Forging The Future with Chris Howard Chris Howard

Tech finds a path to the great outdoors in today’s episode, featuring Co-Founder and CEO of Mallard Bay Outdoors, Logan Meaux. A participant in the Rice Business Plan Competition and a member of a cohort at the Softeq Venture Studio, Mallard Bay Outdoors an Airbnb-style marketplace where sportsmen and guides can connect, transact, and book hunting and fishing trips on a frictionless online platform. Talking points include networking and pitching to a variety of customers and investors, bringing tech solutions to a non-tech industry, and advertising and building community on social media. 

Human resources expert Andrew Bartlow joins the pod to talk about all things management, especially when it comes to tech startups looking to scale and grow their management strategy and team. Working with corporations like Pepsi and GE, as well as gaining experience in every stage of startup growth, Andrew specializes in helping early stage companies adopt management and HR strategies that set them up for success. Talking points include effective PNL strategies at big name corporations, disruptions in HR at the startup level, and setting up the next generation for success at People Leader Accelerator.

Forging the Future gets its first student entrepreneur guest, Adis Lujinovic, a Texas A&M Chemical Engineering senior and CEO of Switchless. Switchless, founded in 2022, is a startup pioneering the smart home industry with feature-rich and interconnected smart switches for commercial and residential use. Talking points include Adis’ early inspiration in entrepreneurship, Switchless’ origins with co-founder Nicho Naugle, and the challenges of juggling entrepreneurship with being a full-time college student. 

Nate Thompson, Managing Partner of HTX Sports Tech, joins the show to talk about his impact as a key player in the sports technology industry. Sports tech is an industry experiencing massive growth and incredible innovations in recent years, and Nate has been at the forefront, providing strategic guidance to sports organizations, innovation ecosystems, and startups. Talking points include Nate’s journey into the sports industry, cutting technology being worked on at HTX Sports Tech, and the much-anticipated HTX Sports Summit happening in July 2024.

Forging the Future finds itself in Aggieland with this week’s guest, 1876 Venture Director Shelly Brenckman. As a lifelong entrepreneur and learner, Shelly works with Texas A&M students on an independent, pro-bono startup and student accelerator. Talking points include gaining fundraising experience in unlikely places, catching the spark of entrepreneurship vs having a founder’s DNA, and how the Texas startup ecosystem compares to worldwide innovation. 

Timothy Neal, CEO of AmPd Labs, joins the pod to talk about the future of manufacturing and the industry side of 3D printing. Standing for “additive manufacturing product design,” AmPd Labs is a Houston-based additive manufacturing startup with capabilities that span the entire product lifecycle, from design to production. As the first CEO of AmPd, Tim talks with Chris about his “make it or break it” questions for joining the company, additive manufacturing’s potential to smash supply chain issues, and the future of industry and entrepreneurship in major hub cities like Houston.