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
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
52
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
53
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
54
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
55
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
56
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
57
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
58
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
59
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
60
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
61
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
62
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
63
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
64
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
65
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
66
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
67
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
68
Unleashing Innovation and Wisdom at TechCrunch ...
Forging the Future is on the road in San Francisco this week for TechCrunch Disrupt. In this information-packed episode, Chris interviews two VCs from Oklahoma, Nathaniel Harding and Michael Basch, and another investor that's recently relocated from...
41 min
69
Stepping into the Venture Colosseum with Zach C...
Zach Coelius, Managing Partner at Coelius Capital, joins the pod from TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, an annual tech conference held in San Francisco. As an entrepreneur turned early stage investor, Zach understands the non-stop stress of entrepreneurship...
21 min
70
How Plasmonics Changes the Clean Energy Landsca...
Trevor Best, CEO and Co-Founder of Syzygy Plasmonics, brings his energy expertise to the pod this week to talk about the science and strategy behind his startup. Alongside his co-founder Dr. Suman Khatiwada, Trevor is making a new form of chemical...
30 min
71
Redefining Innovation for Today’s Entrepreneurs...
Ashok Rao, Board Director of GOOSE Capital and multi-time startup chairman, brings his financial and capital expertise to the show to talk about the “entrepreneurship virus” and his opinions on innovation. As someone who has been at the forefront...
25 min
72
Transforming Students into Young Professionals ...
Allie Danziger, CEO & Co-Founder of Ampersand Professionals, brings her unique entrepreneurial experience to the pod to talk about shortening the skills gap between education and employment. As someone who benefitted from early opportunities at...
33 min
73
The Recipe for a Thriving Startup Ecosystem wit...
This week, Chris talks with Natara Holloway Branch about how she went from accounting in the NFL to being the CEO of Houston Exponential, which supports startups and founders to make entrepreneurship more accessible for Houstonians. They also touch on...
32 min
74
Big Problem Solving and Hypergrowth Startups wi...
This week, Chris welcomes Jon Nordby Head of Ecosystem and Community at MassChallenge. After working in a variety of positions in Houston, Jon saw the need for a thriving startup ecosystem in the city. He worked for Houston Exponential and Startup...
39 min
75
Revolutionizing Decarbonization at Venture Hous...
HX Venture Fund takes over this episode as Managing Director Sandy Guitar and Venture Partner Aleece Hobson talk about their revolutionary fund of funds and the impact it’s having on the Houston tech ecosystem. Alongside their everyday work with...
30 min