SpaceUp Houston is hosting its 2nd conference and the goal is to develop a concept, rules, and application for a mobile game called SpacePoints with the goal being to educate and excite the Houston community around space research, exploration, and innovation in aerospace. Cost is $10 and includes lunch. Registration is limited to 40 people.

Topic: [...]]]>

SpaceUp Houston is hosting its 2nd conference and the goal is to develop a concept, rules, and application for a mobile game called SpacePoints with the goal being to educate and excite the Houston community around space research, exploration, and innovation in aerospace. Cost is $10 and includes lunch. Registration is limited to 40 people.

Topic: SpacePoints Mobile App Game Un-Conference

When: Saturday June 25th, 9AM to 3PM

Where: 3600 Bay Area Blvd, Houston TX 77058, Lunar & Planetary Institute

More Info: http://bit.ly/hdHd5T

TiE Austin, TiE Houston, & TiE Dallas

Presents the TiE TEXAS FUNDING FORUM 2011

FAST TRACK TO INVESTORS

May 5th, 5-9 pm | Atrium, JJ Pickle Research Campus, Austin, TX

www.tietexasfundingforum.com

TiE Austin, TiE Houston and TiE Dallas proudly present The TiE Texas Funding Forum, an annual event where aspiring entrepreneurs have an opportunity to present [...]]]>

TiE Austin, TiE Houston, & TiE Dallas

Presents the TiE TEXAS FUNDING FORUM 2011

FAST TRACK TO INVESTORS

May 5th, 5-9 pm | Atrium, JJ Pickle Research Campus, Austin, TX

www.tietexasfundingforum.com

TiE Austin, TiE Houston and TiE Dallas proudly present The TiE Texas Funding Forum, an annual event where aspiring entrepreneurs have an opportunity to present business cases to angel investors and venture capitalists and receive funding for their brilliant ideas. This year, the event will be held in Austin, Texas on Thursday, May 5th, 2011.

Executive summaries will be reviewed by a small committee. Finalists will be notified by TiE and those selected will be given the opportunity to make a presentation to a team of Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, Bankers, and others at the Funding Forum event on May 5th 2011.

Presenters will be required to put together a business plan presentation and elevator pitch. A TiE mentor will be assigned to work with you before the event.

This is the perfect event for entrepreneurs:

• Looking for funding
• Looking to get real-time feedback on strategy and vision from leading investors
• Looking for tools and means to position your product/service in the market
• Networking opportunity with established entrepreneurs, investors and corporate partners
• Coaching and advice on how to improve your business plan strategy
• Publicity of your company through the TiE website/email/Funding Forum

This event will be beneficial for all attendees, whether you are an entrepreneur, investor or a participant with an entrepreneurial spirit. This is a great opportunity to network with some of the best in the Texas entrepreneurial community and understand how a pitch is made, as well as what investors are looking for

Some Past TiE Texas Funding Forum Success Stories:

• The introduction between an investor and ESO Solutions at TiE Texas Funding Forum resulted in significant investment and subsequent success for the early stage company.

Investor comment: “We raised $1.5m in an A round with an additional $500K of debt financing. The company billed 38 new agencies, added 108 agencies more the next year and grew 2.5x in cash receipts.

• Fast Felt Corporation raised $500,000 after presenting at TiE Texas Funding Forum 2009
• Dallas based Whichbox Media, inked a strategic partnership with ChaiONE, a Taiwan based company after presenting at the TiE Texas Funding Forum.

Interested in becoming a participating company in the TiE Texas Funding Forum?

Go to www.tietexasfundingforum.com and submit your business plan for consideration.

All summaries must be received by April 17th, 2011 to be considered.  Early submissions are highly encouraged.

For further information contact TiE-Austin at ed.austin@austin.tie.org

The Rice University Business Plan Competition is the world’s largest and richest graduate-level business plan competition. It is hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship which is Rice University’s flagship initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. This is [...]]]>

Register for the Event

The Rice University Business Plan Competition is the world’s largest and richest graduate-level business plan competition. It is hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship which is Rice University’s flagship initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. This is the 11th year for the competition. In that time, it has grown from nine teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the world competing for more than $1 million in cash and prizes.

The competition is designed to give collegiate entrepreneurs a real-world experience to fine tune their business plans and elevator pitches to be able to generate funding to successfully commercialize their product. Judges will evaluate the teams as real-world entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds from early stage investors and venture capital firms. The judges are asked to rank the presentations based on which company they would most likely invest. 76% of judges surveyed considered investing in a team that presented at the 2008 RBPC or referred a team to a third-party investor.

Time

Friday, April 1 · 7:00pm – 11:30pm

The Coffee Groundz

2503 Bagby

Houston, TX

Technology Bytes Radio

It’s no joke! You are invited to attend the Technology Bytes monthly gathering/meet-up. We’ll be descending upon at The Coffee Groundz, located 2503 Bagby, in Houston, TX. The Coffee Groundz offers a diverse menu of coffees, teas, beers, wines and [...]]]>

Time

Friday, April 1 · 7:00pm – 11:30pm

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Location

The Coffee Groundz

2503 Bagby

Houston, TX

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Created By

Technology Bytes Radio

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More Info

It’s no joke! You are invited to attend the Technology Bytes monthly gathering/meet-up. We’ll be descending upon at The Coffee Groundz, located 2503 Bagby, in Houston, TX.
The Coffee Groundz offers a diverse menu of coffees, teas, beers, wines and most important of all, FOOD AND FREE WI-FI!!!.
This is an all ages event, so please bring your family and friends and enjoy an evening hanging out with the hosts of Technology Bytes along with many of… our friends and fans.
The event starts around 7:30 and goes until ?
You don’t have to be a geek to attend. Heck, you don’t even have to be a current listener of the show. This event is a casual meet-up for anyone interested in technology or social media in all its forms and a great opportunity to just hang out with like minded individuals.
The Geek Gathering has been happening the first Friday of the month since February of 2002 and is always a good time.
We hope to see you there!

Register on Facebook

Enterprise Builders and Zebec Data Systems recently announced that they have combined forces to launch the Houston ZEBEC Center.  The ZEBEC Center is a center for new, emerging and established Computer Technology businesses to host meetings, to encourage knowledge sharing and a place to help with innovation and new ideas.  To do that, ZEBEC Center [...]]]>

Enterprise Builders and Zebec Data Systems recently announced that they have combined forces to launch the Houston ZEBEC Center.  The ZEBEC Center is a center for new, emerging and established Computer Technology businesses to host meetings, to encourage knowledge sharing and a place to help with innovation and new ideas.  To do that, ZEBEC Center is making its facilities available FOR FREE to all of the Tech Meetup groups in Houston to conduct their monthly meetings. The ZEBEC Center will also have an open coworking space that includes open tables, cubicles, offices, and conference rooms that can be used by freelancers and startups at affordable tiered rates based on the level of usage. In addition, Enterprise Builders plans to leverage their relationship with the University of Houston, Rice University and the Houston Technology Center to help develop outreach programs for many small businesses here to improve their success.

A centrally localized facility that can be used as a home-base for all of Houston’s tech meetup groups has long been on my list of things that I believe is essential to growing Houston’s tech and entrepreneurial community, and I applaud the efforts of Enterprise Builders and Zebec Data Systems for making it a reality.  The Houston Chronicle has also picked up the story and had this to say.

If you are interested in hosting your monthly Tech Meetup at the new ZEBEC Center, or looking for affordable and well-furnished space (see pictures below) for your technology startup, you can contact Dan Valdez at dvaldez@beweb.us or call 281-460-7435.

The ZEBEC Center is located at the Zebec Data Systems, Inc. offices at 2425 Fountain View, Suite 170, Houston, Texas 77057.

Situation Room-ZEBEC

U Shaped Style

Classroom Style

Triangular Huddle Up Config

CoWork Space2-ZEBEC

Large Closed Circle

Dan Valdez, partner in Enterprise Builders, adds that their relationship with the University of Houston, Rice University, The National Space and Technology Association and the Houston Technology Center will help develop outreach programs for many small businesses here. “Houston needs a coordinated effort to bring all of our excellent institutions together.  We feel we will be able to coordinate these efforts with this Center.”

It does not get any bigger than Kanwal Rekhi! Rekhi’s venture capital firm, Inventus Capital Partners has generated over $30 Billion in aggregate wealth and market value in their 15 year track record.

Rekhi is one of [...]]]> Join us as we LiveBlog the TIE Houston event – Entrepreneurship in Tough Times. Some quick info:

It does not get any bigger than Kanwal Rekhi! Rekhi’s venture capital firm, Inventus Capital Partners has generated over $30 Billion in aggregate wealth and market value in their 15 year track record.

Rekhi is one of the biggest driving forces behind TiE, an 18-year old organization with chapters in 55 countries in five continents. He could easily be called the founding father of TiE.

“Rekhi is at the center of a lot of wealth creation.” – FORTUNE Magazine
“Kanwal has become a very important player (in Silicon Valley).” – Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google

Rekhi is a super entrepreneur. His telecom software company, Excelan, that he co-founded in 1982, was sold toNovell in 1989 for $210 million, and under his leadership grew to become the second largest software company in the world by 1994. He served as Chief Technology Officer of Novell. In 1987, Rekhi was namedEntrepreneur of the Year by the Arthur-Young/Venture magazine.

The live feed is starting now!

The Houston Innovation Initiative is a group started by Houston Council Member Jarvis Johnson and Yvette Golan of World Innova and here is a quick summary of what they are all about:

The Houston Innovation Initiative (HII) joins government leaders focused on solving city challenges to the technology and innovation leaders who can help. [...]]]>

The Houston Innovation Initiative is a group started by Houston Council Member Jarvis Johnson and Yvette Golan of World Innova and here is a quick summary of what they are all about:

The Houston Innovation Initiative (HII) joins government leaders focused on solving city challenges to the technology and innovation leaders who can help. HII’s introductions inform the technology community of areas the city seeks cost savings and efficiencies, while equipping city leaders with the resources of technology associations who have demonstrated superior innovation access, information, and credibility. In short, HII’s platform connects problems with solutions, needs with resources, and experience with the appetite to learn.

Today, the Houston Innovation Initiative, is hosting the February Forum; a private roundtable event between 100 of Houston’s city and technology leaders, designed to help the city solve specific challenges with new and innovative technology.

After the roundtable event, HII is sponsoring an open mixer from 6pm – 8pm where everyone that shares a passion for technology and innovation can come together and share information.  Below is just a sampling of the people from the event that are expected to be at the mixer.

• Bart Bartkowiak, Information Technology Director for the City of Beaumont;
• Anne Clutterbuck, Mayor Pro-Tem of the City of Houston;
• Bill Crow, Executive-in-Residence from the Houston Technology Center;
• Richard Haut, Senior Research Scientist, Houston Advanced Research Center;
• Kenneth Hernandez, Dean of Career Technical Education, Energy Institute at Houston Community College;
• Richard Lewis, Chief Information Officer, City of Houston;
• Bernie Satterwhite, City Manager of the City of Bellaire;
• Bill Sherrill, Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston;
• James Tillman, Assistant Director of Houston’s Finance Department;
• Dwight Williams, General Manager of HTV Houston Television
• Leo Womack, President of the Houston Angel Network;
• Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.

Here is a Google Map link to the event:  Tasting Room at River Oaks, 2409 West Alabama St.

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FreeTimeStudios, an independent mobile game development studio founded by Nathan Eror and headquartered in Houston, TX, announced yesterday that their new game, SlapHappy, is now available via the iTunes Store for an introductory price of 99 cents.

For those of you not aware, Nathan has been very active in Houston’s development community and is [...]]]>

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FreeTimeStudios, an independent mobile game development studio founded by Nathan Eror and headquartered in Houston, TX, announced yesterday that their new game, SlapHappy, is now available via the iTunes Store for an introductory price of 99 cents.

For those of you not aware, Nathan has been very active in Houston’s development community and is also the organizer for the Houston iPhone Dev Camp and co-organizer of the Houston iPhone Developer’s Meetup, so its great to see a lot of his hard effort beginning to pay off, both professionally and for Houston’s Startup & Tech Community.

Here is a description of the game provided by Nathan:

Remember that game you played as a kid? SlapHappy!â„¢ brings you back to the playground where the simplest things brought hours of fun.

Hold your hand over your friend’s, and pull your hand away before you get slapped. Once you see your friend’s hand start to move, the faster and harder you pull your hand away, the higher your score. Move too soon and you lose.

Battle 6 different characters, each quicker and stronger than the last. Don’t blink or you will get SLAPPED!

SlapHappy!â„¢ is OpenFeint enabled. Compare your highest score and best reaction times with your friends and everyone else in the world, and unlock achievements to boost your OpenFeint gamerscore.

SlapHappy!â„¢ is simple, fun and addictive! Are you quick enough?

Click below if you would like to see a video of the game in action:

More info on SlapHappy can be found via the links below: