Chris Houghtaling is the CEO of RaiseLink, a startup he conceptualized while experiencing what does and does not work in the global startup ecosystem. RaiseLink is designed to optimize operations by offering valuable data insights and a structured approach to processes with predictive, proactive, and personalized data insights for entrepreneurs and the organizations that work alongside them.
The idea was born while living in Vienna, Austria, where he became active in the startup ecosystem and started an international sales consulting and coaching firm for Global Fortune 200 clients. Chris was involved in the World Bank’s Pioneers of the Balkans, volunteered with international accelerators/incubators and event organizers, was CMO of a SaaS startup, expanded the European Super Angels Club across Europe, consulted with Innovation Consulting Companies, and was on several advisory boards.
Chris returned to the USA in 2018 with his wife and three daughters. He mentors at the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps, The Venture Mentoring Team, and veterans at FAU’s Adam’s Center of Innovation, among others. He is a Programming and Selection Committee member at the Alan B. Levan Center of Innovation at NSU.
Chris started in the corporate world (pharmaceuticals, technology, and travel & tourism) and earned a joint MBA in International Business from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business and the Executive Academy at the Business and Economics University of Vienna, Austria (WU-Wien). His undergraduate degree in Marketing is from the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business, and he served for six years in the Kentucky Army National Guard.
RaiseLink
CEO