by Grace Rodriguez | Nov 11, 2019
Heard about social entrepreneurship but don’t really know what a social venture looks like? Impact Hub Houston invites you to roll up your sleeves and join us at Houston’s only Social Entrepreneurship meetup.
The meetup brings together like-minded individuals from the non-profit, social enterprise, impact investing, technology and many other fields to understand the concept of social entrepreneurship and be inspired to find new ways to tackle local social issues. At each meetup, you’ll 1) Get an intro to Social Entrepreneurship 2) Hear from a Social Entrepreneur in Houston 3) Network with other changemakers from across the entrepreneur ecosystem.
SCHEDULE
5:30pm Sign-in
5:45pm Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship
6:00pm Guest Speaker: Yvonne Mendoza, Founder Tierra de los Artesanos
When traveling to Merida, Yucatan in 2014 Yvonne noticed two things while in the city. First, artisan women and men would gather in the main plaza daily and sold their craft in an organized manner. Second, she noticed that the women and men were part of cooperatives, learning from each other while sustaining their household by using their skills. Yvonne began to study what was thriving and working for artisans in Mexico and asked herself, “What could work for the artisans of Mexico who now live in the U.S.?” After this trip, Tierra began to form. Tierra is a marketplace where customers can shop for ethically-made, Mexico-goods. We believe in social sustainability, economic empowerment and fair-trade principles. The diverse regions of Mexico and the hard work ethic is now showcased at our store. We began with our online market in 2015 and happily opened our 1st brick and mortar in 2016. We mix our social work ethical values and love for our mexican heritage to continue to create and cultivate Tierra.
6:45pm Open discussion on Impact topics
7:00pm Networking
Come learn about Yvonne’s journey! Who knows, maybe you will walk out of the meet up with your own idea for a social venture. #socialentrepreneurship
by Michelle Avalos | Nov 11, 2019
Join leaders from Houston’s diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem to learn how they can help you take your business to the next level!
About this Event
Houston consistently ranks as one of the top cities for economic growth potential, one of the best startup ecosystems, and one of the best places in the country for women and minority entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. So how is Houston’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and startup development community evolving to help our city reach that potential? How will we support the next generation of startups in ways that also build more inclusive, equitable and sustainable paths to economic development and generational wealth creation?
Join several of Houston’s entrepreneur ecosystem leaders at THIS: The Houston Innovation Summit during this session to learn how local organizations are rising to meet the needs of our future entrepreneurs. We’ll touch on:
- How local organizations are helping the next generation of entrepreneurs — from Zillennials to second-act seniors, and from newcomers to Houston to those new to startup culture;
- What trends and opportunities they’re seeing; and,
- What they’re most excited about for Houston’s economic future.
SPEAKERS:
- Estella Gonzalez, MPA, Director of Education and Economic Opportunity at BakerRipley
- Eric M. Goodie, Area Vice President, Growth and Sustainability at Houston Area Urban League (HAUL)
- Tim Jeffcoat, District Director Houston, SBA
- Tiffany Williams, Co-founder and Managing Director for Diversity Fund Houston
- Ravi Brahmbhatt, Charter Member and Board Member of TiE Houston
Many thanks to Houston Community College (HCC) Southeast for hosting and providing food and beverages for this event at the Felix Fraga Academic Campus in the East End!
by Michelle Avalos | Nov 11, 2019
Join Impact Hub Houston, WeWork Food Labs, and leaders from Houston’s food community to learn homegrown solutions to agricultural businesses
About this Event
Houston consistently ranks as one of the top cities for economic growth potential, one of the best startup ecosystems, and THE city with the best food scene in the country!
But while much attention has been given to the local startup ecosystem, our local agricultural and food entrepreneurs are often overlooked. So how do we help local food- and agriculture-based innovators connect around shared goals, collaborate effectively, and access resources and guidance to help them grow their own paths to success? How do we cultivate the next agricultural automation startup, or the next Ritual or UberEats and the businesses that help those apps thrive?
Join some of Houston’s local food leaders to explore and address these challenges!
SPEAKERS
- Ecky Prabanto: Co-Founder, Greenway Coffee/Tropicales/Susu Kopi and Boba
- Kaitlin O’Brien: Roaster/Co-Founder, XELA Coffee Roasters
- Jimmy Tay Trinh: Chef/Founder/CEO, Naughty Noah’s Vietnamese Superfoods platform
- Daniel Garcia-Prats: Co-Founder/Director of Operations, Small Places LLC
- Moderator: Carlos Estrada, Manager, WeWork Labs
Many thanks to WeWork Downtown for hosting and providing food and beverages for this event!
by Michelle Avalos | Nov 11, 2019
Join Houston Exponential to learn about progress in the ecosystem since launching the Fund-of-Funds; and stay for a chat with InnovationMap!
About this Event
In just two years, Houston Exponential has come a long way in connecting stakeholders across Houston’s innovation ecosystem, raising funds to spur local investment activity, and convening the region’s startup development organizations to facilitate greater communication and collaboration in supporting Houston’s tech entrepreneurs.
Join us for a conversation with the HX team and stakeholders to learn about:
- Connecting the ecosystem
- SDO Roundtables
- Corporate Innovation Roundtables
- Media Day
- Investor meet-ups
- Immersion Days
- StartUp Happy Hours
- HX Office Hours
- …and Big Projects for HX 2020!
Afterwards, stay for a fun fireside chat with Natalie Harms, Editor of InnovationMap, and Brad Rossacci from Accenture on, “Houston is my favorite color!”
SPEAKERS
- Natalie Harms: Natalie is the inaugural editor of Houston InnovationMap — the only media outlet completely dedicated to Houston startups and innovation. Launched last year, InnovationMap reports on innovation within health care, energy, social impact, and more. She is also the host of the Houston Innovators Podcast — a weekly discussion with a local mover and shaker within Houston innovation. Prior to this role, Natalie served as associate editor at the Houston Business Journal and has eight years of professional journalism experience.
- Brad Rossacci: Brad Rossacci gets out of bed every day to explore the unexpected + simplify how humanity lives, works, and plays. As Creative Director of Accenture’s Houston Innovation Hub, Brad blends the complex system of science. technology. imagination. + design. to dream up what could be + create what will be. Activating the rocket fuel of creativity + imagination, Brad designs delightful experiences that solve the hard challenges in our world; speaks around the world on how we get our humanity back; advises corporations, leaders, and start-ups on the power of creativity as a tool for innovation; and lectures on the influence of belief based design at Tier 1 universities. His primary focus is incubated through a Mars-Shot challenge: “How might we utilize the complex systems of science. technology. imagination. + design. to intuitively simplify and exponentially evolve our very human experience.”
by Grace Rodriguez | Nov 7, 2019
Frost Bank presents “Fail Forward”:A Special Speaker Series to help entrepreneurs navigate financial challenges and learn how to get funded!
Join us for an evening of #FailForward fun as we get real, behind-the-scenes stories straight from entrepreneurs on the challenges they faced trying to access and raise funding for their small business or startups … and learn from bankers and financial experts what those entrepreneurs could have done to make their journey easier and more successful.
In this “role play” style discussion, entrepreneurs will dig deep into their experiences and offer specific examples of actual attempts to receive funding from local banks and other institutions. A series of subject matter experts curated by Frost Bank will then walk the entrepreneurs through those stories to identify where challenges could have been prevented, averted or quickly mitigated, and then share strategies and best practices that may help you avoid some of the pitfalls that can prevent you from getting funded.
GUEST SPEAKERS:
- JimmyTay Trinh, Chef, CEO, Founder of Naughty Noah’s
Naughty Noah’s is a family-centric business that’s stirring up everyday eats. With my son Noah at the helm, my mother’s authentic recipe delivers the rich culinary tradition of Vietnamese pho noodles right to your busy family life — with clean ingredients that put a nourishing, tasty new twist on a beloved, timeless classic. Get naughty and start noodlin’ around with all of our delicious flavors atwww.naughtynoahs.com!
- Harry McMahan, Vice President & Relationship Manager at Frost Bank
SCHEDULE:
- 6PM Registration & Networking (appetizers will be provided)
- 6:30PM – 7:15 PM Role Play + Best Practices
- 7:15PM Q&A
- 7:30PM Open Discussion & Networking
PARKING INFORMATION
You can find paid metered street parking (FREE after 6PM)in front of the building along Pierce Street; and both metered and free street parking in the surrounding neighborhoods.
*Series presented by Frost Bank, in partnership with Impact Hub Houston and BakerRipley.
by Michelle Avalos | Nov 6, 2019
Join us at the new Amegy on Main this November 18 to kick off “THIS: The Houston Innovation Summit” during Global Entrepreneurship Week!
About this Event
Houston consistently ranks as one of the top cities for economic growth potential, one of the best startup ecosystems, and one of the best places in the country for women and minority entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.
We invite you to learn how our innovation ecosystem is rapidly expanding to meet the needs of Houston’s diverse industries — and of the diverse startups and entrepreneurs emerging in them — on November 18 at the new Amegy on Main tower downtown, as we kick off “THIS: The Houston Innovation Summit” November 18-24 during Global Entrepreneurship Week!
Join leaders from Amegy, The Cannon, MassChallenge TX, Impact Hub Houston, Capital Factory, and more for an open conversation on:
- How Houston’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is evolving;
- How these organizations are expanding Houston’s connectivity and impact across our region and country, and developing new opportunities for our ecosystem around the world;
- What trends and opportunities they’re seeing; and,
- What they’re most excited about for Houston’s future.
Stay afterwards to network over light bites and beverages; and get sneak peeks of the new Amegy on Main tower, led by the organizations who will be calling it “home”!
by Michelle Avalos | Nov 4, 2019
Join Houston’s emerging investment community leaders to learn how our capital environment is evolving and offering new funding resources.
About this Event
Houston has long been criticized for its perceived lack of funding for startups, especially for diverse entrepreneurs. But last month, at least seven early-stage companies successfully closed their fundraising rounds — four of them co-founded by women and/or minority entrepreneurs — with many more promising startups in our region’s pipeline.
Join THIS: The Houston Innovation Summit during Global Entrepreneurship Week for a conversation with some of Houston’s emerging investment community leaders to learn how Houston’s capital environment is evolving, how they’re sourcing new deals, what they’re most excited about, and new markets and trends on the horizon for people to put capital to work.
SPEAKERS
- LILLY LIU: Mercury Fund, Senior Investment Analyst
- SAMANTHA LEWIS: GOOSE Society of Texas, Director
- Stephanie Campbell: Managing Director, HAN / General Partner, The Artemis Fund
- RHIAN DAVIES: VP Business Development, LetsLaunch
- Heath Butler: Network Partner, Mercury Fund / Co-Founder, Urban Capital Network
- Mike Menendez: Principal, Apogee Capital Partners / Founder, Southern Impact Investing Alliance
- NextSeed
LILLY LIU
Lilly Liu is the Senior Investment Analyst at Houston-based Mercury Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on entrepreneurs and technology innovation originating in the U.S. Midcontinent. She works with the investment team on deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio value creation. Mercury’s investment themes target SaaS, Cloud, and Data Science/AI platforms that make the industries of Middle America more competitive and efficient. Outside of Mercury, Lilly is an active contributor to the Houston and Midcontinent startup ecosystems, serving as a mentor at WeWork Labs, Station Houston, and TMCx. She graduated with highest honors from Duke University with a double major in Economics and International Affairs.
SAMANTHA LEWIS
Samantha Lewis, Rice MBA ’17, is the Director of the GOOSE Society of Texas – an exclusive investment group focused on early stage technology ventures. Before attending Rice Business school, she successfully started two ventures, one of which she sold in 2017. The other company, Green Chile Co, generates over $3 million in annual revenue and boasts of customers like Torchy’s Tacos, HEB, and Trader Joe’s. Samantha is an advisor to numerous startups including Houston based blockchain startup, Topl.
RHIAN DAVIES
Rhian leads business development strategy and growth at LetsLaunch, an equity crowdfunding fintech startup. Prior to this, Rhian spent over 10 years in supply chain management, deal delivery and operations within the energy industry at Shell and BG Group, including the development of global sourcing strategies and leading high profile negotiations with major international industry players. Rhian has lived and worked in over 6 countries and holds a BSc in Management Sciences from Warwick Business School, UK. She is currently undertaking her MBA at Rice Jones Business School.
by Michelle Avalos | Nov 4, 2019
Join some of Houston’s largest and most diverse academic institutions to learn how they’re growing the next generation of entrepreneurs!
About this Event
Houston consistently ranks as one of the top cities for economic growth potential, one of the best startup ecosystems, and one of the best places in the country for women and minority entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. So how do we help our city reach that potential and grow the next generation of entrepreneurs in ways that also create more inclusive, equitable and sustainable paths to economic development?
Join leaders from some of Houston’s largest and most diverse academic institutions to learn:
- How Houston’s entrepreneurial education environment is evolving;
- How they’re helping prepare and grow the next generation of entrepreneurs — from Zillennials to second-act seniors, and from newcomers to Houston to those new to startup culture;
- What trends and opportunities they’re seeing; and,
- What they’re most excited about for Houston’s economic future.
SPEAKERS
- Dr. Beena George: Chief Innovation Officer, University of St. Thomas
- Brenda Rios: Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives & Community Relations, HCC
- Sandra Louvier: Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, HCC
- Kelly McCormick: Professor of Practice & Managing Director of Red Labs, UH
- Moderator: Ned Mueller, Entrepreneur In Residence, HCC
Many thanks to Houston Community College (HCC) Southeast for hosting and providing food and beverages for this event at the Felix Fraga Academic Campus in the East End!
