Hunt G.O. Foundry Brings 18 Innovators to UTEP

Inside the Foundry

The founder journey, without the polished ending.

Through Entrepreneurship Stories, Hunt G.O. Foundry brings students into direct conversation with people who have built, scaled, sold, and supported companies.

The fall sessions move beyond the finished success story to examine customer discovery, hiring, funding, failure, growth, and the decisions that shape what comes next. Speakers represent technology, finance, health care, energy, logistics, food, and social enterprise.

Across the Founder Journey

Four ways into the conversation.

Build and Scale

From customer discovery and product-market fit to hiring, culture, and growth.

Fund and Exit

Fundraising, investment readiness, acquisitions, and the choices behind a sale.

Find Opportunity

New openings across AI, finance, energy, health care, and emerging markets.

Lead Through Change

Goals, team leadership, failure, resilience, and the work of starting again.

Monday, Sept. 28

Juan Carlos Fandiño Basto

In person · BUSN 329 · 4:30–5:30 p.m. MT

Topic: Entrepreneurship journey; building ADEE and Colectivo

Juan Carlos Fandiño Basto is a Colombian architect turned entrepreneur who has built companies across eyewear, food, and entrepreneurship advocacy. His ventures include Lanof Eyewear, Maruica, and Soul Burger.co, a purpose-driven Bogotá restaurant that has sold more than 1 million burgers.

He also founded the Asociación de Emprendedores de Colombia and is expanding Colectivo, a New York-based technology community connecting Latino founders, investors, and operators across the United States and Latin America.

Wednesday, Sept. 30

Sharmin Ali

In person · BUSN 329 · 4:30–5:30 p.m. MT

Topic: Founder journey and go-to-market strategy

Sharmin Ali is a four-time founder, bestselling author, keynote speaker, and angel investor. After beginning her career in product engineering at Google, she joined a startup that scaled to $300 million in annual recurring revenue before launching ventures of her own.

Ali sold her first startup for $30 million, scaled her second to $50 million in annual recurring revenue, and saw her third acquired within 18 months. She has invested in 46 startups and is now building an AI cybersecurity company.

Thursday, Oct. 1

Sergio Sepulveda

In person · Deadbeach Brewery · 5 p.m. MT

Topic: Scaling technology-based, social-impact entrepreneurship

Sergio Sepulveda is a Mexican entrepreneur and strategist recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 Mexico. He co-founded Monthly, an AI-powered finance platform that has helped professionalize the finances of more than 150 companies.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Sepulveda worked at Strategy& on projects for Google, Amazon, and other Fortune 500 companies. He now leads Monthly's technology, AI development, and international expansion.

Thursday, Oct. 1

Laurel Djoukeng

In person · Deadbeach Brewery · 5 p.m. MT

Topic: Building Sparc and the founder journey

Laurel Djoukeng is an entrepreneur, investment professional, and community leader whose work spans finance, technology, real estate, and youth development. He founded Sparc, a venture-backed, AI-powered talent marketplace with more than 5,000 users and engagement from more than 130 companies.

A Techstars NYC alumnus, Djoukeng is also founder and CEO of KeyPath, a proptech and fintech platform that won the PropTech Startup Showdown at SXSW in 2026.

Wednesday, Oct. 7

Israel Castro

In person · BUSN 329 · 4:30–5:30 p.m. MT

Topic: Setting goals as an organization and a team

Israel Castro is founder and executive director of Strive Now, an El Paso nonprofit connecting character, career, and community to help young people live with purpose while strengthening the leaders and educators around them.

A West Point graduate and former Army officer, Castro is a TEDx and DisruptHR speaker, an Aspen Institute Hunt Fellow, and creator of the Purpose Every Day framework.

Tuesday, Oct. 13

Latif Nanji

Virtual · Noon MT

Topic: Founder journey, hiring, and culture

Latif Nanji is a Y Combinator alumnus who co-founded and led Roadmunk, a product-roadmapping software platform recognized on the Deloitte Fast 50 and Fast 500.

He now hosts a product-leadership podcast with a community of roughly 5,000 listeners and invests in startups, bringing a builder's perspective to hiring, culture, and the work required to scale a software company.

Wednesday, Oct. 14

Brad Harkavy

In person · BUSN 329 · 4:30–5:30 p.m. MT

Topic: Founder journey and the energy industry

Brad Harkavy is president of Harkador Partners, an advisory and investment firm focused on energy, mobility, and construction technology. His experience includes leading startups, raising angel and venture financing, managing product teams, and participating in successful exits, including two initial public offerings.

Harkavy previously served as vice president of product at Oracle Energy and Water and actively mentors startups through several national accelerator and clean-energy programs.

Monday, Oct. 26

Henry Talamantes

In person · BUSN 329 · 4:30–5:30 p.m. MT

Topic: Moving from product-market fit to go-to-market strategy and scale

Henry Talamantes is an El Paso native and go-to-market specialist working across property technology, financial technology, and logistics. He founded Fetch Package, which has raised more than $175 million in venture capital, operates in more than 25 cities, and employs more than 5,000 people.

Talamantes now works as an angel investor and adviser to early-stage startups and has guest lectured at Texas A&M University and Southern Methodist University.

Thursday, Oct. 29

Janice Omadeke

Virtual · 10:30 a.m. MT

Topic: AI, marketing, and go-to-market strategy

Janice Omadeke moved from corporate graphic design into startup life and became Austin's first Black woman to secure a venture-backed technology exit. She also ranks among the first 100 Black women to raise more than $1 million in seed funding for a technology company.

Omadeke founded The Mentor Method, enterprise software built around mentorship and company culture, with clients including Amazon and the U.S. Department of Education.

Wednesday, Nov. 4

Jason Neubauer

In person · BUSN 329 · 4:30–5:30 p.m. MT

Topic: Founder journey and how to build anything

Jason Neubauer is a serial entrepreneur, adviser, and producer who started his first company using $32,000 he won on Wheel of Fortune. His ventures include Youbetme, Challenged, and Coolbox, which appeared on ABC's Shark Tank and secured a $500,000 deal with Lori Greiner.

His work spans product innovation, venture building, growth strategy, and storytelling. He also founded Affect Change, a television series that uses mentorship, networks, and execution to expand opportunity.

Monday, Nov. 9

Katherine Sekercak

In person · BUSN 329 · 4:30–5:30 p.m. MT

Topic: Opportunity recognition and the knowledge corridor

Katherine Sekercak is a registered nurse who moved from critical care into health care information technology. Over nearly two decades, she has worked as a clinical informaticist across technology ecosystems, interoperability, regulation, compliance, and health care funding.

Her current venture addresses a persistent gap: hospital technologies are often built around regulatory and revenue needs while clinical workflows are left for frontline staff to connect manually. Her work aims to make workflow a central part of health care operations.

Hunt G.O. Foundry

Entrepreneurship is built in the decisions.

Across 18 speakers and 12 dates, Entrepreneurship Stories gives students a broader view of what it takes to turn an idea into something that works — and keep building when it does not.