Forging The Future with Chris Howard

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 team are making their own waves on Earth as they prepare for their first lunar landing mission this November. Talking points in this episode include NASA’s...

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 San Fran to Texas, George Munguia. Topics include derisking tech investments, expanding venture in the mid-continent US, pushing back against negative...

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 and uses his connections from his innovative career to make impactful investments in B2B software. Talking points include Disrupt’s numerous AI present...

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 reactor that eliminates combustion and prevents CO2 emissions. Topics of discussion include early entrepreneurship failures and successes, developing a...

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 of many interesting startups, Ashok lends some of his wisdom to topics like navigating today’s tumultuous market, mentoring the next generation of entrep...

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 internships and founded her first business at 24, Allie is passionate about helping students transform into thriving professionals. Talking points include...

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 the emerging sports tech industry and break two big myths about Houston along the way. Houston already has all the ingredients for a thriving entrep...

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 Genome before hitting the ground running with MassChallenge. Their team connects thousands of experts to mentor promising startups through a global netw...

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 investors and founders, Sandy and Aleece also help run the Venture Houston yearly event, happening this September. Talking points for this episode include...

Chris welcomes Paul Cherukuri, Professor, Chief Innovation Officer, and Vice President of Innovation at Rice University. Paul has integrated his experience and education in science and technology at Rice, spearheading the university’s innovation—all while still researching and teaching. Chris asks Paul about the key ingredients to getting universities’ innovation out into the world and how Houston...

Erik Korem, Sports Scientist and Founder of AIM7, joins the pod to talk about finding valuable recommendations and results from wearable devices like Apple Watches. With a passion for sports technology and a desire to make data analysis accessible for everyday people, Erik hopes his startup AIM7 will revolutionize the ways we interact with the watches on our wrists and the phones in our pockets. T...

Sunny Zhang, Founding Partner at Born Global Ventures, Marketing Professor, and Founder of TrueLeap, joins the pod to talk about the many professional hats she wears and how they help her contribute meaningfully at her venture studio. As a part of an emerging ecosystem of startup support in Houston, Born Global Ventures is excited to take on more diverse-led projects with a unique focus on marketi...

Diana Murakhovskaya, Co-Founder and General Partner at the Artemis Fund, joins the pod to talk about supporting women-led startups at her female-founded venture fund. Born in Ukraine and raised in New York, moving to Houston and starting Artemis Fund opened up new startup opportunities for Diana in the constantly innovating, continuously changing state of Texas. Talking points for this episode inc...

David Gow, CEO of Gow Media and SportsMap Tech Acquisition Group, joins the pod to talk about telling the stories of Houston at CultureMap, SportsMap, and InnovationMap. With a background in sports radio and a passion for embracing Texas’ local culture, David isn’t afraid to engage with the newest subjects circling around the Houston ecosystem. Talking points for this episode include embracing the...

Ben Narasin, Founder and General Partner at Tenacity Venture Capital, joins the pod this week to talk about his journey from young entrepreneur to seasoned investor. Instead of a spray and pray investment approach, Ben takes pride in Tenacity’s strong investment vetting processes and dedication to the entrepreneurs they invest in. Talking points for this episode include last quarter metrics for Te...

Forging the Future goes on the road to the FIRST Robotics Competition to meet 3 robotics professionals pioneering the industry and giving back to the next generation. Logan Farrell of Rugged Robotics, Greg Needel of Rev Robotics, and Andy Baker of AndyMark join the pod during this interview montage episode, lending their expertise and insight to a myriad of robotics topics. Talking points include...

Greg Johnson and Mark Mesko, Imagineers at Walt Disney Imagineering, attend the FIRST Robotics Competition and talk about the important link between FIRST kids and future Imagineers. Combining creativity, technology, and collaboration, Greg and Mark appreciate the unique opportunity they have as both Imagineers and FIRST mentors to use robotics to tell stories and change lives. Talking points in t...

Dave Lavery, Program Executive for Solar System Exploration at NASA, takes listeners out of this world and on a journey across the surface of Mars. Dave is responsible for building one of the first flying robots on Mars, the Ingenuity Helicopter, which communicates directly with a rover on Mars to survey terrain on the red planet. In this episode, Dave not only talks about what it means to take fl...

Chris sits down with Barbara Gomez de Navarro who brought FIRST to Mexico and interviews competitors at the FIRST world tournament for this special episode. Barbara shares her and her family’s story bringing FIRST to Mexico, which provided hands-on STEM education to schools around the globe. Competitors from three different teams also give some insight into their robotics journeys.

Dean Kamen, Inventor and Founder of FIRST, brings his STEM knowledge to the pod to talk about getting kids engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math. In a society that encourages and emphasizes sports and the arts, Dean wants to make sure that kids feel empowered and inspired to find the fun in learning about technology, too. Talking points in this insightful interview include how FIRS...

Chris interviews the leaders of Coya Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company based in Houston revolutionizing the push for effective neurodegenerative disease therapies. Coya went public with only five team members after working with world-renowned researcher and neurologist Stanley Appel to commercialize new therapies for neurological diseases in order to make them publically available. Dr. Howard...

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, among other things. Through his experiences, James has developed a feel for Houston’s startup ecosystem, what it needs more of, and what it needs less o...

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 multi-use space for entrepreneurs, academics, accelerators, incubators, and corporations. Jan talks about his own journey from Norway to Houston, why...

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 nationwide and beyond with hands-on experiential education. A highlight of Lemonade Day’s work is helping kids to realize that they have goals, teachi...

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 Ultimate Startup Dictionary, on the horizon, Muema shares his angel dos and don’ts, breaks down what makes the startup ecosystem in Houston so unique,...