West Virginia Entrepreneurs Build AI Skills at Bridging Innovation Week

At Bridging Innovation Week 2026 in Morgantown, West Virginia, entrepreneur Sean Hyde delivered an action-oriented session on AI readiness for small business owners and entrepreneurs, followed by a live hackathon in which he built and launched a fully functional Founder-Matching app in under 90 minutes. The events represented one of the most visible demonstrations of practical AI execution at the annual gathering, drawing attention from local entrepreneurs and regional business development communities across the state.

Hyde, the founder of Ideation Digital and 222 Websites, structured his session around the A.G.E. Framework—his proprietary AI readiness system designed to help small businesses adopt artificial intelligence in a structured, practical sequence. The framework guided attendees through the core phases of AI adoption, giving West Virginia entrepreneurs a repeatable process grounded in real application rather than abstract concepts. The session drew small business owners from across West Virginia and surrounding areas seeking tangible ways to strengthen their operations, contribute to the WV Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, and explore AI for small business as a viable path forward. Rather than delivering a standard workshop and departing, Hyde remained on-site for the entire day, offering one-on-one AI implementation support to attendees working through their specific business challenges. That extended presence gave participants direct access to guidance typically reserved for paid consulting engagements.

The defining moment of the day came during the live hackathon segment. With attendees watching in real time, Hyde built and launched a fully functional Founder-Matching app in under 90 minutes—a working tool designed to connect entrepreneurs based on complementary skills and business goals. The build was not a demo or a prototype walkthrough; it was a complete, operational application developed from scratch on the event floor. The speed and completeness of the build served as a direct illustration of what AI-assisted development looks like in practice. For small business owners who had spent the morning learning the A.G.E. Framework, seeing a finished product emerge in less than an hour and a half translated the methodology into something concrete and repeatable. Hyde's participation through Ideation Digital and 222 Websites placed both agencies at the center of a broader conversation about how small businesses in West Virginia can apply AI for small business purposes to compete more effectively. The one-on-one sessions covered implementation scenarios from automating customer communication workflows to structuring content systems. Attendees left with documented action steps tied to the A.G.E. Framework. The Founder-Matching app is being reviewed for potential continued development. To learn more about Sean Hyde, visit his website.