Bryton Praslicka ’19 started his career learning to engage and excite a crowd as a superhero entertainer. Flash forward to today, Bryton is the CEO of his own company, Fluxworks, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree.
He’s had quite a few adventures in between, full of hard work, exciting opportunities and risk. Throughout it all, he attributes his success to a handful of Texas A&M University engineering professors, an entrepreneurial attitude and his faith.
Receiving His Superpowers
Bryton is a down-to-earth guy with big ambitions. Raised in a modest family, with parents who earn a living using their hands, he planned to join the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets to earn scholarships — until one email led to a full-ride opportunity with the Terry Scholarship. That award let him focus entirely on engineering. Surrounded by role models and like-minded peers, he began to excel.
Throughout his college career, Bryton met a handful of keystone professors who influenced his life. One of them, Dr. Le Xie, set Bryton’s eyes on the world beyond America.
“I remember he looked at me and told me, ‘You’re going to work the rest of your life; you should study abroad.’ And that was really stunning to me,” Bryton recounted.
Setting out on the adventure of a lifetime, Bryton made the most of his time abroad, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures — and accidentally becoming friends with a foreign prince.
“When I was in Qatar during my first semester abroad, a prince, Sheikh Faisal, came to campus one day. He spoke only Arabic, but I wanted to get a picture with him. Someone taught me how to say, ‘It’s an honor to meet you; can we take a photo?’ in Arabic. I probably botched it, so he was very confused, but he still posed with me, shaking my hand,” Bryton said.
Bryton later visited a museum dedicated to this prince and received a tour of a lifetime. Some confusion over that photo made its way into the media: Bryton was thought to be friends with Sheikh Faisal, so he received special treatment at the museum. Luckily, no harm was done, though Bryton never saw the prince again.
Up, Up and Away
Back from his journey abroad and learning more in Aggieland, Bryton took a course — ECEN 442/742 Course Title: DSP-Based Electromechanical Motion Control — that, once again, changed his life. That course halted all his post-grad job applications and sent him to Barnes & Noble to grab a book and study for the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). Deciding to halt his job search and register for the GRE the following week was a quick and incredibly risky decision, but Bryton prayed and found the path to his future.
Drawing on skills he learned portraying Spider-Man at children’s parties and communication with people of diverse backgrounds — learned from his study abroad and subsequent travels — Bryton’s intercommunication abilities helped him excel at writing grants and proposals. Eventually, he got a call that made him switch gears once more, now from Ph.D. student to CEO.
“I got a call from a CEO — he dialed my personal cell phone — and asked, ‘Do you do consulting?’ I said, ‘I do now.’ Then he asked, ‘What’s your rate?’ I said what I thought to be a higher than reasonable rate…and he didn’t negotiate.”
That’s when the idea for FluxWorks was born.
FluxWorks is a company that builds high-tech mechanical parts using magnets instead of traditional gears. Their parts are used in machines for both everyday and advanced applications. Whether it's for powerful equipment or devices that need to run quietly and efficiently, FluxWorks’ magnetic gear systems are built to deliver top performance without cutting corners.
Bryton Praslicka, who completed a Ph.D. in electrical and electronics engineering at Texas A&M University, is the founder of FluxWorks, which makes magnetic gears that are quieter and more efficient than traditional gears. The Conroe, Texas-based startup, expects $1.8 million in revenue this year from customers that include Anduril, the U.S. Army and NASA. FluxWorks has contracts for four of its gears to be used on the International Space Station where they will be tested in zero-gravity conditions.
According to the FluxWorks website, “Bryton dreamed of creating a company as impactful and disruptive as Tesla, but with a culture where people are the most important asset and values aren't just words on a website. He has a Ph.D. in magnetic gears, eight pending patents, and 11 published papers, but has generally stepped back from technology and fully embraced his leadership role as FluxWorks Founder and CEO.”
Now well-established in his career, Bryton continues to make waves and embark on new adventures. Today, he is a 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in manufacturing and industry.
Below is how Forbes described Bryton in the 30 Under 30 feature.
“Bryton Praslicka, who completed a Ph.D. in electrical and electronics engineering at Texas A&M University, is the founder of FluxWorks, which makes magnetic gears that are quieter and more efficient than traditional gears. The Conroe, Texas-based startup, expects $1.8 million in revenue this year from customers that include Anduril, the U.S. Army and NASA. FluxWorks has contracts for four of its gears to be used on the International Space Station where they will be tested in zero-gravity conditions.”
Though this success is monumental, Bryton attributes his greatest accomplishment to helping others find their faith and instilling confidence in young minds. Bryton encourages current Aggie engineers to take advantage of the opportunities that come from professors, organizations and believing in their abilities.
“Don’t wait until you're interviewing for jobs your senior year to figure out what you do and don't like,” he said.
Texas A&M has the resources to allow students to learn about their interests and excel in the paths they wish to take. These opportunities drove Bryton to where he is today, and he wants to share this with other Aggie engineers so they can reach their goals as well.