Convenience Big Store: Cy-Fair grad lands on Forbes 30 under 30 list

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Cy-Fair grad makes Forbes 30 under 30 list with new solar panel startup.

Not everyday you see your name on a Forbes list next to some of the country's best young entrepreneurs.

Shiv Bhakta, 28, graduated from Cy-Fair High School, now reflects on how the Cypress community helped him get there.

Bhakta and his solar panel company Active Surfaces, which he cofounded with Richard Swartwout, made the Forbes 30 under 30 – energy list.

After graduating from Cy-Fair HS in 2012, Bhakta attended the University of Houston, earning a degree in chemical engineering and economics. Later he worked at Exxon Mobil for a few years before leaving and opening a youth center in Cypress in 2020.

IDEA Lab Kids, an educational space for children ages 4 to 14 years old, offers programs such as camps, classes, and workshops.

Bhakta said his youth center was the start of his entrepreneur journey. He now attends MIT, which is where he met Swartwout. Read more about Bhakta here.

Ralph Green, Suburban reporter producer

ralph.green.@houstonchronicle.com

Education

The Cy-Fair ISD school board unanimously approves Doug Killian's contract as Cy-Fair ISD superintendent of schools Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. He will take the helm as superintendent starting Jan. 1, 2024.

Photo by: Cy-Fair ISD

Cy-Fair ISD board approves contract for new superintendent.

Cy-Fair ISD approved a compensation package for new superintendent Doug Killian as he prepares for a Jan. 1, 2024 start.

Openings and closings

Bridgeland's growing shopping center Lakeland Village Center is expecting to add two new businesses in the new year.

Space City Orthodontics and Foxfire Candle Works will soon be two new stores opening in the Cypress area, bringing orthodontics services and 100 fragrances to the area.

Shout out

Shout out to everyone who attended the Cy-Hoops tournament. Cypress area teams may have lost, but Cypress Falls' Brayden Young earned De'Aaron Fox Most Outstanding Player award.

Young, a Loyola University commit racked up some impressive numbers. Young 60 percent, averaging 7.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.