We Built This to Change the World

Thirteen years of intention, shared work, and the responsibility of what comes next

EntreArchitect was launched with the intention to change the world.

That may sound ambitious. It may even sound unrealistic. But it was true on December 12, 2012, and it remains true today.

From the beginning, EntreArchitect was not created to be a content platform, a membership site, or a professional brand. It was created as an act of belief. A belief that small firm architects, when supported with clarity, confidence, and community, could have an outsized impact on the world around them. A belief that the way architecture firms are built matters just as much as the buildings they produce. A belief that when architects build stronger businesses, they are freed to do better work, live fuller lives, and serve their communities more meaningfully.

As we close out 2025 and prepare to enter our fourteenth year, this moment deserves more than a recap. It deserves reflection, gratitude, and clarity about why the next chapter matters so deeply.

Changing the world starts smaller than we think

World-changing work rarely begins with grand gestures. More often, it begins quietly.

It begins with a firm owner admitting something is not working.

It begins with someone realizing they were never taught how to run a business.

It begins with a difficult conversation, a clearer decision, a better system, or the courage to ask for help.

EntreArchitect has always lived in those moments.

Over the past thirteen years, we have learned this truth again and again. Changing the world does not start with scale. It starts with intention. It requires patience. It demands consistency. When those qualities are present, scale follows naturally. It becomes a result, not the goal.

The long work of showing up

Nothing reflects this commitment better than the EntreArchitect Podcast.

With more than 640 episodes and over three million total downloads, its value does not come from any single episode. It comes from showing up. Week after week. Year after year. Offering honest conversations about leadership, business, failure, growth, and responsibility.

Those downloads represent architects listening on job sites, during late nights, and in moments of real uncertainty. The podcast became part of the rhythm of firm ownership because it respects the weight of the work and the people doing it.

That consistency was never accidental. It was foundational.

Community is not an audience

The EntreArchitect Community Facebook group has grown to 8,700 architect members. But size has never been the point.

What matters is participation.

This community works because people show up as contributors, not spectators. They ask real questions. They share lessons learned the hard way. They offer perspective without agenda. That culture did not emerge by chance. It was built intentionally, with contribution valued over performance and trust valued over noise.

That kind of culture requires care and stewardship. Deep thanks go to Leslie Divoll and the dedicated moderators of the EntreArchitect Facebook group, who quietly and consistently protect the tone, values, and integrity of this space. Their leadership ensures that this community remains welcoming, thoughtful, and focused on helping one another succeed.

That same intention came fully into focus in 2025 inside the EntreArchitect Network.

The Network as living infrastructure

In 2025, the EntreArchitect Network grew to more than 500 members, representing 140 percent growth. Even more meaningful was the more than 50 percent increase in engagement from the prior year.

That engagement showed up every week.

Project Crits where real work was examined honestly.

Tech Sessions focused on practical solutions.

Start-up Architect conversations that met people exactly where they are.

Architects & Allies sessions that reflected the interconnected reality of modern practice.

These spaces exist because people stepped up to lead them. Chris Novelli, Daniel Stewart, Jessica Christensen, and Mikeila Socci did more than organize meetings. They helped build leadership infrastructure. What they created allowed firm owners to think more clearly, act with greater confidence, and feel supported in the work.

Learning that respects reality

In 2025, EntreArchitect Network Pro members participated in 24 live Expert Training Sessions. Many earned all their required continuing education credits without even trying.

That detail matters because it signals alignment.

Education works when it integrates seamlessly into the real work of practice. Architects do not need more obligations. They need guidance that fits the decisions they are already making. This year demonstrated what happens when learning is relevant, timely, and respectful of how busy firm owners truly are.

Mastermind as a force for good

Every week, 30 EntreArchitect Mastermind groups meet.

These groups represent one of the most powerful, and least visible, impacts of this community. They are private spaces where firm owners confront blind spots, refine their leadership, and commit to doing the work well.

The impact extends far beyond the individuals in the room. Strong firms build healthier teams. Healthier teams produce better work. Better work shapes better communities. This is how leadership scales without losing its humanity.

To every Mastermind facilitator who has given their time, attention, and care to these groups, thank you. Your dedication is changing lives and improving the world in ways that cannot be easily measured.

Coaching that builds leaders, not dependence

The ArchOS™ Business Coaches represent another essential layer of support. Megan Dahle, Ryan Sullivan, Shannon Hughes, and Bryon McCartney bring rigor, empathy, and lived experience to the work of coaching architects.

Good coaching does not provide answers. It builds capacity. It helps leaders think more clearly, decide with confidence, and act intentionally. This year reinforced the value of coaching that respects both the craft of architecture and the responsibility of leadership.

Leadership that emerges from belief

The EntreArchitect Ambassadors Club reflects something deeper.

Led by the Ambassador Council, John Jones, Chris Novelli, and Erica Spayd, this grassroots movement exists because members believe deeply in the value of this community and want others to experience it. Not because they were asked. Not because they were incentivized. But because they felt called to lead.

This year, that belief became visible in new ways. Many of you witnessed it firsthand at the AIA National Conference, where Ambassadors took it upon themselves to show up, share stories, and quietly spread the word through self-directed, guerrilla-style efforts that felt authentic and human. No scripts. No campaigns. Just architects telling other architects why this community mattered to them.

That kind of leadership cannot be mandated. It cannot be manufactured. It emerges when people feel true ownership of something larger than themselves. The Ambassadors Club is living proof that EntreArchitect is not just a resource or a platform. It is a shared mission carried forward by the people it serves.

Partners who strengthen the ecosystem

Our Allied Partners play a critical role because they understand that serving small firms requires patience, alignment, and trust.

These relationships are not transactional. Allied Partners are not here to sell louder or push products. They are here because they believe, as we do, that small firm architects deserve tools, systems, and support that respect their independence while strengthening their capacity to lead.

C. Ray Harvey and the team at Factor AE, along with Jeremy Zick and the team at WeCollabify, contribute by solving real problems in ways that align with how architects actually work. Their focus is not on quick wins, but on long-term outcomes that help firm owners build healthier, more resilient businesses.

Allied Partners matter because they extend capability without compromising values. They give firm owners access to expertise and resources that would otherwise be difficult to reach, and they do so in ways that integrate naturally into practice. Their impact shows up directly in member success, in better decisions, stronger teams, and more sustainable firms.

Watch for these partnerships and programs to expand and provide even more value in the coming year. The goal is not more offerings. It is deeper alignment, greater usefulness, and continued focus on what truly helps small firms thrive.

A growing voice shaped by this community

Gābl Media grew out of what we built at EntreArchitect and is deeply influenced by it.

While it is a separate company, its roots are here. The conversations, values, and leadership within this community shaped how we think about storytelling, influence, and responsibility. As the digital media network for the AEC industry, Gābl Media now shares our profession’s stories with the world through more than a dozen podcasts.

That growth matters because stories shape perception. When architects tell their own stories with clarity and honesty, the profession gains trust, relevance, and voice. What began as community dialogue has become a broader platform for impact.

What we are building in 2026

What comes next is the work this foundation was always meant to support.

In 2026, we will expand our training and coaching efforts with new interactive programming led by the ArchOS Business Coaches. This work will be more hands-on, more integrated, and more closely aligned with how architects actually develop as leaders and firm owners in the real world.

EntreArchitect Academy launches in January, led by Bryon McCartney. The Academy is designed to prepare architects who are running or planning to launch a small firm by teaching what was never taught in school. It brings structure, clarity, and confidence to the business side of practice and, in doing so, raises the standard for the entire profession.

We are also introducing Iconic Firm. Led by Jeff Echols, Iconic Firm will be a new community and training program designed specifically for firms earning one million dollars or more in revenue. Its focus is impact through growth. Healthy scale. Strong leadership. Responsibility that matches influence. More details will be shared in the new year.

In 2026, we will also launch The Taliesin Experience.

This will be an immersive, in-person experience rooted in one of the most influential places in the history of architecture. The Taliesin Experience is not a tour and not a conference. It is a chance to step away from the noise of daily practice and reconnect with the deeper purpose of the work, alongside peers who take leadership, craft, and responsibility seriously.

This experience represents something essential. Architects need space to think, reflect, and remember why the work matters. The Taliesin Experience is designed to create that space and to connect the business of architecture back to its cultural, ethical, and human foundations.

Together, these efforts reflect a single intention: to support architects more fully at every stage of leadership, growth, and responsibility.

A 12/12/12 moment

There is one more step to share, and it matters more than anything that has come before it.

Gābl Pro represents the next evolution of this work, and it is the most significant move we have ever made. Not because it is bigger, but because of what it makes possible.

This is the first time anything about Gābl Pro has been shared publicly. Consider this a 12/12/12 moment. A moment that marks the transition from building a community to changing the way the world connects with small firm architects.

Gābl Pro will create a direct bridge between the world and the architects who shape it. It will connect property owners, communities, and opportunities to small firm architects in a way that has never existed before. It is designed to unlock access, remove friction, and elevate the role of architects at a national scale.

This work leverages everything we have built through EntreArchitect and Gābl Media. The trust. The systems. The relationships. The understanding of how architects work and how the world finds them. Together, these foundations make possible something entirely new.

This is not an experiment. It is not a pivot. It is not speculative.

Gābl Pro is grounded in thirteen years of listening, learning, and building with intention. It represents the fullest expression yet of why EntreArchitect was launched, and it will transform the profession and create real, measurable impact in the world.

Love. Learn. Share.

If there is one principle that has guided everything we have built, it is this.

Love. Learn. Share.

Love means we care deeply about the people behind the work. Their lives. Their families. Their teams. The responsibility they carry.

Learn means we stay curious and humble. We recognize that leadership is a practice, not a destination.

Share means we give freely. We support one another. We believe knowledge grows in value when it moves through community.

This is not a slogan. It is a rule to live by. It is how trust is built. It is how leadership scales without losing its soul. It is how the world finds its way back on track.

This community is living proof.

To the leaders who stepped up, thank you.

To the members who engage and support one another, thank you.

To everyone building a thriving architecture business in service of a better world, thank you.

We built this to change the world.

And now, we carry that responsibility forward together.