Ion District

Canceled - Startup Circle Houston 💫
2026-08-28 10:30 - 11:30 (America/Chicago) | Ion – Lobby, 4201 Main St., Houston, 77002, United States
Startup Circle Houston 💫 brings together founders, teammates, experts and newbies of startups in Greater Houston! Past topics include:
Traction + Funding Stage Identification – What stage are you really at?
ICP – Seeking your beachhead market
Problem Identification – Love the problem, not the solution
Bootstrapping – Knowing your runway and not putting money on fire. 🔥
Founder capacity, 10xing and recruiting for your weaknesses. 🚀

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16537030/

NASA Office Hours
2026-08-28 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-08-14 10:00 - 12:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
NASA is bringing its expertise to Houston’s innovation hub! Every other Friday, join us for NASA’s office hours, designed to bridge the gap between Houston’s innovators, entrepreneurs, and startups with NASA’s elite experts, capabilities, and technology.

License the Future: Discover how to utilize NASA-developed technologies and intellectual property for your own projects.
Partner for Growth: Explore how to grow your own goals and NASA’s mission together by leveraging unique human spaceflight capabilities and expertise from NASA Johnson Space Center.
Build the Sector: Help us grow Houston’s commercial space ecosystem.

Come with a vision, leave with a partnership.
Just come walk up and say hello, or sign up in advance here.

Canceled - Ion Networking with Cup of Joey
2026-08-28 08:30 - 10:30 | Ion – Lobby, 4201 Main St., Houston, 77002, United States
Cup of Joey on Friday, August 28, 2026 is canceled.
What is the purpose of Cup of Joey? It is to create a connected culture of coffee shop-open networking across our region. Every Friday morning, you’ll have the opportunity to meet new and expand your current networks, talk about tech, inspire innovation, and create community.
So, what is the difference between a cup of joe and a Cup of Joe-Y? It is the WHY. It’s not what you do. It is why you do it!
At the Ion, these are questions that we want to explore with the tech and innovation community. So, show up, be friendly, and make new connections. Know your why, and we will get to the future together.
The future is only a cup away.
Register Here: https://www.cupofjoey.org/

Partner & Builder Breakfast
2026-08-28 08:30 - 10:30 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://luma.com/PartnerBreakfast
​A collaborative closing morning focused on relationships, opportunities, and building the future of local commerce together.
​Close out Illuminate 2026 with the Partner + Builder Breakfast: a relaxed, collaborative morning at The ION bringing together Lumino’s partners, merchants, and builders to talk relationships, opportunities, and implementation. This session is about turning the momentum from the launch into concrete next steps: partnership conversations, onboarding support, and a shared roadmap for building the future of local commerce together.

NASA Tech Talks: Rice University’s Space Humanities Initiative
2026-08-27 18:00 - 19:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
We want HOU! Join us to discover NASA’s toughest tech challenges—and apply your skills and expertise to solve them.
This month, NASA Tech Talks will feature Rice’s new Space Humanities Initiative, co-led by Alexander Regier, the William Faulkner Professor of English and chair of the Department of English and Creative Writing, and David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute and professor of physics and astronomy.
Long before rockets, satellites or space stations, humans were already in a relationship with outer space. People looked up and named constellations. They told stories about the moon. They wrote poems, mapped stars and built myths around lights in the sky they could not touch. Across cultures and centuries, outer space functioned as more than a scientific mystery; it was a mirror for human longing, fear, imagination and hope.
The Rice Space Initiative brings scholars across disciplines together to examine how culture, language, ethics and imagination shape space exploration, and how space exploration shapes them in return. Please join us for a discussion of how the Initiative came to be, and how it might provide a sustained space where questions about ownership, settlement, commercial use and planetary responsibility can be addressed in an interdisciplinary manner.
Please join us after the talk for drinks and networking at Second Draught!

About the Speakers
Dr. David Alexander is an astrophysics professor at Rice University and a faculty scholar at the Baker Institute for Public Policy. He also serves as the Director of the Rice Space Institute. Alexander was awarded an OBE by her majesty Queen Elizabeth in 2018 for services to the space industry and was named a Chevalier of the National Order of Merit by the French Republic in 2026. He received a Presidential Early Career Award in 2004 and was appointed a Kavli Frontiers Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences in 2006. Alexander has served on many professional committees including the NASA Advisory Council’s Heliophysics Subcommittee, and the NASA Solar Heliospheric Management and Operations Working Group. He was named a GlobalScot by the Scottish government and served as an elected member of the Board of Directors of the American Astronautical Society from 2018-2022. He served as Chair of the Aerospace Industry Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership, been on the Board of the Houston Spaceport Development Corporation since 2021 and was recently appointed to the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee. Alexander received his Bachelor’s degree and doctorate from the University of Glasgow.
Alexander Regier is the William Faulkner Professor of English in the Department of English and Creative Writing. He also holds a full appointment in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures. Regier is the author and editor of multiple books and articles on literature, art, and culture. His publications cover a range of subjects, from eighteenth-century philosophy and Romantic literature to outer space, awkwardness, fragmentation, ruins, and sports. In recent years, Regier has received an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers, as well as Fellowships at the National Humanities Center, the Center for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities at the University of Cambridge, and a Visiting Fellowship at the University of Exeter. He has also won multiple awards, amongst others, from the National Endowment for the Humanities. From 2023 to 2026, he was chair of the Department of English and Creative Writing at Rice and is now co-director of the Space Humanities Initiative.

Dario Robleto is an artist, writer, and filmmaker based in Houston, Texas. His work has been exhibited widely and is held in prominent collections, including the Harvard Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He has held research fellowships and residencies at institutions including the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the SETI Institute, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. From 2018 to 2023, he served as Artist-at-Large at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and the Block Museum of Art. In 2020, he served as a research consultant for the popular science television series Cosmos: Possible Worlds. In 2016, Robleto was appointed Texas State 3-D Visual Artist, and in 2025, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Middlebury College. He is currently working on his first book, The Heartbeat at the Edge of the Solar System: Science, Emotion, and the Golden Record, co-authored with Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts. It will be published by Scribner in 2027.
Ryn Delpapa is a change-maker who believes in impact. A neuroarts tech founder, interdisciplinary artist, and speaker on a mission, they honor life’s biodiversity, from plants to people. Ryn is a recent 2026 TEDxHouston Countdown speaker, 2025 4.0 Tiny Fellow, and CXC Changemakers for the Planet Fellow, bridging creativity, health, and environmental stewardship within their venture, AR+E COMETS, a global health studio. As a 2024 City of Houston City Initiative grant awardee, their Art for Climate Resilience community arts-in-health program shaped community health in Houston’s Third and Fifth Wards. With a B.S. in International Nutrition from the University of Texas at Austin and a kaleidoscope career from Houston to Chengdu, China, their global health background, 8 years in B2B SaaS tech, and arts-in-health research enable them to bridge creativity and planetary health. Work they share through their venture, consultancy, and Earthly Bonds podcast, where they explore health, from brain to biosphere, for creative, resilient living.

Montgomery B. Goforth has more than 40 years of experience as both Engineer and Manager in a variety of highly technical space and defense-related efforts. After working for a small defense contractor specializing in anti-submarine warfare, he joined NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 1990. He has held leadership positions in multiple JSC Directorates and Program Offices. In his previous role as Assistant Director of the JSC Engineering Directorate, he established a framework to better focus Engineering’s efforts towards Human Spaceflight technology and systems development consistent with JSC and Agency goals for exploration. Mr. Goforth is now serving as Acting Director of the Business Development & Technology Integration Office at JSC, and as the JSC Chief Technologist. In these capacities he will be helping to expand the Houston Aerospace Community through the identification of opportunities to develop space/terrestrial technologies of interest to JSC and Human Space Exploration. Mr. Goforth was born in East Texas, raised in Southern California and Arizona, and graduated from Rice University (BSME 1982, MSME 1987).
About NASA Tech Talks
In these presentations, occurring the fourth Thursdays of the month, Mr. Montgomery Goforth and other aerospace subject matter experts will discuss the technology development challenges faced by NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the surrounding Aerospace community in our ongoing efforts as the hub of human spaceflight. Presentations will focus on the ways in which these challenges, and the associated opportunities, can be leveraged by Houston’s innovation community. We will continue to identify potential space/terrestrial technologies of interest to Human Spaceflight. Past NASA Tech Talks have included topics such as:

From Space to Startup: Leveraging NASA Technology and Innovation to Propel Your Growing Enterprise
Disruptive Filter Technology for Spacecraft Water Treatment: The New Promise of Graphene
Lunar dust capture using novel multiplexed inertial filter
Lunar Passive Fuel Cell Technologies:
Microbes in Space

Do You Actually Own What You Built?
2026-08-27 11:00 - 12:00 | Industrious, 4201 Main St, Houston, TX, 77002
Register here: https://luma.com/egd0fnbp
Novak Druce Carroll, the intellectual Property law firm in Suite 200, is hosting a coworking lunch. It is a plain talk IP ownership session, so bring your questions and ask them straight if you have wondered whether you own your code, your brand, or that thing you built. The contractor and AI: this is worth an hour of your day.

Illuminate: The Official Launch Experience
2026-08-27 08:30 - 18:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://luma.com/LaunchExperience
​Illuminate is the official public launch experience for Lumino. Join founders, merchants, creators, investors, and community leaders for a full day of keynotes, industry breakout sessions, and networking as we unveil the Lumino ecosystem and the future of Local Conscious Commerce.
​The day moves through three keynote acts — Past, Present, and Future — tracing Lumino’s founding story, what’s live today, and where the platform is headed. From there, guests choose an industry-specific breakout session, hear from a lineup of champion speakers, and close the day at a happy hour with our first-floor restaurant partners.
​Agenda
​8:30 AM Guest arrival
​9:00–10:00 AM Past — Lumino State of the Union
​10:00–11:00 AM Present — The Lumino Launch Keynote
​11:00 AM–11:30 AM Future — The Future of Lumino & Global Conscious Commerce
​11:30–12:30 PM Lunch, served in Lower Lobby
​12:30–1:30 PM Breakout sessions: Non-Profit, Hospitality, Online Coaching, Startup, Payment Processing
​2:00–2:30 PM Eric Rock – Mission Project
​2:30— 3:00 PM Champion Keynote (Coming Soon)
​3:00–4:00 PM Micro keynotes (15 min each)
​4:00–6:00 PM Happy hour — 1st floor restaurant partners

Industrious Coworking Day: Summer Series
2026-08-27 08:30 - 17:00 | Industrious, 4201 Main St, Houston, TX, 77002
Register here: https://luma.com/c1h8xq1m
​Summer Co-Working Day at Industrious
​Join us at Industrious on August 27th from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM for a full day of productivity, connection, and community. Experience what it’s like to work from our vibrant workspace with complimentary coworking for the day, high-speed WiFi, and opportunities to meet other professionals in the building.
​We’ll kick off the morning with breakfast, followed by specialty snacks from a featured caterer, and plenty of opportunities for networking throughout the day. Our team will also be offering guided tours of the space and sharing upcoming programming and events happening in the community.
​To wrap up the day, join us for a happy hour from 4:00 – 5:00 PM — drinks are on us as we continue the conversation and celebrate the Industrious community.
​What to expect:
​Complimentary coworking from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
​Breakfast to start your day
​Specialty snacks from a guest caterer
​Networking opportunities with members and guests
​Free high-speed WiFi
​Workspace tours and insights into upcoming programming
​Happy Hour (4:00 – 5:00 PM) — drinks on us
​Parking:
Parking is free for the first 3 hours, then $10 for the remainder of the day.
​Come work, connect, and experience a day in the life at Industrious. We look forward to welcoming you!

Latino Founders Forum - Lymbar Hosted
2026-08-25 17:00 - 19:30 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://luma.com/xbl14rq2
LFF is a monthly gathering for Latino startup founders, operators, investors, and ecosystem leaders building and scaling real companies.

Industrial Growth Series: Why Great Industrial Companies Stop Growing
2026-08-24 12:00 - 13:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1996106693855?aff=oddtdtcreator
Great industrial companies do not usually stop growing because they lack capability.
They stop growing because the market changes around them.
For years, many industrial companies have grown through strong relationships, repeat customers, referrals, reputation, and word of mouth.
That approach can work for a long time.
Until it does not.
The company is still strong.
The team still delivers.
Customers still trust the work.
The reputation is still solid.
But new opportunities become harder to create.
The same relationships are no longer producing the same volume of business. Referrals become less predictable. Buyers become harder to reach. Competitors become more visible. The company starts depending too heavily on the momentum it built in the past.
That is where many great industrial companies get stuck.
They are not failing.
They have simply reached a point where the way they grew before may not be enough to support where they want to go next.
This session of the Industrial Growth Series is designed to help owners, executives, and commercial leaders understand why strong industrial companies hit growth ceilings and what must begin to change to create new momentum.
We will explore the role of market positioning, visibility, relationships, business development, diversification, and changing buyer behavior without turning the conversation into another tactical sales seminar.
This is not about chasing every opportunity.
It is not about abandoning the relationships that helped build the company.
It is about recognizing when the market has changed and ensuring the company’s approach to growth changes with it.
What You’ll Learn
Why successful industrial companies eventually hit growth ceilings
Why reputation, referrals, and repeat customers may stop producing the same results
How changing markets and buyer behavior affect industrial growth
Where commercial momentum commonly begins to slow
Why strong capabilities do not always create strong market visibility
How leaders can begin creating new paths to growth
What established companies should evaluate before investing in more activity
Who Should Attend
Industrial company owners and CEOs
Manufacturing leaders
Energy, oil and gas, and field service companies
Construction and infrastructure firms
Commercial, sales, and business development leaders
Companies with strong capabilities but inconsistent new opportunity flow
Leaders working to break through a growth plateau
Event Format
11:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Networking at the stairs
12:00 PM – 12:40 PM | Presentation
12:40 PM – 1:00 PM | Discussion and Q&A
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM | Networking at the stairs
About the Speaker
Jada Powell is the Founder of Powell Consulting Group, where she works with industrial, energy, oil and gas, construction, and service-based companies to build stronger commercial infrastructure and more consistent business development momentum.
Her work focuses on helping mid-market companies move beyond relationship-only growth into more intentional, visible, and scalable commercial strategies.
This session is part of the Industrial Growth Series, a three-part in-person series at The Ion focused on how established industrial companies can remain visible, competitive, and positioned for the next stage of growth.

Entrepreneurship Roundtable with OPEN
2026-08-24 11:00 - 13:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://form.jotform.com/253065225589059
This event will be a facilitated discussion bringing together founders, builders, and innovators to explore what it takes to create, scale, and sustain meaningful ventures. Every roundtable will have different topics of discussion as well. Here is the following criteria for individuals to join:
1. Emerging Founders
– Actively developing a startup, product, or business concept
– May be pre-revenue or early revenue (<$500K ARR)
Committed to launching or validating their idea within the next 12 months
2. Established Entrepreneurs
– Have founded or co-founded a company (past or present)
– Are seeking to scale, pivot, or build their “next best thing”
– Have raised funding, bootstrapped, or achieved meaningful revenue milestones
3. Intrapreneurs & Innovators
– Corporate or technical professionals building new initiatives, divisions, or technologies within their organizations
– Interested in transitioning to entrepreneurship or investing in early-stage ventures
Those who are selected will be sent a link to purchase their optional lunch ticket for $20. The cost is to cover the food. If you opt out of lunch, the event is free.

Startup Circle Houston 💫
2026-08-21 10:30 - 11:30, 2026-08-14 10:30 - 11:30 | Ion – Lobby, 4201 Main St., Houston, 77002, United States

Mapping Houston's Innovation Ecosystem
2026-08-21 10:00 - 11:00 | Ion – Conference Room 027, 4201 Main St, Houston, TX, 77002
Facilitated by Wade Pinder, Ion’s Mentor in Residence
Houston’s startup and innovation ecosystem is as vast and dynamic as the city itself, full of opportunities, resources, and talent. Yet, navigating it can be challenging—especially for those unfamiliar with its many parts. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, educator, student, community leader or curious professional, this session will offer valuable insights into how Houston’s innovation ecosystem works and how you can find your place within it.
Discover the Houston Ecosystem’s Flow
Facilitated by Wade Pinder, the Ion’s Mentor in Residence, this session will help participants map out the journey needed to take an idea from concept to a mature company. Wade brings years of experience in product management, community building, and mentoring entrepreneurs to the table, offering a thoughtful and informed perspective to guide this exploration.
The heart of the session lies in exploring a dynamic mind map that Wade has created and continues to refine—an ever-evolving, community-driven tool that grows alongside Houston’s innovation ecosystem. Attendees will not only learn about the ecosystem’s flow but also have the opportunity to contribute to it by identifying gaps, sharing knowledge, and adding their insights.
This session will center on the stages of a company’s growth journey, exploring the essential elements that drive it forward. Participants will examine the role of financial capital, from early fundraising efforts to securing the resources needed for scaling, and how these milestones align with a company’s progression. The discussion will also delve into the human element of growing a business, highlighting the evolving talent and expertise required to navigate the entrepreneurial journey. Additionally, we’ll explore the importance of “social capital”—the networks, support systems, and relationships that play a critical role in moving ideas to market and sustaining long-term growth.
Ion’s Vision
Helping the community better understand the local ecosystem reflects the Ion’s commitment “to being the home for Houston’s innovation community.” By fostering connections, creating opportunities, and sharing perspectives, the Ion is building a transformative culture that strengthens Houston’s economic resiliency and celebrates the entrepreneurial journey.
From forming an initial entrepreneurial idea to the prototyping phase to scaling a business, this Houston Ecosystem Mapping session aligns with the Ion’s goals to support innovation, attract talent, and build a vibrant ecosystem.
Who Should Attend?
This session is ideal for:

Entrepreneurs looking to understand greater Houston’s resources.
Investors curious about the local startup landscape.
Professionals and students wanting to connect with the innovation community.
Anyone passionate about Houston’s growth as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Innovators who have recently moved to greater Houston and are looking to get “plugged in” to the local scene.
Community leaders and service providers that support (or want to support) the innovation ecosystem.

Register today for this chance to explore Houston’s ecosystem, uncover its flow, and help shape its future.

AI Circle Houston
2026-08-21 09:30 - 23:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/18970005/
AI Circle Houston is a weekly Friday morning gathering for people building, implementing, or exploring AI.
We bring together builders, engineers, product leaders, founders, operators, researchers, students, and anyone interested in putting AI into practice. Each week includes networking followed by a focused session on a practical AI topic, with discussions spanning AI agents, AI-native products, models, development tools, reliability, interfaces, computer vision, and emerging approaches to building with AI.
The format is community-driven, with an emphasis on learning from people actively working with AI and sharing what is working, what isn’t, and what we’re learning along the way.

Ion Networking with Cup of Joey
2026-08-21 08:30 - 10:30, 2026-08-14 08:30 - 10:30 | Ion – Lobby, 4201 Main St., Houston, 77002, United States
What is the purpose of Cup of Joey? It is to create a connected culture of coffee shop-open networking across our region. Every Friday morning, you’ll have the opportunity to meet new and expand your current networks, talk about tech, inspire innovation, and create community.
So, what is the difference between a cup of joe and a Cup of Joe-Y? It is the WHY. It’s not what you do. It is why you do it!
At the Ion, these are questions that we want to explore with the tech and innovation community. So, show up, be friendly, and make new connections. Know your why, and we will get to the future together.
The future is only a cup away.
Register Here: https://www.cupofjoey.org/

ENRG HTX - August 2026
2026-08-21 08:30 - 10:00 | Ion – Conference Room 028, 4201 Main St., Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/enrg-htx-august-2026-tickets-1992146493790?aff=oddtdtcreator
ENRG (Entrepreneurial Networking Resource Group) is a community for entrepreneurs with 10-250 employees running on EOS or EOS Curious.

ENRG (pronounced energy) is here to stay in Houston!
Erick Garcia, Lesa A Skipper and Craig Ceccanti are teaming up to build the Houston ENRG Chapter and we could not be more excited to invite entrepreneurs running on EOS or EOS Curious to this collaborative room! Join us on August 21st at 8:30am at the Ion District (Downstairs 028) for the first meeting!
What is ENRG?
The vision is to establish an ENRG (Entrepreneurial Networking Resource Group) in Houston for entrepreneurs with 10-250 employees. This is a free EOS Worldwide aligned community for entrepreneurs led by one EOS Implementer and one Integrator.
Each monthly meeting includes:
– Practical training on an EOS tools
– Peer-to-peer issue solving
– Valuable networking
– Content that helps move the needle on your business
– Exposure to Subject Matter Experts
No sales pitches here though, we’re here to help all tides rise!
This is WHERE entrepreneurs find the WHOs and the HOWs to move their business forward.

Pickle Lab’s Two Year Anniversary Celebration
2026-08-20 18:00 - 21:00 | Pickle Lab
We’re celebrating 2 years of serves, smashes, and community at Pickle Lab, and you’re invited to join the fun!

Swing by on Thursday, August 20 from 6 – 9 PM for an evening of open play pickleball (paddles are available to borrow), beats by a live DJ, MADabolic demonstrations, a variety of giveaways and swag, and complimentary samples from White Claw Zero. Enjoy a free beverage courtesy of Second Draught, and food will be available for purchase from local food truck, Crunchy’s for the Munchies.

This event is free to attend, but RSVPs are encouraged.

Houston Linux User Group
2026-08-20 18:00 - 20:00 | Ion – Conference Room 029 – 030, 4201 Main St, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Are you interested or already invested in the Linux Operating System?
Join us at the Houston Linux User Group, one of the oldest user groups involved with the Linux Operating System. We discuss new trends in operating system usage, software development, and current technological trends, as well as provide one-on-one training or class-based instruction. Learn about how to get more out of your computer or how to leverage any of the Linux-based computational platforms.
All are welcome to attend, regardless of whether you’re a seasoned Linux professional intent on networking or a new Linux user struggling with installation or the command line.
This monthly meeting includes all of the standard Houston Linux User Group meeting activities, which include meet-and-greet, presentations of personal projects, multi-meeting classes, as well as organizational and coordinating announcements.
Visit our website at: https://www.houstonlinux.org/
Visit our calendar and the agenda of each week’s meeting at: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/embed?src=houstonlinuxusergroup@gmail.com
Join us on social media.
Discord: https://discord.gg/MPzYfeJz
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/houstonlinuxusergroup/

Tech Transfer Thursdays
2026-08-20 17:30 - 19:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://mailchi.mp/rice/aug-20th-ion-event-landing-page
Universities and research institutions produce some of the most valuable discoveries in the world, yet navigating the path to commercialize them is not always clear or well known. Houston’s universities and research institutions are partnering to to simplify the commercialization process.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, August 20th for the launch of Tech Transfer Thursdays at The Ion District!
I’m thrilled that the Rice University Office of Technology Transfer is teaming up with the tech transfer offices at Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Methodist for our first event in this monthly series. Together, we are partnering to spotlight the breakthrough innovations and technologies developed across our respective institutions, and show you exactly how to leverage this intellectual property (IP) to launch new ventures or create strategic growth opportunities for your business.
Each month will feature a different domain focus, and we are kicking off August with Digital Health!
Who Should Attend?
💡 Founders & Operators: Looking for breakthrough technology to serve as the foundation for your next venture or strengthen your IP moat.
🏢 Corporate Innovators: Seeking external research to bridge technical gaps, accelerate roadmaps, or unlock new business models.
📈 Investors & VCs: Searching for vetted, high-barrier-to-entry university spinouts and deep-tech startups.
Event Snapshot:
5:30 PM: Open Networking & TTO Booths
6:00 PM: TTO Panel on the licensing & commercialization roadmap
6:40 PM: University Startup Pitch Spotlight
7:00 PM: Free Networking

Houston Startup Speedrun
2026-08-20 09:00 - 19:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wades-houston-startup-speedrun-at-the-ion-tickets-1988360089553?aff=erelexpmlt
The Houston Startup Speedrun is an intensive and fast-paced program designed to provide both early-stage founders and aspiring entrepreneurs with a comprehensive understanding of the Startup Founder’s Journey and the Houston startup ecosystem through a carefully curated curriculum consisting of 10 consecutive 50-minute sessions. Wade Pinder, your host and facilitator, is an experienced and trusted ecosystem guide for many Houston-based stakeholders. With a focus on efficiency and accommodating the schedules of full-time working professionals, this program aims to quickly give you a “lay of the land” while preparing you for your entrepreneurial journey.

Ambient AI in Healthcare at Industrious
2026-08-19 18:00 - 20:00 | Industrious, 4201 Main St, Houston, TX, 77002
Register here: https://luma.com/kt27wu4n
Join Stitium 37 and Industrious for the first edition of Evening Rounds, a monthly healthcare innovation gathering exploring the signals, stories, and opportunities shaping healthcare.

The Technology Leadership Advantage Series
2026-08-18 12:00 - 13:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1995696286315?aff=oddtdtcreator
Technology Isn’t Your Competitive Advantage Anymore. Leadership Is. Why High-Growth Companies Win Long Before They Write Another Line of Code
Technology has never been more powerful or more accessible.
Cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, AI models, development tools, and specialized technical capabilities that once separated companies are now available to almost everyone.
Yet companies with access to remarkably similar technology continue to produce very different results.
The difference is increasingly leadership.
As companies grow, technology decisions stop being purely technical decisions. They become decisions about growth, capital, customers, product direction, risk, organizational design, and competitive position.
And the leadership model that helped a company reach one stage of growth may not be the leadership model it needs for the next.
Join Ram Prasad, CEO of Delence, for an executive conversation about where competitive advantage is moving and why high-growth companies need to build technology leadership before growth exposes the gap.
This isn’t a technical presentation about tools, platforms, or the latest AI trend.
It’s a conversation about leadership, growth, technology, and the decisions that shape enterprise value.
What We’ll Discuss
Why access to technology is becoming less differentiated
Why leadership and judgment become more valuable as technology becomes more accessible
How growth changes what companies need from technology leadership
Why organizations can add engineers, platforms, and tools without improving execution
Why companies sometimes outgrow the leadership model that got them here
Why AI creates an executive leadership challenge, not simply a technology opportunity
How strong technology leadership connects business strategy, product, technology, AI, and execution
How to recognize leadership gaps before they become growth constraints
Who Should Attend
This session is specifically designed for CEOs, seeded startup founders, presidents, investors, private equity leaders, operating partners, and board members of growth-stage B2B technology and technology-enabled companies.
It will be particularly relevant if your organization is experiencing rapid growth, increasing technology complexity, product scaling challenges, AI investment, or questions about whether the current leadership structure is ready for the next stage.
If technology decisions are increasingly becoming CEO, board, investment, or growth decisions, this conversation is for you.
One Question to Consider Before You Arrive
Is your leadership team built for the next three years and not the last three?
About Ram Prasad
Ram Prasad is CEO of Delence and an executive technology leader focused on the intersection of technology, product, AI, and business growth.
Throughout his corporate career, Ram has worked with executive teams navigating the decisions that emerge as organizations grow when technology becomes more complex, product priorities compete, AI creates new possibilities, and decisions that were once technical begin affecting growth, risk, and enterprise value.
His perspective is built around a simple idea:
Growth has a leadership problem.
Ram speaks and advises on executive technology leadership, AI strategy, product strategy, scaling, and the leadership decisions that turn technology into business advantage.
About Delence
Delence provides executive technology leadership to growth-stage B2B technology and technology-enabled companies.
Through Fractional CAIO, CTO and CPO leadership, Delence works alongside CEOs and executive teams when the business needs senior technology, product, or AI leadership, but a permanent executive hire may not yet be the right answer.
Delence connects business strategy, technology, product, AI, and execution, bringing executive ownership to the decisions that become more consequential as companies grow.
This isn’t staffing or recruiting. It is executive leadership for the stage the business is entering.

SCORE Office Hours
2026-08-14 10:00 - 11:30 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
About SCORE Office Hours
SCORE is the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 11 million entrepreneurs start, grow, or successfully exit a business. SCORE’s 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources, and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories.
Office Hours with SCORE take place each Friday morning. Additional partners will be on-site the second Friday of each month (excluding holidays)

Hands-On Workshop: Build Your Own Reusable AI System
2026-08-14 08:30 - 10:30 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hands-on-workshop-build-your-own-reusable-ai-system-tickets-1995123296487?aff=oddtdtcreator
Most AI advice focuses on clever prompts. This workshop gives you a solid tool you will use again and again.
At this month’s Social Media Breakfast Houston, Kami Huyse and Jennifer Texada will show you how to stop starting from scratch every time you sit down with AI. In the first half hour, they’ll break down what a Smart Card is and why it turns scattered prompting into a repeatable system.
Then it’s build time!
You’ll build one yourself, live, with guidance every step of the way. You’ll leave with a working Smart Card built for your own work, ready to use right away with the AI tool of your choice.
Choose to create a tool that will help you build your monthly newsletter, proposals, client reports, a press release, or something else you do regularly and would like a repeatable process to help with.
This session is hands-on.
Bring a laptop and an AI tool that lets you upload files, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot. We’ll walk through how to start a project on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Bring a real task you want AI to help with.
What you will learn:
How to spot and create a repeatable process you can hand off to AI.
What AI should do and what humans should keep control of.
How to organize your data and content so you aren’t trapped in one tool.
Why it’s worth creating a reusable Project, GPT, or Gem instead of starting over each time.
When it makes sense to use the desktop version of your AI tool.
How to set up a project in ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini so your Smart Card is ready to use.

The future of engineering from Anthropic’s Eng Service Co CTO
2026-08-13 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Register here: https://luma.com/8q74pmn4
AI has changed what it means to be an engineer.
As GenAI models become capable of tackling increasingly complex work, the value that engineers bring is changing: deciding what should be built, designing reliable systems, validating AI-generated work, understanding customers, and orchestrating agents. The changes are accelerating. What does this mean for engineers in the future, and how does one stay relevant?
Join Eddie Siegel, Co-Founder & CTO of Ode, Anthropic’s engineering services company, for a candid, unscripted conversation about where engineering is heading, what skills will matter over the next decade, and how to cultivate and deploy them.
Before Anthropic, Eddie built engineering organizations at LiveRamp, Wove, Samba TV, Xip, and Fractional AI. Through Fractional AI, he worked inside dozens of engineering teams deploying production AI systems, giving him a front-row seat to what actually changes when AI moves from ad hoc assistance to firm-wide transformation.
Today, Ode is building for that future, executing gargantuan transformative projects yielding millions of dollars for fortune 100 companies.
Topics we’ll explore:
– Where AI is heading, from Anthropic model capabilities to organizational transformation
– Where engineering is heading, and what it means to stay competitive
– What Ode is doing, why it’s growing so quickly, and a look behind the scenes
– Who Ode is hiring and what the firm is looking for to execute under Anthropic
– Your questions
Who Should Attend:
This event is for software engineers, engineering leaders, founders, computer and data scientists, and anyone thinking seriously about their place in an AI-native future.
Whether you’re trying to future-proof your career, understand where engineering is heading, or explore opportunities to build the next generation of developer tools, this conversation is for you.
Expect an open conversation about where engineering is going and the people who will shape what’s next.

Upstream: Digital Tech Meetup at Second Draught
2026-08-13 17:30 - 20:00 | Second Draught, 4201 Main St. Suite 130, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://luma.com/timbergrove
Upstream: Digital Tech Meetup – Monthly Social 🍻
No stage. No slides. No panels.
Just upstream operators, engineers, founders, and digital leaders getting together over beer and pizza.
This is the informal side of the Upstream Digital Tech community. A casual, vendor-light happy hour for people navigating digital change in oil and gas and wanting real conversations.
It’s not a presentation. It’s not a pitch night.
It’s a room full of people who are actually doing the work.
A place to:
• Meet others working at the intersection of upstream and technology
• Trade field stories, lessons learned, and hard truths
• Talk AI, IoT, data, automation, and deployment realities
• Build real relationships without a formal agenda
Whether you’re deploying technology, evaluating it, building it, or leading teams through it, you’ll fit right in.
Come as you are.
Bring a friend.
Stay as long as you like.
📍 Second Draught @ The Ion District, Midtown Houston
🗓️ Second Thursday of every month | ⏰ 5:30 PM
👉 Reserve your spot. Space is limited.

FirstCheck 201: Smart Angels Do Smart Deals (Online)
2026-08-13 17:30 - 19:30 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Register here: https://luma.com/gn2md6vu​
This is where you stop learning about investing and start operating like a Smart Angel Investor. You’ll learn how disciplined investors evaluate opportunities and begin making your own invest-or-pass decisions. After this course, you’ll have structured evaluation criteria, the ability to justify a decision, and the beginning of an investor’s discipline.
This session is ideal for the following investment related stakeholders:
-Prospective Angel Investors who want to learn more about the world of Angel Investing
-Investment Advisors (RIA/FA) who are looking for alternative investments for their clients
-Entrepreneurs who want to learn more about what Angels are looking for in their deals
-Entrepreneurs who want to meet/network with Angel Investors
