Every city claims to have a startup ecosystem. Most have a pitch competition and a co-working space and call it infrastructure.

Houston has 26 Fortune 500 headquarters, the world's largest medical complex, Johnson Space Center, and a professional culture built around problems where people die if you get it wrong. The startup layer on top of that is growing fast and still leaving serious value on the table.

I audited it. All of it (well, most of it). The history, the gaps, the capital stack, the people doing the unglamorous work that makes ecosystems actually function, and the three structural priorities that will determine whether Houston converts exceptional conditions into compounding returns.

The gaps Houston has are not Houston's alone so this is meaningful study for everyone:

• * The missing Series A middle

• * The measurement problem,

• * The invisible talent problem,

• * The university commercialization lag

If you work in ecosystem development anywhere, you will recognize your city in this piece.

Then tell me which gap your ecosystem is stuck on.