In this special episode of The ReForge Podcast, PR expert Cheryl Snapp Conner turns the tables and interviews host Matthew Chang about the year ahead for American manufacturing, faith-based entrepreneurship, and what it takes to write an Amazon bestseller. If you're looking for business advice on building a company with purpose while positioning for the coming capex wave, this conversation delivers the blueprint for leading with both conviction and strategy. Matthew Chang is the founder of Chang Robotics, a Christian engineering company at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and collaborative robotics. Founded in 2017, the company has grown to four locations nationwide and was named one of Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators 2024 and Inc.'s Best in Business. Matthew has led engineering projects across 20 disciplines in multiple countries, including designing the first autonomous mass transit system for a municipality—pioneering four of the world's firsts in autonomous systems. In 2025, he launched the $50M Chang Robotics Fund, a seed-stage VC firm that deployed capital into nine portfolio companies in its first year, with seven being first VC investments. His Amazon bestselling book "Risk-Taking is Biblical" hit #1 on release and has been adopted by companies for leadership training. Matthew is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 finalist, TEDx Jacksonville speaker, columnist for Inc. and Fast Company, and serves on the boards of Jacksonville University and Lifework Leadership. Cheryl Snapp Conner is the founder and CEO of SnappConner PR and a nationally recognized columnist for Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The Wall Street Journal. Named one of the Top 20 Business Thought Leaders globally, she specializes in crisis PR, reputation management, and thought leadership with 32+ years of experience. She is the author of "Beyond PR: Communicate Like a Champ in the Digital Age." Chapters: 0:00 - The Story Behind "Risk-Taking is Biblical" 8:00 - How Amazon Publishing Actually Works 15:00 - Faith-Based Business in Today's Media Climate 18:00 - The 2026 Manufacturing Capex Wave 25:00 - Chang Robotics Fund: Year One Results 32:00 - Scaling Culture Without Losing Soul Connect with Matthew Chang: 🔗 Website: changrobotics.ai 🔗 Fund: cr.fund 🔗 Book: "Risk-Taking is Biblical" on Amazon 🔗 LinkedIn: Matthew Chang Connect with Cheryl Snapp Conner: 🔗 Website: snappconner.com 🔗 LinkedIn: Cheryl Snapp Conner About The ReForge Podcast: The ReForge Podcast explores the intersection of advanced manufacturing, technology innovation, and the entrepreneurs reshaping American industry. ⚡ Powered by NXC Podcast Network #thenxcpodcastnetwork #thereforgecast #entrepreneurship

In this episode of The ReForge Podcast, Matthew Chang sits down with Paul Swaney, founder of The Swaney Group and Navy submarine veteran, for real talk on what private equity actually looks like when you're not just flipping companies—you're building them. If you're looking for business advice on the coming capex wave and why manufacturing is about to boom, this conversation delivers the blueprint from two operators who see the deals others don't. Paul W. Swaney III is the founder of The Swaney Group and creator of the Swaney Group Operating System (SGOS), a methodology he has applied to over 30 companies ranging from Fortune 100 enterprises to private equity-backed ventures. A Navy veteran who served as an electrician on submarines from 1998-2005, Paul grew up in a machine shop where his father was a tool maker—learning to read a micrometer at age four. His career spans Amazon, Total SA, McKinsey & Company, and Partners Group before launching The Swaney Group in 2022. He landed his first piece of diligence work within seven hours of updating his LinkedIn profile on Thanksgiving 2022. Paul also founded LeverUp, a community and podcast dedicated to demystifying banking, consulting, and private equity for young professionals—with a core philosophy of educating without gatekeeping. His thesis: the fear of failure is easier to digest than the fear of regret. Chapters: 0:00 - Why Private Equity Has a Dirty Name 3:00 - The McKinsey Advice That Changed Everything 6:00 - Launching The Swaney Group 13:00 - Understanding Fund Vintages 20:00 - Walking Away From Deals at the Finish Line 33:00 - The 2026 Manufacturing Capex Explosion 39:00 - Why Veterans Make Great PE Operators Connect with Paul Swaney: 🔗 Website: paulswaney.com 🔗 X/Twitter: @privateinequity 🔗 LinkedIn: paulwswaneyiii 🔗 Podcast: LeverUp Connect with Matthew Chang: 🔗 Website: changrobotics.ai 🔗 LinkedIn: Matthew Chang About The ReForge Podcast: The ReForge Podcast explores the intersection of advanced manufacturing, technology innovation, and the entrepreneurs reshaping American industry. ⚡ Powered by NXC Podcast Network #thenxcpodcastnetwork #thereforgepodcast #entrepreneurship

In this episode of The ReForge Podcast, Matthew Chang sits down with Mitch Carlson (CEO of Green Corridors) for a leadership and executive interview about entrepreneurship in autonomous freight technology.

If you are looking for business advice on how to start a business in logistics or success stories about scaling a business with robotics, this business podcast reveals the truth about innovation in American manufacturing.

Chapters:

0:00 - Presidential Permit for Autonomous Freight Technology

05:30 - Green Corridors Solving Border Congestion Problem

12:45 - Autonomous Shuttle Design and Manufacturing Strategy

20:15 - American Truckers and Workforce Impact Solutions

26:40 - Supply Chain Innovation Lowering Logistics Costs

31:20 - Future Plans for Port of Houston Project

About Mitch Carlson: Mitch Carlson is CEO and founder of Green Corridors, a Texas-based autonomous freight technology company that received a rare presidential permit from the White House to build elevated freight corridors between Monterrey, Mexico and Laredo, Texas. As an exited technology entrepreneur from the oil and gas industry, Mitch is pioneering the fusion of civil engineering and robotics to solve freight corridor congestion with autonomous shuttles and 100% cargo scanning at the US-Mexico border.

Connect with Mitch Carlson:

🔗 Company: Green Corridors

🔗 LinkedIn: Mitch Carlson

Connect with Matthew Chang:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/matthewachang

Chang Robotics: https://www.changrobotics.ai/

Chang Robotics Fund: https://www.cr.fund/

About The ReForge Podcast: The ReForge Podcast explores robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, and American manufacturing with forward-thinking entrepreneurs and business leaders. Host Matthew Chang delivers insights on Industry 4.0, the future of work, and how technology will reshape the American economy while creating opportunities for innovation and growth.

⚡ Powered by NXC Podcast Network #nxcnetwork #autonomousfreight #entrepreneurship

#deeptech

Timestamp Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

01:10 - Brittain's Track Record: Predicting Amazon & Whole Foods

10:00 - Tesla FSD vs Waymo: The Robotaxi Revolution

18:35 - OpenAI is the New BlackBerry - Google Wins

22:20 - The Buggy Whip Moment: AI Replacing Jobs 26:00 - Reshoring American Manufacturing Strategy

35:30 - The Future of AI: Local Computing vs Data Centers

In this AI podcast, host Matthew Chang sits down with Brittain Ladd, the futurist who predicted Amazon acquiring Whole Foods years before it happened. Brittain shares his bold predictions for 2026 including why OpenAI will fail, how Google's Gemini will dominate, and why 12-15% of American jobs will be replaced by AI agents. This entrepreneur podcast explores business success in the age of AI disruption, featuring insights on Tesla's full self-driving technology reaching parity with Waymo, Uber's future in autonomous delivery, and the secrets to success for reshoring American manufacturing. Learn about innovative solutions including taxing AI agents as employees, creating manufacturing enterprise zones, and why the future of AI computing is local rather than massive data centers.

Brittain reveals his entrepreneurial mindset on business strategy, discusses the future of work, and explains how AI tools will transform every industry while exploring what happens when automation makes traditional jobs obsolete.

🔗 Connect with Brittain Ladd:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittainladd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bcladd

Website: https://brittainladd.com/

🔗 Connect with Jason Engelhardt:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonengelhardt/

Website: https://xzactly.ai/

🔗 Connect with Matthew Chang:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/matthewachang

Chang Robotics: https://www.changrobotics.ai/

Chang Robotics Fund: https://www.cr.fund/

#AIPodcast #EntrepreneurPodcast #BusinessSuccess #AITools #FutureOfWork #TeslaFSD #EntrepreneurAdvice #CEOInterview #Manufacturing #Automation

ℹ️ About The ReForge Podcast: The ReForge Podcast explores robotics, automation, AI, American manufacturing, and workforce development. Host Matthew Chang delivers forward-thinking insights on Industry 4.0, featuring business experts and entrepreneurs who discuss the future of work, AI innovation, and how technology will reshape the American economy while creating new opportunities for growth and success.

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In this entrepreneur podcast, host Matthew Chang sits down with Dr. S.P. Bowers, robotic surgeon and founder of Suture Shield Inc., for real talk about jumping from a 20+ year surgical career into medical device innovation.

This CEO interview delivers inspiring success story lessons on how one surgeon's frustration with losing needles during robotic surgery (3% non-retrieval rate = 40 minutes of searching) led to inventing a platform-independent device that saves 45 minutes per surgery and eliminates anxiety for 30,000+ surgeons. Dr. Bowers shares entrepreneur advice on the rapid adoption of robotic surgery (50%+ penetration in abdominal surgery, 2027 inflection point when robotics surpasses traditional laparoscopy), mastering new technology in months instead of years (10 proctored cases to expertise vs 18 years of laparoscopy experience), and why AI in healthcare and automation are enabling technologies that make surgeons better faster.

Learn business expert secrets on scaling medical innovation from prototype to FDA approval, building clinical advisory boards of influential surgeons, and why manufacturing in the USA (currently North Carolina) protects against supply chain disruptions. Get business tips on the startup journey from idea to commercialization, raising capital through venture competitions (won Jacksonville 2025), and how cycle time analysis reveals massive efficiency gains (1.5 minutes per needle x 10 needles x 3 surgeries = time to have dinner with your kids).

This mindset for success conversation proves that the best innovations come from domain experts who experience problems firsthand and have the audacity to solve them at scale—turning 400 patients helped per year into millions through scalable technology.

🔗 Connect with Dr. S.P. Bowers & Suture Shield:

Website: www.suture-shield.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sp-bowers/

🔗 Connect with Matthew Chang:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/matthewachang

Chang Robotics: https://www.changrobotics.ai/

Chang Robotics Fund: https://www.cr.fund/

ℹ️ About The ReForge Podcast: Join Matthew Chang for conversations about automation, AI, and the American worker. Explore how technology like robotics and artificial intelligence are reshaping American manufacturing, healthcare, and creating new opportunities for skilled workers. Get entrepreneur advice, innovation strategies, and real talk about building the future of American industry.

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⏱️ Timestamp Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 01:20 - Why Tesla Isn't Building 50,000-Pound Electric Airport Equipment 04:48 - When Atlanta Airport Went Dark: The Mobile Power Solution 08:08 - Chicago O'Hare Has 180 Snow Vehicles That Could Power 25% of the Airport 11:08 - Buy America Compliant: From Batteries to Software, All Made in USA 17:30 - Demo Season: Kodiak Tech Hitting Airports This Winter 21:27 - Autonomous Operation Below -40°F When Humans Can't Work 📋 In this podcast, we discuss electric vehicle manufacturing in Detroit, airport power redundancy solutions, Buy America compliance for federal funding, snow removal equipment electrification, microgrid assets for airports, autonomous vehicle operation in extreme cold, liquid-cooled battery technology, and energy independence for critical infrastructure. Marc Manning, CEO of Kodiak Tech, reveals how 60 electric snow removal vehicles could provide 60 megawatts of backup power (enough for four skyscrapers), why airports need 2.5X more power as they electrify ground support equipment, how his vehicles operate autonomously at minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and why every component from batteries to software is made in the USA to qualify for federal funding. 🎥 Watch More From This Episode: Hidden Tech That Keeps Your Holiday Flights ON TIME!: https://youtube.com/shorts/HHXwPOot5xg Made in USA Detroit Auto Heart & Federal Funding Power!: https://youtube.com/shorts/QniN7puLdok Airport Chaos Solved Mobile Power for Stranded Travelers!: https://youtube.com/shorts/HBbfukscYGE 🔗 Connect with Marc Manning: Website: kodiaktech.com LinkedIn: Kodiak Tech 🔗 Connect with Matthew Chang: Chang Robotics Fund [Website/Social Media] #electricvehicles #airporttech #madeinusa #microgrids #autonomousvehicles ℹ️ About Chang Robotics Fund Podcast: The Chang Robotics Fund Podcast explores manufacturing technology, robotics innovation, and faith-driven entrepreneurship. Hosted by Matthew Chang, we feature conversations with engineers, investors, and industry leaders building the future of American manufacturing—including portfolio companies solving critical infrastructure challenges. ⚡ Powered by NXC Podcast Network

⏱️ Timestamp Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 00:42 - Robots Don't Destroy Jobs: They Empower the Workforce 08:06 - COVID Supply Chain Shock: Baby Formula Cartels & National Vulnerability 15:54 - 10 New Patents in 4 Weeks: The IP Innovation Flywheel 24:22 - Zero Employees Lost: Acquisition Strategy That Prioritizes Retention 29:09 - The Adoption Barrier: Why CEOs Are Frozen with Too Many Options 36:42 - Go-ECO: Removing Microplastics from Food Packaging Globally 📋 In this CEO interview and entrepreneur podcast, we discuss business advice for manufacturing automation, how robots empower workers instead of replacing them, building an ELITE team through acquisition strategy, the secret to success in robotics investment, real estate empire comparison (Apple vs Amazon inventory intelligence), dad entrepreneur bootstrapping with zero outside funding, life lessons from supply chain shocks, winning mindset for 2026 reindustrialization, billionaire-level IP strategy (10 patents in 4 weeks), and mindset for success through employee retention. Matthew Chang, CEO and billionaire mindset entrepreneur, shares his business success story including how robotics reduce workers' compensation by 60%, why nurse shoulder injuries drive hospital automation, the most powerful electric vehicle ever built (airport snow blowers that provide backup power), and Go-ECO technology removing microplastics from every paper cup at Starbucks through graphene oxide coating. 🎥 Watch More From This Episode: Airport Electric Snowblower: More Than Just Snow!: https://youtube.com/shorts/-b3v--KRsCg Robots Do the Heavy Lifting, Humans Do What Matters!: https://youtube.com/shorts/6WHN2svTG_s AI & Robots CAN'T Do YOUR Job (Yet!): https://youtube.com/shorts/OE3YhMnbLAA 🔗 Connect with Matthew Chang: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/matthewachang Chang Robotics: https://www.changrobotics.ai/ Chang Robotics Fund: https://www.cr.fund/ 🔗 Connect with Greg Kirkham: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nxc-podcast-network/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nxcpodcastnetwork/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/NxcStudios Website: https://nxcpodcaststudios.com/ #ceointerview #roboticsinnovation #manufacturingautomation #entrepreneuradvice #businesssuccess ℹ️ About The NXC Podcast Network: The NXC Podcast Network features entrepreneur success stories, business expert interviews, and CEO insights on building successful businesses. Hosted by Greg Kirkham, we discuss life lessons, mindset for success, and how to build an ELITE team through innovation and technology that empowers people rather than replaces them. ⚡ Powered by NXC Podcast Network

⏱️ Timestamp Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 01:43 - The Blinding Problem: Why Construction Lights Shine in Your Eyes 06:20 - One Blue Vigil Drone = Two Light Towers (in a Station Wagon) 14:24 - 30% More Expensive, Half the Operating Cost, Two Times the Output 18:12 - Beyond Construction: Soccer Fields, Ice Fishing, FEMA Disaster Relief 28:20 - The I-66 Traffic Jam That Sparked a Multi-Billion Dollar Idea 31:52 - How to Get Involved: Customer or Investor 📋 In this podcast, we discuss tethered drone technology, construction site lighting innovation, OSHA lighting requirements, portable power solutions for disaster relief, autonomous drones for first responders, LED efficiency versus traditional light towers, Part 107 drone licensing for construction sites, and disrupting a $2 billion market with 60-year-old technology. Robert Schumann, CEO of Blue Vigil, reveals how he watched a worker blinded by 200,000 lumens while guiding a 60-ton beam at night, why one 100-pound suitcase replaces two 2,000-pound light towers, how you can fit 104 Blue Vigil systems in one shipping container for FEMA disaster response, and why rental companies and construction crews are already testing this technology for Q1 2025 launch. 🎥 Watch More From This Episode: Stop Construction Site Blindness Drone Lights Shine Down: https://youtube.com/shorts/cNctpBRcmTs Traffic Jam IDEA Drones Replace Construction Lights: https://youtube.com/shorts/KOKuCpTS1ew AI Detects Collisions Live Safety is Priceless: https://youtube.com/shorts/kwlhwyJRN8g 🔗 Connect with Robert Schumann: Email: rob@bluevigil.com Website: bluevigil.com 🔗 Connect with Matthew Chang: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/matthewachang Chang Robotics: https://www.changrobotics.ai/ Chang Robotics Fund: https://www.cr.fund/ #constructiontech h #BlueVigil #SafetyInnovation #DisasterRelief ℹ️ About Chang Robotics Fund Podcast: The Chang Robotics Fund Podcast explores manufacturing technology, robotics innovation, and faith-driven entrepreneurship. Hosted by Matthew Chang, we feature conversations with engineers, investors, and industry leaders building the future of American innovation—including portfolio companies disrupting multi-billion dollar markets. ⚡ Powered by NXC Podcast Network