Podcasts Culture Owl Have You Know How Two Years at Rice Alliance Became 22 feat. Brad Burke

How Two Years at Rice Alliance Became 22 feat. Brad Burke

Published: Sept. 27, 2023, 9 a.m.

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For our final episode of season 3, we wanted to bring you one last conversation from this year\\u2019s Alumni Reunion.


Brad Burke is the managing director of Rice Alliance, Rice Business\\u2019 flagship entrepreneurship initiative launched in 2000. Brad has led Rice Alliance since 2001, helping the Rice Business Plan Competition become the world\\u2019s largest and richest student startup competition. Since Rice Alliance\\u2019s inception, more than 2,950 tech startups have participated in its programs.\\xa0


In the Rice Alliance space in McNair Hall, host Maya Pomroy \\u201922 chats with Brad about his journey to Houston, his illustrious career spanning 22 years at Rice, and some of the most memorable competition winners that have stuck with him over all these years.\\xa0


Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.


Episode Quotes:


On Houston\'s Energy transition

28:00 - So, we launched a Clean Energy Accelerator two years ago, and we\'re about to start evaluating the applicants for the third cohort of the Clean Energy Accelerator. And part of the reason is we\'re attracting startups from all over the U.S. and outside the U.S. to come through the accelerator. We want to help them be more successful, but we also want to show them what\'s going on in Houston\\u2026[28:36] We also want to show the investors in Houston really promising clean energy technologies. And so, it gives investors in Houston an early look at some of these promising technologies. So, Houston has the ability, and we\'ve been the energy capital of the world. We have the ability to be the energy transition capital of the world because we have the knowledge, the expertise, the resources and almost every major energy investor.


How the Rice Business Plan Competition sparks new angel investments in Houston

24:53 - This competition has mobilized a number of individuals who weren\'t doing angel investments before. And now they\'re doing not just investment in the business plan competition; they\'re investing in companies from Houston as well.


On the impact of the Rice Alliance and Rice Business Plan Competition

16:25 - It\'s amazing, you have the opportunity to mentor these amazing, bright, enthusiastic young founders, who are generally first-time founders. And then you have the opportunity to see this innovation benefit society, come to the world. And so, you can see a real impact in what you do.



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