Agents of Innovation

Harold Hughes is the founder & CEO of Bandwagon, a South Carolina-based experience technology company. Under his leadership, Bandwagon has raised more than $3M in venture capital and successfully acquired IdealSeat, Inc. in 2020. Harold has had his ideas validated as a graduate of the Founder Institute Accelerator (and now serves as Director for their Austin chapter), one of the inaugural companies in Google for Startups Black Founders Exchange Program, and most recently, the inaugural cohort of the IBM Blockchain Accelerator in 2019. A man of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Harold is actively involved in his community, participating on the Board of Directors for BEAM, a non-profit that focuses on the advancement of women entrepreneurs as they grow their companies as well as a founding team member of Amass, an end-to-end wealth building platform for Black Americans. To that end, Harold is also an active angel investor, investing in women, people of color, and Black founder-led companies. Most notably, he has invested in Partake Foods, the Jay-Z-backed CPG company making allergy-friendly snacks, as well as companies like Goodr, Chipper, Journey Foods, Republic, and Stix. Harold is a graduate of Clemson University, where he received Bachelor’s degrees in both Economics (B.A.) and Political Science (B.A.). As a “Triple Tiger”, he also completed his MBA at Clemson before pursuing a graduate certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Stanford University. Harold is the author of "A Kids Book About Blockchain." He was our guest on Episode 136 of the Agents of Innovation podcast, filmed and recorded at the 40th Annual Miami Book Fair, on November 19, 2023. This can also be viewed on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/3QlX_ch7DtY You can learn more about Harold Hughes at: https://bandwagonfanclub.com/team/harold-hughes/ Find his new book at: https://amzn.to/4azCnqC Learn more about the Miami Book Fair at: https://www.miamibookfair.com Follow the Agents of Innovation podcast on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgentsOfInnovationPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovationradio/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/agentinnovation You can support this podcast and our Fearless Journeys community on our Patreon account: www.patreon.com/fearlessjourneys You can also join our network through the Fearless Journeys community at: https://www.fearlessjourneys.org/