StandWatch Academy’s Innovation Builders Zoom Conference featured eight of the area's most dynamic young entrepreneurs as they presented their ideas to investors, peers, education leaders, and the larger business community.  As participants in StandWatch Academy’s i3 Entrepreneurship Program, most of the speakers come from areas that are often overlooked by investors and business leaders. Individually, these young men and women are amazing. Collectively, they represent a future where the state’s economy is transformed by a vibrant class of young entrepreneurs who see a brighter future for the Mountain State.

Times have certainly changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but one thing is certain: The heroic doctors, nurses, physicians assistants and the entire medical community will save America. But eventually, entrepreneurs – innovation builders – will have to rebuild America.

We have to start preparing innovation builders of small businesses like never before. The new world of successful entrepreneurs will not focus on creatively disrupting global markets. Post-pandemic entrepreneurs will disrupt the hopelessness, fear, and panic that COVID-19 will leave behind on main street. Restarting a bakery, restaurant, welding shop, or IT services company will be far more disruptive for most Americans than the person who builds the next Uber. The impact of entrepreneurship must shift from scaling-up to world markets to scaling-down to main street USA.

Entrepreneurship is now a trade skill. People who take risks in rebuilding America aren’t entrepreneurs any longer, they are builders. They are innovation builders.  And just like their great grandparents in the 1930’s WPA, they will reconstruct America, one business, one main street, and one town at a time.  Our task is to create as many of them as possible.

This special edition of 50 Pages is the audio taken directly from the Zoom video conference. The video is available on YouTube if you prefer to watch rather than listen.