Connecticut’s economic future isn’t only about attracting the next big employer. It’s also about supporting the people already here who are willing to build something of their own.

That was one of the themes to emerge when Rebellion Group CEO Bryn Tindall joined Sign Pro President Pete Rapoccio and Sullivan & LeShane President Patti LaShane on WTIC for a conversation about Forum@535, entrepreneurship, technology, and the future of business in Connecticut.

For Tindall, entrepreneurship is bigger than any single company or event.

“I think entrepreneurship is critical for America’s success,” he said. “I look around at the things that we say we’re good at versus what we’re good at. Entrepreneurship is one thing that Americans are still leaders at.”

It’s a mindset Rapoccio knows firsthand. His approach to building Sign Pro has been less about following a predetermined path and more about doing the work, treating people well, learning, and adapting along the way.

“The point of it is that you start from nothing,” Rapoccio said. “You put your head down every day and you work.”

That willingness to take risks and adapt may become even more important as technologies like AI reshape how businesses operate. LaShane described entrepreneurs as people willing to “see an opportunity, figure it out, be resilient, make changes, be flexible with it.”

Forum@535 creates a place for those people to learn from one another. And that matters beyond the businesses represented in the room.

Connecticut’s next chapter will depend in part on people willing to take an idea, accept the risk that comes with it, and figure out how to make it work. Creating stronger connections between those entrepreneurs can help more of those ideas turn into companies, jobs, innovation, and economic opportunity here at home.