Forging The Future with Chris Howard
Join Chris Howard, Founder and CEO of Softeq, as he interviews knowledgeable leaders in the innovation spectrum, including CEOs, CTOs, R&D professionals, and start-up founders. Real conversations, technology, and processes of bringing new ideas to market.
51
Dell for Startups: From Cowboy Boots to Startup...
YJ Lin, Sr Program Manager at Dell for Startups, joins Chris at South by Southwest to celebrate 40 years of Dell and the company’s recent initiatives to make startups soar, both in Houston at The Cannon and around the world. Dell for Startups...
26 min
52
From Lone Star to Tech Star: Texas' Triangle Tr...
Thom Singer, CEO of Austin Technology Center (ATC), meets up with Chris at SXSW to celebrate the past of Austin’s amazing tech accomplishments and look to the future of a more innovative Texas. Made up of 280 companies and over 60,000...
27 min
53
Beyond Tomorrow: Futurism, Entrepreneurship, an...
Chris takes Forging the Future on the road to Austin for 2024’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference, held from March 8 - 16. Speaking with special guests and subject matter experts Mike Courtney, Ilya Tabakh, and Ehab Gabr, this episode tackles a...
27 min
54
Reimagining Leadership Development in the Age o...
Chris talks with Kim Bach, the SVP of Customer Success and CPO at for an episode on groundbreaking AI technology as a tool for fostering and sustaining human skills in organizations. Kim helped pilot Dailyhuman in the NFL Combine through a readiness...
25 min
55
Feeding Tomorrow: Revolutionizing the Future of...
Aaron Knape, CEO and Co-Founder of Rivalry Tech, joins the pod to talk about his journey to entrepreneurship and what it's like to scale a leading technology company in Houston. Rivalry Tech began with their mobile platform, sEATz, and has now...
33 min
56
Accenture's Approach to Corporate Innovation at...
Brian Richards, Managing Director at Accenture’s Houston Innovation Hub, joins the pod to talk about helping senior leaders at large corporations in greater innovation and spearheading projects in the Houston innovation community. Serving...
29 min
57
Corporations at the Forefront of Catalyzing Hou...
Scott Gale, Executive Director of Halliburton Labs, brings innovation and scale to center stage in this week’s episode. Founded in 2020, Halliburton Labs provides access to a unique industrial setting catered to the specific needs of tech startups...
29 min
58
Investing in Houston Healthcare: Making a Globa...
Jay Zeidman, Managing Partner of Altitude Ventures and Chairman of the Board for Houston First, talks about making impactful investments in the future of healthcare and the wellbeing of Houston. Based in Nashville, Altitude Ventures accelerates growth...
34 min
59
Activating Venture Capital Across Texas's $2.4 ...
CS Freeland, Founder of the Texas Venture Alliance and creator of the Texas Venture Crawl (now known as Texas Venture Fest), joins the pod to share her unique insights on the thriving innovation scene in Texas. Founded in 2022, the Texas Venture...
30 min
60
How Houston’s Impacting the Globe through Innov...
Steve Kean, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP), joins the pod to talk about the unique innovations and impact the city of Houston has already accomplished and can look forward to on the horizon. Formed in 1989, the Greater...
27 min
61
Launching and Scaling Softeq Venture Studio wit...
Chris Howard, Founder and CEO of Softeq, switches places from host chair to the hot seat in this part two episode guest hosted by entrepreneur, angel investor, and COO of Softeq, Craig Ceccanti. Continuing their previous conversation from part one,...
16 min
62
Insights from a 30-Year Tech Founder with Chris...
Chris Howard, Founder and CEO of Softeq, switches places from host chair to the hot seat in this episode guest hosted by entrepreneur and angel investor Craig Ceccanti. Inspired by feedback from his own interview on Forging the Future, Craig wants to...
25 min
63
Houston-Based SnapStream's Ascent to $7M in ARR...
In this episode of Forging the Future, Chris sits down with Rakesh Agrawal, founder and CEO of SnapStream, to discuss his journey of founding and scaling a technology business in Houston prior to the prevalence of the budding ecosystem that exists...
29 min
64
Scaling Innovation Across a University of 47,00...
Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Vice President of Energy and Innovation at University of Houston, takes the pod on a field trip to the UH Tech Bridge. With a unique blend of wet labs and office space, the UH Tech Bridge offers students and faculty the...
39 min
65
How Houston Startup Liongard Scaled & Secured $...
Joe Alapat, CTO & Founder of Liongard, takes a journey through customer feedback and company pivots in this episode about his cybersecurity platform, Liongard. From rough beginnings of selling too wide of a product to customers, Liongard has grown...
27 min
66
Universities Propelling Entrepreneurs with Pete...
Peter Rodriguez, Dean of Jones School of Business at Rice University, brings his education expertise to the pod to talk about the future of entrepreneurship and business learning in Houston. Rice has put Houston on the map for having some of the best...
27 min
67
Navigating the VC Landscape: Blair Garrou on Se...
Blair Garrou, Managing Director at Mercury, brings his leadership in Houston venture capital to the pod to discuss the origins of Mercury and the shift in investing perspectives from growth to profitability. Having just closed their fifth fund a...
36 min
68
Houston Startups Showcase a City on the Rise wi...
Forging the Future is on the road this week at the Houston Startup Showcase at the Ion. Joined by guests Gustavo Suarez, Founder & CEO of Trez, and Samra Nawaz, CEO & Co-Founder of WellWorth, Chris takes the hot seat and walks through his own...
24 min
69
Meet the Climate Tech Startup That Breaks the M...
Mike Francis, CEO and Co-Founder of Nanotech, joins the pod to talk about his cutting edge climate conscious technology and the all-Texas round recently raised by NanoTech. Through an innovative roof coating, NanoTech can reduce lost heat and limit...
32 min
70
Building a $1.2 Billion Valuation Startup at Ca...
Remington Tonar, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Cart.com, brings his wide variety of skills and interests to the pod to chat about the extremely fast and incredibly impactful success of Cart.com. Having just closed a funding round of $60...
30 min
71
Discovering in the Next Energy Transition Solut...
Neal Dikeman, Partner at Energy Transition Ventures, joins the pod to talk about how he got into cleantech investing and where we’re headed as we bridge the gap between fossil fuels and the future. Working between Silicon Valley and Houston, Neal is...
30 min
72
Spotlight on Latino Founders in Tech with Jesse...
Jesse Martinez, Founder of LSA Global and the Latinx Startup Alliance, four-time startup founder, and Venture Partner at Vamos and Resolve, brings his impressive resume to the pod to talk about his passion for investing in Latinx founders in tech....
32 min
73
Empowering Houston’s Tech Ecosystem with Mitra ...
This week, Mitra Miller shares her remarkable journey in the tech industry, offering insights into her experiences as a woman navigating the field. Mitra is a managing member of Mill River Advisors and a board member at the Houston Angel Network. She...
32 min
74
Exclusive Interviews with Innovators and Invest...
In this exciting mashup from TechCrunch Disrupt, one of the largest tech events in the world, Chris interviews leaders in the investing space. Hussein Yahfoufi talks Chat GPT for business growth, Ray Fuentes on democratizing private equity investment,...
22 min
75
Putting the Moon Back into Innovation Orbit wit...
Stephen “Steve” Altemus, President and CEO of Intuitive Machines, joins the show to talk about space- investing in it, building new technology for it, and traveling through it. Sound waves might not be traveling through space, but Steve and his...
42 min