Introduction to the
Houston Startup Scene

A Constant Work In Progress

Nice to meet you :)

Paul Kwiatkowski Chief Tenacity Officer at GroupRaise
paul@groupraise.com linkedin.com/in/swifthand
github.com/swifthand
angel.co/swifthand
www.swifthand.net

Preview of This Info Dump

Strap in and remember: these slides are also online!
  • CoWorking & Community Spaces
  • Accelerators & Incubators
  • Hackerspaces & Makerspaces
  • Major Events and Conferences
  • Monthly Startup Events
  • Talent, Media & Money
  • Tune In! (General Resources)
  • Other Awesome Organizations

CoWorking & Community

Where you'll find friends!
  • START Houston
  • TMCx+
  • Level Office
  • Any Independent Coffee Shop Inside 610


  • Platform and Whitespace... ye will be missed.

Accelerators & Incubators

Mentors, Funding, Customers, Education
  • TMCx, TMCx+ & JLabs
  • RED Labs
  • Owl Spark
  • Houston Technology Center (HTC)
  • Fruition Labs
  • Enventure
  • SURGE Acclerator

Hackerspaces & Makerspaces

For Getting Hands-On
  • TX/RX Labs
  • Houston Makerspace
  • Techno Chaos
  • Proto Makerspace
  • Katy Makerspace
  • CreatorSpace

Monthly Startup Events

The Weekly Heartbeat of the Community
  • Week 1: Startup Happy Hour & This Intro Talk
  • Week 2: Startup Grind
  • Week 3: The Lean Startup Circle
  • Week 4: START Demo Day

Major/Annual
Events & Conferences

A Dose of Inspiration and/or Publicity!
  • City of Houston Hackathon
  • Startup Weekend
  • 3 Day Startup
  • Startup Softball
  • HATCH Pitch
  • MEST
  • Rice Alliance [Insert Topic Here] Venture Summits
  • Rice Business Plan Competition
  • Liftoff Houston Business Plan Contest
  • Innovation Conference & Showcase

Finding Talent

  • Houston Digital Jobs (Facebook)
  • Annual Startup Career Fair
  • The Iron Yard & Coder Camps
  • Topical Meetups
  • “The Speed of Beer”

Media & Publicity

  • Houston Business Journal
  • Xconomy
  • TVM's Houston Tech
  • Culture Map Houston
  • Houston Chronicle
  • List Yourself in Houston Startups Facebook Group

Funding & Investment

Angels & Investor Networks
  • Houston Angel Network (HAN)
  • Association of Texas Angel Networks (ATAN)
  • Houston HALO Fund (Sidecar for HAN & ATAN)
  • Red House Associates
  • Rice Alliance Venture Capital Events

Funding & Investment

Seed & Venture Capital
  • Mercury Fund
  • SURGE Ventures
  • NextGen Capital
  • Polus Capital
  • Houston Health Ventures
  • Cougar Venture Fund
  • Technology Cultivation Fund
  • Houston Ventures

Funding & Investment

Corporate/Institutional
  • Shell Technology Ventures
  • Chevron Technology Ventures
  • Choose-Your-Own Adventures
Crowdfunded
  • SeedInvest
Grants
  • National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI)
Outsiders Looking In
  • S3 Ventures
  • Live Oak Ventures
  • And more from Dallas & Austin

Stay Engaged & Aware

Houston Startups Discussion
  • Yes, it's a Facebook Group
  • Startup List
  • Startup Services List
Houston Digital Jobs Leanhouston.org (has these slides & more)
Calendars
  • Startup Digest
  • Accelerate Houston
  • Organization-specific
    (TMCx, START, HTC)
Newsletters
  • START Houston
  • Startup Digest
  • Organization-specific

Other Awesome Orgs

Couldn't list them all if I tried!
  • The Platformit House & The Platformit Show
  • Health 2.0 Houston
  • NetSquared
  • Social Media Breakfast
  • The Indus Entrepreneurs
  • Meetups, Meetups & Meetups Galore!

Thanks for Listening

Let's Go Make Some Magic