Joel Brewer – CEO of Brewer Digital

You can move really, really fast, but you have to know where you’re headed.

Joel Brewer is the Founder and CEO of Brewer Digital, a US based software development agency that helps early stage startup founders launch products with confidence. A software developer himself, Joel works directly with founders who have an idea, some traction, or fresh funding but no internal engineering leadership. His team builds MVPs, rescues failed offshore projects, and helps founders make smart technical decisions before they burn runway. Joel believes most startups do not fail because of bad ideas. They fail because they build the wrong thing or build it the wrong way. Brewer Digital partners with founders who value communication, clarity, and long term thinking over cheap shortcuts. With deep experience in HealthTech and FinTech, Joel helps founders decide what to build next, why it matters, and how to launch without creating technical debt that slows them down later. Dr. Dusty Hess – Founder and CEO of Upstream Health

If you see yourself as not playing a role in your own health, and you’re leaning on your health insurance to get you healthy, you’ve already lost

Dr. Dusty Hess is a functional medicine doctor, speaker, and founder of Upstream Health, where he helps Christian families restore health by returning to God’s original design. Our modern world has drifted far downstream from the way we were created to live. Processed food, chronic stress, poor sleep, environmental toxins, and disconnected lifestyles have left many families feeling burned out, inflamed, anxious, and spiritually depleted. Dr. Hess believes the good news is that the body was built for more, and it still remembers how to heal. Through Upstream Health, Dr. Hess helps families turn upstream again by restoring physical, mental, and spiritual health through faith-driven functional medicine tools, education, and community. Through Upstream+, a personalized functional medicine membership, and Upstream Magazine, a monthly faith-based health publication, Upstream Health equips Christian families with practical, God-aligned habits to help prevent and reverse chronic disease, reclaim energy, and live with greater joy and purpose. As a speaker, Dr. Hess brings together science, Scripture, and humor to make audiences laugh, think, and take action. His talks are faith-filled, evidence-based, and designed to inspire lasting change long after the event ends.

Matt Atkenson – Executive Director of Sales & Operations at Ford Motor Company

What I know from small business is that they watch their costs relentlessly.

Matt Atkenson is the Executive Director of Ford Pro North America Sales and Operations at Ford Motor Company, where he leads sales and operational strategy for Ford’s commercial, government, and dealer reported business channels. In this role, he oversees key areas including production planning, inventory management, vehicle allocation, and scheduling, while working closely with dealers, fleet customers, field operations, and retail marketing teams. He also serves as chair of the Ford Pro Dealer Council and Fleet Advisory Board, helping strengthen Ford Pro’s dealer network and support businesses that rely on work vehicles every day. Atkenson has been with Ford for more than 20 years and has held leadership roles across sales, service, dealer relations, field operations, commercial and industrial sales, and retail communications. His work focuses on aligning Ford Pro’s vehicles, services, and customer support with the real needs of North American businesses, especially commercial fleets and small business owners.

Carrie Joy Grimes – Founder and CEO of WorkMoney and Author of The Joy of Money: How to Do More With and Feel Better About Your Money—No Matter How Much You Have

Money is math plus motivation or feelings.

Carrie Joy Grimes is the founder and CEO of WorkMoney, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping Americans lower costs, increase incomes, and build financial stability. Through its community of more than 9 million members, WorkMoney connects people with practical tools and resources that have helped them save more than $2 billion. Carrie Joy is the author of The Joy of Money: How to Do More With and Feel Better About Your Money No Matter How Much You Have, a practical guide that helps readers understand both the math and the emotions of money so they can build lasting financial security. Mike Michalowicz – Author of The Pumpkin Plan, CEO at Provendus Group

Entrepreneurial success is around innovation based upon necessity.

Mike Michalowicz is an entrepreneur, speaker, and bestselling business author known for helping small business owners build more profitable and sustainable companies through simple, practical systems. He is the author of several widely recognized business books, including The Pumpkin Plan, Profit First, Clockwork, Fix This Next, and Get Different. By age 35, Mike had founded and sold multiple multimillion dollar companies before experiencing a major financial collapse that reshaped his approach to entrepreneurship. That experience became the foundation for his focus on building businesses that prioritize profitability, efficiency, and long term stability. Today, he serves as CEO of Provendus Group and continues to advise entrepreneurs around the world through speaking, writing, consulting, and media appearances. Mike is also a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a former business makeover expert for MSNBC.