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Andrew Frame’s message at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit in Phoenix—that “the best time to build is now”—should resonate with every entrepreneur who believes in America’s promise of opportunity and upward mobility. Forbes flew in young founders to Phoenix to hear ideas like this, and Frame’s pitch that founders now wield unprecedented power landed squarely in that forum.
Frame is no lightweight dreamer; he is the founder and CEO behind the Citizen app, a real-time public safety platform built from raw 911 and radio data that has attracted millions of users and fierce scrutiny alike. His background as a hacker-turned-entrepreneur who turned Vigilante into Citizen shows the kind of relentless, risk-taking mindset conservatives admire—building practical tools that respond to real threats on the ground.
What caught attention at the summit was Frame’s argument that artificial intelligence is rewriting the playbook for startups: smaller teams, faster decisions, and founders able to move with the speed of Silicon Valley without the bloated layers of bureaucracy. That isn’t idle hype; conversations about AI’s capacity to compress time and amplify human effort were a core theme at recent Forbes sessions and tech forums, and conservatives should cheer tools that lower the barrier to entry for small businesses and innovators.
But patriotism means holding both entrepreneurs and technology accountable. Citizen’s early history—born from the Vigilante app—reminds us that open feeds of emergency data can be useful and dangerous at once, prompting worries about vigilantism and privacy that merit serious public debate rather than blind applause. Responsible conservatism says: innovate boldly, but insist on safeguards that protect innocent people and preserve civil order.
If AI really does let founders build faster with leaner teams, that should be a clarion call for pro-growth policy: tax code that rewards investment, legal frameworks that protect innovation, and a safety net of clear rules rather than knee-jerk bans. Frame’s quick pivot to tools like SafePass during crises demonstrates how nimble, entrepreneur-led solutions can fill gaps that slow-moving institutions often fail to address.
At the same time, conservatives must be vigilant about the concentration of power in big platforms and the temptation of regulatory overreach that treats promising startups like public nuisances. We should push for transparency and local control, not Washington-heavy mandates that strangle the very innovators who keep our communities safer and our economy stronger.
So to every hardworking American who still believes in building something of value: take Frame’s advice seriously but carry it with the conservative cast of mind that prizes liberty, accountability, and muscle over mandates. The tools are here, the moment is now, and with the right mix of bold entrepreneurship and firm principles, we can harness this new wave of technology to secure our neighborhoods, grow our businesses, and keep America the freest, most prosperous place to build.
