Steve Pockross sits down with Marc Nager, co-founder and general partner at Howdy, a rural Colorado-focused venture fund breaking ground with its unconventional name and a bold, investment approach. From keen insights on growth investing lessons that span the tech market to specific insights on building rural-focused tech startups, Marc shares how connecting talent, capital, and vision far from traditional tech hubs is reshaping what success looks like. Together, they explore the importance of founder self-awareness, overcoming growth plateaus, the evolving landscape of impact investing, the key to a great rebrand, and how AI is rewriting the rules for entrepreneurs and investors alike. Get ready for a playful and insightful conversation about capital, community, and the power of building companies in unexpected places.

About Marc

Marc Nager is the co‑founder and Managing Partner at Howdy Partners (formerly Greater Colorado Venture Fund), a venture firm backing early‑stage rural tech companies in Colorado and beyond. Previously, he oversaw global startup efforts as CEO of Startup Weekend and UP Global — programs that helped mobilize hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs in 700+ cities around the world. Before that, Marc served as Chief Community Officer at Techstars and Managing Director of the Telluride Venture Accelerator, giving him deep experience in accelerator‑led startup growth and community‑driven ecosystems. He now lives in Southwest Colorado and dedicates his work to proving that top‑tier startups — even rocket‑science level ones — can be built far from traditional tech hubs.

On this episode of Practical Pivots, marketing veteran Rachel Shayne, of B2B R&D, unpacks why “brand is your moat” and how the real challenge isn’t besting your competitors, but cutting through marketplace confusion. From her insights working with technical founders, Shayne lays out her playbook for building resilient, memorable brands in complex industries. Whether you’re leading a high-growth tech venture or steering strategy in a legacy sector, this interview offers the candid perspective and actionable inspiration today’s business decision-makers crave.

About Rachel

Rachel Shayne is a fractional CMO and brand strategist known for translating complex clean-tech and energy science into market conviction. She has helped create entirely new categories across methane monitoring, geothermal baseload power, and other frontier sectors—using disciplined storytelling to move customers, investors, and industries.

Her career spans global consumer powerhouses such as P&G, Nestlé, and Sephora, as well as some of the most innovative climate-tech and deep-tech companies, including GreenFire Energy, LongPath Technologies, Project Canary, Sionic Energy, and TrelliSense. That blend of Fortune-50 rigor and venture-backed scrappiness shapes a unique approach few CMOs can match.

Shayne is widely recognized for aligning founders, boards, and teams around clear narratives that fuel growth, culture, and category leadership. Her work has supported more than $200M in capital raised, driven market share above 60%, and positioned multiple brands as leaders in the energy transition.

She also serves as a mentor with Blackstone Entrepreneurs’ Network, TechStars, and CU Leeds—reflecting a commitment to developing the people who will lead the next generation of markets.

Startup advisor Hunter Albright says the secret to early-stage growth is cutting through the complexity and finding where real momentum lives. On the latest episode of Practical Pivots, Albright, who’s worked at the crossroads of technology, business strategy and human behavior, explains that while AI is just a tool, the explosion in data and compute power has changed the game for founders. He urges entrepreneurs to focus on building consistency and warns against chasing every new trend. Albright also highlights a surprising shift: “People are swinging away from digital products and services, and wanting to get back to things that are more analog and face to face.” For startups looking to scale, he recommends frameworks like EOS to bring “calm to the chaos” and help teams prioritize what matters most.

About Hunter

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunteralbright/