Sin City. The City of Lights. The Entertainment Capital of the World.

Whatever nickname you might call it, Las Vegas is truly a one-of-a-kind ecosystem of entertainment, hospitality, and entrepreneurship can’t be replicated anywhere else around the globe.

So when the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) hosted their 2025 conference at Caesar’s Palace (not the real one, of course) in Las Vegas – they embraced a slogan that tied into all of these aforementioned themes:

Fortune Favors the Bold

The USASBE team lived up to that mantra by organizing a series of keynotes, breakout sessions, and social receptions throughout the three days which encouraged its attendees to go deep with one another and transform thoughts into action. A beautiful thing can happen when hundreds of entrepreneurial educators around the world convene with this mindset and seek to take back actionable programs and/or solutions to their respective universities.

The EcoMap team leaned into that theme as well as we ran a special Vegas-inspired “Ace Your Ecosystem” promotion for USASBE attendees. In an effort to learn more about the state about ecosystem mapping at universities, we just asked a a simple question with a variable follow up.

Does your university/region already have an ecosystem map?

• If yes, what is it called/where can you find it?
• If not, what is the closest approximation to an ecosystem “source of truth”?

After attendees submitted this quick quiz, I dealt them a Texas Hold ‘Em Poker hand. No poker knowledge was required – they simply had to flip their cards and make the best possible 5 card hand out of the 7 at their disposal. In line with our ethos to support local ecosystems, the top 5 hands throughout the conference received a gift card to the local business or restaurant of their choice. 

Based on the data we received, the vast majority of universities didn’t have an “official” ecosystem map, but there were some really creative approximations. My personal favorite? George Washington University developed an “Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Bingo Card” which encouraged students to visit buildings, meet staff, and attend events all around campus. The Starbucks gift card carrot isn’t a bad incentive either!

All in on AI
Just like the 2024 USASBE conference in Birmingham – AI dominated the conversation at USASBE. By my count, over a dozen sessions had ‘AI’ directly in the title and many more weaved in AI as a key talking point. One of the most popular meetups happened on Friday morning as Professor Shane Snipes from CUNY hosted an “AI Breakfast” where attendees were encouraged to speak about the impact of anything AI-related on their centers/in their classrooms. I did notice that the conversation had evolved since last January. As more practitioners become familiar and incorporate some level AI into their work, the focus has shifted more from “should or shouldn’t we?” to “how are we going to?”

Faith-based Entrepreneurship
One of the most intriguing sessions from my perspective was the Friday lunch keynote featuring Brett Smith, a professor at Miami University (Ohio) and Executive Director of the L.I.F.E. Center – Leading Integration of Faith and Entrepreneurship. Housed under Miami University’s well-regarded John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship, the L.I.F.E. Center’s mission is to understand how and why religious beliefs may influence entrepreneurship and help to convene the emerging ecosystem of faith-based accelerators, entrepreneurs, and investors. Brett’s talk centered on the idea of a “Leap of Faith” in entrepreneurship and how both faith and entrepreneurial success can be intertwined. I’m looking forward to seeing how the L.I.F.E. Center continues to be a leader in this space and further develops the ecosystem for intertwining faith and entrepreneurship. 

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Driver or Passenger?

I had the opportunity to close out the last breakout session of USASBE with my wonderful colleagues Helen Norman and Melvin Valentine – two Nevada-based ecosystem builders who shared their incredible work being done in their respective fields. Helen spoke about the process of collaborating with Nevada’s Governor’s Office of Entrepreneurship, UNLV, and Notre Dame to develop the Encore Entrepreneurship HUB at the MLK Jr Senior Center and Melvin spoke about his work in helping to revitalize Jackson Ave. in Historic Westside, a historically Black neighborhood in Las Vegas that is bustling again with new casinos, restaurants, and community hubs. My part focused on the foundation of the student-centered entrepreneurial ecosystem at Johns Hopkins University and how the university was a passenger before it became a driver (primarily driven by our force of nature founder, Pava LaPere).

Conclusion

Reflecting on my few days out in the desert, I couldn’t help but feel invigorated by the entrepreneurial educators’ passion for integrating cutting-edge AI technologies into their curricula while keeping it grounded in humanity. Humans have problems that need solving. Humans have ambitions and goals. Humans buy from other humans.

This tech-forward mindset aligns perfectly with EcoMap Technologies’ vision of empowering students and educators by helping them find the most relevant information that they are searching for. Not to just provide information for its own sake, but rather so it can be utilized to advance a personal goal or solve a problem.

AI is just a means to that end.

If you are interested in learning more about how EcoMap can help you support your ecosystem, grab a time that works for you.