Strategic Committees

Houston’s Leaders of Business, Academia, Government, Investing, and Startup Development Organizations

The Houston Exponential strategic committees are a convening of innovation ecosystem partners collaborating to unveil opportunities for accelerated growth in startups and tech.

Drive Houston Forward, Faster

Committees extend HX’s internal capacities by leveraging the collective knowledge of subject matter experts in Houston

The Innovation Process

How Houston Exponential activates Houston’s domain experts to resolve some of the cities biggest innovation roadblocks.

Identify Pain Points

Engage with members of Houston's tech community to identify the most pressing problems and obstacles

Ideate Solutions

Form a strategic committee to advise and influence the high-level direction of potential initiatives

Prioritize Initiatives

Analyze and select proposals based on feasibility, projected impact, timeline, confidence, and reach

Implement Working Groups

Assemble a working group of ground-level doers to build a minimum viable product

Measure Success

Gather metrics on the actual impact. Graduate and spin off successful projects or revisit ideation/prioritization

Current Committees

Investment

Activate high net worth individuals and educate angel investors about investing in startups and tech deals

Talent and Learning

Explore different models to recruit and develop high quality startup and tech talent

Density and Collisions

Promote physical and virtual interactions between all stakeholders across the Houston innovation ecosystem

Thematic Focus Area Committees

Industrial IoT

Identify internet-of-things applications for smart cities and resilience efforts for the city of Houston

Data Science

Develop a strategy for fostering a talent pool of data science and machine learning practitioners

Cybersecurity

Develop a local critical mass / skilled network and a reputation of expertise in cybersecurity

Robotics

Promote collaboration and work on multi-institutional grants to support the Ion Robotics Institute

Graduated Committees and Initiatives

Innovation Corridor Committee

The Innovation Corridor committee was born out of a need for the development of an innovation district to help create stakeholder density in the Houston tech ecosystem. It focused on developing the four-mile stretch connecting Downtown Houston and the Texas Medical Center. The committee graduated in 2020 and is now run by Susan Davenport, Chief Economic Development Officer at the Greater Houston Partnership.

The Sales Academy at the University of Houston

The Sales Academy is a unique certificate program from the University of Houston’s Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute. It was created to support the growing technology industry in Houston by providing a source of highly-qualified candidates trained in digital sales and marketing.

HTX Talent

HTX Talent is the central hub for available tech jobs in Houston. It’s grown from a simple job board to a network of startups looking for talent, and candidates searching for their next career move.

HX Venture Fund

The HX Venture Fund is a fund of fund designed not only for ROI, but also to bring additional venture capital to the Houston innovation ecosystem. By connecting Houston’s world-class corporations, startups, and VC firms, the fund creates a positive growth multiplier effect.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute at UH

In collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the Data Science Institute at the University of Houston combines research, education, and services related to data science and scientific computing. The institute is leading resource in this field to public and private sector partners within the Houston metro area and beyond.