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10 Effective Tips for Business Networking Events

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 19:33:03 GMT

Networking events serve as pivotal arenas for professionals to build relationships, expand their connections, and unlock new opportunities. Regardless of your industry, whether you're in tech, finance, healthcare, or the arts, effective networking can significantly impact your career trajectory. While the nuances of networking may vary across different fields, there are universal strategies that can help you make the most of these events. These tips for business networking events will provide you with a solid foundation to navigate the networking landscape confidently and successfully.

1. Prepare Your Elevator Pitch

Before you step into any networking event, it’s crucial to have a well-crafted elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that you can deliver in the time span of an elevator ride, roughly 30 to 60 seconds. It should clearly outline who you are, what you do, and what you hope to achieve. To craft an effective pitch:

Start with a hook to capture attention.
Include a concise summary of your professional background.
Highlight your unique value proposition.
End with a call to action or a question to engage your listener further.

2. Bring Business Cards

Although we are firmly in the digital age, business cards remain a powerful tool at networking events. They provide potential connections with a tangible reminder of your interaction and make it easy for people to follow up. When designing your business card, ensure it is simple yet professional, includes essential contact information such as your name, title, email, phone number, and LinkedIn profile, and reflects your brand or company identity.

3. Start a Conversation

Initiating conversations can be daunting, but having a few openers ready can help ease the process. You can start by introducing yourself with your elevator pitch, asking about the event or the person's work, or commenting on a shared experience or interest. Remember, the goal is to establish a connection and find common ground, which will make the conversation flow more naturally.

4. Eye Contact and Body Language

Maintaining eye contact and positive body language are simple yet powerful ways to convey confidence and sincerity. Good eye contact helps build trust, shows attentiveness, and enhances your ability to read non-verbal cues. Positive body language , such as standing tall with an open posture and smiling, makes you appear approachable and friendly.

5. Practice Active Listening

Active listening is a crucial skill at networking events. It involves paying attention to what the other person is saying, nodding in acknowledgment, and responding thoughtfully. This shows respect and makes the other person feel valued.

6. Show Genuine Interest

Along with active listening, showing genuine interest in the person you're speaking with can significantly enhance the quality of your interactions. When you demonstrate a real curiosity about their experiences, opinions, and ideas, it creates a sense of connection and trust. Instead of focusing solely on promoting yourself, take the time to ask thoughtful questions, engage with their responses, and reflect on what they share. Genuine interest can turn a simple exchange into a lasting professional relationship, making your networking efforts more fruitful and impactful.

7. Ending a Conversation

Ending a conversation gracefully is just as important as starting one. You can close with a thank you, a summary of what you discussed, and an expression of your interest in staying connected. Offer your business card and ask for theirs, and mention that you will follow up to continue the conversation. This leaves a positive lasting impression and paves the way for future interactions.

8. Follow Up After the Event

Networking doesn’t end when the event is over. Follow up with the people you’ve met within 24 to 48 hours. A simple email or a message on LinkedIn referencing your conversation can help solidify the connection and keep the dialogue going.

9. Attend Regularly

Building a robust network requires consistency. While it’s great to attend a networking event, make it a point to attend these events regularly to reinforce your presence within your industry or community, strengthen existing connections and build new ones, and stay updated with industry trends and opportunities. Regular attendance at networking events helps to establish you as a familiar face, making it easier to build trust and rapport with other attendees over time.

10. Leverage Online Networking

Online networking platforms offer a valuable complement to in-person events. They allow you to connect with professionals across the globe, share knowledge, and collaborate on projects. To make the most of online networking, join relevant online communities and forums, participate in virtual events and webinars, and actively engage in discussions and share your expertise.

Networking with Cannon Connect

Cannon Connect offers a robust online platform for those looking to expand their network beyond traditional events. It enables professionals to connect with a diverse range of individuals from various industries, participate in online discussions and collaborative projects, and access exclusive content and resources to enhance their networking efforts. By leveraging Cannon Connect , you can broaden your networking horizons and build meaningful relationships without geographical limitations.

By following these tips for business networking events, you can enhance your networking skills and create lasting professional relationships. Remember, the key to successful networking lies in genuine interactions, consistent efforts, and leveraging both in-person and online opportunities to build and maintain your professional network.

Brad True

Brad oversees all overall day-to-day operations of The Cannon and its growing community, including all current and future Cannon locations and Cannon Connect, The Cannon's new online platform. He holds an undergraduate degree in marketing from Texas A&M and a graduate degree from the University of Oklahoma.

35 Tips for Managing Remote Teams Effectively

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 18:48:53 GMT

In today's increasingly digital and interconnected world, remote team management has become a critical skill for leaders across industries. Remote team management involves overseeing and coordinating a team that works from various locations, often spread across different time zones and cultural backgrounds. This modern approach to teamwork offers numerous benefits, including access to a broader talent pool and increased flexibility for employees. However, it also presents unique challenges, such as maintaining clear communication, fostering team cohesion, and ensuring productivity. To navigate these complexities and be an effective remote team manager, it is essential to adopt specific techniques and tools that facilitate seamless collaboration, build trust, and support the well-being of team members. By doing so, managers can create a thriving remote work environment that drives success and innovation.

To help you excel in managing a remote team, we've compiled a list of essential tips and tricks. These strategies will empower you to foster strong communication, enhance productivity, and build a cohesive and motivated remote workforce.

Establish Clear Communication Channels

Utilize various communication tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom to ensure team members can easily interact. Set expectations for response times and preferred communication methods for different types of messages.

Regular Check-Ins

Schedule daily or weekly video meetings to discuss progress, address issues, and keep everyone aligned. These check-ins help maintain accountability and provide opportunities for team bonding.

Set Clear Goals and Expectations

Clearly define project goals, deadlines, and individual responsibilities. Use project management tools like Asana or Trello to track progress and ensure everyone understands their tasks.

Promote a Results-Oriented Culture

Focus on outcomes rather than hours worked. Encourage your team to prioritize productivity and quality of work over mere presence, fostering a sense of autonomy and responsibility.

Provide Adequate Tools and Resources

Ensure your team has access to the necessary software, hardware, and resources to perform their tasks efficiently. This includes reliable internet connections, VPNs, and collaboration tools.

Encourage Work-Life Balance

Promote flexible working hours and respect personal time to prevent burnout. Encourage team members to set boundaries and take breaks to maintain their well-being.

Foster Team Cohesion

Organize virtual team-building activities, such as online games, virtual coffee breaks, or group exercises, to build camaraderie and strengthen relationships.

Focus on Customer Experience

Delivering exceptional customer service should be a top priority for any entrepreneur. A positive customer experience leads to satisfaction, loyalty, and repeat business. Happy customers are more likely to become brand advocates, spreading word-of-mouth recommendations that can drive growth. By actively listening to customer feedback and consistently exceeding their expectations, you can build strong, lasting relationships that benefit your business in the long run.

Manage Finances Wisely

Effective financial management is vital for the sustainability and growth of your business. This involves closely monitoring cash flow, creating and sticking to a budget, and ensuring you have a financial cushion for unexpected expenses. Smart financial practices also include regular financial reviews, minimizing unnecessary costs, and making informed investment decisions. Proper financial management helps you avoid pitfalls, plan for the future, and ensure your business remains profitable.

Leverage Technology

Utilizing technology can significantly enhance your business operations, productivity, and reach. Embracing digital tools and software solutions can streamline processes, improve your business’s efficiency, and provide valuable data insights. From customer relationship management (CRM) systems to marketing automation tools and e-commerce platforms, technology enables you to operate more effectively. Staying updated with the latest tech trends ensures your business remains competitive and capable of meeting modern customer expectations.

Invest in Marketing

Developing a comprehensive marketing strategy is essential for building brand awareness and attracting customers. Effective marketing encompasses digital marketing, social media engagement, content creation, and traditional advertising methods. By understanding your target audience and tailoring your marketing efforts accordingly, you can create compelling campaigns that resonate with potential customers. Consistent and strategic marketing helps establish your brand, drive sales, and foster customer loyalty.

Continuously Learn and Improve

In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, continuous learning and improvement are key to staying ahead. Attend workshops, read industry literature, seek feedback, and stay curious about new trends and best practices. Investing in your personal and professional development not only enhances your skills but also keeps your business innovative and competitive. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement, you can adapt to changes, overcome challenges, and achieve long-term success.

Build a Strong Team

Your team is the backbone of your business. Hiring employees who share your vision and bring diverse skills to the table is crucial for executing your business plan and achieving your goals. A strong team works collaboratively, communicates effectively, and remains committed to the business's success. Investing in team-building activities, providing ongoing training, and fostering a positive work environment can enhance productivity, morale, and overall performance.

Maintain Work-Life Balance

Balancing your professional and personal life is essential to avoid burnout and maintain your passion for your business. Overworking can lead to stress and decreased productivity, affecting both your health and business performance. Prioritize self-care, set boundaries, and allocate time for relaxation and personal activities. A healthy work-life balance improves your overall well-being, enhances creativity, and ensures you remain motivated and energized to drive your business forward.

Invest in a Flexible Workspace

Consider utilizing coworking spaces or other flexible workspace solutions. These environments offer cost-effective alternatives to traditional office leases, providing access to modern amenities and fostering a collaborative atmosphere. Coworking spaces often host networking events and community activities that can help you connect with other entrepreneurs and potential partners. Additionally, the flexibility to scale up or down as your business needs change allows you to manage expenses efficiently and adapt to growth or contraction.

Find Entrepreneurial Success With The Cannon

Navigating the entrepreneurial journey is both challenging and rewarding, requiring a strategic approach and a resilient mindset. By incorporating these top business tips for entrepreneurs, business owners can position themselves for success, driving growth and innovation in their ventures. Remember, the bottom line is that continuous learning and adaptability are key to thriving in the dynamic world of entrepreneurship. Embrace these strategies, and you'll be well on your way to turning your entrepreneurial dreams into reality.

A flexible coworking space is essential for entrepreneurs just starting out and small business owners with experience in their field, as these spaces are uniquely tailored to suit the needs of self-starters, allowing them to set their businesses up for success with ease. Coworking spaces offer dynamic environments for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small business owners, fostering innovation and collaboration. Among these, The Cannon stands out as the clear choice, providing a supportive ecosystem and state-of-the-art amenities. Located in the heart of Houston's entrepreneurial ecosystem, The Cannon features flexible workspace options, high-speed internet, conference rooms, and event spaces. It hosts regular networking events and workshops, making it an ideal hub for business growth and development. With its supportive community and extensive resources, The Cannon exemplifies the benefits of coworking spaces, enabling professionals to thrive in a collaborative and inspiring setting. Discover how The Cannon can elevate your business— schedule a tour today and experience the future of work!

Brad True

Top Business Tips for Entrepreneurs to Ensure Success

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 14:14:30 GMT

Embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship is both exhilarating and challenging. Success in this dynamic field requires more than just a great business idea; starting a successful business requires a strategic approach, relentless determination, and a willingness to adapt. In this blog, we delve into the top tips for entrepreneurs, drawing insights from industry leaders and successful business owners. Whether you're launching a startup, starting a business, or looking to elevate your existing venture, these actionable business tips for entrepreneurs will help you navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship and steer your business toward sustainable success. Join us as we explore the essential practices that can turn your entrepreneurial goals into a strong business.

What Makes a Successful Entrepreneur?

A successful entrepreneur is characterized by a blend of vision, resilience, and adaptability. They possess the foresight to identify opportunities and the creativity to innovate solutions that address market needs. Equally important is their ability to navigate setbacks with unwavering determination, learning from failures and pivoting strategies as necessary. Strong leadership skills enable them to inspire and guide their teams, while effective time management and prioritization ensure that goals are met efficiently. Ultimately, a successful entrepreneur combines passion with strategic thinking, continuously seeking growth and improvement in their pursuit of excellence.

Without further ado, here are some key tips to help you set realistic goals and reach entrepreneurial success.

13 Business Tips for Entrepreneurs

Develop a Clear Vision and Mission

Clearly defining your business's vision and mission is fundamental to its success. Your vision outlines the long-term goals and aspirations of your company, serving as a guideline for decision-making. The mission statement, on the other hand, conveys the core purpose of your business and the values that drive it. Together, they provide direction for setting goals, inspire your team, and help communicate your brand's identity to customers and stakeholders.

Create a Solid Business Plan

A well-structured business plan acts as a roadmap for your entrepreneurial journey. It details your business goals, strategies to achieve them, market analysis, target audience, financial projections, and operational plan. This comprehensive document not only helps you stay organized and focused but also proves essential when seeking funding from investors or lenders. A solid business plan lays the groundwork for your business's success and growth.

Understand Your Market

Conducting thorough market research is critical to understanding your industry, target audience, and competitors. This knowledge allows you to identify market needs, anticipate trends, and position your business effectively. By understanding your customers' preferences and pain points, you can tailor your products or services to meet their demands, giving you a competitive edge. Staying informed about your market helps you make data-driven decisions and adapt to changes swiftly.

Build a Strong Network

Networking is a powerful tool for entrepreneurs. Building relationships with mentors, industry peers, potential partners, and customers can open doors to new opportunities, provide support, and offer valuable insights. Networking events, industry conferences, and online platforms like LinkedIn are excellent venues to connect with others. A strong network can lead to collaborations, referrals, and the sharing of knowledge and resources, all of which are invaluable for your business growth.

Stay Adaptable

Flexibility is crucial for long-term success in the ever-changing business landscape. Being adaptable means being open to change and ready to pivot your strategies when necessary. Whether it's responding to market shifts, customer feedback, or unforeseen challenges, adaptability allows you to remain competitive and resilient. Embracing change and continuously seeking improvement will help your business thrive in dynamic environments.

Focus on Customer Experience

Manage Finances Wisely

Leverage Technology

Invest in Marketing

Continuously Learn and Improve

Build a Strong Team

Maintain Work-Life Balance

Invest in a Flexible Workspace

Find Entrepreneurial Success With The Cannon

Brad True

What are the Benefits of Coworking Spaces for Startups?

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 13 May 2024 20:07:38 GMT

In today's entrepreneurial landscape, startups are seeking ways to maximize productivity, foster innovation, and minimize costs. One solution that addresses these needs is coworking spaces. These shared office spaces provide startups with a dynamic ecosystem where like-minded individuals and businesses converge, collaborate, and thrive. From flexible leases and cost-effective amenities to networking opportunities and a sense of community, coworking spaces present many benefits to startups looking to grow and succeed in a supportive environment. This blog will explore some of the primary benefits of coworking spaces for startups, giving you the information you need to choose the right place to set up your own.

What is a Coworking Space?

A coworking space is a shared work environment where individuals from different companies or freelancers work alongside each other in a communal setting. These spaces typically offer a range of amenities such as desks, meeting rooms, high-speed internet, and sometimes even recreational areas. The popularity of coworking spaces has soared in recent years due to the rise of remote work and the increasing number of startups and freelancers. Beyond just providing a physical workspace, coworking spaces foster a sense of community, collaboration, and networking opportunities, making them attractive options for individuals and businesses alike.

Benefits of Coworking Spaces for Startups

A coworking space stands as the optimal choice for startups seeking a professional working address, offering a multitude of benefits including access to well-equipped facilities, networking opportunities, and a prestigious business location without the burdens associated with a traditional permanent office setting. In addition to these benefits, coworking spaces offer the following:

No Long-Term Leases

Coworking spaces revolutionize the traditional office model by eliminating the need for startups to commit to long-term leases. Instead of being tied down by inflexible rental agreements, startups can opt for spaces that offer flexible membership plans, ranging from daily passes to monthly subscriptions. By removing the financial and logistical burdens associated with long-term leases, coworking spaces empower startups to focus on what truly matters: innovation and growth.

Lower Pricing and Affordability

One of the most significant benefits of coworking spaces for startups is that they are highly cost-efficient compared to traditional office spaces. Startups often operate on tight budgets, and the cost of leasing office space can be prohibitive. Coworking spaces offer a cost-effective alternative, with membership fees covering expenses such as rent, utilities, and maintenance. By sharing these costs among multiple tenants, coworking spaces can offer competitive pricing, making them accessible to startups with limited financial resources. This affordability allows startups to allocate their funds toward product development, marketing, talent acquisition, and more.

Flexibility

The flexibility inherent in coworking spaces is a game-changer for startups. Unlike traditional office leases with rigid terms, coworking spaces offer the freedom to adapt and evolve as their needs fluctuate, making it easy for them to tailor their membership plans to suit their current requirements. This agility enables startups to respond swiftly to market changes, seize new opportunities, and pivot their strategies without being hampered by long-term commitments or hefty penalties.

Enhanced Networking Opportunities

Networking opportunities within coworking spaces serve as invaluable assets for startups. By sharing a workspace with diverse professionals from various industries, startups gain access to a rich ecosystem of potential collaborators, mentors, investors, and clients. Informal interactions in communal areas, organized networking events, and collaborative projects foster meaningful connections that can lead to partnerships, referrals, and business growth. Some coworking spaces, like The Cannon , even offer networking events and opportunities as part of their memberships .

Scalability

Unlike traditional office leases, coworking spaces provide startups with the flexibility to scale their workspace up or down as needed. Whether a startup is experiencing rapid growth, expanding into new markets, or temporarily downsizing, coworking spaces offer customizable membership plans that can accommodate fluctuating team sizes and changing business priorities. This scalability not only helps startups manage costs more efficiently but also enables them to adapt quickly to market demands, seize opportunities, and navigate uncertainties with ease.

Maintains a Professional Image

By providing access to well-designed, fully-equipped office spaces in prime locations, coworking spaces offer startups a business address without the costs associated with traditional leases. This professional environment not only enhances credibility and legitimacy but also instills confidence in potential clients, partners, and investors. Additionally, coworking spaces often feature amenities such as meeting rooms, reception services, and high-speed internet, further bolstering the professional image of startups and enabling them to conduct business operations efficiently and seamlessly.

Centrally Located, Accessible Workspace

Coworking spaces are frequently situated in centrally located areas, offering accessibility and convenience. These spaces are often easily reachable by public transportation, making them ideal meeting points for clients, partners, and team members. These central locations often provide proximity to amenities such as restaurants, cafes, and retail establishments, fostering an ecosystem conducive to productivity and collaboration. By choosing coworking spaces in prime locations, startups can elevate their visibility, attract top talent, and capitalize on the opportunities that arise from being at the heart of dynamic business communities.

Mental Health for Employees

Unlike traditional office environments, coworking spaces provide a structured yet flexible framework that encourages individuals to prioritize their mental health. Coworking spaces foster an environment where individuals can maintain a healthy work-life balance by offering designated work areas, communal spaces, and amenities such as relaxation zones or wellness programs. This separation reduces burnout and promotes overall well-being, leading to increased productivity, creativity, and satisfaction in one’s professional and personal lives.

Startup Coworking Spaces in Houston

Coworking spaces offer startups a multitude of benefits essential for their growth and success. From providing flexible workspace solutions to fostering networking opportunities, scalability, and a professional image, coworking spaces serve as invaluable resources for startups. By embracing the collaborative spirit and dynamic ecosystem of coworking spaces, startups can leverage these advantages to propel their ventures forward, seize new opportunities, and realize their full potential in the business world. As hubs of innovation and collaboration, coworking spaces continue to redefine the way startups work, connect, and thrive.

Now that you understand some of the many benefits of coworking spaces for startups, it’s time to find one that works for you. Discover the ultimate workspace solution with The Cannon coworking spaces, strategically located across multiple vibrant neighborhoods in and around Houston. With flexible day passes and membership options tailored to your needs, you can access our state-of-the-art facilities, including high-speed internet, meeting rooms, and on-site support services. Enjoy the perks of our dynamic community, where networking opportunities abound, collaborations flourish, and innovation thrives. Join The Cannon today and revolutionize the way you work! Visit our website to learn more and purchase a day pass to see what we have to offer.

Brad True

The Cannon Announces Opening Date, Week of Events for Newest Space in Memorial City

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 07 May 2024 16:25:47 GMT

The Cannon’s latest location will launch on May 13th with a full week of events on the brand new 3rd floor of 820 Gessner.

HOUSTON, TX (May 7, 2024) – The Cannon, a leader in workspace development and entrepreneurial support, has announced the opening date for the latest in its growing number of workspace locations. The Cannon Memorial will open on Monday, May 13th with a week full of community focused events aimed to establish the space as a home for community and collaboration in the heart of Memorial City.

In partnership with real estate developer MetroNational, the visionary organization behind the thriving 300 acre mixed-use development located in West Houston, The Cannon Memorial features 39 fully furnished offices, space for flex users, dedicated seating options with lockable storage, a fully stocked kitchen with complimentary coffee, and five bookable meeting rooms. All members will also receive 24/7 access and free covered parking in the attached garage.

“MetroNational has long been recognized for offering exceptionally located, high quality, well amenitized office space,” says Anne Marie Ratliff, vice president of Asset Management at MetroNational. “The Cannon Memorial diversifies our existing office portfolio to provide flexible space solutions for the evolving needs of the business community.”

The Cannon Memorial’s Grand Opening Week will feature a daily schedule of events housed within the newly renovated space, each designed to showcase The Cannon’s member-first community management philosophy. Additionally, potential members interested in a trial of the space can enjoy free coworking each day from 9am – 4pm from May 13th – May 17th .

Monday, May 13th - Coffee & Community – 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Coffee and Pastries from Blacksmith Coffee
RSVP Here
Tuesday, May 14th - Community Lunch – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Pizza from VIA 313
RSVP Here
Wednesday, May 15th - Open House and Happy Hour – 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Light Food, Desserts and Drinks
RSVP Here
Thursday, May 16th - Therapeutic Thursday – 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
15 Minute Massages by National Mobile Massage (as available)
RSVP Here
Friday, May 17th - Cowboy Breakfast – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Breakfast Tacos from Torchy’s Tacos
RSVP Here

All events will take place in the common areas of The Cannon's space on the 3rd floor of 820 Gessner . Please park in the lot across the street and proceed to the elevators to access Suite 300.

Jon Lambert, CEO of The Cannon, shared his excitement for the week of events celebrating the launch - "As we open the doors to our next innovation focused workspace, we couldn't be more thrilled to share this moment with our community. This week marks not just the inauguration of a new physical space, but the realization of a shared vision and the culmination of an exceptional partnership with our partners at MetroNational. More than just a space, The Cannon Memorial will be an environment where innovation thrives.”

Preleasing is open now and offices are being reserved quickly leading into the May 13th open date. If you’d like to book a tour or learn more about the space please visit https://thecannon.com/memorial or contact Sydney Duran at sduran@thecannon.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Brad True

Chief Operating Officer

btrue@thecannon.com

###

About The Cannon: The Cannon develops innovation infrastructure to support entrepreneurialism around the world. We leverage our growing community of startups, intrapreneurs, advisors, and investors to democratize access to the resources innovators need to succeed. With nine physical locations, a virtual platform and a worldwide group of innovation-focused members, The Cannon is building the world's most valuable entrepreneurial network.

Website: www.thecannon.com

About Memorial City

Memorial City, the city-within-a city, is a 300-acre mixed-used development located in the heart of thriving West Houston. Owned and managed by MetroNational, Memorial City contains almost 10 million square feet of developed real estate incorporating a blend of Class A office space; retail, including the super-regional Memorial City Mall; high-rise and mid-rise apartments, including The McKinley; chef-inspired restaurants; upscale hotel accommodations, including The Westin Memorial City and Hotel ZaZa Memorial City; the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center, the second largest medical campus in the Houston Metropolitan area; and The Square and The Lawn at Memorial City, two state-of-the-art green space for events, concerts and festivals. For more information, visit www.memorialcity.com.

5 Productivity Tips for Entrepreneurs to Start Today

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 19:31:28 GMT

In business, time is a valuable currency, and efficiency is key. Thus, mastering productivity is crucial for success. In this blog post, we'll delve into some productivity tips for entrepreneurs. From establishing a routine to continuous learning, these strategies are designed to help you optimize your time, energy, and resources for maximum impact.

1. Create a Routine

Creating and maintaining a routine is a powerful tool that puts you in control of your time. It's a cornerstone of productivity for business owners, enabling them to make the most of each day.

One key aspect is identifying your peak productivity hours and structuring your day around them. For some entrepreneurs, the early morning hours provide a golden opportunity to tackle tasks with fresh energy and clarity, while others find their peak productivity late at night. By recognizing your peak hours and aligning your schedule accordingly, you can capitalize on your natural rhythms and accomplish more in less time. This sense of control over your time can be incredibly empowering, boosting your confidence and productivity.

In addition to optimizing your work schedule around specific times, integrating activities like exercise and meditation into your routine can further enhance productivity. Regular physical activity boosts energy levels and sharpens focus and mental clarity, making tackling the challenges of day-to-day business operations easier. Similarly, incorporating mindfulness practices such as meditation or deep breathing exercises can help business owners stay centered and grounded amidst the demands of entrepreneurship.

By prioritizing self-care and wellness in your daily routine, you set yourself up for sustained productivity and success in your entrepreneurial endeavors. You also show yourself that your well-being is a priority, which makes you feel valued and respected.

2. Prioritize, Delegate, and Automate

Adopting a "one task at a time" approach and prioritizing tasks based on importance can streamline workflow and maximize efficiency. Time blocking, a technique where specific time slots are allocated for different tasks, can help entrepreneurs focus on a single task without distractions. Utilizing tools like to-do lists and calendar apps can aid in organizing priorities and staying on track with deadlines.

When tasks need to happen simultaneously, delegating tasks to trusted team members lightens the workload, fosters collaboration, and empowers employees to take ownership of their responsibilities. Business owners can ensure that tasks are completed efficiently and to a high standard by effectively communicating expectations and providing adequate support.

Leveraging technology to automate repetitive processes, such as scheduling appointments or responding to routine emails, also frees up valuable time for more strategic endeavors. Whether automating phone calls or implementing software solutions to streamline workflows, embracing technology can significantly enhance time management and productivity for entrepreneurs in their day-to-day operations.

3. Sign Up for a Coworking Space

For entrepreneurs seeking to minimize distractions in a conducive work environment, signing up for a coworking space can be a game-changer. These shared workspaces offer a professional setting away from the distractions of home, providing an ideal space to focus on important tasks and maximize productivity. By surrounding themselves with like-minded individuals and fellow business owners, entrepreneurs can tap into a community of support and inspiration, making it easier to stay focused and motivated in their day-to-day endeavors.

Moreover, coworking spaces serve as excellent networking hubs, offering opportunities to connect with potential clients, collaborators, and mentors. Engaging with other members expands one's professional network and fosters meaningful business friendships, creating a supportive ecosystem where ideas can flourish and ventures can thrive.

In an era where social media often dominates communication, coworking spaces offer a refreshing avenue for genuine human connection and collaboration, making them an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs seeking to elevate their productivity and build lasting relationships within the business community.

4. Keep Learning

Continuous learning is a hallmark of successful entrepreneurship. It allows business owners to stay abreast of industry trends, acquire new skills, and adapt to evolving market dynamics. Attending events, workshops, and training tailored specifically for entrepreneurs provides invaluable opportunities for growth and development.

Organizations such as The Cannon and Pearland Innovation Hub serve as treasure troves of entrepreneur-focused events, offering a diverse array of workshops, networking opportunities, and seminars designed to empower business owners and enhance their productivity. By actively engaging with these resources, entrepreneurs can gain insights from industry experts, exchange ideas with peers, and acquire practical knowledge to navigate the challenges of day-to-day operations more effectively.

5. Take Breaks

Taking breaks is essential for preventing burnout, fostering creativity, and maintaining overall well-being. Stepping away from work allows entrepreneurs to recharge their batteries, regain focus, and return to tasks with renewed energy and clarity. Taking breaks also provides an opportunity to reflect and incubate ideas, with research showing that sleeping on big ideas can lead to innovative solutions and breakthroughs.

Furthermore, prioritizing sufficient sleep is crucial for cognitive function, productivity, and emotional resilience. By incorporating regular breaks into their day and ensuring adequate rest, entrepreneurs can sustain their performance levels, avoid burnout, and thrive in their personal and professional endeavors.

Discover a Community of Innovators

From creating routines to leveraging technology, these productivity tips for entrepreneurs help streamline workflow, foster growth, and prevent burnout. By implementing these tips, entrepreneurs can navigate challenges effectively and achieve sustainable success.

The Cannon is more than just a workspace; it's an innovative community for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. With coworking spaces focused on providing a distraction-free atmosphere, The Cannon offers day passes and flexible membership options to allow professionals to start and grow freely. Beyond providing a place to work, Cannon Connect serves as a hub for learning and collaboration, hosting events, workshops, and networking opportunities tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs. Visit our website to learn more!

Brad True

Your Guide to Business Networking for Entrepreneurs

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 13:52:24 GMT

Networking has come a long way from exchanging business cards at events. While traditional networking events remain valuable, the rise of online networks and social media has transformed how entrepreneurs connect and collaborate. This blog will delve into why business networking for entrepreneurs is essential, the evolution of business networking, and how to implement effective networking strategies in 2024.

Why Is Business Networking Important?

Building a robust network isn't just about collecting business cards or attending networking events. It's about strategically connecting with peers, thought leaders, and industry influencers to create mutually beneficial relationships that propel your entrepreneurial journey forward.

For entrepreneurs, the significance of networking cannot be overstated. It provides a platform to connect with like-minded individuals, access valuable resources, and seize business opportunities that may otherwise remain elusive. By actively engaging in networking efforts, entrepreneurs can start building a strong network from the early stages of their ventures, laying a foundation for future growth and success.

In the digital age, networking extends beyond traditional face-to-face interactions. Online networks and social media platforms offer entrepreneurs opportunities to expand their reach and connect with individuals across the globe. Leveraging these platforms allows entrepreneurs to establish themselves as thought leaders in their industries, increasing visibility and credibility within their networks.

Moreover, investing time and effort in building relationships through networking can lead to a myriad of benefits, including:

Access to mentorship and guidance
Opportunities for collaboration and partnerships
Increased visibility and brand awareness
Support during challenging times

Entrepreneurial networking is about cultivating mutually beneficial relationships that open doors to new opportunities and possibilities. By attending online and offline events, entrepreneurs can network with industry professionals, exchange ideas, and uncover new avenues for growth.

Best Practices of Business Networking

Entrepreneurs should adhere to best practices that prioritize authenticity, consistency, and value creation to make the most of these new networking opportunities. The following are some tips to consider when you’re building your network.

Utilize Social Media Platforms

Leverage platforms like LinkedIn, X, and Instagram to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Share valuable insights, engage with other entrepreneurs, and showcase your expertise through posts, articles, and comments. By actively participating in these online networks, you can expand your reach beyond geographical boundaries and connect with potential collaborators, mentors, and investors. Remember to optimize your profiles with relevant keywords and regularly update your content to stay visible in the competitive business world.

Participate in Online Forums and Communities

Joining online forums, groups, and communities related to your niche allows you to connect with a diverse range of entrepreneurs and industry professionals. Engage in discussions, ask questions, and share your experiences to establish yourself as an active and valuable community member. By contributing invaluable insights and offering support to others, you can build strong relationships based on mutual respect and collaboration. Participating in these online spaces lets you stay updated on industry trends, challenges, and opportunities.

Take Advantage of Virtual Networking Events and Webinars

Virtual networking events and webinars offer a convenient way to network with fellow entrepreneurs, even when in-person gatherings are impossible. These events provide opportunities to interact with industry leaders, gain valuable knowledge, and expand your professional network from the comfort of your home or office. Make the most of these events by preparing thoughtful questions, actively participating in discussions, and following up with contacts afterward to continue the conversation. By attending these events regularly, you can stay connected with the latest developments in your industry and identify potential collaborators or mentors.

Set Clear Networking Goals and Objectives

Define your networking goals and objectives to guide your efforts in building a strong and impactful network. Whether you aim to expand your client base, find potential partners, or seek mentorship, having clarity about your objectives will help you prioritize your networking activities effectively. Start building your network early in your entrepreneurial journey, as building relationships takes time and effort. Setting specific, achievable goals allows you to focus your networking efforts and measure your progress over time.

Be Genuine and Authentic in Your Interactions

Building trust and credibility within your network requires authenticity and sincerity in your interactions. Avoid approaching networking solely as a means to self-promote or gain immediate benefits. Instead, focus on building genuine connections and offering value to others without expecting anything in return. Demonstrating your integrity and sincerity will attract like-minded individuals genuinely interested in supporting your entrepreneurial journey and vice versa.

Follow Up Diligently with Contacts

After making initial connections, follow up diligently with contacts to nurture and maintain relationships over time. Send personalized follow-up emails or messages expressing your appreciation for the connection and suggesting potential ways to collaborate or stay in touch. Consistent communication is key to keeping your network engaged and fostering long-term relationships built on trust and mutual support.

Give Back to Your Network

Contribute to the growth and success of your network by offering support, expertise, and resources to fellow entrepreneurs. Actively seek opportunities to help others achieve their goals through mentorship, sharing valuable insights, or making introductions to relevant contacts. By giving back to your network, you demonstrate your commitment to building mutually beneficial relationships and contribute to the overall strength and vitality of the entrepreneurial community.

A Network of Innovators

Adapting to new methods and embracing best practices is key to success in business networking for entrepreneurs. Business owners can build strong networks that propel their ventures forward by engaging authentically on social media, participating in virtual events, and prioritizing genuine connections. Networking isn't just about transactions—it's about nurturing relationships, offering value, and fostering collaboration. So, as you navigate your entrepreneurial journey, remember the power of networking to unlock opportunities, support, and growth in the dynamic business landscape.

The Cannon is a dynamic hub for business networking, offering entrepreneurs a platform to discover diverse events and connect with like-minded individuals across various industries. Here, entrepreneurs can explore opportunities to expand their networks, exchange ideas, and forge valuable partnerships. Whether attending in-person gatherings or engaging in virtual meetups, The Cannon provides a vibrant ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive and collaborate, fostering innovation and growth within the entrepreneurial community. Sign up to join The Cannon Community today!

Brad True

Innovative Ideas for Remote Working Employees

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 21:53:10 GMT

In the landscape of modern workplaces, the shift toward remote work has become increasingly prevalent, reshaping traditional office environments and employee collaboration. As employees working from various corners of the globe compose virtual teams, maintaining a strong sense of connection and fostering a positive company culture has never been more crucial.

This blog aims to explore and inspire innovative ideas for remote working employees, delving into strategies that go beyond the constraints of physical distance. From leveraging video calls for face-to-face interactions to promoting mental health, we'll delve into creative solutions that encourage employees' mental well-being, team collaboration in real-time, and effective team building within the realm of remote work.

Why Engagement Is Important

Ensuring robust employee engagement for remote workers is paramount in cultivating a thriving virtual team. When remote employees feel connected and valued, they are less likely to leave and exhibit a heightened presence and productivity.

Nurturing engagement goes beyond the geographical limitations of remote work, fostering strong bonds among team members to share ideas and collaborate effectively. Addressing employees' mental well-being in the remote work landscape cannot be overstated, as a supportive office environment and company culture play pivotal roles in sustaining a motivated remote workforce.

By utilizing tools such as video calls for face-to-face interactions and promoting team-building activities in real time, organizations can encourage employees to embrace their working hours, resulting in improved performance and outcomes. Engaged remote workers contribute to the company's success and become advocates for a positive and thriving remote work culture.

Ideas for Engagement Strategies

Start with Onboarding

Initiate conversations with new remote employees to comprehend their workstyles and preferences, ensuring their virtual work environment aligns with their needs.
Foster a sense of connection and collaboration by implementing regular check-ins between new and existing team members, facilitating the exchange of ideas and experiences.
Establish a buddy system, pairing new remote hires with experienced team members. This enables a smoother onboarding process, allowing new hires to receive guidance on company culture, procedures, and virtual work dynamics.

Create a Work Experience

Establish clear and achievable goals for remote employees, providing a roadmap for success in their roles within the virtual team. A structured feedback system should also be in place to ensure regular communication about performance, acknowledging achievements, and addressing areas for improvement.
Offer remote employees meaningful perks that contribute to their well-being and work satisfaction, such as flexible schedules, professional development opportunities, or health and wellness benefits. You can also offer an office stipend to ensure their home office is up-to-date, or they can utilize it to get a focused environment in a co-working space.
Facilitate virtual coffee breaks or lunch hours where remote team members can engage in casual conversations, fostering social connections and a sense of camaraderie while taking a break to recharge.
Organize virtual coworking sessions where remote workers can collaborate in real time, replicating the collaborative atmosphere of a physical office. These sessions create opportunities for team members to share ideas, seek assistance, and work collectively on projects.
Arrange regular "show-and-tell" events where remote employees can showcase their work, share accomplishments, and provide insights into their projects. This promotes a culture of transparency and knowledge-sharing, fostering a deeper understanding of each team member's contributions.

Foster Learning Opportunities

Arrange regular ask-me-anything (AMA) sessions with the company founders or experienced team members, allowing remote employees to ask questions, seek advice, and gain insights into various aspects of the organization.
Implement periodic satisfaction surveys to gather feedback on the learning experiences of remote workers, identifying areas for improvement and tailoring learning opportunities to meet their specific needs.
Organize events where industry experts or thought leaders can share their knowledge and insights with remote employees. These sessions can be virtual or hosted in a coworking space, and they offer valuable learning experiences and expose remote employees to diverse perspectives, enriching their professional development.
Provide remote workers with an additional learning stipend or budget, empowering them to invest in courses, workshops, or resources that align with their professional goals. This encourages continuous learning and self-improvement, contributing to the overall growth of remote team members.

Promote Employee Wellness

Emphasize schedule flexibility, recognizing the diverse work styles and preferences of remote employees. Employers should encourage them to align their working hours with peak productivity, promoting a healthier work-life balance. To prevent isolation, employers can also cover the costs of a co-working space for remote workers.
Introduce career and personal coaches for remote workers to address professional development goals and support overall well-being. These coaches can guide remote work challenges, foster mental health, and promote work-life harmony.
Provide a wellness stipend to remote employees, enabling them to invest in resources contributing to their mental and physical well-being. This could include fitness memberships, mindfulness apps, ergonomic home office equipment, or other wellness-related services.
Promote charitable giving by incorporating initiatives that allow remote employees to engage in philanthropy. This can include virtual volunteering opportunities, donation matching programs, or company-wide charitable events, reinforcing a sense of purpose and community.

Have Fun Together

Foster a sense of camaraderie by organizing celebrations for holidays. Host online happy hours, recipe swaps, or themed events that allow remote workers to connect and share festive experiences, contributing to a positive company culture. For special events, you can also gather your employees under one roof at a co-working space.
Acknowledge and celebrate individual achievements, birthdays, and milestones during virtual meetings. Incorporate elements of recognition to create a supportive atmosphere that values the contributions of remote team members.
Integrate online team-building games into regular activities, promoting collaboration and friendly competition among remote workers. Games can range from virtual escape rooms to trivia nights, enhancing team dynamics and engagement.
Start meetings on a light and engaging note by incorporating a five-minute game, icebreaker, or riddle. This adds a fun element, energizes remote employees, and sets a positive tone for the meeting.
Establish a dedicated chat space or channel for casual conversations and fun interactions. This allows remote employees to share jokes, memes, or interesting anecdotes, fostering community and connection beyond work-related discussions.

An Innovative Community Awaits You

Remote work presents many opportunities for enhancing employee engagement, learning, wellness, and enjoyment. Whether setting clear goals, offering learning stipends, promoting wellness, or fostering team fun, the adaptability of these innovative ideas for remote working allows companies to create a connected workplace. Embracing the individuality of each organization is the foundation for building a resilient and cohesive remote work culture where employees actively contribute to shaping a gratifying professional journey.

For an innovative remote work experience, The Cannon stands out as an ideal solution. With their innovative online platform, Cannon Connect , remote employees gain access to a virtual hub that seamlessly integrates collaboration, learning, and networking opportunities. In Houston, The Cannon's co-working spaces offer a dynamic and inspiring environment for remote workers. From hosting events that foster team building to providing a convenient day pass and flexible membership plans , The Cannon ensures that professionals can tailor their workspace to suit their unique needs. Whether you're a freelancer, entrepreneur, or part of a virtual team, The Cannon's co-working spaces, coupled with the advantages of Cannon Connect, create a vibrant ecosystem that redefines the possibilities of remote work.

Brad True

Coworking Space Technology Trends to Expect in 2024

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 21:14:50 GMT

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to work remotely has become more than just a response to global challenges; it has evolved into a fundamental shift in the way employees and employers perceive the traditional office space and work environment. In 2023, 12.7% of full-time employees worked at home, while 28.2% worked a hybrid model . As we step into 2024, we will examine the latest remote work trends and explore how employees working remotely, whether on a full-time or hybrid work model, have redefined the concept of “the office” and, in turn, their work experience.

The Current Landscape

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work had grown in popularity, reshaping traditional work models and redefining the relationship between employees and employers. The pandemic was a key catalyst in the public realization of the ability to work full-time remotely.

As a result, remote work options have evolved from temporary measures to long-term strategic choices for organizations worldwide. Once tethered to the constraints of office space, companies have embraced the concept of fully remote or hybrid work models, recognizing the benefits offered to employees and the overall work environment.

The remote work experience has also become synonymous with increased autonomy and reduced commuting stress. As companies increasingly adopt hybrid work models, the contemporary work landscape is marked by a dynamic interplay between in-person and remote collaboration, challenging conventional notions of where and how work should be conducted.

Remote Work Culture

Building a robust remote work culture is imperative as the ability to work remotely becomes an integral facet of the contemporary work model. Recognizing that remote workers, whether engaged full-time or on a hybrid work arrangement, require a sense of connection and belonging, organizations are investing in strategies to foster a cohesive remote work environment. The remote work experience extends beyond task completion; it encompasses cultivating a shared identity and values, even without a physical office space.

Creating a remote work culture involves deliberate efforts to maintain open communication channels, encourage virtual collaboration, and nurture a supportive community for remote employees. With traditional water cooler conversations replaced by virtual meetings and team collaboration tools, the emphasis on interpersonal connections becomes paramount. Employers are leveraging technology for task management and facilitating casual interactions that contribute to team cohesion. Video conferences, virtual team-building activities, and digital communication platforms are instrumental in bridging the gap and enhancing the remote work experience.

Cybersecurity Concerns

The shift towards remote work introduces many cybersecurity challenges that organizations must address to safeguard sensitive information and maintain the integrity of their operations. The absence of the traditional office space creates a decentralized environment, making remote workers susceptible to cyber threats.

One primary concern in the remote work landscape is the secure handling of company data. With employees working outside the confines of a protected office network, the potential for data breaches and unauthorized access increases. Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in home networks and personal devices, making it imperative for companies to implement robust cybersecurity measures. From secure virtual private networks (VPNs) to multifactor authentication, organizations are deploying comprehensive tools to fortify their defenses against cyber threats.

The remote work experience has also magnified the importance of cybersecurity training for employees. As remote workers become the frontline defenders against cyber threats, they must be well-versed in identifying phishing attempts, practicing secure online behaviors, and understanding the potential risks associated with remote work. Employers are investing in cybersecurity education and awareness programs to empower their workforce and create a culture of vigilance. The convergence of improved work-life balance through remote work and the need for heightened cybersecurity measures underscores the necessity for organizations to strike a delicate balance between flexibility and security in the evolving work environment.

Future Trends

Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, the remote work landscape is poised to undergo further transformation, with several key trends shaping the future of work. One notable shift is the evolution of hybrid work models. Companies are likely to refine and optimize their hybrid work strategies, tailoring them to the specific needs of their workforce and the nature of their industry. This trend reflects an ongoing commitment to flexibility and the ability to work from various locations, offering employees a blend of the benefits associated with both remote and in-person work experiences.

Technological advancements are expected to play a pivotal role in shaping remote work trends in the coming years. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and automation tools will further streamline remote workflows, enhancing efficiency and productivity. As remote work options become more ingrained in the work model, the development of innovative technologies will cater to the unique demands of virtual collaboration, providing employees and employers with tools that bridge the gap between physical and digital workspaces.

Another noteworthy trend is the increased emphasis on employee well-being in remote work scenarios. Acknowledging the importance of mental health and work-life balance, organizations will likely prioritize initiatives supporting their remote workers' holistic wellness. This includes fostering a positive remote work culture, providing resources for managing stress and burnout, and offering flexible schedules to accommodate diverse individual needs. As we navigate towards 2024 and beyond, the ability to work remotely will not only be a functional aspect of employment but a crucial component in attracting and retaining talent in an increasingly competitive job market.

Created to Innovate

Remote work trends have evolved remarkably, catalyzed by global events and driven by the changing expectations of employees and employers alike. As we look ahead to 2024 and beyond, the ability to work remotely is not just a trend but a defining feature of the modern work model.

For businesses and remote workers seeking an exceptional coworking space that aligns with these trends, The Cannon stands out as a stellar choice. With state-of-the-art facilities, a dynamic community, and a commitment to fostering collaboration, The Cannon provides an ideal environment for individuals and businesses to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of remote work. Experience any five of our seven workspaces across the Houston area with the new day pass option !

Brad True

Remote Work Trends in 2023 and Beyond

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:50:59 GMT

IIn the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to work remotely has become more than just a response to global challenges; it has evolved into a fundamental shift in the way employees and employers perceive the traditional office space and work environment. In 2023, 12.7% of full-time employees worked at home, while 28.2% worked a hybrid model . As we step into 2024, we will examine the latest remote work trends and explore how employees working remotely, whether on a full-time or hybrid work model, have redefined the concept of “the office” and, in turn, their work experience.

The Current Landscape

Remote Work Culture

Cybersecurity Concerns

Future Trends

Created to Innovate

Brad True

Maximize Your Innovation with Coworking Space Events

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:06:06 GMT

In the heart of Houston, The Cannon stands as a beacon of collaboration and community. This thriving coworking space isn't just about providing workspaces; it's about creating an environment where professionals and entrepreneurs can thrive. At The Cannon, location isn't just a matter of geography; it's a central element that enhances the coworking experience.

In this blog, we'll take you on a journey through The Cannon's exciting world, unveiling upcoming and recurring coworking space events as well as the opportunity to rent premium event spaces . Whether you're looking to attend enriching events or host your own, The Cannon is the place where innovation meets collaboration in Houston.

Events at The Cannon

The Cannon is a bustling hub of activity with a constantly evolving calendar of exciting community events that cater to a wide range of interests and professional needs. Our commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration is exemplified by standout events.

Past Events

These amazing events showcased some of our ecosystem’s most important members, stakeholders, and supporters. Without the help of our partners at Chevron and Dell, we would not be able to continually improve and grow these types of events each year. For all of our partners, The Cannon’s hope is that each event can be a stepping stone toward improving our value creation for each one of your organizations.

At the Chevron Technology Ventures Pitch Competition on September 28, Chevron sought novel technologies and approaches that can be applied to transform how it conducts operations from our innovative community. These solutions had to have the goal of removing people from hazardous environments, reducing the environmental impact, and increasing the operational efficiency of Chevron facilities in the decades to come.

Dell’s Houston Startup Ecosystem Summit was an opportunity for innovators, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts to come together and push the boundaries of what's possible. This event took place at The Cannon's West Campus on October 25, and it featured an impressive lineup of panelists, diverse breakout session tracks, and a competitive startup pitch showcase. The Cannon was also named Dell’s Ecosystem Partner of the Year!

Upcoming Events

Moreover, The Cannon West Houston boasts a set of regular community events that have become cherished traditions in our community. Advisor Office Hours offer invaluable one-on-one mentorship opportunities, allowing aspiring entrepreneurs to gain insights and guidance from experienced advisors. Additionally, Cup of JoeY, on the last Thursday of the month at The Cannon West Houston, is a warm and inviting gathering where members can connect over coffee and engage in meaningful conversations. The dates for the upcoming meeting ae November 30 and December 21. These regular events provide essential touchpoints for community members, fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment as they navigate their entrepreneurial journeys.

So, whether you're seeking inspiration, mentorship, or simply a friendly cup of coffee, The Cannon's event calendar has something for everyone. Stay tuned for a wealth of opportunities to enrich your entrepreneurial experience and build meaningful connections.

RSVP to a Cannon Event

Event Space Rental at The Cannon

At The Cannon, we take pride in offering a range of versatile event spaces across multiple locations in Houston, including West Houston , Downtown , Post Oak , Pearland , and Galveston at MarMo Plaza . These spaces are not just for our members but are open to partners and members of the Houston community as well. We've created an environment that fosters networking, education, and community-building within the startup and small business ecosystem of Houston.

Our commitment to providing a space for a diverse array of community events is driven by our desire to cultivate a sense of community and contribute to the learning and advancement of Houston's entrepreneurial landscape. Whether you're planning demo days to showcase innovative products or educational workshops to empower aspiring entrepreneurs, The Cannon's event spaces are ready to accommodate your needs.

From networking events and lunch and learns to fun-filled game nights and launch parties, we offer the ideal backdrop for you to bring your ideas to life and connect with like-minded individuals. These community events serve as the perfect opportunity to share your vision, collaborate with local businesses, and build a strong sense of community.

Our spaces can accommodate a wide range of event sizes, from intimate gatherings to larger-scale community events with up to 400 attendees. Plus, our commitment to promoting your events doesn't stop at providing space; we also support you through social media promotion and other outreach efforts.

So, whether you're hosting a book club meeting, organizing a pitch competition, or planning a lively happy hour, The Cannon's diverse event spaces across our Houston locations are here to help you make your event a resounding success. We're not just about coworking; we're about creating opportunities for connection, growth, and community.

Host Your Event at The Cannon

Join The Cannon Community

The Cannon is a vibrant community with locations across the Greater Houston area that hosts exceptional coworking space events and opportunities. We offer an experience that goes beyond the traditional coworking community experience. With a wide array of events, including game nights, launch parties, and book clubs, The Cannon provides a platform for individuals and local businesses to unite, exchange ideas, and cultivate a robust sense of community. Our event spaces cater to gatherings of various sizes, from small meetups to grand galas. Moreover, our support extends to event promotion, utilizing our social media channels and outreach strategies to ensure your event's success.

At The Cannon, it's not just about coworking; it's about creating a dynamic, diverse community that brings entrepreneurs, innovators, and local businesses together. Explore our spaces and discover how we can play a pivotal role in your next event, helping you connect, collaborate, and forge a stronger sense of community in Houston. Join us in redefining the coworking community experience and making your event a resounding success!

Brad True

The Coworking Community That Fosters Innovation

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 16:48:41 GMT

While it's easy to perceive coworking spaces as mere locations to set up your laptop and work, The Cannon transcends this perception. It's not just a place; it's an entire ecosystem. In this blog, we're here to shine a spotlight on The Cannon's unique brand of coworking and delve deep into the vibrant coworking community that flourishes within its walls.

More Than Just a Workspace

At The Cannon, coworking isn't just about shared office spaces; it's a transformative experience that caters to the diverse needs of professionals, startups, and businesses alike. With multiple locations, a wide array of amenities, flexible memberships, and convenient day passes, The Cannon stands out as a beacon for those seeking more than just a place to work.

Multiple Locations for Convenience

One of The Cannon's standout features is its presence in multiple strategic locations. Whether you're based in the bustling heart of a city or prefer a quieter suburban setting, there's likely a Cannon coworking space nearby. This geographical diversity ensures that you can choose a location that best suits your needs, whether it's for client meetings, networking, or personal convenience.

There are free tours available at The Cannon workspace locations.

Amenities That Define Excellence

The Cannon's commitment to providing a top-notch coworking experience is evident in its comprehensive list of amenities. These amenities include:

High-speed, enterprise-level internet to ensure you're always connected
Flexible working stations and desks to keep up your productivity
Well-equipped, state-of-the-art meeting rooms that can be reserved as needed
Hassle-free access to printing and scanning services to save time and effort
Fully functional and stocked kitchen to enjoy a break and connect with fellow community members
Professional mailing address to get every important delivery

Building Connections at The Cannon

Community managers at The Cannon understand the power of connections. They curate a plethora of networking opportunities that go beyond the conventional meet-and-greet. These networking events are designed to help community members build meaningful relationships, share knowledge, and explore collaborative ventures. Key networking elements include:

Advisor Office Hours

At The Cannon, we believe in fostering growth and providing valuable resources to our community members. That's why we offer The Cannon Advisor Office Hours , a unique opportunity for our members to engage in one-on-one, 30-minute sessions with verified mentors from The Cannon's Advisor Network. These sessions, hosted once a month, connect you with subject matter experts who are passionate about sharing their knowledge and expertise.

Whether you're exploring a new business idea, seeking funding resources, or looking to scale your established venture, our partnered advisors are here to provide guidance and insights. They share our vision and commitment to driving success, ensuring a meaningful alignment of goals as we work together to create value for our members. It's just one of the ways we're dedicated to helping you thrive in your entrepreneurial journey.

Happy Hours and Socials

Sometimes, the best connections are forged in a relaxed setting. The Cannon's social events provide the perfect backdrop for networking, allowing members to form genuine relationships beyond the confines of the workspace.

Our most recent happy hour in September was a resounding success, hosted at the chic and vibrant Sphere Club. It was an evening filled with laughter, engaging conversations, and the opportunity to unwind and network with fellow community members. These events provide the ideal backdrop for forging valuable professional relationships, sharing insights, and even sparking collaborative ventures. Check our event calendar regularly to stay updated on our upcoming happy hours and other community gatherings.

Pitch Competitions

At The Cannon, innovation takes center stage, and our pitch competitions, like the Chevron Technology Ventures Pitch Competition , are a testament to our commitment to fostering groundbreaking ideas within our community. These competitions provide a platform for visionary entrepreneurs to showcase their disruptive concepts, pitch to industry experts and potential investors, and gain vital exposure and feedback. Winners not only receive invaluable resources and support but also become part of a thriving ecosystem of innovation and collaboration. These events exemplify our dedication to nurturing innovation and propelling aspiring innovators toward success.

Lunch and Learns

These casual gatherings are perfect for sharing experiences and expertise. Community members often take the stage to share their insights on various topics, sparking insightful discussions and networking opportunities.

In September, we had a session presented by Yokogawa where we delved into the exciting transformations occurring in the process industry as it embraces cutting-edge technology solutions on its path from Industrial Automation to Industrial Autonomy. It was a wonderful opportunity to gain valuable insights into the future of industrial processes and discover how technology is driving unprecedented advancements in this critical industry.

Membership Tiers and Pricing

At The Cannon, we offer three levels of membership that are designed to meet businesses where they’re at in their exact growth stage and cater to the diverse needs of our community members. Here's a glimpse into our membership tiers, pricing, and the exclusive perks and discounts that are just some of the benefits of joining The Cannon community.

Flexible

Ideal for those seeking flexible workspace solutions, this membership tier provides access to communal workspaces and all the amenities The Cannon has to offer. Pricing is designed to be accessible, ensuring that even freelancers and remote workers can benefit from our coworking environment.

The benefits for Flexible members include:

Cannon Connect Membership
24/7 Access
Professional Mailing Address
Drop-In Access to All Cannon Locations up to 5x/month

The flexible-level membership costs depend on the location. For example, the fee is $220 per month per individual at The Cannon West Houston , while it’s $180 at The Cannon Downtown .

Resident

For individuals or small teams looking for a consistent workspace, our dedicated desk membership offers the luxury of a personal desk in a collaborative setting. It provides the stability needed for focused work and is priced competitively to accommodate your needs.

The benefits for Resident members include:

Dedicated Workspace
Cannon Connect Membership
24/7 Access
Professional Mailing Address
Drop-In Access to All Cannon Locations up to 5x/month

The resident-level membership is consistently $450 per month per individual across all of The Cannon locations.

Enterprise

For individuals or small teams looking for a consistent workspace, our dedicated office membership offers the luxury of a personal office in a collaborative setting. It provides the stability needed for focused work and is priced competitively to accommodate your needs.

The benefits for Enterprise members include:

Dedicated Office Space
Cannon Connect Membership + Discounts for The Team
24/7 Access
Professional Mailing Address
Drop-In Access to All Cannon Locations up to 5x/month

The enterprise-level membership costs depend on the location. For example, the fee starts at $1,300 per month per office at The Cannon West Houston while it’s $850 at The Cannon The Woodlands . Check our location pages for more details.

Day Pass

Curious about The Cannon's coworking experience but still deciding whether to commit to a membership? Opt for our day passes and get a taste of the vibrant community and dynamic work environment we offer. Whether you're testing the waters, visiting from out of town, or need a temporary workspace for the day, our day passes provide the flexibility and convenience you need to explore The Cannon's coworking spaces and amenities without a long-term commitment.

Day pass visitors get the following benefits:

Access to our common areas, lounges, open workstations, and phone booths
Access to our fully functioning and stocked kitchens, including unlimited amazing coffee from Boomtown
Enterprise level Wi-Fi
Ability to purchase meeting room credits

One-day passes cost just $30, or you can buy a three-pack for $75. Day passes are limited to The Cannon locations in West Houston , Downtown , Post Oak , Fish Creek , and The Woodlands .

Joining The Cannon Coworking Community

The Cannon offers more than just a workspace; we provide a dynamic coworking environment where community members come together to build meaningful connections and collaborate on innovative projects. By choosing The Cannon, you're not just renting an office space; you're becoming part of a thriving network of innovators and change-makers. We invite you to experience the transformative power of coworking, where the sense of community drives your success and where the possibilities are boundless. Sign up with The Cannon today and elevate your work experience to new heights.

Brad True

Unleashing the Power of Digital Marketing Networking Events

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 19:07:29 GMT

In the modern landscape of business and personal development, networking events have emerged as indispensable catalysts for growth and success. Gone are the days when networking was merely an optional activity for the ambitious few. Today, it is a strategic imperative for anyone seeking to unlock a myriad of opportunities and broaden their horizons.

From industry-specific gatherings to international conferences, networking events present a wide spectrum of possibilities, each carrying the potential to elevate careers, spark innovation, and foster meaningful relationships. Events at The Cannon and on Cannon Connect can also help you chart a course toward a future enriched by the people you meet and the connections you create. The world of digital marketing networking events awaits, and the possibilities are boundless!

The Benefits of Networking Events

Networking events, whether conducted in person or through digital platforms, offer a multitude of benefits that contribute to personal and professional growth. Here are some key reasons why networking events are highly advantageous:

Opportunity for Connections : Networking events provide a fertile ground for meeting like-minded individuals, potential clients, mentors, collaborators, and industry experts. These connections can lead to new business partnerships, career opportunities, and valuable insights.
Knowledge and Learning : Attending networking events often involves seminars, workshops, and presentations by industry leaders. This exposure allows participants to learn about the latest trends, innovations, and best practices in their respective fields.
Building Confidence : Engaging in conversations with diverse individuals at networking events can enhance social skills and build confidence in networking and communication abilities.
Personal Branding : By networking, individuals can showcase their expertise, knowledge, and unique qualities, thus enhancing their personal brand and professional reputation.
Access to Hidden Opportunities : Networking events often provide access to hidden job openings and business prospects that may not be publicly advertised.
Gathering Feedback and Ideas : Networking events offer an excellent opportunity to seek feedback on ideas, projects, or products from a diverse audience, facilitating constructive criticism and improvements.
Collaboration and Partnerships : Networking can lead to collaborative ventures and strategic partnerships, allowing participants to combine resources and expand their influence.
Support and Mentorship : Networking events can lead to valuable mentorship relationships, where experienced professionals guide and support those at earlier stages of their careers.
Exposure to Different Perspectives : Interacting with individuals from various backgrounds and industries exposes attendees to diverse perspectives, fostering creativity and innovation.
Staying Updated on Industry Trends : Networking events help participants stay informed about the latest developments in their fields, ensuring they remain competitive and relevant.
Overcoming Isolation : For remote workers, entrepreneurs, or freelancers, networking events offer an opportunity to combat isolation by connecting with a community of professionals.
Digital Networking's Reach and Flexibility : Digital networking events transcend geographical boundaries, allowing individuals to connect with a global audience without the need for travel.

In conclusion, networking events, whether conducted in person or digitally, serve as invaluable platforms for forging connections, gaining knowledge, and unlocking a wealth of opportunities that can elevate both personal and professional trajectories.

Events with The Cannon

The Cannon believes that fostering a strong sense of community and collaboration is vital to personal and professional growth. Our carefully curated events cater to the diverse needs and interests of our members, offering a range of opportunities to connect, learn, and thrive.

At The Cannon, there is always something happening with events like Chevron Technology Pitch Competition , Dell Technologies Summer Sizzle Happy Hour, and much more. We also have regular events at The Cannon West Houston, like Advisor Office Hours and Cup of JoeY .

Our events not only facilitate knowledge sharing and skill development but create an atmosphere where meaningful relationships can flourish. Whether you're an entrepreneur, freelancer, or corporate team, The Cannon's vibrant events are designed to enrich your journey and elevate your experience within our empowering workplace ecosystem.

And on Cannon Connect , you can connect with like-minded individuals across the globe, breaking free from geographical constraints and expanding your network exponentially. Cannon Connect is where inspiration meets innovation, where new partnerships are forged, and where the possibilities of virtual connections are boundless.

Embracing Digital Marketing Networking Events

In our fast-paced, interconnected world, networking has transformed from an optional activity to an essential strategy. Through networking events, we've discovered the art of effective networking, emphasizing genuine connections, showcasing our unique qualities, and nurturing enduring relationships.

These events extend far beyond physical venues, transcending boundaries to embrace the digital landscape. Digital networking grants us the reach and flexibility to connect with a global audience, empowering remote workers, entrepreneurs, and professionals to stay inspired and connected across time zones.

Whether you're seeking a collaborative workspace for a day or aiming to expand your network through virtual events, The Cannon has something for everyone. You can now experience the innovative atmosphere of our co-working locations, providing access to a dynamic workspace equipped to fuel your productivity. You can also access Cannon Connect for FREE, granting you exclusive access to our virtual events that transcend boundaries and open doors to a global community. Join our empowering ecosystem today and unlock a world of possibilities!

Brad True

Coworking Space Reviews: The Cannon | Houston Coworking Space

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 15:17:51 GMT

In today's fast-paced and dynamic business landscape, professionals constantly seek innovative solutions to enhance productivity and foster collaboration. As a result, coworking spaces have gained significant popularity as the go-to choice for individuals and teams looking to break free from traditional office constraints. Among the myriad options available, one coworking space in Houston stands out as a beacon of excellence and creativity: The Cannon.

Whether you're an entrepreneur at the beginning of your journey or part of a growing team, The Cannon has something to offer everyone. This blog will delve into the coworking spaces reviews of The Cannon, highlighting its numerous benefits, convenient locations, flexible membership options, and more.

What is The Cannon?

The Cannon is a dynamic coworking space in Houston that goes beyond traditional office setups. It fosters collaboration, community, and entrepreneurial success. With multiple locations throughout the city, The Cannon provides a vibrant environment for professionals from various industries. Its thoughtfully designed spaces, comprehensive amenities, and commitment to supporting startups set it apart. The Cannon offers flexible membership options and convenient locations, and members can access multiple locations, educational workshops, and networking events.

Benefits of Choosing The Cannon

The Cannon offers an array of perks, unique features, and benefits that make it a standout choice for professionals seeking an exceptional coworking experience. Here's what sets The Cannon apart:

Collaborative Environment

The Cannon's thoughtfully designed spaces create a collaborative atmosphere, encouraging networking and the exchange of ideas among members. It's a place where professionals from diverse backgrounds can connect, collaborate, and find new opportunities.

Comprehensive Amenities

Members of The Cannon enjoy access to premium amenities, including high-speed internet, printing facilities, meeting rooms, and comfortable workspaces. These amenities are designed to enhance productivity and provide a seamless work experience.

Networking Opportunities

The Cannon actively promotes networking by facilitating connections among its members. Through its online networking platform, Cannon Connect , you can find professionals in your field, share resources, seek collaboration, and expand your professional network. The power of networking within The Cannon community opens doors to potential partnerships and business opportunities.

Community Events

The Cannon takes pride in organizing educational workshops, networking events, and industry-specific gatherings. These events not only provide opportunities for skills development and knowledge sharing but also promote connections and collaborations among members. You'll have access to a rich calendar of events designed to enrich your professional growth.

Convenient Locations

With multiple locations throughout Houston, The Cannon offers accessibility and convenience to professionals from various parts of the city. Each location is strategically chosen to be near transportation hubs, dining options, and local amenities, making it easy for members to integrate work into their daily lives.

When you sign up for a membership, you get drop-in access to all of the locations up to five times a month. The Cannon has coworking spaces in West Houston , Downtown , Post Oak , Fish Creek , The Woodlands , Esperson Flex , and Galveston .

Flexible Membership Options

The Cannon understands that every professional's needs are unique. Hence, it offers flexible membership options for different preferences and requirements. Whether you need a hot spot, a full-time dedicated desk, or a private office, The Cannon has solutions tailored to your needs.

What The Community Says

Let's hear what professionals who have experienced The Cannon first-hand have to say about their remarkable coworking journey.

“The Cannon West Houston is an amazing shared office complex hosting office and maker spaces. There is an inclusive vibe here that makes it easy to innovate and connect with people and innovation. Working here is way better than working from home!” - Bob Mader

“We love The Cannon! Great locations to choose from; all of them are impeccable! The staff is super helpful, and the quality is far above what you will get from most co-location offerings, especially considering the price and support/amenities.” - Shaun Six

“The Cannon is fantastic! Excellent spots to choose from. All of them are flawless! The personnel is quite helpful, and the quality is significantly superior to that of other co-location solutions, especially when considering the pricing and support/amenities.” - Clarine Essomba

“This place is amazing. Over the years, I've been a part of a few different co-working spaces, and when I moved a little further west, The Cannon made the most sense. Honestly, they are, by far, the best co-working space I've been a part of. The environment is great, the internet is fast, and the team is super helpful. Generally, I would recommend this for any entrepreneur wanting to make new friends and find an awesome place to work.” - Josh Orr

Houston's Highly-Reviewed Coworking Space

By joining The Cannon, you open the door to a world of possibilities. You become part of a supportive community that values collaboration, innovation, and success. The Cannon's unique features, perks, and benefits elevate your work experience and provide you with the tools and opportunities you need to thrive.

Now that you know the coworking spaces reviews of The Cannon, take the next step to discover the unparalleled benefits and join the community! Visit our website , schedule a tour, and experience firsthand how this highly-regarded coworking space in Houston can transform how you work, connect, and achieve your professional goals.

Brad True

Unlock Success with Online Business Networking

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 13:30:18 GMT

In today's digital age, online business networking has become an essential tool for professionals and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their horizons and foster meaningful connections. Gone are the days of traditional networking events limited by time and physical boundaries. Thanks to the internet and specialized platforms, such as Cannon Connec t , professionals can now tap into a vast network of like-minded individuals, foster collaborations, and propel their businesses to new heights. In this blog, we will explore the numerous benefits of online business networking and highlight the advantages of utilizing platforms like Cannon Connect.

Benefits of Online Business Networking

Online networking offers the benefits of expanding your reach, building meaningful connections, creating collaboration opportunities, and accessing knowledge and expertise. Cannon Connect is a trusted platform that enables professionals to unlock their networking potential and harness these advantages.

Expanding Your Reach

One of the key advantages of online business networking is the ability to connect with professionals beyond your local community or industry. The digital landscape allows you to engage with individuals from different countries, backgrounds, and areas of expertise, broadening your horizons and offering fresh perspectives. Through online platforms, such as Cannon Connect, you can access a diverse pool of professionals who can offer unique insights, collaboration opportunities, and potential partnerships. This expanded reach enables you to connect with individuals who share similar goals, challenges, and aspirations.

Building Meaningful Connections

Online networking offers a platform to build and nurture meaningful relationships, which are crucial for professional growth. Through virtual interactions, you can engage in insightful discussions, exchange knowledge, and offer support to others within your industry or related fields. By participating in online communities, forums, and discussion groups, you can create connections with like-minded professionals, establish credibility, and enhance your personal brand. Cannon Connect, for instance, provides a user-friendly interface that facilitates seamless interaction, making it easier to initiate conversations and develop lasting connections.

Accessing Knowledge and Expertise

The power of online business networking lies in the collective knowledge and expertise shared by its members. By connecting with industry professionals, thought leaders, and subject matter experts, you gain access to a wealth of insights, best practices, and valuable resources. The diverse backgrounds and experiences of the network's members offer a rich source of information that can help you overcome challenges, stay updated on industry trends, and learn from the successes and failures of others. Cannon Connect fosters an environment where professionals can engage in fruitful discussions, ask questions, and tap into a vast pool of knowledge to enhance their skills and decision-making.

Collaboration and Partnership Opportunities

Online networking serves as a breeding ground for collaboration and partnership opportunities. When you connect with individuals who share similar interests or complementary skills, you open the door to joint ventures, co-creation of projects, and mutual support. Cannon Connect provides a platform where professionals can showcase their expertise, share their portfolios, and explore potential collaboration opportunities to network with other members. The platform's built-in messaging and networking features make it convenient to initiate discussions, pitch ideas, and cultivate fruitful partnerships.

Unleashing Your Networking Potential

In today's digital era, online business networking has revolutionized the way professionals connect, collaborate, and grow. Platforms like Cannon Connect offer the opportunity to expand your

When it comes to maximizing your online networking efforts, Cannon Connect is a platform you can trust. Designed with professionals in mind, Cannon Connect offers a user-friendly interface and a robust community of ambitious individuals eager to connect, collaborate, and succeed. Whether you are an entrepreneur, freelancer, or industry expert, Cannon Connect provides a nurturing environment to build meaningful connections, access valuable knowledge, and explore partnership opportunities. Once you join, a member of The Cannon team is also available to

meet with you virtually and help provide connections to the resources you need to help your

business thrive, bringing The Cannon’s signature white glove customer service from our

workspaces to our digital platform.

Join Cannon Connect today to unlock your networking potential! With a diverse network of professionals spanning various industries, you'll gain exposure to fresh ideas, industry insights, and potential collaborators. Take advantage of the platform's user-friendly features, such as the ability to create a professional profile, engage in discussions, and connect with like-minded individuals.

Brad True

Is It Worth Paying the Coworking Space Cost?

Wed, 10 May 2023 14:33:16 GMT

Coworking spaces have become increasingly popular in recent years as more and more people are working remotely or freelancing. They offer a collaborative and flexible working environment that is often more affordable than traditional office spaces. However, one of the main questions people have when considering a coworking space is: how much does it cost?

In this blog, we will explore the costs of coworking spaces and provide you with some information to help you make an informed decision.

Overview of Coworking Space Cost

Coworking spaces are known for their flexibility when it comes to pricing. Depending on the location and amenities, the cost of a coworking space can vary widely. Generally, coworking spaces are priced on a per-desk basis, and the average price can range from as low as $50 per month to over $1,000 per month.

The cost of a coworking space is affected by several factors, including location, amenities, and membership options. In general, coworking spaces located in major cities and business districts tend to be more expensive than those located in smaller cities or suburban areas. This is because the cost of real estate is higher in major cities, so coworking space operators must charge more to cover their overhead expenses.

The amenities offered by a coworking space can also affect the cost. Basic amenities such as internet access, printing, and coffee may be included in the base price, but additional amenities such as meeting rooms, private offices, and event spaces may cost extra. It's essential to consider what amenities you need and which ones you can do without when choosing a coworking space.

Coworking space membership options can also affect the cost. Some coworking spaces offer month-to-month memberships, while others require long-term commitments. Monthly coworking space memberships are generally more expensive, but they offer more flexibility, allowing you to cancel or change your membership as needed. Long-term commitments may offer a discounted rate, but they can be a risky investment if your needs change unexpectedly.

Examples

Now, let's dive into some specific examples of coworking costs. Keep in mind that these prices are just a general guideline, and actual costs may vary depending on the location, amenities, and coworking space membership options.

First, let's look at some lower-priced options. For example, the coworking space company Regus offers basic coworking space starting at around $99 per month, with access to a desk, wifi, and basic amenities.

The Cannon workspaces offer a range of coworking space membership options to fit any budget, starting at $205 per month for hot desk access and going up to $900 per month for fully furnished private offices. Dedicated desk memberships are also available starting at $450 per month. Along with access to amenities such as high-speed internet, printing services, and conference rooms, members also have access to a range of value-added benefits such as educational workshops, networking events, and a startup accelerator program. The Cannon's community-driven atmosphere also encourages collaboration and growth among its members.

What to Consider

When considering the cost of a coworking space, there are several factors that business owners should take into account.

First, it's important to determine the specific needs of your business. Do you need a private office, or will a hot desk suffice? Do you require access to conference rooms or printing services? Understanding your specific needs will help you choose a coworking space membership level that provides the amenities and services you require.

Second, business owners should consider their budgets. Coworking spaces can vary widely in price depending on the location, services offered, and membership level. Choosing a space that fits your budget while still providing the services and amenities you need is crucial.

Third, business owners should consider any potential savings that come with a coworking space. For example, many coworking spaces offer discounts on services such as printing and shipping, which can help offset the cost of coworking space membership. Additionally, being part of a coworking community can provide networking and collaboration opportunities that may lead to new business and growth opportunities.

Finally, business owners should carefully review the terms of the coworking space contract. It's essential to understand what's included in the coworking space membership fee and any additional fees that may be incurred. Reviewing the cancellation policy and any other contractual obligations is also important.

By carefully considering these factors, business owners can choose a coworking space that fits their needs and budget while providing access to the amenities and benefits that will help their business thrive.

The Most Innovative Coworking Space

In conclusion, coworking space costs can vary widely depending on the location, amenities, and coworking space membership options. It's important to carefully consider your needs and budget when choosing a coworking space and any potential savings and benefits that may come with it. While coworking spaces can be more affordable than traditional office spaces, they can still be a significant investment, so it's essential to research and choose a workspace that meets your needs and fits your budget.

If your business is located in Houston, The Woodlands/Montgomery County, or Galveston, The Cannon is here to provide you flexibility and innovation at each of our six workspace locations. Along with three membership levels, we also offer 24/7 access, a professional mailing address, and drop-in access to all of our locations up to five times a month. Book a tour today to see how The Cannon can take your business to the next level!

Brad True

Are Coworking Spaces Worth It?

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 15:53:25 GMT

Coworking spaces have become a popular alternative to remote working in the home. They have also changed the real-estate industry for businesses since coworking spaces offer more flexibility than traditional office space with long-term contracts. But are coworking spaces worth the membership fees?

In the following article, we discuss the best benefits that come from partnering with a coworking space.

Ten Benefits of Coworking Spaces

More Flexibility at Lower Costs

As we had briefly discussed before, traditional office environments can run businesses for thousands of dollars, and they are stuck in a contract of at least a year. Coworking spaces, on the other hand, can be used on demand or even rent private space within the organization for a short period of time. Some membership fees are monthly and have tiered levels, so your business has many options when it comes to expanding or scalding down operations.

State-of-the-Art Amenities

When you work at coworking spaces, you are offered amenities that help your work day. Kitchen spaces, gyms, and outdoor areas are a couple of examples. Many spaces also offer office equipment like printers, scanners, photocopiers, and fax machines.

Administrative Support

What’s better than being provided with equipment and amenities is that you don’t have to look after them. The managers of the coworking space will be responsible for ensuring that everything is working properly and repaired as needed. Many coworking spaces also have a lobby greeter that can assist you and your clients.

Networking Opportunities

Speaking of the managers of coworking spaces, they also encourage their members to connect with one another by hosting networking events, both more professional and more on the fun side. You will be able to meet many more business owners and professionals when you work in a coworking space, and this opportunity can result in your next collaboration or a sales lead.

Professional Meeting Rooms

Whether you need to meet with your team or a client, coworking space will have spaces for you to book. These are great for when you need a little more privacy for internal affairs, and they provide a professional space for you to meet your clients.

Multiple Locations

Another great part of coworking spaces is that they typically have multiple locations that you have access to with your membership fee. The Cannon has multiple locations within the city of Houston and its surrounding areas, so you can meet your clients wherever and whenever with 24/7 access.

Eliminate At-Home Distractions

The home can present numerous distractions—barking dogs, misbehaving pets, crying children, delivery people stopping by, neighbors chatting, etc. At a coworking space, you will be surrounded by a professional work environment with minimal distractions.

Establish Structure and Routine

Utilizing the alternative office environment can help workers establish a routine and structure their day better. This is a benefit for remote employees because it takes them out of the house with distractions that steer their attention away from their work. It also may assist those who need extra help focusing on their assignments by providing options for distraction-free areas.

Socialization for Mental Well-Being

Speaking of mental health, coworking spaces are great for remote workers because, if they only work at home, their chances at socialization are limited. Humans are social creatures, and even those who identify as introverts need social interaction every once in a while.

Coworking spaces are also a great place to foster community. When you see someone on a regular basis, you have opportunities to connect with them, which is equally beneficial for fostering a new friendship and expanding your network.

Reduced Environmental Impact

With green initiatives popping up more these days, companies are also looking to reduce their carbon footprint, and coworking spaces happen to be one method of this. As mentioned earlier, they typically have multiple locations, and this benefit means workers can pick the closest location and do not have to commute long distances. Less commuting means less pollution and congestion as well as a better quality of life for the worker.

Helping Innovators Thrive

Coworking spaces have a tremendous impact on businesses everywhere, but it is also about finding the right provider. Some spaces are more geared toward remote and freelance workers while others are more accommodating to small businesses. Do your research, conduct a trial run, and ask questions when it comes to the question: are coworking spaces worth it?

The Cannon has three levels of membership to keep options flexible for innovators in the Houston area.

Flexible includes…
Cannon Membership
24/7 Access
Professional Mailing Address
Drop-In Access (Up to 5x/month) to All Cannon Locations
Resident includes…
Cannon Membership
Dedicated Workspace
24/7 Access
Professional Mailing Address
Drop-In Access (Up to 5x/month) to All Cannon Locations
Enterprise includes…
Cannon Membership With Discounts for Teams
Dedicated Office Space
24/7 Access
Professional Mailing Address
Drop-In Access (Up to 5x/month) to All Cannon Locations

The prices, ranging from $180 to $930, on these membership tiers differ depending on the location you choose to be your home base, but the benefits stay the same. We meet you where you’re at in developing your business, and we offer your access to potentially the world’s most valuable entrepreneurial network in the world.

Book a tour today at any workspace location!

Brad True

This Is The Most Innovative Startup Coworking Space in Houston

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 19:19:00 GMT

Every major city from NYC to Seattle is booming with coworking spaces, and Houston is never far behind on the trends that benefit startups in oil, tech, medical, and other industries that call the city home. The coworking scene is the perfect place to help startups thrive due to their affordability and flexibility.

The Cannon is the most innovative startup coworking space in Houston, as we offer flexible membership packages, six offices across the city, and a community in the continual pursuit of entrepreneurial support. Read on to learn more about why startups should consider a coworking space and what The Cannon can do for you.

What Makes Coworking Spaces Good for Startups?

One of the biggest factors that make coworking spaces beneficial for startups is their price points. While the fees may still be a bit high for a freelancer, the spaces offer a fully furnished and equipped workspace for those businesses that are ready to have a home base.

The fees for a coworking space are also flexible and don’t tie you down for years on end. You can usually adjust your membership level, meaning it is easy to scale your business up and down as needed.

Plus, office management will be taken off your workload. The management company of the coworking space will handle issues that arise, address their client’s concerns, and seek to make continual improvements to keep up with the competition.

Lastly, coworking spaces foster community and networking. Your startup will be surrounded by like-minded professionals, and coworking spaces often hold networking events for their members. This opportunity is a great way to find your next great lead, begin a collaboration, seek a mentor’s advice, and so much more.

Houston’s Best Coworking Spaces

Houston is home to The Cannon’s six workspace locations from West Houston to The Woodlands. Tours are always available at every location for those interested in learning more, and we offer three membership levels that are designed to fit your exact growth stage.

Included in the membership fees above are free parking, 24/7 access, and a professional mailing address. This way, you can work as you want or need with a professional space to meet in and operate your startup.

West Houston

The Cannon West Houston is known as the founding location of our entrepreneurial community. Located in the Founders District and east of the Energy Corridor , this workspace has over 600 entrepreneurs in residence, providing an immersive ecosystem with collaboration and support.

This coworking space features a fully functional kitchen, 131 offices, and plenty of amenities for all our innovators. There is also a 37-seat movie theater, game room, outdoor space, and more spaces that are open for the public to rent .

Book a tour!

Downtown

The Cannon Downtown is the epicenter of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship. This coworking space is where business owners, early-stage founders, corporate partners, advisors, and investors collaborate to create a multi-floor innovation village. The “Tower,” as it’s nicknamed, has 25 offices, six conference rooms, and 3,000 square feet of event space only two floors down.

Book a tour!

Post Oak

The Cannon Post Oak is designed for convenience in accessing a major business hub in Houston: The Galleria. It is surrounded by trending restaurants, major retail outlets, and plenty of hotels for your out-of-town clients and partners. There are three meeting rooms that are fully A/V equipped, an open workspace, and plenty of huddle spaces to work as you need to throughout the day.

You can also get your first month at The Cannon Post Oak free ! Book a tour, then sign up for membership in the following week, and you can connect to the world's most valuable entrepreneurial network.

Book a tour!

Galveston

The Cannon Galveston at MarMo Plaza is where coastal ingenuity meets successful beginnings. This location is in the heart of Galveston Island and features 15 offices and three conference rooms. There is also 1,500 square feet of indoor event space and 25,000 square feet of outdoor event space, making this beachside office the perfect place for work and play.

Book a tour!

Fish Creek

The Cannon Fish Creek is located in the Woodforest community in Montgomery, Texas—our first step to expanding to North Houston. There are 19 offices, numerous flex-space seating options, and three conference rooms available for our members to work. The workspace also has a couple of private call booths for those high-priority meetings. Fish Creek members can also enjoy an on-site coffee shop and kitchen to make their day a little easier.

Book a tour!

The Woodlands

Our newest location continues The Cannon’s expansion to the North. We are thrilled to work with our partner, Amegy Bank , to open in the heart of The Woodlands. The workspace will include 20 offices, four meeting rooms with state-of-the-art A/V connection, and 1,000 square feet of event space .

The workspace is in a prime location for innovators in The Woodlands and Spring, both fast-growing communities. On-site coffee and kitchen are available alongside numerous restaurants right around the corner.

Book a tour!

A Community Built On Innovation

Not located in Houston? You can still access the world’s most valuable entrepreneurial community through our online platform, Cannon Connect .

We offer solutions for networking with advisors, investors, service providers, and other innovators. We host plenty of events, available online and in-person, and there is a special crowdfunding platform for only Cannon Connect members.

There are also tools and resources that include software discounts, articles, videos, worksheets, and more. Our five-stage guild breaks down the journey of running a business and helps you pinpoint what you need.

Cannon Connect members also get access to our benefits program . It is currently only available to companies with at least two full-time employees, but the full suite of benefits includes all of the following:

Health Insurance + Vision and Dental
Prescription Benefits
Life Insurance
401K and Retirement Plans
Legal/Identity Insurance
Workers Compensation and Insurance Solutions

You can try your first month of Cannon Connect for free when you use code TRYME at checkout!

Take Your Business to The Next Level

Whether you need a startup coworking space in Houston or support for your business across the globe, The Cannon has leveraged our growing community of startups, intrapreneurs, advisors, and investors to democratize access to the resources innovators need to succeed. We aim to continue developing innovation infrastructure to support entrepreneurialism around the world.

Brad True

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Coworking Spaces?

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:34:47 GMT

Since the first coworking space—Berlin’s Hackerspace in 1995—the innovative workspace solution has risen in popularity. Even some big corporations have taken advantage of shared office space for remote workers. It’s a creative and innovative environment that fits into various work lifestyles.

However, like many things, it has its downsides. Our team took a critical look at the advantages and disadvantages of coworking spaces.

Advantages of Coworking Spaces

Affordable Option to Leasing

Office space can quickly eat up your budget, with most cities charging more than $500 for something modest. On the other hand, many coworking spaces offer flexible packages, some going as low as $100 for a shared space.

Provided Amenities

When renting a private office, you must supply your own amenities like a printer, Wi-Fi, routers, photocopy machines, private meeting and conference rooms, and a lounge area. Coworking spaces provide all this plus additional amenities like a recreation center and a kitchenette, cafeteria, or canteen.

Networking & Community

Remote workers can often feel like they’re drifting alone, but a coworking community could be the solution. When renting a coworking space, there is ample opportunity to network with other professionals, share ideas, and support one another’s ventures, and the coworking space managers often host events to encourage community connection.

Easy for Scaling

Coworking spaces are great for companies in the middle of their growth stage. Most of these spaces make it easy to scale up or down for your workforce, and this saves time and money on moving spaces.

Continued Improvements

Coworking spaces provide a visually appealing and thoughtful environment for productivity and creativity. As they grow more popular— predicted to double by 2024 to almost over 40,000 —these spaces will expand on what features they offer to stand above the competition. This trend also means you may have more options in the future for choosing a coworking space, and you will be able to find the right fit for your business’s needs.

Disadvantages of Coworking Spaces

May Be Out of Budget

While coworking spaces are often less expensive than leasing an office space, they may be a big expense if you are a new startup or self-employed. In the case of the latter, there are free workspaces like your local library and coffee shops with available Wi-Fi.

Potential Distractions

In a coworking space, if you are working in an open space instead of an office, you may not be able to control what will happen around you, and there can be limited privacy as well. Other company meetings, people talking over the phone, desk neighbors listening to music or videos aloud, and many more potential distractions can occur. When you own a business space, you have more control over making the rules and creating an environment for optimal productivity.

Restrictions on Customization

A nice feature of coworking is that spaces are already designed, furnished, and equipped for the office day. However, this means you have limits on personalizing the space for yourself or your business. Depending on what kind of package you signed up for, you may have to compete for desk space and private meeting rooms.

Limited Space

Different coworking spaces have different options for workers to choose from. Some options include hot desks (taking any open seat), an assigned desk, or private offices. These options will vary in price, with private offices being the most expensive, so you must consider your budget and business needs before committing to a coworking space. Luckily, coworking spaces typically require shorter terms than a traditional lease, some requiring as low as a month-to-month commitment.

The Place Where You Thrive

All in all, coworking spaces are popular for a reason. They provide a professional space that is ready for growing companies to move right into. However, they can also present some challenges. It all depends on your unique business and what you need to thrive.

If you’ve considered these advantages and disadvantages of coworking spaces and want to sign up, look no further than The Cannon . We have over six locations in the Greater Houston Area, all dedicated to helping innovators thrive. Free parking, a professional mailing address, and 24/7 access are just a few of the benefits you get along with the space! Plus, we have three packages to choose from as your business grows.

Not in the Houston area? No worries! You can join Cannon Connect , where we’re building the world’s most valuable entrepreneurial network from anywhere in the US. Get access to resources, a crowdfunding platform, an advisor network , and even access to a health insurance and benefits plan if you have two or more employees with your company.

Begin thriving today in a coworking space that’s here for you. Visit our website to get started!

Brad True

The Best Coworking Spaces in Houston | The Cannon

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 21:02:39 GMT

Houston has become a hub for innovation as a city full of opportunity with a highly diverse population. The Cannon established its roots to help fuel innovation with coworking spaces, which offer innovators a flexible and affordable way to work. We offer some of the best working spaces in Houston, and we’ve compiled a list of everything each of our locations has to offer in this blog.

What Makes a Good Coworking Space?

Coworking spaces are a modern way to work that offers flexibility, community, business support, and much more. They can be a great option for small businesses to have a space to work as they start, launch, and grow. But what makes one great?

To start off, there are the essentials—dedicated desk areas, high-speed internet, printers, and everything that makes an office functional. Meeting rooms and conference rooms are also a common amenity—and a necessary amenity in our opinion. Having a kitchen space, small or large, is also a must to help the workers get through their day, and offering free coffee, tea, and snacks is an extra bonus.

A good coworking space also hosts events to foster connections between its residents. This initiative gives the members dedicated time to socialize with one another and further supports the community within the space.

The Cannon Workspaces

All of our locations come with free parking, 24/7 access, and a professional mailing address. These benefits and many more allow our community of innovators to work as they want or need while providing a professional space to meet and operate.

Connection is at the heart of what we do, and that is why we host a multitude of events to bring our members together. From holiday parties to special guest lectures, The Cannon Community has something for everyone to grow their professional network and find support at every stage in their entrepreneurial journey.

West Houston

Our original location, West Houston, is based in the Founders District and east of the Energy Corridor . There is a fully functional kitchen, 131 offices, and plenty of amenities for all our innovators. The campus also has a 37-seat movie theater, game room, outdoor space, and more that are open to the public for space rental to host events.

With over 600 entrepreneurs in residence, West Houston provides an immersive ecosystem with collaboration and support. The community allows our members to grow their team of employees, co-founders, and business partners.

Downtown

Located in the heart of Houston, just a few blocks from Discovery Green, Downtown is a vertical entrepreneurship village. Also known as the “Tower,” it has 25 offices, six conference rooms, and a 3,000-square-foot event space just two floors down from the collaborative workspace.

Its prime Downtown Houston location also provides walking distance to the MetroRail, restaurants, and retail. There is also a first-floor cafe and a fully-functional kitchen stocked with Boomtown Coffee.

Post Oak

The Galleria is a major business hub in Houston, so the Post Oak office allows our members access to this prime location. Post Oak provides business opportunities to integrate with The Cannon Community but still work in a location that is geographically convenient for you and your clients. Three meeting rooms with full AV and online booking are available at this location, along with a fully functional kitchen with free coffee!

We are also offering a special, limited-time deal that covers your first month’s rent! Book a tour, sign up for membership within one week of your tour, and connect to the world's most valuable entrepreneurial network.

Galveston

Located in the heart of Galveston Island, The Cannon Galveston at MarMo Plaza offers a seaside workspace for innovators just a few blocks from The Strand. At this location, 15 offices, three conference rooms, a 1,500-square-foot indoor event space, and a 2,500-square-foot outdoor event space are available, as well as an on-site cafe.

Fish Creek

Our newest location is located in the Woodforest community in Montgomery, Texas. The Cannon Fish Creek has 19 offices, numerous flex-space seating options, and three conference rooms available for our members to work. There is also an on-site coffee shop and kitchen available for this growing community full of innovators.

Fish Creek is our first location open in North Houston, and the area's growing community, in addition to our own, makes a perfect match. It is the perfect place for Woodforest’s entrepreneurs, innovators, and small businesses to start and grow their businesses.

Helping Innovators Thrive

The best coworking spaces have plenty of resources to support its member, and The Cannon is proud to be a space for everyone, no matter what stage of developing their business, and Cannon Connect is our online platform to connect our community. Do you just have an idea on a napkin? Or are you looking for an exit or acquisition? We have plenty of resources and a community of supportive professionals to help you navigate these stages. Join today and find out how you can go further with The Cannon!

Brad True

Coworking Space vs. Traditional Office: Which is Best for Your Business?

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 19:51:57 GMT

Deciding whether your company will be working in a coworking office space or traditional private office can be difficult. There is no right or wrong decision; the answer is in assessing what the needs and priorities of your business are, and you’ll find the best fit by reviewing the pros and cons of coworking vs. traditional offices.

Our team has years of experience in the industry, seeing how various businesses decide the right space for them, and we put together the following information on how you decide between a coworking space vs. a traditional office.

What are Coworking Spaces?

Coworking office spaces are often large, open-concept layouts for members of the space to work solo or with a team. These spaces will typically have comfortable furniture arranged for various needs to work and meet; in addition, there are conference rooms and meeting rooms that your team can reserve as needed. There is also shared technology, including printers and Wi-Fi, and many even have a small kitchenette with free coffee sometimes.

Pros of Coworking Spaces

One benefit of a coworking office space has a flexible workspace for yourself and your team. You can move around as you please to find the best productivity spot to fit your needs, and the change in scenery can help you feel every day is different and feel less bored.

This flexibility also allows you to meet new people from other businesses. Networking opportunities not only come from working in the work environment itself but often events that the management team will host.

You also won’t have to worry about miscellaneous expenses from running an office because the coworking office space has built-in office management, and they are always move-in ready. Plus, your company isn’t tied to long-term leases since they offer more flexible tenure options, and all utilities will be included in your membership fee.

Cons of Coworking Spaces

One con of some coworking office spaces for many businesses is that they can be crowded areas with a lack of privacy. If the space is not managed properly, some of the shared resources may be unavailable or limited due to the volume of people, and there can also be lots of distractions throughout your work day.

Depending on the policy of the space managers, there may also be a lack of personal branding for coworking spaces; your company is subject to the branding the management of the coworking space chooses. Meeting with clients can also be affected by the lack of permanence and branding when your company is in a coworking space.

Defining Traditional Offices

When we say a traditional office space, we are referring to a private headquarters for your company. Whether it stands on its own or in a high-rise building, your business has its own space for you and your employees to work, along with complete control of the technology and resources. It may also be an open layout like a coworking office space, or you may have more of a cubicle set up along with designated conference rooms.

Pros of Traditional Offices

One of the biggest advantages to a traditional office compared to a coworking space is that it’s your company’s private space. There is a more quiet, professional work environment with less distractions. It also allows you to decorate it to fit your personal branding, and you also have a more professional setting for meetings with clients.

Traditional offices are also a great place to build workplace relationships within the company and even express themselves at assigned desks surrounded by their team. It builds familiarity between the work environment and colleagues, and for workers who love routine and structure, this setup can help boost their productivity.

Cons of Traditional Offices

The biggest disadvantage of a traditional office is that they require a long-term lease commitment. Commercial landlords typically require you to be in the space for at least three years, and you will be subject to an “upward-only” rent review, finder’s fees, additional occupancy fees, and dilapidation. You will also have numerous additional expenses, in addition to rent, like furniture, internet, utilities, parking, and more.

While traditional offices can help with productivity, they can also cause burnout amongst your employees because they are too familiar with the environment, and setups like cubicles can cause feelings of separation and isolation. These effects can chip away at their motivation and lead to unproductivity.

Tap into Innovation at Your Workplace

The pros and cons of a coworking space vs. a traditional office are fairly balanced, but it also depends on your company’s needs. If you’re experiencing a lot of growth, a coworking space may be a better fit as you establish your team, but if you have many employees that need to collaborate often, a traditional office would make more sense.

If you are located within the Houston area, The Cannon is the innovative coworking space solution to your workplace needs. We have six locations , and every one offers free parking, 24/7 access, professional mailing, and no added fees. These coworking spaces are created for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, offering countless networking opportunities and resources to maximize your innovation. Contact us today to take a tour!

Brad True

How to Inspire Innovation in the Workplace

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 16:01:47 GMT

The business world is constantly evolving, implementing the newest technologies into daily processes and pivoting to incorporate the changes in consumer taste. To stay ahead of the curve, you need a workforce that thinks creatively and consistently develops innovative ideas, but most of all, you must foster a culture of innovation in the workplace.

The Cannon helps innovators everywhere by giving them a unique and stimulating environment that facilitates productivity and allows them to thrive in their day-to-day lives as business owners. We have gathered information from our experiences and provided you with valuable resources that are sure to help you inspire an increasingly innovative workplace.

What is Innovation in Business?

The first step to encourage innovation in the workplace is to understand what it means to be innovative. Having an innovative workforce behind your company means employees at every level will generate innovative ideas or approach existing products, services, policies, concepts, etc., in new and unique ways.

As a leader of the company, being open and willing to implement these successful innovations will give you a competitive edge. When you’re not resistant to change, you won’t struggle to keep up with the market or become obsolete when the market inevitably shifts.

Five Methods to Drive Innovation

There are various innovation strategies to encourage innovation in the workplace, but the most impactful forms of action revolve around taking care of your workforce’s emotional well-being. When they are secure and satisfied with their position, they will also find the freedom, confidence, and inspiration to be innovative.

Embrace a Flexible Workplace

One way to inspire your employees at work to be more innovative is to give them the freedom of a flexible workspace. In another blog, we explored flexible workspaces and their benefits , but the rundown is that you can save money, make employees happy, and attract and retain talent.

Remote and hybrid employees are also a part of a flexible workspace. The pandemic took a massive toll on businesses across the world in every way imaginable. However, even before the pandemic hit in 2020, remote and hybrid working was on the rise. It reduces the amount of burnout that comes from commuting and being away from family and provides more time for hobbies. Many employees are now making remote and hybrid work a requirement for their job, so business leaders need to be more open to including into their norm. Plus, when you’re open to remote workers, you gain access to all of the remarkable talents across the nation!

Create a Workplace Culture

Your company culture is more important than you may think. Employees need a good workplace experience to thrive and stay in their position for a long period of time. This fosters connections between employees at every level and is essential in creating good internal communication and employee engagement.

It is also crucial to rethink company culture every few years to keep up with the workforce trends. One example of this is the need for innovative leaders to learn how to maintain a strong company culture in remote and hybrid environments.

Nurture Employee Connection

Another element of your company culture should center around people over processes. This means creating open-door policies and giving employees the freedom and security to share innovative ideas on how they believe the company can tackle common problems and provide a new perspective on procedures.

As a company leader, a culture of innovation will also nurture socialization between employees. Host events that take employees away from work such as volunteer opportunities or celebrations for milestones reached and other forms of company success. A connected workforce is more likely to collaborate and work together.

Focus on Your Team

Investing in all of your employee’s growth, instead of only the ones who show the “highest potential,” allows you to maximize your team’s potential overall. This is made easier when you have an open approach to training and career progression that allows employees to pursue new interests internally. By offering flexibility and non-linear paths for growth, your workforce can begin to visualize themselves navigating the company.

Another way to retain your employees is to show appreciation for their work. Giving weekly shoutouts, celebrating a project done well, and relaying positive feedback, are all great ways to let your employees know you are thankful for the work they put into your company.

Don’t Have a Fear of Failure

The sign of a great innovative leader is that they are willing to take intelligent risks . A feat of failure hinders the innovation process, and if a company does its best to avoid failure at all costs, they get in the way of its successful innovations.

But if a team unites together to take a calculated risk, they can experiment and take notes on why it did or did not work. This experimentation leads to a better understanding of the problem and, thus, better solutions to tackle it.

If you want to find better ways to achieve your business goals continually,, encourage thinking outside the box and put faith in your employees’ abilities. Your confidence in them will encourage innovation in the workplace.

Helping Innovators Thrive

Innovation in the workplace isn’t the easiest thing to achieve, but it is possible when you take purposeful and calculated action. You have innovators in your workforce; it’s just about cultivating the best employee experience to inspire that innovation to come into action.

One way you can inspire an innovative workforce is by partnering with The Cannon . We have flexible and versatile workspace across the Greater Houston Area that offers coworking and office space for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Because of their open nature, we have a diverse community that is dedicated to entrepreneurial support, programming, and connections.

The Cannon Community isn’t just limited to Houston though; Cannon Connect is our digital home to a global network for all current and future entrepreneurs, small businesses, investors, and service providers. Our platform provides resources for innovators at any stage of business management. The Cannon also provides an advisor network and an extensive high-quality benefits program for teams of two or more employees.

No matter your background or location, The Cannon has something for everyone and can connect you to the resources you need to succeed. Schedule a tour at one of our workplace locations or become a member of Cannon Connect today.

Brad True

Who Uses Coworking Spaces, and Why Are They Beneficial?

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 14:44:04 GMT

Coworking spaces are an arrangement of different companies sharing office space and common infrastructure. They have become increasingly popular over the last decade for various reasons, including having a limited budget for an office. Digital nomads, freelancers, and remote employees are often thought of as the common inhabitants of coworking spaces, but there is more to coworking spaces than meets the eye.

There are many types of people and businesses who take advantage of coworking spaces, and since we have several locations in Houston , here is a breakdown of who uses coworking spaces and why they may use them.

Freelancers

Self-employment doesn’t mean you will always have your own office space. Freelancers are common inhabitants of coworking spaces since having a home office isn’t a guarantee, and even if you do have space for one, the number of distractions can be endless when you are at home. Coworking spaces provide increased productivity, client meeting rooms, a professional mailing address, and a social work environment.

Remote Workers

Similar to freelancers, employees working from home benefit from coworking spaces in many ways. Being employed in a remote position means having more freedom, and these employees want to utilize their freedom responsibly. Just like freelancers, remote workers benefit from a coworking space offering structure, flexibility, and socialization.

Independent Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs working on their own, especially in the beginning, need a designated space to figure out the next steps of their business. This kind of work, depending on your industry, can quickly clutter your home space both physically and mentally. That’s why independent professionals use coworking spaces; they are away from home, which is a place to relax, and the space provides everything the professional would need. Some coworking spaces even offer private offices for a higher fee, but it still beats the price of renting a whole office for yourself.

Startup Teams

Coworking spaces are a fantastic option for startup teams since it provides a central location. Whether the team decides to work there every day, schedule office days, or come for meetings, coworking spaces are a perfect place for everyone to come together, brainstorm ideas, and discuss important matters.

Plus, the team doesn’t have to break the bank to get this working space! With your rental fee, you also get pre-established common areas like a kitchen or maybe a wellness space. You also don’t have to worry about insurance, management fees, Internet, reinstatement charges, and other overhead costs. All of this is handled by the management team of the coworking space.

Small to Medium Businesses

A study by Coworker found that about 37.93% of their demographic was made up of small to medium-sized enterprises —which is a higher percentage than startups! As mentioned before, coworking space saves on overhead costs, and they also allow small businesses to grow and connect with other businesses. Since many businesses are under one roof, your professional network can grow easily when your business uses a coworking space. They promote a sense of community, camaraderie, and collaboration. Coworking spaces are also useful while the company is growing since you can typically add space if they’re available.

The Cannon

As you can see, there are many types of people and businesses who use coworking spaces due to their cost-effectiveness in comparison to renting office space. It also provides a place for client meetings, team gatherings, and infrastructure to support you or your team. They’re not just for digital nomads—small businesses and large companies even use coworking spaces!

The Cannon has five coworking spaces across the Houston area—including West Houston , Downtown , Post Oak , the Esperson Building , and Galveston . We’re also evolving to help more entrepreneurs, startups, and other innovators by opening an office in the Woodforest area north of Houston. We are built to help you thrive, providing free parking, 24/7 access, and a professional mailing address at all of our locations. When you join The Cannon, you also get drop-in access to all Cannon locations, so you can work Downtown one day and Galveston the next!

If you’re not in the Houston area, we still have a community for you. Cannon Connect is an online platform that connects and engages innovators while providing resources, no matter what stage your business is at. Whatever you may need, The Cannon has something to offer to everyone!

Brad True

What Are Flexible Workspaces and Their Benefits?

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 14:39:30 GMT

Flexible office space provides employees with various places and ways to work. These dynamic settings allow workers the freedom to work where, when, and how they want—unlike the strict cubicle structure of traditional offices. If you have been rethinking your office layout, then a flexible workspace could be your solution.

Our team put the following guide together to define a flexible workspace and help you decide if it’s your best option.

What Makes a Workspace Flexible?

Flexible working allows workers to choose how to work to best suit their productivity needs; some choices include different spots in the office, non-traditional office hours, and working at home or remotely. Since these employees aren’t forced to adhere to strict hours or spaces, they’re happier and more productive because they have more job satisfaction.

When it comes to making your office space physically flexible, there are a variety of methods to accomplish this goal. One approach is to have activity-based working, which means creating areas around the office based on the activity level. Dedicated spaces for collaboration, quiet zones, or social spots are a few examples.

Another method for flexible workspaces is multi-use spaces and furniture. Standing desks are the most popular example of this method since employees can still have a dedicated space while making it easier for them to move around. Alternative office chairs, such as the BeYou Chair or Turnstone Buoy , offer innovative designs and ergonomic comfort.

Types of Flexible Workspaces

There are also different types of flexible offices to suit your needs, depending on the size and demands of your company. Hot desks , for example, are extra desks around the office that can be utilized by in-house, remote, and temp employees.

Coworking spaces take hot desks a step further. This office space allows workers from different companies to work under the same roof. The coworking space managers will provide common infrastructure to the residents and offer significant savings on office rent.

Open offices are a way to structure the office space traditionally without the feelings of separation and division common in cubicle spaces. Longer desks usually take up less space and can accommodate more employees. However, the desks should still be arranged dynamically and possibly incorporate activity-based workspaces to benefit from flexible spaces.

What are the Benefits?

Still unsure about flexible workspaces? You should consider a flexible office space because office layout can influence your employees’ productivity and job satisfaction. Below are some examples of the benefits you can expect from a flexible office.

Saving Money

A flexible working environment can reduce the overhead expenses your company pays for since not every employee will need a desk, computer, and other equipment. With hybrid employees, you can have an open floor plan or unassigned seating to allow them to come and go as they need, and you can have a larger workforce without the need to accommodate every single employee every day.

Happier Employees

Happy employees mean productive employees who are motivated to stay in their position. Allowing your employees to choose how they want to work and giving them a choice to switch up their surroundings gives them freedom and flexibility.

Moving around the office also gives employees the chance to speak to one another, whether they’re from the same department or not. Co-workers who are more connected work better together, making asking questions easier, smoother discussions, and overall comradery.

Employees’ physical health is also positively impacted by flexible workspaces. The flexibility encourages movement, which reduces the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Improved posture, lower risks of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and reduced ergonomic injuries are other physical health benefits of flexible office space over a sedentary working environment. Improved health means fewer sick days and time off for any hospitalization, and the employee’s well-being improves their satisfaction.

Attract and Retain Talent

Even before the pandemic in 2020, working from home and hybrid employees were on the rise thanks to recent technological advances. The world has seen how talented workers can effectively and efficiently work remotely, and many employees enjoy the freedom from commutes and traditional offices. Flexibility is the key to recruiting and retaining employees in this day and age.

This doesn’t mean you have to ditch the office space entirely, as some workers can still feel disconnected from the company by working remotely too often. However, a flexible office space that is well-designed and multi-purpose encourages employees to come in and interact with their colleagues, developing bonds and improving healthy work relationships. Another solution is arranging virtual team bonding activities if you have fully remote employees.

Meeting the needs of your employees benefits your company in the long run because they are less likely to take time away from work to relieve stress and are more productive. When you can not only attract but retain employees, you also save time and resources during transitions and get people who really know your company and can do the best work.

Find The Perfect Office Space

The traditional office cubicle farm has been phasing out, and flexible workspaces are on the rise due to their benefits. Whether you have a lease up soon or just think your office needs a reno, consider incorporating the methods and equipment mentioned above to make it more flexible and more engaging to your employees.

If you’re in the Houston area, The Cannon has six locations around the city, perfect for those seeking a flexible workspace. Our workspaces have free parking, a professional mailing address, and 24/7 access to all locations. We have multiple plans with options for a dedicated workspace or office space that are designed to fit your company’s growth stage; conference rooms and meeting rooms are also available to our members.

Book a tour today to learn more about how The Cannon helps innovators thrive everywhere.

Brad True

What is a Shared Office Space, and How is it Different from Coworking Spaces?

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 19:23:19 GMT

During the pandemic, the United States saw an increase in new small businesses, specifically a 24.6% increase in 2021 , and the majority of that growth came from the non-classified sector, where innovative entrepreneurs thrive. A shift from traditional business has also come with a shift from traditional office spaces. Having an alternative work arrangement is ideal, especially if you have trouble focusing at home, but some have been unsure about what shared office space is versus a coworking space.

Our team will help you define the difference between these two work environments and help you decide which one is right for you. We put together the details of what defines each space, who they work best for, and the disadvantages of each. By the end of this article, you should have a solution to decide between office sharing and coworking space.

Shared Office Space

A shared office space, also known as office sharing, is when a real estate management company with large commercial space offers smaller office space to small companies. A variety of different people work around you, but they are usually in an enclosed private office.

Shared office space is ideal for a small business. For example, a startup may not need a permanent office location, but a dedicated workspace allows for better client meetings and collaboration with team members on larger projects. They can avoid large office rental rates and keep overhead costs low in their budget.

A couple of disadvantages of a shared workspace are potentially being distracted by the other teams, the potential of being in close proximity to a competitor, limited customization, and a work culture that could end up matching the workspace culture rather than your company’s unique culture.

Coworking Workspace

A coworking or collaborative workspace is more of open space with large desks and meeting rooms for reservation. You could share desks with a remote employee, a lifestyle entrepreneur, or various other freelancers at any given time.

Coworking spaces are ideal for those without a central office. It’s an effective method to maintain a work-life balance, and these spaces are generally equipped with complimentary internet services and other beneficial features. Another perk is that you can gain a sense of community with the people you typically work around, and it may lead to partnerships.

The downside is there can be no permanence in these spaces. You are subject to the wills of the “coworkers,” who may take your preferred spot or, worse, limited space options depending on the time and day. And while noise-canceling headphones can be a great asset to help focus, if you are easily distracted by other people, a coworking space may also not be the best place for you since other people surround you.

A Community Built for One Purpose

Office sharing and coworking space—there’s no better option than the other, but now that you know a little more about a shared office space versus a coworking space, you can make the best decision for your business. There is an alternative solution for large and small companies: The Cannon !

We understand the need for flexibility, and that’s why our Houston-based workspaces have office sharing and coworking spaces. You can easily switch between focusing on work in private offices or a more social work environment in our open desk spaces. Plus, when you have a membership for The Cannon workspaces, you get 24/7 access, free parking, free WiFi, and the ability to go to any of our six locations— West Houston , Downtown , Post Oak , Esperson , Uptown Sports + Media , and Galveston at the MarMo .

For those outside of the Houston area, we may not have a physical workspace for you, but we do have an incredibly supportive community filled with professionals. Cannon Connect is where you can find a wide range of educational resources for every entrepreneur at any stage, whether your business idea is still on a napkin or you’re looking to grow through acquisition. We also have an advisor network, a community web directory, service provider connections, and a unique crowdfunding platform. Plus, when you join Cannon Connect, you have access to sign up for our membership benefits program , as long as your company has at least two employees.

The Cannon aims to build the only global community that is open to all current and future innovators, entrepreneurs, small businesses, investors, and service providers—all while being relentlessly dedicated to entrepreneurial support, programming, and connections. By expanding virtually and into physical locations around the world, we are helping innovators of all backgrounds and locations, from small business owners to intrapreneurs at large corporations.

Brad True

The Types of Self-Employed Business Insurance You Need to Get

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 15:53:16 GMT

Becoming your own boss comes with lots of perks, but to ensure the long-term success of your business, you need to attend to responsibilities as well. One of your top priorities should be self-employed business insurance. It will protect your business from unexpected financial disasters, should they ever come.

We understand insurance options can confuse anyone, so that is why we put together a guide on what you need to know about insurance coverage for all you freelancers, 1099ers, side hustlers, solopreneurs, and small business owners.

Most Common Types of Business Insurance

Below is a list of common insurance coverages that self-employed workers get. This is because they cover a lot of daily operations and potential problems you may encounter while running your business. We highly recommend meeting with insurance companies to sign up for these plans and protect your business.

General Liability

General liability insurance is your first step in signing up for the different types of business insurance. This insurance protects your business against claims for third-party bodily injury and property damage as well as personal and advertising injuries, which involve claims for copyright infringement, slander, libel, and false advertising. This kind of policy will cover most of your expenses for lawyer’s fees, damages, losses, etc.

Professional Liability

You will need either professional liability insurance or errors and omissions insurance. These types of business insurance offer protection against claims of mistakes, negligence, inadequate work, inaccuracies, and misrepresentation. In other words, this insurance protects your businesses from unhappy customers suing you over mistakes by providing coverage for the damages.

Commercial Property

If you have a workshop, office, or any other business property for your operations, you need commercial property insurance. This insurance protects against damages to your property and all the items within it when there is a natural disaster, fire, smoke, or vandalism.

But business property insurance isn’t just for your office. Smartphones, computers, and special equipment needed for your business are also covered. If your business is based in your home, you will typically rely on your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, and if you travel with your items, such as photography equipment, you will need to consider inland marine insurance to protect your property in transit.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ comp isn’t just for companies with employees. Self-employed insurance with workers’ compensation also covers the cost of medical expenses, disability benefits, and lost wages while you recover. Most states require by law that you have workers' compensation insurance if you have at least one or more employees.

Other Types of Business Insurance

The following list of insurance coverages may not be needed, depending on your business and where it is located. Nonetheless, we recommend that you research these plans and meet with an insurance agent to see if you can add these to your current policy.

Business Interruption

You have no control over natural disasters, and that’s why you need business interruption insurance to cover the loss of income when you cannot operate your business. This can range from a local warning to stay indoors due to a hurricane or closing your home office in the case of an electrical fire.

Commercial Auto

You will likely need a commercial auto insurance policy if you use your own or another vehicle often for business purposes. You may be able to expand your personal auto insurance, but be aware that they also may not have adequate coverage. It’s important to sign up for business auto insurance because if your vehicle is separate from your own, your personal policy will usually not cover an accident.

There is also hired and non-owned auto insurance that will offer liability coverage for vehicles that you borrow, rent, or hire for your business. It also applies to employees using their vehicles on the behalf of your business.

Cyber Liability

Modern-day technological advancements have made the public aware of data breaches and software hacks. Cyber liability insurance covers the cost of notifying customers, setting up monitoring, and investigating attacks from hackers breaching your computer system and stealing customers’ payment information.

A cyber insurance policy isn’t just for big companies; all businesses that use technology to function should have it. In fact, since bigger companies tend to have stronger security systems, small businesses are at a higher risk of a data breach. Cyber insurance has many benefits, and carefully handling your customers’ data is an absolute priority to consider.

Commercial Umbrella

Commercial umbrella insurance is a great option to add extra coverage to your general liability insurance. The way that it works is that umbrella insurance will cover the costs that go beyond the coverage limits of your general liability insurance. You don’t necessarily need an umbrella insurance policy, but if you can afford it, the future of your business will thank you if it ever runs into a situation where you need more coverage.

Get Coverage with Cannon Connect

Now you know about the different types of business insurance you may need as a self-employed worker. We recommend hiring an insurance agent with your best interest at heart to get the insurance coverage you need.

If you are looking for self-employed business insurance that includes workers’ compensation and health insurance, you can access those benefits when you become a member of Cannon Connect. We make health care, life insurance, and retirement affordable to our community of entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners. Our program is available to companies with at least two employees, e.g., a founder and one full-time employee.

If you don’t meet those requirements, no worries! We are proud to be the world’s most valuable entrepreneurial network. Your fellow members and professional advisors can help you navigate getting the best coverage at the best price. On top of that, you get exclusive access to resources for business success. We’re made by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs.

Join Cannon Connect to get started today on your benefits program and join the ever-growing community that supports entrepreneurialism around the world.

Brad True

How to Set Up The Remote Office of Your Productivity’s Dreams

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 20:32:17 GMT

The pandemic lockdown of 2020 gave everyone a culture shock surrounding the concept of working from home. Some loved it, and some didn’t. People have seen the potential of remote work, and it’s becoming increasingly popular for companies to offer their employees more flexibility. Others have utilized coworking spaces, like one of The Cannon’s six locations in the Houston area, to have the best of both worlds–the flexibility to both stay home when needed and an office to go to when needing a change of pace or a more professional environment.

If you’re not in the Houston area or don’t have a convenient coworking spaces around you, now more than ever is the perfect time to learn how to set up a remote office suited to your needs. In the following article, we discuss everything you need to consider when setting up your space.

The Space

First, you need to pick a dedicated space for your remote office environment, for optimal project management and productivity. It is tempting to work right from your bed in pajama bottoms or sit back on the living room couch, but even if you are working in a small apartment, it’s essential to work in a spot that sets you up for success.

Light

Considering the brightness of your space is essential for various reasons. A light source behind you will glare on your screen, making it difficult to see, and direct light will irritate your eyes and flush your complexion, which you don’t want if you use a webcam. Typical overhead lighting in houses and apartments is a good solution, but it can limit your space options.

Whether standing or sitting at a desk, a good lamp that provides soft, bright light can be your best friend if you don’t have good natural lighting, which is the best option. An adjustable lamp is even better if you need to change the focus of your light source.

Noise

Everyone has their own noise preference. Loud and disruptive noises distract most people when they need to focus or go into a meeting over the phone or video calls. Acoustic panels and other sound-canceling materials are great solutions for those who don’t have an isolated, quiet space and frequently need to be on calls.

Noise-canceling headphones are also an option if you need to listen to something on your computer or prefer to listen to music while working. Or, if you prefer silence while concentrating on work, noise-canceling earplugs are also available.

The Desk

Now that you have a dedicated space for your work environment, it’s time to set up your desk space.

Essential Equipment

You will first want the essentials of a laptop or a home computer, along with good internet service and efficient routers to keep the day running smoothly. Our partners at Dell are offering numerous discounts for all Cannon Connect members; join today and outfit your home office with the best options in computers, monitors and accessories.

Depending on the nature of your work, you may also want to get a webcam and a headset. To keep up with all of the electronics, you will need to organize your cords accordingly.

Ergonomic Harmony

The next step is to think about how to have an ergonomic setup. You want to take care of your physical body while working, and proper posture is the key. Many desk chairs allow you to adjust them to the proper height for your desk and your height, and a standing desk is a great way to avoid sitting all day at work. There are also many ergonomic keyboards and mouses you can use to protect the joints in your hands. To avoid straining your neck, you should raise your screens to your eye level; you can accomplish this with some mounts or a stack of books. You may also want to consider getting a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses to protect your eyes and avoid screen fatigue.

Inspirational Decor

Personalizing your workspace is an awesome way to make your workspace welcoming and inspiring. Adding words of encouragement or inspiring decor is a great way to spark creativity and positively affect your mood. This tip will apply more to home offices than to anyone looking to work out of coffee houses, libraries, or coworking spaces. However, small touches can still be added with your portable supplies.

Pleasant Plants

For the home office worker, we also suggest you think about adding some plants to your decor. Plants in office spaces are a must since they boost your mood and increase productivity by 15% , as the University of Exeter discovered. Multiple studies have also shown that taking care of plants reduces stress , thereby improving mental health.

The Routine

While the setup for your remote office is important, nothing is more critical than the routine you set for yourself as a remote worker. The following are our best tips to get the most out of your workday while in an out-of-office environment.

Consistently Start and End Your Workday.

It may be tempting to get a few more hours of sleep if you don’t have urgent meetings first thing in the morning, but getting into a regular routine for work helps put you in the right headspace. Your brain will learn when it’s time to work and when it’s time to rest. The rhythm will also help you prevent you from overworking yourself.

Another hot tip for home office workers: involve your pets. If you have a dog, walk them right after your day ends; if you have a cat, feed them when you finish work. They will also get used to the routine and make a great reminder for you to end the day!

Schedule Focus and Break Times in Your Calendar.

Breaking up your day is a crucial part of not burning yourself out. Everybody has their own balance between focusing and taking a step back, so we recommend working to find yours. Maybe you like an hour of work and a ten-minute break or 45 minutes with a fifteen-minute break. It’s up to you!

It’s also good practice to schedule a block of time to just focus on your work. We can’t predict everything that will happen, but a dedicated time block to focus will allow you to catch up on things you missed or get ahead of your workload.

Unplug from Work at the End of the Day.

You absolutely should have set working hours. This tip is especially important if you work at home since you need time to recharge to produce your best work every day. Block notifications at certain hours, set up a voicemail, turn off work-only devices—do whatever is necessary to get work off your mind once your day is over.

The Best Place for Remote Work

All the tips we’ve covered above should help you in building a home or remote office environment that increases your productivity. If you’ve already utilized these tips or similar ones, and haven’t successfully figured out how to set up a remote office, there are alternative solutions out there.

The Cannon has multiple coworking space locations around the city of Houston, Texas to host you. Every location has free parking and Wi-Fi along with plenty of desk space and conference rooms.

If a home office environment is your jam or you’re not in the Houston area, we also offer Cannon Connect , a community platform for innovators everywhere. Meet new people, get resources for business success, and maybe even find a mentor through our advisor network. We are a community built for one purpose: helping innovators thrive!

Brad True

The Different Types of Business Formations and How to Choose What Your Business Needs

Thu, 12 May 2022 16:09:55 GMT

The type of business structure you choose for your company is an important decision that will affect day-to-day operations, so it’s essential to be well informed about the different types of business formations. Start with an informational guide (like this one!) and consulting a counselor, attorney, and accountant to further understand what’s best for your business.

Types of Business Formations

The form of business you decide on will determine your personal liability, personal tax returns, and your paperwork load, to name a few. Each form of business has their advantages and disadvantages, so think carefully consider each option since it impacts your business’s future.

Sole Proprietorship

Sole proprietorship is the simplest form of business since one person is the sole owner, making it the least expensive to set up. The business owner is responsible for all of the profits and losses of the company and, since your company is not considered a business entity separate from you, there is limited liability protection, meaning that your personal assets can be taken to settle business debts. Additionally, your business income and expenses are reported with your individual income tax return.

A sole proprietorship can work best for low-risk, small businesses and for business owners wanting to give their business a test run before officially launching it.

Partnership

Partnerships are also fairly simple. The main difference is they operate with multiple business owners, instead of just one. There are two common types of partnerships: limited partnerships (LP) and limited liability partnerships (LLP).

In limited partnerships, only one partner has unlimited liability while the others have limited liability. The one partner (with unlimited liability) pays self-employment taxes, but the other partners will have profits passed to personal tax returns. Meanwhile, in limited liability partnerships, every owner has limited liability, which protects them from business debts that other partners may have accumulated.

This arrangement may work out best for multiple business owners or a professional group with attorneys, as one example.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

LLCs provide limited liability protection to the owners, meaning your personal assets are mostly protected against bankruptcy and lawsuits. The LLC will be responsible for business bank accounts and taking on debts rather than the business owners. They are considered self-employed, and must pay personal tax contributions to Medicare and Social Security.

A limited liability company can be good for medium- to higher-risk businesses as well as for owners who want to protect personal assets or pay a lower tax rate than a corporation.

Corporation

When you’re set up as a corporation, your business is considered a separate entity from you and any other owners. This means you have liability protection against business debts and legal matters. It is the most formal and expensive way to structure your business, and you have to fill out paperwork with your state’s department of corporations.

There are different types of corporations: C, S, B, closed, and nonprofit. C corporations have twice the amount of taxes since owners are taxed on their earnings while shareholders are taxed on their dividends. However, they also retain profits and losses. This setup is most beneficial to medium- to higher- risk businesses as well as companies that need to raise money or plan to eventually sell.

In an S corporation, profits and losses flow through the business to the owners, meaning it isn’t subject to corporate tax rates. It can be a good alternative to a C corporation, but there are specific criteria your business needs to meet to file as one.

With a B corporation, also known as a benefit corporation, there is a drive for profit and a mission to produce public benefit. An annual benefits report is usually required by some states for the business to show they contribute to public good.

A similar setup is a close corporation, but these typically have less traditional corporate structure. The rules vary from state to state, but their shares are typically barred from public trading.

Nonprofit corporations, as you might guess, work to benefit the public, and because of their purpose, they receive tax-exempt status. To get that status, they have to file with the IRS, which is different from other business structures, which register with their respective state. Organizational rules are similar to a C corporation, but they have to follow profit regulations.

Still Have Questions?

If you need more advice, you can find a wide range of industry experts and fellow business owners, who have been in a similar situation, on Cannon Connect . On our platform, we have forums to read what your peers have been through and a five-level system to build your company. Level 1 is the perfect place for you to find resources on how to make your “idea on a napkin” business a successful reality. You will get access to a wide range of benefits to support you and your business partners as well as events online to grow your professional network. Join a network of innovators on Cannon Connect today!

Brad True

The Benefits of a Coworking Space for Freelancers

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 22:21:23 GMT

With more people finding work in a digital space, the need for a work life balance and separate office space from home has become popular. Some digital nomads find it difficult to work in a home office; a coworking space for freelancers, contractors, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs can help solve this problem.

You may doubt the need for paying for an office space when you are working from home, but there are numerous benefits to signing up for these spaces. The information below is just a few reasons that could convince you to trade a traditional office or home office for coworking spaces.

Boost Your Productivity and Morale

Working from home on your own could potentially lead to you becoming stir-crazy, since humans are social creatures that don’t always benefit from long term isolation. Plus, there are numerous distractions that you can’t control like wild kids, needy pets, and loud neighbors as well as temptations like unattended chores or fun hobbies. If you have the self-discipline to continue working through these, more power to you!

When you’re in a coworking space, however, you will find yourself in a relatively quiet working environment surrounded by other digital nomads focusing on work. It’s a great place to focus on the work you need to get done and put your best foot forward. You won’t have anything to pull you away and make you lose your train of thought, and your quality of work may improve and make you even more proud of yourself.

Plus, you don’t have to worry about office management. The fees you pay go directly towards helping the staff take care of everything the building needs.

Meet in a Professional Space

Another advantage of coworking spaces is that they have conference rooms available to book for meetings. They often have multiple room options too, whether you want a more relaxed setting for a casual discussion or a big table for a presentation. There will also be a room or two that has state-of-the-art equipment to make a beneficial impact on your presentation.

The conference rooms are perfect for meeting with new and existing clients as well, and it is a good space for hosting interviews if you ever want to expand your team. They also can provide more privacy for meeting online and give you a perfect professional backdrop.

Sign On a Potential Client

You never know when a perfect opportunity could happen. Since there are multiple people in coworking spaces, there are potential clients surrounding you. Coworking spaces aren’t just for freelancers and solopreneurs; startups and even big corporations can also occupy these spaces. Getting to know the other digital nomads and workers in these spaces would allow you to share if they could benefit from your services or product.

Partner with Other Business Owners

In addition to the great opportunities listed above, partnerships are also an option when it comes to coworking spaces. For example, a freelance marketing strategist could meet a freelance writer and graphic designer in the space, potentially leading to a great partnership. This opportunity is just one of many avenues your business can take to flourish and grow.

Other options include collaborating on a community service project or putting your services together for a special discount. Or, both of your businesses can refer one another to their own clients. Win-win-win for everyone!

Make Connections at Events

As you can see from these previous points, a coworking space leaves lots of room for socializing. Potential clients and opportunistic partnerships are just a couple of ways to build your professional network in coworking spaces. These spaces also usually have events that allow people to introduce themselves, host seminars as a learning opportunity, or hold promotional events like a pitch competition .

Join a Network of Entrepreneurs

If you’re in the Greater Houston Area and looking to join a coworking space for freelancers, consider becoming a part of The Cannon Community . We have a total of six locations across the area, each with a unique design, and our Uptown location is at the center of sports, media, and entertainment, the perfect place for the numerous freelancers who work in those industries. All of our offices come with free parking, state-of-the-art conference rooms, and occupy prime locations in the area. You will also be invited to all of our in-person and virtual events to grow your network.

Not a Houstonian? No problem. We have a global platform for entrepreneurs, innovators, and everyone in between. Cannon Connect has tons of tools and resources, networking solutions, crowdfunding opportunities, and a comprehensive 5-Stage Guide on building up your business. Membership means you will also get access to our benefits program, which includes health insurance, vision, dental, prescription coverage, legal protection, and retirement plans. Our startup community platform makes it easier than ever before to connect with like-minded movers and shakers whenever and wherever an idea strikes. We democratize access to the resources your business needs to be successful because we believe everyone deserves a chance.

Brad True

8 Good Reasons for Employee On-Sites in the Remote Work Era

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 14:54:36 GMT

The conversation has shifted for organizations with a remote or hybrid workforce . Instead of planning off-site work events to break routine with office life, companies are now planning on-site meetings so their employees can interact face-to-face and get a break from working virtually.

Today, we're sharing some intentional reasons you may want to bring your team on-site, along with a few tips for making it worthwhile for your organization and employees.

8 Good reasons to host employee on-sites

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1. To hold important meetings

Let's start with the most obvious reason to bring employees together face-to-face: for meetings. We've learned that being in the same room isn't essential, but it does bring an X factor into conversations that's hard to replicate over Zoom. Live meetings are especially beneficial for employees who feel more energized when they're with others.

One of the most important types of meetings to hold live are presentations. Giving presenters the opportunity to share findings or ideas in-person brings greater significance to the task and makes it easier for the rest of the group to share honest feedback.

Other meetings that can benefit from being scheduled at the office:

Project meetings - Get the right stakeholders together.
Leadership development sessions - Create an opportunity to share best practices.
Team-building activities - Develop trust in fun, interactive ways.
Strategy meetings - Focus on a unique issue, discuss quarterly business goals, or connect as a group to problem-solve and set intentions.
Recurring meetings - Utilize regularly scheduled one-on-one, team or department gathering as an opportunity to catch up in person, whether at pre-determined intervals or when it makes sense.

2. To spark new ideas

Remote work without periodic on-site workdays may hamper your team’s ability to innovate. This could be due to the “results only” dynamic that can crop up in virtual environments, not to mention its tendency to limit your employees’ access to their weak ties.

And weak ties (a term popularized by sociologist Mark Granovetter) in this case are the colleagues from your employees’ outer circles with whom they may not interact much – if at all – while working from home. Research has demonstrated that even these distant work connections matter because weak ties bring us new information, opportunities and ideas that we might not get from our immediate circles.

When results become the main focus, we sometimes lose touch with the “why” and the “how” behind the work we deliver, and we don’t spend much time sharing or refining with our colleagues.

To that end, sparking an organic flow of ideas and encouraging innovation can be convincing reasons to regularly bring a wide range of teams and people together into the same workspace on the same day.

3. To lessen feelings of isolation and Zoom fatigue

Although most employees want to work from home whenever possible, this sought-after scenario doesn’t come without a few drawbacks, including isolation and Zoom fatigue.

In virtual work, Zoom or other videoconferencing is the great gatekeeper to personal connection with coworkers. Scheduled interactions tax us in subtle ways that spontaneous interactions avoid. Remote employees must choose between working alone and burdening colleagues with a pre-arranged conversation, a tension that can take a toll on mental health.

If you are able to bring teams into the same office regularly, it can greatly reduce some of the negative impacts of remote work.

4.To strengthen personal connections

In-person work time can deliver much of what your employees might miss about the days before they worked from home, creating relaxed time and space for:

Office Banter
Connecting with Colleagues
Building trust

This is also why it’s important not to overpack the agenda on an on-site workday. Incorporate break time between meetings as much as possible. Plan some meeting-free work time as well. You could even book a food truck at lunch so employees have more reason to linger and spend time together during a longer break.

Having a healthy mix of scheduled and flexible time at the office will help you make these days feel purposeful, while also not squandering the opportunity to strengthen social connections among your employees.

5. To provide informal access to management

Manager office hours, or times when your management team will be available and not called away to meetings, can be really beneficial when you bring your employees on-site. This creates space for more informal interactions, particularly moments when employees know they can approach and get informal face time with their managers.

You can build manager office hours into employee on-site “work-from-work” days by not filling up all the required on-site hours with meetings or other planned activities.

6. To provide access to tools or technology that's only available at the office

Sometimes workplaces provide technology or equipment that simply can’t be distributed to each employee’s home office. Periodically bringing people in for access to these resources can be a necessary part of your employee on-site strategy.

For reasons like this one, you may occasionally bring only one team on-site at a time. If it doesn't make sense to call in a larger group, it would be better to hold off until there's more rationale (than to bring people in without a clear agenda, just for the sake of gathering).

7. To give employees perspective on on-sites for the long term.

Having some sense of how often they will convene with their coworkers in person can be helpful for remote employees. If you can say with certainty that everyone will be coming on-site weekly, monthly or quarterly, make it a set expectation.

This can help stabilize the employee experience for virtual teams, allowing them to make more informed decisions about their commutes, home office environments and caregiving arrangements. It also helps them more accurately decide if a role offers them the right balance of independent, flexible time and coworker face time to suit their personal preferences.

8. To engage in the culture of your organization

Working together strengthens your company culture, and this is reason enough to regularly bring employees on-site. When you are in the same workspace, your employees can more easily recognize:

What your organization values
What attitudes you encourage
How you handle challenges
How your leaders feel about the work they do

Remote teams gathering in-person when they regularly only see each other online can naturally heighten the experience, encouraging everyone to put their best foot forward. If regularly coming on-site is possible for your employees, your organizational culture may be stronger for it.

Summing it all up

While there are definitely ways to make employee on-site days more meaningful and productive for everyone, at the end of the day knowing why you’re coming together is more important than exactly how you do it.

Which of the reasons we’ve shared here will you prioritize on your team’s next on-site workday?

If you’d like more information on how to set up a truly effective organizational culture, download our complimentary magazine: The Insperity guide to company culture.

Leading Through Change: This is What Your Employees Want to Hear

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 17:05:48 GMT

Between planned updates, new initiatives and unexpected changes, today’s workplace offers leaders plenty of opportunities to earn their change management stripes.

When leading through change, you must manage your team’s progress toward your goal as well as your employees’ attitudes throughout the experience.

Sometimes managing change calls for grace periods as your staff absorbs and understands a transition. Sometimes it calls for realism that’s not too sugarcoated. At all times, change calls for strong, consistent communication from the top of the organization before, during and after a change cycle .

To help you communicate well during seasons of change in your organization, we’ve assembled a list of the key messages that your employees need to hear throughout the change cycle.

Using these talking points and grasping the change management strategies behind them can help you:

Get your employees on board with change faster
Keep them motivated toward a new objective
Ensure they feel supported along the way

"Here’s what’s happening, and here’s why"

When you know a change is coming, share the news with your employees as soon as possible. This initial communication, where you articulate the need for change in your organization, initiates the change cycle.

Your employees may go on to experience:

Shock
Denial
Frustration
Depression
Experimentation
Decision-making
Integration

To soften the initial news, make the big picture clear, shedding as much light on the situation as you can. Explain why the change is important to your organization and how it will affect your company in a positive way.

The sooner your employees hear from you when change is coming, the more time they have to process it. And the better they understand the reasons behind a change, the easier it will be for them to get on board.

"Here’s how this is going to benefit you"

Don’t stop after you’ve explained how a change will benefit your business, even if you receive more support than resistance. Your employees may not articulate it, but they will probably be wondering: What’s in it for me?

You can gain your employees’ trust by anticipating these natural concerns. Consider how each group and individual will profit from the change. How will it make their work lives better? Be ready to point to these benefits when speaking with your employees. Look for ways to make the changes matter to them on an individual level.

"Here’s our goal"

Are you excited about what your organization will look like on the other side of this change? Invite your employees to envision it with you. Share your chief goal for the future, and reference it often.

Each person must decide to push through the discomfort that change requires – it will take some employees longer than others – and join you in working toward a new goal. Having a clear target can keep your team unified and encouraged even as they process and adapt to change at different speeds.

"I don’t have all the answers, but let’s talk through this"

You’ll speak openly. You’ll speak clearly. You’ll speak confidently. But will you speak vulnerably? And will you ask your employees to share their thoughts, too?

To lead through change well, you should strive for openness. Be transparent addressing the questions you don’t have answers to. Make sure your team is comfortable sharing their thoughts and questions.

If successful, you’ll appear more genuine and trustworthy. Transparent leadership, coupled with the opportunity to share opinions, gives your employees a greater sense of control over the situation, too. The result? Staff who are more likely to feel they’re making changes with you, rather than feeling that something is happening to them.

"Let’s strategize together"

Once your employees have asked their initial questions and shared opinions on the change, it’s time to include them in the transition. Asking for their ideas again – after they’ve had time to process a change – helps further. That’s because your employees are more likely to become invested and collaborative if they get the opportunity to think strategically and offer valuable input.

"Tell me how you’re feeling through this"

Check in on your people at various points in the change cycle. Remember, no two employees are alike in their pace of processing change. Someone who seemed open to the idea early on may struggle later, in the middle of the actual changes. That’s why it’s important to keep checking in, especially if you notice disheartened attitudes.

You can reach out to your whole group during team meetings and to individuals who seem to need it most during one-on-ones.

Dig deeper in these conversations by asking:

Are you experiencing any roadblocks?
How can I help you through this?

Mention any resources your organization provides that could help manage their stress and change fatigue , such as an employee assistance program.

"It’s time to join us"

Leaders sometimes run into an individual who won’t accept change and begins to take a disruptive stance against it. If a negative attitude becomes a performance issue, it may be time for a difficult conversation where you insist the employee finds a way to adjust and come along with the rest of the team.

Occasionally, the best choice for everyone might be for the employee to switch teams or otherwise part ways. But hopefully, you can avoid this outcome and even these conversations by leading and communicating well from the outset.

"We’ve gotten this far today"

Celebrate small achievements as your team works to adjust to or implement a change . Notice what has gone well, and bring their attention to it. Show gratitude for your team’s efforts and positivity.

Words of affirmation alone can lift employee spirits; allowing them to break for the day a few hours early or giving another small reward can show that you’re truly thankful for their contributions.

"Well done"

Affirm efforts along the way and celebrate in a big way when your team has brought you through an important change. Rewards could include public recognition, time off, extra help and more. The key to meaningful recognition is understanding what matters most to your team and giving them something that’s important to them.

Be gracious toward yourself, too

To have the emotional energy needed to take care of employees during seasons of change, leaders can’t neglect themselves in the process. Know your personal support system and reach out when your energy or enthusiasm wanes.

Keep reminding employees about how the changes will positively affect them, and show respect for each person’s unique response to the situation.

Employees who feel supported and included are more engaged. Do you want to learn what it takes to build a staff of employees who love their jobs? Download your free copy of The Insperity guide to employee engagement .

How to Host a Successful Networking Event

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 16:22:53 GMT

Hosting a networking event can be time-consuming and overwhelming. There is so much that needs to get done, from choosing an event venue to creating social media campaigns to promote the professional networking event.

We understand the pressure and stress of ensuring that it’s a successful event—networking events are integral to businesses as they connect people for conversations and help build professional relationships . Understanding how to host a successful networking event is as easy as following these simple steps.

How Do You Plan a Fun Networking Event?

Anyone can plan a networking event, but with our tips, you will facilitate a fun and creative atmosphere that helps attendees form professional relationships and leaves the guest list yearning for future events.

Networking events are for meeting new people and making sure everyone is having an enjoyable time, plus a fun networking event can bring great exposure to your company. Follow these 12 steps to create a networking event that is fun and successful:

Plan ahead
Design a budget
Choose a spacious event venue
Select your target audience
Recruit anchors to connect people
Hire caterers
Use a custom event app to create an agenda
Promote your event
Greet all the guests
Minimize public speaking
Encourage participation between everyone
Follow up with the guest list

1. Plan Ahead

Don’t wait until the last minute! There is so much that needs to be planned in advance; plus, business professionals need a heads up for the time and date of the event to block off their calendar. At minimum, select a date two to three months in advance to give yourself ample time to send out RSVPs and book a venue .

2. Design a Budget

Whether your event is big or small, it’s critical to stick to an event budget to avoid additional unnecessary costs. Make a list of the things you need to spend money on and give yourself a budget for each item. Some must-haves to consider include the following:

The venue or video platforming service
Guest speaker
Food and beverages
Gift bags
Social media campaigns

Don’t forget that part of your budget will come from how you decide to fund your networking event—whether that’s asking for donations or sponsors, requiring guests to pay an admission fee, or charging for food tickets.

3. Choose a Spacious Event Venue

Choosing a spacious event venue seems self-explanatory, but it can be tricky. For an in-person event, you need to book a venue in advance with enough space for your hosts, guests, and event staff. On the other hand, for a virtual event, pick an online platform based on your event’s needs, whether you want to divide guests into smaller groups or host one big call.

4. Select Your Target Audience

Before you can throw a successful networking event, you must first ask yourself two questions: what is the event’s purpose, and who is the event trying to reach? If you are creating a networking event for college students, we recommend inviting professionals from various industries. However, if you're going to connect lawyers in Houston, the guest list should consist primarily of lawyers in Houston.

5. Recruit Anchors to Connect People

There’s no way around it; you will always find someone standing off to the side by themselves at any event. Anchors are people within your business community who target and engage with guests that seem reserved or uncomfortable in large groups. They help connect people with each other and encourage them to build professional relationships.

6. Hire Caterers

Excellent networking events have food and beverages available for guests to enjoy . Consider serving a few different hors d’oeuvres and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink options to make guests feel welcomed and comfortable.

7. Use a Custom Event App to Create an Agenda

Schedules are crucial to keeping everyone on track and on time. Your custom event app could include an agenda listing all the activities, times, and crucial event details, such as specific event locations or entrance codes to the chosen video platforming program.

8. Promote Your Event

Marketing campaigns are a great way to reach your target audience and raise awareness surrounding your networking event. Creating Facebook or LinkedIn groups is a quick way to send out any information, answer popular questions, or ask for feedback from attendees. Other marketing materials to consider include:

Organic and paid social media posts
Flyers
eBlasts
Press releases

9. Greet All of Your Guests

All guests should be treated with the utmost respect, starting with a simple greeting. Assign enthusiastic volunteers to greet guests, provide name tags, and help them with any questions they might have about the event or your organization.

10. Minimize Public Speaking

Professional networking events are all about guests interacting and forming professional relationships! That’s why it’s essential to minimize lengthy speeches and presentations and keep mic time to a quick introduction and conclusion at the beginning and end of the event.

11. Encourage Participation Between Everyone

Hosting a networking event means ensuring that everyone participates and gains something from the experience. We want business professionals to interact with other groups of people, and the following are great ways to help spark conversations:

Speed networking events
Forming smaller groups
Creating short activities and short quizzes to connect people
Having raffle prizes and gift bags

12. Follow Up with the Guest List

Future events are only on the table if your current guest list enjoyed the professional networking event. Follow up with attendees and ask if they have any suggestions for improvements and what they enjoyed most about the event. When you care about their opinions, guests will want to come again and invite their friends.

Plan Your Next Networking Event at The Cannon

Now that you know how to host a successful networking event, all that’s left is to plan and execute it! The Cannon allows members, nonmembers, and others to find relevant networking events and connect with professionals in various industries from companies of all sizes. The Cannon also allows individuals and organizations to rent out conference rooms, theaters, and event spaces across our six locations and host events of all sizes with varying levels of formality.

Not all successful and fun networking events need to be in-person! Virtual events are another great way to connect with like-minded individuals and grow your business. Our global online platform Cannon Connect is a place for meeting new people and finding opportunities online; you can post events, invite, and organize online. Contact The Cannon to host a networking event today!

Brad True

What Makes A Good Coworking Space

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 14:45:03 GMT

An increasing number of coworking offices are popping up worldwide as individuals desire to join a creative and inspiring work environment. People are eager to ditch a traditional office environment’s strict and constricting rules in favor of a more hospitable atmosphere.

So if you’re interested in coworking offices and what to look for when shopping for a new flexible workspace, keep reading to learn what makes a good coworking space.

What Should a Good Coworking Space Have?

A good coworking space caters to the needs of all business owners. Coworking spaces have captured the likes of entrepreneurs to big companies because their collaborative workspace provides everything a traditional office cannot, from cost-effectiveness to flexibility.

All successful coworking spaces offer a variety of benefits that startups to large corporations would value, including the following:

Create a sense of community
Have an inspiring environment
Located in the prime central part of the city
Affordable for all business owners
Support the growth of businesses
Have a hospitable atmosphere

Good Coworking Spaces Create a Sense of Community (& Networking Opportunities)

Community is the most profound element of a coworking office that distinguishes them against a traditional office environment. Coworking spaces offer like-minded individuals in the same field of work the chance to connect, as well as allowing people from different professions to get a new fresh of opinions and ideas on projects they’re working on. A coworking space offers individuals the chance to meet new people—making friends and connections.

Furthermore, the community also grows through networking events . Good coworking spaces offer various networking opportunities and social events such as business seminars and meetups. The networking events are beneficial to innovators of all backgrounds and locations. Networking events create a collaborative environment for people to share and receive fresh, innovative ideas that could be applied to their company.

2. Good Coworking Spaces Have an Inspiring Environment

A successful coworking office understands the importance of designing a space that caters to all types of learning styles, from quiet thinkers to collaborative minds. They offer different work environments, from dark lighting in an individual workspace to rooms with colorful furniture and neon signs plastered on the walls. There are even a variety of seating arrangements: standing desks, colorful couches and beanbags, meeting rooms, and personal office spaces.

Coworking spaces want to make sure the creative juices are flowing for all individuals. Their whole purpose is to help innovators thrive, and it all starts with creating a coworking office that inspires everyone. A good coworking space offers the following:

Natural light
Different work environments
Inspirational wall art
Colorful furniture
Varied seating arrangements

3. Good Coworking Spaces are Centrally Located

A coworking office needs to be centrally located to attract current and future innovators. The location of the building should offer nearby public transportation, free parking, and a variety of lunchtime dining spots. Prime locations usually provide the easiest commutes for all individuals.

4. Good Coworking Spaces are Affordable for All Business Owners

Coworking offices help alleviate the financial stress of investing in real estate and eliminate the restriction of long-term leases associated with traditional office environments. Many coworking spaces offer versatile membership packages to best fit you and your company’s needs, and others even provide healthcare benefits at a lower price than large corporations.

5. Good Coworking Spaces Support Business Growth

Coworking spaces are designed to help you succeed and support you through all stages of your business. They provide resources and support for entrepreneurs and innovators through each step of the business lifecycle, including business education models, access to advisors with decades-long experience, pathways to investment and financing opportunities, and most importantly—community.

The workspace also has everything you need, including desks, chairs, and other standard office amenities. They even provide you with the basic office supplies to help you get your idea off the ground. Furthermore, coworking areas are usually open 24/7 to allow you to come in and work whenever you get a lightbulb moment.

6. Good Coworking Spaces Have a Hospitable Atmosphere

A successful coworking space starts with the atmosphere created by the employees who work there and the people who come there to work. When a creative individual or a group of business-savvy employees enter the workspace, they should be greeted with warmth and smiles.

It might sound cliché, but people want to work somewhere friendly and kind. A smile opens doors to new innovators and leaves the door open for current innovators, helping them feel welcomed and comfortable. Hospitality is key to what makes a good coworking space.

Get Connected with The Cannon

A good coworking space will always provide community, an inspiring environment, a prime location, cost-effectiveness, business support, and a welcoming ambiance. Their mission is to help innovators thrive by connecting them to the resources they need to succeed and creating a supportive community.

The Cannon is a collaborative workspace dedicated to helping innovators of all backgrounds and locations. Come visit us for a tour at one of our six coworking spaces across Greater Houston!

Brad True

Why Big Corporations Are Moving Into Coworking Spaces

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 16:22:38 GMT

Coworking office spaces are no longer just occupied by entrepreneurs, small businesses, and start-ups. Recently, there has been a massive increase in large corporations moving into coworking spaces. Although there are many reasons why big corporations are moving into coworking spaces, two primary factors include cost-effectiveness and the desire to join an inspirational work environment.

Why Are Larger Corporations Now Opting for Coworking Spaces?

People in all professions want flexibility and versatility at their workplace. Coworking office spaces offer everything that small businesses and big companies alike would appreciate, including the following:

Promotion of collaboration and creativity
Increased productivity
Access to innovators
Cost-effectiveness
Flexibility for employees
Support for health and wellness

And large companies are wising up to the advantages of these offerings and leaving behind the traditional office environment in favor of more contemporary solutions.

1. Coworking Spaces Promote Collaboration and Creativity

Coworking office spaces promote collaboration and creativity by encouraging a sense of community and uniting different professions into a single area where individuals can inspire one another. It’s not uncommon for companies and employees across different industries to collaborate and brainstorm new ideas in a coworking environment.

Coworking office spaces also usually have a packed event calendar filled with various networking events , including meet-ups and pitch competitions, to get people talking and get their creative juices flowing.

2. Coworking Spaces Increase Productivity

Not only will the shared workspaces help ignite creative innovation, but they also cover your basic office needs like printers with ink cartridges and high-speed internet.

So, rather than spending time and money shopping for desks, chairs, printers, and other office essentials, companies can start working as soon as the coworking office space is available to them. And all they have to do to access the ready-to-use space and office equipment is pay a monthly fee.

These spaces also allow employees to enter and exit the premises at their discretion, which means if someone is lacking motivation, they’re empowered to take a walk around the block or in the space’s dedicated outdoor area.

3. Coworking Spaces Unlock Access to Innovators (& Investors!)

When large corporations work next to talented entrepreneurs and freelancers, they unlock access to a fresh pair of eyes that can be instrumental in providing feedback or offering innovative ideas for upcoming projects.

This new perspective isn't the only thing large corporations have to gain from a coworking environment though. These flexible workspaces offer an excellent way to create opportunities for entrepreneurs while leveraging cash on big businesses’ balance sheets.

Large corporations whose venture arms are present in the same coworking space get the added benefit of increased access to deal flow, allowing big companies to attain business proposals and investment pitches from a new pool of startups and entrepreneurs.

4. Coworking Spaces Are More Cost-Effective Than Traditional Office Environments

Another reason big corporations are moving into coworking spaces is that they alleviate the financial burden of investing in real estate for permanent office space or entering a lease in a traditional office environment.

According to Office Evolution, companies save money to the tune of 40% on their office space when they rent a private office in a coworking space compared to a traditional office lease.

5. Coworking Spaces Offer More Flexibility for Employees

Some big companies are moving into coworking spaces, but they’re not necessarily getting rid of their regular office space, either. Securing flexible office space in a coworking environment offers employees the ability to choose their location from day to day.

For example, if an employee needs to run an errand or be in close proximity to an appointment location, they can choose the office space that’s most convenient for them. Coworking spaces also allow employees to change their surroundings if they’re ever feeling stressed, burnt out, or uninspired in the traditional office environment.

6. Coworking Spaces Support Health & Wellness

Coworking office spaces understand the need for work-life balance and that work shouldn’t be at the forefront of your mind 24/7, which is why many provide support for employee health and opportunities to recharge.

These collaborative workspace environments encourage employees to take a break from the demands of the job to work out in the gym, grab a snack from the fully functional kitchen, or use the movie room to watch a new film with their coworkers.

Make a Move with The Cannon

For big corporations, coworking solutions could be the future, which means it might be time to leave behind your traditional, long-term office lease and move your entire team into a workspace that prioritizes community, collaboration, and versatility.

In addition to providing access to innovators, increased productivity, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility, coworking spaces often host networking events that could help put your business in front of the right set of eyes at just the right moment.

Still find yourself asking, “Why are big corporations moving into coworking spaces?” Visit one of our six coworking spaces across Greater Houston and Galveston and see for yourself!

Brad True

How to Make Workforce Operations Planning More Flexible/Resilient

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 20:27:10 GMT

Insperity Presents - How to Make Workforce Operations Planning More Flexible/Resilient

Most of our organizations were disrupted by COVID-19. Consequently, many businesses developed pandemic-era operational practices necessary to keep serving customers and supporting employees.

Now, with new disease variants rising, forward-thinking business leaders are starting to recognize that having a flexible strategy may be a long-term part of a company’s overall workforce operations planning.

Indeed, flexibility may be vital to your company’s resilience and long-term success, whether you’re facing a global pandemic, wildfires or a hurricane. By reflecting forward and planning ahead, your company may be more nimble and perhaps more likely to persevere through hardships.

Are your workforce operations ready for future disruptive situations? How will you adapt your mindset and strategies so that you can manage employee-related functions in a way that maintains your organization’s productivity, continuity and culture?

From business needs to employee expectations, below are a few things to consider regarding a flexible workforce strategy. And note that while we’re using the current pandemic as an example of a disruption with which we are all too familiar, the underlying principles apply to almost any major adverse situation.

Keep a change management mindset

Central to your planning must be a commitment to acknowledging reality, particularly when it may have changed dramatically due to an outside force.

For example, even if your post-pandemic workforce management plan involves getting back to many of your old ways of operating, you can’t simply flip a switch and return to the way you did business in early 2020.

Remember that over the last year and a half, your employees may have experienced:

Sudden (and perhaps sweeping) pandemic-era changes
Increasing comfort with nontypical ways of operating
Multiple change cycles as you’ve had to adjust your plans

We must all realize that moving beyond the pandemic may involve yet another round of workplace change. To move forward successfully, we must acknowledge this reality, being mindful of change fatigue and thoughtful about our approach.

Establish your guideposts

As a business leader or executive, you’ve likely learned that it can be a challenge to decide how to move your organization through a crisis in a way that:

Stays true to your culture
Ensures continued growth
Shows employees their importance

At the same time, staying aligned with your mission, vision and values can help you keep a steady, firm grip on your workforce operations. Ideally, your organizational foundations should serve as guideposts as you assess alignment of new workplace practices and build a successful operations plan.

3 essential planning steps

Every organization is different, but here are some key considerations to help drive your workforce planning process.

1. Evaluate your business needs

Whatever the climate in which your company operates, you should consistently be able to connect your operational choices to your business strategy and needs.

When confronting a crisis, take time with your leadership team to articulate:
How has our business changed?
Have our customer’s needs or expectations changed?
How can we anticipate and prepare for a future crisis?

This last point is critical. Yes, for example, the current pandemic is top of mind – and, because of the new variants, likely will be for some time. So, resist the temptation to become mired in the present and lose sight of the future. Instead, acknowledge reality and opt to cultivate a resilient mindset.

2. Assess your operational possibilities

Again, as an example, the current pandemic likely unveiled an expanded range of your team’s operational capabilities. Some or all of your employees may have been able to swing from 100% in-person work to 100% remote.

However, what’s been possible for your team isn’t necessarily what’s optimal for the future. Your team’s ability to pivot so quickly and successfully to working from home may have been due to relationships that were already established in the office.

Going forward from a crisis, it’s important to strike a balance in contemplating past, present and future needs. Carefully and continuously consider how to optimize your workforce operations as the situation unfolds.

For instance, here are some key considerations regarding where employees work:

What are the short- and long-term pros and cons of onsite vs. remote vs. hybrid work for our key stakeholders (customers, employees and leaders)?
Will our choices be in compliance with local, state and federal mandates?
What practices will help us continue to create a safe workplace?

3. Consider the management aspects

Your managers will be responsible for leading employees through changes and carrying out your updated workforce operations plan.

Don’t fail to consider how your leaders will continue to:

Manage employee needs and expectations
Optimize performance
Maintain connectedness

Documenting your workforce operations planning

Once you have regained clarity on broad business drivers and needs, it’s time to focus on department and job-level responsibilities.

For all roles and decisions, continue to make strong connections between those drivers and the needs of your clients and prospects, aiming for a consistent approach.

It may be helpful to develop team charters (e.g., documents that define a team’s overall objectives, tasks, resources, culture drivers and constraints). These can help explain why requirements may vary for different groups within your organization based on business needs.

In the case of the current pandemic, for instance, here are some specific items to drill down on and address in your post-COVID workforce plan and business continuity plan.

Contingency planning

Review and update your business continuity plan as needed.
Review your supply chain as well as vendor agreements and performance.
Confirm that vendors, suppliers and partners have business continuity plans.

Safety

Review COVID-specific safety practices against OSHA and CDC guidelines.
Identify a member of leadership to sponsor COVID-based safety initiatives and work in partnership with stakeholders to communicate, train and adhere to safe practices.

Benefits compliance

Ensure compliance with new and emerging local, state and federal COVID-19-based mandates (e.g., leave and sick entitlements, time off for vaccinations).

Workforce management

Train a manager to address requests for accommodations to working conditions (e.g., schedule, worksite location, job duties).
Update your remote work policy.
Provide return-to-work guidelines on vaccination expectations, COVID-19 reporting, safety practices related to COVID-19 and hosting visitors.
Create travel guidelines defining essential vs. nonessential travel.
Create flexible work guidelines, covering work hours, locations and work-sharing.
Identify key positions and create a contingency plan to cover them during absence or if there is a location-specific COVID-19 resurgence and shutdown.
Review job descriptions to ensure essential functions are current.
Document justifications for physical return to work as a guide to manage requests for flexible work arrangements.
Review compensation to assess market competitiveness and internal equity.

Wellness initiatives

Inform employees about your employee assistance program (EAP) if applicable and any available wellbeing resources.

Communicating a way forward

How you speak to your employees about any new workforce plans is a huge part of moving forward after any significant change to your routine operations.

Engage in two-way communication with your team throughout the process. Give them opportunities to share their thoughts either through surveys or conversations that intentionally invite their feedback.

Also, don’t fear overcommunication. For example, provide straightforward expectations for what it should look like when your employees are working in the office and when they’re working offsite, explaining how meetings and office hours will be handled in both contexts.

Remind employees that your approach will evolve as needed, and ask them to join you in staying flexible as you try some new strategies.

Summing it all up

Whether it’s a global pandemic or another unforeseen disaster, your company can prepare for the unexpected by integrating a flexible workforce strategy into your overall operations planning. Indeed, with foresight, good communication and a resilient mindset, your business may be more likely to weather successfully whatever the future holds.

How The Cannon Community is Giving Back to the Houston Community

Wed, 22 Dec 2021 18:26:26 GMT

How The Cannon Community is Giving Back to the Houston Community

The holiday season is all about giving back to the communities that have supported us. Keep reading for more information about how the Cannon Community has given back to our Houston community this year, your options for making an impact this holiday season, and upcoming volunteer opportunities for Cannon Community members.

Chamber Holiday Food Drive

@ Houston LGBTQ Chamber Foundation

The Chamber Holiday Food Drive , organized by the Greater Houston LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce Foundation, benefits LGBTQ+ seniors through the Montrose Center. In 2020, this community event set a record for the largest amount of food and funds received in the Montrose Center’s history, allowing the center to increase the number of Holiday Boxes for LGBTQ+ seniors.

This year, we came together to participate in the Chamber Holiday Food Drive to help support even more LQBTQ+ seniors across the Houston community. Donations the center always needs include:

Ready-to-eat microwavable individual mac ’n’ cheese cups (Kraft typically comes in a 12-pack)
Peanut butter and crackers
Snack-size pretzels, crackers, and Cheez-Its
Single-serving pop-top Vienna sausages (4.6 oz cans)
Single-serving chunk light tuna in water (5 oz cans)
Ready-to-eat individually packaged chunk light tuna in water (pouches)
Individual pudding cups (chocolate and vanilla)
Individual cups of diced peaches (Del Monte typically comes in a 16-pack)

There is a Virtual Food Drive available for those who were unable to donate items in person.

Houston Fire Department Toy Drive

@ The Cannon Tower

Operation Stocking Stuffer, an annual holiday tradition organized by the Houston Fire Department (HFD), provides toys for more than 20,000 children each year. HFD kicked off the event on Friday, November 5, and the event ran through the holiday season, ending on December 15. The Great Toy Giveaway took place one week before Christmas (Saturday, December 18, 9 AM) at 2400 Reed Rd. Cars lined up for the drive-thru giveaway, and toys were distributed to families until HFD ran out.

The Cannon offered opportunities for individuals to bring new, unwrapped toys and other gifts to The Cannon Tower and drop them off in one of our two boxes, located in the Lobby and in the Management Office (Suite 950). Visit Operation Stocking Stuffer online to learn more about the program, shop their toy list, or find other ways to donate. Operation Stocking Stuffer does not accept clothing donations of any kind.

Houston Food Bank

@ The Houston Food Bank East Branch

Volunteers from The Cannon participated in the Houston Food Bank East Branch’s Scan-a-Can program this month.

In 2020, the Scan-a-Can program rescued nearly 700 tons of non-perishable foods from retail stores. Our team aided in this sustainability effort by sorting through various grocery items donated by Kroger to determine which items will be processed into the Houston Food Bank’s Select Pantry, which should be sent back to the vendor, and which should be thrown away.

Information about participating in this program, and others, can be found on the Houston Food Bank’s website .

2022 Volunteer Opportunities

Brighter Bites Produce Boxing

@ The Houston Food Bank on Portwall all Holiday Season!

The Cannon is planning to participate in the Houston Food Bank’s Brighter Bites program in 2022!

Brighter Bites is a nonprofit organization that works to deliver fresh produce directly to families in need. In addition to providing families with fruits and vegetables, Brighter Bites also helps teach the families how to cook with these ingredients and tracks their data to see the impact their program is making on local communities. So far, Brighter Bites has gotten more than 40 million pounds of fresh produce on the plates of families across the country.

Want to get your team involved in helping provide healthier options to families in our community? Stay tuned for more information about our volunteer opportunities with the Houston Food Bank in 2022, or sign up for a volunteer shift anytime throughout the holiday season at the Houston Food Bank Portwall Warehouse! You and your team will help unload, sort, and re-pack fresh fruits and vegetables into Brighter Bites boxes for families to pick up the same day.

Galveston Beach Cleanup

@ The Cannon Galveston @ The MarMo and Galveston Beach

The Cannon team is planning a Galveston Beach cleanup in 2022!

Stay tuned for more information about how we’re planning to give back to our community by keeping the beaches around The Cannon Galveston at The MarMo clean.

Urban Harvest

We’re planning opportunities for Cannon Community members to get their hands dirty in 2022!

Urban Harvest is a nonprofit organization that enriches the Houston community by providing community garden programming, farmers markets, gardening classes, and youth education. Details about specific volunteer opportunities to follow.

------------------------

About The Cannon

The Cannon is an entrepreneurial community complete with physical workspace destinations currently around Houston, Texas, and a growing digital platform that aims to provide access to innovators everywhere. Home to hundreds of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses, investors, advisors, and innovators, The Cannon surrounds our community with the resources and access to help businesses grow

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please contact Hilary Agho, Chief Experience Officer for The Cannon at hagho@thecannon.com or 713-332-1299.

How The Cannon Community is Giving Back to the Houston Community

The holiday season is all about giving back to the communities that have supported us. Keep reading for more information about how the Cannon Community has given back to our Houston community this year, your options for making an impact this holiday season, and upcoming volunteer opportunities for Cannon Community members.

Chamber Holiday Food Drive

@ Houston LGBTQ Chamber Foundation

This year, we came together to participate in the Chamber Holiday Food Drive to help support even more LQBTQ+ seniors across the Houston community. Donations the center always needs include:

Ready-to-eat microwavable individual mac ’n’ cheese cups (Kraft typically comes in a 12-pack)
Peanut butter and crackers
Snack-size pretzels, crackers, and Cheez-Its
Single-serving pop-top Vienna sausages (4.6 oz cans)
Single-serving chunk light tuna in water (5 oz cans)
Ready-to-eat individually packaged chunk light tuna in water (pouches)
Individual pudding cups (chocolate and vanilla)
Individual cups of diced peaches (Del Monte typically comes in a 16-pack)

There is a Virtual Food Drive available for those who were unable to donate items in person.

Houston Fire Department Toy Drive

@ The Cannon Tower

Houston Food Bank

@ The Houston Food Bank East Branch

Volunteers from The Cannon participated in the Houston Food Bank East Branch’s Scan-a-Can program this month.

Information about participating in this program, and others, can be found on the Houston Food Bank’s website .

2022 Volunteer Opportunities

Brighter Bites Produce Boxing

@ The Houston Food Bank on Portwall all Holiday Season!

The Cannon is planning to participate in the Houston Food Bank’s Brighter Bites program in 2022!

Galveston Beach Cleanup

@ The Cannon Galveston @ The MarMo and Galveston Beach

The Cannon team is planning a Galveston Beach cleanup in 2022!

Stay tuned for more information about how we’re planning to give back to our community by keeping the beaches around The Cannon Galveston at The MarMo clean.

Urban Harvest

We’re planning opportunities for Cannon Community members to get their hands dirty in 2022!

------------------------

About The Cannon

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please contact Hilary Agho, Chief Experience Officer for The Cannon at hagho@thecannon.com or 713-332-1299.

Types of Collaboration Spaces For Growing Your Business

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 22:28:15 GMT

The future success of your business should be an essential factor in determining the office space you’re going to rent. Great ideas can’t happen in a cramped, drab, dysfunctional office space. You need the right space to help you create a productive work environment where your business can thrive, so look for a company that’s doing workspace design differently!

We have several types of collaboration spaces available at The Cannon that will meet your needs and surpass your expectations if you know what to look for.

What Are Collaboration Spaces?

A collaborative space is where great minds and diverse people can gather to work together for the common good—in this case, the success and growth of your business. Collaboration spaces are designed so that a team leader and their team members can achieve goals and meet deadlines in an environment conducive to focus, inspiration, creativity, and hard work.

The exact type of collaborative workspace needed will depend on many factors, including the people working, the kind of work being performed, and the number of people who will be using the space. Seek out an office that offers several different types of workspace options so you can find what works best for you and your team.

What Are the Four Types of Collaboration Spaces?

There are four motives most commonly responsible for bringing together the valuable individuals that make up a company:

To share information
To enhance productivity
To strategize
To connect.

Teams will need different types of spaces to perform each of these activities.

Information Sharing Workspace

This type of collaboration may look like one member of the company standing before their peers to inform and educate them about a new development, policy, or concept. It could also mean a CEO is giving a presentation prepared for a potential investor or business partner. In this instance, a large conference room with a designated presenting space, presentation aids, and tables with forward-facing chairs would create the ideal setting.

This arrangement creates an ideal environment for intent listening and information absorption, meaning that the attendees of the presentation will get the most out of their time and that the speaker will feel confident in the authority of having all eyes and ears focused on them. Once the presentation is done, the roomy table and comfortable chairs provide the perfect place for follow-up conversations and questions.

Productivity-Enhancing Workspace

Buckling down and getting it done is a crucial part of any business's success. If nothing is ever accomplished, there will never be any growth or reward for hard work. That’s why teams of individuals working toward a common goal need a space that makes accomplishing anything and everything easier: so nothing is standing in the way of success.

Spaces conducive to getting work accomplished are usually smaller and more private to encourage focus. In addition to being stocked with standard materials and resources essential to the creative process, they are often comfortable with several places to sit and surfaces to work on. Having a centralized location where all the needs of your employees are met can help them remain at peak productivity for much longer, raising the likelihood of your team achieving their goals and enjoying themselves in the process.

Strategic Thinking Workspace

A space focused on fostering strategic thinking will likely look very different from areas dedicated to information sharing and enhancing productivity. This motive is usually better met by quiet rooms with few distractions; in some instances, depending on how an individual works, a space to move and stimulate the mind is a better fit. Regardless of the personal work styles of your employees, providing an appropriate space for great ideas to form is crucial.

It goes without saying that quiet, private spaces with minimal distractions are ideal for thinking; the quiet creates an atmosphere for focusing, while the privacy allows ideas to flow freely and without judgment. Adding comfortable chairs and a soothing aesthetic is sure to reduce distractions and creativity-blocking stressors. For more active thinkers, a large area for walking, colorful decor and design, and the hustle and bustle of others can create the ideal circumstances for brilliance as their mind is engaged and able to work at full capacity.

Social Connection Workspace

While not every company culture is exactly the same, it’s probably a safe assumption that professional networking and connection are very high on most companies’ lists of priorities. Connecting with other people—whether they’re members of your company, experts across different industries, or valued business partners—is the foundation of good business.

To focus on connecting, open spaces that encourage the free flow of ideas, conversation, and people are ideal. As people move, conversations are overheard, and ideas are passed around, the potential for collaboration work opportunities grows exponentially. Comfortable, spacious settings that allow flexibility for hosting various events are the most desirable for those looking to connect with others in the business world.

What Types of Collaboration Spaces Can I Find at The Cannon?

The Cannon is a coworking space created with one purpose: to help innovators thrive. We provide networking solutions and workspaces for your business at six locations across the Greater Houston area:

Our coworking spaces offer everything you and your team need to collaborate on projects to grow your business:

Large and small conference rooms equipped with state-of-the-art presentation equipment for those looking to share information
Comfortable, focused meeting rooms with office resources for smaller teams looking to enhance productivity
Quiet, private spaces for the individual or duo who need to contemplate their next steps in a calmer environment
Outdoor spaces, a gym, and our inspirationally decorated campus for thinkers who work best when they’re physically stimulated
Indoor and outdoor open-layout workspaces with easily movable patio furniture to transition from business lunch to company happy hour with ease

At The Cannon, we support our community members’ business endeavors by providing the tools and resources they need to succeed in various types of collaboration spaces. Visit one of our coworking spaces to learn more today!

Brad True

Why are Co-working Facilities Attractive to Entrepreneurs

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 14:59:38 GMT

Co-working office spaces are the opposite of modern-day traditional offices. Working spaces are ideal for everyone, from the entrepreneurs running a small business, to remote workers at a large company looking for a professional work environment without the high upfront costs and long-term commitment of traditional commercial office space.

The popularity of co-working office spaces comes from their ability to build a community of like-minded people. People find themselves networking and participating in their local business community inside the private offices or at suites with inclusive office-like amenities such as hot desks, private meeting rooms, kitchens, coffee, and more.

Why are co-working facilities attractive to entrepreneurs? Keep reading to find out the reason entrepreneurs prefer co-working office spaces to the traditional office?

Flexibility

A co-working facility offers what a traditional office cannot: flexibility. They provide flexibility in two manners - flexible terms for working spaces, and the ability to control your schedule.

Flexible Terms

At the traditional office, you have to finish out the lease term of your rent or stay at a permanently bought office space, no matter the circumstance. On the other hand, co-working office spaces have different membership plans that allow you to use co-working spaces monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly. If you are moving, or a closer working space opens up, you can easily cancel your membership plan without any reprimand.

Flexible Schedule

Co-working office spaces are generally accessible 24/7, giving people the chance to stay at work longer, take a long break between the day, and even work from home, without repercussions. You don’t have to come in at 8 am and leave at 5 pm, Monday through Friday. This is not the standard office setting; you are in control of your schedule. According to your plans, you can accommodate the days you work from home, the days you work from a co-working space, and the days you relax with your loved ones.

Cost Effectivity

The familiar office setting for established businesses is usually located in the heart of downtown. The cost of an office space in the business district is extremely expensive for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The idea of renting a traditional office space would be unfathomable. Co-working spaces are much more affordable and cost-effective as well. They give entrepreneurs the opportunity to be in the center of the hustle and bustle at a lower cost than a traditional office. Overall, co-working facilities are about 60-75% more cost-effective than a common office.

Inclusive Amenities

With co-working spaces, entrepreneurs have everything they need at their fingertips. They don’t need to worry about providing furniture, office equipment, or desks and chairs. A co-working office space creates the ideal work environment and work experience by supplying amenities such as parking, on-site security, café, gym, 24-hour access, conference rooms, an on-site receptionist, and services such as mail delivery.

Amenities to Expect from Most Co-working Spaces:

Desks and chairs
Printer, scanner, and copy machine
Kitchen area with all the necessary kitchen appliances
Wi-Fi router with high-speed internet connection
Meeting and conference rooms
Access to establish business
Leisure Equipment like a movie theatre room, table tennis, pool, etc.

Networking Opportunities

Co-working office spaces establish a community of hard-working entrepreneurs eager to grow their businesses and expand their network. The work environment differs from the traditional office format, as you are sharing working spaces with numerous talented individuals and companies that want to collaborate. A co-working environment provides a flexible, convenient, and professional work environment that encourages productivity. But they also surround you with other entrepreneurs that could potentially be the photographer that shoots your upcoming campaign shots, or your next client.

Another great thing they provide is packed event calendars filled with networking events, private industry events, and meet and growth opportunities. You could also join a networking group, which expands the networks of entrepreneurs, and guides you in building brand awareness.

The Benefits of Networking Groups for Entrepreneurs:

Connections
Increase of referrals
Raising brand recognition
Partnership opportunities
Exclusive access to business resources

We highly recommend the global community platform Cannon Connect . Cannon Connect hosts webinars with experienced business advisors and offers resources such as receiving startup funding, attending private industry events, and more.

Entrepreneurs Thrive with The Cannon

At The Cannon, our community was built for one purpose — to help innovators thrive. We are dedicated to providing entrepreneurs with the tools and resources they need to grow their networks, connect with experienced business advisors, and build their professional communities. Our six co-working spaces are located throughout Houston: West Houston, Downtown Houston, Post Oak Houston, Esperson, Galveston, and Uptown Houston Sports + Media.

For entrepreneurs that aren’t local to Houston, there is also Cannon Connect . It’s a startup community platform focused on developing the digital and social infrastructure required to support entrepreneurialism and innovation across the globe.

Co-working office spaces are beneficial for new businesses because they are a hybrid of a well-designed work environment and well-curated work experience. This combination allows entrepreneurs to thrive when creating and launching their businesses because they are connected to networking opportunities, have inclusive amenities, affordable office spaces, and have the flexibility to control their schedule.

Still, wondering why are co-working facilities attractive to entrepreneurs? Visit The Cannon’s co-working office spaces or join Cannon Connect to receive access to business education models, access to advisors with decades-long experience, pathways to investment and financing opportunities, and most importantly—community.

Brad True

The Cannon Brings Access to Healthcare Benefits to Its Community

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 18:51:31 GMT

The Cannon Brings Access to Healthcare Benefits to Its Community

New offerings give early stage entrepreneurs and small business access to benefits normally held for employees of larger companies.

[Houston, Texas - November 8, 2021] The Cannon, an online entrepreneurial community with physical workspaces across Houston, is proud to announce that it has established a high-quality menu of benefits that are now available to Cannon Members. Individuals and small businesses have limited access to quality benefits, which is a barrier to both entry and growth for small businesses across the United States. We offer every community member the opportunity to sign up for various benefits traditionally only provided to employees of much larger companies or via pathways that are financially prohibitive for startups and entrepreneurs.

According to U.S. Small Business Administration, over 58.9 million Americans are currently employed by small businesses, comprising nearly half of the entire private-sector workforce. One-third of all small businesses in the United States are sole proprietorships; however, the smaller the business, the less likely you are to offer health insurance. As of today, only 44 percent of employers with less than ten employees offer health insurance.

The Cannon’s CEO, Jon Lambert, explains The Cannon’s healthcare benefits: “The Cannon is committed to finding solutions to the most significant challenges and barriers to entrepreneurial success. Access to high-quality, affordable health, life, and retirement benefits is on the top of that list of challenges for existing startups and small businesses, as well as individuals who have a desire to set out and build something of their own but are nervous about leaving a job that provides those benefits. Through an exciting partnership and numerous providers, The Cannon has created a flexible and affordable benefits program available to anyone that is part of The Cannon Community and their families—from the individual sole proprietor to the small business looking to provide coverage for existing employees and as a valuable resource as they look to grow and hire additional employees in a very competitive labor market. We have created this program for our community with the goal of solving the critical need for medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurances, and many other benefits while allowing their focus to remain on innovation, creation, and business success."

This program enables startups and small businesses to focus on creating, building, and growing businesses with the confidence that their healthcare and retirement needs are covered. All Cannon members, workspace and virtual, have access to apply for benefits. There are several programs available, such as health, dental, vision, and retirement, among others. Through these programs, we’re able to provide our members with access to the largest health network via no deductible plans.

Join The Cannon Community to access these benefits! Make the switch before your healthcare plans renew. Visit https://www.thecannon.com/entrepreneurs to learn more.

About The Cannon

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please contact Hilary Agho, Chief Experience Officer for The Cannon at hagho@thecannon.com or 713-332-1299.

The Cannon Successfully Opens New Sports, Media, and Entertainment Themed Workspace

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 14:01:55 GMT

The Cannon Successfully Opens New Sports, Media, and Entertainment Themed Workspace

The Cannon’s sixth workspace is located next door to Gow Media at Braun’s newly renovated 53 West development

[Houston, Texas - October 22] The Cannon, a growing entrepreneurial community with five workspaces across the Houston area and a global digital community (Cannon Connect) with hundreds of startups and small businesses, has opened its 6th workspace this month. Conveniently positioned in the heart of The Galleria, The Cannon’s newest workspace occupies the 4th and 5th floors of real estate firm Braun Enterprise’s newly renovated commercial space at 53 West and focuses on building a community of startups and small businesses in the sports, media, and entertainment industries. The latest of The Cannon’s community workspaces successfully soft-launched on October 20th 2021.

The two-story workspace features 23 offices, a 1,500-square-foot open area that can be converted into an event space, numerous open and dedicated seating options, and sports-themed decor and activities throughout both floors. The space’s convenient location next to Gow Media also allows for close collaboration with its family of media platforms, including InnovationMap, CultureMap, SportsMap, ESPN Radio, and more. As with all of The Cannon’s locations, all members will receive 24/7 access and complimentary parking at 53 West, access to work at any of The Cannon’s growing number of workspaces, and membership to Cannon Connect, The Cannon’s online global entrepreneurship platform.

The Cannon’s CEO, Jon Lambert, outlined the partnership and potential of the new space - “We are extremely excited to partner with such an innovative and forward-thinking organization to provide a home for Houston’s growing Sports and Media startup community, as well as any companies who want to base their business in a community dedicated to the sports, media, and entertainment world. Sharing a building with all of the exciting new retail and restaurant neighbors that the Braun team has brought into 53 West, as well as a floor with Gow Media, who has been Houston’s leader in sports and entertainment, just makes us even more enthusiastic about the potential for this space.”

As Braun Enterprise’s extensive renovations to 53 West are complete, The Cannon joins an already impressive list of current and future tenants in the space, including the newest location of the Conservatory, burger-chan, Tom N Toms—a South Korean coffee chain—and new Japanese restaurant concept Hidden Omakase.

Please visit thecannon.com/sports to book a tour today!

About The Cannon

About Braun Enterprises

Braun Enterprises is a full-service commercial real estate company dedicated to building long-lasting relationships and contributing to the communities in which we develop. Our award-winning firm specializes in ground-up development, redevelopment, and repositioning of various types of well-located real estate throughout Texas. Braun Enterprises has purchased and redeveloped approximately 3,500,000 square feet of commercial real estate projects, each of which are seamlessly operated, leased, and managed.”

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please contact Brad True, Chief Operating Officer for The Cannon at btrue@thecannon.com or 713-332-1299.

The Top 3 Reasons Why Networking is Important for Entrepreneurs

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:19:43 GMT

Building a business is tough work. There’s already a lot for entrepreneurs to think about during the process: budgets, building a team, competitors, landing clients, etc. But, one occasionally overlooked early step is why networking is important for entrepreneurs. Networking is one of the most valuable tools that can contribute to any successful business, for a range of reasons. Below is just a brief list of reasons why connecting with like-minded people can help a business flourish.

New Opportunities

Just by connecting with people at various business & social events and developing your professional network, you can increase peoples’ awareness of your business and your products/services. You never know who other people know—even if someone does not necessarily need your services at the moment, maybe they know someone who does.

For better or worse, people prefer to do business with those who are either similar to them or easy to get along with. In either case, talking to people, either in person or on social media, would be a wise investment of your time for any aspiring business owner. Doing business is just as much about who you know as it is about what you know.

Advice

You don’t know what you don’t know, but maybe the stranger to your right does. Or perhaps someone on LinkedIn has worked in the same industry you’re trying to get started in. Collective knowledge is another benefit of networking that many people might not consider, especially if they have their eyes on something else in particular. For small businesses, networking might be enough to save you from an unforeseen pitfall, or it may provide you with expert tips for business growth.

In the long run, having a mentor or some other source of experience to draw from can be exactly what turns you into a successful entrepreneur, so making the extra effort to get to know someone is definitely worth it. Information is its own currency in this field.

Growing Your Brand

Not only can networking get you and your business in the door, it can also legitimize it. When a small business is first starting, it can be difficult to draw in customers/clients to convince them to trust you with their time and money. This is another example of why networking is important for entrepreneurs. If you don’t have customer testimonials to vouch for you, positive word of mouth can have the same effect. Investing in establishing and growing healthy connections with others could ultimately become the spark that ignites your business.

The more name recognition both you and your brand build-up, the more likely you are to earn certain referrals and consideration when it comes to potential new opportunities, or even get the edge over another competitor (again, people love familiarity). The moral of the story is, if you want to grow your business, you should be networking.

Where to Start?

In 2021, networking is easier than ever before, largely thanks to the prominence of social media. LinkedIn is an obvious platform, but Facebook, Instagram, and even Twitter have all become very viable options for networking opportunities.

Research some hashtags or groups related to your business, follow pages that are about your industry, or find an account dedicated to networking.

At The Cannon, we have an entire page dedicated to our Cannon Connect's industry events for networking. We make it easier for you to keep track of the latest industry events which are guided by experienced professionals. We are focused on developing the digital and social infrastructure required to support entrepreneurialism and innovation across the globe to extend access to the toolkit entrepreneurs and innovators need to create business success.

Of course, if you prefer talking to people face-to-face, that is always a worthwhile strategy. If you see upcoming business and social events nearby, sign up to join. Industry events are an easy way to connect with like-minded people, and begin realizing some of the benefits listed above. Successful entrepreneurs know how to mix and mingle with a room full of people, so definitely polish your small talk skills.

Conclusion

When it comes down to it, networking is really a way to build relationships, so keep that in mind and don’t overcomplicate things. At The Cannon, we recognize the value of networking, which is why we started Cannon Connect , a platform focused on providing business owners with the tools they need to grow their networks, connect with experienced business advisors, and build their professional communities.

However, you should work to keep in touch with those you form professional relationships with, just like you would for any other relationship. Every so often, reach out and catch up with those newly formed connections to maintain the relationship. Don't just contact people when you need something; invite them over for lunch to speak about each other's day.

Cannon Connect is an incredible resource for any entrepreneur, regardless of business size. It offers a wide range of tools and support to our members, and we believe that you should be one of them. Visit the Cannon Connect page on our website to learn more about Cannon Connect, and find out how you can get a free month of access to decades worth of experience and support.

Brad True

The Top 7 Benefits of Coworking Spaces

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 18:24:31 GMT

Coworking spaces are the new modern-day offices, offering beautiful architecture, inclusive amenities, and amazing perks. Envision a room filled with hard-working individuals, all employed by different forms of businesses and organizations. The building would have a multitude of rooms, from meeting areas to computer labs. Individuals would have the opportunity to network with creative and intelligent professionals. From small businesses to remote workers, coworking spaces are the ideal work environment.

They have revolutionized the business world, saying yes to flexibility and collaborative ambiance. There are 17,000 coworking spaces globally, and it is projected to rise six percent annually in America until 2022 and by 13 percent around the world. Ready for a new office environment? Continue reading to learn the top seven benefits of coworking spaces that make them essential for the everyday working individual.

What is a Coworking Space? And Who Benefits from Them?

Coworking spaces are defined as an arrangement in which workers of different companies have a shared office space. This allows cost savings and convenience by using shared infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities, receptionist and custodial services, and in some cases, refreshments and parcel acceptance services.

They are perfect for small businesses, freelancers , remote workers, and startup teams looking to accomplish their work and network with corporations beneficial to them. Employers and employees can build meaningful relationships with companies to lead to potential joint projects or receive helpful business practices. The coworking space offers them a professional and flexible work environment tailored to their schedule. Everyone benefits from a coworking space.

The Benefits of Coworking Areas

1. Increased Productivity

Productivity is greatly enhanced for the individuals that work from home. They no longer have the constant distraction a house can provide, such as crying babies, tidying up the home, or just responsibilities that need to be completed. Escaping to a coworking space minimizes interference with completing your work using creativity and delivering on time.

Coworking spaces are optimized for productivity. They are made to adapt to different work styles, providing different settings and a variety of desks and meeting rooms to tailor to all working individuals.

2. Network & Collaboration Opportunities

The most significant difference between a traditional office and a shared office is the network and collaboration opportunities that a coworking space offers. The work environment is collaborative as they are working alongside different people and organizations every day; those people could potentially give your company the next big business idea.

Coworking spaces also hold networking events to help corporations find new business partnerships or clients, brainstorming sessions with other like-minded companies, and educational workshops. They also include fun activities from luncheon events to workout classes, perfect for making introductions and turning them into profitable and personal relationships.

3. Flexible Working Schedule

Coworking spaces offer people the option of arriving and exiting the office when they want to. They can create office hours that best suit their schedule and their employers. Furthermore, coworking spaces created a solution for employers who want to hire exceptional workers outside their region. They can give their remote employees memberships to coworking spaces without having to relocate them.

4. Private & Shared Office

A great thing about coworking spaces is that they have private and shared offices accessible to all workers. They remove the traditional cubicles and replace them with colorful meeting rooms, a multitude of hot desks, glass-walled private offices, and expensive lounge areas. The private and shared offices allow the workers to choose between peace and quiet or brainstorming sessions with the team.

5. Build Structure to Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is crucial for your mental health; there should be a separate space between your home and work office. Without this, everything becomes a blur as there is no structure for your personal and professional responsibilities. Coworking spaces offer this structure as it forms a distinction between your home and work environment; there is a place to go for work and a home to return to for rest.

6. Cost-Saving

Coworking spaces only make you pay for the areas you plan to use and include exclusive perks from cleaning staff to printing services at no additional cost. This is essential for small businesses that want to continue growing and expanding their company as they won’t have to endure the pressure of long-term leases. The cost-saving is an enormous benefit as the money that would initially be used for a traditional office space can now be invested towards their company.

7. Creativity Boost

When working with other like-minded people and companies, you acquire so much knowledge and ideas that could apply when creating your next big business project. Switching your work environment is an excellent refresher for your head, and bouncing ideas with other people can provide a creativity boost.

Work from The Cannon

Coworking spaces have modernized the familiar office environment, giving you the ability to work when and where you want. The Cannon is a coworking space that features hundreds of the fastest growing and most innovative startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses globally, surrounded by the resources they need to thrive. We currently have five different locations open in West Houston , Downtown Houston , Downtown Houston (Theater District) , Post Oak Houston , and Galveston , along with a new Sports Media focused location launching in September in Uptown Houston area, and are continuing to expand throughout Houston and beyond.

While deciding whether coworking spaces meet your business needs, remember the benefits of coworking spaces, from networking events to cost-efficiency that a traditional office cannot provide. It’s time to choose what’s best for you. Visit your local location of The Cannon today!

Brad True

Experienced Real Estate and Software Entrepreneur Joins The Cannon's Board of Directors

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 18:18:34 GMT

The Cannon Adds Experienced Investor, Entrepreneur and Real Estate Developer to Board of Directors

The Cannon, a growing entrepreneurial community with six workspaces across South Texas and a global digital community (Cannon Connect) with hundreds of startups and small businesses, announces today the appointment of Jimmy McClure to the Board of Directors.

McClure's vast experience in Real Estate and Software development brings a unique passion to the direction of The Cannon. Currently an Angel Investor in Galveston-based tech startups like CryptoEQ, McClure has founded five other companies focusing on Real Estate development, Tourism, and Crypto and will be a key contributor to The Cannon's rapidly expanding physical and digital entrepreneurial footprint.

"The Cannon is blessed to have a fantastic Board of Directors with a vision and commitment that is in full alignment with our vision for the future of the business. It took us about 10 minutes working with Jimmy on jumpstarting the growth of the entrepreneurial community in Galveston to recognize that our partnership with him was destined to grow into a highly valued and trusted relationship. We are very excited that Jimmy has agreed to join The Cannon Board and play an active and dynamic role in not only The Cannon's expansion to Galveston but the overall future direction of our business.” said Jon Lambert, CEO of The Cannon.

"It is an honor to join The Cannon Board of Directors, especially right now! Bringing curated entrepreneurial programming to the property management space has incredible potential and The Cannon is well-positioned to lead the way with this exciting new managed service. I am also thrilled to be a part of the evolution of Cannon Connect as it grows into the entrepreneur's social networking platform! Both concepts are progress and timely with enormous potential and in combination they will be game-changing for the entrepreneurial customer/ecosystem."

McClure has already been involved with the Galveston startup ecosystem, having launched the MarMo project in downtown Galveston to bring together various Galveston ecosystem players to develop entrepreneurial, social, and community outreach programming in a welcoming place.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is an entrepreneurial community complete with physical workspace destinations currently around Houston, Texas and a growing digital platform that aims to provide access to innovators everywhere. Home to hundreds of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses, investors, advisors and innovators, The Cannon surrounds our community with the resources and access to help businesses grow

How to Market Your Startup and Why It Is Important

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 14:20:40 GMT

Marketing is essential for all companies, but especially for small businesses to prosper in a technology-driven world. Overnight success stories are rare. It’s challenging to get your brand’s name out there when you lack the proper marketing tools. However, with time, dedication, and individuality, you can establish a fantastic marketing plan that aligns with your brand’s objectives.

The most brilliant marketing ideas are extraordinary from their competitors, ranging from simple to unique concepts. Here are some insightful marketing tips for you to learn how to market your startup to develop a solid framework for future success.

Define Your Target Audience

Before exploring potential business opportunities, it’s crucial to understand the market you’re entering and reach the target audience with the right message. When developing your startup marketing strategy, ask yourself who is your ideal client and who would you like your ideal client to be?

Take time to answer these questions as it will help you define the target market you need to reach:

What are the products or services you’re offering to potential customers?
Would your product or service target a preferred gender, demographic, location, or interest?
Does your product or service benefit businesses of a certain size or within a specific industry?
Who has the money to afford your products or services? And what groups of people need them?

Identify the Brand’s Goals

Every business owner has a story about why they started their company and what they hope to achieve with the brand. In the initial stages of your startup, outline your reasons for starting the business as it will form your marketing and business goals.

The brand’s goals will usually fall under one of two categories: raising brand awareness and obtaining new clients. It’s necessary to prioritize the most beneficial plans for the creation and longevity of your business. For each category, ask yourself the following questions:

Raising Brand Awareness

How do you plan on introducing yourself - who you are and what you do - in a memorable way that will set you apart from competitors?
What about your business resonates with the audience? And how will you market that to raise brand awareness around your products or services?

Obtaining New Clients

What social media networks are essential for the company’s growth in obtaining new clients and retaining existing clients?
How are we planning to generate traffic to our website and social media while also increasing the time spent scrolling on our pages?

Establish Social Media Presence

There is power in social media marketing. However, most companies fail to understand the importance of utilizing the correct platforms to connect with their audience. All social media networks serve a different purpose that could potentially strengthen your business.

Facebook: An absolute powerhouse that involves all audience types. Nonetheless, it works best for brands to consumer products.
Instagram: It’s incredible for promoting visually appealing products and connecting with a younger audience.
LinkedIn: This platform is vital when hiring and attracting new clients. It works best with the business-to-business model.

Choose one or two social media networks and post applicable content to your brand consistently. Every morning, set aside 30 minutes to respond to any messages or comments, and interact with followers and people with similar interests. Remain active and involved.

Publish Relevant Content

Gain attention from publishing high-quality content on a regularly scheduled basis. Blog posts should be relative to your brand’s niche and the interests of your target market. Research relevant articles and SEO keywords surrounding your industry that people want to be informed about. It will help your blog rank higher than other blogs that are posting similar content.

A great marketing tip is to reach out to fellow bloggers within your field and offer a collaboration to write a few guest posts in exchange for brand awareness. In all the articles you produce for the respective company, include a link to your site. Leverage a blogger's audience to your advantage.

Set Up a Digital Existence

Websites are crucial in communicating with your target audience, growing your business to new potential customers, and establishing a brand's presence. Don’t let finances hold you back from creating a beautiful website for your business; use free templates on content management systems like WordPress. If you have room in your budget, hire a professional web developer.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to secure a domain name, set up Google Ads , and research SEO keywords. Each of these actions will increase the visibility and traffic of your website through search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Develop an Extensive Email & Lead List

Email marketing is a cost-effective startup marketing strategy that generates positive results. Start a record of your subscribers by creating a landing page or set of opt-in forms on your website. Afterward, begin segmenting your list into three categories: potential customers, current clients, investors. Then create a high-quality newsletter that tailors to that target market and sends them out bi-weekly.

To continue growing your leads list, provide incentives for subscribing to your newsletter. There are platforms like Constant Contact that allow you to evaluate your email marketing campaigns and create content designed for everyone that wasn’t active in the campaign.

Market Locally

The easiest way a business owner can spread brand awareness is by telling all their friends and family members. Ask them to share your company’s website and social media networks with their community and social media platforms.

Contact your local newspaper or magazine to place an ad or ask them to write a piece on your startup business. Speak publicly about your startup company at all the places and organizations you participate in, such as your local church or children’s soccer team. Just start speaking and sharing.

Build a Referral Program

Word-of-mouth advertising is a powerful marketing tool for startup businesses. People trust brands that their loved ones recommend, and you need to take advantage of their networks to attain referrals. Incentivizing referrals will generate more clientele for your company. The referral program could be that every three people you refer and successfully purchase a product or service from the company will receive a $25 Visa gift card.

Utilize Free Resources

Utilize free marketing tools at your disposal! There are many credible marketing experts and agencies that offer great information for free. Besides adding your company to local directories, numerous sites are dedicated to getting more users on your website and social media networks. Choose valuable resources such as marketing guides from award-winning agencies to scheduling all content marketing on social media management platforms.

Join Networking Groups

Networking groups provide you with an enormous source of connections and in building brand awareness. There is an exchange of details on clients, challenges, and experiences about the pertaining industry that wouldn’t have been required without the networking groups.

Here are some of the benefits of networking for small businesses:

Connections
Increase of referrals
Raising brand recognition
Partnership opportunities
Exclusive access to business resources

For example, Cannon Connect is a startup community platform focused on developing the digital and social infrastructure required to support entrepreneurialism. They offer resources such as receiving startup funding, attending private industry events, connecting with experienced business advisors, and more.

The Success of Your Startup Marketing Campaigns

Startup marketing strategies are integral components for a company’s growth and advancement as it establishes the brand’s identity and a pathway to cater to customer’s needs. While creating marketing campaigns for your startup, integrate these marketing tips to form a groundbreaking business. Still wondering how to market your startup? Reach out to The Cannon today!

Brad True

The Cannon, Founders District Launch Partnership with HCC and Spring Branch ISD

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 15:19:15 GMT

The Cannon and Founders District Houston Expand Program to Support Entrepreneurship Education at Spring Branch ISD and Houston Community College

Houston, TX, August 10, 2021 — To kick off National Back-to-School Month, Houston-based entrepreneurial community and startup hub, The Cannon, and the Founders District Houston , expanded an educational entrepreneurship partnership with the Spring Branch Independent School District (“SBISD”) and Houston Community College (“HCC”). Campus-specific and virtual programs will be supported by The Cannon’s startup incubator team, as well as the online startup community platform, Cannon Connect .

Plans also include creation of a “Future Founders” campus organization, intended to encourage student-teacher-startup activities and engagement. Each program is based on a City of Houston-Founders District “Community Benefits” partnership, managed in coordination with The Cannon.

“The collaboration between the City, the Founders District, The Cannon, and regional schools, demonstrate a shared core value of all parties involved: investment in and early engagement of students and educators is key to a vibrant economy,” said Mark Toon, cofounder of the Founders District, which houses The Cannon.

Additional program features that comprise the “Community Benefits” entrepreneurship education program will roll out during the Fall 2021 semester. A key component of the program centers on innovation and education facility-sharing and a mutual campus presence for all Community Benefits partners: HCC, SBISD, and The Cannon/Founders District. Student tours of and interactive classes at The Cannon will kick off during the 2021–2022 school year.

“The Cannon's passion to help entrepreneurs seek and achieve success centers on real-world innovation education for the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said The Cannon’s CEO Jon Lambert. “We are eager to provide SBISD educators and students access to The Cannon's digital and workspace communities and to bring tangible entrepreneurial experience to life."

SBISD teachers may utilize Cannon Connect in and outside of the classroom, which includes complimentary access to the online platform’s Knowledge Center, a one-stop shop for entrepreneurship educational resources.

“The Spring Branch ISD Career and Technical Education (“CTE”) department is pleased to expand our Founders District partnership which features Cannon Connect and on-site engagement with experts who will engage with SBISD’s comprehensive high school entrepreneurship courses,” said SBISD CTE Coordinator Angie Robertson. “The shared knowledge and experiences will equip entrepreneurship-focused teachers and students, alike.”

In the higher education arena, the Future Founders student organization aims to foster the growth of Houston’s budding student entrepreneurs, starting at charter-member campus, Houston Community College Northwest (Spring Branch). The program will expose college students and educators to the Founders District’s ecosystem of entrepreneurship and onsite talent, and will include networking events, panel discussions, and pitch competitions.

“Introduction to real-world startup ventures and face-to-face meetings with founders stands to develop practical skill sets to help shape future entrepreneurs,” said Lawson Gow, founder of The Cannon. “It is an inspiration to see such interest from students and teachers."

The education partnership and programs will expand this semester and will be highlighted via a pending “Future Founders” web and social media page.

About The Cannon

The Cannon, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an entrepreneurial hub that features startup-focused workspace facilities and a comprehensive online community network of resources. . Home to hundreds of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, small business owners, investors, advisors, and innovators, The Cannon Community helps innovators thrive and businesses grow.

About The Founders District

Located on 32 acres in West Houston, The Founders District is an innovation center and multi-purpose development comprised of commercial offices, restaurants, retail establishments, featuring The Cannon, Houston’s largest innovation hub, startup community, and coworking space.

About The Future Founders Club

The Future Founders Club connects students and entrepreneurs at school, corporate, and startup campuses in Houston, via a partnership with Houston Community College, SBISD, the City of Houston, The Founders District, and The Cannon.

Future Founders fosters the development of entrepreneurial skills through programs that enable networking, one-on-one mentorship, panel and classroom engagement, startup and maker-space facility tours, and a business plan pitch competition.

Media Contacts:

The Cannon - Brad True, btrue@thecannon.com
The Founders District - Tammy Dowe, tdowe@spotonpublicrelations.com or 713.412.1771

How to Mentor a Startup and Why You Should Do It

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 13:35:26 GMT

In the entrepreneurial world, guidance is often an invaluable asset. The truth is, many successful entrepreneurs had good mentors that helped, advised, and supported them through their journey of starting a small business. Mentorship is essential because it guides the mentee through their early-stage startups and influences the decision-making process that can eventually lead to the success of the founder’s business. If you’re wondering how to mentor a startup, we’re proud to provide guidance so you can help small businesses thrive through valuable insights.

What is a Mentor?

In a startup ecosystem, a mentor is someone who guides entrepreneurs by sharing their knowledge through years of experience and helping them grow their small business. The types of teachings and tasks that a mentor shares with a mentee can include establishing business goals , sharing contacts, and supporting the commercial work.

“Mentoring is a valuable resource for entrepreneurs to gain relevant business insight, guidance, and feedback about their product or service. A mentor and mentee connection is a rewarding experience that truly allows our business ecosystem to continue to flourish.”

—Sharita M. Humphrey, Nationally-Recognized Money Mentor

How to Become a Practical Mentor

There are four steps that a mentor needs to take when helping a mentee with their startup:

Step 1: Hold a meeting with the mentee

Before actually beginning your mentorship journey, it’s critical that you get to know your mentee first and learn about the business they want to start. How will your expertise help their startup grow? What can you offer to them? Having a preliminary conversation with your potential mentee will help answer these questions and help you decide whether you will be the right fit for them.

Step 2: Advise them

This might be a no-brainer, but it’s important to remember that your role as a mentor is to advise your mentee and not implement any decisions yourself. Your goal isn’t to tell them what to do, but rather advise them in ways that can help them reach their goals.

Step 3: Share your contacts

Networking can go a long way. This can be said for just about any career one finds themselves in. As a mentor, it’s clear that you hold years of experience with others in the same business. Assist others with their startup by connecting them with an investor who may be interested.

Step 4: Give feedback

Similar to giving advice, providing feedback helps your mentee reach their startup goals. Share critical observations and insights with them through numbers and past mentorship experiences. An important part of giving feedback is to do it without criticizing. While it’s necessary to be honest with your mentee, you should avoid harsh remarks and focus on providing constructive feedback that will help the mentee reach their objective.

“As part of our certification as Certified SCORE Mentors, we learn the concept of SLATE:

S for stop judging—do not judge before you understand what the mentee is up to.

L for listening, and asking clarifying questions to better understand what he wants to do.

A for analyzing together the good, the bad, the opportunities.

T for testing the idea or concept with others, or a farmers market, or a first customer, and learning.

E for evaluating, planning, fundraising, planning, starting, planning, growing customer base, …”

—Willy Verbrugghe, Certified SCORE Mentor

The Mentor-Mentee Relationship

Like many relationships, this one is built on trust and effort from both parties. The business can reach success if the mentor and the mentee listen and learn from one another. A few key questions you should ask yourself are: How can you help your mentee reach success? How will you help them overcome obstacles? What is something you can offer them that others can’t? Being a mentor can sometimes be a challenging task, but there are numerous practices that can help you reach your objective as their guidance:

Talk from experience and always be honest
Establish a trusting relationship
Bring credibility and a good reputation to the startup
Develop resources
Assist with creating strategic plans for the business

Why You Should Consider Being a Mentor

Being a mentor can lead to many different opportunities in your personal career as you are more likely to get hired or promoted than employees who do not have mentorship experience. Becoming a mentor can also strengthen your leadership skills as it enables you to become a master of what you teach. As you work hard to help your mentee with their startup business, you will soon push yourself to grow as a leader—something that is always needed in a world of entrepreneurs. In the end, the biggest reward that comes from being a mentor is helping shape the future leaders of successful entrepreneurship.

How Do I Find a Business Startup Mentor?

A startup community platform is one of the best ways to find mentor(s) for your small business. At The Cannon, we offer a startup platform, Cannon Connect , providing an Advisor Network for young entrepreneurs to build professional relationships with well-experienced mentors who are ready to guide founders through their early-stage startups.

Are you ready to build a mentor-mentee relationship? Or want more support on how to mentor a startup? Join Cannon Connect to network with other advisors and seasoned entrepreneurs in our Advisor Network!

Brad True

The Cannon Town Hall Celebrates 4-year Anniversary and City of Houston Honor

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 19:14:51 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brad True| Managing Director - Operations and Technology

Phone: 713-332-1299

Email: btrue@thecannon.com

Houston, TX, July 6, 2021 — The Cannon, an online entrepreneurial community with physical workspaces across Houston, is proud to partner with AcctTwo , an industry-leading finance and accounting firm, to host a town hall event for entrepreneurs on July 22, 2021. The town hall will commemorate The Cannon’s 4-year anniversary, as well as a prestigious honor from the City of Houston, the proclamation of The Cannon Day on July 26.

The event will gather all existing Cannon Community members, partners, and interested parties in person or virtually to inspire entrepreneurs with success stories and to learn more about everything The Cannon has to offer. AcctTwo will also showcase their commitment to the innovation ecosystem while sharing their own entrepreneurial roots. The event will include raffles and door prizes for attendees.

Lawson Gow, Founder of The Cannon, will be among the key speakers to share his success story. Gow recounts the reason why he founded the company, saying, “We started The Cannon as somewhat of a love letter to The City of Houston...We'd been told that Houston was 'at risk of being entirely shut out of the nation's innovation economy,' and that didn't sit right with us."

Gow continued, "We love our city, and we want to push it forward—to make it stronger, better, cooler, more beautiful, more delicious, eclectic, nuanced, diverse, multicultural, more creative, and more inspired. Our efforts were met with an incredible outflow of encouragement from our community—and in the toughest moments we've had over the past four years, all that encouragement—the support, the kind words—it energized us. You know who you are, and we couldn't be more grateful for all of it."

Marcus Wagner, Founder of AcctTwo, also offered his inspiring business story and what value AcctTwo brings to the Cannon Community, saying, "I started AcctTwo because I love helping high-growth companies be successful. They are the engine of our economy! Many of them don't understand the importance of finance and accounting to their success, so it ends up becoming an obstacle to growth and the founders' ultimate liquidity and wealth creation. We’ve partnered with The Cannon to help the Cannon Community transform their finance and accounting function into a strategic business asset, while also stretching our own entrepreneurial muscles. We love being surrounded by innovative thinkers, and that's what we find at The Cannon."

Seasoned entrepreneurs and inspired business owners are encouraged to join the town hall event, as The Cannon celebrates their 4-year milestone and the prestigious honor from the City of Houston. Event details and registration information can be found below.

Event Details:

Location: The Cannon at West Houston
1334 Brittmoore Road
Houston, TX 77043
Date and Time
July 22, 2021
4 P.M. Central Time

----- Click Here to register for the event.-----

For questions and more event details, please contact Taylor Anne Adams of The Cannon: tadams@thecannon.com

About The Cannon

About AcctTwo

Based in Houston, TX, AcctTwo is a leading accounting firm, providing comprehensive finance and accounting services for more than 1,000 organizations, including biotechs, churches, mainstream organizations, and much more. Along with these essential financial services, AcctTwo also provides innovative accounting software and custom accounting system development.

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please visit thecannon.com or call 713-332-1299.

Networking Groups Online - Benefits of an Online Startup Community Platform

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:20:03 GMT

One’s success does not depend solely on their network, but joining a startup community of individuals driven by entrepreneurialism and innovation can certainly support in reaching new measures of accomplishment. At The Cannon , our focus is to help individuals connect with beneficial resources that will assist them in growing their businesses. With startup community platforms for networking groups online, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to do just that.

Do Digital Networking Groups Actually Help Businesses Grow?

One of the main benefits of joining a startup community is that they allow entrepreneurs to connect with like-minded people. Whether you’re a recent graduate or a seasoned professional, there is an opportunity to collaborate with a plethora of others. If you’re looking to promote your startup, hire new talent, grow your network to build a professional community, attend industry events , or receive startup funding, we guarantee you will find others who will be interested in assisting you.

As you begin to participate in curated discussions, you will not only have the chance to network with other professionals but also gain valuable insight on topics and interests that make up the different backgrounds and aspirations of those within your own entrepreneurial ecosystem.

What Is Cannon Connect?

As previously mentioned regarding networking groups online, Cannon Connect is a startup community platform in which individuals have the opportunity to join a robust and active entrepreneurial ecosystem. As a platform that is expanding globally, it creates a business network for entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, small business owners, and startups alike to connect and build professional relationships. Cannon Connect also provides helpful resources, including business education models, well-experienced advisors, and pathways to financing opportunities.

With Cannon Connect, access to a limitless amount of resources as well as a growing pool of experts is right at your fingertips.

What Services does Cannon Connect Offer?

Cannon Connect offers the following services:

Networking Solutions
Grants users access to connect with advisors, investors, service providers, and curated discussion channels
The 5-Stage Guide
A 5-stage guide that offers entrepreneurs support and resources based on the success level (Build, Launch, Compete, Manage, or Scale) that their business is currently in
Tools & Resources
Users have access to a wide range of tools and resources, including software discounts, curated job listings, articles, videos, worksheets, and presentations
Crowdfunding
Offers funding for startups and opportunities for investors
Virtual & In-Person Events
Connect with like-minded entrepreneurs by joining events such as talent fairs, demo days, pitch nights, and hackathons

Why Choose Cannon Connect?

It’s simple. As a business whose goal is to support entrepreneurs, we have the perfect resources and tools to help you find success in your bright new idea. The best part? You’re never alone in your journey. Cannon Connect is supported by numerous work-driven individuals essential to networking groups online, including those who are ready to create their startups or have the services to assist you with.

We’re determined to help you achieve your ambitions. Through Cannon Connect, the possibilities of a successful startup are within your reach.

Ready to start your business? Join Cannon Connect and use code TRYME for your first month free of charge!

Brad True

The Cannon/CryptoEQ Educational Starter Pack - Practical Crypto Tips

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 16:13:20 GMT

The Cannon, CryptoEQ Educational Series Finale - Practical Crypto Tips

If you’ve been following along, you’re ALMOST ready! But “it’s hard to measure almost, cause almost don’t measure…” So jump into our last part of the Crypto Starter Pack Series to get our practical step-by-step guide to finally investing in Crypto. Spencer Randall from CryptoEQ joins Melissa Gonzalez from The Cannon to teach us:

What a “wallet” is and which ones work the best for your situation
Where to buy your latest cryptocurrency
How to go about doing it
What to do with it once you have it!

Now you have the basics to get started and there’s no better partner to help you grow in your Crypto journey than CryptoEQ – where you can find more tips, tricks, and insights here than anywhere else in the Cryptoverse!

Learn more about CryptoEQ here .

Click here and discount code CRYPTOEQ to receive your first month of access to Cannon Connect free!

The Cannon/CryptoEQ Educational Starter Pack - Ethereum, ETH, and DeFi

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 15:56:48 GMT

The Cannon, CryptoEQ Continue Educational Series - Ethereum, ETH and DeFi

Are you starting to feel more comfortable with “crypto”? Now you know what Bitcoin is – what’s next? Ethereum, DeFi, and Stablecoins are all terms you may have heard but don’t know where they fit into the Cryptoverse. At The Cannon, we pride ourselves in being Ecosystem Builders, and we couldn’t do it effectively without helping describe and effectively participating in the Ethereum Ecosystem and its role within DeFi – decentralized finance. You do NOT want to skip this episode!

Join Spencer Randall from CryptoEQ and Alex Gras from The Cannon to continue building your Crypto knowledge and be sure to tune in again next week for the final installment of the Crypto Starter Pack!

Learn more about CryptoEQ here .

Click here and discount code CRYPTOEQ to receive your first month of access to Cannon Connect free!

The Cannon Renews Partnership with Black Girl Ventures Foundation

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 12:24:14 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hilary Agho| Managing Director - Member Experience

Phone: 713-332-1299

Email: hagho@thecannon.com

Houston, TX, June 2, 2021 — The Cannon, an online entrepreneurial hub with physical workspace destinations across Houston, has renewed its partnership with Black Girl Ventures . Black Girl Ventures provides social and financial capital to fund and scale tech-enabled businesses that have annual revenue below $1M and were founded by Black/Brown female-identifying entrepreneurs.

This continued partnership allows the Black Girl Ventures community access to Cannon Connect , The Cannon’s entrepreneurial toolkit and online networking platform. Additionally, the Change Agents who lead the Houston Chapter of Black Girl Ventures will receive access to The Cannon @ The Energy Corridor, The Cannon’s West Houston entrepreneurial community space, to host their nine-month leadership skills development program, the Change Agent Fellowship.

Lawson Gow, Founder and President of The Cannon, says the company is thrilled about this continued partnership with Black Girl Ventures, stating, “Entrepreneurs should be able to get connected to the resources that they need to grow...Because of our partnership, the entire Black Girl Ventures community will be able to access these resources online, anytime, from wherever they are.”

About the continued partnership, Black Girl Ventures Founder, Shelly Bell, said, “Our partnership with The Cannon has allowed us to foster and grow our communities in Houston, contributing to the local ecosystem, while helping to deepen our mission of providing access to capital, community, and capacity for Black and Brown women-identifying founders in the area.”

Bell’s response went on to highlight the relationship’s benefits in relation to the disastrous winter storm this February, saying of The Cannon, “They are key partners in our local building-community efforts, as well as in providing relief for Black-owned businesses during unforeseen circumstances, such as the storm waves that affected the area early this year.”

About The Cannon

About Black Girl Ventures

Black Girl Ventures is a foundation aimed at addressing the unique challenges Black and Brown female-identifying entrepreneurs face when starting a company. Black Girl Ventures provides access to social and financial capital, as well as business support services, to ignite civic engagement and provide direct support to minority entrepreneurs.

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please visit thecannon.com or call 713-332-1299.

The Cannon/CryptoEQ Educational Starter Pack - Bitcoin vs. Everything Else

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:50:02 GMT

The Cannon, CryptoEQ Continue Educational Series - Bitcoin vs. Everything Else

Why is Bitcoin so special? Is Bitcoin cash still a thing? Don't people just use it for nefarious activity? Is it even green???

So many questions around the world's most popular crypto currency and we have the answers in the most clear, concise format you've heard yet! Thanks to our friends at CryptoEQ, we dive into the basics of Bitcoin and why you should know enough to "trade safe"!

Learn more about CryptoEQ here .

Click here and discount code CRYPTOEQ to receive your first month of access to Cannon Connect free!

The Cannon/CryptoEQ Educational Starter Pack - A New Financial Infrastructure

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 12:34:57 GMT

The Cannon, CryptoEQ Continue Educational Series - A New Financial Infrastructure

The Cannon is thrilled to continue our strategic partnership with local Crypto platform CryptoEQ.io! Together, we are joining forces to promote industry-leading research and market insights to the world!

The Cannon and CryptoEQ teams are curating a one-of-a-kind Crypto Starter Pack to help onboard innovators all around the world to the cryptosphere. The Crypto Starter Pack is designed to help guide newcomers on the first steps of their #crypto journey.

This week - our Managing Director of Member Success Taylor Anne Adams and CryptoEQ's cofounder Brooks Vaughan continue our deep dive into important topics surrounding cryptocurrency. A new financial infrastructure is democratizing access to financial instruments on a global scale never seen before. Cryptocurrency is allowing for individuals to gain access to a decentralized form of financial exchange from anywhere in the world. Starting with Bitcoin, this access to an algorithmic form of currency has given holders an opportunity no other financial infrastructure has – a trusted, open system to acquire, store, and create wealth for their communities. Dig into Part 2 of our Crypto Starter Pack to see what makes cryptocurrency so popular and who are the major players in this space!

Learn more about CryptoEQ here .

Click here and discount code CRYPTOEQ to receive your first month of access to Cannon Connect free!

The Cannon/CryptoEQ Educational Starter Pack - What is Good Money?

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Thu, 27 May 2021 16:54:01 GMT

The Cannon, CryptoEQ Continue Educational Series - What Is Good Money?

The Cannon is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with local Crypto platform CryptoEQ.io! Together, we are joining forces to promote industry-leading research and market insights to the world!

Together, The Cannon and CryptoEQ teams are curating a one-of-a-kind Crypto Starter Pack to help onboard innovators all around the world to the cryptosphere. The Crypto Starter Pack is designed to help guide newcomers on the first steps of their #crypto journey.

Throughout time, the symbolic nature of money has evolved depending on what we, as a society, have placed value in. Due to the dynamic nature of human society, what is defined as a “good” money and what are its characteristics has transitioned relatively rapidly. In today’s review of how Bitcoin became considered a valuable medium of exchange, Brooks Vaughan from CryptoEQ and Caroline Mealey from The Cannon do a quick dive into why BTC came to be and it’s place amongst today’s currencies.

The Cannon to Host Week-Long Program Dedicated to Helping Entrepreneurs Grow Their Business Globally

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 19 May 2021 15:59:57 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brad True| Managing Director - Operations and Technology

Phone: 713-332-1299

Email: btrue@thecannon.com

Houston, TX - May 18, 2021: The Cannon, a growing entrepreneurial community with three workspaces across the Houston area and a global digital community (Cannon Connect) with hundreds of startups and small businesses, announced a week-long slate of programming featuring chambers of commerce and corporate partners that are supporting businesses exploring expansion into new markets.

The programming will aim to help startups grow their footprints internationally, opening up more opportunities to grow revenue and find new partners and customers. With the inaugural event featuring presentations from experts in Europe, South America, Asia and more, there are sure to be events for entrepreneurs of all levels and industries.

"The Cannon was created to help develop Houston's startup environment, and a crucial component of this mission includes establishing international pipelines of connectivity, for two reasons, first, so we can create soft landings for international businesses who want to expand to our city, and second, so we can provide the resources our local companies need to make the right decisions about their own expansion when the time comes," said Lawson Gow, Founder of The Cannon.

Join The Cannon May 24th through 27th for a discussion with industry experts on doing business internationally. The presenters include Texas Citizens Bank, TechnipFMC, Thompson and Knight and other partner organizations and topics include: how to business internationally, how to use trade credit insurance to debt finance international business, how to build an international business plan, and doing business in Chile, the UK, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Attendees will leave with a more complete understanding of what it takes to transition their business into international markets.

“Doing Business Internationally can be a challenge, but it can also be a surprise and a reward depending on how well you have prepared and done your homework about the culture, habits, preferences, logics and priorities of the target country,” said Willy Verbrugghe, CEO and President of Vehoco.

Click the link below to register for each event:

-- Register Here! --

About The Cannon

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please visit thecannon.com or call 713-332-1299.

The Cannon/CryptoEQ Join Forces to Promote Crypto Educational Starter Pack

Thu, 13 May 2021 20:15:26 GMT

The Cannon, CryptoEQ Join Forces to Create Educational Crypto Programming for Entrepreneurs

Our first of six videos is below, be sure to stay tuned for more coming up in the upcoming weeks!

The Cannon Partners with the University of Houston’s Nationally Ranked Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 14:57:28 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Maigen Berg | Managing Director

Phone: 713-332-1299

Email: mberg@thecannon.com

[Houston, Texas | February 10, 2021] The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship (WCE), University of Houston’s #1 nationally ranked undergraduate program, has partnered with The Cannon to launch a semester long program aimed to introduce students to the Startup Development Organization Network.

The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship prepares students to assume leadership roles in the business world, teaching them how to run their own business from the inception of an idea through its implementation. Through their partnership with The Cannon, these experiences will be enhanced by providing students new opportunities to interact and connect with high level business professionals and advisors.

“We couldn't be prouder to partner with the University of Houston and the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship to engage with the students that will soon be driving innovation in Houston and beyond,” said Jon Lambert, The Cannon CEO. “UH is widely recognized for its excellence in entrepreneurial education and what Dave Cook and his team have built through The Wolff Center is second to none. The Cannon is excited for the opportunity to play a role in enhancing the entrepreneurial education journey through helping to provide a bridge between world-class academic programming and the commercial entrepreneurial landscape.”

Lambert added that " bringing Wolff Center students into The Cannon community will be a multifaceted benefit - providing them access to resources, connections and the local entrepreneurial community while creating an exciting energy within our growing virtual membership. "

“This collaboration with The Cannon is yet another relationship that is intended to bring real world value to our students. We are delighted one of our WCE grads, Melissa Munoz Gonzalez, is now employed by The Cannon and is looking for ways to bring value back to the program that provided her with a runway to her career and her life. For students in WCE, it is a program driven by real experiences, with real ideas, real mentors and real relationships. We expect this to be an additional great educational experience that also broadens their networks, creates richer ideas and greater options for their lives,” said Cook, WCE executive director.

Students in The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship will receive access to The Cannon’s online platform, Cannon Connect, as well as access to exclusive events hosted by The Cannon. Through this partnership, The Cannon and WCE will enhance the learning experience of the students as well as bring awareness to The Cannon’s growing virtual community.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is an online entrepreneurial hub complete with physical workspace destinations currently around Houston, Texas. Home to hundreds of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses, investors, advisors and innovators, The Cannon Community is surrounded by resources and access to help businesses grow.

About the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship

Our mission is to empower the lives of students as they understand their values, articulate their dreams, and create outcomes. The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship (WCE) is driven to deliver the best educational experience in and outside of the classroom. This experience is driven with world class instructors, mentors, tools, simulations and technologies. WCE students have the highest integrity and are driven to grow personally and professionally as they learn how to start and operate their own businesses. In the end, WCE students differentiate themselves in their ability to think, to lead and to connect.

The program again lands a top spot on the list of the Top Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurs, released every year by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur. The program was ranked No. 1 in 2008, 2010, and 2020; No. 2 in 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019; and No. 3 in 2012. To read more about this unique accomplishment, visit our awards page . To learn more, please visit https://www.bauer.uh.edu/centers/wce/.

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please contact Maigen Berg, Managing Director of The Cannon at mberg@thecannon.com or 713-332-1299.

The Cannon Acquires Investment Marketplace, LetsLaunch to Bring Capital and Connectivity to the Innovation Community

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 15:30:01 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Maigen Berg | Managing Director

Phone: 713.332.1299

Email: mberg@thecannon.com

The Cannon Acquires Investment Marketplace, LetsLaunch to Bring Capital and Connectivity to the Innovation Community

[Houston, Texas | January 5, 2021] The Cannon, a Work America Capital portfolio company, innovation ecosystem builder and entrepreneurial hub, today announced it has completed the acquisition and integration of crowdfunding and community connector LetsLaunch in a transaction that was announced in fall 2020.

CannonLaunch, as LetsLaunch has been rebranded, will be an integral part of The Cannon’s new digital platform – Cannon Connect. Cannon Connect delivers a digital toolbox of resources, service providers, and connections for entrepreneurs everywhere. Incorporation of the LetsLaunch investment marketplace into The Cannon's evolving technology offering will deliver new and valuable capabilities within its member-facing digital infrastructure, opening up more funding and investing opportunities for companies within The Cannon’s growing entrepreneurial community.

“Fundraising in the COVID-19/Post COVID-19 era is, and is likely to remain, a bit of an unknown. Adding another viable funding channel for the start-ups in our community who are ready for investment will be a valued benefit for our members and will provide us exposure to a whole new group of entrepreneurial investors” stated Jon Lambert, CEO of The Cannon.

LetsLaunch founder Nick Carnrite reflected on the company’s journey saying “We built LetsLaunch to provide broad segments of the population with a mechanism to invest in startups, while giving startups another source of capital. Crowdfunding will always remain at LetsLaunch’s core, but it also became clear we had a role to play in connecting the innovation community, including startups, investors, advisors, mentors and service providers, based on their location, interests and preferences.” Co-founder Brian Coyle added, “this vision is holistically complementary to The Cannon’s goal to develop a tightly integrated innovation ecosystem. There is no better time to work together to help support private businesses.”

“The Cannon and LetsLaunch have a shared vision for enabling and optimizing the innovation ecosystem” Lambert continued, “LetsLaunch has passionately developed a technology platform that will deliver significant value to the entrepreneurial community by bringing together start-ups and investors of all kinds. By integrating the LetsLaunch platform into The Cannon's digital offerings, we will enhance the fundraising and strategic connection value we offer to our innovation community.”

All members of The Cannon’s physical and digital communities will be eligible to apply to raise funds through CannonLaunch. To learn more about membership please visit thecannon.com.

About The Cannon

A community of entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, corporations, and business professionals, The Cannon is creating innovation ecosystems that intelligently connects support and resources with the needs of startups and small businesses. Providing virtual, online membership along with optional workspaces in various locations, The Cannon meets entrepreneurs where they are to help them succeed faster, and resounds, “We are better together.”

About LetsLaunch

LetsLaunch is an online community of startups, investors, and entrepreneurs. By harnessing the power of data, LetsLaunch provides a platform for users to connect with one another, invest in private businesses via crowdfunding, and source the support and services required for businesses to start up and grow.

If you would like more information about The Cannon or CannonLaunch, please contact Maigen Berg, Managing Director of The Cannon at mberg@thecannon.com or 713-332-1299.

Strategic Workforce Planning: Why and How to Begin

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 21:48:17 GMT

by Insperity’s Leslie Gorman in collaboration with The Cannon

You probably have a hiring plan. But do you conduct strategic workforce planning?

Many companies discuss staffing when it’s time to establish annual goals and set a budget. Perhaps the desire to increase profits in the upcoming year demands headcount adjustments, and so plans are made to grow or reduce staff, contractors or consultants.

But this staffing practice is shortsighted for two main reasons:

The focus is usually short-term (one year or less).

It doesn’t take into consideration outside and internal factors that may impact that narrow-focused approach.
That’s where strategic workforce planning comes in. Staffing plans are still needed but are only one piece of a broader strategic workforce plan.

Let’s explore the reasons why you may want to develop such a plan and how to create one for your organization.

What is strategic workforce planning?

Where a staffing plan addresses only one future-state scenario, strategic workforce planning may address multiple situations .

It uses a three- to five-year outlook instead of just a one-year view.

And because of the strategic emphasis, this type of workforce plan may be less detailed than a staffing plan, which usually has a more tactical focus.

Strategic workforce planning is about ensuring your organization will have:

The right people
With the right skills
At the right place
At the right time
At the right cost

When these conditions are met, your workforce is poised to deliver on your business goals effectively for the long-term. But also, if any one of these factors is off, there is a negative impact to your organization’s ability to meet its goals.

That’s why strategic workforce planning is so important and can be so beneficial.

Now, here are the steps you can take to develop your own strategic workforce plan.

1. Discuss business strategy

Your organization must have a clear, shared vision of its long-term goals to have an effective strategic workforce plan.

To get there, develop your long-term business strategy by exploring where you want to be as an organization in five years.

Just make sure that all the right people are in the room. Human resources leaders are often left out of these conversations, but that’s a mistake because it’s your people who make your goals happen.

Offsite meetings are helpful to get into the right mindset (so you won’t be interrupted by the daily grind). Aim to specifically plot your company’s five-year goals.

Here are some great questions to ask your team:

What is our strategic focus or desired future state?
What do we want as a company five years from now?
What is most important to successful execute the strategy?
What will we have to stop, start or continue to get there?
What do we have to do exceptionally well to win?
What are the capabilities we need to perform at that exceptional level?

More content geared towards operating and accelerating your business will continue to appear in our Knowledge Center on Cannon Connect, including topics related to finance, branding, fundraising, leadership and more. Ready to dive into a carefully curated library of entrepreneurial content? Become a member today!

2. Perform a current-state analysis

Next, look at what you currently have – both people and skills. This is called a current-state or internal supply analysis. Look at your talent supply by job role rather than by person, as this helps you to be more objective.

Then, analyze what capabilities your people in those roles have right now against what you need them to be according to your business strategy.

To determine future talent supply, some organizations make projections based on historical turnover numbers or industry benchmarks. Companies with more resources may use predictive people analytics to identify certain risks like turnover and retirement.

3. Decide which roles are critical to current and future success

This may be the most difficult task involved in strategic workforce planning – deciding which are the key positions in your organization or those most crucial to moving toward your goals.

Remembering your key business objectives, ask yourself:

Which roles (current or future) will disproportionately drive the success of the strategy?
Which roles could be understaffed with little risk to our business?
What jobs are most vital?
What current or future skills will disproportionately drive the success of the strategy?
What capabilities will accelerate our ability to deliver on our promise?

4. Analyze gaps and risks

If there’s a skills gap between what you have and what you think you’ll need, take time to explore all the ways you could close those gaps.

For example:

Would it be best to train your people or plan to hire from the outside?
If some of your people are nearing retirement, do you need to offer packages to get people to stay so you don’t lose their knowledge?

Also examine any external factors that may put your strategy at risk. Outside risks may arise from economic or political conditions, changes in the labor market, evolving industry trends or new legislation.

Your leadership team can work together to evaluate how to weigh these risks. Have everyone share their top three to five concerns. As a group, determine which are most relevant or potentially catastrophic. Follow up with scenario planning, and preemptively decide how to respond.

5. Develop an action plan

Looking again at your most critical roles and skills, start prioritizing and putting your action plan in place.

Which roles and/or skill gaps present the greatest strategic risk to your success?
What actions should you take regarding those roles and skill gaps that pose the greatest risk?

Use SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) goal s to focus your efforts. Continue following up to make sure it happens. If something changes or doesn’t go according to plan, see what you need to do to adjust.

Planning over plan

Creating an organization-wide strategic workforce plan is a sizable endeavor, so it can help to start small, develop a plan for one department to get more familiar with the process.

And remember, the plan itself is unlikely to unfold as you intended. After all, nothing in the future is certain no matter how thorough you’ve been.

In this case, going through the planning process is more valuable than the plan itself. Doing so will help your organization handle the unpredictable faster and better.

If you’d like to learn more about how to how to hire talented employees, read our complimentary magazine: The Insperity guide to attract, recruit and hire top talent.

The Founders District Welcomes Chevron to The Cannon

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:58:53 GMT

For Immediate Release: November 19, 2020

Contacts:

The Founders District: Mark Toon, marktoon@workamericacapital.com

The Cannon: Maigen Berg, mberg@thecannon.com

Chevron: Mary Murrin, mmurrin@chevron.com

Chevron Technology Ventures builds state-of-the-art digital makerspace to partner and test emerging technologies

HOUSTON, TX (November 19, 2020) – The Founders District, an experiential mixed-use community in West Houston, welcomes Chevron to the building that houses The Cannon, a flexible workspace and innovation hub. Chevron is creating a digital makerspace where they will partner with start-up companies and community organizations in Houston’s innovation ecosystem to test emerging technologies that add efficiencies to their business and operations. Chevron will join Corva, Texas Citizens Bank, and Baker Tilly in the western portion of the Cannon building, directly off Brittmoore Road.

Chevron has been a key sponsor of The Cannon since 2018, occupying a branded office space within the innovation hub. The company recently executed a new lease agreement for a significantly larger footprint at The Cannon.

“Chevron’s support for The Founders District and The Cannon expands our commitment to Houston’s growing innovation ecosystem,” said Barbara Burger, Chevron vice president, Innovation and president of Chevron Technology Ventures. “We look forward to utilizing this new space to collaborate with other Chevron organizations, such as our Wells group, as we work to deliver more reliable, affordable, ever-cleaner energy.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Chevron Technology Ventures in developing this exciting makerspace at The Founders District,” said Mark Toon, Chief Executive Officer of Puma Development, the company developing The Founders District and founder of Work America Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in Houston-based businesses. “CTV is the paradigm for meaningful innovation in Houston. By investing in emerging technologies in energy, they are paving the way for innovation to remain at the heart of Houston’s most prominent industry.”

One of Chevron’s first onsite collaborations is planned with their Wells group, the drilling and completions arm of the company.

“In addition to providing hands-on experience for our engineers with edge communications and technology, the space will allow us to demonstrate and test digital workflows and other technologies before taking them out to the field,” said Kim McHugh, vice president, Chevron Wells. “We can work out kinks, collaborate with partners, and improve solutions iteratively while eliminating the costs and safety risk associated with deploying to our remote operations.”

###

About the Founders District

The Founders District is a revolutionary mixed-use campus in west Houston. Anchored by The Cannon, one of the largest and most innovative flexible workspaces in the world, the Founders District is a beacon of innovation, technology, and the elevated consumer experience. The walkable, 32+ acre campus will comprise experiential retail, dynamic entertainment, unique food & beverage, top-notch fitness, multifamily residential, commercial office, and more. To stay up to date on all developments at The Founders District, please visit our website at https://www.foundersdistrict.com/ .

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a flexible workspace and digital ecosystem that builds and operates curated entrepreneurial and creative communities across a growing number of locations as well as a digital platform to serve and connect entrepreneurs globally. Currently, there are more than 300 companies in The Cannon community working at The Cannon – Main Campus, a brand new 120K square foot. converted warehouse located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8, at The Cannon – Post Oak and The Cannon – Downtown, which opened in December 2019 at the Amegy Bank Tower in Downtown Houston. The Cannon’s flagship Main Campus location, one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, plans to headquarter a community of more than 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow. For more information visit https://thecannon.com .

About Chevron Technology Ventures

Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) pursues externally developed technologies and new business solutions that have the potential to enhance the way Chevron produces and delivers affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy. CTV leverages innovative companies and technologies to strengthen Chevron’s core operations and identifies new opportunities to shape the future of energy. For more information, visit www.chevron.com/technology/technology-ventures .

A Guide to Workers’ Compensation for Remote Employees

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 19:28:11 GMT

by Insperity’s Roger Campagnola in collaboration with The Cannon

Do you need to worry about workers’ compensation for remote employees?

In short, yes.

When your organization adopts or expands a work-from-home policy, it’s a good idea to take a fresh look at your workers’ compensation coverage and processes.

Understanding which injuries your workers’ compensation might cover, adapting your safety program and updating your claims reporting process can help your organization handle injury claims more efficiently in the age of remote work.

What counts as a work-related injury at home

It’s important to understand that employee injuries at home may be covered by workers’ compensation. However, determining precisely what is a work-related injury at home can be tricky. That’s because every state has its own laws and interpretations of each injury claim.

In general, to have a compensable claim that is accepted by your company’s workers’ compensation carrier, the employee has to be in the course and scope of their job and the accident has to arise out of their job-related activities.

For example:

An employee having a busy day at the computer who feels a strain in their shoulder or elbow at day’s end may have a compensable claim, depending on the state, because they can claim they were injured while doing their job.
For the same reason, an employee who has a work-related package delivered to their home, lifts it and hurts their back may have a claim.

Not every injury that happens at home during work hours may result in a successful workers’ compensation claim, though.

A remote employee who gets up for a coffee, trips on their pet on the way to the kitchen and gets injured may not have a valid claim. This kind of situation can present a gray area and could end up being decided in court.
An at-home employee who takes a work break for a treadmill run and gets hurt while running will likely not be able to claim workers’ compensation for their injury.

It’s important to keep in mind that it’s not up to the employer to determine whether an injured employee has a valid claim. Each workers’ compensation claim is subject to an investigation that complies with state employment law.

How can your organization promote workplace safety when your people are remote?

Fewer injuries means fewer workers’ compensation claims, which is why most organizations build workplace safety programs .

One challenge when your workforce – or even just a few employees – shifts to remote work is that your carefully crafted workplace safety program may not be applicable to employees at home.

For example, administrative employees working in a doctor’s office or a research library may face hazards related to accessing and moving paper records, so their safety program is focused on best lifting practices in the office. But when those employees are accessing records remotely from home, the risk landscape changes.

You can’t know what specific hazards might be present in each worker’s home, and it would be intrusive and impractical to ask. Instead, it’s best to focus on the injury risks that most remote workers face regardless of industry, like:

Repetitive motion stress
Injuries related to poor posture and ergonomics

These pose a particular risk when employees have had to abruptly shift to working at home. Without a proper desk and chair, they may be working while sitting on a sofa or at a dining table. That might be tolerable for a day or two, but over the long run it raises the risk of neck, back and arm injury.

As long as you have people working remotely, your workplace safety program should emphasize the importance of proper posture, correct furniture placement and other ergonomic best practices .

What should you do when an employee tells you they’ve been hurt on the job at home?

Despite your emphasis on work-from-home safety, injuries may happen. In those cases, from a legal and compliance standpoint, your organization’s role is to gather as many details as you can about how the injury happened, such as:

The time and date when the employee was hurt
The activity that preceded the injury
The nature of the injury

It’s best to collect the employee’s report about their injury as soon as possible after the incident and to pass it along to your insurance carrier promptly. That pace allows the insurance adjuster and the employee to have their follow-up discussions while the facts are still fresh.

Once you collect the employee’s initial report and file it with your workers’ compensation insurance carrier, the matter goes to their adjuster. This is the person who has the resources and knowledge to decide if a claim is work-related or not, based on their investigation and the law in the state where the injury happened.

What does a workers' compensation investigation involve?

The adjuster will get in touch with the employee for a detailed interview and to collect any supporting documents. Typically, the adjuster will:

Get a recorded or written statement from the employee describing the injury and how it happened.
Request that the employee sign a medical release authorization form to get copies of any medical records related to the injury.
Conduct an interview with the employer to verify that the employee’s statements to them and to the adjuster align.

With that information, the adjuster may decide the case is clearly work-related or clearly not a result of work activities.

If the claim falls into a gray area, your company’s insurance carrier may seek a legal opinion from an attorney with experience in the state’s workers’ compensation law on:

Whether the claim should be accepted or denied
How strong their case would be if a denial is challenged in court

If the claim does go to court, your state’s written laws plus existing case law – how previous similar claims have been judged – will determine the outcome of the case.

How can you ensure your policy addresses workers’ compensation for remote employees?

Every state (except Texas) requires employers to have workers’ compensation insurance, although the details vary from state to state. It’s wise to regularly review your workers’ compensation policy to identify ways to reduce costs and to make sure your coverage is optimal for the way your business is growing and evolving.

A professional employer organization can offer your workers’ compensation coverage with a workers’ compensation carrier and often will help identify safety improvements that can reduce the likelihood of workers’ comp claims.

Now is also a good time to review your organization’s claims management and reporting system, to make sure it addresses workers’ compensation for remote employees.

To learn more about workers’ compensation and other business compliance requirements, download our free e-book: HR compliance: Are you putting your business at risk?

Meeting Entrepreneurs Where They Are: The Cannon Launches Online Innovation Hub

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 11:47:30 GMT

Cannon Connect: A digital community of entrepreneurs, programs, opportunities, and business resources awaits

[Houston, Texas | September 9th, 2020] The Cannon’s longtime mission to support entrepreneurs near and far has been amplified with the launch of Cannon Connect , an innovation hub that can be accessed online anytime, anywhere. The Cannon’s “digital network that works when you do” promises business education modules, access to advisors with decades of experience, pathways to investment and financing opportunities and most importantly, community.

Cannon Connect will host ongoing online workshops, summits, and innovation festivals throughout each year. These gatherings will also help connect corporations to innovative solutions provided by smaller, fast-acting innovators and will help fellow entrepreneurs grow, pivot and scale.

“The purpose of online access is to meet entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses where they are and introduce them to others for the success of their businesses. No entrepreneur should be denied the same opportunities as those companies with access to the physical innovation powerhouses we’ve all come to know," said The Cannon’s President, Lawson Gow.

The Cannon’s CEO Jon Lambert further detailed The Cannon’s holistic effort to support entrepreneurship everywhere. “This online access will continue to complement The Cannon’s own physical workspaces and expansions. We are excited about the opportunity to better serve our resident members while growing our digital community through the addition of new entrepreneurs locally and beyond – removing geographic borders to connect our virtual community has long been one of our primary goals.”

Additionally, Cannon Connect will serve as a key asset for The Cannon’s initiative to support the growth and development of innovation ecosystems worldwide - helping cities, counties, and other community-driven organizations to uncover, energize and develop the entrepreneurial spirit within their communities.

Cannon Connect will democratize access to the resources that entrepreneurs need to be successful, will serve as the ultimate innovation gathering experience and will create an open network to support entrepreneurial innovation, collaboration and acceleration.

About The Cannon

A community of entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, corporations, and business professionals, The Cannon aligns support and resources with the needs of startups and small businesses. Providing online membership with optional workspaces in various locations, The Cannon meets entrepreneurs where they are to help them succeed faster.

If you would like more information about The Cannon or Cannon Connect, contact Maigen Berg, Managing Director of The Cannon at mberg@thecannon.com or 713-332-1299. Additionally, visit our website at www.thecannon.com.

Choosing the Right Accelerator

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 12:30:27 GMT

Cannon Connect Exclusive - Choosing the Right Accelerator

Some startups spend so much time applying to and participating in accelerator programs that they neglect the operations of their business and their company stalls or fails. At the same time, the right accelerator can add a tremendous amount of value and provide critical connections or capital that can greatly increase a startup’s chances of success. That’s why it’s vital to ask the right questions before applying to or accepting an invitation from any accelerator, no matter how prominent its reputation.

Finding the right accelerator can be challenging, but when you choose well, the rewards can be enormous. Below is a list of questions to ask before you make a decision.

What do alumni of the program say?
Did startups that went through the program find it valuable? Sometimes this information can be found on social media or forums, but many accelerators will be willing to connect you with alumni upon request. You can also browse the accelerator’s website to find a list of alumni and reach out to them independently via email or LinkedIn.
Does the program require residency?
Some accelerators require at least one founder to participate in-person, which may require temporarily relocating to another city. It’s important to determine a program’s residency requirements before applying, or looking at one of the growing number of virtual accelerators around the world.
Do the staff and mentors have relevant expertise or connections?
Be sure to read up on the accelerator’s staff and mentors to ensure that they will understand your business and be able to add content or connective value. Typically, industry specific accelerators are more likely to offer access to people with more relevant experience and networks. That said, industry agnostic programs can be valuable as well, but be sure to familiarize yourself with the people who you’ll actually be interacting with. An accelerator is only as good as the people running it.
What kind of culture does the accelerator have?
Every accelerator is different, not only in the value they add but also in the environment they create. Many accelerators absorb the culture of the city they operate in and the people who operate them. For founders moving from the Midwest to New York or San Francisco for an accelerator program, the culture shock can be disarming (and vice versa). Make sure to gauge the accelerator’s culture in online reviews and your conversations with accelerator staff and alumni.
Will the curriculum add value?
Try to get a sense of what the courses and educational opportunities will be. Programming accelerators can be challenging given the different levels of knowledge across a cohort’s participants. The best programs take this into account and provide optionality to ensure they can add educational value to founders across functional areas and regardless of their degree of sophistication.
How much equity do they take and what are the terms?
A lot of startups don’t read the legal terms of their agreement with an equity accelerator carefully. This is a mistake. It’s important to fully understand the legal and financial ramifications of taking investment from an accelerator in exchange for equity. Consult a lawyer or accountant if necessary, but make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. An investment structured as a convertible note, for example, carries an interest rate. If it doesn’t convert into equity, the investor can require you to start paying them back. Some accelerators let you claw back the equity if you drop out before the program ends. Others do not.
What are the opportunity costs of participation? Will you emerge in a better position than you went in?
Participation in an accelerator can take a significant amount of your time and attention. Founders need to evaluate the benefits of participation against the opportunity costs that can emerge. For instance, some founders spend so much time meeting with mentors and attending courses as part of an accelerator that they ignore or miss other potentially more lucrative opportunities for investment or revenue generation. Accelerators can add enormous value to startups, but not if it distracts you from your ultimate goal: launching and growing your startup!

Getting into a top accelerator program can be tough. It’s important the time commitment required to apply and actively participate doesn’t hinder your ability to grow your business. That said, the right accelerators with the right staff, program and mentors can be hugely helpful for early stage companies. But remember, accelerators are not a panacea. There are no benefits that an accelerator offers that can be found elsewhere. Evaluating accelerator opportunities thoroughly will help make sure they work for you not against you.

Fast Facts - LLC vs. C-Corp

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 12:14:17 GMT

The Cannon's Founder, Lawson Gow, and Chief Revenue Officer, Remington Tonar, review Startup terms you ought to know. The main differences between an LLC and a C-Corp.

The Cannon Partners with the Business Angel Minority Association

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 19:01:51 GMT

Entrepreneurial Organizations Announce Partnership Supported By Shared Vision

[Houston, Texas | May 28, 2020] The Cannon, an innovation and entrepreneurial hub has launched a strategic partnership with a brand new angel network focused on supporting minority-led founders, baMa, also known as The Business Angel Minority Association, LLC. As its relentless passion continues to support entrepreneurs, this initiative magnifies the emphasis on connecting minority-led startups with access to capital.

Coupling culture with capital to improve innovation, baMa and The Cannon see a natural fit for collaboration. “Diversity plays an important role in early-stage investment decisions. The existing Business Angel associations are not diverse enough and this translates to a lack of pre-seed and seed angel investment in Minority-led startups”, says Maria Maso, Founder and CEO of baMa. As The Cannon continues to connect dots across Houston, the nation, and the globe for entrepreneurs, it sees baMa as a significant contributor to supporting that initiative, especially for Minority-led startups.

The Cannon’s CEO, Jon Lambert echoed the notion, adding “baMa's mission to fill the glaring need for an early-stage investment focus on minority-led startups and/or startups targeting minority-driven markets is fundamental to The Cannon's vision to deliver every entrepreneur access to the startup resources needed to thrive. For us, community is diversity - our partnership with baMa will extend and enhance the support system we are passionately growing and will provide baMa with access to our expanding community of startups and partners. We're excited to see where this partnership takes us - there is so much alignment in our desire to help the entire entrepreneurial community, we are expecting to accomplish big things together.”

About The Cannon

A community of entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, corporations, and business professionals, The Cannon entwines support and resources with the needs of startups and small businesses. Providing online membership with optional workspaces in various locations, The Cannon meets entrepreneurs where they are to help them succeed faster.

About baMa

Passionate about innovation, diversity, and inclusion business angel Minority association (baMa) bridges the investment gap in minority-led startups or startups by targeting minority-driven markets through diverse investments and education.

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please contact Maigen Berg, Managing Director of The Cannon at mberg@thecannon.com or 713-332-1299.

How to Handle Compensation During Uncertain Times | The Cannon

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 12:05:37 GMT

by Insperity’s Rebecca Messina in collaboration with The Cannon

When businesses go through a crisis resulting in abnormal (or interrupted) operations and significant economic challenges, many companies look to their compensation budgets as an obvious means of cutting costs.

The delicate balance is: How do you handle compensation during uncertain times to protect the financial health of your business but without losing valued employees?

This scenario could occur in any type of economic downturn or industry shift – really, anything that disrupts business continuity and impacts the bottom line.

Of course, a global pandemic such as COVID-19 is a prominent example of this. Depending on state and municipality, some businesses were forced to close for weeks to months. Numerous other types of businesses operated at diminished capacity or faced other extreme disruptions. As a result, many business leaders had to make tough choices for their companies to survive. Unfortunately, millions of workers were laid off.

Layoffs can be an immediate, much-needed measure to reduce costs. But, in some cases, it can be a short-sighted decision. There very well could be a better path forward.

If you’re facing economic hurdles, here are some common, alternative ways to retain employees while reducing expenditures and mitigating the pain felt by your team. It should be noted that these strategies could be temporary or permanent in duration, depending on unique circumstances.

Creative Compensation Strategies for Struggling Businesses in Crisis

Hiring freezes
This simply means that all hiring of new personnel stops for a period of time. Hiring freezes are often among the first strategies considered by business leaders because it minimizes the impact on the current workforce.
Pay freezes
This is when merit-based pay increases cease and promotions are no longer given. They can be resumed at some point in the future when company leadership feels comfortable giving raises. From the employee perspective, pay freezes are usually preferable to reductions in regular wages or interruptions to payroll. Again, the impact on the current workforce is minimized.
Elimination of perks
Workplace perks are the “extras” that make your workplace unique and enhance your employees’ experience. Sometimes these perks come with expenses for employers, such as:
Ordering in lunch for employees
Paying their membership dues for industry associations or even to the nearby gym
Offering monetary awards or gifts
Unfortunately, in times of financial crisis such expenses are non-essential and can be discontinued.
Adjustment of annual incentives or targets
You have the option to end bonuses that employees can earn – usually on a quarterly, semiannual or annual basis – for meeting predetermined performance criteria. You could also consider merely reducing the percentage of their base salaries that employees are eligible to earn.
Another strategy for compensation during uncertain times is to adjust performance goals or delay setting them until you have more information about how your business will be impacted by an event. Lengthening merit cycles can buy you some time while you make necessary decisions about compensation budgets.
It is best to make changes to annual incentives or targets well before payout for the annual incentive or target would be due. Waiting until the date of the payout to announce that the funds will not be paid can result in significant employee relations concerns.
Pay reductions
This is when regular wages are decreased without altering work schedules. Employees are drawing a lower paycheck for doing the same work and spending the same amount of time on the job. Understandably, it’s an unpopular and painful decision for employers and employees alike.
You have a few options for how to implement this reduction:
Reduce pay by a certain percentage across the board for all employees.
Reduce pay by a certain percentage according to pay grade in organizational hierarchy, job or some other strategic consideration. Usually, higher-wage earners take a larger reduction in pay to preserve lower-wage earners.
Understand the associated legal issues and ensure compliance when applicable and review state and local guidance.
Some states require a specific amount of notice of pay reductions be given to employees so they have adequate time to prepare. Where such laws don’t exist, 30 days’ notice is best practice. At a minimum, you should give employees notice of one pay period.
Some states also require written notice to employees of changes in pay, along with a signed acknowledgement from each employee.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets federal minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for exempt and non-exempt workers.
With any pay reduction for employees, make sure that your business still meets minimum payment requirements:
Minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for non-exempt employees
Minimum salary of $684 per week ($35,568 annually) for exempt employees
If your business operates in a state or municipality with higher minimum wage requirements, the applicable minimum wage is the greater of the state, local or federal minimum wage. Apply overtime accordingly.
An amendment to the FLSA, the Equal Pay Act mandates equal pay for equal work.
All employees who are similarly situated – those who occupy similar roles, in the same department, with similar levels of experience – should earn approximately the same amount.
The law’s original intent was to prevent pay disparity between genders. Today, understanding of the law has expanded to also prohibit unequal payment of employees on the basis of any protected class, such as race or religion. So if you’re implementing a pay reduction, make sure you’re not targeting and adversely impacting an individual or a group without a legitimate business justification. Otherwise, you could face charges of discrimination and find your company the subject of a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) .
Your employees’ new salary should be enough to cover their current benefit contributions. Reductions in pay may cause benefit contributions to become a greater percentage of an employee’s monthly living expenditures, but this doesn’t constitute a mid-year election-change event.
Pay reductions should be processed prospectively, meaning that you shouldn’t change pay for hours that have already been worked.
Let your employees know that they can apply for unemployment. However, be clear that it’s up to the state unemployment agency to examine and approve their claim – and there’s no guarantee their claim will be accepted.
Alternative work schedules
In this strategy, employees are paid less – but they’re also spending fewer hours on the job, too. Common examples of alternative work schedules:
Reduced hours worked each day
Reduced days worked per week
Alternating weeks worked – for example, one week on, one week off
If you have some flexibility about which employees could switch to alternative schedules, consider making it voluntary – at least initially, or until the situation evolves. Otherwise, make determinations based on business need.
Depending on the state and municipality where your business operates, you may need to comply with predictive scheduling laws mandating a minimum notice period for changes in hours, days and times worked.
If no such laws exist, try to give reasonable advance notice so employees have adequate time to prepare. Best practice is 30 days.
Furloughs
Furloughs are a bit different from layoffs. A layoff is permanent, but a furlough means that you intend to retain your employees and bring them back to work within one year. Their employment is still active, and they may retain access to benefits. They’re just not coming in to work or being paid in the meantime. It’s like their job is on hold.
The decision as to which employees should be furloughed is usually based on business need. Although employees don’t lose their jobs, furloughs can present significant, prolonged challenges for your team.

How to Talk to Employees About Compensation During Uncertain Times

It’s hard to deliver unpleasant news to employees – especially when it’s about changes in their pay. Compensation never affects only employees – it also impacts their families and can drive painful adjustments in lifestyle and other tough decisions. It can put people in difficult financial positions that can have long-lasting consequences. That’s why it’s best to deliver unwelcome news in person, if possible. Senior leadership may want to consider being present. These are the people to whom employees look at as their guideposts, especially in times of uncertainty. Their active leadership can be crucial in providing a sense of security and stability.

Throughout this period of disruption, be:

Empathetic
Communicate to employees that you understand the difficulty this decision puts them in. This is a reflection of the crisis the company is facing, not an indictment on their performance or value. Everyone at your company is in this situation together.
Transparent
Be honest about the severity of the situation and clearly explain what the business must do to survive. But take caution to only share what you know for certain. If you don’t have all the answers at that moment or a firm idea when things will return to normal, it’s OK to say so and commit to providing regular updates . Do all you can to prevent rumors from circulating and panic and negativity from festering.
Open
Encourage two-way communication. Make sure your employees know where to go to discuss their concerns.
Methodical in developing and distributing information
Have a process in place for efficiently communicating updates with employees and clarifying inaccuracies. If your workforce is distributed or remote, use a variety of media to reach them, including videoconferencing, company- or department-wide emails and Intranet messages .
Inclusive
Employees want to know what’s going on and how they’ll be impacted. They also want to be part of the solution – after all, they have a pretty big stake in the outcome. Solicit their feedback. Leverage the intellectual capital within your team to brainstorm ideas for how to reduce expenditures while saving jobs. This is also a critical step to obtaining employees’ buy-in to whichever direction you choose. Displaying emotional intelligence in your communications can go a long way toward developing a mindset of resilience in employees.

The Flip Side: Compensation Strategies for Businesses That Continue Operating in Crisis

While some businesses struggle in a crisis, others continue to operate – some at enhanced levels. For example, some companies during the COVID-19 pandemic were in high demand and had to remain open to the public to provide essential services, such as hospitals and grocery stores. These companies often sought ways to reward their employees.

This type of compensation strategy serves the purpose of:

Maintaining adequate staff levels to keep daily business operations intact
Acknowledging employees’ dedication and hard work
Boosting employee morale and engagement

Companies looking to incentivize employees in a crisis can deploy these motivational strategies .

Premium pay
This is pay that’s in addition to employees’ base wage or salary as a “thank you for being here.”
Before implementing premium pay, consider:
The circumstances that justify premium pay
The criteria for qualification
The amount of premium pay employees can receive
General guidelines for administration
Premium pay must be included in the regular rate of pay and in overtime calculations.
Retention bonuses
This is a bonus – either in the form of a lump-sum payment or spread out in multiple payments within a specified time period – to keep employees on board at least until a certain date, and hopefully beyond.
This could be available to all employees, or only to especially high performers. If you opt to reward select employees, document the criteria for earning the bonus and why certain employees were given the bonus. Be consistent in the administration of bonuses to avoid charges of discrimination.
Retention bonuses must be included in the regular rate of pay and in overtime calculations.
Shift differentials
This is when you reward employees who work “off shifts” (evenings, nights and weekends) in the form of extra wages for the inconvenience of coming in to work at a less desirable time.
Non-wage-related incentives
Sometimes it’s not about extra pay – it’s the feeling of importance you give someone.
Some low-cost (or free) ideas to show employees how much you value them:
Distributing gift cards
Providing meals at the office
Offering lunch or some form of face time with senior leadership
Delivering notes of appreciation

Summing It All Up

When a crisis happens, and your business can’t operate normally, permanently losing valued members of your team doesn’t have to be a foregone conclusion to save costs. There are many creative strategies you can implement to adjust compensation during uncertain times to satisfy both goals of keeping employees on board while protecting the financial health of your business.

Of course, in the event that your business is able to continue normal operations in a crisis, there are other compensation strategies you may want to leverage to reward employees for their dedication. Either way, you have a great opportunity to show employees how much they mean to you and how far you’ll go to show your appreciation.

For more information on how to compensate employees during periods of normalcy and crisis alike, download our free magazine: The Insperity guide to benefits and compensation

Resources For Navigating Coronavirus (Updated 3.20)

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 02:09:26 GMT

Resources For Our Startup & Small Business Community

The coronavirus pandemic is having a disproportionately detrimental impact on startups and small business. To help our community of entrepreneurs and business owners better contend with the unique challenges this crisis poses, we are compiling FAQs and other resources in this post, which is a work in progress and will be updated daily.

Startups are the engines of progress. Small businesses are the backbone of America. Stay safe. Stay healthy. And keep persevering.

FAQs:

How do we take advantage of virtual office hours?

During this crisis, The Cannon is focusing on pairing companies with advisors that can have immediate impact on your business. Many of our corporate partners, who are experts in their fields, have stepped up to help. We’ve compiled a list of these partners who have volunteered their time here . Please feel free to reach out to them directly. We have also launched the Cannon Emergency Response Team program, which pulls together groups of advisors to tackle specific issues you’re having collaboratively. For more information on the CERT program, please email our Director of Startup Programs, Kristen Phillips, at kphillips@thecannon.com .

What advice do you have for companies that are fundraising?

Given the state of the public equities markets and the tremendous amount of economic uncertainty right now, many individual and institutional investors will likely be adopting a conservative posture and looking to hold cash. While there will be individuals with liquidity who are wary of public markets and are looking to alternative investments and private capital markets. Overall, however, expect the climate for venture capital to remain tepid for the near future, depending on what industry you’re in and what your company does. The Cannon is working on ways to activate its Investor Network to help provide solutions for startups in need of operating capital. More on this soon. In the meantime, we encourage companies to consider conventional financing (e..g bank debt) as an option. Many government agencies and private financial institutions are offering special programs for startups and small businesses right now. Take advantage of these programs, as well as low interest rates. The Small Business Administration has a lot of valuable information on these programs.

Can my business apply for the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan?

As of the publication of this post, we are still waiting on the SBA to approve the counties in the Houston area. We will update this post when it becomes available, or check with your bank or the SBA periodically.

I suspended the launch of my product for now. How do I explain my strategy to investors and potential investors?

Suspending major launches, events and activities is prudent. Most investors will understand your reasons for doing so, even if your decisions have a negative impact on your company’s progress. The world is at war with coronavirus and COVID-19. Any attempt to try and act like it’s business-as-usual could do more damage to your company than pausing a product launch, and your customers attentions are likely elsewhere right now. Take this time to plan for after things stabilize. How will you emerge from this stronger? How will stay top of mind through this crisis, and ensure you’re relevant in the new normal once it’s over?

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs in the idea stage during this time? Where should they be pausing and how should they be using their time to prepare for the journey ahead?

Time is a critical asset. For idea-stage entrepreneurs, now is the perfect time to step back, challenge your assumptions and stress test your idea. Many startup advisors emphasize speed, but sometimes a pause can be beneficial. It allows you to more fully develop your vision, perfect your business plan and pitch deck and think through how you will go to market in a post-coronavirus economy. In preparing for the post-coronavirus world, it’s important to ask whether or not your offering will be relevant to companies who will be reeling from this latest crisis. Just as 9/11 fundamentally changed how businesses and consumers think and act, so too will this. Does your idea add value in a post-coronavirus world? How will you cut through the noise and establish value and relevance in a world in recovery? Use this time to ask these questions while perfecting your idea, business model and strategy.

Do you have a running list of available talent for those who have been laid off?

The Cannon is currently developing a talent marketplace platform that will serve as a central point for employers and employees impacted by this crisis. In the meantime, please check out some of the other great resources in the Houston area such as HTX Talent .

Cannon Presentations & Resources:

Cannon Emergency Response Teams that provide a small team of advisors to help address specific challenges related to the crisis. For more information email our Director of Startup Programs, Kristen Phillips, at kphillips@thecannon.com .
Subject matter experts supplied by our corporate partners who have volunteered their time to help with areas within their fields. View the list of these experts here .
The Cannon on COVID-19 webinar from 3.19 covering immediate issues startups and small business should be thinking about. Download the PDF here .
Emergency virtual office hours with The Cannon’s Founder Lawson Gow and Managing Director Remington Tonar can be booked here .

Partner Resources:

COVID-19 pandemic: How to prepare your business article from Insperity
Intellectual Property agency and court availability summary from Baker Botts
Baker Tilly’s coronavirus resource center can be accessed here .
Thompson Knight coronavirus legal news updates can be found here .
AcctTwo emergency accounting and budgeting office hours can be booked here .

The Cannon Classroom – Yoga for Entrepreneurs

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 07:57:43 GMT

The Cannon Classroom: Namastartup –
The Importance of Yoga in Entrepreneurship

Powered by NRG Energy

We had an exciting and important new program kick off this week at our flagship location in West Houston – our first weekly yoga class in the health and wellness room! Thanks to long time Cannon Community member Kanthaka, we will now have weekly Yoga classes for Cannon Community members every Tuesday at noon. Houston-based Kanthaka, who has created a platform to find in-home personal trainers and yoga instructors, is one of many health and wellness themed startups that are revolutionizing the industry. But yoga itself doesn’t just have to be for experts; there are a number of both mental and physical benefits to breaking out the mats and diving into into the yoga universe, especially for a traditionally chronically stressed startup founder or team member.

Community

We know that entrepreneurship can be a lonely endeavor. Creating a community to support entrepreneurs is one of the main reasons why we launched The Cannon, and why we continue to explore new ways to create more resources and provide more support to entrepreneurs every day. The camaraderie and team effort of a yoga class creates community in even smaller and closer groups, especially when new participants are struggling and sweating through more challenging programs. Even if you are barely able to get through that first day, there is always going to be an instructor and community surrounding you to help you get over the hump.

A Sense of Progress

One thing we’ve noticed with many of our early stage entrepreneurs is the benefit of positive momentum. The ability to celebrate small wins and promote progress can be a huge mood booster for everyone on the team. Yoga is no different in this regard. Like most physical endeavors, each time you come back you are bound to see at least a small amount of progress. Day 1’s sweat-filled struggles just to get through one vinyasa turn into day 30’s domination of the entire sequence. As flexibility improves, the poses and exercises become easier and more natural, and progress is easy to see, adding a mental benefit in addition to the increased physical flexibility and body health.

Physical and Mental Health

This one is obvious, but yoga can be an excellent exercise for both physical and mental muscles. Entrepreneurs typically spend stress filled marathon days hunched over a laptop with few breaks and even fewer hours of actual sleep. This causes ailments up and down your spine, creating neck and back issues that can last a lifetime if not addressed correctly. Yoga both benefits overall flexibility while also strengthening back and abdominal muscles, which are key to overall spine health. Mentally, even just a 30 minute mental break away from your ever growing email inbox can serve as an important stress relief trigger, while consistent practice has been shown to improve a number of potential mental health issues.

These are just a few of the many benefits that yoga can bring. Kanthaka Founder and CEO Sylvia Kampshoff sums this sentiment up the best when describing why she makes sure to always make time for yoga – “It’s so easy to get trapped only thinking about your company 24/7, but that doesn’t always make you the better founder/CEO. Yoga (and fitness in general) helps me tremendously to put things in perspective and regain the energy to build something amazing and keep inspiring our team.” We hope to see you at our next class!

A Lawful Moment with Baker Botts – IP Agreements 101

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 07:29:39 GMT

A Lawful Moment from Baker Botts

IP Agreements Every Startup Should Know About

As a part of our shared vision around supporting startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, we are thrilled to partner with Baker Botts to share content custom catered to anyone going through the early challenges of starting a business.

Previous Topics

Choosing an Entity Type
Getting Organized After Forming Your Legal Entity
Understanding Intellectual Property
IP Strategy Considerations for New Companies

Topics covered in this video include:

Employment Agreements – Employees and Contractors

IP License Agreements – Customer License Agreements and Cross-Licenses

Corporate Collaborations – Joint Ventures and Joint Development Agreements

Stay tuned for more entrepreneurial themed content throughout the year!

A Lawful Moment from Baker Botts – Intellectual Property Strategies

Mon, 30 Dec 2019 07:38:06 GMT

A Lawful Moment from Baker Botts

IP Strategy Considerations for New Companies

As a part of our shared vision around supporting Houston’s startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, we are thrilled to partner with global law firm Baker Botts to share content custom catered to anyone going through the early challenges of starting a business.

Topics covered in this video include:

How to Identify Patentable Inventions – Difficulty to detect use or design around, Competition, Licensing, and Distinctiveness

Protecting IP Through Trade Secrets – Strategic Commonality, Challenges of Protecting Them, and How to Safeguard

Protecting IP Through Agreements – Confidential Information, IP Ownership, Enforcement

Stay tuned for more entrepreneurial themed content throughout the year!

The Cannon Announces December 9th Open Date for Downtown Location

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 07:46:59 GMT

The Cannon Announces December 9th Opening Date for New Downtown Location

HOUSTON, TX (November 20, 2019) – The Cannon has announced their next location, a 17,000 square foot space on the top floor of The Cannon Tower at Amegy on Main in Downtown Houston, will open on Monday, December 9th. The growing community management firm’s 3rd location follows the successful launch of The Cannon’s 98% occupied 120,000 square foot flagship location in West Houston adjacent to the Energy Corridor in July, and The Cannon – Post Oak just west of The Galleria earlier this year.

Free Parking, 24/7 Access, Events and Programming Among Amenities

The Cannon’s newest location will join Central Houston Inc. and the Downtown Redevelopment Authority’s recently announced Downtown Launch Pad on the 10th floor of the Amegy on Main building, which will be ready next year and serve as the home for global accelerators MassChallenge and gener8or. The building’s 11th floor event space will host entrepreneurial themed programming throughout the year. Additionally, The Cannon will develop an extended system of workspace, resources, and programs devoted to entrepreneurs on additional floors of the building. The first 100 members of The Cannon’s downtown location will receive free parking for the course of their membership and all members will receive access to The Cannon’s growing network of spaces across the city.

“We’ve long known that we will need multiple locations across Houston in order to serve our mission of supporting Houston’s entrepreneurs, and we are thrilled to work with an incredibly forward-thinking organization like Amegy to continue to fulfill this mission. The Cannon Tower at Amegy on Main will be unlike any other space in the city, in which we will be developing a ‘vertical village’ of innovation, programs, and resources, transforming Amegy on Main into a hub for Downtown Houston’s entrepreneurs,” said The Cannon’s Founder and President Lawson Gow.

Amegy Bank Senior Vice President/Manager of Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Kelly Foreman echoed Gow’s excitement. “Amegy Bank is thrilled to be a part of the expansion of the innovation community by offering space, amenities, and business development support. We have a long track record of helping businesses grow, and creating this space for a hub of start-ups and accelerators is yet another way to do just that,” said Foreman.

With the expansion into downtown, The Cannon now has three locations in the greater Houston area, and there is still future growth on the horizon. As Houston continues to solidify its presence at the forefront of innovation, it will require a network of interconnected innovation hubs. The Cannon plans to grow along with the demand by providing accessibility to startup companies and entrepreneurs spread throughout the city of Houston and beyond.

About The Cannon (http://thecannon.com) The Cannon is a community management firm that builds and operates curated entrepreneurial and creative communities across a growing number of locations. Currently, there are over 270 companies in The Cannon community working at The Cannon – Main Campus, a brand new 120K square foot converted warehouse located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8, and at The Cannon – Post Oak, the first of many satellite locations that will allow for even more flexibility and resources for Houston’s entrepreneurs. This December, The Cannon will expand to Downtown Houston and open up its 3rd location – The Cannon Tower at Amegy on Main. The Cannon’s flagship Main Campus location, one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, plans to headquarter a community of over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

About Amegy Bank Amegy Bank, a division of Zions Bancorporation, N.A., is a leading Texas bank with $13 billion in assets and about 1,600 employees. With more than 75 locations across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Central Texas, Amegy is dedicated to serving Texas communities, families and businesses. Founded in 1990, Amegy has a strong tradition of relationship banking, local decision making and financial knowledge. Amegy specializes in banking businesses of all sizes and has the resources to provide financing, treasury management solutions, international banking, as well as other specialized services. Equally important, the bank offers individuals and families a wide range of depository, lending, and mortgage solutions. To learn more about Amegy, visit www.amegybank.com or call 800-287-0301.

The Cannon Expands Leadership Team

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 07:04:07 GMT

The Cannon Expands Leadership Team

HOUSTON, (November 1, 2019) – Jon Lambert, former Global Management Consulting Director at KPMG, joins The Cannon as Chief Executive Officer. In addition to performing the duties of CEO, Lambert will also oversee the day-to-day operations of the rapidly growing community management company.

The Cannon’s Founder, Lawson Gow, will shift to President and will focus on driving partnership growth and business development as The Cannon continues to partner with building owners and operators to open new locations and develop additional strategic and corporate partnerships.

Lambert brings over 30 years of organizational and operational leadership across the public and private sectors. Prior to joining The Cannon, Lambert served in a number of leadership roles with KPMG, including four years as Executive Director of Investment Operations for KPMG Capital, providing oversight to a diverse portfolio of global investment companies. Earlier in his career, Lambert played key roles in the formation and growth of a number of startup entities and M&A-driven rapid growth companies, and will bring a depth of operational experience to The Cannon as it continues to expand to additional locations in 2020.

“I am thrilled to join this exciting and fast-growing company as we continue to create and serve vibrant entrepreneurial communities across Houston and beyond,” said Lambert. “Lawson and his team have done an incredible job taking The Cannon vision and making it real. I’m happy to be part of the positive momentum and energy they have created. There has never been a better time for startups to enter the market, but achieving success has never been more challenging. The Cannon is playing a unique role in helping evolving companies navigate and accelerate their way through this journey.”

Gow echoed Lambert’s excitement for The Cannon’s expansion. “We are lucky to be able to bring someone with Jon’s extensive experience to our company. Our team has done an amazing job getting us this far, and Jon’s background and operational expertise will be a difference maker to help take us to the next level.”

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a community management firm that builds and operates curated entrepreneurial and creative communities across a growing number of locations. Currently, there are over 250 companies in The Cannon community working at The Cannon – Main Campus, a brand new 120K square foot converted warehouse located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8, and at The Cannon – Post Oak, the first of many satellite locations that will allow for even more flexibility and resources for Houston’s entrepreneurs. This December, The Cannon will expand to Downtown Houston and open up its 3rd location – The Cannon Tower at Amegy on Main. The Cannon’s flagship Main Campus location, one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, plans to headquarter a community of over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

Scary Stories – Startup Edition

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 06:57:33 GMT

Scary Stories – Startup Edition

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After celebrating Halloween at The Cannon this week, we felt like it made sense to dig into some of the scarier parts of starting a company. Obviously there are many, from the financial challenges of leaving something that is likely mostly stable for the potentially volatile future of a startup, to knowing that the large majority of startups don’t succeed and all of the pressure that comes with that knowledge. We asked a few of our founders to dive into what they thought were the scariest parts of starting a company, and we hope these testimonials help all founders understand they aren’t alone in the fears that accompany taking the startup leap.

Brooks Powell, Founder & CEO of Cheers

“I think the scariest part of starting a business is the always impending sense of: “Can I get this all figured out before I run out of time, money, friends, trust, etc.?” Building a business takes a giant commitment, and with that, must come with denying another things. It’s hard to make time for friends, family, yourself, etc. Eventually, there’s easier periods that come and go in a business’ lifecycle that let you recharge, reconnect with people, and refill the game clock (time and money in the company). However… those first few years until the business gets efficient/established enough to start standing on its own two feet without you there… well you know, it creates some grey hairs. (And not just for the founder… but for the whole early founding team.)”

Leesha Bush, Founder & CEO – Get Social

“The scariest part of starting Get Social was taking the first step to owning a business. Leaving the stability of Corporate America and into the unknown of Entrepreneurship was frightening. Being a Founder is scary but totally worth it!”

David Downing, Co-Founder and Chief Chipmonk – Chipmonk Baking

“I’d say one of the scariest parts is thinking about how much needs to happen to take an idea and to turn it into a national brand. Literally thousands of to-dos, many of which I have no idea how to tackle and even more that may require simple luck. It can be overwhelming to think about, but the cure is to just take action. Figure out things you can accomplish for the day or for the week, make a list, and get doing. The universe takes notice of work and often rewards it, even if you don’t necessarily know where it’s going to lead.”

The Cannon Celebrates Grand Opening

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 07:53:07 GMT

The Cannon Celebrates Grand Opening of Flagship Campus

HOUSTON, (October 25, 2019) – To celebrate the completion of its 120,0000 square foot flagship facility located at 1334 Brittmoore Road, The Cannon hosted its Grand Opening on Thursday, October 24.

The lively event featured several activations throughout the new building, including programming at The Cannon’s “Mental Break Stations” featuring a puppy pen and massage corner, music and games in the courtyard, a live fundraising event from LetsLaunch, and the signing of the Grand Opening Mural to document and celebrate the occasion.

During the celebration, The Cannon’s Founder and CEO, Lawson Gow, conducted an official ribbon-cutting and led a grand toast thanking partners and supporters for their contributions in building the entrepreneurial community over the past 18 months. Gow also announced that with over 250 companies in The Cannon’s current community and only three of its 131 offices remaining, office space at the main campus is nearly sold out. Further, in celebration of the grand opening, The Cannon has invited startups, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to join The Cannon’s community as an Open Member before November 1st to receive a complimentary first month.

“It’s been incredible watching The Cannon come to life since it was a drawing on a whiteboard. There are far too many people to thank – from the first community members that joined us in The Waiting Room more than 18 months ago, the numerous partners, investors, ecosystem members and resources that have helped us get where we are today, all the way to our new members who patiently waited for the space to open. Each person had a major part in getting us where we are today. We knew that Houston was in desperate need of a resource like this and are thankful to be able to build this community and fulfill our mission of supporting Houston’s entrepreneurs.” - The Cannon Founder & CEO Lawson GowNew

The success of the main campus located in the emerging Founders District of Houston is only a starting point for The Cannon. As the organization continues to establish itself as a leader in building entrepreneurial communities, The Cannon team now looks to the opening of additional locations throughout the city of Houston. The Cannon – Post Oak at 675 Bering is the first of many satellite locations and, announced during the event, a new downtown location will be opening before the end of the year.

Visit http://thecannon.com to learn more about The Cannon or book a tour today.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a community management firm that builds and operates curated entrepreneurial and creative communities across a growing

number of locations. Currently, there are over 250 companies in The Cannon community working at The Cannon – Main Campus, a brand new 120K square foot converted warehouse located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8,and at The Cannon – Post Oak, the first of many satellite locations that will allow for even more flexibility and resources for Houston’s entrepreneurs.The Cannon’s flagship Main Campus location, one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, plans to headquarter a community of over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

The Cannon Classroom – Designing Your Design Strategy | The Cannon

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 07:13:56 GMT

The Cannon Classroom – Designing Your Design Strategy

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Brad True, Managing Director

Developing an effective brand in the early stages of a company, especially if the initial group of founders & employees lack a background in graphic design and/or branding, can be a key challenge for a new business. And, even if the early founders and employees do have a design background, it can be tough to dedicate the time and resources typically required to do great work in the creative space while also balancing the other key needs of a company just getting off the ground.

Here at The Cannon, we bootstrapped our way through our initial design work through various members of our team (as well as a lot of Youtube and Udemy videos) before we were lucky enough to find our Community Lead, Daron, who currently serves both as our lead designer as well as a key member of our Community Management team and is the key architect behind the amazing mural that overlooks our open space.

However, for those without the resources and backgrounds to either manage creative work internally or bring someone on full-time, there are thankfully a few effective options that can help connect companies needing design help with freelancers looking for project-based work.

Upwork – http://upwork.com

Founded following a merger of oDesk and Elance in 2014, Upwork is now known as the largest freelance exchange market in the world. Unlike Fiverr, which aims to commoditize and break out each project into a gig that can be purchased on a virtual market, Upwork allows buyers to issue full RFQ’s for projects and invite freelancers on the platforms to bid on those projects, placing an emphasis on pairing the buyer with the right freelancer. Each agreement can range from a one-off project to a much larger campaign, which also allows Upwork to service clients that range from SMBs to Enterprise. Finally, since it’s geared towards longer-term projects, Upwork’s in-platform file sharing system can be very beneficial for streamlining communication of drafts, feedback, setting milestones and payment following the completion of the project.

Fiverr – https://www.fiverr.com/

Founded in 2010, Fiverr was one of the original platforms created to help connect freelancers with people and businesses of all types looking for freelance services. Fiverr’s process begins with freelancers advertising their skills and specifying the jobs they want to start working on. The buyer can then search through available and interested freelancers and make a decision to buy a “gig” from there on a one-off, project basis. Given the ease of use and relatively low cost (gigs start at just $5), Fiverr can be an effective option for one-off jobs like logo or flyer design, and also allows a

project to move quickly where needed due to the sheer volume of freelancers to choose from.

Traditional Marketing Agency

Regardless of where you’ve chosen to base your business, there are more than likely a number of traditional marketing and design agencies that can prove to be an effective option for early stage companies and small businesses. While agencies can potentially be on the higher end of the price spectrum for an early stage startup compared to Fiverr or Upwork, there is a large benefit derived from the consistency of working with one agency and team throughout the process. Additionally, in many cases, agencies give you access to a team of experienced creative directors and designers, along with a specific project manager that can help your work stay on track. Finally, many agencies also have access to teams that can help in other areas of marketing like media buying, SEO, strategy, digital media, web design, PR and more.

While design and branding may not seem as important in the early stages of a company could be just trying to close that next investment, sell their first product, or make the next payroll, delaying professional design work can cause large issues as the company continues to scale, potentially putting your brand at a disadvantage that can be expensive and time consuming to dig out of. Outsourcing this piece may not be the right solution for everyone, but when it works it can allow founders to focus on key early operational needs while not sacrificing the brand and external facing elements of the business.

A Lawful Moment from Baker Botts – Getting Organized

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 07:59:56 GMT

A Lawful Moment from Baker Botts

Getting Organized After Forming Your Legal Entity

As a part of our shared vision around supporting Houston’s startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, we are thrilled to partner with Baker Botts to share content custom catered to anyone going through the early challenges of starting a business.

Last month, we covered key tips for forming your legal entity. This month, we’ll dive into the next steps once that’s formed. Topics covered include:

Topics covered in this video include:

Corporate Formalities – Adopting Bylaws, Electing Officers, Indemnification and Insurance, Minute Books, and State Filings

Financial Matters – Applying for an EIN, Setting Your Fiscal Year, and Bank Accounts

Remaining Organized – Managing Your Cap Table, Adopting Equity Incentives, and Building Data Rooms

Stay tuned for more entrepreneurial themed content throughout the year!

The Cannon and Impact Hub Houston Partner to Expand Diversity-Centered Programming in Houston’s Startup Ecosystem

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 03:49:17 GMT

The Cannon and Impact Hub Houston Partner to Expand Diversity-Centered Programming in Houston’s Startup Ecosystem

HOUSTON, (August 27, 2019) – The Cannon and Impact Hub Houston are excited to announce their new partnership to create more inclusive and diversity-centered programs across the Greater Houston area.

Impact Hub Houston, a member of the global Impact Hub network—the world’s largest community dedicated to helping social entrepreneurs create impact at scale—aims to make Houston a role model for how the world solves its most pressing issues. With collaboration as a cornerstone, Impact Hub Houston and The Cannon will work together to deliver events that connect and empower diverse changemakers, social entrepreneurs, and impact supporters across the Greater Houston area.

The Cannon recently welcomed nearly 500 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, small businesses and service providers into their community with the opening of their newly-constructed 120K sq. ft. Main Campus in West Houston in late July. Lawson Gow, Founder and CEO of The Cannon, notes, “One of Houston’s best differentiating qualities is that we are truly a melting pot. We want our community to reflect the amazing diversity across our city, so we have to move beyond simply discussing diversity and work to create an environment where innovation can thrive and real change can happen. We are confident Impact Hub will be the perfect partner to bring those aspects to our community.”

Grace Rodriguez, CEO and Executive Director of Impact Hub Houston, shares, “Over the past few years, Lawson and I have brainstormed how we could work together to connect and grow our region’s innovation ecosystem, and demonstrate how organizations can evolve from competition to true collaboration. I’m so excited that those talks have developed into this partnership: Through The Cannon and Impact Hub Houston, we’ll be able to effectively ‘meet people where they are’ geographically, socially, and culturally, helping diverse entrepreneurs and startups at the myriad intersections of place, purpose, demographics, psychographics, and business growth stages. We at Impact Hub Houston look forward to doing more good with the great team at The Cannon!”

Impact Hub Houston will establish a #PopHUB at The Cannon – Main Campus and provide programming there, at The Cannon – Post Oak just west of the Galleria, and at additional new locations as they open. Members of each organization will also receive access to both organizations’ locations across Houston.

To kick off the partnership, the organizations will host a joint AMA panel and reception at The Cannon on September 11, 2019, followed by Impact Hub Houston’s Social Entrepreneurship Meetup. Both events intend to bring their communities and the general public together, as all are invited to come learn more about the organizations, the partnership, and what this and future collaborations will mean for Houston.

About The Cannon ( https://thecannon.com )

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently, there are over 200 companies in The Cannon community working at The Cannon – Main Campus, a brand new 120K square foot converted warehouse that is one of the largest coworking and offices spaces in the world, and at The Cannon – Post Oak, the first of many satellite locations that will allow for even more flexibility and resources for Houston’s entrepreneurs. The Cannon plans to headquarter over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, and will be surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

About Impact Hub Houston ( https://houston.impacthub.net )

Impact Hub Houston is a locally rooted, globally connected, nonprofit startup development organization that aims to make Houston a role model for how the world solves its most pressing issues. A member of the Impact Hub global network—the world’s largest community recognized by the United Nations for accelerating entrepreneurial solutions towards measurable and scalable impact for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—Impact Hub Houston intentionally designs places, platforms and programs to build an inclusive innovation ecosystem and empower diverse changemakers, social entrepreneurs, and impact supporters to create the change they wish to see in the world.

Fantasy Sports Startups Score Success

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 04:17:34 GMT

Fantasy Sports Startups Score Success

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Millions of football fans across the globe will kick off their fantasy football seasons this week with the official start of each league – the draft. And where there are exciting, fast-growing and innovative industries, startups built for those industries are always surely to follow. Here’s a quick look at three exciting new startups that are changing up an industry that has gone from friends mailing newspaper box scores back and forth to each other to recently being valued at over $7 billion and holding a 24 hour fantasy football marathon on ESPN.

Win-Win – http://trywinwin.com

A Cannon Community member that recently returned to Houston from Silicon Valley, Win-Win is combining the concept of fantasy sports with the world of charitable giving. Fans compete in tournaments (i.e. March Madness Brackets, Playoff Pick-ems, and more) hosted by their favorite athletes, while at the same time choosing to donate to a charity or foundation specifically selected by that athlete.

Following the tournament, fans can win a full selection of prizes, ranging from VIP experiences and meet and greets, all the way down to autographed items and customized video messages or social media shoutouts. Most importantly – the platform gives fans the opportunity to team up with their favorite athlete and raise money for a great cause.

DraftKings – http://DraftKings.com

Three former Vistaprint employees debuted DraftKings in 2012, with its first offering launching with a one-on-one baseball competition at the start of Major League Baseball’s opening day that spring. Just three months later, DraftKings immediately raised $1.4 million from a variety of investors, and then eventually even raised an undisclosed amount from Major League Baseball in 2013, who became the first major professional sports league to invest in fantasy sports.

DraftKings platform has evolved since that launch, growing from one baseball competition to daily and weekly fantasy sports contest covering a full spectrum of sports and providing tournaments for millions of daily users. With a number of competitors in the daily fantasy world growing, including FanDuel who actually started three years before DraftKings, the company has felt the need to grow and explore new markets and verticals. Last year, DraftKings took advantage of New Jersey’s recent relaxation of online sports gambling, launching an online sportsbook and preparing to move into any other states who join the trend of reducing gambling regulations through a number of key strategic hires with experience in that industry.

The Fantasy Life App – http://fantasylifeapp.com

Matthew Berry, potentially the most notable and famous fantasy football analyst in the world, launched The Fantasy Life App with one main goal – level the playing field between everyday players and experts like himself. The mobile-based application holds a number of features that can help drive the everyday fan to fantasy football success, including up-to-date injury and lineup alerts, an easily managed polling system for those tough start/sit decisions, an intuitive message board for trade discussions. And, with a successful recent Series A that included investors like Berry, MLB stars Josh Donaldson, Evan Longoria and David Price, NASCAR’s Kyle Busch, plus early stage investment firms SK Ventures and Upstage Ventures, the Fantasy Life App is set up to lead the market in fan-focused fantasy content for a long time.

A Lawful Moment from Baker Botts - Choosing an Entity Type

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 04:44:55 GMT

A Lawful Moment from Baker Botts

Choosing an Entity Type

Topics covered in this video include:

Types of Entities – Sole Proprietorships, Partnerships, Corporations, and Limited Liability Companies

Key Considerations in Choosing & Entity Type – Limiting Personal Liability, Management & Control, Ability to Raise Capital, Handling Business and Operational Changes

Where To Form Your Entity – Selecting a “Home” Jurisdiction and Qualifications to do Business as a “Foreign” Entity

Stay tuned for more entrepreneurial themed content throughout the year!

Baker Botts Joins Houston’s Entrepreneurial Campus at The Cannon

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 04:55:45 GMT

Baker Botts Joins Houston’s Entrepreneurial Campus at The Cannon

[Houston, Texas | August 6, 2019] The Cannon, a 120,000 square foot startup co-working space and entrepreneurial hub in Houston, has announced a strategic partnership with law firm Baker Botts L.L.P., days after its completed construction date.

Leveraging its startup and venture capital experience in Silicon Valley, Baker Botts will be a valued resource for early-stage companies and small businesses at The Cannon’s Main Campus, just north of City Centre on the west side of Houston.

“We are thrilled to have this fundamental strength and resource in an area of business [legal] that can be confusing and sometimes debilitating for entrepreneurs,” said Maigen Berg, Managing Director of Cannon Ventures.

“We are excited to educate The Cannon’s entrepreneurs on the nuances of formation, venture capital financing, protecting their technology and data, and a range of other business and legal issues unique to startups, which can help them succeed,” added Baker Botts partner Natasha Khan, who is co-leading the partnership for the firm.

The strategic partnership will stage a year-long platform of educational programming, innovation, and problem-solving for startups, entrepreneurs, investors and innovators across the entrepreneurial stack. Baker Botts will also provide in-person access to startups to discuss a range of legal and business considerations.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently, there are over 175 companies in The Cannon community working at The Cannon – Main Campus, a brand new 120K square foot converted warehouse that is one of the largest coworking and offices spaces in the world, and The Cannon – Post Oak, the first of many satellite locations that will allow for even more flexibility and resources for Houston’s entrepreneurs. The Cannon – Main Campus plans to be home to over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, and will be surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

About Baker Botts L.L.P.

Baker Botts is an international law firm of approximately 725 lawyers practicing throughout a network of 14 offices around the globe. Based on the firm’s experience and knowledge of its clients’ industries, it is recognized as a leading firm in the energy and technology sectors. Throughout its 179-year history, Baker Botts has provided creative and effective legal solutions for clients while demonstrating an unrelenting commitment to excellence. Lawyers in Baker Botts’ Emerging Company and Venture Capital (ECVC) practice advise technology and other emerging growth companies from formation through rounds of venture capital or other private equity financing, initial public offering, sale or merger and beyond. The ECVC practice also works closely with colleagues from the Intellectual Property and other departments to deliver creative and specialized solutions for clients’ needs. For more information, please visit bakerbotts.com.

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please contact Brad True, Managing Director of The Cannon at btrue@thecannonhouston.com or 713-332-1299.

Modernize Your Move

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 05:03:27 GMT

Modernize Your Move

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It’s move-in week for us at The Cannon, and as we transition into one of the largest coworking spaces in the world with more than 150 companies and nearly 400 members of our amazing community, we thought it might be a great opportunity to highlight a few startups that could potentially help you out the next time you decide to make a move.

Spruce – http://getspruce.com

Houston’s own newly-rebranded Spruce is mostly known for their seamless apartment cleaning platform, but don’t overlook just how helpful this can be the next time you move. Started in downtown Houston just a few years ago as Apartment Butler, Spruce has recently raised a $3 million investment round and has quickly grown into a suite of other services, now including dog-walking, dry cleaning, and other chores that continuously become even more challenging for busy professionals, as well as launching into a new market with offices opening up in Denver. Spruce’s move-out cleaning option is a lifesaver on moving day, even offering up a guarantee that you’ll pass your move-out inspection.

Bellhops – https://www.getbellhops.com/

Currently headquartered in the surprisingly fast-growing entrepreneurial hub of Chattanooga, TN, Bellhops helps customers arrange moves of all shapes and sizes, from across the street to across the country. Started in an Auburn dorm room in 2011, Bellhops has followed a somewhat standard practice in the successful startup playbook – find an industry plagued by delays, unexpected costs, and an unfulfilling customer experience, and bring it up to speed utilizing the first tech-enabled moving platform and a distinct focus on customer service. With online scheduling, predictive pricing, and ratings for your movers that you can check out leading up to your move, there’s no question that Bellhops has created a way to make moving as simple and stress free as possible.

Sharebee – http://app.sharebee.io

Does your move include a transition period? Or maybe you’re downsizing your home or apartment and moving into a smaller space? If so, one of the biggest challenges can be finding the best option for temporary storage. While there are certainly self storage locations all over most major metropolitan areas, the sheer volume of options, rates and locations can be overwhelming, and the price can add even more cost to an already expensive move.

Enter Sharebee, a peer-to-peer platform for self-storage. Sharebee lets users turn their vacant space into storage, offering up new options for anyone in need of short or long term storage. On average, renters have found that space secured on Sharebee is 60% cheaper than traditional self-storage.

Long established industries are being modernized thanks to hard-working entrepreneurs around the country, and moving is no different. These three just scratch the surface, but be sure to check around for more innovative options next time you are ready for a move!

The Cannon Main Campus is Now Open!

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 04:46:41 GMT

The Cannon’s Houston Entrepreneurial Campus Now Open!

HOUSTON, (July 23, 2019) – The Cannon is thrilled to announce the opening of its 120,000 square foot flagship location on the west side of Houston. A grand opening celebration will take place in September.

There are currently over 150 companies in The Cannon community that will be moving into the new building. The space features a mixed layout of open desks and designated office space to accommodate both startups and small businesses of different sizes, stages and industries.

Joining The Cannon in their new space will be a full suite of entrepreneurially focused partners. These partners include Cannon Ventures, an Investor Network and hands-on operational task force for startups, Capital Factory, who will be housing both their Houston-based Accelerator companies and Mentor Network at The Cannon, and many more resources and service providers specifically selected to support The Cannon’s growing community

“Our team has worked tirelessly to build this community over the past eighteen months, and we are incredibly proud to see our vision coming to life with the completion of this building. The work isn’t over though, and The Cannon will continue to grow our network of resources and locations to cater to the needs of Houston’s growing entrepreneurial community,” said The Cannon’s Founder and CEO, Lawson Gow.

“It has been incredible to watch The Cannon’s exceptional growth from inception two years ago to the vibrant community they’ve built today. We can’t wait to see the progress first-hand as The Cannon continues to establish themselves as a leader in building entrepreneurial communities,” added Mark Toon, Managing Partner of Work America Capital, the Houston-based investment fund who led The Cannon’s initial fundraising round and that will also be joining The Cannon’s community in the new building.

Accessible 24/7, The Cannon features numerous amenities, including a 16-TV video wall, movie theater, showers, outdoor courtyard, and on-demand snacks, coffee and beer, in addition to more standard office space needs such as printers, scanners, and mail services. Professional and social events are organized on an ongoing basis for the community, and multiple spaces are available for private event hosting for both members and non-members.

Learn more about The Cannon or book a tour today at http://thecannon.com .

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently, there are over 150 companies in The Cannon community working in the 120K square foot converted warehouse that is one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, and The Cannon – Post Oak, the first of many satellite locations that will allow The Cannon to provide even more flexibility and resources for entrepreneurial communities. The Cannon’s Main Campus plans to be home to over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, and will be surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

To learn more: https://thecannon.com

Shoot Receives Second Annual Insperity Scholarship

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 06:24:13 GMT

The Cannon Announces Recipient of Second Annual Insperity Innovation Scholarship

[Houston, Texas | July 16, 2019] The Cannon, a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub, today announced the recipient of its second annual Insperity® Innovation Scholarship. Shoot, a one-year-old marketplace designed to improve the efficiency and experience of booking photographers, videographers and photography-related experiences is this year’s recipient. The scholarship provides Shoot with a six-month Dedicated Desk membership at The Cannon.

Shoot, led by co-founders Simbai Mutandiro and Alina Merida, has already launched its beta platform ( http://shootwiithshoot.com ) and is in the process of launching the next version as they wrap up final classes at the University of Houston.

“Simbai and Alina represent exactly the kind of self-starting founders we want to have in our growing community, getting Shoot off the ground while balancing a full course load at the University of Houston,” said The Cannon’s Founder & CEO Lawson Gow. “We can’t wait to welcome them into our community and work with them through the exciting early adventures of entrepreneurship.”

“Our relationship with The Cannon and the Insperity Innovation Scholarship are part of our initiative to help startups become successful more quickly by connecting and collaborating with like-minded individuals,” said Larry Shaffer, Insperity Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “We congratulate Shoot on receiving this scholarship and wish the co-founders continued success in furthering their entrepreneurial dream.”

Mutandiro and Merida are looking forward to joining The Cannon’s community and taking Shoot to new heights. “Houston is on the cutting edge of technology innovation, and we’re honored to be working out of one of the places that will come to be known as an innovation launch pad,” said Mutandiro. Merida added, “Outside of the excitement of taking Shoot to the next level, I am personally thrilled to be in a place where so many strong and educated women can have a place to break ceilings and kick in the doors of the tech world.”

Houston-based companies with three to eight employees were eligible to apply for the Insperity Innovation Scholarship. The other three finalists, Delfin , Social Chains and SOTAOG will also receive Open Desk memberships at The Cannon for six months. EllieGrid , last year’s recipient, will be staying in The Cannon community and moving into the completed Cannon.

Shoot will begin its residence at The Cannon when it opens later this month.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently, there are over 135 companies in The Cannon community working in a 20K square foot temporary building next door to the future home of The Cannon—a 120K square foot converted warehouse that will become one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, or The Cannon’s new “off-campus” location just west of The Galleria. The Cannon plans to be home to over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, and will be surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please visit http://thecannon.com or call 713-332-1299.

About Insperity

Insperity, a trusted advisor to America’s best businesses for more than 33 years, provides an array of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. Insperity® Business Performance Advisors offer the most comprehensive suite of products and services available in the marketplace. Insperity delivers administrative relief, better benefits, reduced liabilities and a systematic way to improve productivity through its premier Workforce Optimization® solution. Additional company offerings include Traditional Payroll and Human Capital Management, Time and Attendance, Performance Management, Organizational Planning, Recruiting Services, Employment Screening, Expense Management, Retirement Services and Insurance Services. Insperity business performance solutions support more than 100,000 businesses with over 2 million employees. With 2018 revenues of $3.8 billion, Insperity operates in 76 offices throughout the United States. For more information, visit https://www.insperity.com .

The Cannon, Thompson and Knight Announce Partnership

Tue, 02 Jul 2019 06:19:45 GMT

Thompson & Knight Lands at The Cannon to Bring Resources to Houston Entrepreneurs

[Houston, Texas | July 2, 2019] The Cannon, a 120,000 square foot startup co-working space and entrepreneurial hub in Houston, has announced a strategic partnership with the Texas-based law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP.

With more than 300 attorneys, the firm will serve as an on-site legal resource to The Cannon’s entrepreneurially focused community. This strategic partnership was established to bridge the information gap between new disruptive technologies and seasoned industry experience and make The Cannon’s Houston-based startups the most strategic and successful early-stage companies possible.

“Thompson & Knight is pleased to partner with Houston-based entrepreneurs who are building the innovation, services, and technological platforms of the very near future,” said Mark M. Sloan, Managing Partner of Thompson & Knight. “We will offer our experience in the issues common to start-up businesses, including intellectual property, technology, corporate, labor, and other areas of counsel that will help further the goals of these pioneering companies.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with an incredibly accomplished law firm like Thompson & Knight to continue in our mission of surrounding our community with all of the best and most qualified resources they need to grow their businesses,” added Brad True, Managing Director at The Cannon.

Staffed by attorneys in a variety of practices, Thompson & Knight will maintain an office in The Cannon, providing a consistent presence for The Cannon community in addition to legal resources, strategic programming, and business-enhancing efforts.

About Thompson & Knight

Established in 1887 in Dallas, Thompson & Knight is a full-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys in offices across Texas and affiliations around the world. The Firm is particularly recognized for its historic contributions, depth of experience, and capabilities on behalf of the energy industry, extending to significant expertise in the areas of litigation, private equity, taxation, finance, technology, and related practices. Thompson & Knight embraces a culture of respect and collaboration, together with innovative partnerships that serve the interests and needs of the Firm’s clients, the legal profession, and individual communities.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently, there are over 135 companies in The Cannon community working in a 20K square foot temporary building next door to the future home of The Cannon—a 120K square foot converted warehouse that will become one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, or The Cannon’s new “off-campus” location just west of The Galleria. The Cannon plans to be home to over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, and will be surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

If you would like more information about The Cannon, please contact Brad True, Managing Director of The Cannon at btrue@thecannonhouston.com or 713-332-1299.

The Cannon, Capital Factory Announce Partnership

Thu, 23 May 2019 05:14:46 GMT

The Cannon and Capital Factory Partner to Accelerate Houston Startups

HOUSTON, (May 23, 2019) – The Cannon, an innovation hub for Houston’s entrepreneurs, has partnered with Texas-based tech accelerator Capital Factory. The partnership gives Capital Factory Accelerator companies based in Houston a local office to operate from for their first 6 months. The Cannon will create a dedicated Capital Factory-branded space for companies to work from and provide Cisco Webex video conferencing equipment for connecting to remote mentors. Capital Factory members will gain access to The Cannon’s entrepreneurial community of mentors, resources, and fundraising opportunities and The Cannon’s members will gain access to the Capital Factory’s network.

Capital Factory to add two Houston-based positions

As part of their commitment to the Houston market, Capital Factory will hire a venture associate to assist with finding new Houston-based companies to join their Accelerator program and prospective investments for Capital Factory’s venture fund. The fund has invested in several Houston-based start-ups such as Apartment Butler, Groupraise, Hypergiant, and Zenus Biometrics in 2018.

Capital Factory will also hire a mentor coordinator to expand its mentor network to Houston in partnership with The Cannon. Utilizing the Union.vc software platform, members from both communities will be able to seamlessly access mentors and fundraising opportunities from both communities. Other Houston-based entrepreneurial communities and tech hubs are also invited to join.

“We’re thrilled that this partnership with Capital Factory will connect Houston startups with more resources,” stated Lawson Gow, Founder and CEO of The Cannon. “These companies will have a chance to join an incredibly valuable network, and in return, Capital Factory will have the opportunity to invest in Houston’s booming startup scene and diverse talent pool."

Capital Factory will host regular entrepreneurial-themed events at The Cannon, open to the entire Houston startup community, building on the expertise they have developed in creating exceptional entrepreneurial communities in Austin and, more recently, in Dallas with the opening of Capital Factory in partnership with The Dallas Entrepreneur Center.

“The Texas Startup Manifesto is about leveraging the entire Texas startup ecosystem while honoring the unique contributions of each city and region,” said Gordon Daugherty, co-founder & President of Capital Factory. “We can’t deliver on that vision in Houston without the help of local partners like The Cannon and their collaborative attitude really sets them apart.”

Partnership already paying off for Houston startups

Aaron Knape, Co-Founder and CEO of sEATz, a Houston-based startup that gives fans the ability to have products delivered to them at events via their smartphone, has already seen the benefits of the partnership. “The Cannon and Capital Factory’s partnership has proven to be a game-changing resource for us, giving our team access to Capital Factory’s incredible Accelerator platform while allowing our company to remain in Houston and continue to receive all of the benefits of The Cannon’s growing entrepreneurial community,” said Knape.

The Cannon will continue to partner with like-minded businesses in order to better serve its mission of supporting Houston startups.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently, there are over 125 companies in The Cannon community working in a 20K square foot temporary building next door to the future home of The Cannon—a 120K square foot converted warehouse that will become one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, or The Cannon’s new “off-campus” location just west of The Galleria. The Cannon plans to be home to over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, and will be surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

To learn more: https://thecannon.com

About Capital Factory

Capital Factory is the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas, the best state for startups. Last year more than 200,000 entrepreneurs, programmers and designers gathered day and night, in-person and online for meetups, classes and coworking. We meet the best entrepreneurs in Austin and introduce them to their first investors, employees, mentors and customers. According to Pitchbook, Capital Factory has been the most active investor in Texas since 2013. For more information, please visit CapitalFactory.com or follow @CapitalFactory on Twitter.

About Union.vc

Union empowers startup communities around the world. Our platform provides entrepreneurs, startup hubs and corporate innovation teams with the best resources, networks and data architecture to transform their operations regardless of location. To learn more, visit Union.vc .

Insperity Innovation Scholarship Returns!

Wed, 15 May 2019 06:35:51 GMT

The ‘Insperity Innovation Scholarship’ Returns to The Cannon

Insperity to sponsor one Houston startup or small business with free workspace for six months in the soon-to-be completed Cannon building.

Houston, TX: The Cannon, a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub in west Houston, today announced it is continuing its relationship with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources (HR) and business performance solutions for America’s best businesses, to launch another round of the Insperity Innovation Scholarship.

The winning Houston-area company will receive a free dedicated desk membership inside The Cannon for six months, providing an opportunity to connect with mentors, industry experts, entrepreneurs, writers, freelancers, developers, creatives and business professionals.

“We are so excited that Insperity has chosen to bring back this year’s Innovation Scholarship and will be rewarding another lucky Houston area startup with space in our brand new building,” said The Cannon’s Founder & CEO Lawson Gow, continuing “as one of our original partners, we are looking forward to another year of working with Insperity to fulfill a mission that we share – providing Houston area startups with all the resources they need to succeed and establish Houston as an exceptional place to start your business.”

Additional Information:

The application period for this year’s Insperity Innovation Scholarship is May 15 through June 5, and the finalists will be notified on June 7. Finalists will pitch their company to a panel of judges on June 13, and the winner will receive a free dedicated workspace inside The Cannon starting on July 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019.
Companies based in the Houston area with 3-8 employees are eligible.
For more information or to apply for the scholarship, visit thecannonhouston.com/Insperity
For additional questions, please contact Kristen Phillips at kphillips@thecannonhouston.com

The Cannon and LetsLaunch Live Fundraising Opportunity!

Sat, 11 May 2019 02:32:48 GMT

The Cannon and LetsLaunch Live Fundraising Opportunity!

Want to be a part of something big? Something that has never been done before in Houston? The Cannon and LetsLaunch are giving a few select businesses the opportunity to be part of a live fund raising round as part of The Cannon’s Grand Opening party this Summer. The application details are listed below, and the the deadline to apply is at May 24th and 5pm CST.

What is live fundraising? Where everyone in a room or at an event has the opportunity to invest in your business real time. This is done under crowdfunding regulations with our partner LetsLaunch.
Why would it be cool to do? You would be a part of The Cannon’s grand opening event and everyone in attendance at that event (estimated at over a 1000 people) would have the opportunity to invest in your business. Not only would it be great to promote your business but we hope it will be a great way to raise funds.
What do I need to do to live fundraise at The Cannon’s event? Apply here before May 24th 2019. If you are selected to the next stage you will need to agree to complete your company’s profile on LetsLaunch by 15th June 2019. We will then select the final participants prior to the event.
Do I need to be fundraising already? No, but you do need to know the terms you would like to fundraise on, so it helps if you’ve already started the process. If you are already fundraising, this campaign can be done alongside your current raise.
How much can I raise? We are looking for businesses that want to raise up to $100K via crowdfunding at The Cannon Grand Opening. This can be in total or in addition to funds that are already being raised elsewhere so this can be a great way to supplement any ongoing raise.

If you would like more information on how crowdfunding works please visit LetsLaunch’s info page or contact Rhian Davies ( rdavies@letslaunch.com ).

LetsLaunch & The Cannon Partner to Support Houston Startups

Tue, 07 May 2019 02:37:58 GMT

LetsLaunch & The Cannon Partner to Support Houston Startups

The Cannon is excited to announce a strategic partnership with LetsLaunch. The Cannon, a coworking ecosystem for Houston’s entrepreneurs, small businesses, freelancers, and creatives, is creating a campus dedicated to entrepreneurship that is designed to help businesses thrive. LetsLaunch is an equity crowdfunding website that allows anyone to invest in private businesses, while providing a new alternative for business owners to raise capital.

New Crowdfunding Tool for The Cannon Community

The partnership provides Cannon Ventures, an investor network and venture studio, with a tool to allow smaller investments and non-accredited investors to participate in Cannon Ventures investment opportunities. Prior to crowdfunding platforms such as LetsLaunch, only “accredited” investors, meaning individuals with a net worth excluding their primary residence of at least $1 million, were allowed to invest in private businesses. Only 3% of the U.S. population falls into this category, leaving the vast majority of the population unable to invest in private businesses. Lawson Gow, Founder & CEO of The Cannon and Cannon Ventures, said “Our partnership with LetsLaunch creates a mechanism for all Cannon Ventures investors – large or small – to invest in promising private businesses throughout Houston”.

At the same time, the partnership offers Cannon Ventures companies and businesses located at The Cannon properties throughout Houston with access to crowdfunded capital on LetsLaunch, which can be a simple and affordable alternative to traditional sources of funding such as bank debt or venture capital. “The Cannon’s mission to help advance Houston’s entrepreneurship ecosystem is very much aligned with the reason we started LetsLaunch. This partnership allows people to access investment opportunities previously reserved for a small portion of the population, while offering businesses another option to raise the funds they need”, said Nick Carnrite, Co-Founder & CEO of LetsLaunch.

For more information about The Cannon, its incredible new facility or Cannon Ventures, please contact info@thecannonhouston.com or click here to book a tour. For additional information about LetsLaunch, check out letslaunch.com or please contact Rhian Davies, LetsLaunch’s VP Business Development, at rdavies@letslaunch.com .

The Cannon Classroom – To-Do List Tools | The Cannon

Fri, 03 May 2019 02:52:42 GMT

The Cannon Classroom – To-Do List Tools

Today’s Blog Powered by NRG Energy

Brad True, Managing Director

Out of all the daily challenges entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes struggle with, one that we consistently hear both in our community (and on our team) revolves around one existential question – if everything on your to-do list is a priority, how do you prioritize what’s most important? Or, what do you do when you start your to-do list in the morning and it’s somehow even longer at the end of the day?

Thankfully, there’s an app for that. Or actually, a lot of apps for that. Which one should you choose? Obviously you’ll decide what system works best for you, but in case you are on the hunt for something new, here are a few recommendations from both our team and our community:

Bear

Bret McDonald, CFO – The Cannon

This extremely flexible and customizable app features a clean interface and can be utilized on any iOS platform and allows you to seamlessly transition between your iPhone, iPad and computer whenever you need to. Bret especially likes that he’s supporting a small private startup with a growing team, as well as the numerous customizable shortcut options featured throughout the app.

Asana

Keith Henry, Creative Director & Published Author – Kickstreet

Also effective as an overall project management tool for teams, Asana works extremely well for Keith’s own personal task management. Key differentiators for Keith include Asana’s clean, straightforward and simple interface, plus its ease of use and coordination with the rest of his team on different projects they are tackling together.

Asana

Carolyna Ducette and Ashley Huddleston, Co-Creators – Collective Community

Saving the planet is a hard job, and Collective Community’s Co-Creators join Keith in utilizing Asana for both their task management and project execution. Key features that bring Asana to the top for these environmentally conscious co-founders are its task & due date functionality, as well as the ability to create projects and assign tasks in them to track progress as the project is completed. Not to mention it sends a unicorn across your screen every time you create a task!New Paragraph

Wunderlist

Brad True, Managing Director – The Cannon

After experimenting with a few options, Wunderlist has risen to the top for my personal task management. The simplicity of the platform, the ease in which you can organize your tasks by date, topic, department, etc, and even the satisfying bell-ring that accompanies a completed task all make Wunderlist a favorite out of everything I’ve tried so far.

The challenge of managing day-to-day tasks is something all entrepreneurs will continue to experience and, as a result, continue to search for new remedies. Our list only scratches the surface of what’s available, but as more tools are developed every entrepreneur should hopefully find something that works well and can help ease the pain of our ever growing to-do lists.

Native Houstonian Entrepreneur Leaving Silicon Valley for the Bayou City

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 03:46:19 GMT

Native Houstonian Entrepreneur Leaving Silicon Valley for the Bayou City

HOUSTON, (April 9, 2019) – Mike T. Brown is coming home, and he’s bringing his fast-growing startup with him. Win-Win , a tech startup that links fans with the charitable causes of their favorite athletes through a gamified donation platform, is relocating to Houston and moving into The Cannon , a west-Houston based entrepreneurial hub. Win-Win will also enter The Cannon’s Venture Studio , gaining access to mentors, resources, and fundraising opportunities while it continues to scale the fast-growing platform.

Win-Win, which Brown started in 2016, has already raised $1.2M from top investors including Duke University and Silicon Valley based Sand Hill Angels and 500 Startups. Win-Win is now beginning to scale operations ahead of its upcoming full-scale launch during the 2019 NFL football season. Win-Win has recently opened up its second round of funding, including an equity crowdfunding campaign hosted on the Republic platform.

Winding Path Returns to Houston

Brown grew up in Houston, attending Alief Taylor High School before eventually heading east to play football at Duke University. Brown excelled at Duke, earning two-time All-American honors as well as a Public Policy degree after graduating in just three and a half years. Following a four-year career playing professionally, including linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts, Brown taught himself how to code, moved to Silicon Valley and gained valuable experience working on the mid-market growth team at Kiip, a $32M venture backed mobile advertising startup.

“I couldn’t be more excited about returning to Houston to become a part of the city’s tech revolution,” stated Mike T. Brown, Win-Win founder. “After visiting The Cannon, I immediately felt the energy and have witnessed their commitment to pushing Houston’s tech startup movement. I can’t wait to get fully plugged into the city’s ecosystem, to start hiring local talent and raising money from local investors.”

Houston’s SportsTech Growth Continues

“Houston has long needed better entrepreneurial resources to stop our startups from leaving for greener pastures, and we are excited to be part of the local entrepreneurial growth over the last couple of years, helping to provide a landing spot for a young, growing company like Win-Win,” echoed The Cannon’s Founder and CEO, Lawson Gow. “On top of that, Houston is extremely well-positioned to be the home for sports-tech startups, and Mike moving back can be a great catalyst towards continuing to establish our city as a sports-tech hub.”

Win-Win is expected to move to Houston and into The Cannon later this summer. For more information on Win-Win, and to learn about their current equity crowdfunding opportunity, visit http://bit.ly/2uQWKwN.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of the intersection of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently there are over 115 companies in The Cannon community working out of two locations: The Cannon Main Campus: a temporary building next door to the future home of The Cannon – a 120K square foot converted warehouse that will become one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, and The Cannon – Post Oak, a 9,000 square foot satellite office just west of The Galleria. At full capacity, The Cannon – Main Campus will be home to over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses, surrounded by resources geared to help their businesses thrive.

About Win-Win

Win-Win combines giving with gaming to make donating to charity more fun and engaging, disrupting the $410B charitable giving industry. Win-Win is partnered with 160+ pro athletes across the NFL and NBA to offer fans #GamifiedGiving campaigns. The athletes host and promote fantasy sports style tournaments on the Win-Win platform, each featuring a charitable cause they care deeply about. Through the tournament, fans are competing to win priceless experiences and memorabilia all while supporting the featured cause through a voluntary, tax-deductible donation. Win-Win enables anyone to positively impact the world in a very easy and rewarding way.

Win-Win retains a percentage of each transaction and brand partners sponsor the “fan-funding” campaigns, seeking to maximize their consumer engagement and conversion through Win-Win’s unique cross channel ecosystem of campaign assets including social and digital media, content, and activations.

B2B Startups Pitch Perfect at Cannon Ventures Pitch Night

Sat, 13 Apr 2019 03:57:06 GMT

B2B Startups Pitch Perfect at Quarterly Cannon Ventures Pitch Night

Last night Cannon Ventures hosted their second quarterly pitch event of 2019. After concentrating on SportsTech last fall and Female Founded startups in January, the focus shifted to B2B startups, and we welcomed Incentifind , Potentia , and Topl to the stage. Prior to last night’s event, each startup worked with Cannon Ventures’ Venture Studio Program to workshop their pitches and perfect their presentations. Following a brief intro from our emcee for the night, Mainline CEO Chris Buckner, the startups were ready to wow the crowd.

Incentifind

First up was Cannon Community Member and Venture Studio veteran IncentiFind , the nation’s only comprehensively standardized and searchable database for green incentives. Founder and CEO Natalie Goodman took us through the latest exciting developments in IncentiFind’s progress as they look to raise their first official investment round. Previously featured in our Founders Focus series, IncentiFind helps commercial and residential property owners take advantage of green incentive programs, a market which just last year resulted in over $10B in unclaimed returns because there was no database to make these incentives easy to find.

Potentia

Next on the agenda was Potentia , a full-service recruiting firm focused on Tech Leadership placement as well as Autism Employment in Tech for recent college grads. Over 80% of functioning autistic college graduates fail to find employment and Potentia aims to assist companies fill their demand in the tech community and beyond. It’s also a personal mission for Founder & CEO Jeff Miller, who’s son has autism, and Miller has developed an exceptional platform to help employers tap into extremely talented but underrepresented population.

Topl

Finally, we heard from Topl ’s Co-Founder & President Kim Raath, who capped the night with another crowd pleasing pitch. Topl’s blockchain protocol is an open, decentralized network designed to move goods and payments while proving impact and sustainability. Like a system of digital highways, Topl’s infrastructure verifies movement for goods and funds for an entire generation of more sustainable and inclusive supply chains and marketplaces. Their focus is on certifying three types of value – funds, impact, and goods, and Topl is making an impact on improving the viability of verified sustainable and environmentally friendly supply chains.

Cannon Ventures’ mission is to both help startups identify pain points in their company and develop a customizable program around those pain points to help companies either acquire new clients, develop a long-term strategy for growth, or plan for a future round of fundraising. Additionally, they help connect individuals interested in seeing early stage investment opportunities to Houston-based startups. If you’re interested in either applying for funding or becoming a member of the Cannon Ventures Investor Network, please visit either one of the below links to learn more!

Apply for Funding
Join the Investor Network

From the Founders

"The Cannon team has truly created a culture of engagement. Not only did I enjoy the depth of conversations and questions after pitching but I also loved the care and attention to detail taken by the team before the event." – Topl Co-Founder & President Kim Raath

“The Cannon is a first-class organization with a great team. They have a deep understanding of the Houston landscape for entrepreneurs and investors. Both were in evidence at the April Pitch Party. Thanks to Lawson and team for allowing Potentia to be a part of a great event!” Potentia Founder & CEO Jeff Miller

“IncentiFind engaged with Cannon Ventures in January of this year, and it’s resulted in multiple successes – one of which was the B2B Pitch Party. Not only did it provide us with a platform to introduce IncentiFind to the Houston community, but we also walked away with a great response and interest from those who attended.” – IncentiFind Founder & CEO Natalie Goodman

Super Strange Startups

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 04:27:27 GMT

Super Strange Startups

Elliot Franshaw, The Cannon

You may remember a piece we ran last year highlighting the oddities standing out in the sea of startups. Companies like the Something Store, where for only $10 you’ll receive an undisclosed item in the mail, or Air, who ship canned, fresh air around the globe. Some of those bizzare ideas failed (see GameCrush ), but those that survived serve as a reminder that with the right idea, market, and work ethic, your super strange startup can succeed! Here are four more funky companies:

Dinner in the Sky

Founded in 2007, this Belgian-based company treats clients to dining experiences 15-stories above the ground. The concept originated when marketing exec David Ghysels teamed with bungee jumper Stefan Kerfkhos to design a one of a kind, aerial dinner. When word got out and their popularity grew, they franchised the concept, expanding to over 47 different countries. Clients utilize these craned culinary experiences globally as tools for product launches and special events.

Ghost Radar (from Spud Pickles )

App developer Spud Pickles produces three different iterations of the Ghost Radar app. This “gag” app polarizes users and critics (see extensive reddit). Whether you believe in the otherworldly or the app’s ability to detect specters in our midst, there’s no denying the reality of their numbers. Ghost Radar pulls in 100,000 new app users monthly.

Dog Parker

Founded in 2015, Dog Parker works similarly to public phone charging lockers. Their primary product, Dog Spot, combines a location app, membership card, and secure kennels to provide users “a convenient way to shelter and protect your dog while on the run.” The kennels come with cameras so clients can check on their furry friends while grocery shopping, and boast locations from Brooklyn, NY to Bee Cave, TX.

NYC Garbage

When founder Justin Gignac’s coworker challenged him on the importance of package design, he decided to prove a point. He packaged trash from New York City into clear cubes with clean lettering. Twelve years and 1400 cubes later, Gignac’s creations reside in over 30 countries worldwide. He’s expanded into limited edition cubes for events, including St. Patty’s Day in Dublin and Barack Obama’s inauguration, and shows no sign of slowing down.

SportsTech Emerges In Startup Space

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 05:04:47 GMT

SportsTech Emerges in Startup Space

Today’s Blog Powered by NRG Energy

As we saw firsthand during our Cannon Ventures SportsTech pitch night, and also highlighted in the Houston Chronicle last fall, the sports startup world is a fast growing and high potential industry in the global startup ecosystem. Not limited to just in-game or event technology, “SportsTech” boasts a wide variety of potential tracks, including wearable technology, medicine, esports, training, ticketing platforms, and everything in between. As Houston’s emerging startup market continues to grow, there are a few SportsTech startups that have quickly become some of the most exciting in the industry.

sEATz

How many times have you missed out on a game-changing play because you were waiting in line for concessions? sEATz is pioneering a new way to solve that problem – in-seat food and beverage delivery. Their mobile application works with concessionaires to provide both a platform for fans to order food and beverages from the concession stands, as well as an efficient system of runners to deliver the items. After running pilots in 2018 with the Houston Texans, UH and Rice Football, the Sugarland Skeeters and now Sweet 16-bound UH basketball (in the sparkling, newly renovated Fertitta Center ), sEATz is well positioned to continue expanding to more venues, ensuring that fewer people will miss those big-game moments while stuck in the concession line.

Win-Win

Like sEATz, Win-Win also pitched at our SportsTech Pitch Night last fall. Founder and CEO (and Houston native) Mike T. Brown has created an exceptional platform for fans to connect with their favorite athletes’ charitable initiatives through competition based giving contests. From earning two-time All American status at Duke to teaching himself how to code following a four year stint in the NFL, Brown has done it all. With his pads officially stored in retirement, Brown has transitioned fully into the startup world and has developed Win-Win from an initial concept, through the prestigious 500 Startups program, to a platform that’s now worked with high profile athletes across all of the major sports, resulting in thousands of new donations to charitable initiatives of all sizes and beneficiaries.

Mainline

Esports has become potentially the fastest growing platform in SportsTech, and Mainline is well positioned to ride that growth wave to success. Responsible for the largest event in The Cannon’s early history, Mainline established itself as a key player in the esports world early on after hosting a watch party for 600+ diehard fans of the Houston Outlaws at The Cannon’s original warehouse. Initially built off of FanReact’s community management platform, Mainline recently fully spun out, named a new CEO , and is continuing to develop its esports-only community-focused platform. Thanks to its exceptional team of developers, producers, and content creators, Mainline is uniquely positioned to become the leader in esports production

Integrated Bionics

As the use of data in sports explodes, one of the key areas of this growth is in live-action GPS tracking, an area in which Integrated Bionics has become a major player in thanks to its Titan Sensor platform. The Titan and Titan 2 provide comprehensive performance analysis for athletes in any sport and in over 150 metrics, including sprint distance, top speed, conditioning, score, impacts, and much more. Already utilized by teams across a number of sports and at the youth, college and professional levels, Integrated Bionics and the Titan Sensor will be a key company to watch as SportsTech continues to grow.

These four startups are just a piece of Houston’s exciting SportsTech growth. As cities across the country have started to become hubs for specific types of technology, no such hub currently exists for SportsTech. With four extremely successful sports teams, a world class medical center, a massive network of youth sports and facilities, and almost year-round outdoor friendly weather, the time is now for Houston to become that hub, and we can’t wait to have a front row seat!

Cannon Ventures and Rice Angel Network Team Up To Invest in Houston-Based Startups

Sat, 23 Mar 2019 04:48:13 GMT

Cannon Ventures and Rice Angel Network Team Up To Invest in Houston-Based Startups

[Houston, Texas | March 22, 2019] In a partnership with The Cannon, The Houston-based Rice Angel Network (RAN) announced today that it will be powered by Cannon Ventures, the investment arm of The Cannon. The alignment will augment efforts of the two groups to provide local startups with access to the capital they need to grow. In late 2018, The Houston Investor Network Alliance (HINA) was launched as a commitment from four investor groups in Houston to increasingly co-invest and share deals in Houston. The partnership between RAN and The Cannon takes this a step further as they align missions of early-stage investments throughout Houston’s startup ecosystem.

“The mission is simple”, says CEO and Founder of Cannon Ventures and The Cannon Lawson Gow. “We want to bring Houston’s startup ecosystem the access to capital that they need to thrive here in Houston”.

Seconding the notion, Kyle Fletcher, Managing Partner of Rice Angel Network describes the partnership as necessary.

“Houston is one of the largest cities in the US, yet our efforts to bring capital to startups has been done only in pockets throughout the city. We are better together than we are separate.” Kyle Fletcher, Rice Angel Network Managing Partner

Both founders are Rice University Alumni and have rooted their desire to develop Houston’s entrepreneurial ecosystem amid both the campuses at The Cannon and Rice University.

Cannon Ventures will continue to host quarterly pitch nights at The Cannon, intended to bring investors to startup investment opportunities as well as advocate for entrepreneurship throughout Houston.New Paragraph

Energy Storage Startups

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 05:14:38 GMT

Startups Aim For Energy Storage Solutions

Elliot Franshaw, The Cannon

We know energy cannot be created or destroyed (see law #1 of thermodynamics). Still, we harness energy in countless forms to create and sustain the systems in which we live. From bananas in bodies to gas in cars, energy conversion fuels our lives. Storing that energy is a little trickier. From electrochemical storage, like lithium batteries, to thermal energy storage used to convert electricity into temperature change, we’ve long sought to store and use energy on our terms. Today we a look at two startups working on new and inventive ways to manipulate and store the energy we need.

Malta

Alphabet’s R&D lab, formerly Google X, incubated another winner in Malta. The energy storage startup raised $26 million in their last round and look to disrupt the market with a new method of storage. Malta’s unique process involves storing electricity in molten salts and antifreeze liquid via a heat pump, then converting the energy back into grid-ready electricity with a heat engine. Responding to questions about viability and intent, the firm ensures that this is “not an R&D project.” Malta utilizes existing oil and gas machinery and “conventional components,” keeping their costs low and their materials abundant. Look for major movement from these Boston battery builders.

Form

There’s power in learning from failure. Form’s co-founder, Ted Wiley, previously worked at now-bankrupt saltwater battery company Aquion. He knows renewables are cheaper than thermal generation, and the only way to disrupt the industry is to produce reliable long-duration storage. Luckily, his partner Mateo Jaramillo built Tesla’s energy storage business. Now, the pair are working on building a “bidirectional power plant” which both produces and delivers renewable energy on demand. Form believes that this tool will allow countries around the world to replace fossil-fuel-burning baseload power plants and supply their grid with clean energy without massive costs and redundancies. They’re well aware of the daunting challenges lying ahead of delivery, and relying on experience and innovation to tackle them head on.

Form and Malta both have a long way to go in disrupting the current energy storage and delivery industry. Their costs aren’t significantly lower than currently implemented technologies, and unless they can deliver jobs and a sustainable infrastructure to replace the current industry, they could remain a tough sell. But both companies hold a large amount potential, and Malta’s utilization of existing O&G infrastructure is a step in the right direction. Look for both to push their technologies this year as they seek to find a permanent, sustainable solution to energy storage.

SXSW Recap

Fri, 15 Mar 2019 19:47:06 GMT

SXSW Recap – CIA Shows New Ways to Solve Problems

Brad True, The Cannon

Last weekend, The Cannon team joined tens of thousands of attendees descending on downtown Austin for SXSW 2019, spending 5 days attending panels, networking with attendees, and learning from some of the most accomplished entrepreneurs, marketers and innovators in the business. We even joined up with a group of 25+ of our Houston Innovation friends at an impromptu Houston dinner on Saturday night!

But the sessions and panels were definitely a highlight, and one of our favorites actually helped kick us off on day 1. Did you know the CIA has an entire team dedicated to injecting creativity into how its agents solve cases? The CIA’s Jacob Eastham and Nyssa Straatveit took a packed house of SXSW attendees through the agency’s internal creative process in an aptly titled session – Wombats and Wood Ducks – The CIA’s Secrets to Creative Problem Solving .

After a brief introduction, Eastham and Straatveit took a deeper dive into four of their primary problem solving tactics, utilizing easily recallable (and sometimes adorable) animals to help organize key points:

Wombat – an acronym of “What (o) Might Be All The” , the Wombat reminds us to reframe how we look at problems , taking a step back and asking open ended questions around what might be all of the potential solutions, versus immediately narrowing down our options based on preconceived notions and previous experience.
Wolf – Building on the Wombat, the wolf highlights the need to get out of our comfort zones and search in unexplored places for the solution, just as wolves do when they venture out into the wilderness. Too often we attempt to solve problems inside our previous biases when the best solution resides far outside of the box and is waiting for us to find it.
Wood Duck – The Wood Duck is different from more traditional ducks in that it mostly nests in trees, creating symbiotic relationships with squirrels and other tree dwelling mammals. CIA agents utilized this metaphor to implement analogical thinking , using information from one domain to solve a problem in another, unrelated domain. In this case, one agent was searching for a terrorist in a country where they were mostly sure he had set up shop, but couldn’t find him in the types of locations that were traditionally used by terrorists in that region. It wasn’t until an agent learned about the Wood Duck that they thought to search in typical civilian locations where they had never looked before, and the offender was found soon after.
Otter – Back in 2012, Whole Foods and the Smithsonian Zoo decided to let the public name one of the 11 new otters that had just arrived at the zoo. The result? A much more traditional than anticipated name – Kevin. The pattern-breaking nature of the unexpected naming crystalized a concept the CIA had already been working on for decades – how do we break traditional patterns to help solve problems? The CIA has an entire team dedicated to hunting strategic surprise and looking for things that break the normal patterns. The 1979 “Canadian Caper” Mission (more commonly known as “ Argo ”, thanks to the 2012 Ben Affleck produced movie adaptation) is a great example of this. Six staffers from the American Embassy in Iran were trapped in the Canadian Ambassador’s house following Iran protesters storming the American embassy. Did the CIA use their traditional tactics and covertly sneak into the city to rescue the six hostages? Nope, they instead created an entire fake movie to film in Tehran, including fake promotional announcements and posters, a fake script, director, & team led by undercover agents and pre-selected Hollywood-based consultants. In doing so, they made the solution so large and out of the norm for traditional CIA missions there was no way anyone would have suspected it was a clandestine operation. And thanks to this pattern-breaking thinking, the hostages were rescued and flown out with basically no incident.

While most wouldn’t have likely thought of the CIA as an innovative and entrepreneurial organization, they clearly have prioritized these solution-generating methods to help in their own day-to-day challenges. With (obviously) much lower stakes, entrepreneurs face similarly surprising and unforeseen problems that can pop up with no notice. Next time this happens? Try turning to a Wombat or Wood Duck and see if it helps find an unexpected solution.

The Cannon Classroom: Financing Your Startup | The Cannon

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 19:56:09 GMT

The Cannon Classroom – Financing Your Startup

Lunch and Learn Provides Key Financing Tips to Cannon Community

Jake Askew, Cannon Ventures

For companies trying to get off the ground, one of the biggest hurdles normally revolves around acquiring funding. Whether it’s a friends and family round, early seed stage or a full blown series round, finding funding is a difficult process. This augments the importance of entrepreneurs understanding the full arsenal of tools at their disposal.

Late last month, Cannon Ventures and Texas Citizens Bank teamed up to host a Lunch and Learn at The Cannon’s Main Campus to help describe some of the different options for fundraising and explain the evolution of fundraising over the last few years.

This Lunch and Learn consisted of a panel of industry experts from varying backgrounds answering questions from the crowd about fundraising. The session was moderated by Cannon Ventures’ Investment Analyst, Kristen Philips, where she was joined by the below panelists:

Nick Fox – Area President of Texas Citizens Bank
Duncan Stewart – CEO and Chairman of Texas Citizens Bank
Matt Curry – VP of Texas Citizens Bank with a background in SBA loans
Steven Kaufman – Founder of Zeus Lending
Nick Carnrite – Co-Founder of LetsLaunch and Managing Director of The Carnrite Group

Each of the below strategies were highlighted by our panel of experts, offering a number of potential options for entrepreneurs in search of the best fundraising strategy for their company:

Factoring

Factoring is a form of financing in which a business will sell its accounts receivable (invoices) to a third-party at a discount. This option gives businesses access to immediate funds that can be used to pay for business expenses. This can be an effective option when working with a client who has outstanding invoices and may not be able to pay you back in a timely manner.

Credit Insurance

Credit Insurance protects the policyholder in the event that a customer becomes insolvent. Insolvency in business can be a more common scenario than many realize, so credit insurance can serve as a solution if a customer isn’t able to pay its debts. Industry standards for credit insurance will often cover ~90% of your accounts receivable.

SBA Loans

Contrary to popular belief, SBA loans are not direct loans made by The Small Business Administration to entrepreneurs to grow a small business. Instead, an SBA loan provides a guarantee to banks and authorized SBA lenders for the money they lend to small businesses. If a business owner defaults on a loan, the SBA will promise to pay a portion of the loan back. This can alleviate the risk associated with lending money to small business owners and startups that may not qualify for traditional loans. SBA loans open up lending opportunities to thousands of entrepreneurs. In 2017 alone, SBA approved over 68,000 loans and provided over $30 billion to small businesses.

Evolution of Lending

The panelists also remarked on how the industry of traditional lending has grown over the years and suggested to be wary of new predatory lending entities. When lending entities do not use depository funds, they are not subject to the same level of regulation that more traditional establishments like banks do. Because of this, predatory lenders can offer large amounts of capital quickly but lock founders into unsustainable interest rates and mechanisms that can trap clients into long-term agreements.

It is important for founders to do their homework and understand the terms whenever you are accepting a loan regardless of how established they may seem, or your need for capital.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a relatively new phenomenon that has started to become more mainstream after a change of regulation in 2016 by the SEC to allow non-accredited investment in private companies. Crowdfunding is typically done to supplement efforts to an offline fundraise and a way to both market your opportunity to a wider base as well as directly raise funds. These platforms offer the flexibility of either a straight equity raise or a convertible note (to find out when a convertible note might be right for you, please check out our article on the subject HERE).

Check out our Events Calendar and make sure you don’t miss our next Lunch & Learn!

Founders Focus – IncentiFind

Tue, 05 Mar 2019 21:11:12 GMT

Founders Focus – IncentiFind

The Cannon’s Founders Focus series is back! This week, our Managing Director Brad True sat down with Cannon community member IncentiFind’s Founder and CEO Natalie Campos Goodman at our new Post Oak location , taking a deep dive into the nation’s go-to database for green incentives.

IncentiFind came to The Cannon last fall fresh off of a tour through Capital Factory ’s Accelerator program and has been an active participant in our community and with our Venture Studio team since joining. As the nation’s only comprehensively standardized and searchable database of green incentives, IncentiFind captures incentives from the Federal, State, County, City and Utility levels. The platform’s incentives are updated throughout the calendar year to provide fast, accurate data so that commercial and residential property owners can make informed decisions during critical project planning. IncentiFind has also partnered with nearly 500 lenders nationwide to bring their customers solutions to fully finance their green projects.

In a nutshell, IncentiFind connects green projects to incentives. Their innovative match-making process has brought an average $0.5MM in cost-savings to home improvement projects, and $3.6MM in cost savings to commercial real estate projects in 2018 alone.

Brad – How did all of this get started? How did you end up where you are now?

Natalie – I think IncentiFind is different than a lot of other startups because we were a complete accident. I’m an architect, specifically I was a sustainability architect, and I had worked about 10 years with some of the largest firms in the industry, serving big pharma, oil & gas, and more. At some point, I really tired myself out and decided I just wanted to focus on green architecture, so then I had to figure out how I wanted to do that. I phoned up a friend of mine at the Department of Energy (DOE) and said “I know there are incentives out there that encourage green architecture…since I’m coming back to the US, how do I search that database so I can talk more about green architecture?” His response was that it doesn’t really exist yet. So at that point I decided to build it (yes, selfishly for myself).

BT – That’s how all of the best things start right?

NG – Exactly! So, after we were up and running, I talked to my contact at DOE again, and it turns out the government had completely defunded all other green incentive databases, so we became the last-man-standing with the nation’s green incentive data.

BT – No pressure or anything…

NG – No kidding. Luckily, we were introduced to Capital Factory early on, and at that point I wasn’t even sure that we were startup material, but they swooped in, took us into the accelerator and more or less framed us as a company. And that’s how IncentiFind was born.

BT – What do you think some of the main benefits of that accelerator were? What did you not know before you went into that program?

NG – Probably the biggest surprise was learning just how much structure and organization was required for a startup, even more than what I had in the corporate world. Capital Factory taught me a lot of that, and then right now with the Venture Studio I’m learning a lot about the foundations of fundraising and setting up for a hyper growth, and as easy as that may sound it’s so important to have laid that foundation, otherwise you’re going to quickly find where the holes are when you try to scale.

BT – We’ve definitely seen that throughout our community – scaling, and all of the headaches around it around talent, not getting spread too thin, still doing great work for your current customers, can be a huge challenge.

NG – Definitely. And at the beginning, I had a database, and I knew its applicability to commercial and residential sectors, but what I didn’t know was that the ways that you can reach your end users are so different. API’s are a great example. It’s one of the most requested services that we’ve yet to build out just because our current team doesn’t have the time or bandwidth to build it out, but it’s definitely our next task now that we’ve done a great job with our channel partners and subscription services.

BT – That’s another challenge we see a lot as companies are getting started – a product or platform by itself isn’t a company yet, no matter how successful it’s been so far.

NG – Exactly, and I also think, with our startup being a database, that there is almost an infinite amount of ways in which we can structure the data and sell it, but we have to focus on what makes sense, and what is going to be the most scalable, attractive to investors and successful, but all while keeping in mind what’s in the best interests of our team.

BT – You’ve traveled and worked in a lot of places, why did you decide to build IncentiFind in Houston?

NG – My entire life has come back to Houston, no matter what industry I’ve served or what company I was with. I started off at NASA, worked in the Texas Medical Center, and I think there’s a great diverse economy here. And that talent diversity has been a huge asset for us, from recruiting developers while also finding sustainability architects and engineers. The only downfall to Houston is that it’s so massive that finding the right office location can be tough. Commutes can become a topic of recruiting.

BT – Well, I’ve heard of a place…

NG – I mean…the multiple locations do help.

BT – What is one tool you’ve discovered that you can’t live without?

NG – Pivotal Tracker is actually probably the biggest one. Since I don’t have a tech background, I was using Slack too much to convey new priorities to our tech team and Pivotal Tracker became this really nice, neat dashboard where you can adjust tasks based on priority.

BT – That sounds great, I’ll need to dive into that one. We use Monday.com for a lot of those items, just recently switched our content calendars and a lot of our larger projects over to that. It’s been a huge help.

NG – Nice! I’ll have to check that one out too.

I think it’s important to look back, and to say to them “You guys are awesome, this couldn’t have been done without you.”

BT – What would you say that is next for y’all? What are you most excited about coming up over the next few months?

NG – Definitely hiring, and rolling out a new product, and a new API. But, I think mostly just taking a moment to sit back with our team and enjoy what we’ve built in just a year. I think it’s important to look back, and to say to them “You guys are awesome, this couldn’t have been done without you.” In the last year year we’ve done what a lot of startups do in a 2+ years and with a ton of funding. So I actually look forward to just having a pause, especially before we roll out that API, which is something a lot of our industry is really excited about.

BT – Agreed! Always nice to take a break and celebrate your accomplishments. Thanks again for the time today!

You can always visit http://incentifind.com to stay up to date on all of their exciting growth, or follow them on the following platforms

Legal Hackathon Launches at The Cannon

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 21:41:59 GMT

Legal-Based Hackathon Launches New Technology

Jake Askew – Cannon Ventures

Hackathons have been launching across the globe at an ever-increasing rate, providing opportunities for software developers and others involved in technology development to collaborate on projects that solve problems. Usually consisting of a multi-day workshop in which individuals break into teams and compete against each other to win the approval of a panel of judges, these events generally have a specific theme or focus centered on problem solving in today’s world using new technologies. Themes can vary from utilizing an innovative platform like blockchain, supporting a movement like mental illness awareness, or even just working to develop a brand new app that solves a problem previously not considered.

Global Legal Hackathon (GLH) is a non-profit entity that organizes legal groups across the globe. Since launching, GLH has hosted over 6,000 participants in 24 different countries. Their goal for these events is to bring together people under a unified vision to develop solutions that improve the legal industry. Last weekend GLH hosted over 5,000 hackathons across the world and each location had a winner that will then moved onto the next round.

The Houston branch manager for the Global Legal Hackathon is Internetbar.org Institute (IBO). IBO organizes, gathers mentors, manages, and provides support for all legal hackathons in Houston. Christy Leos, the Director of Operations of IBO, described their mission as an “aim to support those who need critical help more efficiently, and change processes that no longer serve the people.”

The President of IBO, Jeff Aresty, expanded on this mission:

“Like previous generations, we too must rely upon failed justice institutions and laws to protect those who are excluded from society, protect the climate, and eradicate poverty. In the meantime, the online society which now amounts to over half the world, is dominated by everyone else in civil society who are engaging in all kinds of online activity that may connect us with each other – but do very little to effectively bring fairness and freedom to us all.”

The Cannon was proud to host last weekend’s Houston chapter of the GLH. Students, technologists, lawyers, mentors, and judges of all ages and backgrounds packed the space Saturday and Sunday. By the end of the hackathon, the winning team had developed a tool to assist lawyers in visualizing eDiscovery data, combined with the information used to manage the movement of that data through the EDRM process.

As Hackathons continue to grow in both size and frequency, their modern creative solutions to today’s problems also grow. Moving forward, IBO hopes to continue to go where the problems are. They are already planning to host an access to justice hackathon by the end of the year where Aresty hopes to continue the progress made over the weekend, sharing with the group that “their actions can help us reinvent how we make laws and devise a social contract that brings access to justice for all.” More events like last weekend’s are certainly a step in the right direction of this ambitious but much needed goal.

If you’re interested in Internetbar and participating in events like this in the future, please visit – http://internetbar.org/membership .

Startup Security

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 22:01:30 GMT

Startup Security

The secret is out – bad actors from around the world have been stealing trade secrets from United States companies for years. By hook or by crook, through computer chips and group chats, time and again these groups have stolen intellectual property from American companies. As companies and our government respond to these persistent breaches, it is imperative that business owners big and small expand their security systems and protect themselves against future attacks. Here are a few steps startups can take to secure their IP.

Disaster Recovery Site

Fish, ransom and malware are deployed on a global scale on a second-to-second basis. It’s not a question of if your company will be attacked, but when. In the event of a hack to your site or your data storage location, a disaster recovery site can be your saving grace. IBM, Microsoft, and StorageCraft all provide sites which you can use to backup your business and keep it running in the event of a disruption.

Penetration Testing

As the old adage goes, you don’t know what you don’t know. In a world where 15% of hacks come from within the firewall, it’s critical to continuously vet your protection and your people. Thorough background checks, employee activity screening, and firewall penetration testing are critical to sustaining a safe and healthy company.

Software (Encrypt, Encrypt, Encrypt!)

If you’ve recently tried playing video games with kids, you know: technology moves faster than we do. VR games, ESports, and even Fortnite are miles ahead of games and systems from only a few years ago. These rapid changes increasingly highlight the importance of constantly updating your software. Hackers are updating their systems constantly, looking for new ways to breech. Updated software combined with properly encrypted data is the only way to reasonably ensure protection from prying web probes.

It may not be as exciting as launching a new product or expanding into a new vertical, but keeping your IP secure should be an extremely important and consistent task on your to-do list as your company grows. Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom, as these increased threats have already resulted in new security innovations across the technology spectrum, with entrepreneurs and tech experts spending countless hours coming up with new solutions to this ever changing threat. But until they’ve solved it, the importance of staying on top of your security will be key in protecting your company from an ever-changing security landscape.

The Cannon Classroom – Building Your Brand | The Cannon

Mon, 04 Feb 2019 21:43:14 GMT

The Cannon Classroom – Building Your Brand

Jake Askew, Cannon Ventures

Developing a strong and consistent brand can often be the competitive advantage that sets you apart by allowing you to better understand and connect with your clients. Too often today brand development is dismissed as a logo and color scheme while it is much more than that. Dirk Van Slyke, Co-Founder of local marketing consulting practice (and one of our original members) Statistical Vision has over 25 years of brand management experience. He thinks of a brand as “a relationship with your constituencies that is either strengthened or weakened with every point of contact.” This definition illustrates the wide range of times your brand may be evaluated either directly or indirectly. In other words, your brand is the way your customer perceives your company, product, or service.

Defining Your Customer

Moreover, your brand is not who you say you are but rather who your customers say you are. Your customers are the most important factor to consider when beginning to develop a brand so it is important that you understand who you are selling to. Do market research and build out a buyer persona. Once you have understood the kind of person you want to interact with, you need to understand what their expectations for working with you may be. Van Slyke elaborates on this idea:

“A good company meets expectations. A great company understands and exceeds those same expectations.”

Some of the strongest brands today have taken the time to understand the expectations of their customers and are coming up with ways to beat those expectations.

Chick Fil-A – The Customer First Example

Chick-Fil-A , one of the most recognizable brands today, has done an exceptional job defining their brand as customer first. If you order a chicken sandwich and ask for no pickles, they will actually take $.15 off of your bill. Given the manpower needed to input this function into their system and modify their revenue projections to account for the money left on the table, there’s no question Chick Fil-A places the customer experience at the top of their brand vision.

Critique the Competition

Like any other aspect of your business, you should always know what your competition is doing when it comes to their brand messaging.

What has worked or not worked for them? How do they interact with their customers? What advantage do we have over the competition? Combining market research of your buyer persona with the brand engagement of your competition will give you a gameplan to effectively and uniquely reach your customers.

Consistency is Key

In order to develop a truly effective brand, consistency is among the most important things to consider. To keep a level of consistency to your brand as your company scales, it is important to design infrastructure to maintain your message. If your brand is associated with positive customer service and quick call times, you’ll need to plan enough hires to take on the additional calls to handle your company’s growth. If you don’t, scaling will actually set you back even further as you lose some of your client base who feel they can’t believe in your brand anymore.

Potentially the most important trait – Authenticity. Nothing will drive away a potential customer more than them feeling you are being less than transparent with them. Be the great brand you want to be, strive to reach the goals that you set for yourself and your customers will feed off of that passion and authenticity.

Cannon Ventures Hosts Second Successful Pitch Night

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 23:01:15 GMT

Cannon Ventures Hosts Second Successful Pitch Night

Jake Askew, Cannon Ventures

Over 100 potential Houston-area investors filled The Cannon last night for Cannon Ventures’ second successful pitch night, this time focused on Houston area startups with female founders or co-founders. As the crowd settled, they were welcomed by The Cannon and Cannon Ventures CEO Lawson Gow, who highlighted the The Cannon’s mission to help grow Houston’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and the need for investors to step up and help keep these exciting startups in Houston. Following Gow’s rousing call to action, Houston Rockets on-court host and our emcee for the night, Shelby Coppedge, kicked us off by welcoming X&Y Technologies, IDEA Lab Kids, and Elliegrid to the stage.

X&Y Technologies Puts Romance Under A Microscope

CEO and Founder Dr. Brittany Barreto began the night by explaining how DNA-compatibility testing can disrupt both the online dating industry (Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, etc.) and the emerging market of commercial DNA testing (Ancestry.com, 23andme). She walked the audience through her own experiences with dating apps and how her background and doctorate in Genetics gave her a unique perspective to start her own business.

X&Y Technologies offers the Pheramor dating app which connects singles with other genetically compatible singles, and the soon-to-be-launched We Have Chemistry platform which analyzes genetic compatibility for couples. X&Y Technologies is currently raising a $2.2M round of funding.

IDEA Lab Kids – Bringing STEAM to the Main Stream

IDEA Lab Kids Founder and Chief Visionary Officer Ghazal Qureshi took the stage next and opened up talking about how her experiences as a mother inspired her to start her own summer camp and after-school program – IDEA Lab Kids. IDEA Lab Kids offers educational services for kids of ages 3-14 in a STEAM-based brick and mortar camp, utilizing unique programs and services ranging from events and classes to more hands-on programming.

Quereshi outlined IDEA Lab Kids’ exciting growth strategy, as they are continuing to expand into new territories through IDEA Lab Kids’ International Franchise Company. Quereshi aims to open IDEA Lab Kids franchises across the United States and beyond! IDEA Lab Kids is currently raising a $700K round of funding.

Organize Your Pills in Seconds with EllieGrid

Abe Matamoros was the last to take the stage and shared the story of how his co-founder Regina Vatterott’s challenges in managing her medication led to the formation of EllieGrid, the pill box with brains and beauty. EllieGrid is a physical pillbox that connects to your phone via bluetooth and can send alerts to you or your caretaker when it is time to take your medication. EllieGrid also monitors compliance data, which can provide pharmacies and insurance agencies with the valuable data points needed to ensure patients are getting the most effective care. EllieGrid (our Insperity Innovation Scholarship Winner), fresh off an extremely productive trip to CES and meetings with a number of major retailers, is currently raising a $1M round of funding following a successful Kickstarter campaign that helped launch the company.

The Cannon will continue to help connect Houston area startups with interested investors through our Investor Network. If you would like to learn more about the network please visit http://cannonventureshouston.com/investors . Stay tuned for the announcement of our next pitch night coming up later this year!

The Cannon Teams Up with Chevron Technology Ventures to Trigger Innovation in Houston

Tue, 22 Jan 2019 22:56:40 GMT

The Cannon Teams Up with Chevron Technology Ventures to Trigger Innovation in Houston

[Houston, Texas | January 22, 2019] The Cannon, a co-working space and entrepreneurial hub on the west side of Houston, has announced a partnership with Chevron’s corporate venture capital group, Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV). The Cannon is set to become the epicenter of a new 30+ acre campus 15 miles west of Downtown Houston that aims to help Houston-based startups, entrepreneurs and investors grow and scale. The Cannon is also home to Cannon Ventures, the coupling of a venture studio and an investor network that seeks to further support local startups.

“We are always trying to surround our members with as much support and as many resources as possible to help them succeed. Chevron’s engagement with our community will help further these efforts in a really exciting way,” said Lawson Gow, Founder & CEO of The Cannon. CTV will have permanent office space and hold regular office hours at the Cannon’s new location.

Already home to over a hundred companies in its “waiting room”, The Cannon will soon open its newly built doors to hundreds more startups and companies here in 2019, and CTV will further integrate into the fabric of Houston’s startup ecosystem through participation in the Cannon’s networking events that foster relationship-building across the startup and investment communities.

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located at the center of the 32-acre Founders District on the west side of Houston, just north of the intersection of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently there are just over 100 companies in The Cannon community working in a 20K square foot temporary building next door to the future home of The Cannon – a 120K square foot converted warehouse that will become one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world. At full capacity, The Cannon will be home to over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses, and surrounded by service providers and resources geared to help their businesses grow.

Startup 101 – Convertible Notes

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 22:26:47 GMT

Startups 101 – Convertible Notes

Jake Askew – Cannon Ventures

Fundraising can be the most challenging aspect of starting a company. And in those early stages, there are times when a founder might run into the need for additional capital sooner than expected. Rather than jump straight into a Series A round of fundraising and the level of work and commitment that goes along with that, entrepreneurs have options. Perhaps the most common (and commonly misunderstood) of those options? A convertible note. Below is a quick overview to help give first-time founders a big picture viewpoint on this potentially beneficial platform.

Convertible Note vs. Equity Round

To start with, the most common reason an entrepreneur would go this route would be that the company is not in a position to establish a fair valuation. A clean valuation is important for a company because that determines a price per share of stock that an investor might consider purchasing. However, if the company is still too early along to reach a proper valuation, a convertible note can be used instead, essentially punting the decision on valuation until the company is ready for a legitimate Series A round. Also, called “qualified financing,” the eventual Series A round will then convert the note into shares of equity.

Another reason to utilize a convertible note might be that the amount needed to raise is not high enough to justify the time and effort needed to complete a full Series round of financing. Or, convertible notes can be useful if a company needs capital quickly to either add a key hire to the company, complete an unexpected inventory order, or make a push in one area like marketing or legal.

Discount Rate – The discount in valuation you will receive in the next qualifying round of financing. A convertible note rewards early stage investors by allowing them to convert at a lower valuation than that reached through a subsequent financing round.
Valuation Cap – A conversion valuation cap (sometimes referred to as just a “cap”) is another reward for a noteholder for taking on additional risk by investing at an early stage company. The valuation cap states a maximum valuation for a qualified financing round. For example, if the valuation cap is set at $4M and the subsequent round of financing values the company at $6M, then the noteholders will convert at a valuation of $4M.
Interest Rate – Because convertible notes are technically loans, they also carry an interest rate. However, unlike traditional loans, this interest is paid in additional shares upon conversion. Consider a noteholder investing $1,000 into a startup with a 5% interest rate. If they reach a round of qualified financing a year later then they would have accrued $50 worth of interest and be entitled to $1,050 worth of shares.
Maturity Date – A note’s maturity date states when the note is due and the entrepreneur needs to repay it. If a round of qualified financing occurs before this date then the note converts at that time.

Convertible Note Example

As noted, the “convertible” portion of Convertible Note” means that it will convert using the discount rate or the valuation cap, whichever gives the investor a better price.

Discount Rate – Let’s say that a note has a $5M cap with a 20% discount and the company receives a $10M series A valuation at $1 a share. In this case, the discount rate would yield a price of $1*.8 = $.80 a share, while using the valuation cap yields a price of $5M / $10M = $.50 a share. $.50 is a better price so the noteholder will convert at a price of $.50 per share rather than the $.80 per share.
Valuation Cap – Now let’s say that the Series A round of financing instead valued the company at $6M at $1 per share. The discount rate would still yield a price of $.80 per share for the noteholder, however the valuation cap would yield a price of $.83 per share. In this case the discount rate gives the noteholder a better price so that is what the note will convert to.

Early startups face numerous challenges every day, and fundraising is certainly one of them. Convertible notes aren’t always the solution, but they do give founders a new option to keep the momentum of their early stage company moving forward.

New Year, New Trends

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 23:08:29 GMT

New Year, New Trends

Elliot Franshaw, The Cannon

As we settle into the swing of 2019, let’s take a quick look over our shoulder before a lasting look ahead! Facebook fell, Fortnight flew, and 2018 is in the books. As the tax code changes, the stock market revels in a forgettable year, and the government remains shutdown, what can we expect from 2019? Here are a few trends and trials to expect from the new year.

Moving Money

With the rise of Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle, change is upon the banking industry. Brick and mortars are dying, bank cafe’s popping up, and banks are looking for ways to remain relevant to their end users. Industry experts such as Alexon Bell sense a “massive disruption in how you can make payments.” Says Bell, “Big players such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon will start thinking about offering their own payment services, which will likely trigger the need for their own regulations.” Bell is right – more people than ever are moving money online, from trading options to paying for lunch. Yes, more mobile users means an impending industry change, but it also means more risk.

Safety First

As more people bank, barter, and buy online, experts expect cyberattacks to duly increase. According to OneSpan, 80% of financial institutions’ customers bank online. 50% of those customers bank via their mobile devices, and that number is growing rapidly. Regulators are racing to catch up with the issues mobile banking presents, as hackers lick their chops at the new opportunities for insidious financial gain. The world is watching their data very carefully right now while still reeling from the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, but while you’re watching that information don’t forget to remain vigilant of the vulnerabilities in mobile money.

Edge Computing

IoT continues to grow at unprecedented rates across nearly every industry, demanding more computing power every minute. In order to consistently and reliably power the rising number of applications running on IoT, users will rely more and more on edge computing. Edge computing is the infrastructure that IoT needs in order to handle millions of devices and end users endlessly transmitting and receiving massive amounts of data. Running all this data on servers or clouds bogs the network down with inefficiencies, but edge computing reduces those inefficiencies and enhances speed by working as closely as possible to IoT devices. This decentralized computing will continue to grow in popularity as demand from IoT networks skyrockets.

Perfecting Your Pitch

Sat, 12 Jan 2019 05:48:49 GMT

Perfecting Your Pitch

Jake Askew, Cannon Ventures

At some point, every entrepreneur will understand the importance of delivering a concise, effective pitch. Whether you are pitching a fundraising opportunity to investors or trying to sell your idea to a prospective client, a compelling pitch can make all the difference. We have all heard the clichés for public speaking; however, giving a successful pitch takes more than just “picturing the crowd in their underwear.” Here are 5 tips that should help turn your pitch into a powerful presentation.

Start with the Big Picture, Then Narrow Your Focus

First, your audience needs understand the opportunity as well as you do. Sure, you might be able to explain every aspect of the field you are entering, answer every question, and have your 5-year plan scheduled to the day; however none of this will matter if your audience can’t wrap their head around the opportunity.

A good way to combat this is to start with the big picture. Explain the standards of today, the problems associated with these standards, why these problems need addressing, and how you are offering the solution. This helps put your audience on the same level of understanding before you dive into the details of your opportunity.

Demonstrate Your Passion

A passionate entrepreneur will always deliver a stronger pitch than a disinterested one, and your pitch is the opportunity to demonstrate that. There are many ways to let your passion shine through in your pitch, but the most effective way is through your research. Going above and beyond to show a clear understanding of your business and everything associated with it speaks volumes more than simply saying the words “I am passionate about this”. If your work shows your passion then that will resonate more with your audience.

Bring Everything Full Circle

Pitches require entrepreneurs to dive into a wide array of topics. Diving into high-level financials, a go to market strategy, product development, competitive analysis, and more can make it easy to get lost in the weeds. Remember to keep everything digestible and to bring everything back full circle. The core of your pitch should center on:

A problem today
Your solution to that problem
The opportunity you are presenting to solve the problem

Each topic in your presentation should relate back to these three points and help build your argument for why your opportunity should be considered.

Listen and Understand the Feedback

Finally, if you have the opportunity after your pitch for response, make sure to listen carefully and understand the feedback you are getting. Q&A’s can be as effective for you as the presenter as they are for the audience.Your answers could resonate with the audience and have the potential to push someone from the fence to becoming a client. Or, if the audience is asking a number of questions on the same topic you now know that is an area you need to focus on more for next time. Your pitch should evolve as your business does, and absorbing outside perspectives can dramatically improve the message you are trying to send through your pitch presentation. Treat everything as a learning experience and your pitch will reflect this growth.

The Cannon Expands to Galleria Area Location

Wed, 09 Jan 2019 05:53:16 GMT

The Cannon Expands to Galleria Area Location

West Houston Entrepreneurial Hub Announces First “Off-Campus” Location

Houston, TX: The Cannon , a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub based on the west side of Houston, will be partnering with commercial real estate group Griffin Partners and opening their first “Off-Campus” location at 675 Bering , just west of The Galleria. Featuring numerous individual offices, a variety of open and dedicated desk solutions, and bookable conference rooms, The Cannon – Post Oak will provide a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and small businesses to join The Cannon’s growing community but base their business in a Galleria area location that’s more central than The Cannon’s main campus, located in the developing Founders District just north of CityCentre.

MORE INFORMATION | FLOORPLAN – BOOK YOUR TOUR

All community members working out of The Cannon – Post Oak will be integrated into the larger Cannon Community and receive access to events at The Cannon, including the ability to work out of The Cannon’s main campus a selected number of days a month. Additionally, memberships and offices at The Cannon – Post Oak will retain The Cannon’s flexible month-to-month lease terms.

The Cannon, which is scheduled to open its main, 120,000 square foot coworking and office space later this spring, will continue to explore opportunities to grow the support system for Houston’s entrepreneurs and small businesses in Houston through additional off-campus locations around the city.

“The size and scale of Houston can create challenges for entrepreneurs and small businesses to make the trip out to our main campus, so we’ve recognized that it’s increasingly important for us to grow our presence across the city and create more accessible solutions for Houston’s entrepreneurs,” said The Cannon’s Founder & CEO Lawson Gow. Gow added “We’re especially thrilled to partner with an innovative group like Griffin Partners who shares our entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to Houston.”

This is Griffin Partners’ first coworking project, and President & CEO Edward Griffin is eagerly anticipating the new expansion.

“We are excited to work with The Cannon and expand our offerings to include coworking space, allowing us to reach a brand new population and create new opportunities for Houston’s entrepreneurs, small businesses and startups,” Griffin said.

The Cannon – Post Oak will officially open on January 21, 2019. For more information and to book your tour today please visit Here .

About The Cannon

The Cannon is a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub located on the west side of Houston just north of the intersection of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8. Currently there are just over 100 companies in The Cannon community working out of a temporary 20,000 square foot office building. The future home of The Cannon is a 120,000 square foot warehouse that will become one of the largest coworking and office spaces in the world, and will be home to over 800 of Houston’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses, and surrounded by service providers geared to help their business grow.

About Griffin Partners

Griffin Partners is a Houston based owner and operator of commercial real estate properties throughout Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and Texas with a current total portfolio of 4.5 million square feet valued at over $750 million. The company was formed in 1980, and its four senior principals average over 35 years each of diverse real estate experience. Since its founding, Griffin Partners has acquired, developed or managed over 13.4 million square feet of office, retail and light industrial property valued at over $1.8 billion.

Coming in 2019…

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:58:50 GMT

Coming in 2019...

As 2018 wanes and 2019 approaches, reindeer, red bows, and impending New Year’s resolutions dominate our days. At The Cannon, we know one red bow we can’t wait to unwrap in the coming year: our shiny new home!

Construction clips along daily on campus. Where months ago there was nothing but dirt, now a more complete picture is coming together. “Now that the roof is on, we are able to power through whatever weather delays Houston decides to throw at us,” noted Managing Director Brad True.

The Waiting Room never ceases to bring us new faces, knowledge, and startup synergy, and we recently crossed the 100 company threshold! But we couldn’t be more excited for our new home. As the steel skeleton on our campus evolves into a finished structure, future offices are filling up as our Founding Members pick their prized positions.

Complete with 11 conference rooms, a movie theater, wellness room, gameroom and more, The Cannon’s picturesque new office and coworking space will redefine the possibilities of startup life in Houston. We couldn’t be more excited to provide the platform and infrastructure for the brilliant grinders we welcome through our doors. And at over 50% preleased, our future home is filling fast!

Book a Tour today and see yourself in The Cannon!

Silver Screen Startups

Tue, 11 Dec 2018 06:03:48 GMT

Silver Screen Startups

Here at The Cannon , we’re big fans of the little guy duking it out against entrenched powers and coming out on top. David over Goliath. Luke Skywalker and the Rebels over Darth Vader and the Empire. Something about a passionate person achieving victory after operating from a perceived deficit, size, budget, or otherwise, gets us going.

Startups are the obvious little guy in the business world, but we prefer those doing the dance far from traditional hotspots like Silicon Valley and Seattle. Like most places, Hollywood is home to entrenched powers which control much of the movie business. Due to advances, technological and otherwise, the film production industry finds itself open to a new wave of influential underdogs. Here’s a group of five silver screen startups shaking up the scene.

Qloo

This New York-based startup brands itself as “the cultural AI.” Qloo predicts tastes for specific target audiences and maps the relationships between six cultural categories (music, film, fashion, travel, books, and dining) to provide catered output to its clients.

Mubi

Overwhelmed by the plethora of options on Netflix? Drowning in your On Demand movie choices? Mubi is perfect for you. Mubi carries a “handpicked selection of the best films for $8.99/month,” removing all that pesky choice.

Faceshift

Founded in Zurich in 2012, Faceshift creates technology that allows animated avatars and other figures to capture a person’s facial expressions in real time. They famously worked on the World of Warcraft feature, bringing millions of gamers’ computer fantasies to the silver screen. Faceshift must’ve done something right, because Apple acquired the group just a fews years later.

Iris.TV

Iris TV helps clients (like CBS, Time, Sports Illustrated, and Playboy) use video content to engage viewers longer. The group has developed a tool, dubbed Campaign Manager, that learns from viewer behavior and provides increasingly monetizable video archives.

Magic Leap

Magic Leap provides AI designers the tools to create incredible interactive games and experiences in real world settings. The learning resources and community aspect serve inventive minds of all ages, while the suite of hardware and software tools Magic Leap offers makes the group a viable competitor to even the most technologically advanced AI technology.

Oil & Gas Startups to Watch

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 06:11:05 GMT

Oil & Gas Startups to Watch

Oil & Gas. Texas’ bread and butter. Between exploration, production, and refinement, oil and gas touches, and funds, almost everything inside this great state. However, an industry so staggeringly broad and interwoven with the fabric of our society is in danger of stagnating, becoming complacent, and collapsing under its own weight. Lucky for us, innovators in Texas and beyond are changing the field by applying new ideas and technologies to traditional industry puzzles. Here’s a look at some of the most innovative startups in Oil and Gas.

Data Gumbo

Andrew Bruce and the team at Data Gumbo are turning the industry on its head by using blockchain technology to bridge the day-contract divide between production and drilling companies. They analyze dozens of KPIs to reduce rig costs at least 25%, and measure those analytics against performance to provide incentivized day-contracts backed by a blockchain crypto-secured system.

Belmont Technology

Another Houston-based group, Belmont looks to utilize AI to highlight patterns and relationships in geoscience data sets. The team is currently building a tool, what the call a “Cognitive System,” to bolster human intelligence during production and exploration, intending to reduce risk and decision making time.

Pursuit Technologies

Like a number of startups, the Calgary team has mastered one specific area very well. Pursuit developed an evaluation tool for multi-stage completions that works to reduce water production while increasing oil production in horizontal wells. More oil, less water.

DeepCast.ai

Based in Houston, DeepCast.ai develops tools to evaluate everything from well locations to production forecasting, using the power of big-data consulting to provide their clients with data-dicing customized platforms and modules. In their own words, DeepCast looks to “automate manual tasks and streamline your data pipeline so you can focus on business critical decisions.”

Triad Technologies

This Houston group works hand in hand with NASA. Triad developed an “aerospace-derived optical multiphase flow meter” for producers. In plain English, Triad works on aerospace technology, developed a tool to measure flow and pressure, and are working to make that product commercially viable in the oil and gas industry. Triad is expecting their space tech to work just as well on the ground.

Tax Law and Your Startup

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 06:17:08 GMT

Tax Law and Your Startup

People are calling the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act the first major tax shake-up in three decades. While the full scope of the changes brought about by this new act is yet unseen, there’s no denying the sweeping effects these new tax laws touch every aspect of American life. But how can these laws potentially affect the startup world? We took a deeper dive below:

C-Corp Tax Reduction

Most startups, especially those looking to raise third-party investment, register as C-Corporations. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cuts C-Corp tax rates from 35% to 21%. Early-stage startups not yet generating meaningful profits may not see the intended benefits for some time, but those making money should feel a generous alleviation come tax time.

S-Corp and LLC Changes

Startups registered as S-Corps as LLCs qualify for a 20% deduction on business income. The law excludes a number of industries from the deduction (Law, Health, Financial services, Brokerage services, Consulting). However, businesses from those industries can still qualify if your income falls below a designated level (Single filers- $157,000/Joint filers- $315,000) with specific phase out clauses.

Accelerated Depreciation

Prior to the Tax Act’s implementation, startups had to depreciate the cost of equipment over an asset’s useful life. With the new tax laws in place, companies can deduct $1 million in equipment in the year it is purchased. Essentially, you can expense twice the amount in 2018 through 2022 than in 2017. While startups are not always asset-rich, this represents yet another potential positive for the startup community. Deduct while you can – accelerated depreciation gets phased out in 2022.

Entertainment and Transportation Deductions

Entertainment expenses (read concerts, sporting events) are no longer deductible under the new tax laws. Transportation expenses, be they mass transit, ride-sharing apps, or any other provided transportation, are also no longer allowed.

Goodbye, AMT Tax

The Tax Cuts and Jobs act removed the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) entirely for corporations, and raised the threshold for individuals significantly. This promises to alleviate financial pressure on entrepreneurs by helping them to avoid paying the AMT.

EllieGrid: A Spoonful of Sugar

Tue, 20 Nov 2018 06:21:13 GMT

EllieGrid: A Spoonful of Sugar

People don’t like taking their medicine. It’s been true since Mary Poppins offered up a spoonful of sugar to those two obstinate children. Young or old, we as humans struggle to keep up with the pills and potions prescribed to save our lives, and it costs us dearly in lost lives and dollars. EllieGrid founders Abe Matamoros, Regina Vatterott, and Hieu Nguyen, saw that problem and sought a solution. They sold $200,000 of the resulting product in the first two months after its conception, and they’re only getting started.

Now that EllieGrid, the winner of our first Insperity Innovation Scholarship and recipient of a complimentary 6 month dedicated desk membership (and fresh off a nomination for Forbes 30 under 30 ), has gotten settled in at The Cannon, we sat down with Abe to discuss why EllieGrid is the spoonful of sugar we need.

The Cannon: Thanks for taking the time Abe! We want to know about EllieGrid. Why do y’all do what you do?

Abe: A couple of years ago Regina and I were walking to lunch together with some friends when, out of nowhere, she just collapsed. We took her to the hospital, really worried because we had no idea what happened. Once she got better, she told us she hadn’t been taking her medication as prescribed. She had one of those pill boxes that say Sunday through Saturday on the top and have time periods on the side. It took her 30 minutes every week to organize the pills into the right compartment. Even when she organized it she would forget to take her it (her medicine), and she hated that her friends called it an “old people pill box.”

We started looking at other products and found a ton of smart dispensers and smart pill boxes, but they were all targeting older demographics; people above the age of 70. At that time, my grandfather was also struggling with medication and I had an encounter with him. I had this thing with my grandpa and this thing with Regina, who was advertising for thousands of independent pharmacies at the time. She also realized that there’s nothing for people below 70. That’s why we designed EllieGrid: a smart pill box.

We’re primarily targeting people between 35 and 65; you know, that baby boomer demographic that takes a lot of medication but don’t want something that makes them feel old or stigmatized. Even on our website we have young people taking vitamins, things like that so that people can feel more empowered and not more sick.

We just want to help people live happier and healthier lives. Medication non-compliance is a huge problem. The direct cost of non-compliance in the U.S. is $300 billion because people don’t take their medicine right, then they get sick, then they go to the hospital, then they get prescribed more medicine and it just snowballs. Over 125,000 people die every year because they don’t take their medicine correctly, and we just want to help solve this problem.

TC: Have you found consumers with an appetite for your product?

A: Well, we started it in school and we didn’t have any money. Regina put up a website essentially saying, “We don’t have this product yet but here’s the idea. Buy it now and we’ll use the money to go through manufacture and design.” We got really lucky because a lot of people seemed to really want the product. Within two months we sold about $200,000 worth of product. We used that money to go through manufacturing and production and this year we were able to deliver all those units. We just manufactured a new batch and are starting to sell consistently.

TC: What’s next?

A: We want to start growing, selling the product, lowering our customer acquisition cost, and start gaining more users. In regards to technology, we want to start learning our users’ habits through the sensors on the device and on the phone, so that we can ultimately predict when people will miss their medicine before it even happens or trigger alarms at optimal times based on this user’s habit. Maybe they wake up later on Saturday than they do on Monday. So on Saturday we wouldn’t sound the alarm early, we’ll sound it once they wake up. We want to implement an A.I. It’s hard for a human to pick up on all those data points, but an A.I. can do that and tell a caregiver, “Hey, this person is more likely to miss their medicine today.” Whatever it takes to increase the possibility that they take their medicine.

You can visit Abe and the EllieGrid team online or on campus at The Cannon .

Everyday Leadership: The Secret Sauce to Innovation

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 06:27:27 GMT

Editor’s Note – As part of their committment to the Houston Innovation Ecosystem, we are thrilled to partner with Insperity on an ongoing Startup Series on The Cannon Blog. Below is the first of many articles from subject matter experts on the Insperity team, enjoy!

Everyday Leadership: the Secret Sauce to Innovation

Kelah Raymond

Insperity Performance Consultant

Running a lean business means you need to get the most from every encounter and every employee. If you want a competitive edge in business and innovation, how are you promoting everyday leadership?

In other words, what are you doing to empower your employees to make decisions that lead to business success?

Everyday leadership is something everyone in your business can do. It’s daily, intentional actions that encourage communication, connections and community within your business. And at the heart of it all is a shared business vision.

Here are five everyday leadership qualities to look for when you’re reviewing or expanding your workforce:

Being present – Everyday leaders distinguish themselves by showing up and following through on commitments. They participate, roll up their sleeves and keep at it until the job gets done.
Emotional Intelligence – Emotional Intelligence, or EQ ,is the ability to recognize, understand and manage emotions – in oneself and in others. Those who possess EQ take time to listen and share their own experiences when needed. And they know what it means to balance the needs of their team with those of the company.
Natural coaching instincts – A one-size-fits-all coaching strategy may not motivate every member of your team. Everyday leaders look for ways to tailor their coaching to the needs of the staff – making the whole team better.
Flexibility – Everyday leaders embrace new ideas and aren’t afraid of forward, and even radical, thinking. They’re comfortable questioning the status quo in favor of a better result. Challenges and change are just part of the growth process.
Greater Good – Everyday leaders keep an eye on the company’s vision while performing their daily tasks. They know their role and how it contributes to the company’s mission. The greater good is bigger than – but dependent on – the individual role.

How to nurture leaders

Having a culture of everyday leadership starts with you: Model the behaviors you want the team to follow. When everyone is on the same page, the following benefits can occur which could even affect your bottom line:

Employee satisfaction: Empowered employees are more engaged and happy in their jobs.
Employee retention: Engaged employees don’t want to leave, saving on recruiting, onboarding and training.
Increased productivity: Employees who know how their job fits into the overall mission can be more productive.

For more on the best practices of leading a team, download our free magazine, The Insperity Guide to Leadership and Management .

Vote Blockchain

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 06:32:34 GMT

Vote Blockchain

Midterms are in the books and once again they dominated the surrounding news cycles. While swings, upsets, and zombie victories in Nevada ate up a large portion of the stories, an all too familiar topic once again reared its ugly head. The Wired headline read: “ Voting Machine Meltdowns are Normal – And That’s A Problem. ” The Cedar Rapids story went: “ Mistaken Identity at Polls Causes Voter Woes .” Even President Trump and Attorney General Sessions chimed in to warn about voter fraud . It’s 2018 and robots are running parkour courses. Don’t we have some way of addressing voter fraud and poll problems? The short answer: yes.

Luckily, if anyone is really interested in fixing the problem, the solution already exists. Inventive minds are busy applying blockchain technology to a myriad of world issues. Cleaning up our voting process is critical to restoring integrity to our democratic method, and blockchain applications are the way to get it done.

Despite the internet’s pervasive influence in our daily lives, only 14 countries and a handful of U.S. states currently offer voting through online media. The hesitation comes in large part from fear of increased vulnerability. Recent revelations from a number of companies, including Facebook, revealed that foreign entities have and continue to interfere with our electoral process using the internet as a means of attack.

Online voting also presents new and complex difficulties in preventing voter fraud, verifying votes, and guaranteeing voter anonymity. Blockchain technology potentially offers a secure solution through its advanced and to-date uncrackable cryptography method. If entire currencies are based on the integrity of blockchain technology, isn’t it time to trust it with our votes?

There are currently dozens of startups focusing their energy on providing integrity to voting processes. While governments have been slow to adopt this technology, corporations and organizations around the world have already begun to successfully utilize these companies’ solutions in their own votes. Voting startups like Follow My Vote , Agora , Voatz , and others provide secure and transparent voting to their clients. Hopefully someday soon, the United States government uses these startups and their promising blockchain applications to clean up our voting process.

Startups by Kids

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 05:39:53 GMT

Startups for Kids

Last week we talked about startups for kids: toy makers and teachers using technological advancements in combination with tried and true educational principals to build tools for youth. This week, we’re taking a look at the other side of the coin.. Afterall, the startup boom isn’t only reserved for legal voters or even people old enough to drive. Every day more children are founding their own companies and successfully building their own brands. Take a look at these five stellar kids running their own startups!

Mo’s Bows

Moziah Bridges

Lots of kids Moziah’s age (15) dream of an NBA contract. Moziah may not play in the league, but he has a contract nonetheless. His company, Mo’s Bows, sells bowties internationally. After building his brand, stopping by Shark Tank, and expanding to a $600,000 business, Mo recently signed an official licensing deal with the NBA.

Me & the Bees Lemonade

Mikhaila Ulmer

Mikhaila stuck to the script, starting a lemonade stand like millions of kids before her. However Mikhaila’s lemonade was a little more successful than the traditional neighborhood booth. Whole Foods, along with three other major chains, now carries Me & the Bees nationwide, and the future looks bright for young Miss Ulmer.

Botangle

Erik Finnman

A teacher told Erik Finnman he should drop out and work at McDonalds because he’d never amount to anything. Erik dropped out of highschool, but instead of flipping burgers he invented his own educational system, Botangle. The robotics wiz runs a team of programmers across a variety of projects and is continuing to shine as an example of a self-starting success.

Isabella Rose Taylor

This designer got an early start. At the age of 12, she became the youngest person in history to sell her collection at Nordstrom. Now 15, Isabella shows annually at fashion weeks around the world and continues to grow her brand and collections.

Gladiator Lacrosse

Rachel Zeitz

Rachel Zeitz couldn’t find durable enough lacrosse gear, so in 2013 she started making her own. The fifteen-year-old sold $200,000 of gear in her first year and over $1,000,000 in her second. Her tough gear and tenacious business sense serves as an inspiration on and off the field.

Startups for Kids

Wed, 24 Oct 2018 04:35:07 GMT

Startups for Kids

At The Cannon, we host startups of all kinds. We have startups that are changing the way we work with energy and startups that cure your hangover before it begins . We’re home to startups who connect field sales teams and startups passionate about connecting fans to the sports they love . Startups are serious business, but that doesn’t mean they can’t also be fun. This week, we’ve tracked down four fantastic startups that focus on bringing joy and growth to children. Check out these startups for kids.

Lemonade Day

Lemonade Day isn’t just for kids, it’s by kids! For a decade now, Lemonade Day has lived its mission of making today’s youth tomorrow’s business and community leaders – one lemonade stand at a time. Lemonade Day’s goal of spreading entrepreneurial spirit and showing children how to make it happen for themselves lines up directly with ours, so we can’t wait to see them continue to grow in Houston.

Azawhistle Kids

Kids have hated cleaning their rooms since the first kid threw the first towel on his first bedroom floor. Azawhistle Kids cuts through the clutter, recognizing the “connection between having a clean, organized space and leading happy, healthy lives.” To help, they’ve created apps, games and stories that teach kids life skills like cleanliness and focus through activities based on yoga and meditation principles.

littleBits

DIY trickled its way from empty nesters’ Facebook updates to Pintrest to Etsy and now to the world of children’s toys. Introducing littleBits, 2018’s Toy of the Year winner. littleBits sells make-your-own-toy kits allowing kids to make everything from a whirring, beeping R2-D2 to instruments and customized smart home devices.

Music Lifeboat

The team at Music Lifeboat believes every child should have access to a musical education. They understand that kids participating in high quality music programs are much less likely to drop out of school. To that end, they’re working with music teachers and non-profit organizations to build a sustainable solution for free music education for children around the world. Their free app Band Blast has already won awards for its efficacy as a musical education tool, and Music Lifeboat is just getting started.

Osmo

Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler were looking to teach coding while appealing to a wider digital crowd. The result: Osmo. Osmo brings toy innovation and coding to older children and adults, allowing the users to dynamically create their own projects. They combine physical toys with an app, and the resulting opportunities are endless! Users can code their own games, illustrate, create music, and a lot more.

Startup Strategy – Protecting Your IP

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 20:53:58 GMT

Startup Strategy – Protecting Your IP

Here at The Cannon, we’re all about creatively intelligent people with the guts to chase their ideas. Ideas, especially the kind we witness in action on our campus, hold the power to change the world. That makes them pretty valuable. Whether founding the next Facebook or the next Snuggie, protecting your ideas (and your IP) is critical to retaining that value and your startup. Here are some things to think about to help you protect the things you dream about.

Software Selection

Apple doesn’t use a 4-digit passcode for its sensitive information – just your old iPhone. Make sure the software you’re using has appropriate encryption levels for the scale and scope of information you’re dealing with. You should also take caution in using open source software. While it may help speed up your process, some licenses are tricky. More than a few companies have lost their IP due to accidental licensing infractions, or worse, turning their work itself into open source software.

Go Home, Roger

Working on your own work after work – ambitious. Working on your own ideas at your current job – risky business. If your ideas are too private for a coffee shop, take them home! Better to find a way to work from the living room than risk IP by violating any employment obligations or agreements. If it’s worth working on this hard, it’s worth doing right.

Friends, right?

So many brilliant ideas develop organically in conversation between friends. While that informality provides the fertile creative foundation for the ideas themselves, it’s important to structure your company appropriately as that idea grows. Co-founders need founder agreements. Clearly laying out voting rights, percentages, roles and responsibilities enables you to act within plainly stated goals and boundaries. While founders agreements may seem stiff, even corporate, they exist to protect founders and friends, their relationships and ideas, and any company that may arise from their combination.

Look, ideas are fun. We see the joy chasing your brilliant mental machinations brings every day. Protecting your work isn’t a thrill ride, but it can be easy when you get in the habit. Early and often, think about what you’re creating and how you’re keeping it safe.

Houston: Growing in Size and Style

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 20:56:29 GMT

Houston: Growing in Size and Style

About a month ago, GQ released an article calling Houston the coolest city in the South, which was not news to us here at The Cannon. Houston is home to some of the most original and productive creative talent in the world. From musicians like Robert Earl Davis and Robert Glasper, to artists and chefs like JooYoung Choi and Chris Shepherd. We invented breast implants, the weed eater, domed stadiums, and Wes Anderson. The City of Houston is chock full of people, and those people have some pretty good ideas.

Where’s the Divide?

Despite bursting at the seams with innovative talent, Houston receives less than 1% of U.S. early stage funding. The 4th largest city in America, Houston boasts only 10% the VC deal volume of neighboring Austin, a hub for disenchanted Californians. Houston startups demand growth capital. Where’s the divide?

While Houston lacks startup capital, it’s rife with entrenched industry. Home to Oil & Gas giants, the nation’s largest port, and the world’s largest medical center, the city doesn’t want for established powers. Those industries support the city, but have yet to make meaningful investment into innovation and new business. Until now.

New from Old

Innovators like Andrew Bruce are disrupting the entrenched industry with companies like his, Data Gumbo, who leverage blockchain technology to create massive savings through smart contracts (Data Gumbo currently applies them to O&G but the sky’s the limit). Bruce and his team represent just one example of the brilliant work coming out of Houston. There’s not enough support for creative entrepreneurs in Houston right now, but we’re fixing that.

The Cannon is home to over 80 new and growing companies, and we make it our mission to provide them everything they need to thrive. We’ve just launched Cannon Ventures, an angel network and venture studio program that helps raise money and grow startups. Don’t be afraid to dream big, strike out, and do your own thing, Houston. We’ll be here fighting for you.

Cannon Ventures Launches with Sports Tech Pitch Night!

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 21:02:48 GMT

sEATz, Win-Win Highlight First Cannon Ventures Pitch Night

Over 400 potential investors and supporters of the Houston Startup Ecosystem packed The Cannon on Thursday night to hear pitches from two of Houston’s most exciting startups – sEATz and Win-Win. The event was the first of many pitch nights that will be hosted by Cannon Ventures, a new investor network and venture studio that will be anchored out of The Cannon.

Guests were greeted by custom folders produced by printing partner InfoVine and enjoyed snacks and beverages from a variety of event partners, all who shared Cannon Ventures’ dedication to growing the Houston startup ecosystem. And following an introduction from ESPN Radio Host/Houston sports media legend (and fellow sports entrepreneur) Lance Zeirlein and a rousing speech by The Cannon and Cannon Ventures CEO Lawson Gow, it was time for the main event.

Win-Win Wows the Crowd

Leading the Sports Tech Pitch Night off was Houston native (but begrudgingly a current Silicon Valley resident) Mike T. Brown. Brown started his company, Win-Win, after a winding career that featured stops at Duke University, the NFL and eventually as a lead growth manager for a Silicon Valley startup.

Once Mike saw an opportunity to connect athletes with their fans via online competitions, all in the name of promoting that athlete’s respective charity, Win-Win was born. After an award-winning path through the prestigious startup accelerator 500 Startups, Brown is in full growth mode and is currently fundraising for his next round. And while presently marooned in Silicon Valley, Brown hopes to transition back to his hometown of Houston and become a part of the tremendous startup ecosystem currently under development in our city.

sEATz Closes With A Bang

Following an engaging and exciting pitch from Brown, Houston-based sEATz took the stage and continued the momentum with another fantastic presentation. No one likes waiting in line. sEATz combats that live event inevitability through an on-demand in-seat delivery application for fans at stadiums and venues, creating an even better game day experience for fans across sports, music and live events.

Led by Co-Founders Marshall Law and Aaron Knape, as well as lead developer Craig Ceccanti, sEATz has piloted at numerous venues and events in the Houston area in their first month in action, including Rice Football and Sugar Land Skeeters games, and has averaged under 8 minutes of delivery time per order. And they won’t be limited to just food and beverages; by next year sEATz could be bringing your favorite jersey or even autographed items right to your seat! With the possibility to operate within thousands of venues across the US, sEATz potential is nearly unlimited.

“What a night! It means so much to us that we can bring out so many Houstonians willing to support our startup ecosystem and find funding for great companies founded by Houstonians like sEATz and Win-Win.” – Cannon Ventures and The Cannon CEO Lawson Gow

Cannon Ventures will hold pitch nights for eligible startups every 6-8 weeks at The Cannon. Interested in investing in either one of these companies or in becoming a member of the Cannon Ventures Investor Network? APPLY HERE!

Insperity Innovation Scholarship Launch

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 21:07:14 GMT

The Cannon Announces Launch of Insperity Innovation Scholarship

Insperity to sponsor one Houston startup or small business with free workspace

Houston, TX : The Cannon, a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub, today announced it has entered into a relationship with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources (HR) and business performance solutions for America’s best businesses, to launch the Insperity Innovation Scholarship.

APPLY NOW

“We are thrilled to partner with a Houston organization like Insperity to help fulfill a mission we both share – building the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Houston and establishing our city as a premier home for startups and small businesses,” said The Cannon’s Founder and CEO Lawson Gow.

Additional Information:

The application period for the Insperity Innovation Scholarship is September 24 through October 11, and the finalists will be notified on October 15. Finalists will pitch their company to a panel of judges on October 18, and the winner will receive a free workspace inside The Cannon for the next six months.
Companies based in the Houston area with 3-8 employees are eligible.
For more information or to apply for the scholarship, visit thecannonhouston.com/Insperity.
For additional questions, please contact Brad True at btrue@thecannonhouston.com.

APPLY NOW

Startups In Space

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:12:19 GMT

Startups In Space

Yesterday, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced a partnership with Space X: a 2023 flight around the moon. The project, dubbed #dearMoon, will culminate in a week long journey with Maezawa and six to eight artists from around the world. Pretty cool, right? Space X and Musk have been at the forefront of space innovation for a while now, but they’re not the only ones with skin in the game. The space-startup space grows bigger every year, and the ambitious leaders of the companies comprising it are taking us to places we can only imagine. Check out a few of the space startups pushing the limits today.

Fleet

Adelaide, Australia-based Fleet combines expertise in satellites and IoT to create a nanosatellite constellation network. Last year they raised $3.7M in Series A funding. This year they’ll launch the constellation, allowing them to sell remotely operated, satellite based IoT.

Spaceflight Industries

Launch and satellite service Sspaceflight Iindustries does it all. The Seattle company provides global communication networks, launching rideshare and satellite infrastructure to both the private sector and government. That’s why last year they raised $150M in Series B funding.

Vector

The group at Vector aims to join Fleet in the nanosatellite network game. At their pace, they’ll be there soon. The Arizona based team raised $21M in Series A funding after a successful test launch and flight in 2017.Vector scheduled three additional launches this year and looks to continue their successful streak.

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is technically a startup, but this burgeoning space giant won’t hold that title for much longer. The California company raised $75M in Series D funding, bringing their current value upwards of $1B. They’ve launched four satellites to date, and the ticker on their home page keeps going up.

Ursa

Ursa developed a unique satellite analytics system which is gaining a great deal a lot of attention. After raising $7M in Series A funding in 2017, the company grew its crude oil storage monitoring product. Their satellite based bioresource analytics products and custom analytics tools definitely make them an interesting new player in the space.

What’s Next? 4 Startup Trends

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 21:09:11 GMT

What’s Next? 4 Startup Trends

Happy Tuesday startup world! If you’ve noticed the trend, our articles typically come out on Tuesdays. We like to miss your manic Monday mood and still deliver your week an early boost. Trends are interesting things. Those who follow trends too closely can be doomed to see-saw through life. Those who anticipate or predict trends tend to stay ahead of the curve and successfully navigate choppy future waters. Startup trends are no different.

As 2020 approaches and the world’s economies morph and change, so will the basis upon which new companies are started. Here are some startup trends to look for in the coming years.

The Continued Rise of IoT

Over 21 billion devices strong, the Internet of Things represents a massive, growing trend. A recent study revealed roughly 67% of domestic businesses currently utilize IoT in their business. Newly developed block chain infrastructure (currently utilized by Cannon companies DataGumbo and Paylight) provides reliability, security, stability, and seamless integration as it integrates with the IoT. A number of ventures have already sprung from the merger of the two. Expect more in the years to come.

Gig Work

Last year the number of gig workers grew by nearly 25% more than the previous year. Why? The “added flexibility of a non-traditional work style.” Whether this is true or individuals are merely responding to high-turnover in traditional job markets, this is forcing startups and larger companies alike to rely on part-term employees for more and more of their labor. Look for that trend to continue.

Micro-Moments

If you ask your friendly neighborhood goodie, a micro-moment is any moment that triggers a customer to use their mobile device on the fly. Customers have become conditioned to using their smartphones to do everything from learning new things to shopping (even when they don’t realize it). Micro-moments have accelerated the customer expectations for “right here, right now,” leading to the advent of such apps as IFTTT. 2017 saw an 80% increase in the mobile searches with the term “best,” a 35% increase in “product review” searches, and significant increase in “near me” searches. Look for micro-moments to continue to gain importance.

Internet User-Growth Slowing

Last year, 49% of the world’s population had internet access. That may seam like a lot, but user growth rate is slowing. Online users only grew 7% last year, down from the 12% growth in 2016. Smartphone users remained flat, further indicating market saturation. That may seem like a troubling statistic, but those who are online spent 5.9 hours per day on the internet in 2017, up from 5.4 hours in 2016. As internet user growth slows and existing users spend more time online, it will become increasingly important to monitor your demographic and their typical online behavior. Stay ahead of these trends and keep your startup ahead of the game.

IOTimeline

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 21:16:09 GMT

IOTimeline

As with most startup industries, IoT has always been a risky idea. Teaching the machines surrounding us to communicate? It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but that’s the reality in which we now live. In 1950 Alan Turing recommended that “it is best to provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English. This process could follow the normal teaching of a child.” While the potential rewards for creating sentient shop vacs are many, the risks also pile up.

We still do not understand the power and scope of pervasive entertainment, nor do we fully grasp the role of IoT in the global hacking which has become more a part of our world after recent document divulgences and election meddling. In 2014, the number of mobile devices and machines finally surpassed the human population, and today over 22 billion machines communicate daily through IoT. As the Internet of Things continues to grow both in size and capability, it’s important to step back and understand where it came from, what it can do, and where it may go. Here’s an IoT timeline taking a look at the trajectory of this booming industry.

1990-1999

1990: John Romkey created a toaster that could be turned on and off over the Internet for the 1989 INTEROP conference.
1996: Just three years after the United States government allowed civilians to use GPS, GM releases the first cars with OnStar technology.
1999: Kevin Ashton, formerly of Proctor & Gamble and MIT, coins the term “Internet of Things.”

2000-2009

2000: LG releases first IoT refrigerator.
2002: Amazon launches AWS, ushering in cloud technology.
2008-09: Cisco declares IoT “born” sometime in this frame as more things are connected to the internet than people.

2010-Present

2010: Former Apple execs Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers found home security system Nest.
2014: In order to create IoT standards, AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM, and Intel form the Industrial Internet Consortium.
2018: During Black Hat, IoT security firm Armis surveys over 100 IoT and security professionals. According to Charlie Osborn, “A single security flaw or overlooked security update can blackout an entire city. Vendors are still catching up with implementing patch processes in IoT products, and cyberattacks are seemingly becoming a weapon of choice in today’s world. IoT security must be taken seriously or the future of such next-generation technologies could be darker than we think.”

IoT is a rapidly expanding tool. Utilized correctly, it has the potential to augment human and technological advances exponentially. It’s important to keep in mind the risks that come with such power, and protect our businesses and information accordingly. IoT will continue to shape the future, and it’s up to us to control what that looks like.

A Look into Cannon Ventures

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 21:17:57 GMT

A Look into Cannon Ventures

Back in May you may remember reading about a launch party for a new group growing from within The Cannon. Cannon Ventures, an angel investment network founded within our walls, stepped from conception to execution as rising-star startups Data Gumbo and Thrive + pitched to a room packed with eager, savvy investors. Now, just two short, sweltering months later, Cannon Ventures has grown to team of five full-time employees, meeting with potential investors from across the city and interviewing dozens of local startups. Cannon Ventures is on the move.

Thoughts From Our Founder

I sat down with our Founder and CEO, and Cannon Ventures founder, Lawson Gow, to pick his brain about the inspiration and ideation behind this big bucks buddy system for startups. He echoed what he’s been saying all along about our role as a growth and success facilitator in the city of Houston. Speaking from The Waiting Room inside The Cannon’s campus, Gow told me, “The Cannon’s mission is to build up Houston’s entrepreneurial resources. We’ve seen startup hubs emerge all over the country. Houston has fallen behind in terms of developing the infrastructure our entrepreneurs need to succeed; especially when it comes to early stage funding sources. Cannon Ventures is rallying people together into a network of investors that congregate regularly to seed-fund Houston-based startups.

That’s the idea we have championed from our inception. From opening early as a haven for businesses bludgeoned by Hurricane Harvey, to the cold Karbach beer in every fridge, we have always been about gathering hard working people and providing them a platform in Houston through which they can shine the brightest. Discussing the collaborative, DIY nature of both The Cannon and it’s new investment network, Gow stressed, “We are democratizing angel investing — allowing anyone willing to invest 5k over the course of the year to join. It gets more money on the table, more individuals off the bench and on the field, activating them as angel investors. Through this inclusivity, we can develop a whole generation of investors who are comfortable making early-stage bets on high-growth startups.”

See For Yourself

Cannon Ventures is young, like The Cannon itself. Its passionate leaders and immediate success are what make it one of Houston’s most exciting new additions. If you’re an investor or work with a startup and would like to learn more about this Houston-centric, future-focused group, visit the Cannon Ventures website. Better yet, stop by The Cannon real soon.

Capital Culture Capitols

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 21:19:57 GMT

Capital Culture Capitols

Throughout time, cities have acted as centers of commerce, culture, and creativity. Out of need, for work, for shelter, or for safety, people flock to cities and bring with them a rich diversity of thought and way-of-life. When ancient Greeks left the countryside for cities like Thebes, Athens, and Sparta, those city-states produced some of the best art, writing, and democratic thought ever recorded. Cities like Paris and London began growing in population in the early 1500s and haven’t stopped since. From that growth and diversity has come some of the finest art, literature, fashion, and thought in our world.

Cities grow as their resources allow, and in many ways its people are a city’s greatest resource. In cities innovation springs not only from the individual, but from the collaborative efforts encouraged by proximity in place and purpose. Though people, or their parents, may hail from opposite sides of the world, in cities they find that those differences in background serve to benefit any number of common causes found within its limits. Today, a number of United States cities are growing with greater fervor and purpose than others, providing the same platform for collaborative creativity and innovation seen through history. Here are four of America’s fastest growing culture capitols:

Boise

Boise isn’t exactly known for its culture or diversity. As the city continues to emerge as a burgeoning tech capital, that may change sooner than expected. Home to companies like HP, Micron, and Kickstand, Boise is rapidly growing in both economics and population. While Boise’s picturesque surroundings are partly to blame for the recent increase in population, more influential is the ‘tech exodus’ from expensive cities like Seattle and San Francisco coupled with Boise’s fertile, blossoming tech industry. Forbes listed Boise as the fastest growing city in the United States, and the city shows no sign of slowing down.

San Antonio

San Antonio is just plain beautiful. Its aesthetic majesty and history have long made it a tourist destination, but San Antonio has pushed beyond its traditional industry. Fueled in large part by its proximity to the Eagle Ford Shale, San Antonio is flush with oil and natural gas. More than an energy economy, the river gem is home to strong Aerotech, IT, Finance and Education industries. Paired with rich cultural diversity and blossoming culinary and craft beer scene, this strong, balanced economy is attracting newcomers in flocks. After hosting this year’s NCAA Final Four, San Antonio glows brighter and continues to add residents at a feverish clip.

Raleigh

Raleigh sits in the heart of the research triangle, an area of the Piedmont in North Carolina defined by the presence of North Carolina State, North Carolina, and Duke University. As such, it’s one of America’s most technologically advanced cities. Coupled with a large IT presence (Cisco, IBM) and a strong aerotech industry, Raleigh has been a city on the rise for some time. Things were on the rise until last year’s HB2 fiasco cost the state a PayPal facility, NCAA hosting privileges, a Ringo Starr concert, and an estimated $300M-$3B in business and tourism. The city has bounced back strong, playing host to NCAA Golf and Baseball end of season tournaments and watching a steady rise in tourism and outside business. With its academic and tech-savvy culture, Raleigh will continue to climb.

Houston

Last but not least, our home city of Houston was in the news, and underwater, for much of 2017. That didn’t stop this bayou gem from hosting a Super Bowl, winning a World Series, and growing by about 100,000 people. Houston has long prospered as a center of industry, home to the world’s largest medical center and a massive oil and gas industry. The Texas jewel also boasts booming tech entrepreneurial communities and will soon be home to the world’s largest startup incubator. America is known as the great melting pot, and Houston holds the crown as the United States’ most diverse city. Fusions like Viet-cajun food and music from bands like Khruangbin reflect the thriving cultural collaboration at work in the city. Its industry and diversity make Houston a hotspot for commerce and culture, and people are flocking here in droves to take part.

Startup Celebrities

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Sat, 21 Jul 2018 21:22:00 GMT

Startup Celebrities

Celebrity businesses have always been…entertaining. We’ve seen business made entertainment, like Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. Last year saw entertainment turned business-gone-wrong, as Ja Rule’s Fyre Fest failed in flaming glory while racking up criminal charges along the way. No matter what, entertainers do just that – entertain. Some of the biggest stars, however, invest and in some cases personally work in successful startups. It’s impressive to see somebody save the day on the screen and actively invest time, money, or expertise in a business in the real world. So impressive that we dedicated this week to counting down our five favorite startup celebrities.

1. Jared Leto

The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman may have struggled to follow Heath Ledger’s incomparable Joker performance, but one thing he did get right: investing in over 40 startups. While he’s invested in companies like Meerkat and Blue Bottle Coffee, Leto claims his best creative and financial work came with IoT company Nest Labs, whom Google acquired in 2014 for $3.2 billion dollars. Not bad, Joker.

2. MC Hammer

MC Hammer didn’t always make the best business decisions in his musical hayday. The untouchable rapper was known for frequently flying two planes worth of entourage with him on tour. One thing he got right? Pandora. When Pandora was still called Savage Beast in the early 2000’s, Hammer guided founder Tim Westergren through his music executive meetings. Hammer didn’t stop there, investing in Flipboard, Bump Technologies, and Square.

3. Nas

Nasty Nas is more than one of the greatest rappers of all time. The Queensbridge native has invested in dozens of startups, including Coinbase, Rap Genius (now called Genius), and DeviantArt. After meeting Silicon Valley VC Ben Horowitz, Nas and his manager pledged to dedicate more than half of his portfolio to startup investment. Thanks Nas.

4. Madonna

The pop icon loved Vita Coco so much, she almost bought it. Madonna invested $1.5 million in 2010 after drinking the stuff every day on tour. Coconut water has since skyrocketed in popularity, and Vita Coco has an estimated 40% market share in the United States with $421.1 million in global retail sales in 2017.

5. Lady Gaga

Known for her poker face and grammy winning pipes, Lady Gaga is breaking into the beauty game. VC Lightspeed Venture Partners just funded Haus Beauty’s first round, and the company currently sits in stealth mode. If successful, Lady Gaga looks to join celebrities like Rihanna and Kylie Jenner with successful beauty product companies.

Startup World Cup

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 20:52:06 GMT

Startup World Cup

We have World Cup fever at The Cannon, and if you haven’t been paying attention, you’re missing out. Golden goals, goalie gaffes, and historic upsets have made this the wackiest World Cup in living memory. Despite the United States’ lamentable absence from the fixture festivities, the teams playing have provided nothing short of top notch entertainment. It’s great to see people from around the world coming together to celebrate a common interest, and it made us think about another World Cup that happened earlier this year: the Startup World Cup.

All Around the World

Run by Silicon Valley based VC, Fenox Venture Capital, Startup World Cup claims to be Silicon Valley’s largest pitch competition. No one’s discriminating by geography though. The Startup World Cup begins by hosting pitch competitions around the world that serve as qualifiers. Places like Brazil, Bangkok, and Brooklyn all played host to regional competitions. In fact, from August 2017 until April of this year, over 30 countries played host to different regional competitions. These competitions served as a platform for interested startups to test their mettle and vie for a trip to the main competition – The Grand Finale.

After a comprehensive global tour, the Startup World Cup Global Grand Finale is held in San Francisco. Dubbed a day of networking and competition, the Grand Finale plays hosts to a sea of startup and tech enthusiasts. In 2017’s competition, keynote speakers like Steve Wozniak graced the stage. This year, speakers including Marc Randolph, Co-Founder of Netflix, and Jay Vijayan, former Tesla CIO, addressed crowds before the real excitement began.

Pitching for the Prize

Fifteen different startups come from places as far away as Taiwan, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic. In front of a panel of investor judges from notable VCs such as the Founder Institute and Y Combinator, they vie for the top prize. Competitors come from a wide range of industry, including Education, AI and BioTech, and the winner brings home a $1,000,000 prize to their company. UniFa, an IoT solution for monitoring kindergarten mental and physical growth, participated in a slew of competitions before qualifying for the Startup World Cup.

Now champions, and owners of a $1,000,000 investment, UniFa has grown to a different echelon. That’s what makes Startup World Cup impressive. It brings together a range of people and ideas from around the world, engaging them in something they believe in passionately, and providing them an opportunity to compete and grow. But the cash prize is far from the top growth perspective. The sheer number of startups, VCs, and interested parties in one place create an energy that can move mountains (or at least bottom lines). So as you watch patriotic soccer fans rejoice in Russia this summer, remember the World Cup that exists for startups. Think about tossing your hat in the ring next year and maybe you’ll find yourself standing on stage at the 2019 Startup World Cup.

The American Startup

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 20:50:08 GMT

The American Startup

Fourth of July is finally here! Flags, fireworks, family and maybe (just maybe) a one day reprieve from startup madness. While we contemplated kicking back and celebrating the country we love, we couldn’t stop thinking about the startups we love. So for this, America’s birthday edition of The Cannon blog, we bring you a pack of patriotic startups. These companies are great American startup success stories who have succeeded in the service of their country’s ideals. Today, we salute you.

Patriot Boot Camp

A non-profit that is focused on creating more veteran-led businesses is an easy choice for our first showcase. Founded in 2012, PBC is a non-profit that provides American active duty service members, veterans, and their spouses access to educational programing, mentors, and resources to start and grow their own businesses.

Vote Watcher

Vote Watcher, a part of Blockchain Technologies Corporation, works with everyone from corporations to governments and labor unions, utilizing blockchain to provide efficient and transparent elections. By providing a highly auditable process, they hope to end any and all election fraud.

Signal

Signal supports freedom of speech in a time where information security proves increasingly important. Supported by sometimes-controversial first amendment champion Edward Snowden, Signal provides a secure, end-to-end encrypted communication platform. With access to data or wifi, app users can send high-quality group, text, voice, video, document, and picture messages anywhere in the world without SMS or MMS fees.

Voter

Internet trolls, redundant news cycles and media bias make it difficult for American voters to educate themselves and align with the right candidate. Branding itself a political matchmaker, Voter links engaged citizens with candidates who best match their ideals.

Grunt Style

Founded by Army veteran Dan Alarik and run almost exclusively by the fellow veterans he hired, Grunt Style makes their clothes right here in America. This patriotic apparel honors the red, white and blue, and those who risk their lives to defend her freedom.

These startups deserve celebration. As you’re launching fireworks with family or cracking cold ones with with friends this weekend, keep in mind those who serve; those who make all we do possible, and strive further to make it great. We thank you. Happy Birthday America!

Mind Your Startup: Three Tips for Startup Mental Health

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 20:46:28 GMT

Mind Your Startup: Three Tips for Startup Mental Health

If you’re in a co-working space or incubator, stop and take a look around. You and the people surrounding you, slaving away to build a tangible dream, seem fearless. You brave pioneers strive into the unknown everyday, attacking it with the indomitable spirit necessary to succeed in a world that often demands jumping without a chute and flapping like hell. Long hours under humming lights grow taxing, and it’s important to tend to your mental health with the same vigor and care as your growing business. Here are three things to watch for when keeping yourself and your startup mentally sound.

Get Some Sweat

Of course working out keeps you physically fit and helps build and maintain self-confidence. Exercise also triggers your body’s release of endorphins and dopamine, boosting mental clarity and happiness. Working out at the same time everyday increases that chemical output while also helping your mind build a routine, improving sleep and focus.

Get Some Sun

For startups, sunlight can be scarce. Up before first light. In the office burning the late night oil. Long hours hunched over a computer punish your spine and eyes, but lack of sun can be worse. People who lack regular sunlight exposure, and the health benefits that come with it, are significantly likely to develop physical maladies like the flu and mental illnesses like depression. Get outside!

Get Some Sleep

I know, I know. Good joke. Sleep for those in the startup world is a rare and precious commodity. Sleep deprivation, however, comprises quality of work, decision making, and quality of life. It’s not easy to work with a zombie, and even harder to work as one. For your startup’s sake, if not your own, when you can find sleep, take it and run.

Running a startup can be blinding in its furor- nothing seems more important. Without taking care of the mental health and well-being of a startup’s employees, the company fails. Without you there is no startup, so take care of your startup by taking care of yourself.

Startup Personalities

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 20:44:33 GMT

Startup Personalities

Starting a company? Difficult. Starting a company by yourself? Insane. No matter the level of genius, passion, or drive, every entrepreneur excels best by gathering a capable team to carry out their mission. Teams, like the people who comprise them, come in every shape and size and have various strengths. Startup teams demand a rigorous selflessness that shapes small companies into families, and selecting that family can often make or break a startup. Some swear by specific personalities and others argue over methods of molding a great group. Regardless, without an active, inspired, well-gelled team, a company is just a good idea. Here are six startup personalities to look for when building a small team.

Study Bug

This Sheldon-smart book worm never stops reading. Good thing too because the sheer volume of new data, from product to pitches, demands a constant student. You need someone on your team who never stops learning, and leverages that knowledge to the company’s growth.

Matrix Mind

Disrupting a space demands thinking big. Creative problem solving on a macro level. Absorbing environmental factors intuitively and producing innovative ideas and solutions. Though often impulsive and DaVinci-esque, this jack of all trades is an integral piece of any startup.

Ambitious Climber

In order to make your small idea big, you’re gonna need someone with a chip on their shoulder the size of two Texas’s. A big fish eager to prove their place in the ocean. The drive and work ethic necessary for startup success demand an individual who takes it personally, wears the logo with brazen pride, and will stop at nothing to put the firm on top.

Calculated Chaos

This person is pure energy. Point and go. Starting a business means endless work and boundless optimism. This one brings the energy and necessary speed to execute those ground breaking ideas. Find a hunting dog who’s raring to go and let them power your purpose.

Fast Friend

Don’t get me wrong- you don’t need to be friends with your coworkers. But if you’re choosing to spend seemingly-endless, sleepless weeks in close quarters working on your dream with somebody, you might want to at least like them. Likeability is significantly more important in startups than larger, more-corporate firms. People perform more quality work when striving for someone they like, so (as basic as it sounds) hinge your startup’s success on people you can stand to be around.

Mater de Familia

Mom. Dad. This is the giver in the group. When lunch was 5 hours ago and the team hasn’t moved from their desks, this one brings the food. When someone is overburdened, this person steps in to shoulder some of the load. Every good team needs a selfless giver who puts the other individuals’ and the greater group’s success above their own. This selfless somebody does it all for the team.

Startup Success with Data Gumbo: Managing Burn and Growth Rate

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 20:42:06 GMT

Startup Success with Data Gumbo: Managing Burn and Growth Rate

In October 2017, research firm CBInsights decided to dig into startup success. What they found was a startup graveyard. According to their data, 70% of tech startups fail and most do so within 20 months of their inception.

58 out of 200 startups polled “post-mortem” listed burning through cash as their reason for failure. They’re talking about their startups’ burn rate, or the speed at which a new company spends its capital to finance overhead before generating positive cash flow from operations. Companies that burn without growing are doomed to fail. On the other hand, companies who grow too quickly without the cash to spend can drown in their success. Where’s the point of diminishing return? Where’s the line and how do you walk it?

One of The Cannon’s founding companies, Data Gumbo, saves oil and gas drilling and production firms money by improving efficiency through blockchain smart contracts. They’ve thrived through a few rounds of funding and have successfully grown their startup. I sat down with Data Gumbo’s Business Development Director, Maxine Aitkenhead, to discuss burn rate, growth rate, and how to manage both in a burgeoning startup.

Interview with Data Gumbo’s Maxine Aitkenhead

EF: So Maxine, Data Gumbo is relatively young but you’ve navigated risky waters and experienced recent success. Talk to me about how you managed your burn rate.

MA: We utilized what Houston available office-wise after a few months. Before that we’d meet at home or at Andrew’s warehouse. Andrew (Andrew Bruce, CEO) has a warehouse with an office in the back and we’d meet there once a week and hash things out. Two months in we decided we needed actual desk space and we went to a shared community space. About a year later William (William Fox, COO) and Ove (Ove Sandve, CTO) joined us in the office, but only when they needed desk space as well.

Everything came from our own pockets, Andrew, William, Ove, and me, then we got our first round of investment. Then in October 2017 we got our first client and continued to hire, including interns. Now we’re getting more and more investment, and we’re looking for the big one so we can go big with this.

Data Gumbo’s Maxine Aitkenhead

EF: That’s a great segway into my next question. How did/do you manage growth so as to not drown in your own early success?

MA: The way our product is set up, because we built it ourselves, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every instance; every customer. There’s a lot of tweaking and identifying what’s going through the product. Still, these aren’t basic transactions. These aren’t smart contracts you can use for real estate or something like that. Industrial data is a much bigger blog and requires a much bigger space. The fact that we can efficiently handle the size of the product the industrial market needs in our own system. It helps us manage our growth and move forward confidently. Now we need the money to expand the product and hire sales for future business.

Another important part of this was the evolution of the product from just getting data in a logical area that’s time stamped and cleaned up to looking at what’s useful and what saves money for the customer, many of whom don’t have access to their own data. Many companies who control their equipment have to buy their data back from manufacturers. We can put it all in one place, time stamp it, and clean it up. We believe in the product and kept going based on that.

EF: What do you think separates Data Gumbo?

MA: Silicon Valley can obviously do blockchain, but they don’t know the industry like we do. I would site examples and case studies where you can save phenomenal amounts of money based on our conversations with operators and drilling contractors. We can facilitate the conversation and identify KPIs because we’re from the industry.

For example, one of the major operators did analysis on their own data and found that by saving a minute on connecting pipe (for every pipe they connect over a year) would save them $257 million/year. That’s just one KPI, so you can imagine if you applied that scenario to multiple different systems on a rig you can create efficiencies everywhere. There’s so much money left on a rig, and every penny counts.

For more on Data Gumbo, the premier oil and gas blockchain provider, visit www.datagumbo.com.

Philanthropic Founders

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 20:39:42 GMT

Philanthropic Founders

“Starting a company is like eating glass and staring into the abyss.”

Here at The Cannon, that Elon Musk quote is one of our favorites. We’re in the business of supporting those brave souls who believe in something so passionately, they’re willing to take that plunge. The blood, sweat, and desktop dinners that come with founding and running a startup cannot be overstated. That’s why we find it so impressive when people start something that gives back to somebody else.

Founding an entirely or partially philanthropic organization combines all the rigors of a startup with the trials of running a non profit. If you’re looking to support startups and give charitably, here are five fantastic groups giving back.

Goodworld #donate. Goodworld made giving charitably through Facebook and Twitter as easy as 1, 2, 3. Just comment #donate on the page of your charity of choice. Goodworld sends a one time sign up confirmation reply. Fill in your information on their secure platform and it’s done.
Hello Fund Hello Fund provides an online and mobile platform for non-profits, working together with their clients to help manifest their philanthropic goals. Not only do they work with individuals and groups to provide fundraising, but they also tailor personalized branding, landing pages, and online marketplaces.

Snack Nation The subscription box model is a proven and popular method of business. Our own founder Lawson Gow worked with GameDay Films CEO Jorge Ortiz to start a philanthropic subscription service, Silly Box. Snack Nation uses the same subscription model to satiate happy offices’ and individual’s midday munchies with a bevy of healthy options. The kicker? For every box of snacks they ship, Snack Nation donates 10 meals to families as a part of the Feeding America program.
Charity Cab Charity Cab is looking to turn the tide on the ride sharing revolution by reverting to the tried and true taxi business with a twist. They offer limited taxi services, and part of the proceeds go to charities such as Feeding America and Habitat for Humanity.
Makers Kit. These guys make DIY project kits along with how-to videos from their founders. They work with PS Arts and Pledge 1% to use their profits to fund public school art programs.

Cannon Ventures Launches at The Cannon Houston

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 29 May 2018 20:36:53 GMT

Cannon Ventures Launches at The Cannon Houston

Supporting Houston entrepreneurs by providing them the tools they need to grow and succeed. At the end of the day, that’s what The Cannon Houston is really about. Last Thursday, The Cannon hosted a launch party for Cannon Ventures, an angel investment network to be housed within The Cannon, with a buzzing pitch party on our campus. Over 200 of Houston’s most successful investors, startup staffers, and entrepreneurs mingled around booths in The Cannon’s Waiting Room, gathering to learn about Cannon founding companies like long-distance ridesharing app Croozen. Party goers enjoyed delicious local fare from Dining with the Tunes and Aces of Taste before settling in to see the show.

After opening remarks from cofounders Cannon CEO Lawson Gow and FanReact CEO Chris Buckner, the crowd enjoyed pitch presentations from two of The Cannon’s most exciting companies: O&G blockchain startup Data Gumbo and after alcohol aid Thrive+. Houston’s own Thrive+ CEO Brooks Powell was no stranger to the pitch environment, having showcased Thrive’s liver loving formula on Shark Tank. He raved about Cannon Ventures, noting that, “When Lawson first called us to present, the original plan expected 50 people. Due to the amount of interest, we wound up presenting to over 200 people. Any time something oversells four times over, you have a pretty interesting concept on your hands. That demand is proof of how much Houston wants this angel network.”

Cannon Ventures launched within The Cannon Houston, ready to introduce a network of angel investors to the booming startups within.

The Missing Piece

The party and the presentations did what they were designed to; share knowledge about the company and attract investment. Both CEOs fielded questions from eager attendees and prospective investors. Data Gumbo CEO Andrew Bruce expressed his excitement about Cannon Ventures: “I’d highly recommend it (Cannon Ventures) to anybody. I think its a great idea because funding is something startups always need; its the missing piece.” Both Data Gumbo and Thrive+ will look to grow their companies through connections made during the launch.

Which brings us full circle. The Cannon is here to foster growth for Houston’s entrepreneurs. We’re here to provide them with the outlets, tools, and vehicles that make them most likely to succeed. Cannon Ventures takes us one step closer to fulfilling that goal, and we’re excited to share it with the city, the country, and the world. Visit cannonventureshouston.com to learn more, or stop by The Cannon Houston to see Houston’s entrepreneurs striving ever upward.

Adversity: The Entrepreneur’s Best Friend

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 22 May 2018 20:32:09 GMT

Adversity: The Entrepreneur’s Best Friend

In an interview last year, Gordon Taylor (CEO of Cannon founding member company Croozen) spoke about his company finding fuel and functionality through their lack of funding. “I think we couldn’t get to a fine tuned process without having little money. If we would’ve had (let’s say) $100 million, we would’ve blown it all because we wouldn’t know the levers to push or the things to do to get there. Having a refined process, that’s the biggest obstacle we faced. Having little capital made us creative.“

Taylor embraces the stoic mentality critical to entrepreneurial success. Nietzsche first coined the popular phrase, Amor Fati. It describes not only accepting what happens in life, but embracing it and loving it, good or bad. That means loving our failures as we do our successes, and understanding those failures are part of the building blocks to future successes.

Edison the Entrepreneur

Thomas Edison knew something about failure. He spoke of it famously, stating, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up,” and “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Edison understood the power of persistence and the fuel that failure can be if simply harnessed correctly. That may be why his is quite possibly the greatest example of Amor Fati.

The legendary inventor was in his 60s and enjoying the fruits of his labor when, one evening, his factory campus caught fire. Even when eight different nearby towns sent fire engines in support, the fire raged on. As Edison watched his life’s work engulfed in a rainbow of chemically enhanced flames, he turned to his grief stricken son and instructed him, “Go get your mother and all her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again.”

When his shocked progeny protested, Edison maintained, “It’s alright. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.” In the face of a lifetime of research and toil burning to rubble, Edison remained as poised and focused as ever. Thanks to his unshakeable spirit, and a hefty loan from compatriot and fellow world-shaping innovator Henry Ford, Edison’s campus was functional within three weeks. Ford didn’t invest in the company; he invested in Edison and his exceptional drive and perseverance.

Rising from the Ashes

Edison proved Ford’s faith and investment were well placed. Despite taking today’s equivalent of a $23 million loss, the scientist shocked the world by producing the modern equivalent of $200 million in revenue that year. His phoenix-esque effort perfectly underlines the concept of Amor Fati, and proves that failure is the ultimate friend of a truly committed, visionary entrepreneur.

The power Edison displayed, the power of Amor Fati, boils down to efficiency. Instead of wasting time and energy on blame or grief, follow the example of one of the greatest entrepreneurs the world has ever known. Embrace failure, use it, and rise from the ashes steeled, victorious, and ready for whatever may come.

The Big Advantages of a Small Team

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 16 May 2018 20:34:30 GMT

The Big Advantages of a Small Team

We all know the timeless biblical tale. A young shepherd slings a rock, slays a giant, and becomes king. Nobody thought this tiny upstart could kill a gargantuan, battle-tested soldier, but despite the odds, David beat Goliath. But maybe we think about that story the wrong way. What if David didn’t kill Goliath in spite of his small size, but because of it? Comparatively smaller, he was faster, more nimble, and could move in ways the larger man couldn’t. That same lesson applies to the business world. Small teams, small companies, may seem from first impression to operate at a disadvantage to their bigger counterparts. Often just the opposite is true. Smaller groups have a number of traits working in their favor and, when they put them to use, Goliath doesn’t stand a chance.

The Ringelmann Effect

The Ringelmann Effect, a concept named after Maximilien Ringelmann, describes the inclination for individual members to become less productive as the size of a group increases. To demonstrate this effect, Ringelmann, a French professor of agricultural engineering, asked the subjects of his experiment to pull on a rope. The professor found that when an individual pulled the rope, they gave maximum effort. When more people were added to the cause, the individual effort of each participant went down. Individuals perceive larger teams to demand less individual effort, and the group cannot operate efficiently. The individual hunger displayed by the solo rope puller is best manifested on a small team in which a person must pull their own weight in a significant way.

Smaller = Faster

Smaller groups can work faster than their larger counterparts. Obviously, a team of three may not be able to do a twenty person job effectively, but a carefully optimized number of team members work more efficiently than a larger group. Smaller groups have less overhead, allowing them to direct their assets towards executing their goals. Smaller groups also benefit from visibility, not only between group members, but as a whole, as all members share a direct line of sight and communication and can streamline operations. Small teams also make it impossible for a less committed members to hide. Everyone’s work is on the table.

Bikeshedding

The theory of Bikeshedding comes from C. Northcote Parkinson’s Theory of Triviality. Parkinson theorizes that any group will spend a disproportionate time discussing trivial issues at the expense of larger, more important matters, and the larger the group the more disproportionate the time expended. To illustrate his theory, he relays the story of a committee charged with approving a nuclear reactor. The group spent much of their meeting time instead discussing construction of the staff’s bike shed. More people could have an opinion on bike shed construction as compared to a nuclear reactor, and since they could have an opinion, they were more likely to share it. The larger your team, the more often bikeshedding will occur. Smaller teams have the propensity to stick to what they know and work more efficiently.

These are merely a few examples of the many advantages small teams enjoy over their larger counterparts. Small teams can pivot, flex, react quickly, and slay the giants in their industry. In a world of startups and corporate colossi, it’s good to know that being small has a big upside.

Strange Startups

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 01 May 2018 20:30:29 GMT

Strange Startups

The quote on our Cannon chalkboard changes every week, aiming to inspire those walking our halls as they strive to disrupt, change, and create the world around them. Last week’s echoes Edison and still rings true for entrepreneurs today.

“Don’t worry about failure, you only have to be right once.”

-Drew Houston

Fear of failure can crush an idea, a company, or a person before they truly explore the chance to create something new and different. It’s important to champion your idea, however zany, and follow it to fruition. Just look at No More Woof! who claimed to “analyze animal thought pattern and spell it out in human language,” or Blippy, who raised $13 million and was valued at $46.2 million based on the strength of technology that connected users’ credit card purchases to their Twitter accounts. Neither company enjoyed sustained success, but both stuck to their guns in spite of their..different ideas. These two aren’t the only strange startups that have enjoyed varying degrees of success (or lack thereof). From the brazen to the just plain bizarre, here are ten of the wackiest, weirdest, and wildest startups we could find.

Agester

Agester launched in 2007 as an online community centered on members guessing each others ages. Surprisingly enough this geriatric “Hot or Not” didn’t stand the test of time.

Something Store

Buy something from the something store for $10 (everything costs $10) and you won’t know what you bought until it arrives on your doorstep. This surprise purchase platform panned out, and 10 years after their launch the Something Store is alive and well.

Blippy

Ever want to tweet every purchase you make? Blippy made that possible. Unfortunately, they failed to gain traction and inadvertently let Google leak some users credit card information.

Diedinhouse.com

You’ve found it: your dream house. Before you hang up family photos, want to find out if some poor soul died inside? Diedinhouse.com will tell you if anyone died at your address, along with full reports on drug activity, fire incidents, sex offender registry, and other pertinent property information.

Game Crush

Game Crush was a social gaming site that allowed users to meet, match and play online games with others. Think twitch with a focus on pairing lonely gamers with dates. Though they raised an initial $700,000 in funding, struggles with site crashes and rampant nudity sent Game Crush to the sidelines.

Washboard

Need quarters? Sick of going to the bank? Washboard offered a service by which they sent customers $20 of quarters for just $27/month. Despite a thriving customer base, Washboard didn’t make it.

No More Woof!

No More Woof! crowdfunded their doggy-mind-reading device, raising about $22,664, and failed to deliver on any of promised technology. Bad Startup! Bad!

Air

Breath of fresh air? This company will send it to you canned and ready. What started as a gag gift has turned into a burgeoning company with promising growth. With a massive market in over-polluted China and India, air is only going up.

LICKI Brush

Welcome to the bonus round. Here’s a kickstarter-funded idea from pet product company PDX Pet Design.

Music Works for Work

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 17:30:53 GMT

Music Works for Work

Who listens to music at work? Nowadays, who doesn’t? Some people prefer stark silence and fluorescent-light buzz to Spotify top 40 playlists, but most coworking spaces, coffee shops, and other startup-saturated workplaces choose to play music over the huddled masses in one form or another. If you can’t hear the music out loud, observe the endless rows of headphones – a developer’s best friend. While there are tasks and meetings that demand clear airwaves, scientific studies show that many workday jobs and projects are better tackled with a tune.

Here’s a brief guide to musical benefits in your workday:

Press Play

Not all music is created equal. In the same way music caters to different parts of life, it boosts or breaks different types of work. A 2016 study found a variety of different working benefits specific to different music genres. For example, if you’re working on data entry or striving towards a deadline, pop music is your friend. According to the study, subjects entering data completed their tasks 58% faster when listening to pop than when listening to nothing. If your work, however, includes solving equations, try Aphex Twin or Brian Eno. Ambient music like theirs proved most beneficial to study participants focusing on that field.

Perhaps the most commonly recognized melodic assistant, classical music works similarly to ambient music. The study found that in work involving numbers or attention to detail, classical music boosted performance accuracy by 12%. But perhaps the most shocking of all, dance music shows tangible workplace benefits. According to the study, dance music increased proofreading speed by 20%, but also produced more accurate work in mathematical word problems and equations, as well as spell-checking. Need an extra boost at the office? Now you can dance the day away too.

Shuffle Your Sound

Mundane tasks, rainy windows or two o’clock yawns can dull anybody’s day. When midday melancholy gets in the way of productivity, look to music as a fix. Pausing to play a favorite song or motivational anthem has the ability to turn the entire day around. If you’re looking for an even bigger dopamine surge, don’t tell your brain what’s coming next. The body produces the neurotransmitter dopamine as a response to positive stimuli, and it produces even more when pleasantly surprised. If you’re having a rough go of it at the office, use the shuffle function on iTunes, Pandora, Soundcloud, or Spotify, to send your day back in the right direction.

Whether breaking the monotony, breaking afternoon drowsiness, or breaking through a tricky problem, music works for work. Call it another tool in your entrepreneurial belt. When thrown on at random, music can distract and deter. When used intentionally, music can motivate and produce positive results. Make a habit of mixing music into your work day and the results will speak for themselves.

Defeating Decision Fatigue: Structuring Your Startup for Success

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 17:28:54 GMT

Defeating Decision Fatigue: Structuring Your Startup for Success

Routine gets a bad rap, especially in the startup world. We work in a world of endless moving parts, shifting runways, and looming deadlines. Somewhere inside the chaos of not enough hours in the day and not enough people for the job, it’s critical to startups’ success to find some semblance of consistency. Those who fail to implement a regimen risk falling prey to decision fatigue.

Have you noticed that hours of deliberating over difficult decisions makes those decisions all the harder to make? Welcome to the world of decision fatigue – the deteriorating quality of choices after extended periods of decision making. People only have so much decision-making power stored up every day, and it’s important to hold that power in reserve for important situations when running a company. Save the decision-making for budgets and new products, not coffee or gym time. Instituting routine frees the mind to make the decisions that count. Here are three examples of easy places to institute routine in a hectic day.

1. Sleep

Going to sleep at the same time (while not always feasible) is often the best routine to create. A consistent bedtime reduces sleep latency, or the time it takes to fall asleep. Building routine teaches the body to respond better to sleep stimuli and maximize time in R.E.M. Not only does it help build a good ritual habit, but it carries myriad health benefits. A routine sleep time also enhances mood, improves cognitive function, heightens metabolism, and protects against heart disease.

2. Exercise

Exercising at the same time provides a break in the day and a solid addition to routine. It also helps the body build a pattern of response similar to that of sleep stimuli. Instead of cutting sleep latency, exercising consistently tells the body to wake up and work out. Exercising at a consistent time trains your body to prepare daily at the same time for that activity, increasing your endorphin, adrenaline, and dopamine outputs and leading to a more productive workout.

3. Organize

This one’s a no brainer. Life is, by law, entropy. Inboxes grow ad nauseam and desks gather clutter like magnets. It’s great to have a routine that cleans it all and restructures the storm. Finding a time every day to order the ever-growing, ever-changing workload helps internally as well as externally. Clearing physical spaces and organizing the world around you also functions to clear the mind. A clear mind, a clean desk, and a (relatively) empty inbox provide a launchpad for productive decision making.

Let’s face it- nothing presented here is new or revolutionary. Sleep, exercise and organization are tried and true methods for success. The trick is to make time for those things that allow the rest of your time to be spent most efficiently. Give yourself the gift of routine and watch yourself and startup shift gears.

The Cannon Joins Founders for Change

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 17:26:41 GMT

The Cannon Joins Founders for Change

Entrepreneurs understand the importance of diversity. Diversifying, whether assets, styles, or personel, helps generate well-rounded ideas and products, and serves as a buffer against pitfalls in any one area. Despite this understanding, National Venture Capital Association and Deloitte conducted a study in 2016 that found that only 11 percent of VC firm investment partners were women. Highlighting ethnicity, 13 percent were Asian; 2 percent Hispanic; and 0 percent black. For an industry that understands the value of diversity, VCs seem to be sorely lacking. Now entrepreneurs everywhere are stepping up and emphasizing diversity, in sex and race, in their ranks and backers.

Over 500 VC backed entrepreneurs, from AirBnB and DropBox to IndieGoGo and Pandora, have committed to supporting the Founders for Change initiative. The recently launched Founders for Change brings together venture-backed founders who are dedicated to improving diversity and inclusion within their companies and desire greater diversity at the highest levels of VC firms.

Founders for Change members operate by one key montra: “I believe in a more diverse and inclusive tech industry. I am dedicated to having a diverse team and board, and when I have a choice of investment partners in the future, the diversity of their firms will be an important consideration.” Here at The Cannon, we couldn’t agree more.

The Cannon has championed diversity since its inception. Though still in its first year, The Cannon is home to a number of woman and minority-owned companies. The Cannon is committed to building an innovative ecosystem for all creatives and entrepreneurs, and understands the importance of diversity to that mission. Our founder Lawson Gow touched on the topic in a recent interview with Engine’s Andrew Jones:

“Houston is a multi-cultural melting-pot of diversity. The more grants and programs we can have that target disenfranchised founders and their startups, the more successful that ecosystem will be. We have the potential to foster an incredible depth and scope of perspective and purpose-driven startups birthed in Houston.”

The Cannon is proud to announce its joining of Founders for Change in an effort to support and augment its message of diversity in startups. Houston, more than most cities, reflects the true nature of America’s melting pot. The Cannon looks to support and celebrate that diversity both inside and outside our doors.

The Startup Sleep Paradox

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 17:25:02 GMT

The Startup Sleep Paradox

Sleep, the ever-elusive essential ingredient to success. High Schoolers seem to find it fast and frequently. College crammers celebrate a certain aversion to the sacred evening ritual. But what happens when school is out and instead of A’s and B’s, you’re fighting for functionality and funding? What happens when you need startup sleep?

The startup world requires long, rigorous hours, and that means sacrificing certain sleep cycles. It also demands a mental dexterity and fully fueled creativity that require rest. Some weeks provide paltry sleep and some deadlines demand coffee or RedBull-fueled all nighters, but there are ways to improve and maximize what little sleep you can get. Here are a few sleep secrets to keep you starting up and finishing strong.

Get Regular

This one is tricky, but the health benefits are palpable if you can pull it off. When possible, go to sleep at the same time. Science shows us that consistently going to bed at the same time provides a number of benefits, including reducing the time it takes to fall asleep, or sleep latency. There’s nothing worse than laying down for an abbreviated sleep cycle only to find yourself tossing and turning, wasting valuable sleep hours and losing work time. Finding a consistent time to hit the hay helps minimize sleep latency and maximize sleep time. Not only that, but consistent sleep time improves cognitive function, improves mood, increases metabolism, and protects against heart disease. If you’re looking to think clearer, smile bigger, burn more calories and keep your heart healthy, give it a shot.

Snooze? You Lose

The snooze button may be the most backhanded buddy sleep has ever known. Sure, it seems like those extra ten minutes make sleep all the better, but the long term effects of snoozing can damage your sleep cycle. Scientists have shown that hitting the snooze button damages the brains connection between stimulus (alarm) and response (waking up). This damage leads to sleep inertia, a drowsy state that can take up to four hours to clear. Sleep inertia worsens as the snooze pattern continues and the body reacts to the initial alarm by gearing up for another complete sleep cycle. That means that extra bit of beauty sleep can lead to a groggy and ineffective morning.

The Quintessential Coffee Nap

While truncated sleep isn’t the most ideal form of rest, the science behind power naps is promising. At The Cannon, our construction plans for the world’s largest coworking space include a napping quarters for sleep-starved startup founders and employees. Napping can boost your energy and save your day after a sleepless night, but there’s one key ingredient- coffee. Adenosine causes drowsiness by slowing down nerve activity in the brain. By binding to its receptors, Caffeine blocks the body’s production of Adenosine. Coffee’s effects begin to peak at 30 minutes after consumption, so by quickly drinking coffee and laying down for 15-20 minutes while it takes effect, you can minimize the adenosine/caffeine internal competition and wake up feeling relaxed, alert, and ready to conquer the rest of the day. Time it right, and the fusion of benefits from coffee and a quick nap can turn an afternoon struggle into the most productive time of your day.

Startup Research: Invest in Success

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 17:20:04 GMT

Startup Research: Invest in Success

So you have an idea. It’s a great idea, everybody says so, and you want to turn it into a business. Here’s the thing: 70% of tech startups fail. 97% of crowdfunded startups fail. Everyone has an idea.

How do you prevent your idea from turning into a failing business? Research, research, research. Extensive research prior to execution is critical to startup success. Lack of startup research can clip your wings before your fledgling company can fly. To illustrate the importance of both researching, and executing appropriately on your results, below is a short study of contrasting research tactics between two ride-sharing companies.

First, make sure your idea is original. Hint: it isn’t. Many a company finds itself derailed by an existing firm, or firms, in the market they can’t disrupt. Take Fasten for example. The Boston-based ride sharing company took root and flourished in Austin when Uber and Lyft took a hiatus due to driver-screening disputes. Fasten found success, but it was short lived. As soon as Uber and Lyft rectified their problems and rejoined the Austin market, Fasten’s market-share shrunk dramatically. They continued to lose riders and drivers until finally, on March 3, Fasten was forced to announce its end, selling its shrinking business to ride-hailing/sharing giant Vezet Group . Their Austin and Boston offices were both shutdown, and the company, as it was conceived, no longer exists. Their failure was a combination of competing with established industry giants, and a lack of environmental awareness. Fasten’s research did not allow them to anticipate the environmental forces that ultimately led to their downfall.

Croozen’s long distance ride sharing platform is poised for success.

Croozen, a company that makes its home inside The Cannon, executed their research the right way. Instead of creating a ride-share firm that competes with titans like Uber and Lyft, they found and exploited a niche. Croozen’s idea, a long-distance ride-sharing app, is not original. However, the only competition is headquartered 5,000 miles away. Blablacar, a Paris based long-distance ride-sharing app, operates successfully throughout Europe, leaving the US market wide open for Croozen, who have found success targeting events and universities. Blablacar’s success also provided Croozen with a blueprint to build on. Croozen didn’t reinvent the wheel. They researched their idea, researched the environment, and used that information to plot a successful course through the crowded ride-sharing industry. Now their long-distance ride-sharing platform is poised for continued growth and success.

Croozen’s success and Fasten’s failure each paint a realistic picture of the volatile startup world. The difference between disrupting a space and creating a thriving business, or selling out to the gargantuan competition, can be as minute as it is important. That’s why research is such an integral ingredient, a critical first step, to turning any idea into a business. So take your idea, do your homework, and make it work.

Mainline Hosts First Clutch Gaming Watch Party at The Cannon

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 17:22:52 GMT

Mainline Hosts First Clutch Gaming Watch Party at The Cannon

Houston-based Clutch Gaming pulled off a massive upset in the North American League of Legends Championship Series, defeating Team SoloMid 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the Spring Split playoffs. And, thanks to Cannon member Mainline, dozens of the biggest CG fans in Houston were able to witness the historic victory together.

Esports has already seen exponential growth around the world, and Houston is no different. Over 700 people packed the main Cannon warehouse in January for an Overwatch Watch Party for the Houston Outlaws’ opening match, and while Sunday’s crowd was less in size, the high stakes of the quarterfinal showdown created an equally electric atmosphere.

Follow your instincts

The underdog CG team got off to a slow start, dropping Game 1 before evening the tally at 1-1 thanks to a strong Game 2 performance from LirA. After that, it was all Clutch Gaming, as they finished the match 3-1 and left Team SoloMid absent from the championship round for the first time in team history.

Mainline, a global leader in esports whose custom web and mobile platforms are revolutionizing the community and tournament hosting aspects of gaming, worked closely with Clutch Gaming to plan the event, and both groups were thrilled with the turnout.

“Seeing the Houston Rockets dominating in traditional sports, and now seeing their esports team coming into their own in League of Legends, just shows how special this city really is, and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of it,” said Brandon Spearman, Head of Esports for FanReact and Mainline.

Next up for Clutch Gaming and Mainline? A showdown with fellow league newcomer 100 Thieves on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. CST, again broadcast live at The Cannon. The event is open to the public and we look forward to continuing to provide opportunities for Houston’s esports community to come together.

International Incubation: 4 Startup Incubators to Watch Around the World

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 17:17:07 GMT

International Incubation:
4 Startup Incubators to Watch Around the World

Ideas, unlike the people who have them, don’t recognize geopolitical boundaries. Inspiration can strike any person, at any time, in any place. At The Cannon, we believe every inspired, innovative individual deserves a chance to dig in and grow their business and community. Here’s a look at international startup incubators from Baghdad to Brazil that show love to locals and provide a platform for those crazy enough to try and change the world around them.

Germinadora

Germinadora is an incubator for the entrepreneur, by the entrepreneur. This Sao Paolo, Brazil based company follows a formula we love: believe in people first, support their ideas second. Germinadora focuses on talented entrepreneurs regardless of their prior work or current progress. One of their marquee programs, Startup Bootcamp, takes a visionary from scratch to a fully functional business in just 12 weeks. Visit their site to learn more about the inspired work coming out of this Brazilian business.

i-Cre8 South Africa

Founded by Youth Lab, a premier South African think tank, i-Cre8 South Africa looks to empower South African youth to change the world around them. i-Cre8 seeks young innovators with original and game changing ideas, providing them with education, mentoring, connections, and funding. Recently, the group expanded into poorer South African townships, aiming to revitalize communities through leveraging youth innovation for economic growth. Their commitment to a diverse and inclusive growth for the youth of South Africa serves as a sterling international model for incubation methodology.

The Passion Incubator

Founded in Lagos, Nigeria, The Passion Incubator looked to support promising startups in their early stages. After growing frustrated with it’s lack of sustainability, co-founder Olufundi Falayi left to learn a better way to work. Falayi returned early this year, bringing with him a focus on high-quality startup leaders and partnerships to ensure sustainable community growth. Now, The Passion Incubator works with local organizations like Nigeria’s Fastforward Student Innovation Fund and Innovating Justice Accelerator, while investing in local businesses with great people at the helm. With such a commitment to creating and growing a local innovation ecosystem, look for big things to come from Lagos.

The Station

Located in Baghdad, The Station is Iraq’s first incubator/co-working space. The Station literally rose from the ashes, providing recently war-stricken Iraqis the resources they need to create and innovate while rebuilding their community. One of the coolest things about The Station is their commitment to heritage and cultural entrepreneurship. Through their Culture Metro program, The Station is committed to balancing culture and innovation. Look for more impressive work from these middle eastern future moguls.

The Top 5 Startup Guide to SXSW

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 18:14:05 GMT

The Top 5 Startup Guide to SXSW

South-by-Southwest (SXSW), Austin’s annual tech and arts mecca, starts this weekend. SXSW serves as a crossroads, a hub for what’s new and what’s next in music, movies, art and tech. With hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flooding the city to view thousands of shows and installations, the festival can feel like a maze without the proper map. Here’s our guide to five phenomenal stops for startups at SXSW 2018.

Also, fellow Houstonians should keep an eye out for the Houston Exponential team throughout the weekend and be sure to use #HOUSxSW and #TEAMHOUSTON to help showcase our great city!

1. 7 Non-Obvious Trends Changing the Future

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Rohit Bhargava can predict the future. His group, The Non-Obvious Company, have successfully predicted 100 emerging trends in 8 years. Here, he’ll feature 7 new trends from the 2018 edition of his award-winning research series. Catch a glimpse of the future Saturday March 10 from 5:00-6:00 pm.

2. Attracting VC Investment Outside of Silicon Valley

This one hits home for us. If you don’t live in San Francisco or Boston, how can you turn your project into a money magnet? Our friends at Capitol Factory aim to show you with talks from three Texas-based investors. Learn the answer to finding funding today from 12:30-1:30 pm.

3. Getting to Yes: Innovation in Regulated Industries

Disrupting an established space is never easy. Disrupting a stiff, regulated industry is even harder. Stop by this talk, presented by CI&T, to listen to leaders in banking and pharma discuss multiple methods to the madness on Monday March 12 from 2:00-3:00 pm.

4. Promoting Inclusion in Today’s Tech Industry

Tech, as far as the eye can see, is mostly male and white. This panel, lead by Amazon Music’s Latasha Gillespie, will investigate the state of diversity (or lack thereof) in tech, and discuss what work remains to be done. Dive into diversity Tuesday March 13 from 11:00 am -12:00 pm.

5. Student Hackathons are Dope

What more can I say? Capital One presents an aptly titled talk with Major League Hacking (MLH)’s Jonathan Gottfried. MLH provides a platform for over 250 student hackathons a year. They’re impressive, important, and impactful, and yes- they’re dope. See why Monday March 12 from 2:00-3:00 pm.

A Lesson in Strategy from the US Women’s Hockey Team

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 18:11:11 GMT

A Lesson in Strategy from the USA Women’s Hockey Team

In the startup world, pivoting is a prerequisite superpower. Sometimes an idea isn’t the great idea. Sometimes a good strategy isn’t the winning strategy you need. Taking the time to analyze your mode and method can mean the difference in a great effort and a great result. Just ask the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team.

The ladies have taken their fair share of losses from their Canadian counterparts. The two teams have met in the championship game of 5 of the last 6 Olympics, and share a heated rivalry. The Canadians beat the U.S. to take the gold in 2010 and 2014, both in magnificent last second fashion. In Vancouver in 2010, the Canadian Women dominated on their home turf in the first matchup.

Then, in 2014 in Sochi, the Canadians stole an overtime thriller. Forward Hilary Knight lamented the losses, saying, “The heartbreak is like having a bad relationship and it going sour. That’s what it is, right? It’s always going to be there. It’s part of your fabric.” Sick of losing, the U.S. Women looked to change that fabric in PyeongChang.

But on Thursday during the group play round, Canada once again beat the U.S, scoring two decisive goals and shutting out the beleaguered Americans. Though the girls outshot their Canadian opponents 45-23 in the group stage, they still came up short. Determined not to relive their gut-wrenching loss in Sochi, the team knew that something had to change. Coach Robb Stauber, ready to turn the tide of the rivalry, emphasized strategy. He let his forwards loose, preaching that they “pound the goal with shots.” This aggressive new strategy paid dividends.

The team executed coach’s strategy to a “t” and even then needed overtime and a shootout to snatch the Olympic gold from the cold, hard clasp of their northern neighbors. Coach Robb Stauber’s focus on a deliberate and structured scoring attack provided the push needed to change their losing streak into a historic victory. A measured and well executed change in strategy can prove to be the difference between a good effort and a championship result, on and off the ice.

Take a page out of the gold medalists’ playbook. While your initial strategy may get you on the proper track, and even provide a boost in productivity, it may not be all you need to get over the hump from good to great.

Don’t be afraid to challenge your strategy on the fly and in the field with your team. Your strategy may be working, just not as well as you’d like. Dig deeper and find the strategy that gives you the results you need. Periodical analysis, tweaking and perfecting your strategy and performance is critical to staying ahead of the game. Just ask the newly-crowned Olympic champion U.S. Women’s Hockey Team.

The Positive Power of Saying No

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 18:09:45 GMT

The Positive Power of Saying No

Time is the most valuable asset in the world. Just ask anybody who runs a startup. No matter how many innovative ideas your brilliant mind can juggle, or how much (or little) manpower you can juggle, there are still only 24 hours in a day. That’s why prioritization is so essential. To effectively manifest an idea, or build a company, with limited time, bodies, and resources, it’s critical to say spend time on the right work. It’s important to say yes to the right projects. And to say yes, to harvest your limited resources and provide positive results, you first have to be comfortable saying no.

No is potentially the most positive word in the English language. As entrepreneurs however, we hear its negative sting constantly. No, there’s not enough time. No, there’s not enough money. No, that’s not feasible. In the face of such constant negativity and opposition, the successful entrepreneur wields an indomitable spirit and the power of positivity. “Yes!” follows every “No,” but too much “Yes!” builds stress. How many projects can you take on at once. You want to tackle every job and take on the world- that’s great! There’s still that pesky issue of time.

“I don’t even like saying ‘no,’” says Cannon Director of Operations Leslie Reed, “but ‘No’ helps me stay focused on our priorities and that’s our members and what’s important for them.”

Leslie’s ability to hone in on what’s important, saying “Yes” to what matters, makes her great at what she does. It all stems from the ability to say “No” to those daily dalliances that would stifle her productivity. It sounds facile but saying “No” to extraneous projects gives you the freedom to say “Yes!” to the right work. It just takes a practice.

All entrepreneurs have that hiding place. You know, the place you go when you need to finish that presentation deck and can’t get a moment to yourself. That’s the first great example of saying “No.” In hiding from overeager interns or the pull of the ping-pong table to complete your work, you’re providing yourself a positive platform for prioritizing essential work.

Arbor School Bingo Night Raises over $15K!

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 18:00:45 GMT

Arbor School Bingo Night Raises over $15K!

As we build out the vision for The Cannon, two of our main goals are (and always will be) to create opportunities to give back to the Houston Community, and to go above and beyond in supporting the companies and members that continue to grow as part of our family. Last night, we had the opportunity to do both.

Jacob Robinson and his wife Melissa have had a trying year. The CEO of 1 Stone Solutions, a professional commercial cleaning company, Jacob has been one of our core members since we opened doors last fall. Early last spring, Jacob & Melissa’s 1-year old son Pierce contracted bacterial meningitis and emerged from a 75-day hospital stay profoundly deaf and mentally handicapped due to a significant brain injury from the illness.

As the couple searched for a place for Pierce start his education, one that could manage his unique challenges effectively, they came upon The Arbor School. The Arbor School, which is dependent entirely on tuition and donations and receives no government funds, provides an intensive education program to children with special needs. More importantly, they will not turn a child away. Pierce now has an educational home, and in just a few months, Jacob & Melissa have already seen marked improvement thanks to the hard work and dedication of The Arbor School teachers and staff.

DONATE TO THE ARBOR SCHOOL TODAY

Which brings us to approximately 6 weeks ago, when Jacob and Krissy Clapp, a Rice MBA student and friend of the Robinson family who served as an amazing de-facto event coordinator/promotional manager/bingo operations director for the event, came to our staff with the idea of hosting a Bingo Night fundraiser for The Arbor School. We were thrilled to help such a great cause, but even our high expectations were shattered once the doors opened last night.

Over 200 friends, family and supporters of the Robinson family and The Arbor School braved the rainy weather and packed The Cannon last night. The crowd played multiple rounds of bingo, bid on silent auction items, and enjoyed refreshing beer from No Label as well as delicious meals from El Patio and House of Hoops BBQ. And, most importantly, raising over $15,000 for The Arbor School, by far eclipsing even the most ambitious goals for the event.

Last night’s success can mostly be traced to the hard work of Jacob, Melissa, Krissy and numerous volunteers combined with the exceptional generosity of the attendees and event partners. But without a great cause like The Arbor School, that dedicated drive to help would not exist. We were thrilled to be a part of such an amazing event and look forward to many more!

Storyteller Promotions: A Life Long Love Story

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 17:58:17 GMT

Storyteller Promotions: A Life Long Love Story

Mike and Ruth Mallon love a good story. They pride themselves on telling yours, but their own story is about as good as it gets. Mike and Ruth together makeup Storyteller Promotions, a branding and promotional products shop out of Houston, Texas. When they’re not on the road, you can find the purple-clad couple in The Cannon, helping startups solidify their branding.

Their nicknames are characters from beloved cartoons – Mike, the famous Buzz Lightyear, and Ruth, Elastigirl from Pixar’s The Incredibles. Their favorite cartoon boasts no caped crusaders, though. They draw their inspiration from the Disney/Pixar movie UP.

In the movie, a young girl pins a grape soda bottle cap to a young boy in the spirit of starting an adventure club together. The young girl and young boy grow up, fall in love and get married, never losing sight of the spirit that first brought them together. At the time they saw it, Mike and Ruth were missing their adventures.

Mike was working as CSO for MetroNational and Ruth in event planning for Marriott. The way the two put it, “We were giving the best of ourselves to somebody else.” The two love birds were sick of living as slaves to their day jobs and saving the leftovers for each other. One grape soda cap changed all of that.

The couple quit their jobs, determined to spend their time with each other. They knew they needed to work, and a few trade shows later they found their calling: promotional materials. How they got into branding was just a happy accident. Says Mike, “When people ask, ‘can you do this?’, our answer is always ‘Absolutely!’ Then we figure out how to make it work.”

And they’ve definitely made it work. Mike and Ruth purchased their own equipment and enlisted their sons’ help in running a promotion and branding shop out of their home. Mike saw the value in working as consultants, not order takers. He asks, “Why make something that your client won’t use and positively associate with you or your company?” The Mallons became experts in custom jobs, making one or one-thousand of whatever promotional item fit their client. As Ruth tells it, they pride themselves on being “a good steward of your brand.”

Now Storyteller Promotions has grown (exponentially) and left the house, and the apples didn’t fall from the tree. The sons who helped them start now own their own firm, Grape Soda Creations, the preferred vendor for Storyteller’s screen printing, awards, trophies, and most custom jobs. The Mallons bring that family feeling and dedication to all of their projects.

Mike and Ruth have found success by asking important questions, and challenging their client’s requests. “There’s a story behind every brand. We find the story and match it to a unique product that tells that story. We don’t ask what, we ask why. Where are your clients when they need you? What tells YOUR story?” Whatever it is that tells your story, Storyteller Promotions will find it. After all, Mike and Ruth know a good story when they hear it.

Cannon Houston Tech Talks

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 17:56:21 GMT

The Cannon Hosts Houston Tech Talks

On Saturday, February 3rd, Houston tech entrepreneurs gathered at The Cannon. On the surface, that sounds like a pretty normal day on our campus. This instance, however, proved unique. Instead of gathering around the watering hole, these guys were gathering for a conference hosted by Houston Tech Talks.

Founded by Devon Fanfair and partner Miles Dotson, Houston Tech Talks aims to provide Houston entrepreneurs access to resources that build an inclusive, diverse, and successful environment for software and technology. Devon and Miles brought together local like-minded entrepreneurs to share their experiences and discuss Houston’s technology and startup environment. Naturally, we at The Cannon were eager to get involved.

The team at Houston Tech Talks feels something stirring in Houston. The way they see it, Houston is ripe for a tech explosion. A new wave of diverse founders will be instrumental players in this movement. Houston Tech Talks wants to provide Houston techies and entrepreneurs access to resources that build inclusive, diverse and successful environment for software and technology. Houston Tech Talks will host conference events with panels, Q&A sessions, idea sessions, and the chance to network with tech professionals, entrepreneurs and VCs. Saturday’s session was just the start.

Houston Tech Talks is a project powered by Devland, a digital agency providing innovation, design, and development services to startups and business. Their goal in helping founders de-risk their business opportunity and identify resources is further echoed through their efforts with Houston Tech Talks. Devland believes that existing Houston tech activity is siloed and in need of a common information and resource platform. They feel that Houston has the potential to surpass other tech markets in the very near future given its geography and large concentration of wealth and resources. Houston Tech Talks provides that crucial platform for common growth.

The initial Houston Tech Talks conference proved successful and true to its mission. Techies talked over fajitas, commiserating over the tough terrain most entrepreneurs travel and celebrating the indomitable spirit so inherent to the innovator. Employees from Cannon companies like Croozen and FanReact discussed what works for tech workers in Houston, and more importantly, what could be improved. Most impressive was the air of determination. Those gathered stood determined to personally affect the change they wished to see in Houston’s tech climate. Here’s hoping Houston Tech Talks continues to provide such an environment for candid discussion and calls to action. If this conference was any indication, the future of Houston’s tech scene looks bright.

Fit Foods for Strong Startups

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 17:36:25 GMT

Fit Foods for Strong Startups

Starving artist? At The Cannon, we know more starving CEOs. Today, entrepreneurs are glamorized as young, hip, and successful people, taking on the world with a smartphone and an idea. Why then, does Elon Musk call starting a company, “Chewing glass while staring into the abyss.”? In reality, starting and running your own company involves grueling hours and constant self-sacrifice, and frequently those sacrifices start with diet. It’s easy to run on coffee and ambition between irregular meal times and fast-food choices. It’s important to remember, however, that your business relies on keeping a clear and functioning mind, which needs proper fuel to churn out the game changing ideas you’re developing. Here are some foods that will help fuel your fight to start the next best thing.

Blueberries

Blueberries work wonders for your brain and body without blowing up your waistband. One serving of blueberries checks a number of nutritional boxes. With only 84 calories, a serving of blueberries provides significant portions of your daily dose of fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Manganese. They also pack a powerful punch of brain food. Oxidative stress, an imbalance that occurs when free radicals outweigh antioxidants, accelerates the brain’s aging process, causing impaired memory and cognitive function. The antioxidants found in blueberries gather in those areas of your brain most affected and work with the damaged neurons to improve cognition and fight memory loss.

Walnuts

Most nuts provide health benefits, but walnuts pack the most punch. All nuts contain Vitamin E, a Vitamin directly correlated with cessation or slowing in cognitive decline, as well as B12 and B6, which are crucial to B12 and B6, which are crucial to a number of areas of healthy living. Nuts also contain Vitamins B12 and B6, crucial to eradicating buildups of homocysteine, an amino acid which increases chances of high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s, behavioral issues, migraines, and mental disorders.

Walnuts also contain DHA, which is an Omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3s are well known for their health benefits, including lowering blood pressure and supporting heart health. DHA works particularly well because your body already makes it; DHA is the primary building block for your brain, cortex, skin, and retinas and has been found to increase health across the board, reducing depression symptoms and improving cognitive ability. One quarter cup of walnuts provides your daily dose of DHA, so if you want to be happier and smarter, eat more walnuts. (Simple enough, right?)

Avocado

Avocados have enjoyed a recent explosion in popularity. Avocados contain a number of health-friendly nutrients including monounsaturated fat, potassium, Vitamin K, and the B Vitamin, Folate. Monounsaturated fat fights bad cholesterol and keeps your blood flowing smoothly. Potassium lowers blood pressure, promoting brain health and cognitive function. Vitamin K prevents blood vessels from hardening. Folate, like other B Vitamins, fights homocysteine buildup and promotes mental and vascular health. The combined health benefits from fat and vitamins make avocados an essential brain food to boost your head health.

It’s easy to let the long hours you spend running your business affect the amount of time you spend keeping yourself healthy. But your business won’t run without you, so make sure to prioritize what’s needed to keep you (and your company) running smoothly.

Run Your Startup Like an All-Star

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 17:53:51 GMT

Run Your Startup Like an All-Star

As the NBA heads into the All-Star break, players and teams begin taking stock of their productions and success to-date. Some have performed above and beyond. Those All-Stars and successful teams will enjoy the break. Some have under-performed. For them, the break is far less pleasant. Some will be traded, some will be benched, some will be fired. All need to make a change. Those in the throes of success need a means to sustain that high level of productivity. Those struggling to produce need a way to jump start their game. This self-reflection and call to action translates from the hardwood to the startup world. Pausing periodically for analysis is essential to both maintaining success and turning the tide on a losing streak. Here are a few methods to the madness of making it matter in the new year.

Sustain Success

The Houston Rockets are enjoying an unstoppable start to their 2017-2018 campaign. Their brightest star, James Harden, leads the league in scoring and just recorded the NBA’s first 60 point triple double. In order to sustain their recent success, Houston must analyze their strengths and weaknesses to shore up any chinks in the armor. Though they’re an offensive juggernaut, they can address issues in shot selection, defense, and guard depth.

If you or your company are currently realizing success, good for you! Continue to kick butt and take names, but make sure to pause and point out the factors affecting your business. When you find factors that contribute to your success, double down. When you find elements of your business you could stand to improve, then do so. Sustaining success means turning fat to muscle and constantly honing your process.

Change It Up

Sometimes, despite your best attempts, what you’re doing just isn’t working. Blake Griffin and the Clippers tried their best to make it work in LA, but with nothing to show for their attempts, they’ve traded him to Detroit. I’m not suggesting leaving the LA spotlight for dreamy Detroit; you may not need such a dramatic move. But when looking to improve your production, consider your surroundings. Are you operating in the most conducive environment for your best work? If not, change something up. Reduce or increase your exposure to clients and coworkers as it pertains to your efficacy in the workplace.

Turn Your Season Around

A slow start can potentially doom an entire season. This season, the Phoenix Suns started 0-3, then promptly fired their coach and sent some of their best players packing. Since then, they’ve limped to a 17 and 34 record and are in the midst of a five game losing streak. They can’t do anything more drastic then they’ve already done, but they can find a way to improve daily. Sometimes we suffer drastic setbacks that leave us with no status quo to which we can return. The only thing left to do at that point is to shed dead weight, get back to basics, and analyze everything. Every meeting, phone call, and deal, is an opportunity to study and grow your strengths while chipping away at your weaknesses. You’re not going to turn a sinking ship into the Flying Dutchman overnight, but with constant analysis and steady, daily improvement, you can transform your trend upwards.

You may not be able to dunk like Demar Derozan or dish like Kyrie Irving, but you can apply best practices from the NBA All Star break to your startup’s every day operations. Whether you’re looking to sustain success or change your fortune, keeping these simple steps in mind will help you move Shaq-sized mountains.

Kick It Into Gear

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 17:51:03 GMT

Kick It Into Gear

This week The Cannon hosted its first kickboxing class. Besides a room-full of sweaty coworkers, the class brought a new energy to the campus. Kickboxing has long been championed for its cross-training benefits and ultra-calorie burning. Few know the additional upsides, such as stress reduction, posture improvement, and energy increase, that kickboxing can bring to your day-to-day life. Here are a few reasons why you should consider kicking it up a notch with this action-packed workout.

Shake the Slump

Most people working in an office, startup or otherwise, sit for most of the day. With all that sitting, even the most proper posture can fall prey to the afternoon slouch. A kickboxing workout exercises muscles that want for attention in most normal daily routines. Your back, core and hip abductor muscles, the same ones that fluctuate daily between lying dormant and uncomfortably straining, stretch, flex and grow during this workout. Working these muscles provides a platform for posture improvement, increasing your healthy habits and improving your daily desk routine.

Shed the Stress

Work produces stress. That’s just a fact we all have to deal with, but how well, or poorly, we deal with stress often dictates how well, or poorly, we live. Kickboxing kicks stress to the curb in every way possible. The constant motion of a kickboxing workout keeps the body and brain moving. This motion expels unhealthy, built-up stress through sweat while simultaneously helping the brain produce endorphins (happy hormones). On top of that, the constant attacking and defending that are such a core part of this workout help expel negative emotions and built up stress and aggression. Alleviating the stress that builds during the work week promotes a more positive and productive work environment, which brings us to the final function kickboxing brings to the table.

Elevate The Energy

Long hours and bad weather taking its toll? Co-workers driving you up the wall? Never fear, kickboxing is here to help. The high-energy cardio workout helps your body release toxins while helping your brain produce the endorphins we just talked about. The attack and defend nature of kickboxing not only challenges your body, but stimulates your mind, increasing energy levels, releasing toxins and producing endorphins to help you leave negative energy behind and embrace positivity.

Kickboxing won’t save your life or transform you into a street fighter, but its tangible health benefits will transform your work week. Better posture, less stress, and heightened energy are just some of the advantages this workout provides. So stretch well, look both ways, and get kicking.

Startup Grind Houston Joins The Cannon

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 17:28:01 GMT

Startup Grind Joins The Cannon

Through different people, projects, and potholes, entrepreneurs often walk alone. One struggle all entrepreneurs empathize with – connection. Starting and growing a business demands constant networking, whether finding partners, mentors, vendors, funders, peers, or clients. While spending so much time honing their business, entrepreneurs often find it difficult to maintain the networking schedule necessary to learn and grow. Startup Grind provides a platform for innovative entrepreneurial warriors to come together and bridge those gaps.

What started in Silicon Valley as a local “fire-side chat” aiming to educate, inspire and connect entrepreneurs, has now flourished into a 300 city, 115 country community supporting entrepreneurs worldwide. Startup Grind hosts monthly events where successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors gather to share lessons they’ve learned on the road to building their companies. These events not only bring entrepreneurs together under the same roof, they help each individual network while simultaneously providing tools for their company’s growth.

The Power of Startup Grind

Part of the power Startup Grind generates comes from its industry agnostic approach. By remaining agnostic, Startup Grind promotes collaborative diversity in their community while still allowing for industry-specific mentoring. Recently, Startup Grind’s Houston Chapter partnered with The Cannon Houston to combine their efforts in fostering Houston’s startup community and entrepreneurial growth. The Cannon continues to rise as Houston’s newest coworking space, hosting roughly 40 companies and hundreds of freelancers. On the Cannon campus, as in Startup Grind fire-side chats, you’ll find startups of every size and specialty working in the same space. Startup Grind plans to capitalize on that growing ecosystem’s energy to do what they do best – bring entrepreneurs together.

Startup Grind’s Houston Director, Michele Price, expressed her excitement regarding the new partnership – “Startup Grind Houston is thrilled to be a strategic partner with The Cannon. We look forward to developing 2018 programming to serve Houston’s entrepreneurial community by accessing the success of both our legacy and startup entrepreneurs, because The Cannon is building a campus where entrepreneurs, creatives, freelancers, and professional services can all grow their businesses together, creating a true startup ecosystem. It is a natural fit our Startup Grind’s vision and mission.”

Collaboration between The Cannon and Startup Grind only spells success for Houston’s creative and startup community. These two entrepreneurial ecosystems already provide countless tools for Houston’s creatives. Their combined efforts should only serve to heighten awareness, education, and productivity in the Houston community. Look for Startup Grind events on The Cannon campus in 2018 and visit https://www.startupgrind.com/houston/ for more information.

Founders Focus – FanReact CEO Chris Buckner

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 17:25:55 GMT

Founders Focus – FanReact CEO Chris Buckner.

Welcome to the next installment of Founders Focus! Earlier this week, Cannon Director of External Relations Brad True sat down with FanReact Co-Founder and CEO Chris Buckner to talk about their recent expansion into esports, how the company went from almost shutting down to now having almost 40 employees in just two years, and Chris’ thoughts on the beginning of the universe.

Brad: Congrats on your amazing event earlier this month, how did that all come together?

Chris: Hah well…last minute, would be the perfect way to describe it. We had planned to originally throw a party with maybe 50-75 people for the Houston team in the new Overwatch League. So we reached out to the Outlaws management to see if they would give us swag that we can give away to the fans, and they basically came back and said that they wanted to host the actual official watch party here. Which was actually agreed upon only 9 days before the event was supposed to take place, so pretty tight from a planning standpoint. But major shoutout to the Mainline.gg team and Keith Landry, who’s our Director of Operations.

B: Hi Keith.

C: (Waves) But yes, they were a huge reason why it was such a raging success.

B: Wow, some amazing scrambling by your team there, and we love to hear about our Founders having successes like that. Diving into FanReact itself, can you give me a 60 second history of the company?

C: Absolutely, so we started in 2014 as a sports only social media app, and we built a hybrid HTML application that was just mobile at first, where we allowed fans to talk to one another about their favorite teams, and it was clunky, it didn’t’ really work.

B: Oh yea, that whole “actually working” thing.

C: Hah yea, kind of an issue. But it did what we needed it to, which was validate the idea. So next we were acquired by WAC in September 2016, and we pivoted to a white label tech solution for communities. So we provide any type of league, team sport, company, fan forum, etc. with their own forum/social platform. Basically, a social CMS (Community Management System). And we signed our first really large partner immediately which allowed us to grow from 1 employee to 17 within six months of being acquired. And then, once we saw the esports industry taking off we actually whitelabled the tech to ourselves and created Mainline, which is the esports version of our technology, which has really taken off despite not even launching yet.

B: And now, all together you’re at almost 40 employees right?

C: Yessir, almost to 40 and still growing.

B: That’s amazing, and from knowing you for a while I know it wasn’t always easy. Before Work America Capital stepped in and things weren’t going as well, what stopped you from walking away?

C: So, I like telling this story, because I do think failure is a key to success, as backwards as that sounds. I called my Dad in July 2016, and we had run out of our seed funding and I wasn’t able to secure new funding, so we were basically on our last legs. I hadn’t paid myself in 4 months, and I told my Dad “I can’t believe it, we’re going to have to shut down.” I mean we had about $1,000 in the account, which wasn’t even enough to pay for the servers. And then I actually cried on the phone to him, so I thought it was over. But a month and a half from that call, we were acquired by Work America Capital and everything changed. Just because someone saw our vision and let us take the next step.

B: What was that final call from Mark and the Work America Capital team like? The moment you received that final yes?

C: Well, I actually remember all of this. It was a rainy evening and Mark called, and I was looking out the window and he said, “it’s not going to happen,” and I was devastated. So I texted him back and I was like “no, we have to make this work.” So sure enough, I called everyone the next day and we worked out the final details and that moment itself was kind of euphoric, but then immediately it was like “ok what’s my next step?” which was, who am I going to hire.

Ken Myers was a co-founder, but until then he had a full-time job separately and was more or less working on sweat equity. But he’s come from successful startups, as a CFO, CTO and even a CEO, so he had this background that filled in a lot of gaps in areas that I lacked. I definitely learned the importance of not going at this alone.

B: I agree, and with that you guys are a diverse company with your hands in a lot of different areas, how do you keep everything moving in the right direction and not become overwhelmed by the opportunities?

C: One of the biggest challenges in a startup is to deviate from your core business or mission, but while we have a lot of irons in the fire all of them are based off of our core technology. So we have sports (FanReact), esports (Mainline), business (Referral Ring), and then our work building out platforms for companies like Vype, Verified Athlete and Gameday Films, but all of that is still built off our main technology. We aren’t changing our mission overall, but it does give us the opportunity to see which one sticks.

B: So we’ve talked enough about serious work things, let’s say someone offers you 100 billion dollars tomorrow to take FanReact off your hands, what would you do next?

C: First off, back when I thought we were shutting down I had already planned out a 3-month sailing trip in the Caribbean, so that would be step 1. And then second, as you know I love public speaking.

B: This is the part where say you were a yell leader right?

C: (laughs) Absolutely, but a dream of mine is to do a Ted Talk. However the problem is that I listen to the talks and these people are amazingly smart, talking about quantum physics and the expansion of the universe. And I’m like well…

B: I’d like to hear you talk about the expansion of the universe.

C: Hah oh it would be great, you’d have to allow drinking at the conference.

B: “Well here’s what happened…there was a boom, and then a bang, and then some things expanded…”

C: And they’re still expanding?

B: Right. Then a rock or two transformed into a few planets…

C: Then some decided they’d become stars instead. And some have life? Who knows how many though.

B: I bet the government knows. It’s probably just like Men in Black.

C: Exactly.

C: But, I do love cultivating ideas and would probably look to come back to Work America Capital and help people start their businesses. I think one of the great parts about starting your own business is that even if you fail, you still have a ton of experience and are set up for a great amount of success with whatever you do next.

So, I don’t even remember what the question was.

B: I think we got it, you’re going to be a sailor, then a Ted Talk speaker about the creation of the universe.

C: And then come back, and I do want to invest in the fund, and let others invest my money.

B: Other smarter people.

C: Yep.

B: Well thanks for joining us today, like I said it’s great having a company like you all doing so well in our space. I think this is where I say “check out FanReact.com and Mainline.gg to learn more, and be sure to follow Chris on Facebook for hilarious takes on Aggie Football”

C: Nailed it. (high five)

The Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 17:32:01 GMT

The Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs

As we work to build out the largest coworking campus in the world, one thing we’ve heard from the Founders already working with us is the seemingly infinite library of beneficial podcasts. Whether helping pass the time on the treadmill or sitting in traffic on the way home, podcasts have become an exceptional channel for in-depth interviews and are quickly becoming one of the fastest growing advertising mediums in the industry. According to data from 2017, over 42 million Americans listened to podcasts each week, and the overall growth of listeners continues to rise between 10% and 20% each year.

While there are dozens of valuable podcasts for startups ranging from business and finance to leadership, the three below jumped out to us as the top options for an entrepreneur ready to dive into the podcast world:

How I Built This With Guy Raz:

This is an obvious one, as any opportunity to learn firsthand how billion dollar companies like Instagram, Southwest Airlines, Home Depot and Starbucks got their start is a great resource. But what also separates this podcast is the sheer variety of business founders that they have interviewed and the amazing stories that come from them. Did you know that the founders of AirBRB once sold Obama/McCain themed cereal to raise money to pay off their credit cards? Or that Clif Bar’s were named after the creator’s father? With 78 podcasts to listen to, you’ll have some catching up to do, but each one is well worth the commitment.

The Tim Ferriss Show:

Another obvious inclusion, but Ferriss’ dedication to the entrepreneurial mindset has quickly made him a go-to when it comes to learning the valuable intangibles it takes to be an entrepreneur. An accomplished author, motivational speaker and self proclaimed “human guinea pig,” Ferriss seems to hold extensive knowledge of every one of the wide variety topics that come up in his interviews. Additionally, his interviews include unique but valuable questions that let the listener get a better idea of what makes the interviewee tick. Examples like “What was the best purchase you have made under $100?” both bring a lighter weight to the conversation but also give listeners valuable recommendations helpful tools in starting a business.

Startup:

Created by Alex Blumberg, cofounder of Planet Money, and former 538 senior editor Lisa Chow, Startup was the original offering from podcasting company Gimlet Media, which is now home of more than a dozen additional popular podcasts. The first two seasons follow the full startup lifecycle of two separate businesses, including, in the ultimate meta-moment, the development (from scratch) of Gimlet Media itself, kicking off with Blumberg’s initial meeting with billionaire investor Chris Sacca. Later seasons have branched out to the stories of other startups, but the engaging storytelling of the originals has never wavered and Startup remains a valuable podcast tool for entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes.

Have other recommendations you’d like us to include next time? Send us a note at info@thecannonhouston.com and let us know!

First Outlaws Watch Party a Huge Success

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 17:23:29 GMT

First Outlaws Watch Party a Huge Success.

Over 600 Houston Outlaws fans packed The Cannon yesterday to watch their team take on the Philadelphia Fusion, kicking off the Outlaws’ inaugural season in the Overwatch League at a watch party hosted by Cannon Founders Mainline and FanReact.

Full Match Recap – https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/match/10227

Outlaws Fall Just Short of Win

After a hard fought battle that included a huge takedown in a must-win Game 4, the Outlaws finally fell in Game 5. But while the end result wasn’t what they were hoping for, fans from across the city raved about the electric atmosphere and the chance to cheer on their Outlaws in person with 600+ fellow Green Wall members.

The watch party was hosted inside the future home of The Cannon, where construction will start within the next month on one of the largest coworking spaces in the world. Fans were treated to beer from No Label Brewing Company delicious Food Trucks from Houston Food Parks, and were also able to pick up Outlaws and Mainline merchandise, play live games on Microsoft gaming systems, and experience what it’s like to get behind the wheel of a real life Dawson Racing LMP2.

Follow along with Mainline, FanReact and the official Outlaws accounts for more updates on future events!

The Cannon to Host Houston Outlaws Watch Party

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Sun, 07 Jan 2018 22:27:58 GMT

Mainline Hosts First-Ever Overwatch Watch Party

We are thrilled to announce that one of our Founders, Houston-based esports company and studio, Mainline, will host the first-ever, official Overwatch League video game fan “watch-party,” this Thursday , from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The inaugural season opening-week match played in Los Angeles, between Overwatch League gaming teams, the Houston Outlaws and the Philadelphia Fusion, will stream and broadcast in real-time onto screens inside the expansive warehouse at the center of The Cannon Campus.

RSVP NOW

“We are proud to host the first, official esports league season opener at the current Mainline studio and future gaming facility,” said FanReact founder and CEO Chris Buckner. “Houston has a proud fan base that is loyal to its home teams, and we’re excited to enable and energize esports enthusiasts who follow the Houston Outlaws.”

The Overwatch League’s twelve, city-based teams from across the globe are established as permanent franchises. The league’s Atlantic and Pacific Divisions consist of six teams each and will compete in this year’s initial, five-month season for the Overwatch League championship, which comes with a $1 million first place prize and up to $3.5 million in performance payouts and bonuses.

The Houston Outlaws, owned by the firm, Optic Gaming, has a roster of ten players who sport names like Clockwork and Rawkus. Each player is assigned a specialized character role, with the team goal to complete the virtual mission set forth by various Overwatch game challenges and missions.

Admission to the local watch-party is free and open to the public. Complimentary self-parking is available onsite. Six Houston-area food trucks will serve an array of dining options, and No Label Brewery will host complimentary beer service for guests 21 and over. This is a family-friendly event, all minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. We’ll see you there!

Meaningful Meditation

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 22:24:28 GMT

Meaningful Meditation

(And How To Make it Work at Work)

Working while supporting a healthy life is an everyday challenge for all of us. Add in the stresses of running or working for a startup and that challenge is multiplied exponentially. It’s no secret that long hours, hectic and unstructured schedules and high stress situations can take a toll. The secret is how to juggle these daily stresses without growing grey hair and an (even bigger) potbelly. Losing your balance can mean losing your business edge, and even losing your business. One practice that provides peace, patience and positivity in a sometimes chaotic world: meditation.

Don’t worry, this isn’t hippy mumbo jumbo. Meditation promotes increased presence, mindfulness and productivity. The work day builds noise between the ears that often prevents your focus from remaining squarely on one subject. Meditation in the work place silences that noise and encourages balance, which is beneficial to your life. Here are three simple meditation steps you can implement in your everyday routine to improve your work (and sanity).

Drink More Water

This is step one. Running your own business is exhausting. For that reason, coffee, RedBull, and other stimulants are the life blood of many manic entrepreneurs. Staying awake and sharp through late nights and early mornings is important, but so is replenishing your body’s water. It sounds simple, but we’re made of water. Drinking water brings health and balance to bodies, especially those entrepreneurial bodies starved for sleep and routine. Make sure to take time out of your day to intentionally stop and drink water. Not only will you replenish and rehydrate, but you’ll force yourself to break from your work, if only for a moment.

Ground Yourself

No, this isn’t some useless phrase. Grounding yourself takes a few physical steps and positively alters your state of mind. The best part about it – you can do it at your desk. Plant your feet firmly on the ground, evenly spaced directly below your knees. Sit on your sit bones, not on the curve of your spine. Straighten your spine, positioning your shoulders over your hips, and lift your head to match this posture. Fix your gaze down the angle of your nose on a still object roughly six feet in front of you.

Once you assume and maintain this posture, it will result in enhanced presence and mindfulness. It’s so easy to lose focus on the here and now when juggling dozens of tasks and responsibilities. Without that focus, it’s easy to lose power in ideation and let opportunities go without fully capitalizing. Grounding yourself allows you to maintain clarity of thought in each moment. Once you fully engage in that moment, you can move to the next demanding situation and give it your full focus and attention. The next step: breathing.

Breathe

It sounds simple, but we often forget to breathe well. Focusing on the importance, consistency, and calming effect of your breath channels power through your body and provides a platform for heightened focus.

The first exercise you can practice is squaring your breath. Focus on something still in front of you. Breathe in for six seconds, then hold that breath for six seconds. Now breathe out six seconds, and hold for six seconds. Repeat for two minutes at a time periodically throughout the day to bring yourself back to center.

The second exercise you can practice is breathing through thought. This is also known as Shambhala meditation. Bring a thought that causes you stress to the front of your mind. Breathe in deeply through that thought, allowing your body to tense as that thought comes to the forefront. Then breathe out deeply, releasing that thought and clearing your mind as the tension and breath leaves your body. Continue this practice until your mind is clear and your body is relaxed.

When a thought comes, do not categorize it or follow it. The thought is not good or bad, it’s just a thought. Address it as such and let it leave your mind as your breath leaves your body. Clearing your mind provides focus and clarity on those thoughts you choose to focus on after completing meditation.

Pretty simple, right? Drink more water, ground yourself, and breathe. If these steps sound easy, it’s because they are. That doesn’t change their effectiveness in improving your life. Treat your body and mind like your startup, giving each one the tools they need to function properly. Adding meditation to your routine is sure to stem your stress and free your mind to function at its fittest.

Chuck Andrews: A Texas-sized Friend

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 22:21:03 GMT

Chuck Andrews – A Texas Sized Friend

You notice Chuck Andrews when he walks in the room. A looming Texan figure with a booming Texan voice, Chuck brightens board rooms with his constant conversation and laid back laugh. More than a personality, Chuck is a force to be reckoned with. After a successful career in law enforcement, Chuck struck out on his own in the security world. Among other things, Chuck now sits on the board of ASIS International and serves as an adjunct graduate professor at his alma mater, Sam Houston State University. His knowledge of the security and law enforcement industry, as well as his experience in business development and emerging technologies, make him a valuable person to know. Chuck capitalized on that value, forming a network of successful business individuals all with one thing in common- knowing Chuck.

Chuck serves as an adviser to The Cannon and is energetically invested in Houston’s growth as an innovation hub. I sat down with this larger than life man to pick his brain about Houston, his role at The Cannon, and the power of good friends.

EF: Thanks for sitting down with me Chuck. Tell me a little about your background.

CA: Wow, do we have enough time? (Laughs) I grew up in the Houston area and got involved in something called Law Enforcement Police Exploring, a division of the Boy Scouts, when I was thirteen. I spent 6 years in a patrol car from the age of thirteen to nineteen and logged 4,000 hours in the patrol car. What I really took away is that, one, I want to work where I can make a difference. In law enforcement you can make a difference on the street level, where the rubber meets the road. The second thing I learned out of that was people, problems, challenges and how to solve them. I went on to have a great law enforcement career, but along the way found out I was also an entrepreneur.

I started a company when I was a law enforcement officer, in security. Through that work I involved myself in lots of different companies working with lots of different technologies in the security and law enforcement business. I eventually retired as chief of police and went into the private sector as the Chief Technology Officer for a cyber organization with the world’s largest financial institution. From there I kept leveraging and learning, leveraging and learning. I got on the board of a few companies and eventually began to lead the security and technology world. That’s what I’m doing now with Friends of Chuck (FOC), with over 60,000 people in 100 countries around the world.

Friends of Chuck

EF: Tell me about Friends of Chuck.

CA: What we have is basically one degree of separation between all these people covering the security business industry, and even outside of that, but mainly security as it relates to technology, chief security officers, and the virtual peace (chief information security officers).

EF: What’s FOC’s best asset, their best tool? What does FOC do?

CA: The best asset, tool, and value proposition is around the relationship you have with those people. Let’s be honest- people do business with people. You can have a great widget but ultimately it’s about your credibility, your trustworthiness. Eventually that evolves into a friendship and that’s business. People do business with people they trust and they do business with people they know. This is just a way to be a part of a club where you can meet and greet people and be a part of that.

EF: So with your law enforcement and FOC background, what attracted you to The Cannon?

CA: First, what attracted me was the fact that Houston is far overdue to be the entrepreneurial hub of the world. We’re the oil and gas capitol of the world. With the things that come out of that industry alone, we need to be the entrepreneurial hub. There’s space to be a startup in terms of connectivity, network and cost in Houston. It’s the least expensive metropolitan place to live in the United States of America, but the opportunities are boundless here.

When Lawson Gow reached out to me, I immediately wanted to sit down with him. I wanted to understand what this vision looks like over the course of the next two to three years. It makes sense to me. It was a good fit for me because I’m involved in a number of incubators and the emerging technology world. I wanted involve myself and help grow and sponsor the community. I’m inspired by these startups, the entrepreneurs, and making Houston a place for people around the world to come and make an investment here by being part of The Cannon community.

EF: What do you see The Cannon bringing to the Houston business community? What developments do you see in the near future for the City of Houston?

CA: I see The Cannon bringing technologies that otherwise don’t exist that need to exist to help propel Houston to become a greater city than it already is. Let’s talk about this: our reputation is oil, gas, chemical and refinery. Let’s not forget now that the University of Houston is the most diverse institution in the entire United States. People from outside of Texas, and maybe even within Texas, might not believe that statement. We’re in the South and it turns out we’re the most diverse! We should be the capitol of the entrepreneur. But we need to give it a home, and we need to be able to water it and fertilize it. We need to create this great institution we call The Cannon to house that and let it morph and grow outside. It’s all going to start here.

Founders Focus – Croozen to Success

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 20:31:28 GMT

Founders Focus – Croozen to Success

On any given morning you can find the Croozen team buzzing around The Cannon campus. Their sparkling demeanor and bags under their eyes tell the story of a hungry startup ready to take the ride-sharing world by storm. If you’ve ever been stuck solo on a long road trip, or riding Megabus or Greyhound when you couldn’t find a ride, these are your guys. In their own words, “Croozen is the long distance ride sharing app which brings riders and drivers together when traveling to the same or nearby destination.” Led by Chicago Booth alum Gordon Taylor, Croozen released their Apple iOS app this year and are emerging in numerous markets, collegiate and beyond. I sat down with Gordon to pick his brain about brother battles, being a black entrepreneur in tech, and the importance of being broke.

EF: Gordon, thanks for sitting down with me. Let’s talk about Croozen. What’s the origin story? What was the inception of Croozen?

GT: It was a combination of three things. The last five years I haven’t had a car. I lived in Africa, Chicago, New York, Houston, and Austin, and in all those places you need a car.

EF: (except maybe NY)

GT: Right, but you need a car for longer distances. That was the first thing. The second thing is, I took a trip from Chicago to Houston – thought I was going to take a private equity offer. Rented a car, drove it down to Houston to move stuff back into my parents’ house. Terrible idea. 18 hours, falling asleep at the wheel, high rental car costs ($363.13 I remember it) and I had to drive it in a day because it was going to hop up to over $1000. I kept thinking “Man, this sucks,” and at the end of the day I realized this was a business idea.

The last thing was going to a Justin Bieber concert with my girlfriend from the Chicago loop to North Chicago (the burbs). We got a zip car. It would’ve been nice to share the cost of the zip car for the night – it was like $90 or something crazy. The Bieber album was great and the concert was awesome, but I knew we should be riding with someone to this concert. There should be an app or platform that suggests other people going there because I’m sure other people from that loop are going.

EF: And strangers aren’t THAT weird.

GT: Exactly. So that’s how we started. I went back to business school in Chicago and started on the idea literally the next Monday.

EF: How’d you get your brother Josh (Head of Growth and Retention) involved?

GT: He was kind of sold from the get go, but leaving a job in banking is not easy from a pay perspective. I think he just believed in what I was doing. I pitched it to him like this: you see that I have to ride with you every day (at the time my brother was commuting to Downtown Houston for his banking job and I was just going to coffee shops in Houston). I was like, man if you don’t see that I’m the target, think about how many people are like me. We started talking about the market. Of course there’s BlaBlaCar in Europe that’s almost a $2 billion company. Aside from the money I think it’s just the passion of owning a business which is something we’ve talked about as a family always wanting to do.

EF: What’s an obstacle you can remember reaching as a fledgling company and how did you overcome it? How did that improve Croozen as a group?

GT: Everyday is an obstacle, but the biggest was a point where I was coming to Josh, Justan (Head of Branding and Marketing) and Byron (Social Media Wizz) to say, “You guys need to quit your jobs. It’s time, we have an app, we’ve been rolling with this, you need to quit.” We’d already been going after it, but those guys were part time and I was full time. At that point I was feeling like we’re going to do this or not. It was a small obstacle but it was big then because truly it was a point where we needed the bodies and talent here to be able to push the mission.

Croozen's tight knit team

The Croozen team at home in The Cannon Campus

The second obstacle, which is probably a little bigger, was being broke as a startup. It makes you creative. You have to be scrappy and creative. Some days I look at some of the other startups and say, “That’s a great idea. I wonder why they didn’t get a lot of funding.” We’re doing good work on that side now but I think we couldn’t get to a fine tuned process without having little money. If we would’ve had (let’s say) $100 million, we would’ve blown it all because we wouldn’t know the levers to push or the things to do to get there. Having a refined process, that’s the biggest obstacle we faced. Having little capital made us creative which has been nice.

EF: Which brother would win in a one-on-one death match?

GT: I think my brother because he’s relentless. I’m a little nicer than him…

EF: I can tell by how you answered the question!

GT: If it’s survival I can be straightforward too, but I think Josh gets the win. My dad says he’d rather be in a business meeting with me and in a war with my brother, so my brother would probably win.

EF: Where were you before The Cannon and what attracted you to this space?

GT: We were in Justan’s house. We lived in his house and worked out of his family room and the downstairs area. It was awesome because it’s what you see on Silicon Valley. We needed it because that’s all we could afford at the time.

I was initially attracted to The Cannon because of Lawson’s vision for Houston. Houston has a long way to go in becoming a tech hub, but it needs trailblazers that are young, hungry, and understand the need now, as opposed to current players that don’t really understand what’s going on in the market. I envision a place where Houston can become a hub for tech and innovation and not just oil and gas, healthcare, and real estate development.

The second thing that attracted me were the connections made and the synergies here. Once we get into the big space it’ll be even more amazing because you’ll have even more startups wanting to come and be a part of this new development. That’s the value that we’ve seen thus far: being able to connect with other startups. I look at The Cannon as the great connectors.

Croozen's app at work in Houston, Texas

Croozen launched its iOS app in early 2017

EF: You’re a black man in tech. That’s a minority to the nth degree. Could you speak on that and how you feel you’re exploring that space in Houston?

GT: I pitched in front of an investment group, I won’t name them, but I never felt so much like a black man than that day. That was a moment for me. Earlier you asked about an obstacle, well that was a personal obstacle for me. I have a great education from the University of Chicago, I’d like to say top 2, and not being able to be heard or get funding that you believe you deserve (even though I don’t think people deserve anything), it’s disheartening. At the same time you see some peer organizations getting funding and think, “Wow, they haven’t developed anything.” But to break that, you need trailblazers.

A guy named Marcus Davis, who started the breakfast club, recently told me, “Hey, it takes that one.” For me, it’s about being a trailblazer. I have a younger brother and sister and I used to always tell them, I want you to be better than what I am. That’s the way my parents taught us. I want to do great things for Croozen because, again, it’s service for other people.

If there’s a guy or a girl who wants to be a great tech entrepreneur, you can count maybe on two fingers the tech companies that are black and have been successful. I want to do that for that. There are other reasons, but being a minority, being a black man, is something that is very important to me. It’s kind of my why. I always ask myself why I am doing this instead of private equity which would’ve been technically an easier path. That’s one of the reasons: service to under-served communities like black and Latina, that’s important. For me that’s a passion.

EF: You talked about having to be creative in a box. Do you think that’s been a part of it?

GT: I don’t like to play the race card, that’s not my thing, but I think there’s an element of that. I think it’s a blessing that God has given us to be creative and help us understand it’s not some red carpet path you’re going to have. I think that’s a path God has put us on to make it better for other people in the long term. There always has to be a trailblazer and I’m cool to lead that path. That’s not something that’s foreign to me now and I take it on.

EF: What’s next for Croozen? What’s coming in 2018?

GT: So much! I can’t let all our secrets out, but definitely deep penetration into our markets nationwide, into all the schools we’re already in, and solidifying those as our flagship schools. We would love to expand the company and we’re raising capital. There are a lot of things, but by the end of next year you’ll be hearing a lot of noise from our company because of the groundwork we’re laying now.

We’re excited about being a Houston startup which is something that’s true to my heart. I hope that people understand that Houston has a potential and people don’t really tap into that yet. I’m not sure why the support isn’t there, but we’re trying to help to grow that. People say Houston Strong because of the hurricane but it’s so much more than that. People that want to fund startups here in Houston should fund startups. If you’re not educated, get educated, because there are a lot of ideas and a lot of growth that can happen. We won’t always be an energy town, energy is changing, so people should get with the times.

Do's and Dont's of E-Meeting

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 20:38:51 GMT

The Do’s and Don’ts of E-Meeting

Hello. To begin, let me reassure you: this isn’t some cheesy, contrived list about how to successfully butter-up a new business associate with top-ten tips and buzzwords. I wouldn’t do that to you. This is merely a (hopefully) helpful guide on how to interface with someone you don’t know, when forced to first meet through the impersonal medium we grudgingly mark read as email. As entrepreneurs, we’re put in this position daily. Whether introducing yourself to a potential client or a mutual asset, meeting someone through email is a fact of life in the modern business world. It can be awkward. It can be forced. It can be a disaster, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s how to make your e-meeting friendly, fluid and concise.

Show Excitement but don’t get familiar.

No one likes opening up the umpteenth drab email of the day. When introducing yourself online, it helps to entice the reader with a genial greeting. There’s nothing wrong with dropping an exclamation point on the end of a sentence. A brief “Good to know you!” never hurt anyone. However, it’s important to draw the line between excited and manic. “I’m excited to work with you!” sounds like a professional and welcoming sign-off, while “We’re gonna crush this!!!” sounds over-dramatic and off-putting. Which brings me to my next point: avoid slang!

You’re not meeting an old friend for a drink or texting your younger brother. No one is “gonna” make the meeting, and the business connection you just attained from a mentor or colleague is not your “bro”. Sure, you want to show comfortability and avoid stiff formality in your introduction. “It’s great to meet you via email and I look forward to speaking in person!” is one thing. “Can’t wait to meet you to really nail this idea down my man” shows an entirely different face. Make sure the voice you’re presenting is cheerful and inviting, while still maintaining professional dignity.

Provide information but don’t overload.

If you’re like me, then you’re up to your neck in emails every day. There’s nothing I hate more than reading an email that provides no information and leaves me needing to respond with more questions than I had to begin with. On the other hand, I don’t need to read about Jan’s cat in an email about SEO. When meeting someone online, it’s important to introduce yourself and provide pertinent background information about yourself and the subject at hand. It is equally important, however, to avoid spewing information at a new acquaintance.

When sharing your background, don’t re-type your resume. Share only the information that the reader needs to know. When discussing a specific business case, don’t overload the reader on the first briefing. If what you’re sharing is complex or sensitive, schedule a meeting or call and share it more intimately. If the information you’re presenting takes up more than a few bullets or a paragraph, attach a file. While it’s important to avoid sending vague emails, it’s also key to send what matters and keep your cards close. Stick to the topic and press send, which leads me to my final point.

Hello, Info, Goodbye.

Keep it concise, people! No one likes a buried lead in their business inbox, and no matter how polite you think you’re being by asking personal questions and seeming to care, the fact of the matter remains: time is money, and long emails annoy people. Introduce yourself briefly and cordially. Provide information that matters. Attach information that’s long-winded. Sign off. Your new business colleague will appreciate your brevity and (hopefully) respond in kind. Wordy emails are the worst, and getting off on that foot does not bode well. Be the sender that readers look forward to hearing from! Keep it short and sweet.

So to recap, here are the do’s and don’ts of e-meeting: show excitement, but don’t get familiar. Provide information, but don’t overload. Say hello, provide info, and say goodbye. Stick to these three keys to e-meeting, and your email relationship with your new business acquaintance will begin with all the positive traits of a personal meeting (minus the sweaty palms of an awkward handshake). I said hello. There’s the info. Goodbye.

The Founders Series - Gameday Films

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 20:29:12 GMT

Introducing – The Founders Focus Series

Welcome to the Founders Series. Here, we’ll bring you interviews from startups and companies working inside The Cannon. First up: GameDay Films.

Founded in 2015, GameDay Films is a sports filming and film production company based in Houston, Texas. They specialize in youth sports, giving coaches and players teaching and learning tools, and parents a new way to watch their children play. I sat down with Jorge Ortiz, GameDay’s CEO, to talk about corner offices, wrangling wild freelancers, and everything in between.

EF: First off, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?

JO: Full name: Jorge Ivan Ortiz Marialena. I was born in Mexico, Chihuahua, and moved to Houston after First grade. Had to repeat a grade to learn the language which set me back a year. I’ve been a Houstonian my whole life until I packed my bags for the University of Texas. I spent four years there and booked it back. I’ve been here ever since.

EF: I hear you traded penny stocks in college.

JO: Yea we traded penny stocks, we did Forex. Me and a buddy of mine started a little mini-fund – non-accredited of course – but did a lot of studying when it came to the Series 65, the Series 7, a lot of the stuff you actually have to use to get accredited. We worked out of a shop called Kershner Trading Group where one of my mentors started way back when, and they would let us do everything from Forex to commodities to penny stocks, etc. It was a lot of fun, I learned a lot about finance, technical trading and everything that goes into the fundamentals of a business model.

EF: You’re obviously a multi-talented guy, how did you get into GameDay Films?

JO: So right out of school I started my professional career in oil and gas on the logistics side. I worked for a company called PLS Logistics, where we basically helped transport everything from the actual hard commodity, to all the bits and pieces that go into an oil rig, and everything in between. I was the only one in the office who spoke Spanish, and Pemex, Mexico’s big nationalized oil and gas company, was going private so they were selling assets like crazy. It opened up this opportunity for people to go down there to acquire things at pennies on the dollar.

It was a lot of fun for the two-and-a-half years I spent there, but it started getting very bureaucratic because the mothership of the company was looking to go public. They started bringing in a lot of people from headquarters, there was a lot of red tape around the things I was used to doing every day. I had to get permission to do everything from using the bathroom to doing the everyday things I was good at. It put a bad taste in my mouth in regards to the corporate world and a lot of the stuff that develops from a big company. I got fed-up and walked away from it without having an external plan.

I knew I had enough experience under my belt where my next move could be something I wanted to really sink my teeth into and actually enjoy. I did a passion project with one of my good friends, founder and CEO of The Cannon, Lawson Gow. We started a non-profit called SillyBox where we took the monthly subscription-box model and applied it to charitable giving. That was a lot of fun and opened up my eyes to the 501 (c)3 side of things in which you apply a very similar business model but you’re not making a profit.

From there I started coaching in a couple of youth football leagues. Football has always been a passion of mine and I had the time on my hands. I met a couple of our board members through coaching. I didn’t know a lot of their backgrounds so it was kind of like interviewing without knowing it. We saw this incredible opportunity when it came to the capturing of sports media. A topic that kept coming up was the organization of industries. Asking the question: What’s next? Taking the social factor of a community coming together to help each other achieve something whether that’s delivering food, dry cleaning, pet walking, or in our case media. It’s something that we kept coming back to because it was something we were utilizing on a day-to-day basis as coaches. We were looking at the footage and it was a pain in the behind to go and hire someone or have a parent volunteer for it.

We had that eureka moment an individual was doing something in a very small scale in a similar way to what we were expecting from the start of the business. One of our chief board members, Mark Toon, looked at the business, saw value in it, and decided to acquire some of the assets because of the contracts they had. Out of the blue, I get a phone call to have lunch with Mark. Not having much else on my plate, I took the lunch and got offered the opportunity to come help them run this idea they had before the existence of the business. From there I hit the ground running. I learned everything from the delivery to the applications that could be utilized to facilitate efficiency. Now we have been around for around two years and are closing in on filming our 10,000th game.

EF: What are some challenges you faced as a young, growing company?

JO: Oh man, where do I start? (laughs) A lot of the stuff you go through as a young company are things you never expected to see. You put together a business plan, everything looks pretty, but the contingencies are endless and you don’t foresee a lot of them. You can’t be prepared for a lot of the stuff you see on a day-to-day basis. That’s why a lot of startups pivot and so many end up dying. Right when we started up GameDay Films, we had problems with everything from the internet to the location. Our original spot was a little two-bedroom, small office shack-like area. We would have internet outages all the time even though we live online.

One of the worst days we had- when we realized we probably need to move out of here- was when our AC went out. We started to smell smoke, went out to the back, and our AC vent had caught on fire. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I brought the board together and we decided to make a move. We got a massive upgrade after that, moving into the old BHP building in the galleria area, 1330 Post Oak, which was too much rich mahogany for a startup taste. You can’t complain about a corner office in a place like that.

But the laundry list goes on and on. You find out a lot about yourself when you’re at the helm and trying to push something forward while wrangling different individuals and motivating them in their own specific way to work together towards this common goal. There are so many different personalities, especially when you’re talking about something like we do: utilizing a hybrid Uber model with freelancers (hundreds of them) to help you execute the job. I’ve seen a million and a half personalities, so the human factor is probably the hardest thing to come to terms with. Sometimes you’re not going to be able to control some individuals, the motivation factors are completely different…

EF: Who’s going to wake up on a Saturday morning and go film?

JO: Exactly! But it’s been a lot of fun and the growing pains have been absolutely worth it. That’s not to say we have it completely figured out but we’re taking it one day at a time.

EF: I hear you’re going international.

JO: Yea! So with The Front Row, a new technology that we are currently developing and launching at the beginning of 2018 and throughout Q1, we have plans to go down south to our neighbors in Mexico. I think there’s a lot of potential with us bringing our business model down there because something like this doesn’t exist even though the culture exists for it. They’re significantly passionate about their sports at all levels, whether it’s two 6 year old soccer teams (or futbol teams) playing against each other, or their equivalent of NCAA or professional teams. The passion is there, the money is there, there just hasn’t been an American company that’s gone down there to implement a lot of this stuff. Some of our competitors on the technology side don’t exist, so I’d love to be the first market mover.

You’re looking at currency exchanges, multiple languages, the way you implement things, the way the culture will accept or not accept what you’re bringing to the table, and how to approach it. They take things so seriously over there to where companies will sponsor youth teams just because they want their name brand everywhere. They don’t do that here. We just started that in the NBA recently with the small logo. There’s a lot of things where we’ve had to bring in some consultants that have the know-how of the culture and the industries down there. Obviously I know the culture and the language, but not in the same way where I’d be able to walk in a board room and immediately understand what everyone’s talking about. There’s been a learning curve, but our game plan is to launch Monterrey GameDay Films in Q1, and The Front Row nationally right after that.

The Front Row

EF: Tell me about The Front Row.

JO: The Front Row is our newest toy in the shop. It’s a customer facing interface that combines, in the simplest form, YouTube with Facebook. It allows a community, sports organization, school, or youth organization, to create their own sports ecosystem, and gives them a media cloud archive in which they can play videos and interact as a team. It give coaches new bells and whistles, enabling them to use that footage as a teaching tool. Think the John Madden annotations that we’ve all seen in Monday Night Football, all the way down to statistical analysis of the game, playbook creation, and tagging of different players.

It’s very dynamic and we’ll continue to have a lot of development through the first year. We’re very excited about it because we feel it brings a lot of factors to the youth industry that have existed for years at higher levels, but have not been made economical enough for that lower level. When you’re a 12 year old kid, everybody is Michael Jordan or Brett Favre. We love that and our aim is to keep playing on that level.

EF: So you talked about working out of a shack with a burning AC unit, and working out of a corner office with leather bound books and rich mahogany furniture. Now you’re in The Cannon. Talk to me about how The Cannon has helped foster GameDay Films.

JO: For starters, the energy that this place brings us is immeasurable and unlike any other place we’ve worked. We have a lot of different companies here, obviously technology, but there’s a commercial cleaning company that has nothing to do with a lot of the other industries. You can see the energy pushing people forward to see their business grow. It’s great to have the resources that everyone brings to the table. You can go and sit down with a designer if you need to start a marketing campaign, and get some directive on what to do and how to implement it. We end up get free consulting on a lot of topics without having to go down a Google worm hole.

The space is fantastic. The tangible resources are great, from the coffee to the free Redbull. I know my guys aren’t complaining about it. There’s even a kegerator. Our oldest employee is in their thirties, so everyone here can appreciate the culture. Houston’s never had something like this. There are a couple of other coworking places around town, but I really feel like The Cannon is built in more of a collaborative way, a way that feels like home more than other places that you’re walking into for a limited time. I know a lot of the people, who have been here and started by renting a month to month chair, have started to become staples because they love the environment here and they love the people.

A Houston-based GameDay Films operative snapping pictures.

EF: Besides dodging clipboard-breaking coaches and moving down to Mexico, what’s next for GameDay Films?

JO: (laughs) The Front Row really adds a spider web of options. We’re looking at geographical expansion. Right now we’re finalizing things for our Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth physical headquarters. We’re opening up in Oklahoma. We’re trying to slowly and strategically make geographical hub expansions. Our board has controlling interest in a couple other companies that are doing the same, so we’re making collaborative moves to make it cheaper for ourselves to get there, sharing office space and other resources with three different organizations.

We’re very excited about Mexico, and taking The Front Row national and international. That’s going to be a nice mountain to climb when it comes to the marketing and research we have to do to stay in front and relevant for our clients and new clients we’ll look to acquire.

You can read more about GameDay Films on their website, or visit them in their office at The Cannon Houston campus.

The Cannon Launches | The Cannon

info@thecannon.com (Houston) — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 20:25:03 GMT

The Cannon, Houston’s 17 acre entrepreneurial campus, is open and already buzzing with business. Initially scheduled to open in early October, The Cannon, like the rest of Houston, was forced to pivot when faced with the city-wide destruction in Harvey’s wake. The Cannon took one look at the situation and asked, “How can we help?” The answer was quite simple: The Cannon opened its doors early and offered discounted services to those affected by the storm. Companies left stranded now had a new home to lick their wounds and regain their lost momentum.

70 days and 32 companies later, The Cannon hosted its official launch party November 2. Dubbed Founders Festival, the night saw hundreds of Houstonians from every corner of the city gather to explore the new space. Party goers enjoyed presentations from member companies Alice, Croozen, 900 lbs of Creative, and Dear Duck, while sampling from local Houston eateries Peli Peli, Ramen Tatsu-ya, Tasting Room, Aces of Taste, and Dolce Neve Gelato. All proceeds from the tickets sold for that night’s event went to Casa de Esparanza, benefiting their Hurricane Harvey relief fund.

Since the launch, The Cannon has been growing daily and is now home to nearly 100 online community members and dozens of entrepreneurs, joining their already impressive roster of in-house companies. The Cannon members span a diverse range of industries, including Oil and Gas, Energy, eSports, Film Production, Print and Digital Media, Transportation, FinTech, Commercial Cleaning, Drone, Food Services Education, Logistics, Real Estate, and Virtual and Augmented Reality, providing a diverse ecosystem in which companies can bounce ideas, fuel each other’s growth, and drive creative processes.

The campus hosts events and classes, connects its members with industry experts, and fosters a collaborative ecosystem for entrepreneurs, freelancers, business professionals, and creative types of all kinds. Members enjoy 24/7 access to the Cannon’s current space, dubbed the Waiting Room, a 20,000 square foot area complete with two kitchens, showers, a lounge w/Ping-Pong and TV’s, a host of conference rooms and private offices, and multiple large co-working rooms. Why the Waiting Room? The answer is the most exciting part about The Cannon.

The Waiting Room is only the first coworking space on The Cannon campus. Breaking ground in January 2018, The Cannon is building a massive, 119,000 square foot campus to serve as the hub for Houston’s creative and entrepreneurial community. Complete with a luxury movie theater, library, world-class event space, themed conference rooms, exercise facilities, yoga studio, juice bar, and more, The Cannon’s new building will bring together a diverse business community and provide opportunities for companies to raise capital, participate in an accelerator program, and attract top talent. Members who join the Waiting Room will enjoy priority status in the new space, which aims to make Houston the global hub of entrepreneurial growth and innovation.

The Cannon is located at 1336 Brittmoore Road in the heart of Houston’s energy corridor.