Dec4th2007
Houston based R1 Soft, a leading provider of high performance backup and recovery solutions for Linux and Windows Servers and MySQL databases, was acquired by another Houston based company BBS Technologies, Inc. last week for an undisclosed sum. BBS noted that it will immediately absorb R1Soft, as a new division under the leadership of David Wartell, R1Soft’s founder and chief executive officer.
Wartell is no stranger to startups. He began ActionWeb Services while attending college and started R1 Soft in 2003.
Dec4th2007
This article from Inc Magazine is an excellent example of why you need to develop a good decision making model for yourself and your business. It is imperative that before you entertain a critical business decision (e.g. raising capital, selling the company, investing in R&D) that you know what your long term goals and objectives are, and also understand the difference between the two.
Dec4th2007
Berggi announced last week that they have relocated their global headquarters to Silicon Valley to build a global center for product marketing and product management for a series of new mobile services and solutions. Startup Houston wrote about Berggi upon their latest funding earlier this year.
Although I suspect that Berggi’s decision to relocate from Houston to Silicon Valley is more a matter of the management team in this particular case, there is reason for concern as another promising startup departs from the Houston scene. This departure usually happens for several reasons:
- The lead venture capitalist does not have a local investor partner to help manage the company;
- The investment community tells the company that it needs to be in the Bay Area to be taken seriously;
- The company feels that it will not have adequate access to talent in Houston.
Whereas these are all valid concerns, companies need be careful with this line of reasoning. I think back to my childhood reading of a favorite Dr. Suess book, I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew in which the protagonist:
“a typical Seuss hybrid who’s part bear, part puppy, and part beyond categorization–has an innocent, carefree life, until it’s ruined by minor problems. With a toe stubbed, and a tail bitten by a Quilligan Quail (”And I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, and some come from behind”), he sets out on an ill-fated journey to find a better, less troublesome place: the fabled city of Solla Sollew, no less, “on the banks of the beautiful River Wah-Hoo,/ Where they never have troubles. At least very few.” Like most dreamlands, Solla Sollew is harder to attain than expected–nobody seems to know how to get there, and the journey is far worse than anyone anticipated. When the fair city is finally attained there is, of course, a last straw; but a happy twist suggests troubles may be better faced than escaped.”
What do you think?
Dec3rd2007
Local startup Insightory got covered on TechCrunch today under the post “Insightory Wants To Be Wikipedia For Management Knowledge.“ According to their site, Insightory is “a knowledge sharing, collaboration and networking platform for management professionals, academicians and graduate students.” According to TechCrunch, Insightory will have its work cut out for it competing with other offerings such as docstoc and Scribd, but with they think they’ve got a good shot with their focus on management docs.
Insightory is also holding a Contest for the best management-related documents uploaded to the site with prizes ranging from $100 to $3000, more details here.
Nov30th2007
The Rice Business Plan Competition is one of the largest and richest intercollegiate new venture competitions in the world. Thirty-six of the top MBA and Graduate Schools from around the world will compete for over $345,000 in prizes at Rice University in Houston. The event is judged by over 150 venture capitalists, angel investors, entrepreneurs, and leaders from the technology entrepreneurship community.
The competition is open to all graduate level teams from any university. Both U.S. and international teams can apply to compete. EVERY team that is accepted is guaranteed to win a cash prize. All applicants will receive a copy of Business Plan Pro - Premier Edition software.
If you know of a graduate team or university that should compete, please encourage them to apply. ALL university teams that submit an intent to compete will receive a free copy of Business Plan Pro - Premier Edition software from Palo Alto Software. More information click here.
- Intent to Compete Deadline: Friday, February 1, 2008
- Executive Summary is Friday, February 22, 2008, 5:00 PM (Houston Time)
Competition Prizes - Over $345,000 in total prizes
- $175,00 Grand Prize - including $100,000 equity investment + $20,000 cash + $55,000 in services
- Over $240,000 in total cash prizes, plus over $100,000 in services awarded
- EVERY team accepted into the Rice competition is guaranteed to win at least e cash prize
Continue reading ‘2008 Rice Business Plan Competition - April 3-5, 2008′
Nov29th2007
Texas A&M University’s Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship is hosting Envision08 at the Marriott River Center in San Antonio, TX from April 23-25, 2008. The even looks very high profile and has a GREAT speaker roster:
The event will be a mix of general sessions, workshops, networking events and other exciting happenings. I suspect that this will be a full registration process so check it out.
Thanks to Don Newell at ADEC Employer Solutions for the information.
Nov29th2007
Philadelphia Eagles Offering Fans Assistance Via Text-Messaging
The NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles are using a unique text-alert system powered by qtags to provide in-stadium assistance to fans at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eagles fans who need emergency help or who have a situation that requires the attention of stadium personnel can text a keyword to 78247 (q-t-a-g-s). This initial text creates a channel for private communication between the fan and stadium support staff, allowing both to communicate back and forth using a web interface and the fan’s mobile phone. The keyword is communicated to fans via in-stadium signage and the Lincoln Financial Field scoreboard.
Read more…
Nov27th2007
I spoke with Tory Gattis of OpenTeams recently about what has been going on with their offering. After viewing the demo, it looks like the application is best suited for development groups and project management (although Tory told me that proj. mgt. is not their focus since there are so many other solutions in that space already), but Tory says that it is ideally suited for any department that is looking to help foster ideas and innovation for their company. I also think that OpenTeams offers a great implementation of Ajax.
Tory and OpenTeams also were recently interviewed on the BusinessMakers Radio Show. You can go here to hear the interview and learn more.
Nov25th2007
When I left my last position and was waffling on starting a consulting practice, everyone told me to talk with Ernie Rapp (LinkedIn, Facebook). At the time, Ernie had his own consulting practice here in Houston for over 5 years and had made a wonderful go at it. We bacme instant friends and have kept in touch since. Earlier in the year, Ernie let me in on his new project, The Up Experience (Facebook group) and we met recently to talk more about it. Here are some excerpts from that chat:
Josh: Tell me about the UP Experience. Where did the idea come from?
Ernie: UP (to be held February 7, 2008) came from my experiences over the last several years, as I realized how focused I had become on my profession. So focused, in fact, I realized I needed to add an intellectual/learning component to my life. I did not want to go back to college, nor did I want to get another certification in a particular field. I needed to understand what was going on in my world, both my local world and the larger world in general. Getting unique perspectives from unique people who are doing amazing things and who are experts in their fields was what I was looking for. I attended a 3 ½-day event in California called TED, and it was so educational and inspirational I wanted to create the same experience in Houston.
Josh: It does sound a lot like the TED conferences that several friends have attended over the years. How does UP differ from TED in format and construction?
Ernie: We have patterned UP based upon my own experiences from TED. We’ll have 20 presenters each giving 20-minute on-stage presentations during a one-day event. TED is 3 ½ days and their presenters are on stage for 18 minutes. A unique feature we added to the UP format is the break-out session scheduled after each group of 5 speakers – during the coffee and lunch breaks. The experts who just finished their on- stage 20-minute presentations will do another 20 minutes of informal question-and-answers for those attendees that are interested in a particular speaker. We really wanted to give attendees and speakers this opportunity to get to know one another (and the presenters are extremely interested in seeing this concept succeed).
Josh: Do you feel that Houston can support this in the same manner that California can? What challenges do you see ahead? Continue reading ‘Interview with Ernie Rapp of The UP Experience’
Nov23rd2007
According to a recent study released by the Human Capital Institute, Houston ranked 19 out of 43 in a survey of 641 respondents asked where their preferred metropolitan area for possible job relocation might be. The top 10 ranked by preference were:
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- New York
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Austin
- Denver
- Los Angeles
- Seattle
- Portland
Allan Schweyer, president and executive director of the Human Capital Institute and author of Talent Management Systems noted, “Our study found that the ‘brand,’ or perception of a city, is a critical factor in the decision-making process for candidates. Therefore, cities and employers that understand, manage and promote their brands will be best positioned to attract and keep knowledge workers of all ages.”
Houston barely beat out Orlando to hold onto a spot higher than 20 in the ranking while other, much smaller and less dynamic cities like Charlotte, Vancouver, and Phoenix ranked higher in the list.
Face it, folks: Houston, we have a problem. A PR problem. The perception that we have outside of our area is not good. Just recently I was following a thread from a former employee that celebrated in “Houston bashing” from a city that wasn’t even on the list. It is both frustrating and mind boggling to me.
Who is to take up the challenge of this? What are the issues we need to address? Can grassroots be enough to change things?
Let’s hear your thoughts.
Recent Comments