Join us for this insightful evening where our speakers - all three highly experienced aviators and entrepreneurs - draw on lessons they learned from their flight training that helped them manage their fast-growing, fast-moving startup companies better.
With a combined 75 years in the cockpit, Ron Wiener, Ron Higgs and TJ Kneale have combined their perspectives from military and civilian flying to create this completely unique course for startup founders that you simply won't find elsewhere.
Meet the Speakers:
A 10x tech startup founder and the “Chief Mechanic” (CEO) at the Venture Mechanics Startup Incubator, Ron Wiener first learned to fly general aviation aircraft in 1984. His first two startups were in the aviation industry, building avionics, flight simulators and a variety of other hardware and software products used across the aviation industry. In the first two companies nearly every single employee from the shipping clerks to the accountants were aviators. And in seven other technology companies he has created since then in diverse industries, Ron will elaborate on why he has always put candidates with aviation and/or military backgrounds at the top of the resume stack.
Not just a business veteran, Ron Higgs is a veteran, engineer, business executive, and published author. He has more than 25 years of experience in leadership, operations, engineering management, and program management. He has worked in several industries and held leadership positions in startups, small companies, and large corporations. As an Executive Coach and Strategic Business Advisor, Ron draws on his experience in naval aviation as a foundation for his expertise.
T.J. Kneale is an executive with 20+ years of experience, including product management ranging from consumer software to integrated hardware/software defense systems. He launched a consumer-facing EdTech SaaS startup from scratch, raising $2M and deploying consumer-facing mobile SaaS products. In the Navy, he began as a Naval Aviator & Test Pilot before leading product management for a $6B portfolio of software, avionics, and modeling & simulation products for the $300B F-35 enterprise. As the Head of Moonshot Launch at Telefónica, he conceived and launched a multi-player video game using ML-powered assessment of collaborative problem-solving. TJ’s aviation background laid a solid foundation for his business endeavors, and he’ll pass on some of the most relevant learning from his fighter pilot experience.
Doors open at 5pm, join early for more networking time. The on-stage portion begins at 6pm. Light dinner and drinks will be served. Stay for the afterparty and hangar flying.
Jul 16, 2025
Join us for this insightful evening where our speakers - all three highly experienced aviators and entrepreneurs - draw on lessons they learned from their flight training that helped them manage their fast-growing, fast-moving startup companies better.
With a combined 75 years in the cockpit, Ron Wiener, Ron Higgs and TJ Kneale have combined their perspectives from military and civilian flying to create this completely unique course for startup founders that you simply won't find elsewhere.
A 10x tech startup founder and the “Chief Mechanic” (CEO) at the Venture Mechanics Startup Incubator, Ron Wiener first learned to fly general aviation aircraft in 1984. His first two startups were in the aviation industry, building avionics, flight simulators and a variety of other hardware and software products used across the aviation industry. In the first two companies nearly every single employee from the shipping clerks to the accountants were aviators. And in seven other technology companies he has created since then in diverse industries, Ron will elaborate on why he has always put candidates with aviation and/or military backgrounds at the top of the resume stack.
Not just a business veteran, Ron Higgs is a veteran, engineer, business executive, and published author. He has more than 25 years of experience in leadership, operations, engineering management, and program management. He has worked in several industries and held leadership positions in startups, small companies, and large corporations. As an Executive Coach and Strategic Business Advisor, Ron draws on his experience in naval aviation as a foundation for his expertise.
T.J. Kneale is an executive with 20+ years of experience, including product management ranging from consumer software to integrated hardware/software defense systems. He launched a consumer-facing EdTech SaaS startup from scratch, raising $2M and deploying consumer-facing mobile SaaS products. In the Navy, he began as a Naval Aviator & Test Pilot before leading product management for a $6B portfolio of software, avionics, and modeling & simulation products for the $300B F-35 enterprise. As the Head of Moonshot Launch at Telefónica, he conceived and launched a multi-player video game using ML-powered assessment of collaborative problem-solving. TJ’s aviation background laid a solid foundation for his business endeavors, and he’ll pass on some of the most relevant learning from his fighter pilot experience.
Doors open at 5pm, join early for more networking time. The on-stage portion begins at 6pm. Light dinner and drinks will be served. Stay for the afterparty and hangar flying.
