11:30 am12:30 pm
In my agendaFlagship
Lunch and Registration Opens
The Larkspur Inn, Garden Courtyard · 718 Cedar St, Piñon SpringsDirectionsLight lunch from Graze and Gather Catering and badge collection. The Larkspur Inn is home base all week.
Your sessions for the week: times, rooms, speakers, what each one covers, and what to listen for. Tap any location for directions.
31 sessions in your agenda. Priority sessions in bold. Where two sit in the same hour, choose on the day.
| 11:30 to 12:30 | Lunch and registration | The Larkspur Inn, Garden Courtyard |
| 12:30 to 1:30 | Opening Kickoff and Keynote | The Larkspur Inn, Garden Courtyard |
| 3:30 to 4:30 | Stop Chasing Every Opportunity overlap | Alder House, Gather Room |
| 3:30 to 4:30 | Why Organizations Struggle to Operationalize Innovation in the Age of AI overlap | Mesa Commerce Bank, Community Room |
| 5:00 to 6:30 | Opening Night Party and Fireside Chat | The Larkspur Inn, Garden Courtyard |
| 6:30 to 8:00 | Founder Showcase: Food and Ag Brand Stories | The Undercroft |
| 8:30 to 9:30 | Winning Visibility in the Age of AI Search overlap | The Kiln Collective |
| 8:30 to 9:30 | Is Your Business Actually Ready for Funding? overlap | Primrose Reading Room |
| 9:30 to 10:30 | Professional Development on Workforce overlap | Mesa College Center for Innovation, 2nd floor |
| 10:00 to 11:00 | Play Money: What Would You Do If Money Wasn't a Thing? overlap | Mesa Commerce Bank, Community Room |
| 11:30 to 12:30 | Tech Risk Management for Startups | The Kiln Collective |
| 2:00 to 3:00 | Build an AI Operating System for Your Business Idea overlap | The Kiln Collective |
| 2:00 to 3:00 | The Missing Link: Connecting Rural Founders, Communities and Capital overlap | Mesa Commerce Bank, Community Room |
| 2:00 to 3:00 | Your Community Is Your Capital overlap | Mesa College Center for Innovation, 2nd floor |
| 3:30 to 4:30 | How You Can Access Circular Mesa Communities (CMC) Resources | Adult Education Center |
| 6:00 to 9:00 | The Turbine Hall |
| 8:30 to 9:30 | Know Your Numbers Before You Ask AI overlap | Alder House, Gather Room |
| 8:30 to 9:30 | Protect Your Investment: IT Security in the Age of AI overlap | Silverline Hotel, Oak Room |
| 10:00 to 11:00 | Community Over Competition: Growing Together in a Small Town | Piñon Springs Rail Museum |
| 11:30 to 12:30 | The Legal and Financial Foundations Every Founder Needs | Silverline Hotel, Oak Room |
| 2:00 to 3:00 | Startups Will Save the World! overlap clash | Silverline Hotel, Oak Room |
| 2:00 to 3:00 | Steady at the Helm: Leading Through Startup Chaos overlap clash | Alder House, Gather Room |
| 3:30 to 4:30 | Building Alone, Leading Differently | Silverline Hotel, Oak Room |
| 8:30 to 9:30 | Vibe Coding: From Idea to Working Product in an Hour | The Kiln Collective |
| 10:00 to 11:00 | Building Businesses While Raising Humans | Mesa Commerce Bank, Community Room |
| 11:30 to 12:30 | Pricing Your Products (and Services) for Profit | The Kiln Collective |
| 2:00 to 4:00 | It Takes a Village: Startup Community Meet-up overlap | Quiet Ember Candle Co. |
| 3:30 to 4:30 | The State Funding You Don't Know About overlap clash | Rimrock Brewing Company |
| 8:30 to 9:30 | Agentic Coding for Non-technical Humans changed | The Kiln Collective |
| 10:00 to 10:25 | Keep It Local: The Employee Ownership Option first half | Mesa Commerce Bank, Community Room |
| 10:30 to 11:00 | Rural Women in Entrepreneurship Networking second half | Primrose Reading Room |
| 11:30 to 1:30 | Closing Lunch | Depot Street Station |
Every session and fixed commitment on one grid. Sessions in the same hour sit side by side. Tap a block to open that day's details.
All 77 sessions on the official agenda. 31 are in your agenda. Filter by day, track or keyword.
Light lunch from Graze and Gather Catering and badge collection. The Larkspur Inn is home base all week.
Nora Castellan (Startup Mesa); Everett Whitlock (Ridgeline Ventures)
Welcome from the organizers, then Everett Whitlock on how venture capital is changing and what founder support outside big cities could look like.
Bree Halvorsen (Open Range Creative)
A workshop on connecting your brand promise to your content so it builds connection across every channel.
Denise Okafor (Make It Rugged)
Communication, adaptability, judgment and leadership as the skills that matter more as AI changes work.
Lena Marchetti (Bonne Femme Finance)
A practical take on paying yourself first as a business owner, for good months that still leave you short.
Paula Stroud (Piñon County Economic Development Alliance)
What happens when founders invest in leadership development, drawn from Project LIFT's work with regional employers.
Wes Tolliver (Wandering Ewe Soaps)
A story-led talk on narrowing focus, judging new opportunities and saying no to grow.
Colin Vasquez (CVQ Strategy)
Implementation risk, operational fit, staff adoption and readiness when putting AI into daily operations.
Everett Whitlock (Ridgeline Ventures); Renata Hollis (Startup Mesa); Marisol Keene (SPARK); Petra Lindahl; Garrett Moody
Happy hour, a first look at the Hometown Angel Network, and a fireside chat with rural founders about capital.
Joanna Pruitt (Mesa Grown Alliance); judges Ivan Ruiz, Marcus Delacroix, Anika Desai; finalists incl. Bluejay Baking Co., Pegasus Snack Co
Five food and beverage founders pitch in three minutes each, with questions from three judges. Networking after.
Breakfast from Cocina del Valle and coffee from Marigold Coffee House. Bring your own mug.
Dylan Ashford (Summit Signal Digital)
How AI answer engines choose which businesses to recommend, and practical steps to get cited.
Corinne Abbott and Hallie Brook (High Country MicroLending Institute)
An interactive workshop on whether outside funding would help your business or amplify its weak spots.
Simone Varga (Lanternlight Consulting); Kara Whitfield (True North Coaching)
Finding a networking approach that suits your personality instead of working the room.
Elliot Granger (Vector Peak)
A behind-the-scenes tour of a rocket propulsion company based in Piñon Springs.
Lucía Ferrante (Press and Pulp Juicery)
Leadership, communication, networking and workforce resources for career growth and entrepreneurship.
Ada Pemberton (Pemberton Ridge Apothecary)
How branding choices make a handmade business look polished and trustworthy.
Joelle Barlow (The Whole Team Project)
Why culture needs attention before a team reaches 15 to 25 people.
Lena Marchetti (Bonne Femme Finance)
A visioning session that sets money aside to clarify what you want to build.
Mateo Arrieta (Puente Strategies Group)
Business models, registration, licensing, first customers, startup costs and pricing.
Sienna Rowe (Lumen Digital)
Using AI in brand work while keeping a human voice customers trust.
Victor Lund (Ninefold Security LLC)
Fraud, data breaches and the new risks of autonomous AI agents, in plain terms.
Ruth Ellery (Ellery Lane Photography)
Hands-on product photography without expensive gear.
Itzel Navarro; Lucía Ferrante (Press and Pulp Juicery); Rocío Salgado (Pupusería La Ceiba)
Starting and running a business in the US, and how it differs from Mexico.
Daniela Ochoa (Main Street Ledger Bookkeeping)
The three main financial statements and common bookkeeping errors, for tax readiness.
Renata Hollis (Startup Mesa)
How rural regions can activate local angel investors and become investment-ready.
Trevor Lindgren (Ripple Effect Marketing)
A hands-on start to building an email list and strategy from zero.
Owen Farraday (The Institute for Small-Town AI)
A workshop to map your best AI workflows and leave with a 30-day plan using free or low-cost tools.
Noelle Sato (BuildSpace Commons)
A walking tour of the town's community makerspace.
Alma Whitcomb (High Desert Community Fund)
Lending programs and how to prepare for financing when banks say no.
Inés Calderón (Civic Rights League)
Personal and business strengths, gaps, and decision-making.
Brody Keller (Far Ridge Radio)
Storytelling lessons from radio and early YouTube.
Quentin Hale (iHERE Institute)
A framework for the human role as more work is automated.
Molly Strand (CMC); Celeste Amari
Funding for businesses reducing waste and building circular supply chains.
Yolanda Brice and Harriet Quill (Startup Mesa)
Startup Mesa's 12-year celebration with dinner, trivia and networking. Separate ticket.
your notes from Sunrise Oats Co., coffee from Marigold Coffee House.
Daniela Ochoa Reyes (Main Street Ledger Bookkeeping)
The three core financial statements, so you ask AI better questions about money.
Felix Arnaud (PayRight Partners)
Practical protection against breaches, ransomware and compromised accounts.
Rhett Sandoval (Pedal Assist Outfitters)
E-biking, walking and storytelling prompts to find the story behind your business.
Opal Merriweather (Made On Purpose Coaching)
A team challenge: build and pitch a product from a random bag of items.
Darcy Fenwick (Hattie's); Wren Kowalczyk; Gail Thornbury; Jada Prescott; Mira Okonkwo
Sagebrook business owners on cross-promotion, shared resources and community-first decisions.
R J Lyle (Lylecraft Studio)
A workshop applying each of the five senses to your brand.
Tobias Pell (Glowline)
AI as a creative partner for physical, visual and audio work.
Talia Wren
A reflective session on building by your own definition of success.
Gideon Mercer; Fiona Gallagher; Calvin Ostrander; Beau Kingsley
A business attorney, estate attorney, fractional CFO and financial advisor on early decisions.
Ned Harlan; Shane Corrigan (HiveWorks); Ingrid Solberg; Logan Pierce
Early-stage, local climate ventures across energy, food, mobility and buildings.
Drew Hollister (Hollister Outfitters)
Leading an early organization through volatility and ambiguity.
Alma Whitcomb (HDCF); Grant Ellison (Canyon State Bank)
What lenders look for and how to prepare an application.
Monica Tate, Josie Albright, Elise Navarre (SOSB)
State programs for advising, non-dilutive capital and financing.
Reid Calloway (Porchlight Partners)
How the founder's role grows when AI keeps the team small.
Corey Blanchard (Backroads Bold)
A mountain bike ride in Coyote Draw, ending at Rimrock Brewing.
Tessa Lindqvist (Startup Mesa)
Handmade goods from 14 juried rural artists and makers.
Bagels from Morning Mesa Bagels, coffee from Marigold Coffee House.
Silas Marlowe and Reid Calloway (Porchlight Partners); Jonah Pratt and Bianca Ferris (Mesa Startups Collective)
Coffee at the trailhead at 7:30, on the trail at 8:30 with founders and investors.
Sadie Vaughn (Red Butte Trading Company)
Building a brand that feels personal to younger customers.
Gwen Ashby (Gwen Ashby Co.)
Building a business that can run when you step away.
Kai Ellsworth (BrightLattice)
A live session building a working product with AI-assisted coding.
Marisol Keene (SPARK); Arthur Lim (Quillon Legal); Lena Marchetti; Howard Brandt; Toby Marsh
What creators own, what protection is worth pursuing, and what to do when work is copied.
Lacey Dunmore (Rooted and Ready)
Websites, social media and Google for rural businesses serving locals and visitors.
Rosa Villanueva (Common Table Collective)
Running a business alongside caregiving and family responsibilities.
Natalie Brightwater (Ledgerline Enterprises)
Channel pricing, price-market fit, cost of goods versus overhead, and breakeven. Free spreadsheet included.
Harriet Quill; Odette Dunleavy; Walt Harrow; Neil Ashcombe; M.R. Fairley
Four regional authors on traditional, independent and hybrid publishing.
Hazel Novak; Camila Duarte; Remy Fontaine (Mesa Goat Works)
How community and collaboration give rural climate businesses an edge.
Joy Halloran (Halloran Transformations)
Recognizing chronic stress early and practical tools to manage it.
Nolan Pryce; Molly Strand; Kendra Sloane; Vivian Hart; Esther Vance; Harriet Quill
Local businesses and governments working together on climate resilience.
Marisol Keene (SPARK); Tobias Pell (Glowline)
A relaxed meet-up with activities, conversation and prizes.
Lulu Bramwell; Avery Coleman; Priya Raman (SOSB); Corinne Abbott; Alma Whitcomb
State-specific funding sources and how to apply.
Mason Tredway (Copperline Labs)
Using AI from customer signal to shipped code in a small team.
Raul Medina (Startup Mesa); Sabine Laurent and Megan Holt (Kinfold); Brenna Gale
Entrepreneurship as a way to build belonging across communities.
Sienna Rowe and Maren Doyle (Lumen Digital)
Live DJ, food and a first drink covered.
Farah Siddiqui (High Mesa State University)
Reading vague feedback from customers, partners and investors, and what to do next.
Mateo Arrieta (Puente Strategies Group)
Practical steps and resources for veterans starting a business.
Julian Rook
Replaces Vince Albano's session in this slot. See the event app for the description.
Tessa Lindqvist (Startup Mesa)
An in-person edition of the monthly online group for rural women founders.
Martin Cho and Noa Feldman (MEOC)
Employee ownership as a way to keep a local business local.
Dora Whitley
Deciding which work to keep, cut and delegate as you grow.
Nora Castellan (Startup Mesa)
The wrap party. Food, company and a last round of conversation.
No sessions match. Clear the search or pick another day.
Opening day. Badge, keynote, first evening of networking.
Collect your badge for the week and a light lunch from Graze and Gather Catering. The Larkspur Inn is home base all week, with free coffee and breakfast Tuesday to Thursday mornings.
Arrive by 12:00 so you are seated for the keynote.
Welcome from the organizers, then Everett Whitlock on how venture capital is changing, what it takes to build startup communities outside big cities, and where founder support in the rural high country is heading. He co-founded Ridgeline Ventures in Cedar Bluff, co-wrote Capital Unbound, and is a founding board member of Startup Mesa.
Listen for how he describes rural capital. It sets up the evening fireside chat and the Hometown Angel Network preview.
A story-led talk about a maker who says yes to everything and drifts from his best work. Covers how to choose which products or services get most of your focus, a way to judge new opportunities, and when saying no helps growth.
This speaks directly to your mentor's point about focus. Note the framework and test it against the LaurelHouse lines.
Implementation risk, operational fit, staff adoption and readiness when putting AI into daily operations.
Same hour as Wes Tolliver. This one covers how organizations actually adopt AI, the question behind your Business Systems offer.
Mingling from 5:00, fireside chat at 5:30. A first look at Startup Mesa's Hometown Angel Network, then a conversation with rural founders about capital and building investment networks outside metro areas. Finger food from Graze and Gather Catering, cash bar.
Talk about rural hospitality in the high desert as a category and keep project details for private conversations. Introduce yourself to Marisol Keene; she hosts Thursday's meet-up too.
Five food and beverage founders each get one slide and three minutes, then two questions from the judges. Hosted by Mesa Grown Alliance and the county extension office, with a focus on regulation, margins, production and distribution. Networking after.
The evening you invited a prospective client to. Also useful for the food clients in your pipeline: see how food founders tell their story in three minutes.
AI day. Two sessions closest to LH Digital's work.
How AI chat assistants, AI search summaries and answer engines now decide which businesses get recommended. Covers the move from search engine optimization to generative engine optimization, why trust and authority matter more, and practical steps to get cited in AI answers.
Listen for the words he uses for AI visibility and which ones land with the room. Compare with your AI Visibility pitch.
An interactive workshop on whether outside funding would help your business or amplify its weak spots.
Same hour as Dylan Ashford. Useful for the studio expansion funding questions, and HCMLI is a lender worth knowing.
Leadership, communication, networking and workforce resources for career growth and entrepreneurship.
Meet the Latine track organizers and learn which local workforce resources exist.
A visioning session that sets money aside to clarify what you want to build.
A lighter hour to think about what you most want to build.
Fraud, data breaches and the new risks of autonomous AI agents, in plain terms.
Notes on AI agent risk will help you answer clients' security questions.
A hands-on workshop. Participants map the workflows where AI would help most, design a first AI-assisted process, and leave with a 30-day plan using free or low-cost tools. Draws on the Small-Town AI Pilot Library. No technical background needed.
The closest peer to LH Digital at the event. Meet him after the session and learn where his work and yours meet.
How rural regions can activate local angel investors and become investment-ready.
Renata Hollis is building the Hometown Angel Network. Same hour as Owen Farraday; if you choose Farraday, find her Monday evening.
Lending programs and how to prepare for financing when banks say no.
High Desert Community Fund lends where banks often will not. Same hour as two other sessions.
Funding for businesses reducing waste and building circular supply chains.
Circular-economy funding could fit two clients in your pipeline.
Startup Mesa's 12-year celebration. Cocktails and mocktails, a locally sourced dinner, rural entrepreneurship trivia, and an overview of where Startup Mesa is heading. Proceeds fund its founder programs.
Not attending. Remove it from your event-app agenda.
Your own town on stage in the morning, a client call in the afternoon.
The three core financial statements, so you ask AI better questions about money.
Pick this one or IT security. This one pairs with Friday's pricing ruling.
Practical protection against breaches, ransomware and compromised accounts.
Pick this one or Know Your Numbers. This one helps with client security questions.
Sagebrook business owners on how they cross-promote, share resources and make community-first decisions across food, lodging, retail and services. Open Q&A.
Every panelist is a Sagebrook neighbor. A natural place to be seen locally, for LH Digital and its client work alike.
A business attorney, estate attorney, fractional CFO and financial advisor on early decisions.
Two business attorneys on one panel. A natural place to find the attorney you need.
Early-stage, local climate ventures across energy, food, mobility and buildings.
Pick this one or Steady at the Helm. Either one only works if the 2:40 client call moves.
Leading an early organization through volatility and ambiguity.
Pick this one or the climate panel. Either one only works if the 2:40 client call moves.
An interactive session for solo founders and very lean teams. AI lets one person build more and hire later, which makes the founder's role larger. The group explores what leading well looks like in that setup.
Ask him about the Hometown Angel Network.
Pricing, then the community meet-up. Client walkthrough at 3:00.
A live session building a working product with AI-assisted coding.
Watch how fast a working tool gets built. Useful benchmark for LH Digital builds.
Running a business alongside caregiving and family responsibilities.
Rosa Villanueva runs Common Table Collective. A good fit for your week and the food clients.
Pricing basics taught plainly: pricing by sales channel (wholesale, distributor, retail), how a product's price compares with competitors, cost of goods versus overhead, and finding your breakeven. Includes a free spreadsheet with a cost calculator, breakeven analysis and price calculator.
Download the spreadsheet. Run the LH Digital ladder from Friday's pricing decision through its breakeven method.
A relaxed meet-up with activities, casual conversation and a few playful competitions. Prizes from Field to Peak and Fault Line Outfitters, plus a growth session from Lumen Digital.
You have about an hour here. Arrive at 2:00 sharp.
State-specific funding sources and how to apply.
Only if the walkthrough moves. Five funders on one panel, including SOSB.
Systems in the morning, employee ownership, closing lunch.
Vince Albano's session, Build the System Before the Business Breaks, is no longer on the agenda. This session now holds the 8:30 slot at The Kiln Collective. See the event app for the description.
Decide on the day whether it is worth the early drive.
When a local company is sold, jobs and community stability often go with it. This session presents employee ownership as another path, and the value it brings to employees, communities and the business itself.
Listen for how an owner hands a business to its staff. Useful background for the studio expansion and for any client planning an exit.
An in-person edition of Tessa's monthly online group for rural women founders. Leave Mesa Commerce Bank at 10:25 and arrive for the second half.
Reconnect with Tessa in person after your email, and meet the rural women founders in the room. The Closing Lunch follows at 11:30, a few blocks away.
The wrap party. Food, company and a last round of conversation. No panels or pitches.
Close the loop with anyone you promised a follow-up.
Your sessions plotted on downtown Piñon Springs, numbered in the order they happen. Sessions that start at the same time share a number with a letter (3a, 3b): choose one on the day.
What came out of Monday, the funders worth finding before Friday, and short lines to open each conversation.
She leads the Hometown Angel Network. The five chapters named Monday night do not include the High Mesa region, so ask who is organizing one here. Mission-led local angels are the investors the expansion needs.
Same hour as Build an AI Operating System. For this week's goal, choose The Missing Link and message Owen Farraday in the event app.
The BRC is hosting home base at the Larkspur Inn. Ask how the BRC supports a business expansion, and who on their bench advises on expansion financing.
A community lender that works with borrowers when banks say no. Every slot she speaks in collides with something on your week, so send an event-app message tonight and ask for 15 minutes.
State advising, non-dilutive capital and financing programs. The studio hold ends at 3:20, so this fits. It shares the hour with Building Alone, Leading Differently; for funders, choose SOSB.
SPARK pairs local angel checks with economic development support, the model the panel held up Monday. Your notes placed SPARK in the Valley Fork; as far as I know it is the Piñon Springs accelerator. Confirm with Marisol.
Ownership transition specialists. Ask how they help an owner pass a business to a community group or its staff. This speaks to a member-owned structure for the studio.
Startup Mesa's next demo day, run by Stuart Benning, their Director of Ecosystem Development and Partnerships. Founders apply to pitch for capital or support from ecosystem partners; anyone can tune in. Lumen Digital has sponsored every demo day this year. Startup Mesa has hosted or helped with 9 pitch events in 2026.
Not yet known: format (in person or online), location, and the application deadline. Ask Stuart this week.
Recommendation: attend as an observer. Founders who have just pitched are the clients who need their operations in order. A pitch is built for founders raising equity, which suits neither LH Digital nor a studio expansion.
| 12:30 | Kickoff and keynote. Everett Whitlock: build on the people already here. Startup Mesa team introduced, including Julian Rook, Raul Medina and Stuart Benning. | Notes |
| 3:30 | Operationalizing AI, Colin Vasquez. Most AI pilots stall at adoption. Small private models answer the confidentiality worry. The case for your Business Systems offer. | Notes |
| 5:00 | Fireside on rural angels. Rural capital lacks a way to reach founders. HAN has 5 chapters, more in 2027. In the next 30 days, make one concrete offer to a local founder. | Notes |
| 7:09 | Showcase: protein bar founder. About $1.20 overhead per bar; working on sourcing, equipment and a one-year shelf life. | Notes |
| 7:16 | Showcase: hazelnut cacao spread founder. $3.80 cost per jar, $22 retail; moving into wholesale with Piñon Natural Market. | Notes |
| 7:41 | Judges and winner. Bluejay Bakery won. Shelf life was the shared weak point. | Notes |