In a recent pitch competition held by the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest, three of those businesses were selected as finalists and judged by a panel of Hispanic business leaders and entrepreneurs to win cash prizes and mentorships.
From sustainable online shopping to real-time concrete strength analytics, these entrepreneurs are disrupting industries with new ideas and unique perspectives. Meet three Latino-owned startups that are pursuing their dreams in Houston:
Claimkey automates insurance claim reports
In 2016, Vincent Bradley was working in an auto body shop and dating an insurance adjuster when he realized how hard it was and how much time it took for adjusters to review property damage claims on cars. He became an adjuster himself just before Hurricane Irma hit in 2017 and spent the aftermath of the storm reviewing claims in Florida.
His observations and experiences led him to develop Claimkey: an app that automatically generates reports for insurance claims.
Insurance adjusters rely on reports to understand what happened and estimate the cost of the damage, said Bradley’s co-founder, Eddie Arroyo. In normal circumstances, it may take 30 minutes to two hours for a police officer to arrive at the scene and write a report, he said. Then it can take weeks for police reports to process so an insurance adjuster can use them, according to Arroyo.
Claimkey cuts the time both for customers and for police. Users load photos and information into the app, which uses a template to autogenerate a report that can be sent to insurance companies. The process allows customers to document evidence and information on the spot and makes it unnecessary for police to come to the scene or write up a report for minor accidents.
The app provides users with information about which documents to obtain and what steps to take. Cutting down on the amount of time it takes to process a claim also means they’re less likely to forget key details as time goes on, said Bradley.
Unlike Bradley, Arroyo came from a finance background. Bradley asked him for advice on pitching his company while Arroyo was working at a financial valuation company, and the two ended up as business partners.Bradley. Arroyo said they’ve received positive feedback from friends and family who have tested using the app. They expect to bring the product to market soon.
They see opportunities for Claimkey across the country, particularly in areas such as Puerto Rico and Florida that are frequently plagued by natural disasters.
For someone who’s just been through a natural disaster or a car accident, using Claimkey can alleviate the stress that comes with submitting an insurance claim, according to Bradley.
“Claims are life-changing events. You’re on your way to work, and all of the sudden, something happens,” he said. “People are going through emotional trauma and frustration. They never have the presence of mind to provide you with the information you need.”
Ody De La Paz, founder and CEO of Sensytec Inc., a company that uses sensors to monitor the strength of concrete in buildings, is shown Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Houston.
Ody De La Paz was studying at the University of Houston when he first learned about “smart cement,” which incorporates sensors and hardware that can collect data about the concrete and analyze its health in real time.
“We drive on concrete and cement every day, we live in what they call a concrete jungle, but not many people think about the way we can innovate this old school material that the world is dependent upon,” he said. “It’s so futuristic and so crazy of an idea, I had to take the opportunity.”
De La Paz’s smart cement company Sensytec saves money by saving time, according to De La Paz.
In multi-story buildings, for example, contractors can use Sensytec’s technology to tell exactly when concrete is strong enough to move on to the next floor, instead of waiting for a testing lab to determine whether it’s ready. When Sensytec’s technology was used in a 17-story building project, it cut about a month off the construction schedule, trimming more than $200,000 off the project cost, De La Paz said.
The technology behind Sensytec was originally developed by Cumaraswamy Vipulanandan, a civil engineering professor at the University of Houston. De La Paz was assigned to learn about the technology in a class project, and later decided to take on turning it into a business with his co-founder Anudeep Maddi, a University of Houston grad with a Ph.D. in civil engineering.
The two are developing hardware that can provide long-term monitoring for structures. After hurricanes or earthquakes, De La Paz said the technology will be able to tell engineers how much damage has been done and whether the structure – such as a bridge or a road – is safe.
Sensytec has also received a grant from the Department of Defense to develop products for the construction of new military bases. Long-term monitoring software could be used to determine how plane runways are holding up or provide damage assessments in the case of an attack, De La Paz said.
“Construction is a very old school industry,” he said. “Bringing something new to an industry is always going to be a challenge. So instead of saying it, we’ve shown them. We send demos. We provide real data. When they see that, that’s when it clicks.”
Along the way, De La Paz has found support in his mentors from accelerator programs, pitch competitions and former professors. He's also taken inspiration from Houston’s diversity and openness to innovation, he said.
“That’s something that we have an advantage in and can take advantage of,” he said. “The diversity of different types of companies, different types of people with different backgrounds and skill sets. That’s the uniqueness we have.”
Maria Burgos, founder of Trendy Seconds, an online secondhand and sustainable clothing retailer, is shown in her home Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Houston.
Maria Burgos, founder of Trendy Seconds, an online secondhand and sustainable clothing retailer, is shown in her home Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Houston.
Trendy Seconds brings sustainability to the full lifecycle of clothing
Trendy Seconds’ story started with spring cleaning.
Founder Maria Burgos was cleaning out her closet during the pandemic when she began to research where she could donate her clothes. She instead fell into a rabbit hole learning about the environmental impact of the fashion industry.
The next time she wanted to buy new clothes, she decided to shop second-hand. Buying or thrifting used clothes can keep them out of landfills, but it can also be a tedious process finding exactly what you want, according to Burgos.
“I shopped every night. I spent so much time browsing multiple platforms for thousands of secondhand items. I felt like I was being punished somehow,” she said. “I know some people enjoy the hunt, but for people like myself with kids, we don’t want to spend our time researching this much just to get a t-shirt or a skirt.”
Burgos decided to found Trendy Seconds – an online site that curates second-hand and sustainable clothing and accessories for sale. Like a traditional boutique, a fashion stylist selects specific brands and pieces to feature on the Trendy Seconds website.
If a customer is interested in a piece, Trendy Seconds redirects them to the brand’s website where they can purchase it. But starting on October 13, the website will relaunch so customers can make purchases directly on the Trendy Seconds site.
Each item's sustainability is verified using the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, Burgos said.
But sustainability isn’t just about where you purchase clothing from – it's also about how you treat the clothing, and how you dispose of it, she says. In the future, Burgos said, she hopes to partner with companies that help customers take better care of their clothing to extend its lifetime – such as altering services and eco-friendly detergent.
So far, Burgos has been able to fund Trendy Seconds through her own personal savings and prize money from pitch competitions she’s competed in.
Burgos moved to Houston in 2018 after living in Brazil, Spain and Venezuela, where she grew up. In Venezuela, she said she wasn’t exposed to as many accelerator programs or pitch competitions other entrepreneurs in the U.S. are. Burgos said she learned to find her own opportunities instead and be grateful for what she has – a mindset that’s helped her tackle the challenges of starting her own small business.
“Perception is everything,” she said. “When you focus on looking at opportunities instead of complaining, you motivate yourself to keep going instead of being frustrated.”