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- 🔥 What’s hot in Houston’s innovation scene this week?
🔥 What’s hot in Houston’s innovation scene this week?
6/15/26 - 6/21/26
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Howdy Rocket Networkers,
The beautiful game is back... and I'm hooked. Catching the opening matches here in Houston today, so I'll keep this one short.
Lots brewing in the H-Town ecosystem this week. Plenty of reasons to close the laptop and go shake some hands in real life.
Speaking of the game... Tuesday, come watch it with the rest of us at Bayou City Startups — June Happy Hour — location shared on RSVP (5:00–7:00 PM). Adrianne Stone's monthly founder/funder/operator hang. One rule: zero pitching. Relationships first, save the pitch for the follow-up. Venue drops when you RSVP.
Events are below and talk soon.
- oleg 👊
P.S. Know a Texas company doing something insane? hit reply.
Got a founder friend who needs to hear this? forward them this email. let's raise Houston's tech game together.
At Rocket Network, we do the dirty work for you, curating Houston's tech scene so you spend less time scrolling and more time building. Want to be featured or sponsor? Hit reply.

LET'S ROCKET NETWORK!
We are using emojis to guide subscribers in our event list 📅📍
🚀 - must attend
🔥🌶️ - something hot
🤓💻 - good for developers and other technical folks
🦄💰- venture capital and investing-related
⚡- energy-related
♻️- renewable energy and sustainability-related
🏥 - health care related
🎖️🪖 - veteran or military related
🏅 - sports tech related
₿ - web3 related

HERE ARE OUR PICKS FOR HTX THIS WEEK
Monday, June 15
How to Think Like a Founder and Take Action — Online (Founder Institute) (7:00–8:30 PM CT)
Live online session with Jonathan Greechan (FI Co-Founder & CEO) on the mental barriers that keep founders stuck and a framework to start building. Live networking after. Online — join from anywhere.
Tuesday, June 16
Intro workshop on early-stage investing mechanics and whether the asset class fits your goals. Time TBC — check link.
Talk on Databricks Notebooks’ evolution to Python, plus lightning talks. Kickoff for the new Houston Databricks User Group. (Group events page — specific event ID not exposed; verify on arrival.)
🏥TMC Innovation Lunch n’ Learn: Building MedTech for Regulatory Approval — Medical Device Labs @ TMC
Panel on building medtech companies positioned for regulatory approval and long-term value. Hosted by Mobius, AVIO, BayCath Medical, and CLA. Lunchtime — verify time.
Kickoff of Go Make 2026, an open-innovation program on catalytic solutions for industrial decarbonization. Time TBC — check link.
Climatetech and energy ecosystem networking with the Consulate of Canada. Time TBC — likely evening; check link.
AI and tech founders, operators, and investors connecting across the Houston ecosystem.
Founders and investors for pitches and deal flow. Pairs naturally with the Ascent Valley event next door.
🌶️⚽Bayou City Startups — June Happy Hour — location shared on RSVP (5:00–7:00 PM)
Adrianne Stone’s monthly founder/funder/operator happy hour. Strict zero-pitching policy — relationships first, save the pitch for a follow-up. Venue shown to RSVP’d guests
Wednesday, June 17
🚀Perfecting Your Pitch (with Dr. Doug Franklin, DeckLaunch) — The Ion
Workshop on building a compelling pitch deck for founders and early-stage owners. Time TBC — check link.
Satellite edition of the Cup of Joey founder community out west.
Bay Area satellite edition at Space Center Houston.
Thursday, June 18
🚀🌶️Houston AI Club — June Build Lab: The Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) Role — 801 Travis St, 17th Floor (6:00–8:00 PM)
Hands-on workshop on the FDE role — mindset, methods, and tooling. Bring a laptop. Free parking validations courtesy of Nimble.
One of Houston’s oldest tech user groups — OS trends, software dev, and current tech, with hands-on instruction.
🚀🌶️Founder and Funders Happy Hour
Friday, June 19
⚡ENRG HTX — June 2026 — The Ion (8:30–10:00 AM)
Community for founders running on (or curious about) EOS, 10–250 employees. Organized by Erick Garcia, Lesa Skipper, and Craig Ceccanti.
The flagship Friday Cup of Joey at the Ion — the anchor of the Houston founder week.
Founders and newcomers on traction, funding stage, ICP, and bootstrapping. Runs alongside Cup of Joey.
Meet Rice’s Office of Technology Transfer on commercializing university research. Time TBC — check link.
Healthtech founders: meet the Center for Innovation team on healthcare solutions and applicable tech. Time TBC — check link.
Founder-hosted product launch mixer at The Cannon. Entrepreneurs and operators.
Third-Saturday satellite edition at POST Houston for founders, builders, and creatives.
Climatetech member showcase and lab tours. Good for meeting cleantech founders. Time TBC — check link.
Ideas-and-innovation conference with a tech track. Marginal for pure startup focus, but a notable regional gathering.


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That’s a wrap for now, RocketNetworkers,
Stay tuned, and keep grinding!
Disclaimer: The content in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by any sponsors. All opinions and information are those of the author and not of the sponsors or affiliated organizations.
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