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]