CERAWeek Edition: Finding Partners & Landing Pilots (w/ Persona AI COO)
Houston Innovation Commons presents our third session!
CERAWeek brings thousands of energy leaders, investors, and corporate innovators to Houston. This session is for the people in that crowd who are actually trying to build something — and need the right partners to make it real.
Your pilot doesn’t launch alone. You need partners, suppliers, institutions, internal champions, and early believers. But how do you figure out who those people are, what they care about, and how to run the meeting so it turns into real next steps?
What's happening at this session:
Guest Speaker: Jide Akinyode, Co-founder & COO of Persona AI
Persona AI is a Houston-based startup building industrial-grade humanoid robots.
Before Persona, Jide spent a decade at NASA Johnson Space Center helping design humanoid systems, then served as VP of Engineering at Nauticus Robotics, taking products from concept to production and IPO. Along the way, he’s navigated partnerships across government agencies, industrial giants, and global investors.
Jide will walk us through stakeholder analysis — not as an academic exercise, but as a practical skill for anyone building something new.
What’s happening tonight
A tactical session focused on stakeholder strategy and partnership execution:
Short talk + stories from Jide
Interactive stakeholder mapping exercise
Live Q&A + “what should I ask in the meeting?” segment
Connect with other builders in Houston during CERAWeek
What You'll Leave With
How to identify the right partners + B2B customers
A practical way to map the stakeholders who can make or break your pilot.How to assess what stakeholders actually care about
Incentives, constraints, decision criteria, timelines, and what “value” means to them.How to execute the meeting (what to ask + how to qualify fit fast)
A repeatable question set so you can avoid weak “nice chats” and quickly find signal.How to turn meetings into next steps (and keep momentum)
How to walk out with a clear “yes no next,” what proof to gather, and how to secure the next step toward a pilot.
Who Should Attend
You're launching a pilot and figuring out who needs to be in the room
You're a founder or intrapreneur navigating corporate or institutional partnerships
You're in Houston for CERAWeek and want a session that's actually tactical
You're part of Houston's innovation ecosystem and want to connect with builders
No design experience required — just bring your questions and curiosity.
About Houston Innovation Commons
HIC is a community of practice for Houston innovators — a place to learn, build, and grow together. We believe the best way to strengthen an ecosystem is to work on real challenges, together, using proven methods.
Hosts
Ukeme Daniel — Designer & Co-founder, Houston Innovation Commons Andrew Baines — Co-founder, Houston Innovation Commons
Food & Drinks Provided