We are really excited to introduce our new featured Houstonians section, This Houston Life. Every month we will be highlighting a new group or individual that has deep ties with our great city. We’ll get a personal glance into the lives of some of Houston’s most interesting people!
It is only natural to feature the CEO of MyHoustonLife, Tej Gill, for our very first This Houston Life article. What better way to welcome old and new fans of MHL back, then to introduce them to the man behind the site?
Tej Gill is an ideas man. Small ideas, big ideas, small ideas that turn into big ideas (hello, MyHoustonLife), these are the things that fill the mind behind MHL. To borrow from Jay-Z, Tej is not a businessman… Tej is a business, man!
“Luckily, MHL has always had the right people involved. People who really have a great passion for the site and what we are trying to accomplish. Our readers really will be able to feel the passion we have for this city.”
I say this because I’ve considered the self-made, self proclaimed CEO a close friend for several years now. Long enough, actually, to ride along for this roller-coaster ride that has led us to the new and improved MyHoustonLife. I remember the night I met Tej — it was Thanksgiving night, he was dating a friend’s sister, and we had all met to plan for Black Friday the next morning. The conversation that night spawned an idea that last year turned Black Friday from a day for spending money into a day where we all made some money (i’ll leave out the details).
That’s how conversations usually go with Tej and when we sat down to talk about MyHoustonLife last week, we both knew we were embarking on possibly his biggest idea yet.
MHL: How did the idea for MyHoustonLife come about?
Tej: I had the idea back in 2004 before Facebook was really around. I wanted to start a publication that filled in the gaps left by other sites and magazines. I wanted my friends to be able to go to a site and see the most recent happenings around town. We all know those nights when our friends keep saying there is nothing to do in Houston. I was tired of hearing it and decided I would one day start a site that did just that, highlight what is happening in Houston.
MHL: That’s great, but you have to agree, it isn’t the most original concept. What makes MHL different from other Houston publications?
Tej: What makes us different is that we are a regular group of Houstonians that want to show the rest of the population what our city has to offer. On top of this, we have now started a brand new concept — for the first time ever, we will open our site to allow users to become MHL contributors. We want as much interaction between the people that read our site and the site itself as much as possible.
MHL: So what direction do you envision MHL headed towards? What can readers expect from MHL?
Tej: Our goal is to become one of the first places Houstonians will check to see what is going on around the city. Our readers can expect for us to continue to deliver quality content and encourage interaction from our contributors and subscribers. They can also expect us to be out and about searching for the best of what Houston has to offer.
MHL: Now to address the “elephant in the room”. MyHoustonLife was gaining momentum with its last launch, people were interested, but then the updates and content stopped. What happened to MHL the past year and half?
Tej: You know MHL was started with a $0 budget and I was able to keep it alive this whole time. But just like everything else, life gets in the way. We are all just regular people with regular day jobs who wanted a little more from the sites out there. From running out of money to not having enough time to get new content, we faced a lot of challenges. Luckily, MHL has always had the right people involved. People who really have a great passion for the site and what we are trying to accomplish. Our readers really will be able to feel the passion we have for this city.
MHL: All this talk about Houston, what is your favorite thing about this city?
Tej: My favorite thing about Houston is how diverse this city is; we can do anything we want to do here. We can experience different cultures, try food from around the world, and really just enjoy life. Whatever you want to do, Houston has a little bit of everything.
MHL: There is definitely something for everyone in this city. Describe your perfect Houston day.
Tej: My perfect Houston day is going to be a bit tricky. I have so many things I like to do in Houston. If I had to choose a perfect day, I would start with breakfast at The Dot Coffee Shop. Then check out an exhibit at one our several Houston museums, head to Rice Village for lunch, and check out some of the shops there. Get a bit dressed up and hit up a nice restaurant like Del Friscos or Capitol Grill for dinner. Afterwards, I’d head to Washington street to get some drinks and finish off the night by checking into a Downtown hotel so that I can wake up to a cool view of the city.
MORE PHOTOS
Speak Your Mind