Overview

The Houston venture and tech ecosystem is exploding and it’s time to get involved! Venture Houston 2021 is the premier virtual event for entrepreneurs and venture investors to plug into what is happening in Houston.

Taking place on February 4th and 5th, you will hear from many of HX Venture Fund's limited partner corporate CEOs, top portfolio VCs, Houston’s industry leaders, and emerging and successful Houston entrepreneurs. Each afternoon will hold a pitch competition for Houston’s top early-stage companies where investment and in-kind prizes will be awarded by investors at the event. 

This 2-day event features sought after speakers including keynote, Steve Case, founder of AOL and Revolution Ventures. You do not want to miss out on the incredible insight into Houston’s future and the access to incredible innovation, talent, and the entrepreneurial spirit Houston has to offer. 

Key takeaways include:  

• Engaging with peers during panel sessions and continuing the conversation in industry-focused breakout rooms.  

• Joining curated 1 on 1 networking sessions and meet Houston's innovation leaders, promising startup founders, and top investors from around the country.  

• Participating in a premier pitch competition for Houston’s top early-stage (Seed and Series A) companies focusing on Tech, Life Sciences, and Consumer-based verticals. 

Pitch Competition

Eligibility

We are looking for all pre-seed through series B companies interested in venture backing, and headquartered in Houston / Gulf Coast Region (West to Bryan/College Station (vs. Austin), North to Montgomery, South to Galveston, East to Beaumont). Whether you’ve bootstrapped or raised capital previously, we want to see what you have to offer!

SEMI-FINALISTS

JUDGES

Winners will be selected by a group of top national and Houston-based VC investors. View judges here.

TIMELINE
Jan 15- Applications close
Jan 22-Semi-finalists announced
Jan 27-Semi-finalist deck due
Feb 4- Live semi-finals with judge Q&A (virtual)
Feb 5-Live finals with judge Q&A (virtual)

COMPETITION PRIZES
*Investment prize: 

$500,000 from Fitz Gate Ventures

$250,000 from The Artemis Fund

$250,000 from Montrose Lane

$250,000 from LiveOak Venture Partners

$150,000 from Carnrite Ventures

$100,000 from Mercury Fund

$100,000 from Next Coast Ventures

$50,000 from Houston Angel Network

$50,000 from Texas Halo Fund

$50,000 from Plug and Play

$25,000 from Business Angel Minority Association

Cash Prizes:
1st place-$15,000 from Halliburton Labs

2nd place- $10,000 from Softeq
3rd place- $5,000 from ChampionX 

In-kind prizes from:

• Baird Capital
  • Consultative office hours with one of their investment team members.
• Capital Factory
  • Capital Factory Texas Startup Manifesto Award
    • 6 months free coworking membership at any Capital Factory location, with virtual access options
    • Curated introductions to 20 investors
    • Automatic acceptance into Capital Factory Ventures (requires 1% equity grant)
    • Up to $100K worth of free hosting credits
• Crosscut
  • Assistance with deck review and deck compilation
  • Access to network with potential introductions to 8-10 investors or co-investors
• Flyover Capital
  • Three 45-minute mentoring sessions with the Flyover team on topics of the winner’s choice.
• Greentown Labs
  • Participation in the member's only CEO round tables
  • Supply Chain Strategic Consultation
  • Access to incubation programing
  • Complementary desk and seating for 2 team members at Greentown Houston
• Lead Edge Capital
  • Strategic introductions to their network with investors or strategic partners.
  • Iterative pitch deck reviews to ensure clear, concise messaging that resounds with potential investors.
• Greycroft
  • Three advisory strategy sessions with a Greycroft investment team member that would cover how a VC would think about investing in the winner’s company, a deep dive on the product/service, and advice on how to execute a successful fundraise.
• Updata Partners
  • Iterative pitch deck reviews to ensure clear, concise messaging that resounds with potential investors.
• venBio
  • Advisory session on how to best frame the best pitch and market opportunity.
• .406 Ventures
  • Two 30-45 min advisory sessions that will cover any topic of the winner’s choice.

*Investment prizes are contingent on the ability of the venture firm to identify startup(s) that meet their investment thesis and ability to reach an agreement with the startup(s) on investment terms. 

About the Organizers 

HX Venture Fund is a venture capital fund of funds that creates a multiplier effect by linking the transformational power of world-class corporations, technology innovation, and high-growth startups with proven venture investment talent, company-building expertise, and capital.

The venture capital funds in HX Venture Fund’s portfolio bring their significant experience and, at their full discretion, risk capital to Houston’s best high-growth companies across all industry sectors.

Houston Exponential (HX) is a non-profit organization created to accelerate the growth of Houston’s innovation ecosystem. We believe Houston is where the world will come to solve problems that matter. HX is leading the charge to turn Houston into a hub for high-growth high-potential companies by creating pathways for innovation to flow at scale. We are aligning ecosystem support around strategic initiatives that are connecting, attracting, and promoting startups, investors, corporations, government, and universities. 

The Houston Angel Network (HAN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing the innovation ecosystem in Houston, Texas by supporting founders and startups with financial resources and mentorship. Founded in late 2001, HAN is the largest and most active angel network in Texas.

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is Rice University’s nationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education, and the launch of technology companies. The Rice Alliance is a catalyst for building successful ventures through education, guidance and connections. Its mission is to support the creation of technology-based companies and the commercialization of new technologies in the Houston community and Southwest.