Читать книгу The New Builders - Seth Levine - Страница 15

But this is fundamentally an optimistic book, because New Builders are optimistic people.ⁱⁱⁱ In a cynical age, they still believe in the American dream. In researching and meeting New Builders, we found a group of people across the country engaged in building a new future for themselves, their communities, and, collectively, the country. We also discovered communities that are picking up the challenge of growing their own local support networks for these entrepreneurs. The people we met in researching this book show us how fulfilling it is to own a business, how meaningful it is to be part of a community of entrepreneurs, and how rewarding it is to be responsible for your own future.

We spend a lot of time in the United States today celebrating individual spirit, but also looking to the government for help. What we found is that most things of consequence today happen in the space between individuals and government, in relationships between people who create change, in new networks, and in communities that are leading their own revivals.

In the coming chapters, we'll explore places like Staunton, Virginia, which is home to a local angel network that has invested more than $1 million and is home to a makerspace that has helped rejuvenate the downtown. The story of the Staunton Makerspace shows what happens when the spirit of New Builders takes root in a community and is nurtured there. About a year after it was opened, a fire destroyed the fledgling operation in downtown Staunton. A 92‐year‐old former machinist, George Saugui, read about the fire in the newspaper. “I thought we lost everything,” Dan Funk, the founder of the Makerspace told us. “But he showed up.” The duo hoisted George's old workbench into a truck and brought it down to the ruined Makerspace. “He sat for four weeks, repairing all of our woodworking equipment,” Dan recalled. The Makerspace was rebuilt with the help of George and others in the community who turned up to rally around this important asset. It is now back in operation and has since expanded to include members working on a variety of hobbies, as well as entrepreneurial ventures in everything from textiles to 3D printing (which quickly became important during Covid‐19).

Indeed, entrepreneurs, especially those with unexpected success stories, have given the United States much of our identity as a nation of builders and doers, risk‐takers, and innovators, of economic prosperity and deep community identity. The story we tell ourselves about America, although part myth and part reality, is inexorably linked to this entrepreneurial spirit.