Built Here: Founder Stories from the Innovation Ecosystem

Built Here is the launch conversation for the Sparq Speaker Series: a founder-centered fireside chat spotlighting growth-stage companies building in and around the Innovation Quarter ecosystem. The discussion is designed to surface practical founder lessons, local resource pathways, and the decisions that help companies move from idea to traction. Networking follows from 6:30-7:00 PM. Registration required.

Conner McCraw, MS is the Co-Founder and CEO of 9+1AI, where he leads commercial strategy for AI-powered cardiovascular diagnostics. The company's flagship technology, eBNP, estimates B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) from an electrocardiogram to enable noninvasive heart failure screening and has received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation. Before founding 9+1AI, Conner led Software as a Medical Device development at WHOOP, conducted ECG-AI research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the Wake Forest Center for Artificial Intelligence Research, and provided technical leadership for the Wake Forest EPICARE ECG Reading Core. With a background spanning digital health research, software engineering, and medical device development, he works with clinicians, health systems, and industry partners to translate AI-enabled cardiovascular diagnostics into clinical practice.

Ryan Schmaltz is an entrepreneur, technology executive, and CEO and Co-founder of Patient Ready, part of Ready AI, where he is building AI-powered simulation technology that helps organizations prepare their workforce for high-stakes moments. Based in Winston-Salem, Ryan has spent more than two decades building products and businesses at the forefront of emerging technologies, working across enterprise software, logistics, entertainment, healthcare, and intellectual property. Before founding Patient Ready, he held leadership roles at Uber, Microsoft, Adobe, Deloitte, and Blippar. Ryan earned his MBA from Johns Hopkins University. In 2026, Fast Company recognized Patient Ready as the #5 Most Innovative Company in Education. He believes the true potential of AI is not measured by what it replaces, but by what it enables people to become.

Q. Nicole is the Founder and CEO of WH Farms, a hemp biotech company focused on plant-based wellness, combining ancestral plant knowledge with modern science. With a background in international business and more than 20 years of experience in real estate, including oversight of $100 million+ in Class A commercial development in Washington, D.C., Nicole brings a strong builder’s mindset to entrepreneurship. Her work is shaped by personal experience with women’s health challenges and a commitment to creating premium, ethically crafted wellness products for people and pets. She brings a practical, mission-driven approach to consumer goods, plant-based wellness, representation, and building scalable businesses rooted in healing and economic opportunity.

Filip Rosander is CEO of Sigma Software Vertex, where he leads U.S. operations and helps organizations accelerate innovation through software engineering, AI, product development, and strategic consulting. With experience building and scaling engineering, consulting, and digital transformation teams across North America and Europe, Filip brings a practical, business-focused approach to helping companies turn ideas into scalable technology solutions. He is also the founder of Giveally and Giveauction, platforms that help nonprofits strengthen fundraising through donor engagement, auctions, grant support, and data-driven strategies. His work spans enterprise software, AI-driven solutions, digital transformation, nonprofit technology, and startup innovation, with a passion for helping organizations turn ambitious ideas into scalable and measurable results.