General

DFC: General — Houston 2021

Oct 26, 2021 7:00 PM · · Houston TX

DFC: General — Houston 2021 event banner, Digital Fight Club in Houston TX

Tired of boring Zoom calls? So are we. We’re turning the virtual event world on its head with the first Digital Fight Club, Virtual Edition. Just like IRL, we’re putting 2 experts in their fields up against each other in front of a raucous virtual audience. What does that look like? Experience the fights with your friends on your own virtual couch

React verbally and electronically like you would in person

Network by moving to another couch

We do this in front of hundreds CEOs, technologists, entrepreneurs and investors not to mention thousands in the audience. So there is no pressure. Then we let the refs and audience (that’s you) vote for a winner within the virtual experience. That’s not boring. That’s fun. …and you might learn something.

RSVP
October 26, 2021

The Fight Format

  • Each fight runs ~10 minutes
  • Opening arguments: 45 secs each
  • Rebuttal rounds: 15 secs each (6–8 rounds)
  • Refs call fouls (buzzer) anytime — 15 sec response each
  • Audience votes to decide the winner

Event Timeline

Sponsors

The companies backing this fight — and all the decision-makers in the room. Want in on the action? Reach out below.

Fights

Defending your ideas in front of a crowd of your peers. Educational and entertaining at the same time.

Energy Transition: The Driving Technology

Moji Karimi — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Moji Karimi
  • Carbon Negative
  • Climate Positive
  • Hates clever phrases

‍

DFCDFCWINNER
VS
Trevor Best — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Trevor Best
  • Baker Hughes alum
  • Former English prof in China
  • Red Raider

‍

DFCDFCWINNER

Space Race: Who leads commercialization?

Trent Martin — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Trent Martin
VP, Space Systems, Intuitive Machines
  • Also Pres, SciSpace
  • NASA Vet
  • Longhorn

‍

DFCDFCWINNER
VS
Steve Gonzalez — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Steve Gonzalez
  • 33 Yr NASA vet
  • Computer Scientist
  • Never got caught in Warren Towers

‍

DFCDFCWINNER

Digital Divide: Biggest Barrier

Ashley DeWalt — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Ashley DeWalt
MD, DivInc
  • Sports tech guy
  • Accelerator expert
  • Overwatch afficionado

‍

DFCDFCWINNER
VS
Jesse Martinez — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Jesse Martinez
  • Literal serial entrepreneur
  • Emerging market startup expert
  • Aggie

‍

DFCDFCWINNER

Post-Pandemic employee experience

Brad Deuster — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Brad Deuster
CEO, Deuster
  • Organizational behavior expert
  • Former circus employee
  • Longhorn

‍

DFCDFCWINNER
VS
Joe Alapat — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Joe Alapat
  • Managed services nerd
  • Literal team builder
  • Trinity Tiger

‍

DFCDFCWINNER

Innovation in a Virtual World

Lawson Gow — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Lawson Gow
Founder, The Cannon
  • Entrepreneur
  • Community Builder
  • Lover of Houston

‍

DFCDFCWINNER
VS
Robert Pieroni — Digital Fight Club fighter photo
Robert Pieroni
  • Startup guy
  • Space advisor
  • CA transplant

‍

DFCDFCWINNER

Referees

They don't judge the debate — they call fouls. The audience decides the winner. All referees below officiate every fight at this event.

Mary Gracy

MD, Houston, Accenture
  • Oil & gas expert
  • Passionate community server
  • Owl

‍

Mary Gracy — Digital Fight Club referee photo

Scott Gale

ED, Halliburton Labs, Halliburton
  • Clean energy inveastor
  • Energy vet
  • Voice Actor

‍

Scott Gale — Digital Fight Club referee photo

Sam Gunderson

Lead, Partner Development, NASA
  • Blue Origin vet
  • Boeing ISS vet
  • Knows astronauts

‍

Sam Gunderson — Digital Fight Club referee photo

Steve Rader

Dir., Collaborative Innovation, NASA
  • Joined NASA before the ISS launched
  • Crowdsourced toilet design
  • Software engineer

‍

Steve Rader — Digital Fight Club referee photo

Elizabeth McGee

Dir., Innovation, Intel
  • Intel vet
  • Passionate volunteer
  • Only attends schools with purple colors

‍

Elizabeth McGee — Digital Fight Club referee photo

Watch

Event videos here and fight videos on the fight pages

Photos

Mayhem captured for posterity

No photos yet for this event.
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