Meghan Cano — who was named the San Antonio Business Journal's 40 Under 40 Woman of the Year in 2019 under her previous name, Meghan Garza-Oswald — is launching an affordable housing site and mobile app which was just accepted into a prominent national accelerator.
The 2022 Tech Equity Hub is a 12-week accelerator program run by Project W, an initiative of the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LP. The hybrid accelerator, which begins July 11 — the first 11 weeks are held virtually and the last one in-person — provides Black or Latinx women founders with tools and resources for building and scaling their tech company. Last year was the inaugural cohort.
This year, Cano is one of nine Black or Latinx women founders from the United States, Mexico and Germany who were chosen to participate after a competitive application process.
The cohort will participate in one-on-one mentoring sessions, community-building events and workshops, with mentors available to help them with everything from product design and development to business strategy to fundraising, marketing and sales.
At the end of the program, the Tech Equity Hub participants will travel to New York City for a live pitch and networking event, Cano said. Participants will have the opportunity to talk to venture capitalists and finance experts.
Cano's new platform — developed alongside her husband and business partner Juan Cano — is a tech real-estate marketplace website and mobile application focused on affordable housing called "Housing Base."
The idea sprang from Mayor Ron Nirenberg's housing task force launched in 2017, which issued a framework of goals for affordable housing in San Antonio. Since Cano and her husband both served on the task force, they decided to team up to tackle the need — and in May 2019, the City of San Antonio selected Housing Base as one tool it wanted to use to combat the housing crisis.
The platform has had a soft rollout but Cano intends to see a full one within the next quarter.
Cano, a San Antonio native, has spent her career focused on affordable housing and real estate. She also serves as CEO of CHR Partners, a national affordable housing development nonprofit.
"All my entrepreneurial ventures have a social mission to leave the world better than I found it," she added.
