Few things are more energizing than seeing young creators light up with ideas and questions. At the U.S. Embassy in Brasília, I spoke about my time at Roblox and fielded questions from the children of embassy staff—many of whom were serious players and creators. One 10-year-old asked about a complex physics calculation, and then applied my answer to other scenarios! Their curiosity and insight reminded me of what we learned over and over again at Roblox—never to underestimate the creative capacity of young people.

It was powerful to see local entrepreneurs share real challenges—and leave with advice they could use right away. The U.S. Embassy in Brasília brought together a thoughtful, cross-disciplinary panel including leaders in diplomacy and city planning, and I was grateful to contribute tech and startup insights to the mix. It was rewarding to share what I’ve learned along the way and see how it resonated with entrepreneurs tackling some of Brazil’s biggest challenges.

It’s always energizing to connect with students who are diving deep into creativity and STEM. At Casa Thomas Jefferson’s incredible makerspace in Brasília, I had the chance to share my experiences from Roblox—and quickly found myself fielding thoughtful questions about entrepreneurship, leadership, and teamwork. Sponsored by the U.S. Embassy as part of the American Spaces program, this event highlighted the curiosity and ambition of the next generation. One student’s question about work-life balance sparked a conversation about resilience, support systems, and learning from fast-paced growth.

I had the honor of moderating a session at Instrumental’s Build Better 2024 conference. The session brought together four impressive hardware leaders for a tactical conversation about what it means to lead when you’re building physical products. We discussed navigating through crisis, balancing innovation with operational efficiency, and tackling the hard leadership challenges unique to hardware. The audience’s engagement made it clear that there’s real appetite for practical advice on building strong teams and making difficult trade-offs.

It’s always a privilege to work with students who are already thinking deeply about how to turn ideas into real products. At Gonzaga’s Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, I shared lessons on customer validation—from finding early fit using Steve Blank’s Earlyvangelist model to scaling through rapid iteration and targeted sub-markets. The conversation really came alive when we got into stories from my time at Roblox, and it was inspiring to see students already mapping these concepts to ventures they’re imagining.