Aug25th2007
Wanna keep the buzz going after BarCamp? Join us for the next Houston OpenCoffee Club on Thursday, August 30th!
About : OpenCoffee Club encourages informal discussion and networking among entrepreneurs and investors to help grow startup companies in the Houston area. Houston’s success continues to grow and thus, we are happy to announce that we are holding our fourth OpenCoffee Club at the following time and location.
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
8:00AM - 10:00AM
@ The Coffee Groundz
Optional RSVP: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/195457/?ps=6
Map
2503 Bagby St
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 874-0082
Please share this invitation with anyone whom you feel has an interest in participating in the Houston entrepreneurial community.
You can learn more about the OpenCoffee Club here and here.
Aug24th2007
Our friends at ABC13 are taking notice of the growing startup activity in Houston and asked us what we thought was behind it all as well as what we see our role being in helping to grow the startup community. Here is an excerpt of the interview:
ABC13 - Mike McGuff: What do you and Startup Houston get out of helping the community?
Josh Tabin: I think we both feel that by fostering a better environment for new technology startups here in Houston, we create opportunities that raise the bar for the entire region (”A rising tide lifts all boats.”)
<snip>
ABC13 - Mike McGuff: Is BarCamp Houston the first step in the right direction?
Kurt Stoll: BarCamp Houston is going to be a watershed event for the Houston entrepreneurial and technology communities this year and I encourage everyone to sign up to see what all of the buzz is about. That being said, BarCamp Houston is just one step among many that I see the Houston startup community making. There really is a strong startup movement underway here in Houston and you can see it evident everywhere from the technical meetup groups such as NetSquared, Refresh Houston, the Ruby on Rails Meetup Group, and the Web Design Meetup Group, to other supported efforts such as the Rice Alliance, MIT Forum and Houston Technology Center, to the grass-roots social events such as OpenCoffee Club and Startup Weekend. There are also some other big events coming next year that you will have to stay tuned to StartupHouston.com to learn more about.
You can see the complete interview here.
So, as you can tell, we are very excited about what is going on in Houston. Let us know what you think!
Aug24th2007
From the Rice University News Desk:
Entrepreneurs interested in taking technology from the research lab to the marketplace now have a new certificate program from Rice to show them the way to success.
“From Lab to Market: How to Build and Grow a Successful Life Science Business” is the new life science entrepreneurship certificate program produced by the Rice University Executive Education program at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in conjunction with Rice Alliance and BioHouston.
Over three alternating weekends, from Sept. 28 to Nov. 2, students will learn the key steps required to build and manage a successful life science company. The course will describe the roles of managers, entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers.
The program will provide practical information taught by leading practitioners in drug development, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology and diagnostics. Participants will also meet successful life science entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and investors.
Guest instructors will include experts from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, PLx Pharma, Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Baylor College of Medicine, Agennix, Vanguard Venture Partners, DFJ Mercury, AlphaDev, BioHouston, Houston Technology Center and Rice University.
For more information, call 713-348-6060 or visit the Rice University certificate course web page at www.rice.edu/ee.
Aug24th2007
BarCamp Houston info
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About: BarCamp is an international network of unconferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies and social protocols. More background info here and here.
Where: Houston Technology Center, 410 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002, voice: (713) 658-1750, map
When: Saturday, August 25th - Starts at 9am, goes all day
Current # of Registrants: 139
Current # of Sessions: 20
Current # of Requests: 20
Current # of Workshops: 5
More info at http://www.barcamp.org/BarCampHouston
Aug24th2007
Inc Magazine, known for the Inc 500, has introduced the Inc 5,000, the fastest growing private companies in America. In reviewing the list, 75 out of 5,000 are located in the greater Houston area. Although there are few startups on this list, I did notice Merrick Systems which is a Houston Technology Center client company.
13 out of those 75 in Houston were technology companies. We have some work to do.
Aug23rd2007
BarCamp Houston info
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About: BarCamp is an international network of unconferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies and social protocols. More background info here and here.
Where: Houston Technology Center, 410 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002, voice: (713) 658-1750, map
When: Starts at 9am, goes all day
Current # of Registrants: 124
Current # of Sessions: 18
Current # of Requests: 20
Current # of Workshops: 5
More info at http://www.barcamp.org/BarCampHouston
Aug23rd2007
As we reported here, the Rice Alliance Kickoff Celebration is tonight on the Rice campus and will feature a keynote by Michael Oxley, Vice Chairman, of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Here are the highlights:
Location: McNair Hall, Jesse H Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005
Time: 5:30pm
You can find more information and register here.
Aug21st2007
From the CyrusOne website:
“CyrusOne, a leader in high availability and dense computing enterprise data centers, announced today the completion of an additional 16,000 square feet of high-density data center space, built to deliver over 250 watts per square foot of computer load, in its Houston technology campus, making it the largest, high density colocation provider in the Southwest region. The expansion brings the total size of the Houston data center to approximately 81,000 square feet of fully redundant, high density data center space.”
We have mentioned CyrusOne a few times. Recently they were acquired by Abry Partners which brought in significant capital resources to allow for such growth. Given my background in telecom and hosting, I am intrigued by the data center industry (see the post on San Antonio). Expect more to come from these guys.
Aug20th2007
Gov. Rick Perry moved the creation of a Houston port security district closer to reality by executing Texas House Bill 3011 which authorized the public-private partnership. The Ship Channel Security District will be responsible for overseeing and managing public fund allocation for ship channel development and maintenance. Over $31 million has been spent since 2004 on Port initiatives to date.
The Port of Houston contributes over $13 billion directly into the Texas economy each year and is the 3rd largest in the US (8th largest in the world.) A 2006 study by Cambridge Systematics identified the Port of Houston as the major benefiter of the Panama Canal expansion. The report also stated that when the canal expansion is completed by 2015:
“the Port of Houston’s growth rate will most likely increase significantly, placing pressure on terminal operators, trucking companies, railroads, state and local transportation planning agencies, and other stakeholders in the maritime and transportation communities to maintain operational efficiency on or around port facilities.”
Throw on top of all that an additional $8.6 million in Tier 1 Port Security Grants from the Department of Homeland Security and what you get are business opportunities galore. Wal-Mart has built itself a 4-million-square-foot distribution center in the Houston Ship Channel area to take advantage of the expected port growth.
If this is not an opportunity for technology deployment for security purposes as well as logistics services, then we as entrepreneurs and technologists are not paying attention. Anyone who can identify some companies taking advantage of all this is greatly appreciated.
Aug20th2007
BarCamp Houston info
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About: BarCamp is an international network of unconferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies and social protocols. More background info here and here.
Where: Houston Technology Center, 410 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002, voice: (713) 658-1750, map
When: Starts at 9am, goes all day
Current # of Registrants: 102
Current # of Sessions: 13
Current # of Requests: 20
Current # of Workshops: 5
More info at http://www.barcamp.org/BarCampHouston
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