We hope to see you at the 8th Wonder Brewery on September 19th to connect with friends over good beer and good food. We’re celebrating the private sector’s ability to overcome obstacles by hosting a conversation with four Houston-based entrepreneurs—including the Brewery’s co-founder—about the what, where, and how behind founding a successful business in Texas, and how they’re moving forward after Hurricane Harvey.

About the Panelists 

Austin Hill | Valor Acquisition Partners

Austin Hill currently owns and is involved in three companies through Valor Acquisition Partners, in the building materials, healthcare, and consumer packaged goods sectors. Before joining VAP, Austin worked for four years as a nationally-recognized Sales Engineer with a Fortune 100 company in the HVAC industry. Austin graduated with honors from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. in Engineering, and received his MBA with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. After West Point, he served as a Finance Officer and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Nicolaus Radford | Houston Mechatronics

Nicolaus Radford is co-founder and CTO of Houston Mechatronics, a robotics and mechatronics company specializing in both intelligent automation and electric vehicles. Prior to Houston Mechatronics, he spent 14 years at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in the Dexterous Robotics Laboratory. At the conclusion of his government career, he was the Principal Investigator (PI) for the Valkyrie project, a humanoid robot developed initially for disaster response outlined in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). Prior to that, he served as the Deputy and Chief Engineer for Robonaut 2 (R2), a spaceflight humanoid robot. He then led the efforts to redesign and qualify R2 for the International Space Station, which was successfully completed in less than six months. During Mr. Radford’s tenure at NASA, he was involved in several other robotics projects, and was the recipient of countless patents, design awards, and commendations for his expertise and leadership, ultimately culminating in receiving NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal.

Ryan Soroka | 8th Wonder Brewery

Ryan is the co-founder and “hype man” at 8th Wonder Brewery. He handles marketing, branding, communications, and PR-related matters for 8th Wonder. His interest in home-brewing began college at Tulane University in New Orleans. After graduating with his BSM in finance and marketing, he moved back to Houston to get his MS in Hospitality Management. There, he met future business partner Aaron Corsi in a brewing, winemaking, and distilling class at the University of Houston. At the time, he and another business partner, Alex Vassilakidis, had recently started Eatsie Boys Intergalactic Food Truck. From that humble truck, Alex and Ryan raised funds and partnered with Aaron to start 8th Wonder Brewery – and turned it into one of the most successful businesses in Houston. Ryan’s business acumen has been widely recognized, and he has been listed on Houston Business Journal’s 40 under 40.