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Pioneers

Di: Siemens Digital Industry Software
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Ideas alone can’t change the world. It takes grit. In this podcast, Siemens sits down with startup founders, ecosystem partners and more in a quest to get to the bottom of what makes startups (and the people in them) tick. At Siemens, we understand the struggles of early-stage startups. Let us remove the barriers on your startup journey by helping you transform your engineering ideas into real, marketable products with industry-leading software solutions. Join the Siemens Startups Program to grow your startup to its full potential. Want to get in touch? Reach out here.Siemens Digital Industry Software
Episodi
  • From Locomotive Parts to Powering Data Centers: Inside Leigh Killingbeck's Hydrogen Gamble

    From Locomotive Parts to Powering Data Centers: Inside Leigh Killingbeck's Hydrogen Gamble
    Oct 14 2026
    What does a decades-old rotary engine, a family locomotive-parts shop, and the scramble to power AI data centers have in common? And why does a self-funded founder believe the fix for the world's growing power problem was sitting in a 1970s engine design nobody had looked at twice? What you’ll discover today… (00:00) From automation apprentice to family manufacturing shop to EV startup — how the grid math led Leigh to Hydronexus. (03:40) Reviving a shelved 1970s rotary engine design and solving the cooling problem that made hydrogen combustion viable. (07:31) Inside the Electrify Nevada accelerator, and the investor conversations that forced the natural-gas-to-hydrogen pivot. (11:31) The honeymoon-phase question, and why the harder problem isn't the engineering, it's raising capital. (13:23) Early traction in the Caribbean and the Philippines, and the road to a working prototype. (15:32) The personal cost of self-funding, and what the journey taught Leigh about himself. (17:07) What's next: the case for angel investment, the five-year vision, and where the engine could go beyond data centers. What you’ll discover today… Leigh Killingbeck's path to founding HydroNexus started on the shop floor. He trained at an automation company, then co-founded a manufacturing business with his father making parts for locomotives and semiconductors, gaining hands-on experience with welding, CNC machines, and running a business. A stint at an EV startup convinced him the grid can't support an all-EV future. That gap led him back to a rotary engine concept largely abandoned since the 1970s, one he redesigned to solve hydrogen's biggest problem, excess heat, into a compact, power dense engine that beats fuel cells and piston engines on cost and complexity. HydroNexus is now building toward its first prototype after a run through the Electrify Nevada accelerator, where investor conversations forced a key pivot: rather than waiting on hydrogen infrastructure, the same engine runs today on natural gas, with a path to blend in and eventually run on hydrogen as it becomes available. The company is self-funded and early stage, but already fielding interest from microgrid projects in the Caribbean and the Philippines, with data centers, the AI driven power crunch that opens this episode, as the long-term target. For founders navigating hard tech, this conversation is a candid look at translating deep engineering into a fundable story, the discipline of bootstrapping while raising a family, and why the milestone that matters most isn't a valuation, but real, reliable power delivered to people who don't have it. Connect with us Peng-Sang Cau LinkedIn Website Leigh Killingbeck LinkedIn HydroNexus Energy Website
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    21 min
  • 30 Companies. 27 Exits. What Chad Wasilenkoff Sees That Others Don’t

    30 Companies. 27 Exits. What Chad Wasilenkoff Sees That Others Don’t
    Jul 30 2026
    What does an old wallpaper mill, a Swiss banknote plant, and a pair of glaucoma-detecting glasses have in common? And why does a man who has built more than 30 companies say founders should stop trying to invent anything at all? What you’ll discover today… (00:00) The golf-ball hustle that started it all, and the parental support behind it. (08:57) The contrarian bet that built Fortress. (13:36) Inside the pressure of a distressed-asset turnaround. (17:12) Running multiple companies solo, wired differently. (21:30) Why a 30-company track record doesn't guarantee a check. (22:40) The throughline from uranium to glaucoma glasses. (25:43) iGuardian and building versus buying. (28:37) What investors listen for — and why solo founders struggle. (32:35) Coachability, discipline, and humility. (36:35) De-risking deep tech with grants and digital twins. (42:51) Legacy, what still excites him, and rapid-fire wisdom. More about the episode Chad Wasilenkoff is not a typical founder. He started selling golf balls at eight years old, was buying and selling video games, BMX bikes and cars by his teens, and has gone on to found close to 30 companies across forestry, mining, advanced materials, chemical recycling and medical devices. He doesn't consider himself an inventor — he's an investor who operates the business himself and looks for the exit. His playbook is finding value where nobody else is looking. He turned a near-worthless forestry mill into Fortress and sold it for $210 million. He bought a Swiss banknote mill for a fraction of its worth and unlocked tens of millions in hidden land and inventory value. He spotted a coming uranium shortage most investors ignored. That same instinct now drives iGuardian, glasses designed to detect glaucoma at home, and a chemical catalyst company tackling plastic recycling at scale. For founders and investors in hard tech or deep tech, this conversation is a masterclass in contrarian thinking — what investors listen for in a pitch, why solo founders face a harder road, and why buying a great idea can beat inventing one. Connect with us Peng-Sang Cau LinkedIn Website Chad Wasilenkoff LinkedIn Eye Guardian Website Helicoid Industries Website
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    50 min
  • From SpaceX Launch Pads to Nuclear Power Plants: Ben Kellie’s Mission to Make Clean Energy Affordable

    From SpaceX Launch Pads to Nuclear Power Plants: Ben Kellie’s Mission to Make Clean Energy Affordable
    Mar 26 2026
    What if the nuclear industry's biggest problem has nothing to do with the reactor itself? And what happens when a SpaceX veteran decides he's the one to fix it? What you’ll discover today… (00:00) From a bush pilot in Alaska to building SpaceX launch pads to reshaping nuclear infrastructure. (06:10) Understanding the market and customer-driven innovation. (08:45) A bold new approach to nuclear energy innovation. (12:05) Financing future growth and sustainability: Flexible models for growth. (15:00) The reality and challenges of starting a start-up. (18:00) Lessons from a sabbatical and the importance of reflection. (22:30) The importance of patience in startups. (25:00) Building customer trust in a skeptical market- winning over early adopters. (28:00) Navigating regulatory challenges early (29:25) The learning curve of transitioning from aerospace to nuclear (30:20) Balancing innovation with industry responsibility (33:30) How to build trust with investors (36:00) How to deal with doubts, fears, and keeping the momentum going in a startup. (37:20) The impact of fatherhood on leadership and managing stress as a founder (40:25) Applied Atomics’ vision of the future More about the episode Ben Kellie is not a nuclear scientist. He’s an infrastructure builder. He spent years at SpaceX leading the launch pad construction at Vandenberg and running the landing barge programme day to day — learning what it actually takes to push complex, high-stakes infrastructure into the world. When he left to found The Launch Company, he bootstrapped it, served every major venture-backed rocket company, and exited on his own terms. Then he took two years off to think. What he found, after long walks and deep dives into advanced fuels, carbon sequestration and the future of industry, was a single blocker: the lack of affordable, firm, zero-emission baseload power. That insight became Applied Atomics — a company now just 13 months old, with a reactor licence in hand, a plant design at 60%, a digital twin running real-time plant physics from a Pelican case, and signed customer letters of intent. Applied Atomics is not waiting to perfect the reactor. It is vertically integrating well-understood, high-heritage nuclear technology with new control systems and a supply chain built for actual deployment. If you are a founder, investor, or operator in hard tech, energy, or infrastructure, this episode is a blueprint for how to move fast without losing discipline — and why the most powerful innovation is sometimes a better process, not a better reactor. Connect with us Peng-Sang Cau LinkedIn Website Ben Kellie LinkedIn Website
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    45 min
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