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.
101
Taking Houston’s Startup Ecosystem Skyward with...
This week, the pod welcomes James Phelan, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist of the startup accelerator, Village Insights. James also owns his own product Budapop, is the CCO of Univrso, and serves as the Managing Director at Founder Institute Texas,...
23 min
102
Telling Houston’s Innovation Story with The Ion...
Jan Odegard, Executive Director at The Ion, joins the show this week to take a deep dive into the innovation ecosystem of Houston, Texas. As the center and anchor, The Ion has changed the landscape of the Houston community, providing a unique 16-acre...
28 min
103
Teaching Entrepreneurship Early with Lemonade D...
Bailey Kinney, Executive Director of Lemonade Day, joins this week to talk lemonade stands, teaching entrepreneurship early, and making an impact on kids in the community. Since joining Lemonade Day, Bailey has helped reach tens of thousands of kids...
27 min
104
Diversifying Your Portfolio & Learning to Speak...
Muema Lombe, angel investor and Softeq Venture Studio advisor, gets on the mic this episode to talk about setting yourself up for investment success and navigating the complicated, mistake-ridden environment of startups. With his upcoming book, The...
23 min
105
Going Passwordless with Allthenticate Featuring...
Chad Spensky, Founder and CEO of Allthenticate, joins the pod today to talk about his path toward founding Allthenticate, building a Houston business, and why passwords are on their way out the door. On the business side, Chad talks on Houston as a...
25 min
106
5 types of capital your business needs
Flying solo this week, host Chris Howard tackles the 5 types of capital that you need in order to support your business. From relationships to finances, intellectual ideas to the people working in your business and supporting your endeavors, capital...
11 min
107
SXSW Part Three: Ecosystem Builders Mashup
SXSW tackles ecosystem innovation in this Forging the Future episode at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Hear from Murat Uralkan, Natalie Harms, and Paul O’Brien about the exciting advancements in medical tech (medtech), marketing communications (marcomm),...
30 min
108
SXSW Part Two: Start-up Mashup
Chris Howard tackles the startup crowd at SXSW in Austin and encounters experts in the innovative fields of sportstech, biotech, healthtech, and pettech. In these fast-paced interviews with Lydia Davies, Taci Pereira, Blaine Killen, and Ken Ehrman,...
30 min
109
SXSW Part One: Trending Topics Mashup
Forging the Future goes on the road to Austin for this special mash-up episode at South by Southwest. In short yet insightful interviews with Carrie Colbert, Rob Meadows, and Susan Davenport, host Chris Howard gets a taste of the hot tech topics...
28 min
110
Investing in the Future of Health Science with ...
John Reale, Managing Director at Integr8d Capital and Venture Lead at the TMC Venture Fund, joins the pod to tackle the Houston startup ecosystem from the medical tech perspective. After learning the ropes of the financial sector and trying his hand...
30 min
111
Embracing the Entrepreneurship Rollercoaster
Chris goes solo today to share three entrepreneurship bits of advice that he has picked up throughout the highs and lows of his journey in the business. Entrepreneurship is like a rollercoaster. While you have to learn to enjoy the highs, you must...
13 min
112
Houston’s Community for Product Management with...
Wade Pinder, Principle Product Management Consultant at Improving and Co-Founder of the Houston Product Community, talks about Blinds.com, communities of practice, and product vs project in this week’s episode. With decades of experience in the...
24 min
113
Designing Space Gloves for Mars and Breaking th...
Moina Tamuly, Co-Ceo of Ntention embarks on his tech journey, sharing his story of rising in the tech world and breaking through burnout along the way. Moina hails from Norway and has gotten to know both American and Norwegian tech ecosystems...
26 min
114
Live from Code Launch 2023
Chris Howard takes FTF on the road as he interviews 3 of the individuals making an impact at Code Launch 2023 in Houston. This episode includes interviews with Brian Candido from Tech Elevator, a company bringing in-person and remote tech learning...
27 min
115
B2B Software for the New Generation of Workers ...
Indrajit Datta, Co-founder at Equipt, brings B2B software for industrials into the equation and emphasizes the importance of catering to the next generation of workers. With gas and oil primed for the fast, efficient approach Equipt promises, Indrajit...
26 min
116
A Women-Led Future in Venture Capital with Drea...
Staci Latoison, Founder and CEO of Dream Big Ventures, tackles the disheartening statistic that only 2% of investment funds go to female founders and injects some serious girl power into the Softeq Venture Studio. As a former Chevron manager, Staci...
26 min
117
Hopping Freight Trains & Helping Future Entrepr...
Read Boles, professor at Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship and multi-time business founder, joins the show to talk about his journey from hopping trains at Harvard Business School to helping future entrepreneurs gain real-life educational experience....
36 min
118
Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time with Julie...
Julie Moir Messervy, Founder and CEO of Home Outside, brings her green thumb to the pod to talk about how the key to climate change might be your own front yard. As a landscape architect whose credits include the Toronto Music Garden, Julie wanted to...
31 min
119
An Empathy-Driven Future for Fertility Clinics ...
Tiffany Lewis and Raika Djalali, Co-founders of Allkind, forge the future of fertility this week with an innovative new app. Seeing the need to bring empathy back into the process of sperm and egg donation and surrogacy, Tiffany and Raika took to...
33 min
120
GPS for Man’s Best Friend with Halo Collar’s Ke...
Ken Ehrman, Founder and Managing Partner at Halo Collar, takes on the task of making the world safer for the family dog, and explains the technological limitations of the previously popular Invisible Fence in this week’s episode. From forklifts to...
32 min
121
Wine, Cheese, & Franchisees with Craig Ceccanti
Craig Ceccanti, CEO & President at T-Minus Solutions and Co-Founder of Pinot’s Palette and sEATz, brings his numerous entrepreneurial experiences and endless expertise to the pod. Craig and Chris talk about franchising, failing, and finding a...
28 min
122
Investing in Digital Transformation with Royal ...
Mark Valdez and Alejandro Mendez, Co-founders of Royal Eagle Capital Partners, talk about leaving the corporate world for the excitement of entrepreneurship. Royal Eagle, an investment company headquartered in Houston and partnering with Softeq,...
31 min
123
Getting Uncomfortable & Giving First with Billy...
Billy Grandy, Director at Softeq Venture Studio, takes us on a journey from his hardworking childhood in Florida to the important personal connections that led him to Softeq. With a guiding philosophy of “giving first,” Billy has always been a...
51 min
124
Gadget Guy Dave Mathews: Softeq CTO for Hire
Dave Mathews, CTO Portfolio Advisor at Softeq Venture Studio, attempts to condense his incredibly varied experience into one jam-packed podcast episode. This week, Dave covers his childhood as a computer wiz, inventing the CueCat, and building an art...
36 min
125
Building the Nation’s Top Entrepreneurship Grad...
Brad Burke, Managing Director at Rice Alliance for Technology & Entrepreneurship, comes on the pod to talk about innovations of all kinds happening in Houston. A massive energy transition is upon us, and the time is now for Houston investors to...
56 min