Fort Worth is full of innovation and innovators. The Innovate Fort Worth podcast was launched in 2019 to provide a platform for those local innovators to tell their stories and share their latest projects with our community. At the end of each episode the host, Cameron Cushman, asks each guest who their favorite innovator is in Fort Worth. We compiled a list of our guests’ favorite local innovators. Be sure to check out the favorite innovators in our previous posts here.
Episode 61: Austin Patry and Sophia Karbowski are the cofounders of Rollin ‘n Bowlin, the first acai bowl establishment in Fort Worth.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: Michael Sherrod, TCU Entrepreneur in Residence
“Since day one of his class, his voice is just always, always in my mind. Every time something happens, he predicts it from that class. We still talk with him frequently and he’s a really big supporter of ours and we’re really thankful for him. He has an incredible entrepreneurial mind.”
Episode 62: Dr. Jon Weidanz is cofounder and chief scientist at Abexxa Biologics, a company changing how cancer is treated through novel biotechnology targeting cancer cells while boosting the patient’s immune system.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: The whole Fort Worth region
“I think we live in a community where there are a lot of talented innovators, especially up and coming innovators. I think one of my goals is to be able to provide the necessary help and support so we can grow the innovators in this community. There’s a lot of great innovators here. It’s an exciting community. It’s a perfect time to be here.”
Episode 63: Alex Brammer is the VP of Business Development at Luxor Technologies, one of Fort Worth’s partners on the new bitcoin mine.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: Carlo Capua, City of Fort Worth
“He is on the Chief of Staff team and was kind of the guy that spearheaded this. He was the quarterback in all of it for the mayor and is doing an amazing job of managing the whole thing; operating at the speed of an entrepreneur despite sitting inside a public office. It was a pleasure to work with him. Hat tip to Carlo.”
Episode 64: John Merris is the CEO of Solo Brands, a company selling various lifestyle products.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: Jason McCann, Vari
“It’s an awesome business. I’ve been watching them now for 4 or 5 years. Their co-founder and CEO, Jason McCann, is probably, if not one of the most inspiring individuals I’ve interacted with. He’s a phenomenal leader and great team builder, and he’s a dreamer. What he’s doing at Vari is very special.”
Episode 65: Jacob Demmitt is the marketing and communications manager at Wing, America’s first commercial drone delivery services in Virginia and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: Ross Perot, Jr.
“He’s done a lot of really interesting stuff in the business world, but especially in his approach to helicopters. He was the first person to circumnavigate the world in a helicopter. It’s mind boggling. The amount of planning that went into that was really an impressive feat.”
Episode 66: Patrick Coddou is the founder of Supply, a single blade razor company that made its way to Shark Tank.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: Grant Daniels, Grant Daniels Photography
“Very good friend of mine- very, very talented creative photographer. I mentioned him because if you go to my website, people always tell me how gorgeous my website is. The secret is not the fancy website, the secret is that the photography is beautiful… If your photography is bad, your website is bad. So he’s been a good friend and supporter and I’ve always loved seeing his art.”
Episode 67: Josh Robertson is the President and CEO at MasVida HealthCare Solutions, a company for fast, reliable, affordable medical equipment and industry-approved IPC training and solutions.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: Entrepreneurial moms
“They have started really cool businesses that are growing their employee base, building our economy here in Fort Worth, and just doing some really cool things. Susan and Jessica at M2G, Sarah LanCarte at her real estate business, Alicia McCoy at Sort the Fort, and probably my personal favorite is my beautiful wife, Christina. She runs Project 4031. We started that together and it has been her passion. These ladies work so hard, and they balance being a mom.”
Episode 68: Michael Sherrod works with students across all TCU colleges to foster entrepreneurial thinking as well as founding several businesses.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: Small business owners
“I think my favorite innovator is all those entrepreneurs you see when you drive up and down the streets of Fort Worth. These little companies where people have risked their capital, time, and everything else to create a small business that brings value to the city are my favorite innovators. It’s everyday people who want to create value and actually go out and make it happen.”
Episode 69: Christina Brooks is the Chief Equity Officer for Fort Worth, and works for CDFI Friendly Fort Worth to increase the supply of flexible, affordable, and patient financing in the city.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: CDFI Friendly Fort Worth
“Some of the work that we’re doing on the frontlines of innovation when it comes to the financing angle. We are really trying to tie the community to opportunities with CDFIs. A lot of what we were seeing was that banks wanted to participate in making a stable economy in Fort Worth, but they didn’t always know the best place to do that. It would be great for them to partner with us and create public private partnerships to make sure every area in Fort Worth is seeing the kind of economic success that are happening in pockets of Fort Worth.”
Episode 70: Austin Laramore is the President of Chute Help and the Cofounder of Bot Bros, where he furthers the equine and rodeo industry with patented designs chute and arena designs.
Favorite Fort Worth Innovator: Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys
“Somebody that can fill the seats year after year and continue to grow the fan base and trot those teams out on the field, you’ve got to be very innovative.”
Don’t forget to check out the favorite Fort Worth Innovators post for Episodes 1-60! And stay up to date on the Fort Worth entrepreneurial community by following Sparkyard on Facebook and LinkedIn.
About the Author
Faith Emmitte is a student intern for the Next department at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Faith will be a first-year student at Texas A&M University, pursuing a BA in Business Administration. Gig ‘Em Ags! All thoughts and opinions are her own and in no way reflect the thoughts and opinions of the HSC.
