Techquila Podcast

Ricardo “Ricky” Mora was born in El Paso, Texas and raised in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. He is an entrepreneurship evangelist, pioneer and has launched over 10 startups, ranging from telecomm, investment funds, IT services, FabLabs, and restaurants. Ricky transformed the former U.S. Consulate in Juarez into the a Silicon Valley styled innovation park spread across a 1.8 acres. It has tailor-made programs for the manufacturing industry, entrepreneurs and companies. It is a ce...

Natalie Littlefield is the Vice-President of Strategy for the Borderplex Alliance, a 501c3 organization that is responsible for economic development in the El Paso, Juarez, and Las Cruces Communities. Since 2013 they’ve helped bring over 15,000 new jobs and over $1.2 Billion of investment to the region. Beyond the work of sourcing and landing company expansion or relocation efforts, the Borderplex Alliance plays a key role in crafting policy and strategy to support business and qu...

Startups are a great place to get experience and optimize for learning with higher levels of responsibilities as opposed to established businesses. But finding and landing an opportunity to work at a startup can be a bit challenging.In this episode, Erik and JJ share their experiences as hiring managers and founders and outlines the pros and cons of working at a startup.

Ernesto Holguin is the CEO and founder of OTEN Medical, a registered nurse, nurse educator, and clinical coordinator for dialysis patients. He has invented four innovative medical devices and currently has a patent on three of them. In this episode, we get Ernesto's journey from a nurse maker to a CEO with several medical devices in the marketplace. He also sheds light on his experience as a frontline worker, how COVID is creating new innovations in patient care, and what he ...

In this episode Erik and JJ connect with Cathy Chen, Executive Director of Fab Lab El Paso. We learn about her and her husband's journey founding a STEM focused nonprofit in a community that was significantly underserved with the number of digital skilling opportunities available prior to Fab Lab's launch. Cathy also shares her experience as a first generation immigrant and touches on the gender and cultural gaps that persist in the STEM fields.Cathy Chen is the Co-Founder and Exe...

The Social Dilemma, directed by Jeff Orlowski, explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations. Erik and JJ provide an overview of the film and share their perspectives on some of the conclusions that the film draws. Erik shares his experience as a student of BJ Fogg’s class, which is heavily referenced in the film, and how behavior design and behavior change is programmed into new products. ...

In this episode we get to learn more about Ivan Huerta and Parabeac.We discuss Ivan's decision to drop out of college, failing forward through several product concepts, becoming a dev shop, and achieving founder-product fit.Ivan is the CEO & Co-founder at Parabeac, an El Paso software startup working on automating design to code for Flutter app development teams. Ivan also runs a local Startup Grind chapter in El Paso where he hosts entrepreneurs and investors locally and abroad.

TECHQUILA IS A NEW SHOW DISCUSSING TECHNOLOGY FROM THE BORDER.GUESTS INCLUDE INNOVATORS USING TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE CHANGE ON THE BORDER, LATINX AND HISPANIC PIONEERS IN TECH, AND TECH VETERANS FROM BORDER REGIONS.TECHQUILLA IS HOSTED BY JJ CHILDRESS AND ERIK PAVIA IN EL PASO, TEXAS.In this preview episode, we learn a little about the show and what's in store for future episodes.