Tag Archives: Nathan Burkhart

Burkhart Receives 40 Under 40 Award

e-Brief Features Moving On Up News Comments
Nathan Burkhart

Nathan Burkhart, vice president for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, is a recipient of the 2025 Economic Development 40 Under 40 Award. The biennial award recognizes rising stars under 40 years old in the economic development industry. The awards program is hosted by Development Counsellors International and Jorgenson Pace Inc. An independent selection committee of six economic development leaders and site selection consultants evaluated nominations based…

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StartUp Events Feature Local Entrepreneurs

News Professional Services Comments
BCIC CEO Cori Pena makes a check presentation to one winner at a recent StartUp Texas event. (Courtesy)

The 36,000-square-foot eBridge Center in downtown Brownsville was envisioned as a space where aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners could experiment and test new ideas. After a year of operations on East Adams Street, eBridge is proving to be just that and more. Its StartUp Texas innovation competitions feature enterprising businesses from a variety of industries representing food, research and emerging technologies. Just in recent months, presenters offered judges in…

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Supply Chains Shifts May Benefit RGV

Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Shifts in global supply chain operations may bring light manufacturing opportunities for the Rio Grande Valley economy.

The fallout from the economic upheavals of 2020 when coupled with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have frayed supply chains from Asia and put global energy markets on edge.  Two buzzwords are making the rounds of economic development talk as industries readjust and calculate what lays ahead. One term banding about is reshoring. This is the reestablishment of manufacturing operations in the United States after being previously located…

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StartUp Texas Announces Demo Day, Seed Funding

Community e-Brief Features News Comments
StartUp Texas

StartUp Texas, a seed fund and accelerator program under the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, will hold Demo Day 2023 on Aug. 10. The capstone event showcases the innovative steps made by seven startups in its Quality of Life Ventures cohort competing to win anywhere from $40,000, $20,000, or $10,000 in seed funding. BCIC partners with visionary entrepreneurs and passionate leaders through the program, helping them bring groundbreaking products or services…

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Roast House Goes Big In Brownsville

e-Brief Features Featured Food & Entertainment News Comments

Walk into The Roast House in downtown Brownsville and the first impression is how much space it occupies. The formerly cozy coffee shop on Alton Gloor Road in north Brownsville has grown dramatically since its move to downtown in the latter half of 2022. There’s 5,700 square feet of space put to use for community events, group meetings and of course, great coffee.  The Roast House is a “full-blown coffee…

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SpaceX’s Reach Goes Beyond Rocket Launches

News Transportation & Travel Comments

Elon Musk and SpaceX recently declared they were “one step closer to the first orbital flight test of Starship.” The reference was to the nearly 400-foot-tall rocket that’s perched at Starbase on Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville. The Federal Aviation Administration announced in June after a two year-study that SpaceX could expand its footprint on Boca Chica. The FAA, however, did not grant a rocket launch license. It cited 75…

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Center Spans Border To Boost Opportunities 

Community News Comments
The eBridge Center in downtown Brownsville will provide an array of services to assist small business owners and entrepreneurs.

The Casa de Nylon-turned-entrepreneurial resource center is nearing completion in downtown Brownsville. The 36,000-square-foot, two-story facility on east Adams Street should be open for business – and innovation – by the end of this month. It will be the largest facility of its kind south of San Antonio. The eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization is located just a few blocks from the Gateway International Bridge. The Brownsville Community Improvement…

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BCIC Accepting Pitch Summit Applications

Community e-Brief Features Featured News Comments

The Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation’s third annual StartUp Texas Pitch Summit is now open and accepting applications. The event will be the first ever in-person version since the program began in March of 2020.  The Startup Texas Pitch Summit is a live event where early-stage companies pitch their product/service to industry experts, venture capitalists, and high profile journalists. This spring, the winning pitch will not only receive $25,000 in startup…

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Bringing Expertise & Services To Higher Level

Community News Comments
Nathan Burkhart of the BCIC is helping to oversee the building of the new "eBridge." (VBR)

These are heady days for the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation as it incorporates emerging technology and the excitement of SpaceX at Boca Chica into a growing economy. The BCIC funds economic development and boosts quality of life projects. There’s plenty of that in Brownsville right now. Downtown improvements and a flurry of small businesses are seeing early successes and working to scale up operations. The BCIC is in the middle…

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