local community has raised some concerns about Rice Management Company's Ion project's effect on the Third Ward. Courtesy of Rice University
The city of Houston has been buzzing about Rice Management Company's Ion Innovation Hub — a 270,000-square-foot coworking and innovation hub project expected to deliver in 2021 — but there's one group isn't so thrilled with the plans: The Third Ward community.
In a public community meeting on November 12, community members gathered at the Wesley AME Church to plan a Community Benefits Agreement that would legally bind The Innovation District's development team and the Rice Management Company to move forward with the local residents' indicated best interests. According to the Houston Coalition for Equitable Development without Displacement, a newly formed group to work on the CBA, it would be the first of its kind in Houston. Continue reading.
5 Houston entrepreneurs to know this Veterans Day
With Houston having the fastest growing veteran population in the country, the innovation ecosystem has plenty of veterans turned entrepreneurs. Here are five to know today. Courtesy photos
Over a quarter of a million United States military veterans call Houston home, and that number is growing.
"Houston has the second largest and fastest growing veteran population in the country," says Reda Hicks, a Houston entrepreneur and military spouse herself. "That's a very significant chunk of our city to share an affinity, and it's not something Houston has talked about." Continue reading.
TMC Innovation Institute announces redesign of its acceleration program for 2020
In 2020, the TMCx program will become a needs-based accelerator looking to solve problems the Texas Medical Center's member institutions face on a regular basis. Courtesy of TMC
TMCx has been helping medical device and digital health startups create solid business plans and lasting relationships with Texas Medical Center institutions for five years, and on the accelerator's fifth anniversary, the team announced it's mixing things up a little to better accomplish those goals.
On Nov. 7, TMCx celebrated the conclusion of its ninth cohort, and 16 medical device companies pitched to a crowd at the TMC Innovation Institute. The companies in this cohort, just like the ones before it, were selected based on their technologies that solved a problem using digital health or medical devices. However, previously, the TMC's member institutions weren't directly part of the process until after the cohort was selected. Continue reading.
2 Houston universities top list for best graduate, undergraduate entrepreneurship programs
Rice University and the University of Houston top lists for best graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship programs. Photo by skynesher/Getty Images
In Houston, a little bit of friendly competition between two universities goes a long way, but each gets a win according to a recent ranking.
The University of Houston's Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship within the C. T. Bauer College of Business claimed the top spot on the 2020 Princeton Review's top 15 programs for undergraduate entrepreneurship studies. Meanwhile, Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business claimed the top spot on the graduate schools list. Continue reading.