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Students who successfully complete a Builders program graduate into the Global Builder Alumni Networ

10/14/2026

🌎 THANK YOU FOR BUILDING WITH US.

The Global Builders Summit brought together Builders from different places, backgrounds and industries, but connected by the same drive to learn, share and build what’s next.

To every Builder who showed up, pitched an idea, asked a question, shared a story, made a connection or simply brought their energy to the room: thank you.

This community grows because of the people who choose to be part of it.

And we're just getting started.

📅 See you at next year's Global Builders Summit.

Until then, keep building.

10/08/2026

🏅 MEET OUR 4TH PLACE WINNER: HAJER AL-EID

Hajer didn't discover the childcare business. She grew up in it.

Raised in her mother's in-home daycare, she began managing the business at 18 and helped double its revenue.

Now she's taking that experience and building Bright Steps Daycare, a model designed to bring the quality of a daycare center together with the convenience of an in-home setting.

Bright Steps focuses on residential properties in low-income neighborhoods where families qualify for childcare subsidies, with the goal of making quality care accessible without out-of-pocket costs for qualifying parents.

The waitlist is already full. Six months of operating funds are set aside. And Hajer is now working through one of the less glamorous parts of entrepreneurship: finding the right property and securing the financing to make the vision real.

Because sometimes building the dream looks a lot more like paperwork and house hunting than a highlight reel.

Congratulations, Hajer! 🎉

Follow her journey at

10/05/2026

🥉 MEET OUR 3RD PLACE WINNER: JOEY KAPLAN

What started as a coffee shop is becoming a bigger idea about what small-town spaces can be.

Cedar Creek Coffee & Art brings specialty coffee, an art gallery, craft cocktails and live music together in historic Old Town Elkhorn, Nebraska.

Just eight months after opening, the shop has already served more than 2,100 pour-overs, with a rotating menu of 20 to 50 coffees from more than 20 roasters.

But Joey's vision goes beyond the numbers.

The goal is to create a business model where coffee can serve as the profitable anchor that allows other passions, from art to music and beyond, to thrive.

As Joey puts it:

“Coffee pays the rent so the art doesn't have to.”

Congratulations, Joey! 🎉

Follow Cedar Creek's journey at

10/02/2026

🥈 MEET OUR 2ND PLACE WINNER: SHANNON RAITT

Before launching Legacy Solutions, Shannon Raitt spent years helping other financial professionals grow their practices.

When she decided to build his own business, she wanted to solve a problem she had seen up close: the complexity of probate and the challenge of making sure a family's assets are actually protected.

Legacy Solutions partners with an attorney-backed digital platform to create and fund living trusts in under an hour.

And the business is already gaining momentum.

Just seven months in, Shannon has hired his first employee, and one in five clients is referring someone new.

Her own family's experience helped shape the mission behind the business, making this more than a financial service. It's about helping people protect what they've spent a lifetime building.

Congratulations, Shannon! 🎉

Learn more about Legacy Solutions at legacysolutionsestateplanning.com

09/30/2026

🏆 MEET OUR 1ST PLACE WINNER: PAXTON DAWSON

Paxton Dawson is a calligraphy engraver who turned a recurring problem in her own work into a business opportunity.

At live personalization events, she kept seeing guests stuck in line with paper order forms, unsure when their piece would be ready and disconnected from the business once the event was over.

So she built a better way.

**NowMade** gives guests a simple digital experience while helping businesses manage the work happening behind the table.

Paxton developed the software herself, funded it through her own business and has already tested it across events of all sizes.

From a problem she experienced firsthand to a solution other creative businesses can use.

Congratulations, Paxton! 🎉

Follow her journey at **.creativeco**

09/28/2026

🚀 MEET THE 2026 GLOBAL BUILDERS PITCH COMPETITION WINNERS!

Four Builders. Four different ideas. Four different ways of turning a problem into an opportunity.

🏆 1st Place: Paxton Dawson, NowMade
🥈 2nd Place: Shannon Raitt, Legacy Solutions
🥉 3rd Place: Joey Kaplan, Cedar Creek Coffee & Art
🏅 4th Place: Hajer Al-eid, Bright Steps Daycare

From transforming live personalization and estate planning to reimagining small-town gathering spaces and accessible childcare, each Builder brought a unique vision to the stage.

More than a pitch, this was a celebration of people who are willing to take an idea, put it into motion and build something real.

Congratulations to all four winners, and to every Builder who stepped up to share their story. 👏

09/17/2026

🇨🇴 Colombia is showing up at the Global Builders Summit. 🌎

Meet three Builders who will be part of this year’s gathering:

Waira Itzell Palomeque
Juan Camilo Soto
Jhosep Borja

Different experiences, perspectives and stories, connected by one thing: the drive to build, grow and create impact.

We can’t wait to have you with us at the !

📍 Omaha, Nebraska
📅 September 18, 2026

09/12/2026

🚀 HAVE AN IDEA WORTH BUILDING?

The Global Builder Pitch Competition is your chance to put your business idea in the spotlight.

Share your vision. Get feedback from experienced leaders. Compete for cash prizes. And take your idea one step further.

Whether you’re already building or just getting started, this is your moment to step up and pitch what you’re creating.

🎤 Ready to make your pitch?

👉 Apply through the link in our bio.

09/10/2026

🌎 BUILDER ENERGY, ALL IN ONE PLACE.

The Global Builders Summit is bringing together builders from Nebraska, Mexico and Colombia for a day of learning, connection and ideas in motion.

From leadership and entrepreneurship to community building and strengths-based teams, this is where builders come together to keep building what’s next.

📍 Omaha, Nebraska
📅 September 18, 2026

Come ready to learn, connect and build.

08/26/2026

From summer intern to Product Innovator at Gallup! 🚀✨

Spotting a problem and creating a solution is what being a Builder is all about. This summer with Gallup’s Workplace Advisory team, she took an independent idea and turned it into reality by building a Chrome extension that integrates CliftonStrengths straight into Canvas! 📱📚

Her work made such an impact that she’s staying on with Gallup through her senior year as a Product Intern on the CliftonStrengths team, focusing directly on the student and education experience.

Drop some 🎉 emojis in the comments to congratulate her on this major milestone! 👇

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