Behind every fast-growing startup is the ability to successfully attract, engage, and delight customers.
To do so, high-growth companies must focus on adding value to customers at every stage of their journey. Inbound marketing, sales, and service are well-known methodologies for achieving customer value.
General Catalyst and HubSpot are excited to announce ELEVATE, a free virtual accelerator consisting of eight 1-hour sessions designed to help early-stage startups learn the principles of inbound marketing and create a growth playbook tailored to the needs of their customers. Startups will be invited to attend an exclusive, four-week program where they will join Master Classes led by HubSpot experts to learn inbound methodology fundamentals, and case studies led by General Catalyst portfolio founders and executives to better conceptualize how to apply these principles. In the fourth week, startups will complete a Master Class and case study focused specifically on fundraising led by General Catalyst investors and portfolio founders.
The summer will culminate with a final pitch event to a live audience at INBOUND19!
Featuring experts from HubSpot, General Catalyst, Stripe, Gusto, B12, and Verta.AI, ELEVATE will teach high-potential startups how to grow better. If you have a social venture or startup and you are looking to grow, apply to ELEVATE today: https://offers.hubspot.com/startups/elevate
Applications close Sunday, May 26th at midnight EDT. Attendees will be notified of their acceptance no later than June 1.
ELEVATE ACCELERATOR SCHEDULE:
Week 1: Attract – June 4th and 6th
Master Class: As an emerging company, nothing is more important than driving traffic to your website. The easiest way to attract traffic begins with understanding your target audience.
Case Study: Learn how Gusto navigated customer discovery and set up their online presence to attract early customers, and become a top payroll and benefits provider for small businesses.
Week 2: Engage – June 11th and 13th
Master Class: Now that you’ve attracted website visitors, you need to engage them with your content and turn them into repeat visitors. As you provide more value to your prospects you will begin to build trust.
Case Study: Learn how Stripe built their sales strategy and engaged repeat visitors to become the leading payments platform for internet businesses.
Week 3: Delight – June 18th and 20th
Master Class: The cost of acquiring a new customer is dramatically higher than the cost of retaining an existing customer. Creating the final step of the inbound approach, delighting customers should be treated with the same care and attention as all the other steps of the methodology.
Case Study:Learn how B12 has continued to delight early customers with their AI-built website product through their deliberate focus on customer success.
Week 4: Present – July 9th and 11th
Master Class: With an inbound marketing practice in motion, startups might also be ready to raise seed capital to help fuel anticipated growth. Successfully raising a seed round requires a compelling narrative, a thoughtful plan of action, and an understanding of the documents and requirements from potential investors during the process.
Case Study: Learn how an early stage GC founder built and presented a crisp narrative and secured top investors for her seed round.
June has been filled with celebration at Impact Hub Houston!
Did you hear? We are excited to partner with Houston Exponential for a summer pop-up! Stop by to say hello!
What else?
We launched the Impact Hub Houston Community Membership this month! We’re working to offer you more programs to learn from, more events to connect at, more storytelling to inspire you, and new virtual and physical spaces to empower your networking and coworking! Learn more at https://houston.impacthub.net/membership — if you’re ready to take our relationship to the next level, apply to become an Impact Hub Houston Community Member, today!
Before June flies by, be sure to connect with the Impact Hub Houston fam on Friday, June 28:
I was one of the many people who bought into the myth of the unconquerable entrepreneur. The pioneer who was prolifically confident, obsessive, charismatic, and unyieldingly optimistic. For a time, I, too, felt unconquerable and rode a wave of euphoria for months as I plunged full-time into co-founding One Jump, an online platform that connects underserved students to enrichment opportunities with the goal of combatting the opportunity gap.
And then something changed. My savings were gone. Debt began to pile up. Traction slowed. Technical challenges increased in frequency. The rejections and defeats along the startup journey began to feel less like rain and more like hail. Seeking advice about what I was experiencing, I called a mentor and after a long pause he shared: “I think I know what you’re feeling. You’re in the pit.”
Almost all entrepreneurs tumble into the pit at some point. What can often make or break their venture is their ability to pull themselves out of it. But how do you do that? I wasn’t sure, so I looked for help. I sought out other founders and mentors. I looked for a community, but struggled to find one … especially as a social entrepreneur.
We’re different. While we’re mission-oriented, we are quickly labeled as “charities,” and that label is either limiting or incorrect. Traditional business models can also be at odds with our theory of impact. I found this to be true with One Jump as I communicated with our mentors, advisors, and prospective investors. Our team was often pushed to work with affluent schools more directly, but we believed this would only further extend the achievement gap. During launch, our team struggled to find examples of successful hybrids and benefit corporations and how to structure them. Structuring as a non-profit, for-profit, hybrid or a benefit corporation matters significantly, but there’s a lack of quality coaching on choosing which structure would work best for your startup. And lastly, there’s a growing need to educate up the ladder – to reach potential funders, investors, foundations, and family offices about the rise of for-profit social enterprises, their expected returns, company performance, unique tax code implications, and so much more.
Frustrated and seeking community support, I presented my startup at a Sketch City Hackathon. Through that experience, I met Natasha Azizi, who had worked for Unreasonable Institute, an organization that supported social entrepreneurs internationally. She shared that she was planning to bring an organization called Impact Hub to Houston. I learned that Impact Hub was a collection of locally rooted, globally connected “hubs” dedicated to supporting social impact and social entrepreneurship in cities around the world. Think the United Nations if it were made up of hubs that support changemakers and problem solvers. Hubs were the places you’d go to connect with movers and shakers working individually and collaboratively to make the city and the world a better place. I immediately wanted to be a part of that community. That’s what I was looking for.
Over time, my engagement with Impact Hub Houston increased and I became a co-founder. I found it empowering to be able to shape an organization that I and many of my peers urgently needed. With programs that included coffee colliders, community townhalls, founders workshops, meetups, Open Project Nights, Fuck Up Nights (Yes, it’s a thing! Look it up!), and so much more, we are working to build an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem.
We help make Houston more equitable by supporting changemakers and social entrepreneurs so that they feel less isolated and can focus on delivering greater impact through their work. We’ll help problem solvers stop falling into pits…but if they do fall, they’ll find a vibrant community of individuals, mentors, and other stakeholders helping them get back on their feet.
Guided by our refined vision and mission, and our amazing leader in Grace Rodriguez, we are excited to write the next chapter of Impact Hub Houston! Join us in building a movement, and engage in the rewarding-yet-challenging work of achieving our vision: To make Houston a role model for how the world solves its most pressing issues.
Houston: The day is here. We are officially launching Impact Hub Houston as a nonprofit organization to inspire, connect and empower the Greater Houston area’s changemakers, social entrepreneurs and impact supporters; and make Houston a role model for how the world solves its most pressing issues!
We have a few exciting announcements to share, but first, we want to let you know…over the past few months, our Launch Team has dived deep into discussion around who we are, who we aim to serve, how we want to create and amplify impact, and what we want to implement and offer to do so. Those conversations led us to be more intentional about the language we use, because language shapes how we think — and how we think shapes what we do.
Acknowledging that, we refined our Vision and Mission to more accurately represent the change we wish to be in the world:
Our Vision: To make Houston a role model for how the world solves its most pressing issues.
We have heard time and again how other cities are building strong innovation ecosystems, from Chicago to Cincinnati to Detroit. Guess what: Houston is, too! We will shine a spotlight on our own city and elevate the people, businesses, and organizations who have been pioneering progress under the radar. While we champion an inclusive impact-driven innovation ecosystem, we will partner with more organizations across the region to collaboratively transform Greater Houston into a model that the rest of the world aspires to learn from and become.
Our Mission: To inspire, connect, and empower changemakers, social entrepreneurs, and impact supporters with mentorship, sponsorship, meaningful content, thought-provoking talks, hands-on learning opportunities, and vibrant community conversations. To create inclusive and equitable environments where people plug in and actively advocate for each other. To deepen and strengthen relationships among stakeholders to build an innovation ecosystem where people collaborate across organizations, cultures, identities, geography, and generations. As a member of the Impact Hub global network, we support people who are developing solutions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through our collective experience, we’ve found that the kind of support that changemakers and entrepreneurs need most take the forms of guidance, connections, funding, and advocacy. We’ve shaped our mission to directly address those needs while making sure that we hold ourselves accountable to meet people where they are and foster stronger understanding, engagement, and support across the diverse communities of Houston.
Through that lens, we are pleased to announce the following programs and collaborations we’re working on to deliver on our Vision and Mission:
#321IMPACT: We are launching our crowdfunding campaign March 21 to help us secure a long-term home to grow the Impact Hub Houston community, increase our capacity for entrepreneur-centered events and services, and hire full-time staff to effectively implement impactful membership and mentorship programs.
We have launched the Impact Hub Houston Community Calendar — a one-stop place to find events relevant to the Houston startup community.
We will soon announce our first pop-up location, which will allow us to incubate Impact Hub Houston while maintaining flexibility to test programming in other locations and neighborhoods.
We are bringing an established accelerator program to Houston to help early-stage entrepreneurs who represent Houston’s diversity to access startup education and statewide mentors.
We are creating a curated, personalized, and *tracked* mentorship program to ensure we are helping entrepreneurs effectively learn and grow, while holding ourselves accountable for results.
We are developing an Impact Academy program to help social enterprises effectively engage with corporate social innovation groups.
We are working with The Cannon leadership to deliver impact-focused programming at their locations across Houston!
We are organizing TEDxHouston 2019, and preparing for TEDxHouston’s Tenth Anniversary in 2020!
… In the days and weeks ahead, we will introduce you to the Impact Hub Houston Launch Team, share more details on these programs and events, and unveil so much more that we have in store.
Want to be a part of it? We invite you to subscribe, volunteer, mentor, and — most important of all — DONATE! With your help, we can achieve even greater impact for Houston!
Many thanks to Goodspero for generously recording and editing the video (https://goodspero.com); and to Andrew Karnavas of YAWP Records for generously editing the audio (https://yawprecords.com)!
“She Breaks Barriers” program for ventures removing the barriers faced by girls and young women in sport
Teams have the chance to co-create with adidas and win €15,000
Start-ups, non-profits and initiatives can apply until July 7
adidas and Impact Hub today opened applications for the “She Breaks Barriers” program, which will support changemakers that are removing the barriers that stand between girls and sport. Early-stage start-ups, non-profits and other initiatives that operate in Germany and address access, gender stereotype and visibility barriers faced by girls in sport have until July 7 to apply for the three-month program. It aims to inspire and enable girls and young women under the age of 25 — who at this age are at particularly high risk of being systematically shut out of sport.
She Breaks Barriers is a series of adidas initiatives to inspire and enable the next generation of female athletes, creators, and leaders. This program is run in partnership with the social entrepreneurship network Impact Hub — one of the world’s largest communities for positive change — and draws on their expertise to find and boost ventures that remove barriers to sport for girls. We are looking for changemakers who address any relevant barriers, from safety concerns to a lack of opportunity and access to sport or limited visibility of female sports in the news and in the local sports club.
“At adidas, we believe that through sport, we have the power to change lives. ‘She Breaks Barriers’ is about inspiring and enabling the next generation of strong, confident leaders. It’s about removing the barriers between women and sport, and providing them with the tools necessary to lift themselves and others up, on and off the pitch”, Luc Van Hoeckel, adidas’ Director of Social Impact.
The selected teams will have the chance to get mentoring and coaching from experienced adidas experts, attend three tailored business clinics, co-create with adidas & access the global network of both adidas and Impact Hub, and win € 15,000.
“The program is not just about removing challenges that girls and young women encounter on the sports pitch but also about breaking the societal barriers that prevent them from participating in sport: The ventures we are looking for could be anything from initiatives that eliminate gender and sports stereotypes to mobile apps ensuring safe transport for girls to their training”, Gabriela Gandel, Impact Hub’s Global Executive Director.
Any early-stage start-ups, non-profit organizations and initiatives that operate in Germany can apply, as long as they have a unique, innovative and creative approach to removing barriers for girls in sport, a proof of concept, and a sustainable financial, funding or business model.
adidas has its roots in Germany but it is a truly global company. Around the world, the company employs over 57,000 people. Employees from about 100 nations are working at the global HQ in Herzogenaurach, Germany – the ‘World of Sports’. Every year, adidas produces over 900 million sports and sports lifestyle products with independent manufacturing partners worldwide.
About Impact Hub:
Impact Hub is a global network focused on building communities for impact at scale. With 100+ communities of 16,000+ change-driven entrepreneurs in more than 50 countries across five continents, Impact Hub is one of the world’s largest communities and accelerators for positive change. We build ecosystems to drive collaboration and entrepreneurial innovation around the Global Sustainable Development Goals through locally rooted Impact Hubs, as well as with partners and allied networks.
– Social impact firm Generation Titans collaborates with Google, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Envolve Entrepreneurship, Common Impact, and the Soze Agency to generate resources for enterprise solutions
– Event on March 9, 2019 coinciding with the SXSW Interactive Festival
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Generation Titans, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Google, Envolve Entrepreneurship, and the Soze Agency are proud to launch the inaugural Titan Generator at Google Austin on March 9, 2019. This day-long event will serve as a collaborative immersive program for start-up businesses led by entrepreneurs of color. Social movement organizations—March for Our Lives, Color Of Change, United We Dream, and the International Indigenous Youth Council—will participate as advisers. The initiative seeks to align support for 50+ new businesses to generate business solutions.
Currently, high-potential entrepreneurs, particularly those from under-represented communities, must navigate a maze of obstacles in search of resources. In response, the Titan Generator is convening business and social movement leaders to facilitate pledges of support – from start-up finance and pro bono benefits to hands-on mentorship and story amplification.
“We want to work together within the social impact ecosystem to provide pro-bono assistance and deal flow for entrepreneurs of color. We’re working to pull together a diverse mix of investors and service providers who are seeking to scale social impact at pace. We see the Titan Generator event as a dynamic business accelerator,” stated Jessica Lynch, one of the three founding partners of Generation Titans.
Against the backdrop of the SXSW Interactive Festival, the Titan Generator will take place just a few blocks away from the Austin Convention Center at Google’s downtown office. “Google is excited to welcome the Titan Generator to our Austin office. The work they do to support local entrepreneurs across industries and backgrounds is phenomenal and speaks to our goal of creating access and opportunities for everyone,” said Lauren Lambert, Head of External Affairs – Google Austin.
“Robert Kennedy called young people ‘the world’s hope’, and we are thrilled to bring together leading young activists, entrepreneurs, and students who embody that message. These young leaders inspire us all to carry on my father’s legacy of advocating for a more just and peaceful world,” said Kerry Kennedy, President – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
Nestor Ruiz, Digital Organizer at United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led network in the country added: “Immigrants, including those who are undocumented, are resilient and resourceful entrepreneurs. We’ve built lives here, started businesses and we continue to find the means to thrive despite the political environment. We are pumped to be part of Titan Generator, working with organizations that share our vision for all immigrant people.”
David Hogg of March for Our Lives stated: “We strongly believe that multiple resources and partners need to be involved in stopping gun violence in America. We can’t wait to brainstorm solutions and work on real plans of action.”
Envolve Entrepreneurship, which provides multiple resources and facilitates an award program for start-up businesses, has pledged dedicated mentors post-event for up to four new ventures led by entrepreneurs of color.
Christopher R. Upperman, CEO of Envolve, mentioned: “Our culture promotes a spirit of collaboration, and we are enthusiastic to join efforts in tackling gaps in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The Titan Generator experience is exactly the type of innovative approach our diverse communities and founders of color need. Together, we aim to agitate the status quo in the hope that it will accelerate opportunities, and as a result of this partnership, Envolve pledges mentorship and more to come!”
Common Impact, a national nonprofit that connects corporate volunteers to impactful nonprofits through skills-based volunteerism, will support the Titan Generator by providing social entrepreneurs with tools and resources to engage pro bono support for their efforts. Danielle Holly, CEO of Common Impact, explained: “We are thrilled to apply our nearly 20 years of experience building capacity for the social sector to support these social entrepreneurs as they tackle some of the most pressing issues our society faces. Our work has long supported nonprofits in making progress on important social and equity issues for our communities and we are excited to apply our expertise in leading skilled volunteer programs to amplify the diverse perspectives and scale the impact that these social entrepreneurs are poised to make.”
The Titan Generator curated experience will include:
A creative art / tech activation designed by the Soze Agency that explores the rich history of social movements and entrepreneurship in communities of color
A Dream Studio, or facilitated, hackathon-style session, with activists, entrepreneurs, funders, and influencers breaking down challenges and forging new pathways for collaboration
“Fist Bump Moments” of real-time pledges that connect resources and build relationships post-event
“The Titan Generator is pairing activists and entrepreneurs to build a better future,” said Joshua DuBois, CEO – Gauge, a partner of the event. “We created Gauge to ensure that the voices of diverse communities are heard when decisions are being made that impact them. We look forward to participating and providing next-gen market research services for the event.”
Generation Titans worked with several key partners nationally, such as DivInc, to source nearly 200 entrepreneurs of color as potential participants. “DivInc is proud and excited to be partners with Generation Titans in Austin. We share the same mission of creating meaningful access to essential resources and opportunities for underrepresented entrepreneurs. We are all hands-on-deck to achieve the mission and the Titan Generator is a key effort toward that mission!” said Preston L. James II, Co-Founder & CEO – DivInc.
The Titan Generator aims to be a catalyst for a broader coalition of support and action. Generation Titans is still seeking additional funding, amplification, and pro bono support from partners who are working to deliver resources more equitably to diverse entrepreneurs.
Want to help? You can:
Amplify: If you’d like to use your platform to signal boost underrepresented voices, engage influencers, and amplify stories of founders of color with great solutions, then sign up to provide amplification.
Support Pro-Bono: If you’d like to roll up your sleeves and provide strategic and skills-based supports (e.g., planning, HR, IT, marketing, financial approaches, etc.) to founders of color, then sign up to provide pro bono support.
Fund: If you’d like to provide direct funding support (any level) for individual and / or collaborative solutions, then sign up to provide funding support.
We just ask that you fulfill your pledge within two months of the Titan Generator.
To participate, go to http://j.mp/2EipHHy.
For more information about the Titan Generator and how to get involved as a resource provider during the event, please email [email protected].
The event will benefit from the support of numerous partners, including Impact Hub Austin, Impact Hub Houston, the Austin Justice Coalition, Gauge, In My Shoes, DivInc, Blnded Media, Roanhorse Consulting, Camelback Ventures, Valor Up, and University of Texas at Austin – Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
About Generation Titans
Generation Titans is a social impact firm with a race and equity lens. Its mission and client work focuses on developing authentic community engagement strategies, boosting inclusive investments in support of social entrepreneurship, and mobilizing human capital as a force for change. For more information on Generation Titans and the Titan Generator, please visit www.generationtitans.com
About Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights:
Led by human rights activist and lawyer Kerry Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights has advocated for a more just and peaceful world since 1968. We work alongside local activists to ensure lasting positive change in governments and corporations. Whether in the United States or abroad, our programs have pursued justice through strategic litigation on key human rights issues, educated millions of children in human rights advocacy and fostered a social good approach to business and investment. For more information on Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, please visit www.rfkhumanrights.org.
About Envolve Entrepreneurship:
Envolve Entrepreneurship (Envolve) is a 501(c)(3) organization that strives for a global society where all business owners can prosper and grow. Envolve focuses on helping diverse individuals and underserved communities access funding and support services to pursue their business dreams. With offices in the USA and Greece, Envolve is committed to cultivating the global entrepreneurial ecosystem through education, resources and awards. Envolve was founded by the Libra Group, and for more on its efforts to spur entrepreneurship, please visit www.envolveglobal.org
About the Soze Agency
The Soze Agency is a worker-owned cooperative, made up of entrepreneurs, activists, storytellers, artists and strategists. Guided by three core values: compassion, authenticity and equity, they create immersive pop-up experiences, expansive social movements, strategies for the future and high-profile, large-scale public events. For more information on the Soze Agency, please visit www.wearesoze.com.
About Common Impact
Common Impact is a national nonprofit that works to build a society in which individuals and businesses invest their unique talents towards a shared purpose: strengthening the local communities in which we live and work. Founded in 2000, Common Impact has partnered with Fortune 500 companies and hundreds of the country’s leading nonprofit organizations to create this transformational change through skills-based volunteering. Learn more about Common Impact’s services, impact, and clients at www.commonimpact.org.
The Titan Generator event will take place on Saturday March 9 at Google Austin (PRNewsfoto/Generation Titans)
Want to meet changemakers, social innovators, community leaders and impact investors from around the world? Better yet, want to meet them in one of the most beautiful places in the world: Florianópolis (“Floripa”), Brazil?
If you and your company want to meet peers and leaders of international innovation ecosystems, connect with a global community of innovators working on scalable impact, and help establish Houston as an international hub for real-world innovation, become a Global Engagement Champion (GEC) sponsor. http://bit.ly/impacthubhouston-gg2019. As a GEC sponsor, you’ll receive:
A dedicated Impact Hub Houston Global Engagement Champion, who will provide concierged access to our global network and curated connections to companies that match your targets.
VIP Invitations to Impact Hub Global Network events — the next one is the 2019 Global Gathering, Makers Festival and Social Innovation Festival in Florianopolis, Brazil, this April!
Promotion of your offerings and opportunities to the 100+ Impact Hubs and their 17K+ member companies and entrepreneurs around the world.
For more information, click through the presentation below. This is intended as the beginning of a more thoughtful discussion: If you’re ready to explore how we can work together towards achieving your global goals, please contact Grace Rodriguez to schedule time to talk. We hope to see you in Floripa this April!
We’re proud to announce that we’re working with the Houston Health Department to help HOU win the IT’S TIME TEXAS #CommunityChallenge! Aligned with the #GlobalGoal of Good Health and Well-Being (SDG3), Houston’s participation in the challenge is part of the ongoing #GoHealthyHouston initiative supported by the office of Mayor Sylvester Turner:
“When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, our motivation to keep on a healthier track can fade as the weeks pass. That’s why we at the Houston Health Department encourage you to participate in the 2019 IT’S TIME TEXAS Community Challenge. The statewide competition helps you create healthy habits while competing against other communities for bragging rights and grant money.
The Challenge runs January 7 to March 3, 2019 and it’s free to participate. Here’s how it works:
Take healthy selfies whenever you’re eating healthy or participating in a physical activity — use the hashtag #CommunityChallengeHOU and #GoHealthyHouston so we can track it! You can upload seven selfies per day for 200 points each.
Connect your FitBit and/or use the site’s fitness tracker to earn points throughout the day.
Watch the living healthier video lesson and answer a few questions for 200 points.
Host a community event for 250 points. It must be a free, public, fitness-focused event for the entire community to enjoy.
Your community leaders also play a huge role in the Challenge. Elected officials, school representatives, businesses and organizations can earn points by signing pledges and participating in other activities.
In addition to earning bragging rights over our fellow Texas cities, *the five winning communities will receive funds to put toward future health-related projects.*
Help us get Houston on the path to better health — grab a glass of water and sign up to get started!
Grace Rodriguez, who spent much of her childhood in Houston and would later return as an adult in 2000, has long promoted Houston and its innovators. She strived to change the city’s perception during the six-year run of the “Houston at SXSW” promotional effort; helped Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez create the first Mayor’s Innovation and Technology Advisory Committee during his tenure on the Houston City Council; and worked as a lead organizer for Women In Tech: Houston and TEDxHouston.
In 2016, she was one of four founders who started Station Houston and helped grow it to 184 startups, 139 mentors and 351 members. The organization has become a driver for the city’s efforts to become a hub for high-growth, venture capital-attracting technology companies. And Station Houston fit well with her track record of working behind the scenes to found and nurture young organizations. But this time around, Rodriguez will take the next step in her career as the CEO and face of an organization.
Impact Hub is a global network with more than 100 hubs in over 50 countries. Roughly 6,400 startups were founded at its hubs between 2012 and 2016. Starting an Impact Hub is a long process that requires approval from the global network. Shiroy Aspandiar and Natasha Azizi co-founded Impact Hub Houston in 2016 and then reached out to Rodriguez this past summer.
“Grace has the right mix of mindsets, character, experience,” Aspandiar said, “and also just a true love for helping people that I think would make her a natural fit to be able to lead the helm of an Impact Hub.”
Others in Houston’s startup community likewise saw Impact Hub as a natural fit.
“She’s had such a focus on all social issues,” said Russ Capper, executive director of Houston Exponential, a nonprofit tasked with marketing and connecting Houston’s various innovation initiatives. “She likes to integrate them deeply into innovation and startups.”
Learn more about Grace, her background working in Houston’s creative, startup and innovation communities, and her crazy path to becoming the new CEO/Executive Director of Impact Hub Houston through her interview on “Working Wisdom” podcast from the C. T. Bauer College of Business:
Aimed at raising funds and awareness for financial literacy education, the campaign highlights the founders’ mission to create the financial education program they wish they’d had, to help the next generation avoid the financial pitfalls they encountered.
EYF is more than a company, it’s a personal mission born out of our passion for promoting financial freedom and security. It all began with our founder, Grant, looking to solve his own financial struggles. Buried in student loans, drowning in credit card debt, and living paycheck to paycheck, just like 70% of Americans, he understood the urgent need for change.
Co-founder Keely’s journey towards financial literacy was sparked by a tragedy, followed by costly errors. After the sudden loss of her mother and stepfather, she received a life insurance payout. However, being just 17 and unaware of the true value of money or where to best allocate it, she made ill-advised investment decisions that wiped out any financial cushion she might have had.
Grant’s and Keely’s personal experiences have inspired them to make a real difference by creating an engaging and accessible financial learning platform through Money Quest, which immerses players in real-life financial scenarios, teaching critical skills and knowledge necessary for financial empowerment. It’s built on three pillars:
Financial literacy education through gaming.
Empowering individuals through knowledge and creativity.
Building partnerships for a lasting community impact.
EYF believes everyone should have the right to gain the knowledge and skills for sound financial decision-making. That’s why we’re inviting everyone to support their campaign to bring Money Quest to more youth, especially those facing challenging educational and financial circumstances in historically disadvantaged communities. EYF’s ultimate goal: To help people break out of the cycle of financial struggle, and forge a brighter future for themselves and their communities.
“I was once told that if you want to make a million dollars, then you need to help a million people. As I continued to think about this I tried solving the problem of my own lack of financial education. The deeper I got into solving this problem the more I realized all of my friends and family were financially illiterate as well as most of our country. The new question of “What would a financially literate society look like?” came up. I don’t know the answer, but I would like to find it and help solve this problem for all 331.9 million Americans.”
-Grant Watkins Co-Founder & CEO
“We envision a society where financial literacy is accessible to all, and where individuals are enabled with the tools to take control of their financial futures. Growing up, I never received a financial education, and have first-hand made costly mistakes that, if different, could have changed the trajectory of my life. I want to be sure no one has to suffer the same mistakes I did, and through gamification, we can make learning engaging and effective. We are bridging the gap between education and application, stepping in before the real-world consequences take place.”
-Keely McEnery Earn Your Freedom Co-Founder and COO
The Greater Houston region is home to one of the nation’s most entrepreneurial and diverse communities. This campaign seeks to reach individuals from all walks of life, equipping them with the tools necessary for financial success and stability. For more information on the campaign, and to partner on better outcomes for our region’s young people, please reach out to Grant Watkins at [email protected].
About Earn Your Freedom (EYF): EYF is a startup that combines gaming with financial education. Its mission is to enable individuals with the knowledge and skills needed for financial independence. Through its engaging and innovative game Money Quest, EYF is breaking the mold and setting a new standard for financial education.
As we shared in our 
