DealBook Summit: Leveraging Innovation to Revive the American Dream

Date: December 8, 2025
Host: The New York Times
Panelists:

• Domenico Grasso (President, University of Michigan, moderator)
• Carolina Pluszynski (COO, Michigan Central)
• Steve Case (Co-founder AOL; CEO, Revolution)
• Kevin Plank (Founder, President & CEO, Under Armour)
• Neil Blumenthal (Co-founder & Co-CEO, Warby Parker)
• Shivani Siroya (Founder & CEO, Tala)

Overview

This episode of the DealBook Summit explores the future and revival of the American Dream through innovation, entrepreneurship, and the democratization of opportunity. The panel brings together prominent leaders from business, academia, finance, and social impact, focusing on how emerging technologies like AI, inclusive innovation districts, and new models of public-private-university partnership can renew prosperity across the U.S.—not just in established tech hubs, but everywhere.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The American Dream: Is it Still Alive?

• Domenico Grasso opens with sobering research: “70% of Americans believe [the American Dream] no longer holds true. That's the highest level in 15 years.” He frames the discussion around restoring faith in opportunity and expanding prosperity nationwide. (04:44)
• Kevin Plank emphasizes grit and perseverance:

  “You should know that this can happen. And it's not easy and it's not a straight line... I do believe in the American dream.” (08:42)

• Carolina Pluszynski cites her Detroit roots and Ford’s historical $5-a-day wage as a paradigm shift, now paralleled by Michigan Central’s innovation ecosystem:

  “Democratizing innovation is going to open those doors again.” (11:00)

• Steve Case introduces the “two Americas”:

  “A lot of people do feel left out and left behind... we kind of have this two Americas, some who really see what's possible and are excited by it, and others who are... anxious, worried that new technologies... might take their jobs.” (12:35)

Expanding Opportunity Beyond the Coasts

• Concentration of Venture Capital: 72% of VC stays in Boston, New York, LA, and the Bay Area. Case, Siroya, and Pluszynski argue this limits potential elsewhere.
• Steve Case’s “Rise of the Rest”:

  “If we're not launching startups everywhere, we're not creating jobs everywhere. If we're not getting jobs everywhere, that's why we're going to see people...feeling left out and left behind.” (14:03)

• Shivani Siroya on market blind spots:

  “What [VC] does is overlooks potential... We're not funding entrepreneurship at the micro level—how can we really create a bottoms up approach?” (21:21)

The Role of Research Universities

• Universities as Secret Sauce: Grasso and Case agree that top U.S. research universities are underleveraged innovation engines, with interdisciplinary talent, research, and infrastructure critical to new company creation.

  “Universities are super important, super powerful, but under-leveraged.” (Case, 27:10)
  “Without the universities and without places like Michigan Central, ...we're not going to be able to lift [the American Dream] back up.” (Pluszynski, 32:40)

• Partnership Case Studies:

  • Michigan Central fast-tracks startups’ growth via regulatory support, workforce development, and coordination with universities and industry.
  • Under Armour partners with NC State for sustainable textile innovation (Neolast).

Social Entrepreneurship and Public Good

• Neil Blumenthal describes Warby Parker’s dual mission and the competitive edge of social purpose:

  “...We distribute [a pair of glasses] to someone in need... That motivates me every single day... It does help us recruit and retain great talent.” (39:51)
  “America is about solving problems... It's the only nation... you can actually try something, take a risk and fail, and then still succeed.” (42:37)

• Importance of Lived Experience: Siroya and others stress entrepreneurship is most impactful when founders deeply understand the problems they solve:

  “You can't solve something that you haven't experienced yourself.” (Siroya, 33:08) “Expertise or the deep knowledge of the problem that you're trying to solve” is a key differentiator in startup success. (Siroya, 47:41)

The Changing Nature of Entrepreneurship

• Risk & Grit: Plank recalls starting Under Armour without full knowledge of the challenges:

  “We were always smart enough to be naive enough to not know what we could not accomplish... had that... ‘why not us?’” (54:30)

• Deliberate Serendipity:

  “Deliberate serendipity... you built a ton of goodwill through hard work...so when it was time to start your business, you had that expertise, [and] support.” (Blumenthal, 51:29)

AI and the Next Creative Revolution

• Opportunities and Threats:
  • “Imagine a world where every American student has an AI tutor... every American has a supplemental AI doctor...” (Blumenthal, 19:26)
• The Need for Inclusive Enablement:
  • “If we don’t get to that true decentralization of enablement through AI... it can even... get concentrated in just the few.” (Siroya, 62:06)
• AI as a Tool, Not a Crutch:
  • “The knowledge part [of universities], AI is going to keep cutting into. ... Instead of running from that, we should run into that.” (Case, 65:42)
• AI for Local Advantage:
  • Domain expertise in vertical industries positions non-coastal cities and institutions for unique AI opportunities (health, ag, manufacturing). (Case, 44:14)

University-Industry Collaboration

• Strategic Partnerships:
  • Plank urges universities and businesses to be realistic and tightly focused:

    “Focus on what you’re great at...if it’s outside of 5 years, our branch shouldn’t be working on it. ...Please find a local company... who has the expertise aligned with your expertise...” (74:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Steve Case:

• “America itself was a startup... it was a fragile idea... now [it's] the leader of the free world.” (12:35)
• “The common thread with all these entrepreneurial journeys... is somebody saw the world could be different, and instead of just thinking about it, they said, I'm going to jump in and do something about it.” (57:13)

Carolina Pluszynski:

• “Democratizing innovation is going to open those doors again. ...We’re seeing students stay... that gives those students hope.” (11:00, 31:30)
• “Without the universities and without places like Michigan Central... we're not going to be able to lift this back up.” (32:40)

Kevin Plank:

• “We were always smart enough to be naive enough to not know what we could not accomplish.” (54:30)
• “The two thirds that don’t believe in the American dream, I ask them to reconsider that. It is possible. It's certainly not easy, but you have a shot here in America. And so I encourage people to take it, ideally in your 20s instead of your 30s probably too. So the fall, it won't be so far if you don't make it.” (74:19)

Neil Blumenthal:

• “Deliberate serendipity... there can be deliberate serendipity [in America].” (51:29)
• “To me, [AI] just unleashes more American innovation and prosperity. And that leads me to be very optimistic.” (73:40)

Shivani Siroya:

• “For me, the American dream... is more about agency and enablement. ...What America really needs right now is... to create the right feeding ground and support systems so that entrepreneurs and individuals can really thrive.” (21:21)
• “I truly believe anything is possible.” (72:57)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 04:44 – Grasso’s opening, American Dream statistics
• 08:42 – Plank on the evolving nature of the dream
• 12:35 – Case on “two Americas” and startup as job creation
• 19:26 – Blumenthal on AI’s transformative possibilities
• 21:21 – Siroya on VC concentration and enabling local entrepreneurship
• 26:53 – Case: leveraging universities for innovation in cities beyond tech hubs
• 32:40 – Pluszynski on Michigan Central as an “applied layer” for startups
• 47:41 – Siroya’s personal journey (3,500 interviews, lived expertise)
• 54:30 – Plank on “smart enough to be naive enough...”
• 62:06 – Siroya on decentralizing AI opportunity
• 65:42 – Case on adapting universities to AI and information abundance
• 74:19 – Closing round: optimism, realism, focus

Closing Thoughts & Panelist Takeaways

• Enablement is Key (Siroya, 72:57): “We are really at a place in history where enablement is really possible.”
• Long-term Optimism (Blumenthal, 73:40): “The costs of education, the costs of healthcare ... will come down thanks to these emerging technologies.”
• Focus and Partnership (Plank, 74:19): “Focus on what you’re great at... ideally partner with local companies and commercialize now.”
• Inclusivity for National Renewal (Case, 75:55): “If we do that with a mindset around being more inclusive... America can’t be stopped.”
• Collaboration is Essential (Pluszynski, 76:49): “What it requires... is universities, industry, government, all to work differently together because that will make the difference.”

Final Message

Despite real challenges—uneven opportunity, concentrated resources, rapid technological change—the American Dream can be re-energized through innovation, deliberate enablement, and collaboration across sectors and regions. As AI and new technologies disrupt every field, the leaders on this panel champion an inclusive, entrepreneurial, and community-rooted approach to ensure the next chapter is one of broad-based prosperity.