The annual Bayou Startup Showcase presented by Rice University’s OwlSpark and the University of Houston’s RED Labs took place Aug. 1 at the Ion – Houston’s innovation hub powered by Rice.
OwlSpark, created and ran by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, and RED Labs have partnered on this showcase for eleven years to create an environment that cultivates entrepreneurs and early-stage startup teams, enabling founders to share ideas, experience the value of collaboration, and surround themselves with the best people and resources. The two universities are both ranked No. 1 in the country for entrepreneurship programs.
“This partnership has seen 401 founders across 181 ventures collectively raise more than $110M,” said Jessica Fleenor, managing director of OwlSpark. “Our alumni are living proof that collaboration works. Our 11-year partnership leverages the community to provide a springboard for emerging founders, demonstrating that Houston is the place for entrepreneurship.”
RED Labs and OwlSpark each provide a 12-week program designed to help the universities’ respective students, faculty, staff and recent alumni accelerate their business or business idea with hands-on entrepreneurship experiences and a roadmap from innovation to commercialization. These accelerators are then celebrated each year with the Bayou Startup Showcase with opportunities to make connections with customers and investors.
This year’s event kicked off with the 18 teams pitching their businesses to a large, standing-room-only audience before the showcase was then opened for the audience to view and interact with the pitched products and services as well as engage with the founders and discover ways to support and grow these businesses.
Ventures ranged from hair care to health care, highlighting the vast array of expertise and experience that comes from Houston’s entrepreneurship ecosystem that Rice and UH have spearheaded.
“I can do anything in a laboratory, but once you hit the real world and the business part about it, it’s really important to find mentors and get a comprehensive sense of what that ecosystem looks like,” said Jonathan Stein, founder of Euvivo Biosciences. “The program has been amazing.”
The day is a celebration of entrepreneurship, spotlighting the newest startups and small businesses, said Brad Burke, associate vice president for industry and new ventures at Rice’s Office of Innovation and executive director of Rice Alliance.
“We want to celebrate the spirit of Houston by supporting our two great hometown universities, these innovative founders and the vibrant entrepreneurial community that makes the Bayou City so special,” he said.
Learn more about all 18 teams here.