Last week, Sheena and I attended a Houston Demo Day at Start Houston. Start is a co-working space for the tech world in Houston. It’s awesome. A friend of ours, Apurva, started it a while back and it’s awesome to see how it’s grown! Here’s a shot of Apurva kicking things off.
Then the guest speaker came up…. MATTRESS MACK!
If you don’t know Mattress Mack, he’s a Houston Icon. He owns and operates Gallery Furniture. It’s been around for as long as I’ve been alive! I remember him because we used to drive by Gallery Furniture all the time off of I-45, but also for his late night commercials where he would jump around, tossing money with his memorable catch-phrase “We’ll Save You Money!!!”… classic. He shared some great nuggets of wisdom. It’s cool to hear from someone that is clearly successful. Even now (over 30 years later), his business is still growing. I would imagine that he’s doing just fine with the one store (that grew in size itself), but now he’s got a location in the Galleria area along with another massive location opening up in the Sugar Land area.
After Mattress Mack spoke, 4 different start-ups spoke about their products/services. There was a panel of 4 judges/advisers that ask questions and give tips on what they can do to improve their business or improve their presentation. It’s awesome. I have no clue about any of this stuff, but I love being around that sort of energy. It’s really encouraging/inspirational to see others chase after their dreams through a business.
Before we left, I snapped a shot of this hottie.
If you’re remotely connected to the tech industry, you should follow StartHouston and go to their events. If you’re not connected at all to the tech industry, you should still go and check it out! I’m telling ya, it’s a pretty cool scene to soak up.
Sajan Abraham 