We Welcome You to the Season's

Opening Launch Party

2023 HCC Business Plan Competition

Launch Party - Reception, Showcase & Orientation

Join us on Zoom - Wednesday, January 11, 2023

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Who is invited?  

Proposed, startup and existing entrepreneurs who are interested in applying for the 2023 HCC Business Plan Competition; competition leaders, trainers, sponsors, judges, advisors, community supporters and past HCC BPC winners, finalists and graduates!  

Come join us to mix, mingle and learn more from all parties involved! Meet past competition graduates, winners, our ecosystem partners, and competition leaders, trainers and advisors signing on for the 2023 HCC BPC Advisor Cohort.  

• 5:00 - 6:00 pm - Reception & Showcase.
• 6:00 - 7:00 pm - Orientation for interested competition applicants.

It's a celebration of all involved to showcase our past competition alumni and introduce all who make this outstanding competition possible. 

Welcome to those applying and to those considering applying for the 2023 HCC BPC during the January 6-27 Application period! This optional but awesome gathering is a great way to start the year and connect with our competition and entrepreneurial community! 

 For More & To RSVP Now

More January Activities for the 

2023 HCC Business Plan Competition

Our 16th Year!

2023 HCC Business Plan Competition 

Application Period Opens January 6

Prepare Now to Apply

The annual HCC Business Plan Competition is for Proposed, Startup and Existing Entrepreneurs. All accepted contestant teams get free training and advising late February through May to refine and polish their plans to start and/or grow their business.  The top five teams win prize money!  All graduating teams feel like winners because they all come out with the greatest value, a stronger written plan, slide deck and video to pursue their business goals and to seek funding. 

Are you ready to apply?  

Proposed and Startup* Entrepreneurs - Steps to Apply  

1) Complete One Prequalifying Class or Program and 

2) Attend the Financial Webinar/Workshop

3) Apply in January

Have you completed ONE of these Prequalifying Classes or Programs?

• HCC Creating a Successful Business Plan Online Continuing Education Class - Still Available! - Quick Sign Up. It takes just three minutes to sign up and takes about 24 hours of your time! Scroll down for More and to Sign Up.
• Small Business Success Series by HCC^©  
• Small Business Management - College Credit Class at HCC
• Entrepreneurship and Economic Development - College Credit Class at HCC
• Liftoff Houston Startup Competition
• Houston Area Urban League Small Business University
• University of Houston SURE Program

If you still need the class/program scroll down to sign up for the self-paced class.  

If you still need the financial workshop/webinar sign up for one of the January financial webinars. Then submit a strong application January 6-27. Have you completed the above already? Then take a sneak peak at Application questions and get started on your answers before the Application period opens! 

* You are considered to be a Startup Entrepreneur for the purposes of our competition if you have not yet achieved six continuous months of net profit prior to or during the pandemic.

Existing Entrepreneurs - Steps to Apply

1) Financial Webinar/Workshop - Sign Up Now for a January Virtual Webinar & attend it.

2) Apply

All Applicants Should Submit a Strong Application between January 6 - January 27

Ready to start working on your application? Our Competition Website gives you a sneak peak at the application's business concept questions, if you'd like to start working up your answers!  

www.hccs.edu/businessplancompetition

Turn your business ideas into a solid plan for financing and long-term success. Committing your idea to paper in the form of a business plan increases your chances of obtaining financing and keeps your business strategically focused. 

You will work through all the major components of writing a business plan and emerge with your first draft in hand. And most importantly, you will have completed the first-and most difficult-step on the path to small business success.

If you are a proposed or startup entrepreneur, this class prepares you to apply for the Spring 2023 HCC Business Plan Competition (BPC)!  

How it works: Complete 12 online lessons (each about 1.5 - 2 hours) with quizzes to advance to next lesson. At the end of the 12 lessons, take the multiple choice test to complete the class. (Hint - Save your quizzes; they prepare you very well for the final). The whole class takes about 15-24 hours of your time. 

Easy Enrollment - Takes just three minutes to register for the class!  

Choose Self-Paced Class if you are taking it to apply for the 2023 HCC BPC!

Self-Paced - Sign up any day any time!  Our Continuing Education department gives you three months from the date you sign up to finish the class. However, for those taking the class as a prerequisite to apply for the 2023 HCC Business Plan Competition ("Competition"), we recommend that you finish the class by the Competition's Application Deadline of January 27 or by no later than February 13.   

Click below for more info on each lesson and to sign up for the class!  

Register Now 

For proposed, startup and existing business owners. A two-and-a-half hour webinar that sets you up for success. Know your numbers and plan right for 2023!

This virtual webinar is a prerequisite for the team lead of all teams applying for the 2023 HCC Business Plan Competition. Other entrepreneurs are also welcome!

Featured Topics:

• Understanding the Primary Purpose of your Business
• How to Generate Revenue from your Business Idea
• Understanding concepts such as Burn-rate, Breakeven, and Cash-Flow
• Determining Cash Needs of Business
• Financing Cash Needs
• Financial Record Keeping



Funding Panel - Learn and ask questions from our financial resource partners.

Event Fee: Free to all entrepreneurs 

Choose One of the Following Financial Webinar Dates and Register Now: 

Thursday, January 19, 2023, 2:00pm - 4:30pm

Saturday, January 21, 2023, 9:30am - 12:00pm

Saturday, January 28, 2023, 9:30am - 12:00pm

Megan Eddings - Accel Lifestyle and Accel Unite

Sponsor Spotlight & Alumni Updates

Megan Eddings

Accel Lifestyle & Accel Unite

Founder, CEO

HCC Business Plan Competition

2018 Winner - $12,000

Recurring BPC Alumni Circle Sponsor

2023 Bronze Sponsor

We've shared her alumni success story before and now bring you an update as we also thank Megan for coming back yet again to sponsor the HCC Business Plan Competition.

As a powerful mini recap, since winning the HCC Business Plan Competition in 2018, Megan has grown Accel Lifestyle to exceed $2.5 Million in revenues!  Her “elevated anti-stink wear” line of clothing evolved into pandemic pivots using the bacteria resistant material she invented to produce face masks. That led to her winning contracts with the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy SEALs and hospitals such as Houston Methodist in the Medical Center.  All of this has occurred with her funding the business through self-funding, pitch competitions and friends & family!

Accel Unite - Her pandemic pivots have also led her to use the bacteria resistant material she invented to identify and respond to a market opportunity to create a Reusable Isolation Gown for hospitals. She launched Accel Unite in late 2021. Accel Unite’s patent-pending, sustainable gown increases protection, reduces costs, and maintains reliable supply chain, while helping save the environment.

Website: https://www.accelunite.com/ 

Intro Video: https://youtu.be/9XN4b78W6AA  

She had a great 2022 as well as she continues to pursue her growth plan.

1. Governor Abbott’s Commission for Women: 1^st Place in Regionals  
2. WBENC (National Woman-Owned Business Competition): 1^st Place in Regionals 
3. Inked Deal with Siemens Medical (Master Reseller Agreement).
4. She was also among 5 finalists chosen for the Houston Innovation Award by Houston Exponential and Innovation Map's woman-owned businesses competition    
5. On November 3, Megan received an Impact Award for philanthropy at The Ion.  
6. November 16, 2022 - Pitching Revolutionary Isolation Gown, Accel Unite’s Megan Eddings Wins Top Honors and $20,000 at Prestigious National Competition “Innovate with WBENC” in Washington, DC -   Emerging from an impressive group of more than 500 talented women business owners, Accel Unite’s founder and CEO Megan Eddings was named the winner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council's 2022 WBENC Pitch Competition.   

We asked Megan why she entered the HCC Business Plan Competition and what she gained from it. She responded as follows: "Everything! From what an LLC is to how to raise money. I was a chemist and sales person, but didn't know anything about starting a business. How to write a business plan; that it's not just a one time thing, you have to keep evolving it. I've updated my plan 10 times since then pursuing new ways of growing. The most important thing was being around other entrepreneurs. Being with other entrepreneurs going through the same things was so encouraging." Megan stays involved at HCC and taps into resources, opportunities and connections throughout the Houston entrepreneurial eco-system and nationally to strategically secure funding and achieve her business goals, while also giving back along the way.

We thank Megan for her recurring sponsorship of the HCC Business Plan competition. Thanks also for speaking at our competition related events to give entrepreneurs encouragement and tips about how give effective pitches!

Megan is currently experiencing great opportunities coming in for both Accel Lifestyle and Accel Unite as big companies are interested in licensing her technology. Given these new growth opportunities, she is now pursuing her first round of seed funding for both companies! We wish her the best in her efforts in 2023!

Click below for an HCC TV interview we did with Megan in late 2021 when she launched Accel Unite. http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/0v81f

Landi Spearman - Organized Shift

Sponsor Spotlight & Alumni Updates

Landi Spearman

Organized Shift

Founder, CEO

HCC Business Plan Competition 2015 Graduate

2023 HCC BPC Circle Alumni Sponsor

Brief Business Description - In the face of rapid-fire change and monumental shifts, there’s an increased demand on leaders. Organized SHIFT is a data-driven change consultancy that harnesses the power of data to help leaders to increase the speed and quality of decision making, under stress. Our proprietary SHIFT approach, utilizes real-time data insights, proven change methodology and the latest science to help leaders and teams to optimize change.

When founder Landi Spearman entered our competition, she’d launched Destination 4 Relocation LLC, a relocation concierge business designed to reduce the time, cost and negative impact of moving. Landi graduated from the HCC Business Plan Competition in June of 2015 and describes her participation as a launch pad for growth, structure and community.

She was later nominated by HCC for the national student entrepreneur award from the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. Upon winning the award, Landi recalls being inspired to expand upon what she learned from the competition to help leaders better transform change into opportunity. 

Following the 2017 Super Bowl and Hurricane Harvey, Landi shifted her business model from moving boxes, to moving mindsets. Integrating her Behavioral and Data Science background with change tools to help organizations to SHIFT faster in the face of complex modern-day change, in 2019, Landi rebranded her company to Organized SHIFT. Leveraging her lived experience growing up in eight family owned businesses, operating across four generations, today Landi Spearman, is celebrated for breaking the glass ceiling for minorities and women in technology and innovation. 

Organized SHIFT is on a mission to equip leaders who perform better under stress. A certified minority and women-owned firm, Organized SHIFT offers Strategy, Change Leadership Development, Executive and Team Coaching, and DEI Consulting services. An industry agnostic firm, Organized SHIFT has a proven history of preparing 1500+ leaders of industry titans like Salesforce, Comcast and CenterPoint Energy to harness the power of data and diversity in the modern-day workplace. Website: https://www.organizedshift.com/

Although the pandemic presented more challenges to overcome, in 2020, Landi received three prestigious awards from the Houston Business Journal, the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council and Innovation Map. Recently named a 2022 Woman of Impact, Landi has become an accomplished national speaker, a leader in the Houston entrepreneurial ecosystem and trusted advisor to local clients like The Ion and the Greater Houston Partnership. Landi is excited about 2023 as her team prepares to release a podcast in Q1 and add gamified, multisensory tech products to its offerings, designed to help companies reduce the “Cost of the Undeveloped Leader.” 

We congratulate Landi on the impressive evolution of her business and on her accomplishments! Thank you too Landi and Organized Shift for your BPC Alumni Circle Sponsorship of our 2023 HCC Business Plan Competition!

Click below for an HCC TV interview we did with Landi on December 8, 2022.

http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/0oozq

Helen Callier - Permit Us Now

Sponsor Spotlight & Alumni Updates

Helen Callier

Permit Us Now

Founder, CEO

HCC Business Plan Competition

Graduate 2016

HCC Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Graduate Cohort 9

Recurring BPC Alumni Circle Sponsor

Bronze Sponsor-2023 HCC Business Plan Competition

Brief Description - Permit Us Now is a building permit expediting company serving commercial & government clients throughout Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, and now in Jacksonville, Florida.

When Helen entered our competition she'd launched and grown Bradlink, LLC and was continuing to do so, bolstered by her experience in the HCC Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.

Helen also had her sights set on developing her idea to launch a new venture, Permit Us Now. She knew there was no guarantee that a new company would do well unless she treated that new company (Permit Us Now) as well as her first company. She got into the HCC Business Plan Competition to further develop her plan to launch, get great structured training and advising while doing so and to stay accountable working alongside like-minded entrepreneurs. Helen didn't win prize money but she launched Permit Us Now the summer after she graduated from the 2016 competition. She now has offices in four cities, with another on the way! Website: https://permitusnow.com/

We are touched and grateful that Helen has been a recurring BPC Alumni Circle Sponsor for our competition since 2017. She has served as speaker at our opening reception and closing awards ceremony and a competition judge. For 2023, she has not only committed to sponsoring us again, but she has also raised her sponsorship to the Bronze level. Thank you Helen from our hearts to yours!

Helen gives back to the community in many ways. For instance, she recently completed her six-year term as State of Texas Commissioner with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. For More

HCC TV Interviews - Click below for two brief interviews we did with Helen.

In the first one, you'll learn more about her journey launching and growing Permit Us Now. Helen Callier HCC TV 10 31 21: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/0iyvi

In the second one, she gives an update on the latest and shares advice for entrepreneurs. Helen Callier HCC TV 09 28 22: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/0575t

More Alumni Success Stories and Sponsor Spotlights

in upcoming newsletters! 

Thank You Again to All of Our

2022 HCC Business Plan Competition Sponsors

More About Each 2022 Competition Sponsor

Announcing 2023 Sponsors in the Spring! 

More News From

Update Snapshot - Our Success is Your Success!

Glenda & David Regenbaum Center for Entrepreneurship

We are honored to relay the success of our 2nd full academic year with our new name thanks to Glenda and David Regenbaum and their generous $100,000 endowment of our Center at HCC Northwest. Thank you again David for dedicating your time and experience to help us develop and grow our programs.  

Thanks to Dr. Zachary Hodges, President, HCC Northwest for starting entrepreneurship at HCC and remaining one of our strongest leaders and ongoing champions! Thanks to the HCC Northwest Leadership Team and all staff and faculty supporting our offerings and spreading an entrepreneurial mindset to and through our community.  

Thanks to Dr. Cesar Maldonado, Chancellor, HCC District, for our strategic plan "Embracing Houston's Future" as we focus on the long-term priorities of: 1. Student Success, 2. Diversity and Equity, 3. Personalized Learning, 4. Academic Rigor, 5. Community Investment, and 6. College of Choice. You empower us to pursue our Plan while also advancing innovation and resiliency as levers to affect transformation and continuous improvement.

Thanks to Dr. Kurt Ewen, Vice Chancellor of Strategy, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness, Chief Transformation Officer, HCC District, for leading and empowering us to strategically plan, innovate and grow entrepreneurial offerings across the HCC System. Thanks to you and those under your leadership who help drive our growing contribution to creating greater economic opportunity and equity for talented, diverse and motivated aspiring and existing entrepreneurs across Houston.

Thanks to Dr. Maya Durnovo, Associate Vice Chancellor-Entrepreneurship, HCC District, for leading our centers and building programs that bolster our economy and help businesses build wealth. With 10 signature programs, national and local awards and our recent Open for Business and Pandemic Recovery Center grant programs, we are looking forward to more great accomplishments together with all of our internal and external partners. 

2021-2022 Fiscal Year – Our success comes from three primary signature programs developed by the Glenda & David Regenbaum Center for Entrepreneurship at HCC Northwest. In Fiscal 2021/2022: four cohorts graduated from the Small Business Success Series by HCC^© ; we celebrated the 15th anniversary of our Annual HCC Business Plan Competition; and we continued the roll out of the HCC Mattress Mack School of Selling^© :  

• Fall 2021 - 35 events with 2,249 in attendance.
• Spring-Summer 2022 - 38 events with 2,600 in attendance. 
• HCC Business Plan Competition – A series of 13 events from January thru June – We awarded $26,000 in prize money to the top five teams and in-kind prizes valued at $ 61,600 to 22 graduating teams.  
• Small Business Success Series by HCC^© - We graduated Cohorts 5,6,7 & 8 in Fiscal 2021/2022 for a total attendance of 2,068 and 144 graduates. We moved swiftly to collaborate & deliver more in Fall 2022.
• HCC Mattress Mack School of Selling^© - We delivered another digital six-session open-access series in March on Zoom with total attendance averaging 139 per session for total attendance of 836. We also rolled out our first smaller on-site application-based series with expanded programming and celebrated 15 graduates at Gallery Furniture in May, while also honoring Jim McIngvale at our HCC Foundation Gala.
• Total Attendance - Fiscal YE 2020-2021: 73 events 4,900 - This includes our three signature programs and other entrepreneurial events: such as our monthly Digital Marketing Clinics with Beth Guide; our SBA Lender Borrower Matchmaking events; and our annual Jr. Achievement "Ignite the Spark" event for city-wide high schools throughout Greater Houston.

Since 2016, our Glenda & David Regenbaum Center for Entrepreneurship has delivered entrepreneurial training events attracting 16,750 in total attendance in collaboration with 30 strategic partners.

Fall/Winter 2022 Update

We prepared roll-out of January events for the 2023 HCC Business Plan Competition; graduated a record number of Small Business Success Series by HCC^© cohorts in collaboration with our OEI partners; and plans are underway with Jim McIngvale and WorkTexas to announce a Spring Schedule for the HCC Mattress Mack School of Selling^© . 

The HCC Business Plan Competition is in its 16th year. Profound thanks to our original partners at Newspring for the legacy you've helped us create and carry forward. Director, Sandra Louvier has been involved in the competition for the last 13 years. Since then, 293 teams (570 contestants) have graduated from the competition. We have raised and awarded: $338,000 in seed money to 65 finalist teams; and in-kind prizes valued at $230,000 and $188,000 in membership discounts to 293 graduating teams. Volunteer hours for 13 years, contributed from competition leaders, trainers and 50-60 advisors annually are valued in total at $2.525 million. In total, over 13 years, the HCC Business Plan Competition has delivered an estimated impact to Houston entrepreneurs of $3.3 million.  

Small Business Success Series by HCC^© - This series was offered numerous times this Summer and Fall thanks to multiple teams within the Office of Entrepreneurial Initiatives (OEI) including: Open for Business, sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank; the MBDA Pandemic Recovery Center, sponsored by the MBDA; and our Glenda & David Regenbaum Center Entrepreneurship at HCC NW, sponsored by Wells Fargo. Our OEI and HCC Southeast Ctr. for Entrepreneurship also collaborated with the Mexican Consulate to offer three cohorts in Spanish, sponsored by a grant from the University of Houston Small Business Development Center.

• Spanish Cohorts - Cohorts 9, 10 and 11 were delivered in Spanish, in July, August and September; one of which was virtual and two were delivered onsite at the Mexican Consulate.
• English Cohorts - Cohorts 12, 13 and 14, September through November delivered as follows:
• Cohort 12, Virtual, by Open for Business;
• Cohort 13, Onsite by MBDA Pandemic Recovery Center and Center for Entrepreneurship at HCC Southeast
• Cohort 14, Virtual by our Glenda & David Regenbaum Center for Entrepreneurship-HCC Northwest.

Kuddos to our sponsors, facilitators, the HCC Office of Entrepreneurial Initiatives team, and to our delivery teams with the OEI partners mentioned here! A schedule for Spring 2023 cohorts will be announced soon!

Mattress Mack School of Selling^© - We conducted another application-based onsite series this Fall 2022 held at Gallery Furniture and celebrated 31 graduates. We have planning meetings underway for an open-access digital offering in March 2023 for this 6-session series, like the ones we offered in 2021 and Spring 2022. We are also planning another application-based expanded curriculum for our onsite program in April/May 2023. More news on this soon!

It's the People! Thank You!

Thanks to all the fine people that make this huge synergistic effort happen throughout the year:

• Star Staff and Internal Partners - Special thanks yet again to Sabiha Dholkawala and Flora Renteria who joined our Ctr. for Entrepreneurship NW team during the 2020 pandemic and hit the ground running! You are entrepreneurial, open-minded and have an outstanding ability to pivot, develop and implement solutions and come to work ready to have fun, deliver results and shine! Thanks also to our Internal Partners - Office of Entrepreneurial Initiatives - Rene Blake, Open for Business - Tamela Austin, Karen Sharp and Carola Medina, Pandemic Recovery Center - April Felton, Weltonia Harris, Christina Cornelius and Kim Vera, MBDA - Marshette Turner, Jessica Vasquez, Deidre Sutton, Tanya McGilbra, and Austin Tenette; HCC Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses- Dr. Kimberly Burroughs, Mishele Lamshing, Terri Almendarez, LIz Carreno, Michael Davenport, Ernest Davis and faculty; Center for Entrepreneurship-HCC Southeast - Susie Molina and Center for Entrepreneurship-HCC Southwest - Ravi Brahmbhatt. We also thank Jordan Carswell, Robin Nagy, Connie Leon, and the team in the West Houston Institute, the HCC Foundation, HCC Procurement, HCC Communications, HCC TV, HCC CE, HCC IT, HCC Legal, HCC Ops, HCC Student Services, HCC Career Planning & Placement, HCC Corporate College, HCC Workforce and all our partners at HCC District and across the system in our Centers of Excellence who support our efforts and practice the growth mindset!
• Star Facilitators, Entrepreneurs in Residence and Volunteer Advisors & Alumni: Special Thanks to: David Regenbaum, Austin Tenette, Ned Mueller, Kimberly Penn, Dr. Kimberly Burroughs, Thea Goldin Smith, Nannette Ray, Leeanne Aguilar, Lyndsey Brantley, Beth Guide and all the volunteer advisors, trainers, alumni and panelists who support our programs and give invaluable advising and training to our proposed, startup and existing entrepreneurs!  
• Special Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners: We have more than 30 in all and you’ll see them mentioned throughout the year in our newsletters. Special thanks to: our Recurring Sponsors Wells Fargo Bank, Gallery Furniture, Wallis Bank, LiftFund, Allegiance Bank, Frost Bank, Legacy Rags, Capital CDC, Faith in Business, Accel Lifestyle, Permit Us Now, Three Brothers Bakery, Camellia Alise and Texas Swim Academy; and our in-kind sponsors: Houston West Chamber of Commerce, True Color Graphics, Vertical Web, Synerlock, The Cannon, and TNR Advisors & Management Consultants; and our internal and external entrepreneurial eco-system partners such as the SBA Houston District, SCORE Houston, City of Houston-Mayor’s Office of Business Opportunity, Liftoff Houston, UofH SURE program, Houston Area Urban League, the UofH SBDC, Junior Achievement of South Texas, Spring Branch Management District, Brays Oaks Management District, Memorial Management District and all of the management districts, chambers and eco-system partners and individuals who who support our efforts! Our success is your success!
• Special thanks to our alumni and all of of you who have attended our offerings to bring us to 16,750 in total attendance from 2016 through now! We thank the aspiring and existing entrepreneurs who have attended our offerings and those of you seeking entrepreneurial skills to grow within your job, get a better job and/or accelerate your career, for you all contribute to the strength and success of Houston's small business community!

These pandemic years have been challenging and difficult years and our hearts go out to those of us who are suffering from loss or sickness. While we cannot predict what is to come in 2023, it has been our experience that we are better facing it together to provide and tap into, ongoing opportunity, training, resources, hope and inspiration for each of us to overcome our obstacles and make a positive difference in our community.

We look forward to 2023, turning challenges into opportunities, building on our successes and making the best of what lies before us together!

From all of us, to all of you!

Sandra, David and the c4e Team

About the Glenda & David Regenbaum Center for Entrepreneurship

HCC Northwest

OUR MISSION: To help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

We do this by offering workshops, seminars, summits, classes and competitive training and advising, while also providing practical knowledge, resources and connections. We are also known for three Signature Programs: the Annual HCC Business Plan Competition, now in its 16th year; the Small Business Success Series by by HCC^©; and the HCC Mattress Mack School of Selling^©

Contact us at c4e@hccs.edu or 713-718-6650

Houston Community College Wins 2022 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Award for Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education

 Houston-based academic group called out top universities and programs from around the world — including one in Houston and another in Texas — that are excelling in educating future entrepreneurs at the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Conference in October.

The GCEC is a consortium of more than 250 university entrepreneurship programs that is headquartered at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, which has been named a top entrepreneurship program itself time and time again. Houston Community College's Office of Entrepreneurial Initiatives (led by Dr. Maya Durnovo) won in the Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education category for programming that serves women and minority owned businesses. GCEC Award-Innovation Map Article

Houston Community College Wins 2022 Bellwether Award for Entrepreneurial Initiatives

Houston Community College has won the 2022 Bellwether Award for its outstanding and innovative workforce development program: HCC’s Entrepreneurial Initiatives. The Bellwether Awards are widely regarded as one of the nation’s most competitive and prestigious recognitions for community colleges. Dr. Maya Durnovo, HCC’s chief entrepreneurial initiatives officer leads HCC’s mission of helping entrepreneurs start and grow businesses to bolster the local economy, create jobs and build Houston’s ecosystem by starting and growing small businesses, including minority-, veteran- and women-owned businesses. Dr. Durnovo said. “I am so fortunate to have a highly motivated and passionate team that strives for excellence in everything they do.”

Houston Community College Receives 2021 Diversity In Business Award from the Houston Business Journal!

Congratulations to all students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs (aspiring & existing); and to all our community participants, supporters, volunteers, partners and sponsors who collaborate with us to make awards like this possible! Congratulations also to all of the other honorees and awardees! 

#WeAreHCC # HoustonStrong #HBJDiversity

Houston Community College 

2020 Entrepreneurial College of the Year

October. 6, 2020: The Houston Community College System was selected as the winner of the 2020 Entrepreneurial College of the Year award by the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) at NACCE's annual conference, where entrepreneurial colleges from across the U.S. gather to share best practices. On behalf of all of our entrepreneurial programs and staff, we thank all of the entrepreneurs, partners, sponsors, volunteers, students, and HCC faculty and staff who have contributed to our efforts! Without your support and dedication to our programs, this wouldn't have been possible!