Houston
Contents
Bottom-up Analysis of the Houston Ecosystem
Methodology
These people were found using Dr. Egan's Slack account under the team directory in the group Houstontech. They were then googled to find linked-in, twitter, or other sites which provide information on the people and their roles in the Houston entrepreneurship ecosystem. Most recent entry is from Joseph Marhee. https://houstontech.slack.com/messages/_random/team/
Table of Key People
Name | Organization | Type | |
E.J. Thompson | Softlayer - IBM | Entrepreneur aids | |
Emily Keeton | Station Houston | Entrepreneur aids | |
Gina Miller | Poetic Systems | Entrepreneur aids | |
Gira Desai | Aleberry Creative | Entrepreneur aids | |
Apurva Sanghavi | START Houston | Entrepreneur aids | |
Ari Diozon | Tippit & Moo Advertising | Entrepreneur aids | |
Gaurav Khandelwal | START Houston | Entrepreneur aids | |
Adam Presley | PCSGroup | Entrepreneur aids | |
Chris Gallo | Softlayer - IBM | Entrepreneur aids | |
Angela Shah | Xconomy | Entrepreneur aids | |
Mohammad Azam | AzamSharp Consulting | Entrepreneur aids | |
Clayton Spivey | Softlayer - IBM | Entrepreneur aids | |
Unknown | everbodyinhouston.com | Entrepreneur aids | |
Chris Black | Softlayer - IBM | Entrepreneur aids | |
Damien Franco | DTF marketing | Entrepreneur aids | |
Dane Witbeck | Lean startup circle | Entrepreneur aids | |
James Van Dyne | Sugoi Software | Entrepreneur aids | |
Hesam Panahi | UH, 3DS | Entrepreneur aids | |
Grace Rodriguez | WITHouston | Entrepreneur aids | |
Jeff Reichman | Startup America | Entrepreneur aids | |
Jenny Li | Surge Ventures | Entrepreneur aids | |
Jessica Fleenor | Owlspark and Rice Alliance for technology and entrepreneurship | Entrepreneur aids | |
Joe Martin | Houston Business Journal | Entrepreneur aids | |
John Goodman | Poetic Systems | Entrepreneur aids | |
Astrid Countee | Prenovate | Start-ups | |
Gaurav Khandelwal | ChaiOne | Start-ups | |
Chris Gallo | Rex Animal Health | Start-ups | |
Anderson Ta | Open Factory | Start-ups | |
Benjamin Lipson | Sports Tradex | Start-ups | |
Dane Witbeck | Meshify | Start-ups | |
Danielle saadia | Makeable Tech | Start-ups | |
Emily Keeton | Flavour | Start-ups | |
Jason Kaminsky | BeautyNow | Start-ups | |
Jim Foreman | coconnect | Start-ups | |
Jonathan Hartman | Sandbox | Start-ups | |
Andrew Douglass | Dark Water Creative | Other | |
Brian Dorton | The Iron Yard | Other | |
Brady Morowitz | SpaceJet Media | Other | |
Bryan Wood | Reality Engineering Enterprises, LLC | Other | |
Chung Nguyen | MC2 Architects | Other | |
Chad Parks | NASA Johnson Space Center | Other | |
Iggy | pathosgrin.pub | Other | |
Erik Hitchcock | MBA candidate at Rice | Other |
Details on Key People
Gaurav Khandelwal Founder/CEO at ChaiOne and co-founder at START Houston. ChaiOne is a leading mobile agency focused on helping companies launch new products and services on mobile and online. START provides a professional and yet fun space for designers, developers, freelancers, entrepreneurs, employees or thought leaders to collaborate together in the Tech & Mobile space. (Co-Founded with Apurva Sanghavi) https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaione http://chaione.com/ http://www.starthouston.com/
Adam Presley GE Healthcare Software architect and Software Engineer at PCSGroup. PCSGroup provides IT Solutions and Web Services for local businesses. https://www.linkedin.com/in/adampresley http://www.pcsgrp.com/
Chris Gallo Developer Advocate at SoftLayer Technologies, an IBM Company specializing in cloud infrastructure. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophergallo www.softlayer.com
Amado Guloy CEO, Co-founder, and data scientist at Rex Animal Health. Rex Animal Health is an online company specializing in cloud population health and analytics for the animal health industry. Participated in 2015 Sprint Accelerator powered by Techstars. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amadoguloy http://rexanimalhealth.com/
Amy Evans Web Developer, no listed company or entrepreneurial experience. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyevans87
Anderson Ta Founder of Open Factory, a 3D printer making company, which was a start-up at Owl Spark Last Year. Previously worked at Rice as a research technician. Frequents MakerFaires domestically and internationally, worked in the 3D printing industry for the past 6 years. Lead the first 3D printer build workshops, reviewed 3d printers for magazines like MAKE. Believes 3D printing is just getting started, “As the initial hype fades away and we focus on bringing out what this technology is really good for, we'll start to see the "killer apps" of 3D printing emerge. I founded Open Factory to do just that!” Previously founded Matterfy a company which was established in Washington and was a precursor to Open Factory. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anderson-ta-4442307b http://openfactory.co/pages/about-us (No matterfy site) https://www.meshtomold.com/ https://twitter.com/openfactoryco
Andrew Douglass Creates websites and branding materials at Dark Water Creative a Houston creative agency which does graphic design, web development, and research/analysis. (very new agency) Also an application developer at University of Houston. Previously a Student Director of Operations at RED Labs. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ardouglass http://dou.glass/
Angela Shah Editor for Xconomy in Houston, writes about startups and entrepreneurship in Texas. Xconomy hosts entrepreneurship events: Private dinner series, healthcare summit, Houston 2035 conference, Innovative Cities series, and publishes articles about entrepreneurship. Previously wrote for NY Times, Forbes, Time. Large Twitter presence. https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelashah http://www.xconomy.com/author/ashah/ Twitter: @angelashah
Apurva Sanghavi Co-Founded Houston's first technology niche co-working space, START. START provides a professional and yet fun space for designers, developers, freelancers, entrepreneurs, employees or thought leaders to collaborate together in the Tech & Mobile space. (Co-Founded with Gaurav Khandelwal) Also employed as a branch manager at Internet mortgage branch of Network Funding, LP. https://www.linkedin.com/in/apurvasanghavi
Ari Diozon Copywriter at Tippit & Moo Advertising in Houston, TX. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aridiozon https://twitter.com/thearisays
Astrid Countee Co-founder at Prenovate, free-lance UX designer and software developer, DevOps Engineer (contractor) at HP. https://www.linkedin.com/in/astridcountee
Mohammad Azam Founder of AzamSharp Consulting, Senior Mobile Developer at blinds.com. Runs Youtube channel detailing how to write code has tens of thousands of views. Developed numerous apps and runs a consulting service to develop iOS applications. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammad-azam-5537993 https://www.youtube.com/user/azamsharp http://www.azamsharp.com/ http://www.blinds.com/
Benjamin Lipson Sport Tradex founder, raised $1.5M in three rounds of capital funding and reached $4M revenue run rate from 10,000 total users. Hired and managed 5 person team in the areas of technology, marketing, and operations. Won Rice University’s “Most Promising Company” at the 2014 Southwest Tech Venture Forum. Company was acquired by DraftDay Gaming Group, Inc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-lipson-6b818643 https://www.sportstradex.com/home
Brady Moritz CTO at SpaceJet Media in Houston, founded in 2011 as an internet marketing firm. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradymoritz
Brian Dorton Campus Director at The Iron Yard, a coding school for adults. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-dorton-37559a88 www.theironyard.com
Clayton Spivey Project Management Director at SoftLayer Technologies, an IBM Company specializing in cloud infrastructure. https://www.linkedin.com/in/clayton-spivey-9aaa361
Bryan Wood Regional Manager at Reality Engineering Enterprises, LLC. No entrepreneurship experience found. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-wood-0634646
Chung Nguyen Co-founded MC2 Architects a firm in Houston, TX. http://www.mc2architects.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66&Itemid=60
Chad Parks IT Supervisor at NASA Johnson Space Center. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-parks-897bb946
Unknown http://everybodyinhouston.com/ crowdfunding organization
Chris Black Network Analyst at SoftLayer Technologies, an IBM Company specializing in cloud infrastructure. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-black-674620a5
Damien Franco Marketing Consultant at DTF marketing, a self named ‘modern marketing’ firm. https://www.linkedin.com/in/damienfranco
Dane Witbeck Co-Founder at Meshify a technology startup that integrates sensors, satellite data, and comprehensive analytics to make software which aids oil companies in tracking data from the field. Leader of Houston lean startup circle an organization designed to educate entrepreneurs on lean start-up management techniques. Participant in The Rice Alliance for technology and entrepreneurship and surge accelerator. http://www.surgeventures.com/ http://www.meetup.com/leanhouston/events/144686712/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dane-witbeck-688838a
Danielle Saadia Founder at Makeable Tech, a company devoted to researching and developing the latest STEM curriculums for children and adults. https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-saadia-68343753
E.J. Thompson Network engineer at SoftLayer Technologies, an IBM Company specializing in cloud infrastructure. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ej-thompson-a500183b
Emily Keeton Co-Founder and managing director at Station Houston an incubator to connect startups with accelerators, capital, coworking and mentorship. (not yet open) Previously co-founder and CEO at Flavour, an app for restaurant discovery, sold to Tasting Table, a leading digital property for food and drink enthusists. https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-keeton-73188167
Erik Hitchcock MBA candidate at Jones school of business. https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikmhitchcock
Gina Miller Executive Assistant at Poetic Systems, a company devoted to developing websites, apps, and marketing. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginarmiller
Gira Desai Founding Partner at Aleberry Creative. Aleberry Creative is a Houston-based design firm focused on branding and design, they serve primarily the start-up community designing logos and websites. https://www.linkedin.com/in/giradesai
Grace Rodriguez No job at present, previously creative director for TED, founding member of Mayor’s Innovation & Technology Advisory Board, Co-Founder of Women in Tech: Houston(WITHouston), Co-founder of C2 create. http://gracerodriguez.com/about/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracerodriguez http://www.edforh.com/issues/technology/ http://withouston.org/ http://c2create.org/
Hesam Panahi Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Houston, lecturer at Rice University, 3DS organizer, Surge Accelerator participant, co-founder of Appology Labs. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hpanahi
James Van Dyne Sugoi Software founder, a software consulting company which designs apps and websites. https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-van-dyne-2002882 http://www.sugoisoft.com/
Jason Kaminsky Founder at Worthit.co, COO at BeautyNow, 2014 winner of 40 under 40 Houston Business Journal. Worthit.co is currently ‘on pause,’ BeautyNow is an app for making appointments at beauty salons and spas in real time. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonrkaminsky
Jeff Reichman Entrepreneur, runs January Advisors a consulting firm in Houston. Houston Chair of StartUp America, an organization committed to aiding entrepreneurs funded corporate sponsors and the Federal government. https://www.crowdfunder.com/user/17296 https://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/business/startup-america
Jenny Li Marketing Manager at graylog, a machine data management systems company. Previously with Surge Ventures a fund investing in entrepreneurs solving energy problems through technology. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilynnej https://www.linkedin.com/company/2358533?trk=prof-exp-company-name
Jessica Fleenor Assistant Director for programs at Rice Alliance for technology and entrepreneurship and owlspark. Previously founded Medulla, a company devoted to branding, design, and event planning. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicafleenor http://alliance.rice.edu/ http://www.owlspark.com/
Jim Foreman Co-founder at Coconnect a company that builds custom apps for convention organizers. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimforeman
Joe Martin Covers technology, money, and law for the Houston Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/bio/22601/Joe+Martin https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemartin91
John Goodman Creative developer at Poetic Systems, a company devoted to developing websites, apps, and marketing. https://www.linkedin.com/in/pardontheprogress
John Reale Managing director at Arete Ventures and advisor at owlspark. http://www.owlspark.com/peoplewise-john-reale/ https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=ADEAAAI0EDYBm8kFUrmt2bl-xYc0mHIZ6HmMUqQ&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=wfTW&locale=en_US&srchid=3780625331449270090931&srchindex=1&srchtotal=41&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A3780625331449270090931%2CVSRPtargetId%3A36966454%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary%2CVSRPnm%3Atrue%2CauthType%3ANAME_SEARCH
Jonathan Hartman Co-founder and product manager at Sandbox Inc. a company that develops geospatial networks for users based on location. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanlhartman
Important Institutions to Research
- Houston Technology Center (HTC)
- serves in 5 industry sectors: IT, Life Sciences, Energy, Nanotechnology, Aerospace
- see excel file for list of HTC graduates
- Mercury Fund
- enventure
- life sciences hub
- Texas Medical Center Innovation
- TMCx
- TMCx+
- TMCbiodesign
- Jlabs
- bioHouston
- Platform
- SURGE Ventures
- Poetic Systems
- OwlSpark
- RED Labs
- SXSW Interactive http://www.sxsw.com/interactive/about