In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ sit down with Jason Engelhardt (Founder of Silicon Beach) to talk about what it actually takes to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem from scratch, and why Jacksonville may be one of the most overlooked cities in America for innovation and manufacturing. 

If you care about startups, venture capital, community building, advanced manufacturing, or the future of American cities, this one is for you. 

What we cover 

• How Jason went from 20 years on Wall Street to building Jacksonville's most active pitch and networking community 
• Why Silicon Beach now runs three pitch events a month, draws 130 to 150 people per event, and has 10 to 15 institutional investors in the room 
• What real hardware innovation looks like: basalt rebar that won't corrode and robotic surgery accessories made in the USA 
• Why Jason is launching a formal incubator and what's missing in most cities that keeps startups from scaling 
• Silicon Beach Development: advanced manufacturing R&D facilities, FDA clean rooms, and military-facing innovation spaces coming to Jacksonville 

Chapters 

00:00 Pitch Events Take Off  

01:00 Meet Jason and Silicon Beach  

09:07 How Silicon Beach Finds and Builds Winners  

18:56 What They Don't Teach You in Business School  

21:32 How Silicon Beach Gets Startups to Exit  

25:21 Silicon Beach Development Vision 

Guest: Jason Engelhardt, Founder at Silicon Beach  

Find Jason Engelhardt: 

https://siliconbeach.ai 

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

Find Matthew Chang: 

https://x.com/MatthewChang 

https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang 

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

https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchang 

Find Colin Russ: 

https://x.com/ThaaatColin 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/ 

Find Chang Robotics: 

https://changrobotics.ai 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/changrobotics/ 

Follow ReForge 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/  

X: https://x.com/thereforgepod  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/  

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepod  

Website: https://thereforgepodcast.com/ 

Want to be a guest or partner? 

If you're building, funding, operating, or shaping the future of U.S. manufacturing, we'd love to hear from you. Email: [email protected] 

About ReForge 

ReForge is a podcast featuring conversations with the leaders reindustrializing America. This show exists to prove American reindustrialization is possible, pivotal, and pressing. Hosted by Matthew Chang and Colin Russ. 

Produced by Chang Robotics.