If you mac installation fails to start try this:

Go to the Administrative Tools Directory.
If you see no icons this is likely your problem.
(This installed doesn't give them correct permissions.)

Start a terminal and you must have root access enabled on you mac.

cd /Applications/Houdini 10.0.401
su root
chmod -R 777 “Administrative Tools”
chmod -R 777 “Extras”

This is making access to these tools global so set your permissions as desired if you share you computer.

My Houdini worked fine after this.