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Capitalists Capitalism for

: The 250th Anniversary of Capitalism

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Principled Investing: Doing Good by Doing Well Defending Capitalism: How to Communicate Its Value and Answer Its Critics Powered by

December 2025

TABLE OF CONTENT 4

Tim Draper’s Case on Capitalism, From Seoul to Satoshi

Funding Freedom: Working with Values-Aligned Investors

Responsible Innovation: AI and Ethics in the Age of Misinformation

The New Era of Investing: Aerospace and Defense

Freedom to Compete: How Capitalism Built XX-XY Athletics

AI, Public Affairs, and the Power to Persuade

Bitcoin & The Future of Economic Freedom

Joe De Sena’s playbook for staying hungry

Capitalism as Soulcraft

Digital Backbone of Freedom

Talking About Money Before It Speaks for You

Brock Pierce on Money, Markets, and Responsibility

Moving Markets Beyond Fear

From a cell block to C-suite: what Michelle Cirocco told business leaders about second chances

Give Now, Grow Better

Defending Capitalism: How to Communicate Its Value and Answer Its Critics

A Recognition of Leaders Advancing the Principles of Capitalism

Network Updates

What Diogo Costa Reminded Us at the Atlas Liberty Forum

Arterra’s Breakout Win at the Principled Business Summit Pitch Competition

250 Years of Capitalism

As we wrap up 2025 and prepare for 2026, it’s worth reflecting on where we’ve come from and where we’re going in this movement of Capitalists for Capitalism. 2025 was dominated by 3 key trends in the movement. First, an embrace of the term capitalism again. We saw more business leaders become interested in being supportive of capitalism than in recent history. Not just big names like Elon Musk, but many others who aren’t ever present on social media or covered by traditional media. That’s how the network has grown to over 25,000 this year. Second, a desire to do more than just build a business - rather, to build the movement. Of course, every businessperson wants their investment, their company, or their startup to succeed; however, we’ve heard from so many more leaders this year that focusing on the finances can be a poor strategy to achieve those, and this makes sense. Focusing instead on living out the principles of capitalism and pursuing a higher purpose leads to financial results, and connecting the work of an individual business to the purpose of advancing capitalism leads to that business succeeding. Third, relationship-building leading to business success. We have seen investments, partnerships, new businesses, and collaborations come out of this network that we never expected. Keeping too tight a control on facilitating connections and business opportunities slows down the growth of a network. So, in looking forward to 2026, we are going to amplify these trends with 3 key tactics across the movement:

FROM THE EDITOR

First, we are going to tell more stories of business leaders living out the principles of capitalism, not just in our own media channels, but in social media and traditional media. Second, we are turning over the network to members. We have had many volunteers take lead on committees and projects already, and so, we will empower you all to do more of that. Third, we are going to increase communication between members so you can connect with others to do more. Through more updates, new platforms and apps, and of course, more events ranging from small summits to dinners, and to pitch competitions. This movement of capitalists for capitalism is growing, and you are at the forefront of it. I cannot thank you enough for all that you are doing.

Founder & CEO, Liberty Ventures

Tim Draper’s Case on Capitalism, From Seoul to Satoshi Written by: Camilla McCobin oining the Principled Business Summit in New York by

From there, Tim broadened the lens to leadership. He

Zoom, veteran venture capitalist Tim Draper came with

argued that the weakest leaders cling to control, while

a blunt thesis: modern prosperity is built on the

the strongest set direction, establish rules, then let

freedom to make deals, to own property, and to trade

people operate. He held up Singapore’s transformation

value without asking permission. He framed capitalism

as a case of a country becoming dramatically richer

less as ideology than as a practical system for widening

under a free market approach, then moved to China as a

opportunity, then spent the rest of his talk stacking

cautionary arc: Mao’s era as an economic dead end,

evidence, analogies, and lived investing experience

Deng’s loosening as the spark for decades of rapid

behind that claim.

growth, and Xi as a return to command instincts that, in Tim’s view, flattens momentum. Russia, he added,

Tim’s cleanest proof point was Korea. He described the

functions economically largely because of oil rather than

division that followed the war and the decades in which

because its political model nurtures broad-based

North and South developed on separate tracks, with

enterprise, and he portrayed Putin’s governing style as

little movement across the DMZ border. In his telling,

another example of control replacing trust.

the results are measurable in both income and health: he cited South Koreans earning hundreds of times more

To explain why capitalism works, Tim kept returning to

than their northern neighbors when adjusting for

trade as a positive-sum engine. He reached for a fantasy

purchasing power, alongside a striking height gap that

football analogy, the kind investors use when they want

shows up in average stature. The point was not subtle:

to make an abstract point feel like a kitchen-table

systems that block exchange and private ownership

decision: one manager has excess at one position,

tend to produce scarcity that shows up in bodies as

another has excess elsewhere, and swapping makes

well as bank accounts.

both teams better.

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That same logic scales up to real goods, he said, even when direct barter is awkward. If one person has a cow and another has oranges, you need a medium that makes exchange easier, more liquid, and more reliable. That set up his favorite bridge to the present: money evolves when the world finds a better way to record value and transfer it. Tim walked through a progression from barter to early tokens, then to gold, then to claims on gold, then to government-backed currency. Each step increased liquidity, which in turn expanded the amount of commerce people could do. In his view, Bitcoin is the next leap because blockchains keep “perfect records” and enable trade without a bank or a state acting as the trusted intermediary. He described Bitcoin’s

maturation

from

speculation

toward

insurance, and ultimately toward becoming a dominant store of value, a shift he connected to the way networks become more valuable as they grow. Once the macro case was on the table, Tim turned to what the room likely expected from him: the role of venture capital inside capitalism. Venture funding, he said, does 2 core things. It nudges would-be founders to take the leap, and it gives those founders the early

seed-level investments in Tesla and SpaceX as proof

resources to hire, build, and move faster than

that improbable visions can compound into enormous

bootstrapping would allow. Tim also stressed that the

enterprises. He also highlighted how ambitious targets

arc is long. The companies the world calls “overnight

can create unexpected spinoffs, crediting Elon’s Mars

successes” often take well over a decade to become

fixation as a forcing function that produced Starlink,

what people recognize as category leaders.

which Tim described as a meaningful upgrade to global connectivity. The through line was consistent: bold

He made the argument personal, tying it to family

founders articulate a destination, then iterate through

history and to the economic metamorphosis he

obstacles until new markets appear along the way.

watched in Northern California. Tim described Silicon Valley’s shift from orchards to a dense ecosystem

Tim closed with advice that matched his own pattern

obsessed with improving customer life. He contrasted

recognition. For investors, he said his best outcomes

that culture with negotiation mindsets he associates

came from bold decisions made when the upside was

with older financial centers, where a deal can feel like

transformative, while his worst came from defensive

someone must lose. In his version of the Valley’s best

moves focused on preserving capital. For founders, he

self, product teams and backers chase outcomes

urged action and emotional resilience. He argued that

where customers win and businesses win, and the

failure should not become identity. He even pulled in a

wealth follows as a byproduct.

family vignette, recalling his grandson Phoenix running for school office and brushing off the risk of losing with a

The credibility of the talk rested on Tim’s references to

simple line ‘at least he tried’. Tim’s wrap-up landed

specific bets. He pointed to backing Hotmail and Skype

where he began, with faith in free people doing voluntary

as examples of products that spread because they

exchange, and with a warning about what happens when

delivered obvious value, then cited -

societies replace trust with control.

Capitalists for Capitalism Magazine

Funding Freedom: Working with Values-Aligned Investors Written by: Michelle Bernier At this year’s Principled Business Summit in New York, a

David, a retired Partner at Blackstone, challenged the

lively conversation unfolded among investors who see

idea that profit and principle sit in tension. He stated

markets as more than mechanisms for profit. For them,

that capitalism already rewards service, efficiency, and

finance is a tool to strengthen communities, build

innovation. Markets thrive when companies allocate

families, and secure the country’s future. The question

resources wisely and meet real needs. Investors don’t

they explored was both practical and moral: Can

need to apologize for making money in the process:

investors stay true to their values while pursuing

they just need to invest where value creation and

competitive returns?

societal benefit intersect.

On stage, 3 investors - Nathan Halberstadt, David

David then turned to an area where he believes many

Thayer, and Larry Covert - joined moderator Alexander

firms are getting wrong: diversity. What strengthens

McCobin, CEO of Liberty Ventures to probe what

investment decisions, David said, is diversity of

“values-aligned” investing should mean in practice. They

thought, meaning people with different mental models,

agreed that the label is becoming fashionable. They

priors, and lived experience who interrogate the same

were far more interested in the hard work behind it.

data from contrasting angles. By comparison, a narrow emphasis on immutable traits can lead to teams that

Nathan opened with a point about clarity. He explained

look varied on paper but think in strikingly similar ways.

that many investors who hold a right-of-center worldview struggle with the current market. A large

For investors, that means recruiting colleagues who will

portion of the values-aligned space blends donor

test assumptions rather than echo them, and building

activity with investment activity. That makes it hard to

cultures where disagreement is not just tolerated but

know who is building a business and who is making a

requested. In David’s experience, portfolios benefit

pitch that belongs in philanthropy. He argued that

when

investors should ask 1 filter-question of whether a

uncomfortable because someone at the table is asking

founder is working on a problem that matters for the

the question no one else wants to raise.

investment

committees

feel

slightly

future of the country. Housing affordability, family formation, border security, and strong civic institutions

Larry, co-founder and GP of Oxcart Ventures, spoke

are not abstract talking points. When founders tackle

from a national security investing lens. His firm looks for

such issues with rigor, investors advance both purpose

step-change technologies that strengthen American

and performance.

leadership and safety: advances that shift capabilities, not just shave a few percentage points off costs.

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The bar is high. Yet he was quick to stress that only backing splashy defense platforms or frontier deep-tech would be a mistake. A modest-sounding B2B software company that streamlines workflow in a dentist’s office can have a wide impact, Larry noted. Better tools free up staff time, reduce burnout, and raise productivity. That, in turn, supports higher wages and stronger local businesses. Thousands of such gains accumulate into a sturdier economic base, which underwrites the country’s ability to project power and absorb shocks. Investments that appear small on a cap table can be deeply meaningful in aggregate. Larry also offered a warning. America once led the world in innovation; however, over the past several decades, that edge has worn down. Silicon Valley shifted, competition increased, and the country has wrestled with economic stagnation and declining health outcomes. He argued that restoring American leadership is essential for prosperity and sovereignty. He shared cautious optimism that this recovery is possible if investors back founders who solve real problems with speed and conviction. During the discussion, Alexander pressed the panel to identify where the new opportunity sits. All 3 agreed that opportunity lies in the gap between cultural narratives and real demand. When families with good incomes struggle to buy homes, when trust in civic and educational institutions erodes, when the market overlooks ideas that do not fit the current narrative, signals appear. And investors willing to move toward those pressure points can build portfolios that both outperform and improve the country’s foundations. The panel offered 3 practical takeaways for investors. Focus on founders solving problems that influence the future of the country. Favor diversity of viewpoint over uniformity of thought. Support companies that deliver step function improvement, even in sectors that appear small. Principled investing does not require a tradeoff. You strengthen the country when you fund companies that create value. You support families when you support innovation. You drive returns when you solve real problems at scale. Investors who embrace that mindset can do more than hit their numbers. They can help families secure a foothold in the future, strengthen the institutions that keep a free society functioning, and build portfolios whose returns are grounded in real problem-solving. In that sense, funding freedom is both a moral project and a hard-headed strategy, one that begins, as all 3 of them argued, with the simple act of choosing better founders and backing them with conviction.

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The Premier Gathering for Capitalists Investing in Freedom Join 100 values-aligned family offices, LPs, GPs, and angel investors committed to defending and advancing capitalism.

Meet our Speakers

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John Chisholm

Mark Bailey

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Jonathan Randall

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CEO, John Chisholm Ventures

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Managing Partner, Humain Ventures

Venture Associate, Capital Factory

Wes Lyons

Brett Hurt

Jakob Diepenbrock

Sunny Vanderbeck

Chrissy Liotta

General Partner, Eagle Venture Fund

CEO, Love Conquers Fear

Founder & GP, Discipulus Ventures

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Founder, Arsenal Partners

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Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Dallas, Texas

Responsible Innovation: AI and Ethics in the Age of Misinformation Written by: Michelle Bernier Artificial intelligence now sits at the center of every major shift in business and public communication. Leaders face a rising volume of misinformation, growing regulatory pressure, and mounting calls for transparency. During a panel at this year’s Principled Business Summit in New York, founders and investors developing AI systems for public use and private markets, shared a unifying message that progress depends on ethics and accountability. Brett Hurt, CEO of Love Conquers Fear, opened with a reflection on long term progress. He has programmed since childhood and follows technology trends with discipline. He launched a podcast called Love Conquers Fear to explore how humanity moves toward what he calls “an age of abundance for all”. He argued that progress

depends

responsible

innovation.

The

question was not whether AI will advance, but whether leaders will guide it toward outcomes that support human flourishing. Victor Cho, CEO of Emovid, focused on trust. He invests in systems that support mental health, community connection, and emotional wellbeing. He stated that AI products

need

clear

guardrails.

Without

them,

misinformation spreads faster than truth. Victor urged founders to design for human benefit from the start. He warned that trust collapses when users do not know how their data is processed or how information is ranked. James Lo, Co-founder and CEO of Ethos, described his work building an intelligent business network. He explained that the economy already functions as a large knowledge graph. It is made of people, companies, products, and the relationships between them. He argued that AI will reshape this graph by matching people to opportunities with speed and accuracy. This includes hiring, sales, investments, and expert selection. James’s career began in the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. He later worked in consulting and venture capital. His goal is to use AI to remove friction from markets and expand opportunity. Yet he cautioned that as matchmaking systems become more transparent and predictive, the need for ethical boundaries only increases. You need rules that protect fairness, privacy, and informed consent.

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Kyle Huwa, Co-founder and Technical Lead at Delve, spoke from the perspective of public affairs. His company

builds

systems

that

help

policy

professionals navigate overwhelming volumes of data from legislative proposals to regulatory trends. He argued that the volume of information in the policy world is impossible to manage without AI. Professionals need systems that cut through noise, surface relevant threats, and provide clear insights. At the same time, he warned that these same technologies, if misapplied, can accelerate the spread of false narratives. Brett brought the conversation back to responsibility. He asked how innovators should prepare for a world where misinformation spreads at a pace humans struggle to match.

The

panelists

agreed

that

leaders

need

safeguards. They also agreed that overregulation will slow progress and leave the field to actors who ignore ethical standards. Their consensus produced a clear framework for responsible innovation. Developers must design systems that explain their decisions, protect personal data, ensure accuracy before large-scale deployment, and give users meaningful control over what they encounter online. Misinformation thrives in secrecy; trust grows in transparency. AI will continue to redefine the way people work, learn, and connect. For Brett, Victor, James, and Kyle, the path forward depends not on technological speed but on moral direction. Those who embed ethics into the architecture of innovation will build not only stronger companies but also a more resilient public trust.

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The New Era of Investing: Aerospace and Defense Written by: Camilla McCobin At the Principled Business Summit in New York, Firehawk Aerospace CEO Will Edwards joined investor Jordan Blashek (Co-Founder & Chairman, Perimeter) to argue that America’s defense edge will hinge on private innovation, factory capacity, and the incentives that capitalism creates. Jordan framed the conversation around a shift that has become hard to ignore: national security outcomes increasingly depend on whether the United States can build and replenish critical systems fast, with modern production methods and reliable supply chains. He noted that, for years, defense sat outside the comfort zone of much of venture capital, constrained by investor rules around “lethal capability” and by the realities of selling to the U.S. government. Will’s story served as a counterexample to the idea that major breakthroughs must come from top-down programs. He founded Firehawk Aerospace in 2019 to tackle a narrow, stubborn constraint inside missile manufacturing: rocket propellant. His description of the legacy process was practical rather than theoretical: large mixers, thousands of molds, long oven cures measured in weeks, plus a failure rate he put at roughly one in four batches. In that context, he said, building a propellant facility that reaches meaningful scale can demand around a billion dollars in capital. Firehawk’s proposed improvement is process-driven. Will said the company uses a polymer feedstock he compared to “Lego plastic,” then prints propellant into the needed shape without molds. The operational consequence is time: curing shifts from what he described as a 60-day cycle to roughly 3 to 6 hours. He also emphasized that the feedstock can be stored and moved, then converted into propellant with commercial off-the-shelf machines, which supports manufacturing closer to integration sites. That focus on manufacturability carried into Will’s broader point about resilience. He tied recent investor interest to lessons from Ukraine, where, Jordan said, shell demand quickly outpaced Western production while Russia sustained large output, exposing a supply chain and production problem. Jordan extended the argument to the Western Pacific and described 2027 to 2030 as a window when modernization timelines could leave the U.S. in a vulnerable position unless capacity improves quickly. For Will, the near-term priority is throughput that fits real-world logistics. He argued that the military’s supply chain is strong, and that products which fail to match existing procurement and sustainment pathways can stall after early research wins. In his view, private companies earn adoption when they fix a process and make the supply chain easier to run at scale. That is where he placed Firehawk’s work: a foundational input that affects motors, and motors that affect the ability to build munitions in volume.

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The panel’s most direct critique of top-down approaches

Jordan’s investment lens sharpened the same point:

was less about competence and more about incentives.

government

Will described early resistance from parts of the startup

government equity. He contrasted venture time horizons,

ecosystem, including an accelerator that declined to

where investors underwrite seven to ten years out, with

back the company and investors who said they could not

public-market underwriting that often looks only a couple

ethically invest in a defense business. He responded by

of years ahead and heavily weights contracted revenue. In

relocating to Dallas to find a different capital base, and

that environment, he argued, interruptions like government

he said it took two years to raise $200,000 at the

shutdowns

beginning. Over time, he said Firehawk closed a $60

formation harder. He suggested that larger contracts for

million round, reached about $100 million in total funding,

companies that have moved beyond the “garage” stage

and began building more than 1,000 acres of production

would reduce risk for founders and investors by clarifying

capacity with a team of more than 100 people.

future demand.

Jordan treated that arc as a demonstration of how

Both speakers also resisted an easy narrative about

capitalism can convert technical advantage into national

incumbent primes. Will called primes difficult to work with,

capacity. In his telling, investors historically favored

then credited them with delivering at scale and with the

software because it scales at low marginal cost, but

discipline to avoid fielding systems that could harm

breakthroughs in advanced materials, energy, and

soldiers. Jordan reinforced the market case that defense

autonomy now make it possible to build vertically

has been a strong-performing sector over the past couple

integrated industrial companies with true process

of decades, and he connected that performance to the

advantage. He said those companies can span scientific

country’s need to remain strong in areas tied to national

development, hardware, production facilities, and mass

power.

demand

create

signals

uncertainty

matter

that

makes

than

capital

manufacturing, and he expects them to concentrate in sectors that shape national power over the next century.

In the end, the session’s argument about resiliency rested on a straightforward business claim: America’s security

Procurement remained the central friction point. Will

depends on the ability to manufacture, replenish, and

described early revenue pathways that combined prime

adapt faster than competitors. Jordan cast capitalism as

contractor work with government funding vehicles. He

the engine that mobilizes talent and capital toward that

cited an initial contract with Raytheon, then direct

goal when incentives are aligned. Will offered a grounded

outreach on Capitol Hill when the company could not

example of what that looks like in practice, from shortening

afford formal representation, leading to about $5 million

propellant production timelines to building facilities

Force

designed for scale. Taken together, Jordan and Will made

mechanism he called a BAA. He said that funding later

the case that private innovation is no longer optional in

grew toward roughly $50 million per year in similar

aerospace and defense, because the path to readiness

appropriations, alongside SBIR participation through

runs through factories, contracts, and production learning

Phase III, which he noted can carry a $100 million ceiling.

curves that only sustained private effort can deliver.

development

contracts

through

Air

The business network for investors, executives, and founders to create value, make money, and advance the principles capitalism together. Capitalists for Capitalism Magazine

Freedom to Compete: How Capitalism Built XX-XY Athletics

After leaving competitive sports, Jennifer turned to the

Written by: Michelle Bernier

strategy, creative direction, and business expansion. Her

business world. She joined Levi Strauss & Co. at an entrylevel position and climbed steadily to become the company’s Chief Marketing Officer and eventually Brand President. Over more than two decades, she helped guide Levi’s through a global transformation, leading product leadership earned recognition from Forbes and other major publications. During COVID, Jennifer publicly supported open schools, arguing that children needed to return to the classroom. The position was unpopular inside her company and within San Francisco. She was told to stop speaking, and she was stalked in public. She refused to back down. She stated that she has always spoken out to protect children and defend free speech. These values guided her throughout her life. Jennifer explained that this stand ended her corporate career. She felt she was pushed out in 2022. When she sought to reenter the industry, doors stayed closed. One board member asked if she planned to apologize for advocating for open schools. She refused.

Jennifer Sey built XX-XY Athletics after a career that

That moment clarified her next move. If established

stretched from elite sports to the highest levels of

institutions would not hire her, she would build something

corporate leadership. Her company exists because

new.

capitalism rewards conviction, risk, and product clarity. Jennifer identified a need in the market,

XX-XY Athletics became the expression of that choice. The

matched it with personal experience, and acted when

brand positions itself as the only athletic company

established brands refused to do so.

explicitly supporting fairness for female athletes. Jennifer argues that consumers are hungry for authenticity and

Jennifer introduced herself with a simple message.

courage, not corporate messaging that bends with the

XX-XY Athletics stands alone as the only athletic

wind. Polling shows that 80% of Americans believe

brand that defends fair competition for female

women’s sports should remain women’s sports, a belief

athletes. Every major brand claims to champion

that Jennifer saw as both a moral and business

women; however, their actions show the opposite.

opportunity.

Jennifer built her company to fill this gap. 18 months later, XX-XY Athletics continues to grow without Her path began long before she entered business. As a

traditional retail partnerships or mainstream backing. Its

seven-time national gymnastics team member and

momentum comes from direct customer loyalty, a

the 1986 U.S. national champion, Jennifer understood

reflection of people looking for brands that align with their

both the triumphs and the toll of elite sport. The

principles rather than dictate them.

system that shaped her athletic success also left her physically and emotionally scarred. Years later, she

Jennifer closed with a direct point: Culture drives

became one of the first athletes to publicly expose

legislation. Brands drive culture. If you want to defend

the abusive culture inside women’s gymnastics. Her

freedom and fairness, you need institutions that support

book pulled back the curtain on practices that had

those values. XX-XY Athletics exists because capitalism

long gone unchallenged.

rewards those who build what others refuse to build.

Capitalists for Capitalism Magazine

AI, Public Affairs, and the Power to Persuade Written by: Michelle Bernier Artificial intelligence has moved from the margins of

AI, Yagub noted, is already embedded across large

public affairs to its center, reshaping how organizations

institutions. Engineers rely on it to speed development,

listen, respond, and influence. In Washington and beyond,

while public sector leaders use it to streamline internal

the technology now sits inside daily workflows, guiding

operations. The danger lies in assuming that all tools are

research, shaping outreach, and accelerating decisions

safe by default. He pointed to examples from open

that once took weeks. That shift brings clear advantages,

repositories where malicious actors quietly extracted

but it also raises questions about security, judgment, and

private information through deceptive techniques. For

accountability. During this session, 4 experts shared how

leaders in public affairs, the lesson is clear: ethical

AI is rewriting the rules of influence and what you need to

standards and secure infrastructure must be built into

do to stay ahead.

systems from the outset, not added after a breach.

Adam Millsap, Senior Economist and Program Officer at

That emphasis on purpose built technology carried

Stand Together Trust, pressing panelists to move past

through Jeff Berkowitz’s remarks. As CEO of Delve, Jeff

hype and address how AI is actually being used in

works with teams drowning in regulatory filings, legislative

sensitive environments. The answers reflected a common

drafts, and nonstop media coverage. The volume alone

reality that adoption is widespread, yet uneven, and the

exceeds what any group of analysts can process. General

risks are becoming more sophisticated.

purpose AI can summarize text, but it lacks structured access to the sources that define policy risk. According

Yagub Rahimov, CEO of Polygraf AI, opened with a blunt

to Jeff, effective systems need to read like seasoned

assessment. A significant share of enterprises and

analysts, understanding how agencies signal intent and

government agencies cannot deploy black box systems,

how rules evolve over time.

no matter how powerful they appear. For organizations handling classified or regulated information, opacity is a

He described a familiar frustration in the field. Keyword

deal breaker. Yagub argued that smaller language models

alerts generate endless noise while missing what matters.

running locally offer a viable path forward. They keep

Emerging threats rarely announce themselves with

data inside the organization, reduce exposure, and allow

obvious language, and by the time a keyword becomes

teams to understand how decisions are made. His

clear, the damage is often done. Models trained on policy

company’s recent funding round, led by Allegis Capital,

logic rather than surface text can surface relevance

underscores growing demand for tools designed with

earlier,

these constraints in mind.

confidence and less guesswork.

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allowing

teams

respond

with

greater

Security remained a recurring theme. David Yakobovitch, a general partner at DataPower Ventures, framed it as a prerequisite for innovation rather than a constraint. AI tools inevitably store sensitive material, from internal strategy to personal data. Leaders need clarity about who can access that information and under what conditions. David’s investment focus reflects that belief, backing products designed to protect critical systems and support reliable communication in high stakes settings. Without that foundation, he warned, trust erodes quickly. Yagub returned to the conversation to highlight a less discussed vulnerability. Many organizations scrutinize the data they feed into models, yet overlook privacy risks within the models themselves. As AI systems become more capable, they also become more attractive targets. Future attacks, he suggested, will focus on extracting intelligence directly from the model. Local deployment and smaller architectures help limit that exposure, but policymakers

must

understand

these

technical

distinctions before crafting rules that could miss the mark. The

implications

extend

beyond

boardrooms

and

agencies into grassroots politics. Chazz Clevinger, who

Chazz also emphasized restraint. While AI can amplify

founded

outreach at lower cost, it can just as easily flood offices

CiviClick,

shared

how

transforming

advocacy campaigns across several democracies. His

with

company helps organizations connect stakeholders with

information. Clear standards and human oversight are

elected officials, and the technology has sharpened

essential to ensure that technology strengthens dialogue

everything

rather than distorting it.

from

message

targeting

real

time

automated

messages

spread

misleading

engagement. Campaigns linked to brands like DraftKings and Airbnb have used these tools to reach supporters

As the session closed, Adam pressed the panel on how

who might otherwise remain silent.

leaders

should

experimentation

navigate and

the

caution.

balance

The

between

consensus

was

pragmatic. AI works best when it is tailored to the environment, protected by rigorous safeguards, and used to support human judgment. The technology is already reshaping how influence is exercised in business and government. The responsibility now lies with decision makers to choose systems that reinforce credibility and earn public confidence. In that sense, the future of public affairs will not hinge on whether AI is used, but on how thoughtfully it is deployed. As Yagub, Jeff, David, and Chazz each made clear, the power to persuade in an AI driven era depends as much on trust as on speed.

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Bitcoin & The Future of Economic Freedom Written by: XX The panel on Bitcoin and economic freedom, moderated by Brian Bourgerie, kept returning to a grounded question: what changes when money can move without needing anyone’s approval? Brian framed that as more than a thought experiment, recalling how he first paid attention to Bitcoin in 2011 after Wells Fargo mistakenly closed his accounts and then refused to reopen them. That experience made “permissionless” feel less like a slogan and more like a requirement. Brian opened by framing Bitcoin as something that meets people at different moments of need. The technology may be the same, but the entry point varies. That premise shaped the conversation that followed, because each panelist arrived through a different set of constraints and incentives, then built work that reflects that origin. Dusan Matuska approached Bitcoin as a teacher. From Slovakia, he moved from teaching math, physics, and English to building a full time Bitcoin education effort beginning in 2017. He described producing podcasts, translating books into Slovak, training educators across countries, and consulting with schools. To fund the work, his organization runs mining operations in South America and Africa alongside Bitcoin backed lending and related services, all aimed at a long term goal of educating 100 million people.

Jorge Jraissati’s path was forged under pressure. He said

When Brian asked about misconceptions, Jorge pointed

he “had to use” Bitcoin while sending money and aid to

to a framing problem he runs into with policymakers

friends in Venezuela, the Middle East, and Africa at a time

and the public: treating Bitcoin mainly as a speculative

when the banking sector was not a workable channel. That

investment. For Jorge, the priority use case is financial

experience shaped his view of Bitcoin as a tool that can

inclusion and the capacity to hold money that is

function when intermediaries fail or refuse service. Jorge’s

difficult to censor. He leaned on Bitcoin’s properties,

current work focuses on people who have been debanked,

describing it as decentralized and owned by the holder

which he described as losing access to bank accounts for

rather than managed through a chain of intermediaries.

political reasons or regulatory failures. He said this is increasing

the

United

States

and

affected

Matt Cole brought institutional credibility and a critique

organizations in the liberty and conservative movements.

of fiat dynamics. As CEO of Strive Asset Management,

Jorge framed Bitcoin as a “bank of last resort” for those

he pointed to his years in traditional fixed income,

who can lose access to accounts and payment rails, tying

including 16 at CalPERS, and described how debt

that urgency to the way hyperinflation in Venezuela erased

issuance and Federal Reserve purchases can lead to

the savings of people around him.

currency debasement.

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has

He shared that he moved most of his own net worth into Bitcoin in late 2016 and early 2017, alongside his then girlfriend, now his wife. Matt also explained Strive’s pivot toward Bitcoin after earlier work opposing ESG and DEI priorities in capital markets, and advocating for “unapologetic capitalism and meritocracy”. He framed Bitcoin as a way to opt out of a financial system he considers vulnerable to debasement and discretionary control, while still acknowledging that many people first encounter it through the lens of returns. Brian pressed on whether institutional adoption could blunt Bitcoin’s original ethos. Matt acknowledged the worry, but argued that broader adoption by corporations, ETFs, and governments signals Bitcoin’s monetary qualities are becoming widely legible. He argued that institutional involvement can support the underlying freedom case when the early adopters in corporate finance care about Bitcoin’s ethos and use their influence in policy debates. Policy and custody became the panel’s concrete pressure points. Matt flagged U.S. tax treatment as a barrier to everyday use, since capital gains rules can make small purchases burdensome to report, and he pointed to de minimis ideas as a possible fix. Jorge highlighted reforming the Bank Secrecy Act as a near term priority, warning against importing legacy compliance assumptions into Bitcoin. Brian and Matt both underscored self custody, with Brian citing Celsius’s collapse as a reminder that intermediaries recreate familiar risks. He encouraged the audience to learn self custody and keep a meaningful portion of holdings in wallets they control. Near the end, Brian summarized a tension the panel kept circling: many Americans do not feel financial exclusion because the banking system usually works for them, while much of the world faces unstable currencies and restricted access. Jorge offered a stark version of that point, saying most people live in countries that look more like Venezuela than Switzerland in monetary reliability, and that Bitcoin offered a “way out” when alternatives were limited or criminalized. Whether or not one accepts every part of that framing, it clarified the panel’s central claim: Bitcoin’s freedom argument is easiest to understand when the exit matters. In the closing remarks, the panelists converged on a restrained conclusion. Dusan emphasized personal responsibility, including learning and custody. Jorge emphasized policy, arguing that the story of Bitcoin as a tool for inclusion can protect it from regulatory drift. Matt emphasized time horizon, urging people to view Bitcoin as long term savings rather than a trade. Brian ended the session quickly due to time, but the through line was clear: as adoption expands, the practical work shifts from evangelism to implementation, including education, custody habits, and legal reforms that determine whether the promise of permissionless money survives contact with everyday life.

Invest in a Future Where Business Acts as a Force for Good

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Joe De Sena’s playbook for staying hungry Written by: Camilla McCobin Success has a strange side effect: it can make

A yogi she met in a health food store warned her that

discomfort

drops,

the family’s habits were unsustainable, and Joe

standards slip, attention wanders, and the habits that

remembers monks living in their home and chanting,

created momentum get negotiated away. In his session

long before any of it felt normal to him.

optional.

When

the

pressure

at the Principled Business Summit, Joe De Sena argued that the cure is not more motivation. It is a deliberate

Beyond her company, Caroline publicly advocates for

operating system, built to keep you from drifting once

capitalism. She speaks candidly about the grit and

things start going well.

resilience required to build a business, presenting Daily Nouri as both a health brand and a case study in how

Joe opened with a simple intention of wanting the

markets solve problems. By supporting other founders

audience to leave with practices they could apply

and sharing her lessons, she makes the case for

immediately. To show what he meant by change that

capitalism practiced with integrity.

lasts, he invited Michelle on stage. Joe said he had spoken the year before at Necker Island, and Michelle

The results are hard to ignore. Daily Nouri is serving a

told him she had been there. After hearing him, she took

growing health-conscious base, winning partnerships

her health seriously and lost 100 pounds. Joe treated it

with major retailers, and expanding its influence in the

as evidence that when a person commits to a structure

wellness space. Caroline’s leadership underscores how

and stays with it, the result can look dramatic even

entrepreneurship and capitalism can deliver innovation

though the mechanism is plain: consistent choices,

that benefits consumers and creates lasting value.

repeated long enough to become identity. Her nomination for the Principled Business Awards From there, Joe worked backward through the forces

reflects her role as both entrepreneur and advocate and

that push people toward complacency. His own story,

is a recognition of an idea she embodies: capitalism

he suggested, was shaped early by contradiction. He

produces innovation that benefits consumers and

spent time in Howard Beach, Queens, and in Ithaca, New

creates long-term value.

York, moving between a world where toughness and street status mattered and a household where his

Joe used that history to introduce what he sees as the

mother became intensely focused on health after her

common arc of performance. Early progress feels

own mother got cancer.

exciting.

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Then the work becomes repetitive. Then doubt starts to

Near the end, Joe described what he called “future

sound reasonable. He argued that most people do not

memory,” the idea that finishing hard things leaves a

fail because they lack ambition. They fail because

residue in the mind that makes finishing more likely next

comfort persuades them to loosen the behaviors that

time, while quitting teaches the brain that exit is

made success possible in the first place.

available. He argued that this is why systems matter more after success than before it: when you are

One of his central tools was expectation management.

winning, you can afford to drift, which makes drifting

Joe suggested that a person’s baseline assumption

more common.

about what they “should” get determines how they react when life becomes inconvenient. He offered a

Joe’s overarching message was that success does not

blunt reframing: landing safely after a flight is a win.

protect you from failure; it can invite it by lowering the

Waking up alive is a win. He referenced an old samurai

cost of bad habits. His proposed “biohack” was to build

practice of imagining loss at night so that ordinary life

routines and decision rules that make comfort less

feels like a gift in the morning. The purpose, he said, is to

persuasive. And in closing, Joe implied that staying

reduce entitlement so that small setbacks do not derail

sharp is less about chasing new tricks and more about

the day.

keeping the standards that got you there, especially when nobody is forcing you to.

From that mindset, Joe moved to direction. He called it “true north,” a reason specific enough to survive the weeks when effort feels boring rather than inspiring. Without that anchor, he argued, a person will negotiate with themselves the moment discomfort arrives. Joe then emphasized decision filters that cut through distraction. He told a rowing story built around a single question: “Will it make the boat go faster?” He recommended using that question as a daily test for choices that look harmless but quietly drain focus. If the answer is no, the action does not belong in the routine. He connected this to delayed gratification, referencing the marshmallow experiment and sharing his own anecdote about testing his son, Jack, with ice cream. The underlying point was that self control is trainable. When you repeatedly practice choosing the harder option, you make future discipline easier. Joe also named the moment he believes is most dangerous: disillusionment. That is when the goal looks less shiny than it did at the start, and the work feels like a grind. Joe argued that this is also when outside doubt becomes loud, and when people are most tempted to interpret discomfort as a signal to stop. He described handling negative narratives during Spartan’s recovery, including a call from The Wall Street Journal that he viewed as probing for a bankruptcy story, and he framed his response as returning to his operating rules rather than reacting emotionally.

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Capitalism as Soulcraft Written by: Camilla McCobin Speaking at the Principled Business Summit in New York, Michael Gibson, co-founder and General Partner at 1517, framed

his

defense

capitalism

around

moral

consequences rather than output statistics. He argued that many defenders focus on higher living standards while leaving aside what market life does to habits, incentives, and personal development. In his view, that omission weakens the public case for capitalism because the argument is ultimately about what kinds of people a system tends to produce. Michael opened by pointing to Ayn Rand as one of the rare, explicit moral defenders of capitalism, mentioning Robert Nozick as another example from a rights based angle. He contrasted that with the communist slogan “from each according to ability, to each according to need,” which he treated as a design for character deformation. When rewards track demonstrated need, he said, people learn to compete in displaying vulnerability. When effort is routinely confiscated, people learn to conceal ability. For Michael, the damage is not only economic;

reaches

into

motivation

and

self

presentation. He then shifted from theory to biography, describing how he arrived in venture and founder work by a winding route. Michael expected to become a philosophy professor, left

Michael gave an unusually precise origin story for the

graduate school because he wanted to write, and worked

program that later made him a public figure in education

as a journalist at MIT’s Tech Review. A separate,

debates. He said his first day at the fund was September

unconventional project brought him into contact with

27, 2010. On that day, colleagues pulled him into an urgent

Silicon

Friedman’s

announcement plan, motivated in part by impending

experimental

publicity around The Social Network and its portrayal of

communities on ocean platforms as a way to test new

Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel. By the time Peter

forms of governance. At one of Patri’s events, Ephemeral,

appeared onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt, interviewed by

Michael met people connected to Peter Thiel, leading to

Sarah Lacy, the initiative was presented as though it

an interview that was mostly philosophy and an invitation

already existed. Michael described the improvisation

to help with a Stanford Law School class while working as

behind the scenes as they finalized the name and terms

an analyst at a hedge fund.

in transit.

Valley’s

Seasteading

investor

Institute,

network:

which

Patri

explored

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Michael gave an unusually precise origin story for the program that later made him a public figure in education debates. He said his first day at the fund was September 27, 2010. On that day, colleagues pulled him into an urgent announcement plan, motivated in part by impending publicity around The Social Network and its portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel. By the time Peter appeared onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt, interviewed by Sarah Lacy, the initiative was presented as though it already existed. Michael described the improvisation behind the scenes as they finalized the name and terms in transit. The program began as “20 Under 20” and became what is now known as the Thiel Fellowship. Michael summarized its core design simply: $100,000 grants to 20 recipients per year, restricted to applicants aged 19 and under, with the condition that recipients not be enrolled in school. The point, as he explained it, was not hostility to learning. It was a challenge to the idea that a bachelor’s degree is the single credible route into the modern labor market, especially given Peter’s experience backing young founders. Reaction arrived fast. Michael recalled Jacob Weisberg’s critique in Newsweek, arguing that the fellowship would ruin young people by pulling them away from serious reading. He also cited Larry Summer’s condemnation that the program was “the most misdirected philanthropy of the decade.” Michael treated these responses as evidence that college has become a kind of civic sacrament, where deviation triggers moral panic rather than a practical argument about what produces capable adults. Michael’s strongest factual case for the fellowship rested on outcomes. He highlighted Dylan Field, funded in 2012, who shifted from an early drone idea to building collaborative design software that became Figma. Michael said Figma later went public at a valuation in the tens of billions. He also described meeting Vitalik Buterin in 2013, funding him, and watching Ethereum launch in 2014 after Vitalik proposed a broader set of blockchain applications. Another example was Ritesh Agarwal, whose company Oyo Rooms became, in Michael’s telling, the largest hotel chain in India.

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By 2015, Michael and Danielle Strachman extended the fellowship thesis into a venture vehicle. They founded 1517, named after Martin Luther’s public challenge to church indulgences, because they saw the diploma as a modern analogue: expensive, status granting, and treated as protection against social judgment. Michael said 1517 raised $20 million, invested in around 40 companies, and returned roughly $80 million to investors in realized distributions. He pointed to Luminar, which went public in 2020, and Loom, later acquired by Atlassian for close to $1 billion dollars. The bridge between these achievements and the talk’s moral theme was Michael’s emphasis on character as an investment signal. Early on, he said, the fellowship application asked for SAT scores, grades, and awards. Over time, he concluded those markers were not predictive and could

even

correlate

with

performance,

especially

when

weaker

entrepreneurial

success

came

from

mastering prestige systems rather than confronting reality under pressure. Michael described replacing credential filters with a framework drawn from creativity research, personality psychology, and lessons learned from Peter. Two of Michael’s examples show what he means by “character.” One is perseverance, which he said is hard to assess in a 1-hour pitch. His preference is to know founders over time, watching whether they persist through setbacks. The other is “insider outsider,” a label he linked to René Girard’s ideas about social dynamics and scapegoating. Michael argued that boundary figures, including many immigrants, often develop distinctive market insight along with a tolerance for harsh feedback, which can matter more than polish. Michael closed by returning to the claim that startups shape the soul. Running a company, he said, exposes weaknesses that a conventional job can allow someone to avoid,

forcing

difficult

conversations

and

frequent

admissions of error. The same pressure can also surface strengths that remain dormant in safer environments. For Michael, that is why capitalism deserves a moral defense: at its best, it places people in systems where reality responds to effort, where responsibility cannot be outsourced, and where personal growth becomes part of the work.

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Digital Backbone of Freedom Written by: Michelle Bernier A new generation of technologies is redefining what freedom means in the digital age. These systems influence how people speak, trade, organize, and trust the institutions around them. At one of the sessions at this year’s New York Principled Business Summit, several builders and thinkers gathered to make a shared case that liberty in the 21st century will depend on the infrastructure that sustains it. Brian Bourgerie, founder and CEO of Discovery Block PR, began with a pointed reminder that free societies cannot survive on ideals alone. They require strong networks

that

protect

communication,

financial

access, and privacy while resisting censorship. When those

digital

foundations

fail,

the

broader

commitments to open markets and civil liberty begin to erode. Thomas Pacchia, founder of PubKey, illustrated how culture itself can serve as infrastructure. PubKey started as a bar and freedom-focused community hub

David Johnston, an open-source maintainer at Morpheus,

for Bitcoin users in New York, and a second location is

turned the conversation to the frontier of artificial

now planned for Washington. PubKey hosts weekly

intelligence. He described the next struggle for freedom

events on Bitcoin and adjacent technologies. The

as one of ownership, i.e. who controls the intelligence

Human Rights Foundation brings activists who use

shaping our digital lives. David has spent over a decade

Bitcoin

advancing

operate

under

authoritarian

regimes.

open-source

systems,

from

Bitcoin

Thomas explained that policymakers visit PubKey to

Ethereum. With Morpheus, he focuses on AI agents that

learn directly from the community rather than through

users can run locally and customize themselves. His

corporate intermediaries. His goal is to build physical

principle is that people should possess the intelligence

spaces where digital freedom has a real foundation

they use, along with the context that informs it.

. His path to this mission began more than a decade

David also traced the evolution of the internet from static

ago in the Bitcoin ecosystem, following years as a

websites to applications and now to autonomous agents.

derivatives lawyer. What began as a side project now

As that shift accelerates, he argued, individuals must

anchors a wider network for education and civic

retain

engagement. He sees community hubs like PubKey as

decentralized finance gave people control over money,

essential for any movement defending financial self-

decentralized intelligence could secure autonomy over

determination.

data, privacy, and opportunity.

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the

system’s

power.

Just

The panel then turned to the pitfalls that society overlooks. They focused on 3 core issues. The growth of authoritarian governance in major cities. The lack of practical tools that support individual autonomy. The collapse of transparency in political systems. Thomas warned that many people underestimate the threat of illiberal ideas in New York and other cultural centers. He stated that education is not enough. People need tools that let them act on their values in daily life. David added that crypto adoption often grows fastest where financial oppression is strongest. In countries with inflation and tight banking controls, such as Indonesia, China, India, and Brazil, citizens already depend on decentralized systems for daily survival. The lessons from those environments, he said, should guide the next generation of freedom technology. Thomas also lamented how political transparency has eroded. Once officials assume power, the process of governance becomes difficult to observe, leaving voters uncertain about who shapes outcomes. This opacity feeds public apathy, which, he argued, is as corrosive to liberty as overt repression.

Brian pressed the panel on how innovation might reverse these trends. David pointed to data rights as the next crucial frontier. Rather than focusing on how people prompt AI, he said, attention should turn to how individuals manage the context their AI uses, be it personal health, financial records, education, family life, and faith. These details form the fabric of human identity and should never be extracted or sold. He referenced entrepreneur Frank McCourt’s call in ‘Our Biggest Fight’ for laws that recognize data ownership as a civil right. David echoed that view, warning that without personal control over information, no amount of technical progress will preserve freedom in an AI-driven world. As the session closed, the panel agreed that a free society depends on digital resilience. You secure that resilience

through

products

that

support

privacy,

autonomy, and access. Leaders who build these systems strengthen liberty for future generations.

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12 - 16

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Talking About Money Before It Speaks for You Written by: Camilla McCobin At the Principled Business Summit in New York, Brandon Hatton urged a room of high net worth leaders to treat money as a message that families and workplaces are already sending, even when nobody names it aloud. Brandon framed his talk on the silence around money that

can

damage

than

imperfect

conversation, especially as older generations decide what happens to significant wealth. He opened with a story about a friend, Amy, who was once berated by her father over her supposed inability to handle finances. Years later, after his death, she discovered she had inherited a large sum that was locked in a trust requiring her younger brother’s permission to access. Amy described the inheritance as humiliating, not comforting, because the structure reinforced what the earlier argument implied that she was not trusted. For Brandon, this was the point. Money “talks” through legal documents, spending rules, and control mechanisms when families avoid speaking directly. To show how differently generations may interpret those signals, Brandon cited survey findings he said point to a gap in meaning: many ‘baby boomers’ view inheritance as an act of love, while a sizable share of millennials interpret inheritance as control. Brandon did not argue that either reaction is universally correct. Instead, he argued that the intent does not automatically translate into impact, and that the only reliable bridge is conversation, while it is still possible. That urgency, he said, is amplified by the scale of what is approaching. Brandon noted that roughly $90 trillion sits with older generations today, and that this capital can shape society in constructive ways if families and institutions talk openly about it. Brandon also pointed out a cultural obstacle that many people were raised to avoid money as a topic, which leaves families unprepared for decisions that can affect relationships, identity, and community outcomes. He positioned himself less as a technical advisor and more as a facilitator of those difficult discussions. Brandon briefly described a nontraditional path to wealth management, including work on a cruise ship, opening schools in Egypt and Lebanon, returning to help with his father’s restaurant, then spending time on Wall Street before founding his firm, Conscious Wealth, and writing a book with the same name. Brandon said that his work with wealthy families has convinced him that the unspoken dynamics are often the most harmful.

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The core of the talk was organized around two practical

He then described work with a father and son he called

“spectrums” that families can use to surface values

Jerry and Jerry Jr. Jerry described himself as self made

without turning the discussion into accusations or rules.

and extremely wealthy, yet complained that his son

The first spectrum separates spending that enhances

chose to be a mechanic rather than buy a company.

life from spending that enriches it. Brandon illustrated

Jerry Jr., in contrast, expressed pride in practical work

the difference through a client named Brianna, who he

and resisted his father’s pressure. Brandon said the

described as an “immigrant to wealth” after decades of

breakthrough came through a structured conversation.

high earnings. Brandon said Brianna felt alarmed that her

Brandon had them draw “money lifelines” that mapped

children, “natives to wealth,” were spending freely

early memories of money across their lives, then mark

through frictionless online buying. She wanted to impose

each memory as a moment of abundance or scarcity.

a budget, but he advised a different approach: examine

Abundance was defined as a felt sense that what is

spending through meaning rather than restriction.

needed is available, even if not immediately. Scarcity was defined as a fear driven sense that there is not

In the exercise Brandon described, the family gathered

enough and that no one will help.

detailed spending data, then labeled each expense as an enhancement or an enrichment. An enhancement, as he

When they reviewed the lifelines, Jerry observed that

defined it, makes life easier or more comfortable. An

the more money he made, the more scarcity he felt.

enrichment supports a deeper sense of purpose or

Jerry Jr. responded that he had not realized how scared

aliveness. He used his own possessions to show how

his father was. Brandon offered this as evidence that

personal the distinction can be: a 1999 BMW Z3 Coupe

money stories are often emotional histories, not just

felt like an enhancement to him, while sailing a high

financial histories, and that a shared framework can help

performance boat he called the Melgis 14 felt like an

family members see each other more clearly. Brandon

enrichment because of the physical engagement and

reinforced the point by quoting Khalil Gibran on children

shared

that

not being possessions, then adapted the idea to money

another person could label the same items differently,

as something that passes through a person and carries

which is why the conversation matters more than the

responsibilities beyond the self.

experience

involved.

emphasized

category. Brandon ended with a concrete invitation: use prompts According to Brandon, the outcome for Brianna’s family

to start money conversations at home and at work, and

was

clarity,

begin with a question that is disarming because it is

because the children were no longer responding only to

personal rather than technical, like this favorite one

impulse or convenience. Brandon presented this as a

“What was your earliest memory about money?”. That

method for aligning money with identity, without

question will likely be a way to uncover the beliefs that

shaming anyone for what they buy.

are already shaping decisions, before those beliefs

reduced

spending

alongside

greater

harden into documents, power dynamics, or silence that The

second

spectrum

addressed

scarcity

and

nobody can undo.

abundance as emotional patterns that can persist regardless of bank balance. Brandon anchored this section

referencing

the

history

James

Truslow

the

American

Adams

and

Dream, his

1931

description of a society where people can reach their highest potential, even during the Great Depression. Brandon used that context to challenge the assumption that generosity or long term thinking is only possible in “easy” times.

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Brock Pierce on Money, Markets, and Responsibility Written by: Camilla McCobin In his talk, Brock Pierce framed capitalism as a practical

From there, Brock connected “principled business” to

system that can expand opportunity, while insisting that

integrity

the moral quality of business depends on the intent

conduct as a moral action that refuses to fund harm, and

behind decisions and the discipline used in directing

he presented “do no harm” as a baseline standard for

resources. Speaking to the Principled Business Summit

how capital should be deployed. Brock also said that the

audience in New York who were gathered to discuss

pursuit of money as a primary belief can distort

how to bring capitalism back, Brock opened by placing

judgement, and he contrasted fear-driven decision

the burden of choice at the centre of business life:

making with a stance grounded in what he called the

people can do many things, he said, but decisions

“heart,” where he associated love with abundance and

should be guided less by what is possible and more by

faith

why an action is worth doing.

Throughout

and

rather

restraint.

than this

Brock

stockpiling

section,

Brock

described

and

principled

defensiveness.

blended

economic

language with spiritual vocabulary, using the idea of A large part of Brock’s argument rested on a metaphor

“frequency” to describe how emotional orientation

about money. Brock described money as “stored

affects choices about capital.

energy” and returned repeatedly to the idea that it is meant to move. He linked this to common financial

Brock then widened the frame to the setting itself. Brock

language, pointing to terms such as liquidity and flow,

described New York City as the “capital of capital” and

and suggested that people act as conductors rather

used the location to underscore his support for free

than owners. In his view, wealth is effectively entrusted

markets and capitalism as engines that can grant

to individuals and organisations, creating an obligation

permission to build, create, and pursue change. He linked

to direct it towards people, places, and projects that

the American dream to a culture that tolerates failure and

improve conditions rather than concentrate power or

offers second chances, contrasting it with societies

reinforce fear. Brock tied hoarding to scarcity thinking

where failure can lead to permanent exclusion.

and

argued

that

scarcity

makes

people

block

circulation, which then worsens the wider system.

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For Brock, this willingness to let people try again is not incidental; he presented it as a core ingredient in the country’s innovative capacity and a reason the United States has produced many influential companies and ideas. In the latter part of the talk, Brock shifted from values to an urgent civic warning. Brock claimed that an election in New York City was approaching within weeks and that a candidate he viewed as hostile to free-market principles was leading, citing polling figures and then pointing to prediction markets as evidence that the outcome was likely. Brock characterised the situation as an emergency with consequences beyond the city, arguing that decisions made in New York can ripple across the country and internationally. He also criticised the reliability of media narratives and urged the audience to rely on discernment and trust in people with demonstrated credibility. To reinforce the theme of visibility and discernment, Brock turned to scripture. Brock read from Genesis, including the line “let there be light,” and used it as a metaphor for perceiving clearly in what he described as a moment of darkness and deception over the city. Brock suggested that outsiders can sometimes notice what residents overlook, and he invited attendees to participate

directly,

mentioning

debate-watch

gathering and urging people to speak openly in daily conversations rather than stay quiet. Brock argued that public life does not simply happen around citizens; it can move with citizens when they choose to engage. Brock closed by extending “principled” into what he called

“prophetic

business,”

presenting

willingness to submit personal ambition to a broader mission of service. Brock said he serves life, expressed a desire to help others, and ended with a simple conviction that love and light ultimately prevail.

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Moving Markets Beyond Fear Written by: Camilla McCobin During his talk at the Principled Business Summit in New York, President of Center for Growth and author John Hagel argued that many organizations are trying to solve the wrong problem. He said that strategy still matters, yet they often fail to travel from slide decks into lived behavior because they collide

with

something

basic,

i.e

the

emotions shaping how people interpret risk, make choices, and act. For John, the emotion that deserves urgent attention is fear, and in particular, fear of the future. John defined this fear in practical terms. When people look ahead, do they see the future mainly as a threat or as an opportunity? His contention was that a growing share of people, across countries and age groups, now perceive the future as

threatening.

The

instinctive

response

defensive. Hold on to what you have, avoid exposure, resist change. John acknowledged that this

reaction

understandable,

because

performance pressure is rising in many arenas of life and work. Fear is a human response to that pressure. Yet he also described fear as limiting, because it narrows attention and reduces the willingness to pursue possibilities that require experimentation or trust in others. These observations sit behind John’s book The Journey Beyond Fear, which draws on research he has

been

conducting

for

decades

how

individuals and institutions can move toward emotions that support meaningful impact. In his talk, John focused on one area of that framework: narratives. He warned that “narrative” is often treated as a synonym for story, which can lead leaders to think they already have what he is describing. John drew a distinction. A story, in his use of the word, is self contained and concludes. It is

usually

about

the

teller

about

other

characters. A narrative, by contrast, is open ended, oriented toward a significant threat or opportunity ahead, and depends on the audience..

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It functions as a call to action in which the listener’s choices can influence how events unfold. John presented that open invitation as one of the most powerful catalysts for helping people move beyond fear, because it reframes the future as something people can shape rather than something that merely happens to them. He noted that narratives operate at multiple levels, starting with personal narratives. John suggested that everyone carries some implicit sense of where life is headed and what they are trying to do about it, yet many people never articulate that narrative clearly enough to examine whether it is helping or hindering them.

In his framing, a personal narrative turns on a view of the

The emphasis becomes resistance, protection, and

future and a call to others. Do you view what lies ahead as

fighting an enemy. John also suggested that market

mainly threatening or full of potential, and do you invite

oriented movements can fall into a similar pattern by

others into action around that view? Even without

centering their narrative on what they oppose. For

expanding further, John’s implication was direct: if the

John, a durable alternative is to put the opportunity in

underlying personal narrative is fear based, it will shape

the foreground: if people came together, what could

what people attempt, the relationships they invest in, and

they build, improve, or create that would be difficult

how they interpret setbacks.

alone? He presented that kind of invitation as a way to reduce fear rather than amplify it.

For a business audience, John spent more time on corporate narratives, and here his critique became

Although narratives were his main focus, John briefly

sharper. Many executives respond to the idea of narrative

referenced other parts of his framework. One is a form

by recounting the company’s origin story, meaning the

of passion he calls the “passion of the explorer,” which

early

the

he described as a drive to increase impact in a

organization’s grit. John did not deny the value of that

chosen domain, coupled with a tendency to reach

history, but he argued that this is still a narrative about

outward

the company. The more consequential question is what

Another is what he calls learning platforms, which he

narrative the company offers the people it hopes to

distinguished from systems designed mainly to

serve.

help

distribute existing knowledge. John’s emphasis was

customers pursue, and what action does it invite them to

on platforms that help people create new knowledge

take that goes beyond purchasing a product? John’s

together and learn faster through collaboration,

experience

enabling impact that participants would struggle to

struggles,

What

the

obstacles

opportunity

that

does

genuinely

overcome,

the

and

company

powerful

corporate

narratives of this kind are rare, which he sees as an

for

help

when

confronting

challenges.

reach on their own.

untapped opportunity for firms that want to energize markets where fear is rising.

John ended with a paradox he sees in the present moment. The same forces that raise performance

To show what he meant, John pointed to Steve Jobs and

pressure are also expanding opportunity. He argued

Apple in the 1990s. He unpacked the “Think Different”

that it is now possible to create far more value with

idea as a narrative aimed at the customer rather than a

far fewer resources, far more quickly than would have

slogan aimed at the brand. The promise, as John

seemed plausible decades ago. Fear, however, can

characterized it, was that a new generation of digital

make those opportunities hard to notice, and even

technology could help people express unique potential

harder to pursue. John reminded the room that even

and personality, after decades in which technology had

if many leaders and founders feel driven by

often felt depersonalizing. Therefore, the call to action

excitement rather than fear, they operate in markets

was that people would need to “think different” for that

where fear is increasingly common. For John, the task

potential to be realized. John argued that the result was

ahead is to craft narratives and environments that

unusually strong identification with the company, to the

help customers, employees, and communities see a

point that Apple resembled a belief system for some

future they can shape and step into action with

customers. In John’s view, that outcome came from

confidence.

addressing a deep aspiration and inviting participation in a broader possibility. John then widened the lens to what he called movement narratives. He said he has studied social movements for change across history and geographies, and he believes the most successful movements relied on opportunity based narratives that attracted people into shared effort. His concern today is that many movements for social change operate mainly through threat based narratives.

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ALL BUILDING FREELY IN PRÓSPERA.

From a cell block to C-suite: what Michelle Cirocco told business leaders about second chances Written by: Camilla McCobin At this year’s Principled Business Summit in New York,

However, a turning point came from a prison counsellor

Michelle Cirocco started her talk by asking the room

who framed incarceration as time that could be wasted

how many people had children or grandchildren. Most

or used for change. Michelle chose the latter path, but

hands went up. From there, Michelle moved quickly

she also faced the barriers that meet many people

from personal experience to the scale of incarceration

upon release: limited education, limited job skills, and a

in the United States, arguing that employers have

felony record that signals risk to employers. In her

leverage that public systems have not yet used well.

telling, the question that followed was practical rather than philosophical: who would hire her?

Michelle described the quiet burden carried by children who learn a parent is in prison, noting her own family

She found her answer in Televerde, a for-profit

lived that reality. She said that while children talk about

company that hires women in prison to provide lead

future careers, none imagine incarceration as part of

generation and inside sales services for major brands,

their story, yet for 1 in 20 children in the country, prison

which she listed as including SAP, Microsoft, and

will touch their lives at some point. She added that 1 in

Adobe. Michelle said the company offered more than a

2 people have an immediate family member who is

job. It offered training, a way to rebuild her confidence,

currently or formerly incarcerated, which means many

and a credible bridge back to work. When she left

children will eventually hear that a mother or father is in

prison in 2002, she said she walked out with something

prison.

many people do not have: a job offer. She started as a sales executive, returned to school, earned an MBA at

Her account then narrowed to a single date: May 23,

Arizona State University, and moved through leadership

1997. After what she described a string of bad

roles up to chief marketing officer, describing that

decisions tied to a desire for upward mobility, Michelle

journey as a shift from “cell block to C-suite.”

recounted how she was sentenced to a maximum term of 7 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections.

Michelle then widened the lens again, placing her

She described the immediate losses that followed,

personal trajectory against what she called the rise of

including separation from her children and the collapse

mass incarceration.

of her self-respect, and the uncertainty of whether she could recover any of it.

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She said that in the 1990s there were about 1 million

Michelle reported that more than 1,200 women have

people in prison, and that number has since more than

participated, and among the 800 who have returned

doubled. She cited a wider footprint as well: more than

home, 95% were employed within 45 days, with an

75 million people with a criminal record, and about $80

average starting salary close to $40,000 per year. She

billion spent each year on incarceration. She argued

also reported a return-to-prison rate under 2% for that

that the outcomes do not justify the investment,

group, which she framed as a 98% success rate. She

pointing to a return-to-prison rate of over 60% within 3

noted that Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunity

years,

is studying the program’s impact, in part to strengthen

and

linking

that

the

core

driver

unemployment. In her remarks, the unemployment rate

the evidence base for replication.

for formerly incarcerated people is 5 times the national average, leaving many without a stable path back into

For the summit audience, Michelle positioned this as a

society.

business issue as much as a social one. She pointed to a “talent crisis,” citing more than 7 million open jobs

She stressed that the situation is particularly acute for

and the high cost of turnover, which she said can

women. Michelle said the incarceration rate for women

approach twice an employee’s salary. She also cited an

has increased by 750% since the 1980s, and that more

annual flow of potential workers: about 600,000

than 80% of incarcerated women are mothers, which

people released from prison each year. Referencing the

puts children at risk of becoming justice-involved later.

Society for Human Resource Management, she said

Against that backdrop, she presented evidence that a

85% of HR leaders report that people with records

different approach can produce different results.

perform as well as, or better than, those without, with comparable termination rates and loyalty rates that

In 2019, she said, Arizona State University conducted a

can be up to 20% higher.

socio-economic impact study of roughly 3,000 women

Michelle argued that some large employers have

who had worked for Televerde. The results she cited

already moved from pilot programs to pipelines,

were a 95% employment rate, salaries 4 times the

naming JP Morgan Chase, Lowe’s, and Union Pacific as

national average for formerly incarcerated women, and

examples. She also offered a localized economic claim:

a return-to-prison rate under 6%. She highlighted a

in Indiana, Televerde graduates contributed over $60

generational measure she described as most powerful:

million in economic activity over the past 3 years. From

the children of those women were 11 times less likely to

her perspective, second-chance hiring is a way to

become justice-involved themselves. For Michelle, this

expand

supported a central claim that stable work after release

retention and community stability.

the

qualified

workforce

while

improving

changes more than individual outcomes; it changes family trajectories.

Her recommendations to leaders were direct and operational: commit to second-chance hiring, reduce

That logic led to a growth strategy. In 2020, Michelle

barriers created by early background checks, and

said she started the Televerde Foundation with a goal

partner with organizations that can prepare candidates

of creating 10,000 “life-changing opportunities” by

and provide post-hire support. The aim is not to solve

2030. She described building a program with partners

the entire criminal justice system, but to widen access

in education, workforce development, and re-entry

to work for people who can succeed with a credible

support, designed around the practical obstacles that

pathway. In closing, Michelle returned to the personal

derail re-entry, from workplace readiness to ongoing

stakes, saying she is in leadership today because

support after release.

someone provided an opportunity when she could not yet provide it for herself, and she challenged leaders to

The foundation’s Career Paths programs launched in

extend that belief to others leaving prison each year.

women’s prisons in Arizona and Indiana as six-month, full-time courses focused on preparing participants for employment and career progression.

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800

investors, executives, and entrepreneurs in our network

Warm introductions made

80%

14%

Turned into meetings

became new business deals

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Events

Across the US and International

What Do You Get ? 1:1 investor & partner intros.

Visibility: magazine, podcast, stages.

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Monthly updates + dedicated success contact.

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Give Now, Grow Better Written by: Michelle Bernier Founders in growth mode tend to live by a familiar rhythm. Revenue targets loom, product roadmaps evolve, hiring decisions feel urgent, and market strategy demands constant attention. During his talk at the New York Principled Business Summit, Peter Lipsett, Vice President at DonorsTrust, offered a reframing that cut through that noise. While building companies, he argued, entrepreneurs should also build a habit of giving. Philanthropy, in his telling, supports performance, deepens relationships, and reinforces financial strength over time. Peter opened with a simple observation drawn from behavioral research. Spending money on yourself delivers a brief lift. Watching someone else benefit from a smaller gift delivers a stronger one. Studies show that generosity activates reward centers in the brain more powerfully than personal consumption. That reaction is not sentimental fluff; it reflects a basic human impulse to help and to feel useful. Giving produces a durable sense of purpose that consumption rarely matches. For founders, the timing matters. Many treat philanthropy as something to consider after a liquidity event, once the business is stable and personal finances feel secure. Peter pushed back. Waiting, he said, leaves value on the table. Giving during the building years provides immediate returns in motivation and focus, precisely when those qualities are most needed. He pointed to work by Arthur Brooks that explores the relationship between money, happiness, and generosity. In one widely cited finding, Brooks shows that a substantial increase in income raises reported happiness by a measurable amount. Giving money away produces a comparable increase. The implication for entrepreneurs is straightforward. You do not have to postpone generosity until an exit to feel its benefits. You can experience them alongside the grind of growth. Beyond personal well being, Peter emphasized how philanthropy shapes professional networks. Charitable boards and donor communities bring together people who might never cross paths in a purely commercial setting. Peter shared moments from his own career when those environments proved decisive. Serving on a nonprofit board led to a relationship with Virginia’s former Speaker of the House. Another board introduced him to investor Michael Gibson. Those connections influenced his trajectory and opened doors that traditional business networking likely would not have. This aspect of giving often surprises founders who view networking through the narrow lens of conferences and pitch meetings. Philanthropy places you in rooms defined by shared values rather than immediate transactions. Trust forms differently there. Over time, those relationships translate into partnerships, advice, and opportunities that compound.

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Of course, entrepreneurs worry about cash flow. Runway matters. Every dollar allocated away from the company feels like a tradeoff. Peter acknowledged that concern and then shared a finding that initially startled him. Across several studies cited by Brooks, charitable giving correlates with higher future earnings. One estimate suggests that each dollar given is associated with several dollars more in income later on, even after accounting for other factors. Correlation is not destiny, Peter cautioned, yet the pattern appears consistently enough to merit attention. The mechanism is not mystical. Giving improves mood and resilience, expands networks, and reinforces habits of long-term thinking. Those traits tend to support

better

decision-making

and

sustained

performance. Over time, they influence earnings. The result resembles a feedback loop in which generosity supports conditions that make further success more likely. Peter also challenged the idea that influence comes only with age or wealth. Early engagement, he argued, allows founders to shape the causes and institutions that align with their values. Entrepreneurs operate

Peter closed with a message that resonated because

within systems shaped by policy choices around

of its practicality. Philanthropy, he said, belongs in the

education,

regulation.

present tense. Giving while you grow supports your

Supporting organizations that work in these areas is

business by sharpening your sense of purpose,

not separate from building a business. It affects the

broadening your relationships, and reinforcing habits

environment in which companies hire, expand, and

that lead to better outcomes. It also supports the

innovate.

values that make growth possible in the first place.

He was candid about the broader landscape. Well-

For founders chasing the next milestone, the advice is

funded philanthropic networks on the progressive left

deceptively simple: Give now. Grow better.

housing,

taxation,

and

actively promote higher taxes, expanded regulation, and limits on business formation. Founders who care about free markets and personal responsibility cannot afford disengagement. Early, intentional giving helps ensure that a range of ideas remains represented in the public square. Rather than treating philanthropy as a single gesture, Peter encouraged founders to think expansively about its

role.

Addressing

urgent

needs

matters.

Strengthening local institutions matters. Supporting policy work that shapes long-term conditions matters as well. When aligned with personal convictions, these efforts

reinforce

one

another

and

sustain

the

ecosystems that entrepreneurship depends on.

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Defending Capitalism: How to Communicate Its Value and Answer Its Critics Written by: Michelle Bernier Brett Pojunis, Chief Executive Officer of GPO Plus, believes business leaders are facing a challenge that can no longer be brushed aside. Support for capitalism, once taken for granted, is eroding among younger generations. In its place, socialism and even communism are gaining traction at a pace that should concern anyone who depends on a functioning market economy. Brett’s message was direct: leaders must learn how to explain capitalism clearly, honestly, and without defensiveness if they want to regain trust. He began by naming the accusations that now dominate conversations about business. Capitalists are labeled greedy. Companies are accused of exploiting workers, damaging the environment, and prioritizing profit over people. These claims shape how students are taught, how social media debates unfold, and how employees view their employers. Ignoring those narratives only allows them to harden. The shift in public opinion is stark. In 1985, young adults overwhelmingly identified as capitalist. 80% to 85% of individuals ages 18 to 29 supported capitalism. 12% or fewer supported socialism. Less than 5% supported

When critics raised objections, the response was

communism. At that point, many assumed the argument

often academic and impractical. Students were

had been settled by history. Capitalism had delivered

handed dense reading lists and told that the answers

growth, innovation, and rising living standards, and few felt

could be found in classic economic texts. Most never

compelled to keep making the case.

read them. The opportunity to connect ideas to everyday concerns was missed, and critics filled the

Today, that confidence looks misplaced. Surveys now

vacuum.

show that 60% to 62% of young adults view socialism favorably. Support for capitalism has dropped to roughly

Brett offered a different approach, one rooted in

34% to 36%, and positive views of communism have

communication

climbed to levels that would have been unthinkable a

emphasized that most criticisms begin with emotion

generation ago. Brett described this trend as a warning

rather than analysis. People worry about fairness,

signal, one that demands a more thoughtful and proactive

opportunity, and security. Launching into data or

response from business leaders.

theory before acknowledging those concerns rarely

rather

than

confrontation.

works. The first step, he argued, is listening carefully According to Brett, capitalism lost ground not because its

and asking what someone actually means when they

results failed, but because its defenders stopped

criticize business or markets. Letting them speak

explaining them.

lowers the temperature and signals respect.

Capitalists for Capitalism Magazine

From

there,

Brett

stressed

the

importance

distinguishing between capitalism as a system of voluntary exchange and the crony behavior that often masquerades as it. Many complaints are aimed at companies that rely on political favoritism, regulatory barriers, or government protection to maintain power. Those practices distort markets and undermine trust. Explaining that difference clearly, without dismissing the underlying frustration, helps people see that their anger is often directed at the wrong target. He also urged leaders to address emotional claims before offering explanations. Mockery and lectures only deepen resistance. Thoughtful questions can clarify what problem someone is actually trying to solve. Once the emotional charge fades, facts and real-world examples have a chance to land. Brett warned that opponents of market economies have been far more intentional about spreading their ideas. Concepts that once lived on the fringes now appear in classrooms, media coverage, and cultural narratives aimed at increasingly young audiences. Business leaders, he argued, cannot afford to stay silent or assume that success will speak for itself. To help close that gap, Brett has been working through

For situations that demand more depth, Brett also

the most common arguments against capitalism. He

outlined a second layer of responses built on data,

distilled hundreds of claims into a core set that appear

research, and economic analysis. These tools equip

again and again in public debate. For each, he is

leaders who engage with policymakers, journalists, and

developing clear, accessible responses that explain

institutional audiences, where evidence and rigor

how voluntary exchange, incentives, and competition

matter as much as tone.

address

human

needs

effectively

than

centralized control. These answers are designed for

Brett closed with a reminder that changing minds

everyday conversations, not academic seminars.

requires

discipline.

Leaders

must

learn

how

neutralize emotional objections and then address the real issue with clarity and accuracy. Done well, those conversations rebuild confidence in markets and restore a more honest understanding of how economic freedom creates opportunity. Capitalism has delivered extraordinary progress, but its future depends on people willing to explain why it works and how it can work better. As Brett made clear, defending it is no longer optional. It is a responsibility that calls for patience, precision, and the confidence to speak openly about the value of free exchange in everyday life.

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A Recognition of Leaders Advancing the Principles of Capitalism Written by: Michelle Bernier Principled Business hosted its annual Awards Dinner to recognize leaders who advance the principles of capitalism through their actions, decisions, and results. The event highlighted investors, executives, entrepreneurs, and ambassadors who show what principled leadership looks like in practice. Last year, Joe Lonsdale won the first Principled Business Leader of the Year Award. This year brought a broader set of categories. The selection process focused on measurable impact, leadership decisions that align with free enterprise, and a record of helping others rise.

Investor of the Year

Executive of the Year

Liam Krut. Reinforced Ventures investor who evaluates every opportunity through the question: would this win in a free market.

Brett Hurt. Founder of Bazaarvoice and data.world focused on purpose within data and AI companies.

Justin Callais. Economist-investor advancing prosperity rooted in mobility and the ethics of enterprise.

Troy Helming. Builder of large-scale clean energy projects.

Mike Gibson. 1517 Fund co-founder backing unconventional talent and building strong underwriting models around people, not credentials.

Mark Bailey. Operator focused on principled leadership and measurable growth.

Brian Schultz. LOOK Cinemas CEO driving a service-first culture and new theater models.

Victor Cho. Emovid CEO focused on trustbased enterprise models.

Rob Connelly. Henny Penny leader championing full employee ownership.

Kyle Kane. onSpark executive producing partnerships with strong returns.

John Cochrane. HumanGood CEO shaping senior living models supported by health tech.

Sol Rashidi. Enterprise AI operator with a model that strengthens human capability.

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Founder of the Year Tanner Jones. Vulcan Technologies CEO building legal AI for public and private institutions.

Victor Cho. Entrepreneur working on stakeholder aligned business structures.

Douglas Pestana. Legalmente.ai founder improving access to legal services.

Yagub Rahimov. Polygraf.ai founder focused on AI truth verification.

Mitchell Hsing. Founder of a fabrication company for next generation devices and chips.

Diana Tan. Brief founder building tools for instant knowledge access inside companies.

William Steele. Supply Pay co-founder improving cross border payments for real economy businesses.

Patrick McLaughlin. Economist founder behind RegBot.ai, which lowers regulatory friction.

Caroline Carralero. Daily Nouri founder focused on microbiome health with transparent standards.

Ambassador of the Year Dustin Palmer. Houston operator leading a family business while advancing voluntary exchange.

Julio Clavijo. Ecuadorian entrepreneur expanding opportunity across countries.

Adam Karl. Organizer mobilizing operators and alumni to strengthen free enterprise values.

Johnathan Bush. Not Just Cookies founder focused on work, ownership, and opportunity.

Dan Garretson. Technologist connecting innovators and capital.

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

The Awards Dinner recognized 4 leaders whose work reflects the highest standards of principled business

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Principled Business Investor of the Year Liam Krut of Reinforced Ventures Liam applies Austrian Economics and a free market lens to investment decisions. He finds overlooked opportunities and backs founders who build stronger institutions and better products.

Principled Business Executive of the Year Brian Schultz of LOOK Cinemas Brian leads with respect, service, and operational rigor. When Covid shut down his industry, he relaunched and built again. His work supports communities, employees, and partners through strong value creation.

Principled Business Founder of the Year Caroline Carralero of Daily Nouri Caroline focuses on accessible, science based microbiome solutions for families. Her discipline in product standards and customer trust reflects strong alignment with free enterprise and responsibility.

Principled Business Ambassador of the Year Dustin Palmer of Creative Blinds Dustin stepped forward from the start of the Ambassador Program and brought in leaders, shared his story, as well as organized events. Last month, he led a campus conversation for Rice University students on the meaning of capitalism.

These 4 leaders set a high bar for the year ahead by showing how you can advance the principles of capitalism through daily decisions, strong standards, and direct action. The full list of nominees reflects a strong and growing network of leaders committed to building value in their businesses and communities.

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NETWORK

UPDATES Highlights from our global community of investors, executives and founders advancing principled capitalism.

Victor Cho

Mackenzie Richter

Celebrated the launch of The Victor Cho Podcast on C-Suite Radio, a new platform delivering the clarity, discipline, and purpose that have defined his decades of leadership.

Celebrated the opening of Minnow Wellness, a women’sonly concierge clinic she cofounded to redefine modern health through personalized, science-driven care.

Kristi Kendall

Diogo Costa

was honored with the North American Liberty Award for her groundbreaking work on the UNDIVIDE US film at Atlas Network’s Liberty Forum in New York.

Chad Thevenot Launched The Athos Group and spoke at the Atlas Network Liberty Forum on creating new higher education models fit for the digital age.

Dustin Palmer Ambassador of the Year, hosted a successful Principled Business event at Rice University, exploring how stewardship and understanding between entrepreneurs and customers drive meaningful impact in today’s business environment.

Spoke at the Atlas Network Liberty Forum in New York on how liberty-minded organizations can reach new audiences. He shared insights on what it takes to communicate ideas of freedom in a noisy world.

Casey Given Was recently appointed to the Library Committee at The Union League Club of New York.

Troy Helming Shared that Earth Grid successfully raised significant funding at the New York Principled Business Summit.

Greg de Deugd Showcased his award-winning film The Secret Game at the Chelsea Film Festival in NYC, highlighting how storytelling bridges creativity and business.

What Diogo Costa Reminded Us at the Atlas Liberty Forum Written by: Alexka Medina There are moments at conferences when a speaker doesn’t raise their voice or chase applause, yet the room shifts all the same. At the recent Atlas Liberty Forum, that moment came during Liberty Ventures’ Leadership Circle member, Diogo Costa’s remarks. Calm and precise, Diogo

One of the most compelling parts of Diogo’s remarks

asked a question about growth and influence: How do we

addressed identity. Online ecosystems constantly

reach new audiences without losing the values that make

reward adaptation, often encouraging creators to let

our work meaningful in the first place?

audience reactions shape their voice and priorities. Diogo warned that when external incentives dictate

Diogo’s talk focused on a tension familiar to anyone

internal direction, organizations risk losing the very

working in ideas-based organizations. Digital platforms

perspective that made them worth listening to.

reward speed, outrage, and spectacle. Metrics update in

Staying oriented requires a steady moral compass,

real time, pushing creators and institutions to optimize

especially

relentlessly for reach. In that environment, it becomes

communicators toward extremes.

when

cultural

pressure

nudges

easy to drift. A message that begins with free markets, liberal principles, or economic literacy can gradually

Trust, Diogo argued, sits at the center of this entire

morph into something sharper and louder, shaped less by

problem.

conviction than by performance data.

information; it is credibility. Audiences are adept at

The

issue

today

not

scarcity

sensing when messages are calibrated for attention Rather than condemning growth or innovation, Diogo

rather than grounded in belief.

reframed the challenge. Before choosing platforms, formats, or strategies, communicators must answer a

Diogo closed with a challenge rather than a formula.

foundational question: what action or understanding do

Learn from audiences without surrendering identity.

we actually want from the people we reach? Without that

Adjust

clarity,

strategically while remaining anchored in principle.

success

becomes

hollow.

Numbers

climb,

tactics

without

erasing

purpose.

Build

Growth that comes at the cost of integrity ultimately

attention grows, but the original purpose thins out.

leaves organizations smaller than they appear. Drawing on his work at FEE, Diogo explained how this mindset changes the definition of progress. Impact is not

For those of us at Liberty Ventures, it was an honor to

measured only by impressions or follower counts. It

see members like Diogo leading these conversations

shows up when someone moves from casual interest to

on global stages with such integrity and depth. It is

genuine

one thing to speak about freedom and markets; it is

understanding,

and

later

settled

that

value

freedom

and

another to model how those ideas should be

responsibility. That kind of movement rarely happens

communicated in a noisy world. Diogo did more than

quickly. It demands consistency, intellectual honesty, and

offer advice. He reminded us that staying true is itself

a willingness to resist trends that dilute meaning.

a strategy, and often the most effective one.

commitment

ideas

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Arterra’s Breakout Win at the Principled Business Summit Pitch Competition Written by: Alexka Medina The Principled Business Summit has become a proving ground for founders who see enterprise as a means of expanding freedom and responsibility. And the pitch competition follows a clear standard: identify the leader who builds with conviction, defends free enterprise through action, and takes full ownership of a real problem in the world. Jonathan Willbanks of Arterra Pet Science, stood out because he delivered all of this with precision and conviction. Rather than leading with a polished product narrative, Jonathan presented a company built over years of experimentation and documented outcomes. Arterra Pet Science traces its origin to Arturo, a stray dog Jonathan adopted in South Los Angeles. Arturo arrived malnourished and in poor health. What followed was a disciplined process grounded in nutrition research, structured care, and long-term tracking. Over time, Arturo’s regimen expanded to more than 40 supplements a day. No existing consumer product could meet those needs, so Jonathan began formulating solutions himself. The results were hard to ignore. Arturo lived to 16.5 years, far beyond the typical 10 to 11-year lifespan for his breed mix. From that experience, Jonathan saw a larger opportunity. He built Arterra to distill the essential elements of that regimen into a coherent system that everyday dog owners could realistically use. On stage, he laid out the business with precision. Demand for canine longevity solutions is growing, yet the market remains scattered. Arterra’s approach brings proven inputs together in a single, structured offering. Jonathan walked judges through the economics, customer segments, and operations without overselling any part of the plan. What resonated most was the discipline behind the story. The judges saw a founder who builds from evidence and accepts accountability for results. Arterra reflected personal conviction shaped by data and a focused mission to extend the healthy years of dogs at scale. The presentation moved efficiently, the strategy was concrete, and the execution path was clear. That combination secured first place. The competition also captured the broader purpose of Principled Business and Liberty Ventures. Both organizations champion founders who operate within a framework of freedom, accountability, and value creation

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They invest in founders who understand that markets reward

value

creation,

not

slogans.

They

back

individuals who take ownership of problems in their community

and

build

operational

answers.

The

Summit gathered entrepreneurs who are expanding choice, improving livelihoods, and reinforcing civil society through enterprise. Second place went to Wyatt Smith of UpSmith, whose pitch addressed a persistent challenge for small trades businesses. Skilled professionals want to focus on improving homes and serving families, yet sales and administrative

tasks

often

consume

their

time.

UpSmith deploys AI agents to streamline lead handling and

customer

communication

for

these

trades

workers. Wyatt supported his case with concrete efficiency

gains

and

well-defined

market

opportunity. Third place was awarded to Glennon Simmons of Portable Diagnostic Systems. Glennon introduced a microfluidic platform capable of delivering lab-grade drug test results within minutes. The benefit was immediate and practical: faster answers for clinicians and investigators at a lower cost. His presentation demonstrated technical command and a strong understanding of how end users would apply the technology. Taken together, the finalists illustrated the Summit’s underlying vision: markets advance when founders accept responsibility for delivering tangible value. Investment follows leaders who operate transparently and execute with rigor. Progress emerges when individuals

solve

problems

through

voluntary

exchange and disciplined enterprise. Arterra’s win underscored that message. Strong companies often grow from personal commitment, mature through careful thinking, and earn trust by producing

measurable

exemplified

that

outcomes.

approach,

and

the

Jonathan Summit

recognized it. The response from the market is likely to follow.

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250 Years of Capitalism Written by: Alexander McCobin 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States of America. This was the year that Thomas

Jefferson

penned

the

Declaration

Independence, when he and other American Founding Fathers, inspired by thinkers like John Locke and others, sought to create a new system for human flourishing that rejected top-down controls and instead promoted social cohesion through individual rights. That was not the only document published in 1776, though. Just months beforehand, Adam Smith published his famous Wealth of Nations, the founding text of modern capitalism. While he never used the term capitalism in this book, he laid out the principles of what a free market economy looked like, challenging the moral and practical authority of central figures dictating what businesses ought to produce, how to produce it, or who they should work with. This means 2026 is the 250th Anniversary of Capitalism, and that’s why Liberty Ventures is going to dedicate the entire year to celebrating this milestone. We will reflect on the past 250 years: the evolution of capitalism, the capitalists who pushed humanity forward, and the progress that has been made. We will also cover what is happening in the present, such as the businesses, leaders, and innovations that capitalism is creating and who are creating modern capitalism. And finally, we will explore what the next 250 years of capitalism will look like. Both Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith were inspired by thinkers, systems, and practices that came before them; however, what both men and the documents they wrote did, was encapsulate a new worldview that celebrated the power of individual agency, emphasizing a set of principles that had at best been intuitively accepted by many, but not explicitly articulated as a guide. That set the tone for 250 years. The same is happening right now where other leaders are drawing upon their ideas and developing texts, institutions, and innovations that will set the tone for the next 250 years.

Capitalists for Capitalism Magazine

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Thanks to the Team This magazine, and more importantly, all of the work that is described in these pages, is thanks to the hard work of a large group of leaders in both Liberty Ventures and Principled Business, working day in and day out to build the movement of capitalists for capitalism.

Liberty Ventures Team

Principled Business Ambassadors

Michelle Bernier

Luis Silva-Ball

Valera Vasquez

Camilla Chellapermal

Magnús Örn

Yoseob Lim

Graziano Creperio

Steve Thomas

Ali Khan

Diego Laurentin

Adam Karl

Brian Bourgerie

Alexka Medina

Anar Alizamanli

Akin Oladosu

Alexander McCobin

Dan Garretson

Håkon Broder Lund

Dustin Palmer

Eden Eyjólfsdóttir

Patrick McLaughlin

Pavel Koktyshev

Fabricio Antezana

Gustavo Toxzui Xopa

Gabriel Grilli

Danny Chen

Igor Zillner

Prosperine Hollande

Jason Syversen

Nduwayo

Johnathan Bush

Cynthia Reyes

Julio Clavijo

Adolfo Urquizo

João Ferreira

Ishmael Amini

Mischa Kowall

Niko Klein

Nolan Lwin

Haukur Ingi Sigrúnar

Rajat Vishwakarma

Jónsson

Rodrigo Nuila

Jóhann Portal

Scott Alford

Clement Ngu Zachary Silva

NECKER ISLAND

Speacial Guest

KELSEY GRAMMER American Actor & Film Producer

MAY

12 - 16

2026