Rashad Armstrong is a comedian, professional emcee, and one of the people helping shape the culture of Venture Cafe Phoenix from the inside out. As the voice welcoming people into the room each week, Rashad sees his role as more than entertaining a crowd: he reads the room, helps people find the right connections, and works to make sure newcomers feel safe, included, and closer to whatever brought them there in the first place.

His path to that role wasn’t conventional. Rashad came through hospitality, comedy, and a period when he says his “back was against the wall” before deciding to pursue entertainment seriously. That decision eventually expanded into something bigger: building a business, becoming a professional host, and learning how to turn creativity into a career through consistency, professionalism, and a willingness to take risks.

But the larger story is about community. Rashad has gone from being mentored inside Venture Cafe to mentoring newer voices himself, helping people strengthen their public speaking and confidence. He describes the process as a kind of trickle-down effect: people invest in one another, those people grow, and eventually they begin opening doors for someone else.

For founders, innovators, students, creatives, and ecosystem builders, the conversation is a reminder that innovation doesn’t happen through ideas alone. It happens when people have places to experiment, relationships that keep them moving, and people willing to notice potential before it is fully developed. As Rashad puts it, “we can’t do this alone.”

What You’ll Learn

• Why creating a strong innovation ecosystem starts with how people experience the room
• How hospitality, comedy, and entrepreneurship can develop surprisingly transferable leadership skills
• Why Rashad thinks the best opportunities often come from identifying people who need just one more connection or piece of support
• How mentorship can compound as people who were once helped begin helping others
• Why having a purpose outside your day job can strengthen confidence, identity, and resilience
• What professionalism can add to a creative career beyond talent alone
• How Venture Cafe creates opportunities for unexpected collaborations across industries and backgrounds
• Rashad’s practical advice for getting the most out of your first Venture Cafe Phoenix experience

About Rashad Armstrong

Rashad Armstrong is a comedian, professional emcee, entrepreneur, and the MC of Venture Cafe Phoenix. Through his work onstage and inside the community, he helps create an environment where people feel welcomed, connected, and encouraged to pursue their ideas—and increasingly mentors others who are developing those same skills.

About Venture Cafe Phoenix

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona’s innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.

Zoe Bibbes is building something unusual in Phoenix: a community where electronic music, wellness, entrepreneurship, and human connection meet—often before most nightclubs would even open. Through Club Lumen and Lumen Entertainment, she creates sober-curious morning dance parties while building a platform for local artists, small businesses, and creative people to find one another.

The idea emerged from an entrepreneurial path that was anything but linear. Zoe moved through real estate, health and wellness, insurance, a car dealership, staffing, pressure washing, and a day job before deciding she was ready to find her “forever business.” An unexpected connection to electronic music—and a sober trip to EDC—helped her recognize an opportunity hiding in plain sight: people wanted the energy and community of nightlife without necessarily needing the substances, late nights, or disconnection that often accompany it.

In this conversation with host Alex Koupal, Zoe explores what she has learned about creating spaces where strangers actually interact, why she refuses to separate people into VIP sections, how small businesses and artists can benefit from community-driven events, and what it takes to turn an organic idea into an organization with standards, processes, partnerships, and a team. Her experience offers a useful lesson for Arizona entrepreneurs: sometimes innovation isn't inventing something entirely new. It's noticing how people's needs are changing and creating a new intersection around them.

Zoe's story also illustrates what an innovation ecosystem can look like beyond traditional startups and technology companies. Phoenix's entrepreneurs, creatives, wellness professionals, artists, businesses, and community organizations don't have to operate in separate worlds. When the right environments bring them together, relationships become opportunities—and entirely new communities can emerge.

• How Zoe turned a personal connection to electronic music into a new kind of Phoenix community
• Why sober-curious events reflect changing ideas about nightlife, wellness, and connection
• How Club Lumen creates opportunities for artists and Arizona small businesses alongside its events
• Why defining who a community isn't for can help strengthen who it is for
• What Zoe learned moving from solopreneurship toward building a team, standards, and processes
• Why she sees entrepreneurship and leadership as an “inside job” requiring accountability and personal growth
• How networking, relationships, and simply showing up helped turn an idea into partnerships and opportunities
• Why unconventional gathering spaces can strengthen connections across Arizona's broader innovation ecosystem

Zoe Bibbes is the founder of Lumen Entertainment, Club Lumen, and Lumen Artists, building experiences and opportunities at the intersection of music, wellness, community, and entrepreneurship in Phoenix. Her work brings together artists, ambitious professionals, local businesses, and community partners while exploring new ways for people to connect through shared experiences.

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.

Every thriving innovation ecosystem depends on people who make meaningful connections happen. Sarah Waschler is one of those people. With more than 26 years of experience producing events and leading complex operations, she serves as Venture Cafe Phoenix's Experience and Event Manager while also running her own event management business. In this conversation, Sarah shares how creating spaces where people can connect, collaborate, and learn has become one of the most impactful ways to strengthen Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

After spending more than two decades in corporate event management, Sarah made the difficult decision to leave the safety of a familiar career to prioritize her family and build a business of her own. She reflects on the unexpected challenges of entrepreneurship—including spending months stuck trying to name her company—and how the Venture Cafe community gave her the confidence to stop waiting for perfect and simply begin.

Listeners will hear how strong communities are intentionally designed, why Arizona's innovation ecosystem grows when organizations collaborate instead of compete, and how programs like mentor hours, hackathons, international delegations, and community partnerships create opportunities that extend far beyond a single event. Sarah also shares why some of the most important work in innovation happens not on stage, but in the conversations taking place before and after the programming ends.

As Arizona continues to emerge as a global destination for entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and innovators, conversations like this remind us that breakthrough ideas don't grow in isolation. They grow because people like Sarah create environments where relationships, trust, and opportunity can flourish.

• Why community infrastructure is essential to a thriving innovation ecosystem
• How stepping outside your comfort zone can unlock unexpected opportunities
• Lessons from transitioning from a 20-year corporate career into entrepreneurship
• Why collaboration across organizations strengthens Arizona's startup community
• How Venture Cafe Phoenix connects founders, researchers, investors, students, and community leaders
• The role mentor hours, hackathons, and ecosystem partnerships play in helping innovators succeed
• Why flexibility and continuous learning are critical leadership skills in today's workplace
• How global relationships are expanding opportunities for Arizona entrepreneurs
• Why meaningful innovation often begins with simple human connections

Sarah Waschler is the owner of Expos & Events, an event management company with more than 26 years of experience producing conferences, trade shows, and large-scale events across multiple industries. As Experience and Event Manager for Venture Cafe Phoenix, she helps design the experiences, partnerships, programming, and community connections that make Arizona's innovation ecosystem more welcoming, collaborative, and impactful.

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.

Arizona's innovation ecosystem isn't built by technology companies alone. It's also built by the entrepreneurs who create the places where founders meet, ideas are shared, and communities gather. In this episode, Alex Koupal sits down with Joey Palomarez, founder of JP's Catering, Spaghetti Shack, and Tita's Tacos, to explore how food became his platform for building relationships across Arizona's entrepreneurial community.

Joey shares the realities of launching a restaurant during COVID, expanding too quickly, and learning difficult lessons about growth, financing, and leadership. Rather than chasing scale for its own sake, he discovered that his greatest opportunity wasn't opening more restaurants—it was solving a bigger problem for organizations by becoming a long-term partner instead of simply another caterer.

Listeners will hear practical insights about finding the work that matches your strengths, surrounding yourself with people whose talents complement your own, and listening closely enough to customers that they help shape your next business. Joey's story is a reminder that some of Arizona's most meaningful innovation happens by improving everyday experiences rather than inventing entirely new technologies.

As Arizona's startup ecosystem continues to grow, conversations like this highlight the importance of every entrepreneur who helps strengthen the community. Whether through technology, education, manufacturing, or simply bringing people together over a meal, innovation is ultimately powered by relationships—and Joey is helping create the spaces where those relationships can flourish.

• • Why solving customer problems matters more than chasing growth
• • Lessons from scaling a business too quickly—and how to pivot successfully
• • How authentic relationships create long-term business opportunities
• • Why founders should spend more time working in their unique strengths
• • The importance of building teams with complementary skill sets
• • How listening to customers can lead to entirely new business models
• • Why hospitality plays an essential role in Arizona's innovation ecosystem
• • Practical leadership lessons for entrepreneurs building growing organizations

Joey Palomarez is the founder of JP's Catering and the creator of local Arizona brands including Spaghetti Shack and Tita's Tacos. Through a relationship-first approach to hospitality, he partners with businesses, community organizations, and events across Arizona, demonstrating how food can strengthen collaboration, culture, and entrepreneurial communities throughout the state's innovation ecosystem.

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.

For more than three decades, Eric Miller has quietly helped build the foundation of Arizona's innovation ecosystem. As co-founder and principal of PADT, longtime Arizona Technology Council leader, investor, mentor, and Venture Café Phoenix board member, he's worked behind the scenes helping entrepreneurs turn ambitious ideas into real products while connecting the people who make innovation possible.

In this conversation with host Alex Koupal, Eric reflects on what he's learned after mentoring founders, investing in startups, and growing an engineering company through multiple waves of technological change—from the early internet to artificial intelligence. Along the way, he challenges common startup advice, explains why product-market fit is still misunderstood, and offers a candid look at what investors are actually looking for when they write a check.

Listeners will come away with practical insights into building companies that solve real problems, navigating risk without becoming reckless, empowering teams as organizations grow, and leveraging Arizona's collaborative innovation community to accelerate success. Whether you're a founder, investor, executive, student, or ecosystem builder, Eric shares lessons shaped by decades of experience helping innovators succeed.

Arizona's innovation economy isn't built by any one company or entrepreneur. It's built through trusted relationships, shared expertise, and communities that bring people together. This conversation is a reminder that lasting ecosystems grow because experienced leaders continue investing their time, knowledge, and networks into the next generation.

• • Why product-market fit should be an ongoing obsession—not just startup jargon
• • How experienced founders evaluate and manage risk without avoiding innovation
• • What investors are really looking for before they invest
• • Why relationships remain Arizona's greatest competitive advantage
• • How mentorship and community strengthen the startup ecosystem
• • Lessons from building and leading a technology company for more than 30 years
• • Practical strategies for founders navigating growth, fundraising, and product development
• • Why Venture Café Phoenix and the Arizona Technology Council continue to play critical roles in connecting innovators

Eric Miller is the co-founder and principal of PADT, an engineering services and advanced manufacturing company that has helped innovators develop products for more than three decades. He is a longtime leader within Arizona's technology community, serving as an investor, mentor, Arizona Technology Council leader, Venture Café Phoenix board member, and trusted advisor to founders working to grow Arizona's innovation economy.

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.

Arizona's innovation ecosystem is built on more than great ideas. It's built on relationships. In this episode, Alex Koupal sits down with Kaitlyn Fitzgerald, CEO and co-founder of Majic Branding and co-founder of The Jane Project, to explore why trust, collaboration, and community are the infrastructure that allow innovation to thrive. Kaitlyn shares how returning home to Arizona led her back into the ecosystem through Venture Cafe Phoenix, where meaningful connections became catalysts for new partnerships, organizations, and opportunities.

Drawing from her experience building a purpose-driven branding agency, Kaitlyn explains why sustainable marketing isn't about growth hacks or chasing algorithms—it's about building lasting relationships. She reflects on the realities of entrepreneurship, the importance of finding the right clients, and how founders must learn to let go, trust their teams, and create organizations that can grow beyond themselves. She also shares the inspiration behind The Jane Project, an initiative working to make venture capital more accessible by helping more women understand—and ultimately shape—the investment landscape.

Listeners will come away with practical insights into branding, leadership, founder psychology, ecosystem building, and why Arizona's greatest competitive advantage may be its willingness to collaborate. Whether you're building a startup, supporting founders, investing in innovation, or strengthening your community, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at how trust creates stronger companies—and stronger ecosystems.

• How trust creates stronger innovation ecosystems
• Why relationship-based marketing outlasts growth hacks
• Lessons every founder should know before hiring a marketing agency
• Why founders must learn to let go in order to scale
• How Venture Cafe Phoenix helps connect Arizona's innovation community
• Why collaboration beats competition in ecosystem building
• How The Jane Project is helping demystify venture capital for more women
• The role branding plays in organizational culture and leadership
• Why mission-driven businesses can create meaningful economic impact
• What makes Arizona an increasingly attractive place to build innovative companies

Kaitlyn Fitzgerald is the CEO and co-founder of Majic Branding, a purpose-driven branding and marketing agency that helps organizations build meaningful relationships with their communities through authentic storytelling and strategic brand development. She is also the co-founder of The Jane Project, an initiative focused on making venture capital more accessible by educating and empowering more women to participate in Arizona's investment ecosystem. Through both organizations, Kaitlyn is helping strengthen Arizona's culture of innovation by building trust, collaboration, and opportunity across the entrepreneurial community.

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.

Melissa Lamson has spent her career helping people, organizations, and ideas grow. As Executive Vice President of Venture Development & Innovation Strategy at the Arizona Commerce Authority and a founding member of Venture Cafe Phoenix, she has helped shape the relationships, programs, and opportunities that make Arizona one of the country's fastest-growing innovation ecosystems. In this conversation with Alex Koupal, she shares why meaningful connections—not just capital—are one of the state's greatest competitive advantages.

Melissa reflects on the early days of Venture Cafe Phoenix, how an accelerator for women entrepreneurs became part of a much larger movement, and why creating spaces where founders, investors, researchers, students, and community leaders naturally connect can accelerate an entire ecosystem. She also offers a behind-the-scenes look at Arizona Tech Week, the Arizona Commerce Authority's growing startup initiatives, and the importance of building international partnerships that create new opportunities for Arizona companies.

Listeners will learn why collaboration consistently outperforms competition, how intentional ecosystem building creates lasting economic impact, and why Arizona is uniquely positioned to become a global destination for startups and innovation. Whether you're launching a company, investing in founders, supporting entrepreneurs, or simply curious about where Arizona is headed, this conversation offers practical insight into the people and organizations making that future possible.

Arizona's innovation story isn't being written by any one organization. It's being built through thousands of relationships, generous collaboration, and a shared belief that when people come together around bold ideas, extraordinary things happen.

• How Venture Cafe Phoenix became a catalyst for Arizona's innovation ecosystem
• Why relationships are one of Arizona's greatest competitive advantages
• Lessons from launching Arizona Tech Week and growing a statewide innovation movement
• How the Arizona Commerce Authority supports founders, startups, and international companies
• Why collaboration creates stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems than competition
• How founders can plug into Arizona's network of resources, investors, and community partners
• The growing role of global partnerships in Arizona's innovation economy
• Why generosity and openness continue to define the Phoenix startup community

Melissa Lamson is the Executive Vice President of Venture Development & Innovation Strategy at the Arizona Commerce Authority and a founding member of Venture Cafe Phoenix. Through her leadership in organizational development, startup ecosystem building, international partnerships, and innovation strategy, she has helped strengthen Arizona's entrepreneurial community while creating new opportunities for founders, investors, and organizations across the state.

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.

Behind every successful startup ecosystem is a group of people doing the work most founders never see. Patti DuBois and Jeff Saville lead the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation (CEI), Arizona's premier business incubator and the organization behind Venture Cafe Phoenix. In this conversation with Alex Koupal, they share how CEI has evolved from supporting individual startups into helping strengthen the relationships, infrastructure, and collaboration that power Arizona's innovation economy.

They reflect on the origins of Venture Cafe Phoenix, the ecosystem-wide effort that inspired it, and the years of behind-the-scenes work required to create a place where entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, educators, and community leaders can consistently connect. Along the way, they discuss why community matters just as much as capital, why no startup succeeds in isolation, and how Arizona's willingness to collaborate has become one of its greatest competitive advantages.

Listeners will gain an inside look at the role incubators play beyond office space—from mentoring founders and validating ideas to integrating AI into startup support and helping entrepreneurs navigate today's increasingly complex funding landscape. Patti and Jeff also share practical advice for founders, investors, and ecosystem builders who want to help Arizona continue growing as a place where innovation thrives.

As Arizona's entrepreneurial community continues to mature, conversations like this reveal that lasting ecosystems aren't built by any one company. They're built by people who create opportunities for others to succeed.

• • How CEI helps founders move from idea to scalable business
• • Why Venture Cafe Phoenix was created and the ecosystem challenge it was designed to solve
• • The role business incubators play beyond providing workspace
• • Why relationships remain one of Arizona's greatest competitive advantages
• • How AI is changing startup support and venture readiness
• • What founders should know before seeking investment
• • Why collaboration—not competition—has helped strengthen Arizona's innovation ecosystem
• • Practical advice for entrepreneurs looking to validate ideas and grow faster

Patti DuBois serves as Assistant Executive Director and Jeff Saville serves as Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation (CEI). Together, they lead one of Arizona's most influential startup support organizations, helping entrepreneurs access mentorship, specialized resources, strategic guidance, and the collaborative community needed to turn innovative ideas into successful businesses. Their leadership has also been instrumental in growing Venture Cafe Phoenix into one of the state's leading conveners for Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.

Before Forbes Shannon became the founder of Extraordinary Network, he helped shape the culture of Venture Cafe Phoenix from the stage. As the original emcee and one of the people behind its early community experience, Forbes reflects on what it took to help transform a weekly gathering into one of Arizona's most recognizable innovation communities—and why authentic relationships have always mattered more than networking.

Throughout the conversation, Forbes shares how his path from stand-up comedy to community building changed the way he thinks about leadership, communication, and entrepreneurship. He discusses the importance of creating environments where people feel safe to experiment, fail, and connect as humans first, while offering stories from Venture Cafe's early days that reveal how much intentional culture-building happens behind the scenes.

Listeners will walk away with practical lessons about building trust, facilitating meaningful introductions, listening with purpose, and creating communities that outlast any one founder or organization. Whether you're launching a startup, growing an ecosystem initiative, leading a team, or simply looking to build stronger relationships, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at what makes innovation communities thrive.

Arizona's innovation ecosystem isn't built by technology alone. It's built by people who consistently show up, create opportunities for others, and strengthen the connections between entrepreneurs, investors, educators, and community leaders. This conversation is a reminder that the future of Arizona will be shaped just as much by collaboration as by innovation.

• Why listening is one of the most valuable skills for founders and community builders
• How Venture Cafe Phoenix intentionally built a culture different from traditional networking events
• Lessons from growing one of Arizona's most active entrepreneurial communities
• Why authentic relationships create stronger business opportunities than transactional networking
• How consistency helps build trust within an innovation ecosystem
• What community builders can learn about creating spaces where people feel comfortable taking risks
• Why collaboration is Arizona's greatest competitive advantage
• How founders can think more intentionally about authority, relationships, and long-term strategy

Forbes Shannon is the co-founder of Extraordinary Network, entrepreneur, author, podcast host, and longtime community builder within Arizona's innovation ecosystem. As one of the original architects of the Venture Cafe Phoenix experience, he helped establish the culture, storytelling, and community-first approach that continues to define the organization while now helping leaders build authority, meaningful relationships, and strategic growth.

Venture Cafe Phoenix: An Extraordinary Podcast explores the people, stories, and relationships shaping Arizona's innovation ecosystem.

Hosted by Alex Koupal, the podcast features conversations with founders, innovators, investors, educators, executives, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders working to make Arizona a place where ideas grow, businesses thrive, and meaningful connections happen.

Powered by CEI (Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation), Legacy Sponsor the City of Phoenix, and produced by Extraordinary.