SCN Las Vegas 2025

What if we could rewind time — armed with the wisdom we’ve earned through experience — and redesign the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the ground up? Hosted by Ryan Rubio of Zero Labs, this session, we flip the script and ask: If you knew then what you know now, how could we have crafted the ecosystem better for your success?

Join ecosystem builders and founders as they reflect on the pivotal moments, overlooked opportunities, and hard-earned lessons that have shaped their journeys.

What would our neighborhoods look like if we had centered community voices from the start? What partnerships would we prioritize? What projects would we pursue — or abandon — if we truly understood the long-term impact on local people and place?

Hosted by Heather Brown at Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, this session continues the “If We Ran It Back” theme, shifting the lens from founders to community-rooted development. Our panel brings together visionary leaders working at the intersection of history, policy, academia, and on-the-ground development.

Together, they'll explore what it takes to build community projects that aren’t just well-intentioned — but deeply effective. This conversation will unpack real case studies, missed opportunities, and bold ideas for how we can align people, place, and power in future development strategies.

Ecosystems don’t thrive on ambition alone — they grow through alignment, shared vision, and the power of collaboration across institutions, sectors, and communities. But what happens when the pieces don’t quite connect? If we could do it all over again, how would we work differently — together?
In the final session of our “If We Ran It Back” series, we turn our focus to placebuilders — the leaders shaping policy, programs, and partnerships at the regional level. Hosted by Shawna Wells, Legacy Specialist and Founder of 7Gen Legacy, this conversation will explore how we might reimagine collaboration to better support founders, elevate community priorities, and foster entrepreneurial success with intention.
Together, they’ll unpack the question: If we knew then what we know now — how could we have partnered better, moved faster, and built smarter to uplift entrepreneurs and communities alike?

What if we could redesign our regional economic strategies knowing what we know now? In this dynamic panel, we’ll flip the script on traditional models of institutional support for startups and small businesses. Join leaders from across the country as they reflect on how universities, government agencies, and innovation hubs have historically supported founders—and how those systems could evolve to better serve diverse entrepreneurial communities.

This conversation invites you to view community and economic development through an institutional infrastructure lens. From funding flows and success metrics to partnerships and policy, we'll explore what we might do differently if given the chance to start again. Together, let’s reverse engineer the future of ecosystem design—one that’s more inclusive, adaptive, and aligned with founder realities

What does it mean to build a legacy in a state as diverse as Nevada? This conversation, hosted by Shawna Wells of 7Gen Legacy, explores how cultural identity, historical context, and intergenerational thinking shape the way we invest in the future. Panelists will share how their work in economic development, education, and community empowerment is rooted in legacy-building—intentionally creating the conditions for the next generation to thrive.
Together, we’ll examine the intersection of personal purpose and collective progress, asking: How do we ensure our systems, institutions, and initiatives reflect the richness of Nevada’s people? And how can we make legacy-building not just a personal mission, but a shared strategy for regional success?
This session invites placebuilders, community leaders, and ecosystem builders to reflect on their own role in shaping a more inclusive and enduring vision for Nevada’s entrepreneurial and civic future.

Small business owners and founders across Nevada often ask the same question: Where do I go to find the support I need to grow? The answer is here.
Join us for a dynamic resource panel unveiling the Nevada Business Hub powered by EcoMap—a brand new digital platform designed to make navigating Nevada’s business ecosystems easier, smarter, and more accessible. This session will dive into how the platform works, what resources it connects to, and how it’s being built in collaboration with ecosystem leaders to serve entrepreneurs statewide.
Panelists from EDAWN, Nevada SBDC, Make Startups, and EcoMap will share insights into the challenges founders face when seeking support, what it takes to map a diverse and decentralized ecosystem, and how this hub is streamlining connections to capital, mentorship, space, services, and more.