The ReForge Podcast

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ go head to head on one of the most debated questions in workforce development: is college still worth it, and what should the next generation of American builders actually do? If you care about workforce, education, manufacturing, trades, or the future of American industry, this one is for you. What we cover Why student loan debt is the core distortion driving the college problem, and what happens when universities have no skin in the game How Jacksonville University cut from 100 degree programs to 43, and why that's the right move Why Google, Palantir, and Hadrian are already telling kids to skip college, and what that signals The case for trades: compressed path to entrepreneurship, real skills, and why Gen Z actually wants to build things Matt's advice for every 16-year-old: build a website, get certifications, and stop waiting on a four-year degree to start Chapters 00:00 College vs. Trades Debate 03:10 Student Loans and Hobby Degrees 08:29 Tech Change and Trade Pathways 19:45 Fixing Incentives in Higher Ed 23:23 Alternative Paths and Career Flexibility 27:48 Advice for Teens and Parents 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. 

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ sit down with Richard Schrade (President and Co-Founder of Automation Intelligence) to talk about digital twins, the gap between where industrial automation is and where it needs to be, and a new AI tool that could change how PLC engineers work. If you care about manufacturing, automation, robotics, industrial software, or the future of American production, this one is for you. What we cover What digital twins actually are, how they work, and why the biggest manufacturers in the country use them before touching the factory floor Why Richard is disappointed with the pace of industrial innovation, and why he thinks we're still at 1% of what's possible How narrowing the gap of uncertainty is the real value proposition for capital allocators looking at automation investments The Auto Intel Cloud: making digital twins accessible without expensive hardware or license headaches PLC Forge: the AI-powered tool for PLC engineers that Automation Intelligence is bringing to market now Chapters 00:00 Why Manufacturing Innovation Can't Wait 01:00 Meet Richard Schrade and Automation Intelligence 02:54 How Digital Twins Work and Why They Matter 12:14 Are We at 1% of What's Possible? 21:14 The Auto Intel Cloud 25:21 PLC Forge: AI for the Factory Floor Guest: Richard Schrade, President and Co-Founder at Automation Intelligence Find Richard Schrade: https://autointel.io [email protected] 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. 

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ sit down with Dr. Nahshon Nicks (Founder and President of Team Nitro MMA) to talk about building the talent pipeline that American reindustrialization actually needs, starting with the kids everyone else overlooks. If you care about workforce development, community, manufacturing, or the next generation of American builders, this one is for you. What we cover How Dr. Nicks went from inner city youth who couldn't read in fifth grade to earning two PhDs, three black belts, and running an after-school program serving hundreds of kids across Jacksonville Why Team Nitro uses martial arts, mentorship, and exposure to technology to build confidence, discipline, and real workforce skills Students placed in the U.S. Marines, Merchant Marines, colleges, and trade programs, and what it actually took to get them there Why "kids don't want to work" is the wrong diagnosis, and what's really missing in underserved communities Matt's story coaching inner city robotics students at Matthew Gilbert Middle School, and what presence alone can do for kids who have none Chapters 00:00 Exposure Broadens Perspective  01:08 Meet Dr. Nahshon Nicks  03:09 Team Nitro Mission and Method  05:48 From Hardship to Mentorship  11:12 Success Stories and Robotics Field Trips  23:11 Civic Leadership and Closing Thoughts Guest: Dr. Nahshon Nicks, Founder and President at Team Nitro MMA Find Dr. Nahshon Nicks: https://teamnitromma.com https://www.instagram.com/nahshonnicks/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nahshon-nicks-6610702a/  https://x.com/NahshonNicks  https://www.facebook.com/nahshon.lamir.nicks 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 reindustrial

In this episode, Matthew Chang sits down with co-host Colin Russ to trace his path from a Texas dairy farm to Erie, Pennsylvania, through presidential campaigns, SAP implementations at Boeing and beyond, and into his current mission: building a fully autonomous lights-out factory with Next Industries. If you care about manufacturing, ERPs, reindustrialization, workforce development, or small-town America, this one is for you. What we cover - How Erie represents the opportunity and challenge facing post-industrial American cities - Colin's winding path from dairy farming and the Romney campaign to consulting at Capgemini and PwC - The real cost of ERP implementations and why a single SAP rollout can run $50M+ in consulting alone - Why regulations are a solvable engineering problem, not an excuse - Next Industries and the case for fully autonomous, lights-out precision CNC production Chapters 0:00 Meet Colin and Erie  4:42 Community Impact and Reindustrialization  8:38 From Dairy Farm to ERP Consulting  24:26 Making Peace With Regulations  32:14 Why ERP Projects Cost So Much  38:14 Next Industries: Lights Out Factories  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 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.

In this episode, Colin Russ sits down with Matthew Chang (Founder & CEO of Chang Robotics) to trace the path from building factories across five continents to launching a Christian VC and betting everything on American reindustrialization.If you care about manufacturing, robotics, automation, venture capital, or the future of American industry, this one is for you.What we coverFrom ROTC to building factories on five continents before launching Chang RoboticsAI adoption inside a real engineering firm, and why an internal AI policy is comingWhy VC has a vintage problem and whether hyperscale data centers are already obsoleteThe Give to Give philosophy: Christian VC, tithing carry, and keeping founders in controlWhy Matt believes we're entering a 10-year manufacturing supercycleChapters00:00 Reindustrialization Kickoff 01:36 From ROTC to Factory Builder 15:12 Chang Robotics and AI Tools 27:25 AI Adoption and Policy 31:26 Give to Give Venture 47:57 Manufacturing Bull Run AheadFind Matthew Chang: https://x.com/MatthewChang | https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang | https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ | https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchangFind 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 ReForgeLinkedIn: 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] ReForgeReForge 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.

In this episode, Matthew Chang and Colin Russ, joined by Brian Keith, CMO of Chang Robotics, introduce the ReForge Podcast and lay out the core problem: nearly everyone talking about reindustrializing America has never actually built a factory.If you care about manufacturing, workforce, industrial policy, robotics, or the future of American communities, this one is for you.---What we coverWhy the loudest voices on reindustrialization have zero factory experience — and why that mattersGen Z's surprising appetite for trades and hands-on work, and what it means for the labor pipelineThe case for distributed, community-rooted manufacturing over a single American "Shenzhen"How modern factories (full of robotics, automation, and advanced software) are nothing like the assembly lines parents fear---Chapters00:00 Why Reindustrialize Now01:03 Builders vs Armchair Experts09:01 Hope and Policy for Factory Towns18:15 Outsourcing and IP Reality19:52 Faith and Local Industry28:40 Modern Factories and Next Steps---Hosts: Matthew Chang, Founder at Chang Robotics | Colin Russ, Co-HostFeatured: Brian Keith, Chief Marketing Officer at Chang RoboticsFind Chang Robotics: https://changrobotics.comFind Matthew Changhttps://x.com/MatthewChang | https://www.instagram.com/the.matthewchang, https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewachang/ | https://www.tiktok.com/@the.matthewchangFind Colin Russhttps://x.com/ThaaatColin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinruss/Find Brian Keith http://linkedin.com/in/briankeithal/ | https://x.com/briankeithai---Follow ReForgeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reforge-podcast/X: https://x.com/thereforgepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereforgepod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thereforgepodWebsite: 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] ReForgeReForge 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.