The coworking and acceleration hub that's been holding down the Houston innovation ecosystem's West Houston presence has officially cut the ribbon and celebrated its grand opening.
Just hours after announcing The Downtown Launch Pad on October 24, The Cannon Houston celebrated the grand opening of its 120,0000-square-foot home at 1334 Brittmoore Rd. The party welcomed over 600 innovators, Cannon members, and visitors.
Founder and CEO, Lawson Gow, who is also the son of InnovationMap's parent company's CEO (David Gow), cut the ribbon on the new building that houses over 250 companies and is nearly sold out for leasing opportunities.
"It's been incredible watching The Cannon come to life since it was a drawing on a whiteboard," says Gow in a news release. "There are far too many people to thank — from the first community members that joined us in The Waiting Room more than 18 months ago, the numerous partners, investors, ecosystem members and resources that have helped us get where we are today, all the way to our new members who patiently waited for the space to open."
Gow's "Waiting Room" building is still in existence adjacent to the new building — the landlord of the property is operating it, but Cannon companies have all moved in to the new facility.
The grand opening event showcased all the startups and entrepreneurs based in The Cannon, plus hosted mental breaks — with free massages and cuddles with dogs — and other activities like poker and pingpong.
One Cannon-based startup, LetsLaunch, even hosted a live pitch event for a few of the companies using its digital investment platform, including: Camppedia, Social Chains, Pill Golf, and Paylight. Since the live pitch last week, LetsLaunch has seen a $21,000 increase of investment online.
While The Cannon team is settled, the organization already has growth and expansion in the works.
"Each person had a major part in getting us where we are today," Gow says. "We knew that Houston was in desperate need of a resource like this and are thankful to be able to build this community and fulfill our mission of supporting Houston's entrepreneurs."
The Cannon founder, Lawson Gow (center), cuts the ribbon.
