Houston Innovators Podcast

Anshumali Shrivastava is the founder and CEO of ThirdAI Corp. and a professor at Rice University. ThirdAI was founded on the mission of democratizing artificial intelligence and meeting data where its housed. Anshu shares how this founding principal has translated to specific AI tools ThirdAi has developed for its customers. He also shares what he’s most excited about when it comes to the future o...

Donald Frieden is the president and CEO at P97 Networks, a Houston-based fintech company that’s developing a cloud technology for secure and convenient payments at gas stations and convenience stores. With over $100 million in investment raised, P97 has expanded across industries over its decade in business, and Don shares the new technologies he’s most excited about — like voice and biometric-ena...

Dr. Joseph Rogers is the president and CEO Texas Heart Institute. For over 60 years, THI has been a leader in cardiovascular health care and innovation. Around two years ago, Dr. Rogers took the helm of the organization and is particularly interested in preventative care. He shares more about THI and some of the innovative work its team is doing — from stem cell research to drug development and mo...

Grant Watkins and Keely McEnery are the co-founders of Earn Your Freedom, a Houston startup that’s gamifying financial education for students. EYF launched Money Quest earlier this year, and is now seeking crowdfunding support with the help of Impact Hub Houston. The funding will go toward continuing to develop the program and support local high school students to help them reach financial literac...

My guest for today is Adrianne Stone, founder of Bayou City Startups, an organization that hosts monthly happy hours for Houston founders. Adrianne has had a very diverse career background — from getting her PHD and teaching AP Biology to joining 23andMe in the Bay Area. She shares how passionate about networking she is on the show and her observations on Houston’s growing innovation ecosystem.

Erik Ibarra is the founder and CEO of ORDRS, a digital health platform for optimized lab testing. Erik is a serial entrepreneur and active mentor within the Houston innovation ecosystem, and today on the show, he shares details of his latest venture as co-founder and investor at Magnolia Fund, a new investment opportunity that supports Houston’s east end community.

Jason Ethier is the senior director of membership at Greentown Labs and the co-host of the EnergyTech Startups podcast. Jason’s background in energy innovation has spanned from corporate to startups and from Boston and Houston. He shares some of his thought leadership in the space as well as his passion for Houston’s future as a hub for energy innovation on the show today.

Emily Keeton, a familiar name to Houston’s innovation ecosystem, recently joined New York-based investment firm Loeb.nyc as operating partner and investor. She joins the show today to talk about how she’s seen the ecosystem evolve over the past decade and how she’s tapping into Houston startups now.

Jim Gable is the vice president of innovation at Chevron and president of Chevron Technology Ventures. Jim has held various leadership roles across Chevron for the past 24 years and has recently relocated to Houston to lead CTV, which is based in the Ion. Jim explains some of the unique opportunities within Chevron innovation and also weighs in on the role incumbent energy companies play in the en...

Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta is the chief medical officer for the Translational Research Institute for Space Health, or TRISH, a Houston organization based out of Baylor College of Medicine that’s leading space health research. Emmanuel joins the show to talk about TRISH and its ongoing research including its most recent mission with Axiom Space that was completed last week.

Rob Schapiro is Microsoft’s Energy Acceleration program director and site leader for the company’s Houston office. He has transitioned his career from being a geologist in the oil and gas sector to being a leader within Houston’s innovation ecosystem and energy transition. He joins the show today to discuss that journey as well as his passion for making sure Houston has equitable opportunities for...

Ramanan Krishnamoorti is the vice president of energy and innovation at the University of Houston. UH has always been a hub for invention, entrepreneurship, and innovation, but Ramanan’s role is to help better connect the dots — both on campus and within Houston as a whole. He joins the show today to share how he plans on doing that, from growing the awareness of the UH Tech Bridge to supporting t...

Youngro Lee is the founder and CEO of Brassica Technologies, a fintech company that’s creating a more modern and holistic approach to investing and alternative assets. Youngro has spent over a decade on a mission of democratizing investment, first as founder and CEO of NextSeed up until that company was acquired by Republic. Now, he oversees Republic’s expansion in the Asia market as well as leadi...

Jason Bock is the founder and CEO of the Cell Therapy Manufacturing Center, or CTMC, a joint venture between National Resilience and MD Anderson Cancer Center that hopes to serve as an engine for advancing cell therapy therapeutics for cancer patients. Formed just over a year ago, CTMC has expanded its footprint and already worked on a handful of innovative treatments. Jason shares a bit on how th...

Josh Teekell is the founder and CEO of SmartAC.com, a software and hardware technology platform that works with contractors to lower energy cost and waste in residential HVAC systems. SmartAC.com has recently secured fresh funding to continue its growth and supercharge sales and deployment of its system. Josh explains on the show how his fundraising experience went as well as how he managed to att...

Thomas Vassiliades is the CEO of BiVACOR, a company that’s developing a medical device that can take over the complete function of a patient's heart. The company, which is headquartered in Houston but has the majority of its operations divided between California, Australia, and even parts of Europe, recently closed $18 million in funding to support its FDA clearance and pathway to clinical trials....

Howard Berman is the CEO and co-founder of Coya Therapeutics, a company that’s developed a treatment to prevent the spreading of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and ALS. The company went public a few months ago, and Howard shares what it’s been like leading the commercialization of a company with so much potential to save lives.

Sarah “Sassie” Duggleby is the co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace, an early-stage hardtech company that’s developing hypersonic space places that can enable high speed international travel. Sassie, who was recently named to Inc. magazine’s top 200 female founders list, shares how she co-founded the company with her husband Andrew after an idea they had in 2018. They moved the company from the w...

Paul Cherukuri is the vice president for innovation at Rice University. Paul is the first to hold his position at the brand new office of innovation at Rice. He joins the show today to talk a little bit about the reason Rice has zeroed in on advancing and promoting innovation, and why the university has a goal to collaboratively advance the city’s future in the space.

Lydia Davies is the CEO and founder of the Teamates app, a sports meet up platform that connects people by way of athletic activities. Lydia joins the show to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, which includes everything from international pop star to realtor and now startup founder. She also shares what people can expect from Teammates, which has evolved from focusing on golf to adding more and...

Veronica Wu is the founder and managing partner of First Bight Ventures, an investment firm focused on early-stage synthetic biology startups. Veronica joins the show today to discuss some of the milestones she’s accomplished since she started her firm and moved to Houston around a year ago. She also shares her vision of The BioWell, an initiative that hopes to bring together engagement, support,...

On Monday at Houston House, a SXSW activation put on by the Greater Houston Partnership, InnovationMap editor and Houston Innovators Podcast host Natalie Harms moderated a panel called “Demystifying the Startup Journey.” Panelists included three Houston founders: Ted Gutierrez, co-founder and CEO of SecurityGate.io , Simone May, co-founder and CTO of Clutch, and Gaurav Khandelwal, founder and CEO...

Susan Davenport is the senior vice president and chief economic development officer for the Greater Houston Partnership, which has two activations at major conferences. Currently, the GHP’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative, or HETI, is hosting its HETI House at CERAWeek, and later today, March 8, will feature a startup pitch competition. Next week, on Monday, March 13, the GHP returns its Hous...

This week, in honor of Houston Tech Rodeo, let’s check in on the Houston innovation ecosystem — how far it’s come and where it’s going. 

Mike Francis and Carrie Horazeck of Nanotech, a Houston-based materials science company, join the show today. Years ago, Mike founded the company around a unique and durable material. He’s grown the technology into fire proofing and energy loss-reducing coatings, but that’s just the beginning. Now with Carrie, the company’s chief commercial officer, leading the way, Nanotech’s flagship product is...