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Biosciences is the one economic diversification effort in Houston that seems like it could have legs so far, though it's taken decades to generate the admittedly limited progress we're getting now. Of all metros in the country that are trying to generate a biosciences sector, Houston should be one of the most logical places.
I'm still hopeful about the Spaceport, but we haven't really seen anything yet to indicate that it's going to have a significant impact soon. Shame we lost the one employer to Huntsville AL.
Here’s the thing, Houston’s economy has diversified a lot. I understand that it’s good to dominate a particular sector because it makes you the epicenter of that specifically. We see it with tech in SF, we see it with finance in NY, and obviously we see it with energy in Houston.
My question is this: why do we need to overpower one particular sector to truly feel diversified? That’s not even true diversification. That’s just tapping into a new sector. Houston’s diversification’s Have been a group effort. I’m sure there’s a lot more non-oil billion dollar companies you didn’t know about that exist here. And for companies that arent headquartered, there is a lot more outside companies with major presence in Houston than you likely realize. And even the energy companies diversifying in themselves. Those are diversifying us a lot more than bioscience is.
Don’t get me wrong, I realize the benefits of bioscience. Its due to bring hundreds of thousands of jobs in the coming years. And it’s one of the few sectors that isn’t highly brought down to the current recession. But we are in 2020, not 1980. We are much more globalized now and aren’t tied down to our hometown companies anymore.
Here’s the thing, Houston’s economy has diversified a lot. I understand that it’s good to dominate a particular sector because it makes you the epicenter of that specifically. We see it with tech in SF, we see it with finance in NY, and obviously we see it with energy in Houston.
My question is this: why do we need to overpower one particular sector to truly feel diversified? That’s not even true diversification. That’s just tapping into a new sector. Houston’s diversification’s Have been a group effort. I’m sure there’s a lot more non-oil billion dollar companies you didn’t know about that exist here. And for companies that arent headquartered, there is a lot more outside companies with major presence in Houston than you likely realize. And even the energy companies diversifying in themselves. Those are diversifying us a lot more than bioscience is.
Don’t get me wrong, I realize the benefits of bioscience. Its due to bring hundreds of thousands of jobs in the coming years. And it’s one of the few sectors that isn’t highly brought down to the current recession. But we are in 2020, not 1980. We are much more globalized now and aren’t tied down to our hometown companies anymore.
I don't want to "overpower" O&G. The issue is that it's become clear that O&G is not a growth industry anymore, at least not in its current form. It has traditionally been the sector that brought the majority of outside intellectual and financial capital to Houston and our primary "animating force" economically. While it's not going anywhere, which is great, Houston can't count it to propel us forward anymore, like it did as it made Houston into a major U.S. and really world city. In fact, without some pretty major innovation or transformation in the companies in the O&G sector, total O&G may permanently shrink job-wise coming out of its current troubles - there's a real prospect of "secular stagnation." So, I want something else to step up to bring dynamism and outside capital to Houston. It become a "both-and" not an "either-or." After all, NYC has more than finance, right, even though it co-dominates that sector with London?
I don't want to "overpower" O&G. The issue is that it's become clear that O&G is not a growth industry anymore, at least not in its current form. It has traditionally been the sector that brought the majority of outside intellectual and financial capital to Houston and our primary "animating force" economically. While it's not going anywhere, which is great, Houston can't count it to propel us forward anymore, like it did as it made Houston into a major U.S. and really world city. In fact, without some pretty major innovation or transformation in the companies in the O&G sector, total O&G may permanently shrink job-wise coming out of its current troubles - there's a real prospect of "secular stagnation." So, I want something else to step up to bring dynamism and outside capital to Houston. It become a "both-and" not an "either-or." After all, NYC has more than finance, right, even though it co-dominates that sector with London?
I agree with just about everything you stated. O&G is what made Houston, turned it into a world class city, it’s what brought big business here, it’s what created the sky scraper boom, what brought the port to what it was. Heck, without oil, we may not even have the Texas Medical Center, NASA, or IAH, because O&G is what paved the way to bring that interest here.
Of course it’s our foundation. But that doesn’t mean it’s tied down to it. The make up of the city isn’t static. Like I said, we are seeking diversity, not another dominant field. The business ecosystem as a whole has more employment power as a group than one very strong field can bring alone.
And to answer your last question, yes NYC has more than Finance. Finance is to NY what oil is to Houston as their foundation, but Houston has plenty more than just O&G as well. The group of “small” million and billion dollar companies plus outside companies investing here as a group isn’t small at all. Think of it as an ecosystem. Not as a duo or “Big 3” of giants.
Since tech is brought up so much here, one company you guys should know about is cPanel. It's the industry standard control panel for web hosting. Very smooth control panel. Very customizable while the ease of use is as good as can be. My company uses it as a hub for all of our web services. Who's headquarters is in Houston of course. In 2004 and 2005, cPanel and HostGator both moved to Houston. There was a mini tech boom in the city around that time that got let go of when the price of oil went bunkers. A few other control panels are out there but none are nearly as big as this one.
Rodney Molitor is shown at Hunters Creek Funeral Home on June 12. The Houston market director for SCI’s Dignity Memorial brand estimates that about a third of families offer live-streaming at their loved one’s services.Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
COVID-19 has forced Houston’s prominent funeral services industry to look to the future to better honor those who’ve passed.
With coronavirus-related state mandates limiting gatherings to 10 people until late last month, funeral home operators continue to be obligated to reduce the number of an event’s attendees to 50 percent of capacity for indoor spaces. As a result, such businesses have rapidly turned to online tools such as Facebook Live and Zoom to allow more people to attend funerals virtually while more are regularly adopting the practice of selling their products online instead of in person.
“Broadly, the industry has been 10 to 15 years behind the times from a technological perspective,” said Chris Cruger, chief operating officer of Phoenix-based funeral management consultant Foresight Cos. “The last 90 days have been an accelerant.”
Nowhere is this more evident than with Houston-based Service Corporation International, North America’s largest funeral services provider. With daily appointments plummeting by two-thirds shortly after coronavirus spurred stay-at-home orders across the country in March, the company was conducting almost 40 percent of its sales calls virtually by late April and had added Facebook Live streaming capabilities at more than 1,000 of its locations, CEO Thomas Ryan said on an April 30 conference call with analysts. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/bus...photo-19559451
A legacy European soccer club may soon be Houston owned. Houston-based investment firm, Friedkin Group, is aggresively attempting to purchase AS Roma from Serie A of Italy. Haven't won a champions league yet, but have 3 serie A titles, and 9 Coppa Italia titles.
Friedkin Group currently owns Gulf States Toyota, Auberge Resorts Collection, GSFS Insurance Group, US AutoLogistics, among others.
Satellites and software together are helping information flow and helping the economic diversity of Houston grow.
A new fleet of satellites is being built in Houston to mimic the color-changing chameleon.
Like the versatile reptile, the satellites could be quickly updated and reconfigured while in orbit. Let’s say a volcano erupts and there isn’t an imaging satellite nearby. This planned Chameleon Constellation of 24 to 36 satellites could switch within minutes from running machine learning models on data collected in space to taking pictures of the disaster and aiding first responders.
Or perhaps a malicious hacker gets into the satellite’s software and renders it useless. An update to fix the security weakness could be quickly pushed out.
More from Hypergiant:Houston company solving the next problem of deep space travel: How to post to Instagram
Such adaptability is not typical of satellites, landing Austin-based Hypergiant Industries and its Houston space division a contract with the U.S. Air Force, the company announced Tuesday.
“We’re at this transition point,” said Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Hypergiant, “where the space industry that has been predominantly a hardware industry is moving and advancing to one that’s innovating through software.”
Lamm and John Fremont founded Hypergiant in 2018 to help bring artificial intelligence and machine learning to hardware-intensive industries such as aerospace, defense and energy. Last year it acquired Houston-based Satellite & Extraterrestrial Operations & Procedures, a company that deployed satellites, to form the Hypergiant Galactic Systems division.
Fertitta's Landcadia II just announced it would merge with Golden Nugget Online Gaming, where Fertitta plans to focus his business (in addition to Waitr which was acquired via the first Landcadia).
Golden Nugget Online Gaming is uniquely an already profitable online gambling format. One of its current competitors which is DraftKings still hasn't reached profitability. Also interestingly, more states are willing to legalize online gaming, which gives the states more tax revenue, and GNOC more revenue.
GNOC recently struck a sports deal, where the company is able to get on gamble on sports, which it had previously not had the ability. Rumors of GNOC becoming a major draft site is also out.
All signs are pointing for the headquarters to remain in Houston, at the Post Oak Tower (aka Fertitta Tower).
Here's a move that recently happened under the the radar.
International tea company based in Sri Lanka, Dilmah, recently moved its US headquarters through a deal with Duncan Coffee Company of Houston. Duncan is also the supplier for Shipley Do-Nuts which is growing both in locations and coffee menu.
Whether its big bites, or smaller fish, economic diversity is all around us....
The developers of M-K-T in the Heights will welcome a new tech tenant to the mixed-use project being developed in a collection of former industrial buildings along Shepherd Drive, just north of Interstate 10.
Photo: Radom Capital
SmartVault, a provider of cloud-based document storage and secure file-sharing solutions, signed a lease for 8,500 square feet of office space in the development, a joint venture of Triten Real Estate Partners, Radom Capital and Long Wharf Capital. The company will relocate there this fall.
“As a tech company with a diverse employee population, the biggest driver for us for moving to the M-K-T space were the amenities outside of a ‘traditional’ office suite, which is what we have in our current location,” Dania Buchanan, global head of SmartVault said in an e-mail. “The most important to our team was proximity to outdoor space plus walkable to restaurants to try and deliver more of a balance between work and wellness for our team. The timing of our move allows us to re-imagine the interior office design keeping employee safety and wellness at the center of our design.”
Founded in Houston in 2008, SmartVault was privately owned until it became part of GetBusy, a London-based software company in 2017. GetBusy, which trades on the London Stock Exchange, also own other document management and client collaboration brands.
SmartVault, which has a global workforce of 120 employees, expects to grow its Houston office to about 50 employees by the end of 2020, Buchanan said.
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