Book Tour + Fireside Chat at UF Innovate | The Hub

Join Professor Robert Blacklidge at UF Innovate | The Hub for an interactive fireside chat and author discussion on translating operational discipline into technical execution and founder resilience. Drawing on lessons from military service and enterprise IT leadership, this session explores practical strategies for taking decisive action, overcoming project inertia, and building lasting community impact.

Please register by noon on November 8th. 

About the book:

Off The Couch is the story of what happens when service becomes a habit instead of an assignment. It traces a path from the discipline of the United States Air Force to the messy, hopeful work of building startup ecosystems in places that were told they’d never have one.

Along the way, Robert unpacks the practical machinery of resilience: how to keep moving when the plan collapses, how to turn data and hard truths into better decisions, and how to build the kind of network that catches founders before they fall.

Part memoir, part playbook, this book is written for the person still sitting on the couch — the veteran in transition, the founder waiting for permission, the community leader wondering whether one person can move an entire ecosystem forward. The answer, gathered across hundreds of pitches, mentors, and midnight launches, is yes.

About our speaker:

Robert Blacklidge

Robert Blacklidge is an educator, technology strategist, and veteran with over twenty years of experience spanning military service, enterprise data architecture, and academic leadership. As a startup mentor and ecosystem builder, he has guided over 100 founders through venture validation and scaling.