ProtoPod

On today's episode, we’re joined by Dave McQuinn from Allen-Vanguard.
 
Dave has spent nearly two decades developing technologies designed to stop improvised explosive devices and protect people in some of the most challenging environments in the world.
 
We’ll talk about engineering under pressure, rapid innovation in the field, and what it takes to design systems that literally save lives.

In this episode, we’re joined by Jarrod Barker, founder of RealSimGear. Jarrod started the company while training for his private pilot’s license, frustrated by the gap between great flight sim software and unrealistic hardware.
What began as a personal project has grown into a global brand bringing realistic avionics hardware to pilots everywhere.
To learn more about RealSimGear, head to their website: https://realsimgear.com/
To learn more about Protocase & ProtoSpace Mfg: https://www.protocase.com/ & https://protospacemfg.com/ 

In this episode, we’re joined by Caleb Vainikka, founder of Cove Design.
 
Caleb helps startups turn ideas into manufacturable hardware — and he’s outspoken about the difference between ‘just a CAD model’ and real engineering.
 
We’ll talk about bias toward action, sketching as a superpower, and what it really takes to design products that can actually be built.”

Today on the ProtoPod, we’re joined by Jim Jarvis, the Range Safety Officer for the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association and the International Rocket Engineering Competition.
Jim plays a critical role at IREC — overseeing safety on the range and helping ensure that hundreds of student-built rockets can fly safely, successfully, and responsibly.

What happens when artificial intelligence moves beyond generating pixels and starts understanding physics?
In this episode, we sit down with Steven Gay (CEO) and Jakub Cech (CTO), the co-founders of Mode Maison. Operating as an independent research lab, Mode Maison is at the bleeding edge of physics-based simulation, material science, and AI. They aren’t just building better visuals—they are developing multimodal Large World Models (LWMs) designed to serve as the operating system for the future of design and manufacturing.

When a company hits the $5M to $50M growth phase, tacit knowledge and fragmented systems become the ultimate anchors. Issac Hicks, founder of Autonomi, joins the ProtoPod this week to discuss how to bridge the gap between complex operations and intelligent automation.
 
We dive deep into the "build vs. buy" dilemma, the danger of automating undefined processes, and how Issac’s background in aeronautical engineering shapes his approach to removing organizational friction. Tune in to learn how to align AI initiatives with measurable business outcomes and stop adding layers of complexity to your tech stack.
 
 

On this episode of ProtoPod, host Jordan Rose welcomes Richard Sumnall, Founder of RackFalcon and a veteran of global security leadership.
With 20 years of experience across Europe and North America — including senior roles at Cloudflare, Palo Alto Networks, and Uber — Richard shares deep insights into physical security, privacy-first technology, and what it really takes to protect critical infrastructure.
He also breaks down how RackFalcon solves a long-standing challenge for colocation tenants: proving who accessed sensitive hardware, when, and for how long — without relying on shared site systems.
The conversation also explores how Protocase supported RackFalcon’s journey from concept to a deployable, rack-ready solution.
Finish the episode with a fun rapid-fire segment covering books, tech, best piece of advice, and future goals.

In today's episode, Jordan is joined in-studio by longtime friend and colleague Brett Kelly — Technical Director at 45Drives and one of the key architects behind 45Drives' open-source storage platforms. Brett’s been instrumental in shaping the Storinator and Stornado lineup of storage products, the Direct-Wired Architecture, and the company’s approach to high-performance, open-source storage.
Jordan and Brett dive into where the future of storage is heading and how 45Drives keeps pushing the boundaries.