Nevada is putting real capital behind founders, manufacturers, builders, and companies ready to scale.

In this episode of American Dream Factory, Nick Smoot sits down with Kyle Ferguson, head of Nevada’s Battle Born Growth Escalator venture program, to unpack how Nevada is deploying nearly $40 million into high-potential companies through venture capital, debt programs, and state-backed financing tools.

Kyle is a sixth-generation Nevadan with a background in hedge funds, private equity, fund operations, and entrepreneurship. Early in his career, he helped evaluate and allocate capital into some of the most successful hedge funds in the world, including Renaissance, D.E. Shaw, and Paul Tudor Jones. That experience shaped how he now thinks about risk, discipline, patience, and backing great operators.

Battle Born is not a grant program. It is investment capital for companies that want to grow in Nevada, hire in Nevada, build in Nevada, or relocate meaningful operations to the state.

Through the SSBCI program, Nevada was allocated up to $112 million from the U.S. Treasury, released in tranches as the state hits deployment milestones. After deploying roughly $40 million over its first 10 to 11 years, Battle Born is now moving faster, with another nearly $40 million expected to go into the market over a much shorter window.

Kyle breaks down the three major ways Battle Born can support companies:

Venture capital: equity investments typically ranging from $250,000 to $2 million, with an average check around $750,000.

Collateral support: state support for up to 80 percent of collateral on qualifying bank loans.

Loan participation: Battle Born can participate alongside Nevada banks to lower the blended cost of capital for companies seeking debt.

Nick and Kyle also discuss why Nevada is becoming one of the most compelling states in America for founders. The state has favorable tax policy, room for manufacturing, major industrial momentum, a growing AI and data center economy, and a strong builder culture rooted in mining, logistics, energy, construction, and hard work.

The conversation covers major opportunity areas including advanced manufacturing, energy, batteries, robotics, drone systems, defense technology, industrial AI, aerospace, precision manufacturing, and companies looking to leave higher-cost states.

This episode also introduces the partnership between Battle Born and Build Cities through the Build Nevada network. Founders can now explore challenge areas, submit projects, connect with other builders, and use UDAYOS, Build’s AI engine, to discover capital, collaborators, workforce resources, and state-aligned opportunities.

The message is simple: if you are building a serious company and Nevada could be part of your future, do not sit on the sidelines. Get into the Build Nevada network, submit your project, ask questions, and start the conversation.

Nevada is not just talking about the American Dream. It is writing checks to help build it.

Start here: Go to BuildCities.com, search Build Nevada, and explore the Battle Born challenge opportunities.

For questions, introductions, or help figuring out where your company fits, email [email protected] .

In this episode, Nick & Joe sit down with John Keisler, CEO of Sunstone Management and former Economic Development Director for the City of Long Beach, for a conversation about public-private partnerships, civic expertise, investment, and what it really takes to build stronger communities.

John brings a rare perspective from both sides of the table. He spent more than 20 years in public service before moving into the private sector, where he now helps connect capital, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, and community.

The conversation explores the power of P3s, why government often serves as a market maker, and how private capital can align with public purpose. John also shares a simple but powerful lesson for cities: know what you are if you want to grow who you are.

At its core, this episode is about how government, capital, and community can work together to build places where people belong, contribute, and create the future.

About John Keisler
John P. Keisler is CEO & Managing Partner of Sunstone Management, a Southern California venture capital firm that invests in diverse early-stage technology startups through public-private partnerships across government, education, and private sectors. Before joining Sunstone, John spent more than 20 years in public service, most recently as Economic Development Director for the City of Long Beach. His work has focused on inclusive economic growth, private-sector investment, entrepreneurial ecosystem development, infrastructure, and community-building strategy.

Links
Sunstone Management: https://www.sunstoneinvestment.com
Sunstone Cities: https://sunstonecities.com
John Keisler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpkeisler/

In this episode of American Dream Factory, Nick Smoot sits down with Morgan Dixon, a 24-year-old PhD student in artificial intelligence and machine learning at the University of Idaho.

Morgan represents a rare but replicable archetype: a young man preparing to launch into the world with technical competence, grounded character, and calm confidence. While many of his peers feel uncertain about the future of work, Morgan is building inside it. He works as a consulting data scientist and software engineer, contributing to healthcare and behavioral health systems, including AI-driven modernization efforts connected to state-level crisis infrastructure.

This conversation is not about hype. It is about formation.

It is about how young men develop direction in an era of automation, distraction, and drift.

What This Episode Covers:

The Launch Path

Morgan shares how his path was shaped by:

• Early entrepreneurship in his teens

• Dual enrollment in high school

• Pivoting degrees after academic setbacks

• Walking resumes door-to-door in Seattle

• Working full-time while pursuing graduate studies

His story reinforces a simple truth: initiative compounds.

Proof of Work Over Credentials

A degree is common. Proof of execution is rare.

Morgan explains why many computer science graduates are struggling and why building real projects, writing models, and demonstrating competence now matter more than ever. In a world where AI lowers the barrier to entry, differentiation requires depth, discipline, and visible output.

AI Is Changing the Shape of Opportunity

The conversation explores:

• How AI has democratized software development

• Why domain expertise now matters more than surface coding ability

• Why Morgan is exploring hardware and security-heavy industries

• What he has learned from working inside healthcare data and reimbursement systems

Innovation follows incentives. Understanding those incentives creates leverage.

Healthcare and Government as Builder Environments

Morgan offers insight into working within healthcare and state systems:

• Data fragmentation and interoperability challenges

• Billing structures that shape innovation

• The need for simplicity in behavioral health and remote monitoring

• The patience required to work in public infrastructure

These are complex systems that reward serious builders.

Raising Men Who Build

Nick asks a direct question:

“What should I do so my kid’s not a turd?”

Morgan’s answer is direct:

Send them into the real world.

Have them job shadow.

Let them see real work.

Expose them to adults who build and solve problems.

Direction comes from exposure. Confidence comes from competence. Drift comes from isolation.

Key Takeaways

For young men:

• Stop waiting. Go build something.

• Meet people in person. Initiative creates luck.

• Develop technical depth and real-world exposure.

• Do hard things before you feel ready.

For parents:

• Exposure beats lectures.

• Responsibility builds identity.

• Encourage initiative, not comfort.

In an era where machines are accelerating and many young people feel unmoored, this episode offers a grounded alternative: calm confidence, technical competence, and the discipline to build.

Learn more at buildcities.com or Morgan Dixon

Nick Smoot sits down with Doug Erwin, the entrepreneurship lead at EDAWN in Northern Nevada, for a wide-ranging, high-energy conversation about two things happening at once:

1. AI is moving from “chat” to “do.” Agents are booking meetings, running workflows, and changing the cost and speed of building.

2. Reno is quietly turning into a real startup boomtown. And EDAWN is literally putting money behind the people who want to strengthen the ecosystem.

The punchline: Doug’s team has a grant program called BESTI that funds community-led events, meetups, and builder gatherings. Nick shows how to submit an idea through BuildCities.com by linking a project to the BESTI challenge.

What BESTIE Is (in plain English)

BESTI = EDAWN money to help you host ecosystem-building events.

Not top-down programming. Not “EDAWN's event.” It’s community-led.

• Typical awards: around $1,000

• Larger requests: up to $5,000

• Purpose: reduce friction, validate community leaders, and get more builders in the room together

Examples they want to fund: founder meetups, workshops, pitch nights, Startup Weekend, niche communities (AI, art, games, hardware), and simple gatherings that create collisions.

Why This Matters Right Now

Doug and Nick both make the same point in different language: the future is not coming. It is here.

AI is turning into an “autonomous assistant” era, which means anyone can build faster than ever. That is awesome. It is also chaotic. The communities that win will be the ones that create places for people to:

• meet consistently

• learn together

• get unstuck

• build real things people actually want

Nick’s frame: we’re splitting into two worlds.

• World A: amuse-yourself-to-death consumption

• World B: disciplined creation with friends

BESTI is a lever to help people choose World B.

The Best Stuff Doug Says

• Ecosystems are rainforests, not row crops. They need culture, collisions, and long-term consistency.

• The role of economic development is often to be the “ghost in the machine.” Reduce friction so the community can lead.

• BESTIE is partly funding, partly social validation. Sometimes people just need permission and support to lead.

The Best Stuff Nick Says

• If you want to run an event, do three, not one. Your first one will be awkward. Your third one will have momentum.

• The real shift is from consumption-based social life (restaurants, concerts) to creation-based social life (build nights, learning nights, show-and-tell).

• The winning community model is Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver. Gather people through those phases so building becomes a rhythm.

Reno’s “Wait, What?” Moment

Doug teases a big local milestone: Reno’s first homegrown unicorn announcement is imminent.

Nick uses it as a reminder: “overnight success” is usually two years plus a lifetime of experience, relationships, and timing

How to Apply for BESTIE (simple steps)

1. Go to BuildCities.com

2. Create a profile

3. Create a Project for your event idea (name it, describe it, add collaborators)

4. Search BESTIE and link your project to the challenge

5. EDAWN gets notified, and you are in the pipeline

Nick’s advice: keep it low lift. BBQ + builder conversation is valid. Pizza and folding chairs counts if the room is full of creators.

Talked About in the Episode

• Brad Feld and the “entrepreneurs lead” thesis

• Better ecosystem thinking

• AI agents, MCP, automation, and the new workflow era

• Startup Weekend as a proven collision engine

• The deeper reason communities matter: loneliness, purpose, belonging, and getting unstuck

Guest and Contact

Doug Erwin

Director of Entrepreneurship, EDAWN (Economic Development Association of Western Nevada)

Nick Smoot

Email: [email protected]

In this solo episode of the American Dream Factory podcast, Nick Smoot explores a simple but powerful idea that keeps people stuck. Waiting.

Waiting for permission.

Waiting for perfection.

Waiting for someone else to go first.

Nick shares a personal story about solving a ridiculous traffic problem with a bucket of yellow paint and a little courage, and how that small act quietly changed behavior for hundreds of people and eventually the city itself.

This episode is a reminder that cities do not change because of committees alone. They change when ordinary people take responsibility for the problems they see and act on them.

If you feel lonely, disconnected, or frustrated with your city, this conversation is for you.

• Why waiting for permission keeps cities stagnant

• How perfection becomes an excuse to avoid meaningful action

• A real story of grassroots problem-solving that actually worked

• Why no one will ever invite you to build the world you see

• Taking responsibility for the chaos you notice around you

• Creating beauty, value, and order through small actions

• Why community begins with initiative, not authority

You do not need permission to care about your city.

You do not need perfection to get started.

The gap between the life you want and the impact you could have is often one small action.

Nick also shares how Build helps people take action together. Build is a community platform where you can:

• Post projects you are working on

• Share challenges your city needs solved

• Create events and third-place hubs

• List skills you want to learn or contribute

• Get introduced to people nearby through AI-powered matching

Learn more at buildcities.com

Nick invites listeners to the upcoming Build Summit on January 16–17, featuring two legendary mentors:

Flint Dille

World-builder, storyteller, and creator behind iconic universes including work with Steven Spielberg, Pokémon Go, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Chronicles of Riddick. Flint will lead a workshop on world building, games, and creative storytelling.

Amish Patel

Inventor, technologist, and venture builder whose work includes the Xbox controller, smartwatch sensor technology, and advanced robotic surgery systems. Amish will teach a workshop on venture capital and what is investable in 2026.

The summit includes workshops, fireside chats, pitch sessions, community-voted micro-grants, and time to connect with builders working on real projects.

• Website: buildcities.com

• Email Nick: [email protected]

If this episode resonated, subscribe, share it with someone who needs encouragement, and take one small action this week that creates beauty and value in your city.

The world does not need more spectators.

It needs builders.

If this episode resonated, subscribe, share it with someone who needs encouragement, and take one small action this week that creates beauty and value in your city.

The world does not need more spectators.

It needs builders.

America is running out of workers and time. The baby boomers are retiring, birth rates are collapsing, and colleges are struggling to prove their value. In the middle of that chaos, a new movement is forming built on skills, not degrees.

In this episode of The American Dream Factory, hosts Nick Smoot and Joseph Toney talk with Josh Wright, Head of Growth and Partnerships at Lightcast, one of the world’s top labor market data firms. Together they explore a defining question for America’s next chapter: can the nation rebuild its workforce fast enough to handle the coming labor storm?

Josh, a former journalist turned data storyteller, shares insights from Lightcast’s Rising Storm report, revealing how demographics, education gaps, and untapped human potential are reshaping the labor market. The conversation moves from workforce data to civic purpose, showing how cities, schools, and employers can realign around skills and human creativity instead of outdated systems.

This is more than an economic discussion. It is a moral one about how we value people, purpose, and contribution in the next American century.

The Great Workforce Reckoning

Baby boomers are aging out while the next generation is smaller and slower to engage. Labor shortages are hitting manufacturing, healthcare, trades, and public works hardest. America’s talent pool is shrinking, and the gap between open roles and available skills is growing.

Degrees Are Losing Their Power

A four-year degree no longer guarantees opportunity. Employers are shifting toward skills-based hiring, yet systems for verifying skills are still forming. Parents remain one of the biggest barriers, pushing children toward traditional degrees even as the trades and new credentials gain traction.

Data as Civic Infrastructure

Lightcast’s 34,000-skill taxonomy shows which abilities matter most right now and where. When data flows between educators, employers, and governments, cities thrive. Without shared data, everyone is guessing and losing.

The Hidden Workforce

Millions of Americans already have valuable but invisible skills. Unlocking that hidden capacity can fill jobs, drive innovation, and rebuild civic pride. Cities that activate this potential will outcompete those that do not.

The Moral Imperative of Work

Work is not only about money. It is about meaning, belonging, and participation. The Skills Revolution is the path to restoring human purpose in an automated world.

• The Demographic Drought series and its warning for U.S. labor markets

• The decline of degree-based hiring and rise of digital credentials

• How cities can use data to align workforce pipelines

• Immigration’s impact on the workforce crisis

• The role of parents, perception, and pride in shaping the next generation of workers

• Real examples from Greensboro, North Carolina and Fargo, North Dakota showing how data builds resilient cities

“You cannot separate skills from the individual, their learning, and their lived experience.” — Josh Wright

“The data does not solve the problem. People do. But the right data helps people take better action.” — Josh Wright

“There is a missing dataset, the skills people already have but no one can see. That is the next frontier for cities.” — Nick Smoot

• Lightcast — Global leader in workforce and labor market data

• The Rising Storm report — Insights on the demographic labor crisis

• Guest: Josh Wright, Head of Growth and Partnerships, Lightcast

• Hosts: Nick Smoot and Joseph Toney

• Learn more at AmericanDreamFactory.com or email [email protected]

In this episode of The American Dream Factory, hosts Nick Smoot and Joseph Toney sit down with creative veteran Lee Davis, founder of Clean, a Raleigh-based agency known for its soulful approach to branding. Lee’s three-decade journey spans legendary firms like Wieden+Kennedy and J&J, giving him a rare vantage point on how brands—and cities—can rediscover their essence.

Together, the trio unpacks what it means to build belonging in an age of isolation. Lee reflects on how communities lose their identity when they chase growth without soul, and why cities need to stop marketing for tourists and start engaging their residents. From Raleigh’s “City of Oaks” to Durham’s bold “Marry Durham” campaign, they explore how design, storytelling, and community behavior can transform a place into something people feel.

Key Themes:

• The difference between brand and marketing—and why cities often get both wrong

• Why it’s okay to “offend” people in branding—and why not every city can (or should) be for everyone

• The hidden cost of moving from the front porch to the backyard

• How sports, design, and shared storytelling can rebuild civic pride

• The spiritual side of place-making—and how “we” must matter more than “me”

Takeaways:

• Great cities, like great brands, are built on truth and tension, not slogans.

• The best marketers for your city are its residents—if you give them something to believe in.

• Growth without identity breaks community; design for the people who already live there first.

Learn More:

Follow Lee and his team at Clean Agency and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Join the American Dream Factory community at AmericanDreamFactory.com for updates, live events, and tools for city leaders and builders.

In this episode of American Dream Factory, Nick and Joe sit down with two transformative leaders in the world of politics, community, media, and capitalism:

• Matthew Barzun – Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. & Sweden, bestselling author of The Power of Giving Away Power, and architect of “constellation thinking.”

• Seth Levine – Venture capitalist, co-founder of Foundry ($4B under management), and co-author of The New Builders, with a new book Capital Evolution releasing December 2025.

Together, they explore what it will take to reboot the American Dream in an era where trust in institutions is collapsing, cities are strained, and communities are hungry for new ways of working together.

Join our community of city leaders at AmericanDreamFactory.com and learn how to get the city building tool, BuildCities.com for free.

Chapters

Chapters

00:00 The American Dream: A Shared Vision

09:22 The Role of Venture Capital in Empowering Entrepreneurs

12:12 Meritocracy and Economic Mobility

15:11 Populism and the American Dream

21:12 Collaboration vs. Competition in Governance

24:02 Reimagining Capitalism for the Future

26:59 Local Businesses and Community Development

35:17 Navigating Local Government Regulations

37:25 Community Engagement and Overcoming Barriers

39:11 The Interdependence of Community and Economy

44:07 Building Trust Through Collaborative Efforts

44:45 The Role of Local Government in Community Dynamics

50:20 Creating a Culture of Open Dialogue

55:01 The Power of Shared Vision in Community Development

01:04:02 Bridging the Political Divide

01:04:54 The Importance of Deliberate Processes

01:09:51 The Role of Community in Decision Making

01:14:55 Navigating Future Paths

01:20:37 Creating a Collaborative Future

01:26:16 Building a Community of Leaders

If you have future guests you'd like us to interview, email us at [email protected]

In this episode Nick Smoot sits down with Ernesto Sirolli of the Sirolli Institute.

Chapters

09:42 Engagement with the Community

26:00 Lessons from International Aid

42:36 The Joy of Helping Others

46:24 Building Community Through Collaboration

56:21 The Importance of Passion in Business

01:00:22 The Role of Cooperatives in Society

01:06:08 The Nature of Entrepreneurship

01:08:57 The Debate of Nature vs. Nurture in Development

01:12:03 The Role of Pain and Love in Growth

01:13:50 The Importance of Community Participation

01:15:24 Finding Passion and Purpose in Work

01:17:46 Creating Value and Beauty in the World

01:19:08 The Journey from Idea to Market

01:19:57 The Sacred Act of Creation

01:21:00 Unlocking Social Capital for Community Growth

01:23:59 Measuring Community Prosperity through Social Capital

01:25:42 The Role of Frameworks in Economic Development

01:27:56 Indicators of Community Success

01:32:41 Enlightened Capitalism and Community Transformation

01:35:09 The Unexpected Beauty of Human Potential

01:38:10 The Importance of Digital Infrastructure

01:39:57 Empowering Communities for the Future

What does it take to lead a city when everything is on fire... literally and figuratively?

In this episode, Nick Smoot sits down with longtime friend and civic leader Joe Toney, who has spent nearly two decades inside city government, including serving as City Manager of Malibu during the recent catastrophic wildfires.

Together, they dive deep into what’s breaking modern cities—and what might still save them.

From AI and remote work to affordability, isolation, and polarization, cities today are struggling under a storm of converging forces. Joe offers a rare inside look at the emotional, operational, and political pressure of managing a city during crisis, while Nick challenges what’s possible for the future of work, belonging, and civic life.

What You’ll Learn:

– What really happens behind the scenes when a city is in disaster

– Why cities can’t pivot fast—and what that costs

– The emotional toll of being “number two” in civic leadership

– Why purpose and community might be the best mental health infrastructure

– How policy and entrepreneurship could align to rebuild social fabric

– Whether AI, ambition, and affordability will break cities—or make them better

Who It’s For:

– City and civic leaders

– Entrepreneurs, policy makers, and reformers

– Anyone who cares about community, belonging, or the future of work

– People trying to lead something hard, in a time of instability

Quote Highlights:

“Running a city today is like steering a ship through a hurricane while everyone on board argues about the map.”“Belonging isn’t a luxury. It’s infrastructure.”“We expect city leaders to fix everything, fast, but they’re operating inside decades of decisions that weren’t built for now.”