When OpenAI’s Sam Altman spoke about his vision of artificial intelligence enabling a single person to build a billion-dollar startup, it sparked an idea for Campbell Business School Professor and Director of Entrepreneurship Scott Kelly.
At the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Annual Conference held this year at the University of Calgary in Canada, Kelly teamed up with Matthew Smilor, director of the Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, to share practical ways students and new grads could add value to their companies with the same mindset a solofounder would need to launch a billion-dollar startup.
The talk addressed the transformative potential of AI agents and digital tools that now enable individuals to launch, manage and scale ventures independently. Citing Altman’s prediction of the first billion-dollar solo startup, the presenters explored how founders can leverage AI for marketing, legal, customer service and even pitch competitions — replacing the need for large support teams.
Kelly and Smilor demonstrated tools such as custom GPTs, string.com for process automation, V0 for web development and agent.ai to automate repetitive workflows. They shared live examples, including building an AI-powered pickleball scheduling app, automating pitch competition intake and deploying custom avatars for university communication.
Notably, the duo emphasized that using AI doesn’t remove the need for critical thinking. They introduced the concept of “argumentative AI,” showcasing Grok’s rebuttal-style feedback mode to simulate real-world criticism and sharpen entrepreneurial judgment.
A standout moment was the unveiling of an interactive avatar trained on university resources — offering students personalized, on-demand support.
“This isn’t about creating wealth in isolation,” said Smilor. “It’s about building scalable, impactful businesses — and preparing students with the mindset and tools they’ll need to do that alone, if necessary.”
The session concluded with an open Q&A and a call for educators to integrate AI agent development into their curricula.
“Expose students to the buffet of tools,” said Kelly. “They may not use everyone, but when a business problem arises, they’ll know the options.”
About GCEC
The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) is a premier academic organization with over 300 university-based entrepreneurship centers. Its mission is to share best practices, foster collaboration, and promote the advancement of entrepreneurship education worldwide.