best of the rest

Houston rises in the ranks of best cities for veteran entrepreneurs

Houston is among the top cities for veteran entrepreneurs. Photo via Getty Images

Houston has moved up the ranks in an annual study of the top places in the U.S. for veteran entrepreneurs.

The study, conducted by the PenFed Foundation and Edelman Data & Intelligence, puts Houston at No. 5 among the best metro areas for veteran entrepreneurs. That’s up from No. 12 in the 2021 study.

The study cites Houston’s economic growth, support for veterans, strong employment, and low unemployment rate among veterans as factors favoring veteran entrepreneurs.

More than 300,000 military veterans live in the Houston area. That’s the second largest population of veterans in the U.S.

Due to the Houston area’s robust veteran population, Bayou City was chosen in 2018 as the site for the third local chapter of Bunker Labs, an accelerator and incubator for military-affiliated entrepreneurs.

At No. 1 in the study is Washington, D.C., followed by:

2. New York City
3. Seattle
4. Dallas-Fort Worth
5. Houston
6. Austin
7. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
8. Cleveland
9. Rapid City, South Dakota
10. Boston

Elsewhere in Texas, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission landed at No. 20 and San Antonio at No. 23.

The study analyzed four categories for each city: livability, economic growth, support for veterans, and ability to start a business. The study evaluated 390 metro areas.

“As the nation navigates the economic impacts of inflation, the study focused especially on how inflation impacts cities differently,” says the PenFed Foundation, established by PenFed Credit Union.

This is the third year for the study.

“We want to help cities across the United States understand which environments are best suited for military veterans to start and grow businesses, and inspire city leaders to take the actions needed to support veteran entrepreneurs,” James Schenck, president and CEO of PenFed Credit Union and CEO of the foundation, says in a news release.

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Here's what student teams from around the world were invited to compete in the Rice Business Plan Competition. Photo via rice.edu

Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship has named the 42 student startup teams that were extended invitations to compete in the 23rd annual Rice Business Plan Competition

The 2023 startup competition will take place on Rice University campus May 11 to 13, and the teams representing 37 universities from six countries will pitch to investors, mentors, and other industry leaders for the chance to win funding and prizes. Last year's RBPC doled out nearly $2 million in investment prizes.

This year, Rice saw its largest number of student startups applying for the RBPC internal qualifier from within campus. The university selected three to move on to compete at RBPC in May — Sygne Solutions, Neurnano Therapeutics, and Tierra Climate, which also received a total of $5,000 in cash prizes to these top three teams.

The 2023 RBPC will focus on five categories: energy, cleantech and sustainability; life science and health care solutions; consumer products and services; hard tech; and digital enterprise.

This invited companies, if they attend, will join the ranks of the 784 teams that previously competed in RBPC and have raised more than $4.6 billion in capital, as well as seen more than 50 successful exits including five IPOs.

The 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition invitees, according to Rice University's news release:

  • Active Surfaces, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Adrigo Insights, Saint Mary’s University (Canada)
  • AirSeal, Washington University in St. Louis
  • Algbio, Yeditepe University (Turkey)
  • Arch Pet Food, University of Chicago
  • Astria Biosciences, University of Pittsburgh
  • Atma Leather, Yale University
  • Atop, UCLA
  • Biome Future, University of Florida
  • BioSens8, Boston University
  • BlueVerse, Texas Tech University
  • Boardible, Northwestern University
  • Boston Quantum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • ceres plant protein cereal, Tulane University
  • Citrimer, University of Michigan
  • Dart Bioscience, University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
  • DetoXyFi, Harvard University
  • E-Sentience, Duke University
  • Edulis Therapeutics, Carnegie Mellon University
  • FluxWorks, Texas A&M University
  • Integrated Molecular Innovations, Michigan Technological University
  • Inzipio, RWTH Aachen University (Germany)
  • LoopX AI, University of Waterloo (Canada)
  • Magnify Biosciences, Carnegie Mellon University
  • MiraHeart, Johns Hopkins University
  • MyLÚA, Cornell University
  • Outmore Living, University of Texas
  • Pathways, Harvard University
  • Pediatrica Therapeutics, University of Arkansas
  • Perseus Materials, Stanford University
  • Pike Robotics, University of Texas
  • Quantanx, Arizona State University
  • Sheza, San Diego State University
  • Skali, Northwestern University
  • Sundial Solar Components, University of Utah
  • Thryft Ship, University of Georgia
  • Tierra Climate, Rice University
  • TrashTrap Sustainability Solutions, Visvesvaraya Technological University (India)
  • Unchained, North Carolina A&T State University
  • Unsmudgeable, Babson College
  • Vivicaly, University of Pennsylvania
  • Zaymo, Brigham Young University

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