The Cannon established an important role in the Houston startup community just a few years ago with their launch in 2017 to create an ecosystem to serve Houston’s entrepreneurs. This month, they’re opening their 6th Houston area location – The Cannon Sports + Media – as a global hub for Sports and Media Technology, along with startup programming from MediaTech Ventures.
“From my point of view in Chicago and our work in media technology here, it’s clear that physical infrastructure drives innovation. Meaningful use of space fosters communities, and the resulting concentration of attention from professionals, mentors, and investors, in a sector they know and love, mitigates risks that creators must undertake as they change the world. Space, purposeful space, reduces those risks while connecting people who help one another thrive. We do that here in Chicago, whether in Chicago’s notable startup space, 1871, or in Fort Knox Studios work with 2112 and our MediaTech programming, it’s evident that much of what’s causing Texas to boom is the investment in property that fuels the economy,” says John Zozzaro, President and Founder, MediaTech Ventures.
Today, Houston’s largest entrepreneurial community closes ties with teams in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Austin, bringing MediaTech Ventures’ startup incubators and media platforms to The Cannon community in conjunction with the launch of The Cannon Sports + Media.
Leveraging their growing community of startups, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, advisors, and investors, The Cannon works to democratize access to the resources innovators need to succeed. This new space has been designed to build a community of innovators focused on revolutionizing sports and media, as well as anyone with the desire to build their business in a space custom-designed and programmed for the sports fanatic.
Started in Austin, TX, MediaTech Ventures works with cities, investors, and developed companies, in media, to fuel entrepreneurship and the rise of the creative class of the economy. Drawn from experiences throughout the United States major media hubs, from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles and New York, they developed a proprietary model for startup incubators that leverages technology to connect the community worldwide, while leading with a curriculum teaching founders with an emphasis in media, the marketing, and the community and content development that enables founders to start a venture more likely to succeed.
The Cannon and MediaTech Ventures have formed a strategic partnership to better serve the media industry and entrepreneurs through MediaTech Ventures’ incubators and technology.
“We’re excited to be teaming up with MediaTech Ventures as a programming partner inThe Cannon Sports + Media space,” Lawson Gow, Founder and President of The Cannon. “The space intends to be a hub for all things sports and media innovation and activity. And MediaTech will be a huge driver of this kind of community in Houston.”
Zozzaro states, “The Cannon’s community and property developments caught our attention immediately as a critical piece of the Texas startup ecosystem and in MediaTech Ventures’ work with the region’s best and brightest founders and incubators. Lawson Gow’s vision of democratizing access to the physical resources that cities and entrepreneurs need fell right in line with our commitment to doing the same in education and capital development. As Texas booms as an epicenter of innovation, Houston’s amazing culture, history in technology, and impact in the arts is unparalleled; aligning with The Cannon’s vision means even more access and resources to creators, and the introduction of The Cannon Community to our startup programs throughout the world.”
“And throughout might be the most notable of what we’re building together. From here in Chicago, I’m working closely with our friends in the 2112 music community to help Italian startups develop into the United States through the Italian Trade Agency. ITA’s other notable location in the United States? Houston, TX, working closely with Mass Challenge and other startup programs passionate about working together for entrepreneurs. And now in MediaTech, we’re bridging the distance even more, between Houston and Austin, Texas and Illinois, throughout the United States, and across the ponds to serve founders better, throughout the world.”
Among the most impactful platforms and ecosystems in Texas’ innovation economy, the close collaboration crosses the chasm between two of the largest and growing cities in the United States while enabling entrepreneurs and investors to access, learn from, and get connected throughout much more of what has the region in the spotlight of the world.
“Let’s do more of this, together, from property to programming that focused on innovation, having a social impact on the world is rather easy – we help people become creators who thrive.”
