Concluding a Record Year of Growing its Venture Fund, Funding 49 Startups, Softeq CEO Chris Howard Invites Technology Community to New Podcast

Christopher A. Howard, the CEO and Founder of Softeq Development Corporation (Softeq), a Houston-based global hardware and software services development company serving Fortune 500 companies, yesterday debuted his first podcast, "Forging the Future with Chris Howard." Following the ongoing success of the Softeq Venture Studio, the company's startup accelerator program, Chris identified the need for an open dialogue between startup founders, entrepreneurs, investors, and venture capitalists. With the launch of his podcast, he hopes to reduce the information and communication gaps and bring technology, startup, and venture funding trends to the forefront of the conversation.

"I am a constant learner, and as I reflect on this past record year, I see so much promise in the nearly 50 startups we have invited into our Venture Studio. I have learned as much from supporting these groundbreaking technologies impacting fintech, medtech, sportstech, and Web 3.0 as they have from us at Softeq. That's why it's so important to give back to the technology community and share these lessons we learn along the way," said Chris Howard, CEO of Softeq.

"Forging the Future with Chris Howard" answers the question, "How do we get ready for the future innovations in technology?" Chris will interview knowledgeable leaders in the innovation spectrum, including chief executive officers, chief technology officers, research and development professionals, and startup founders having honest conversations around real technology and real-world processes of bringing new ideas to market. Episodes will be released every Thursday and are available on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more.

The first guest, Carrie Colbert, is the founder of Houston-based Curate Capital, a venture capital firm focused exclusively on investing in companies launched by women, for women. "It was a pleasure joining Chris as the inaugural guest on his new podcast. I first got into the venture capital space to bring more women to the forefront of the startup and investor ecosystem, and that starts first and foremost with education. We hope that female entrepreneurs and founders find our conversation helpful when it comes to putting themselves in front of the right audience and furthering their success with venture funding and investment opportunities."

Visit softeq.com/forging-the-future-podcast, YouTube or your favorite podcast platform to subscribe and listen to the first episode of "Forging the Future with Chris Howard".

About Softeq Development Corporation

Founded by Chris Howard in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Softeq Development Corporation provides early-stage innovation, technology business consulting, and technical solutions to enterprise companies and innovative startups. The company's clients are often disrupting existing industries or going through digital transformation?an effort that requires a broad range of business and technical skills. Softeq offers a full spectrum of consulting services plus full-stack software, firmware, and hardware engineering services all under one roof and delivered by 400+ employees globally. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and maintains sales and delivery offices in Los Angeles, London, and Munich, Germany. The company's development centers are based in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Monterrey, Mexico. Softeq bridges technology gaps in knowledge-intensive projects and builds end-to-end solutions for connected devices and IT systems from the ground up. To help clients transition from analog to digital, the company provides expertise in various trending technologies, including the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Industrial Automation, Robotics, Blockchain, and AR/VR. Softeq enterprise customers include AMD, Disney, Epson, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Verifone, and Verizon. Startups include Arrival, Halo by PAWS, GetScouted, Home Outside, Medly Therapeutics, Vela Bikes, Dailyhuman, and many others.

In 2020, the company launched the Softeq Innovation Lab to provide an environment where corporate intrapreneurs and preeminent innovators from Houston and beyond can collaborate, create the technologies of tomorrow, and expedite the commercialization of ideas. In 2021, the Softeq Venture Studio was created to help early-stage startups build their products and get follow-on funding. The Softeq Venture Fund was launched in 2022 to provide capital to the Venture Studio and make follow-on investments in the Studio's top portfolio companies. Learn more at softeq.com.