Stu Sjouwerman

America isn't a country. It is an offer. And this year the offer turns 250. I didn't inherit it. I chose it. I grew up in Holland. Good country. Safe. Comfortable. And if you had an idea that didn't fit the plan, the plan usually won. So I left. I bet everything on one place. The one country on earth where nobody asks who your father was before they ask what you built.

First generation. New accent. No pedigree. No safety net. And a few years ago I rang the bell at the NASDAQ, the company I started on the open market in America. That doesn't happen in Holland. That doesn't happen most places. Where else does a kid with a different passport and the right idea get to build the thing the establishment never approved? Where else does someone who doesn't fit in have a chance to become a founder three times?

That's what today actually celebrates. An offer made 250 years ago to people who had nothing but nerve. Here's what nobody tells you when you arrive. The offer isn't automatic. It doesn't renew on its own. Opportunity is not a monument. It's a fire. And a fire you don't feed goes out. Every generation either keeps the door open or lets it swing shut behind them.

So here's my ask on America's 250th. Don't just celebrate the opportunity. Protect it. Widen it. Hand it to the next person with a brilliant idea. It is why people worldwide love America. It is the best incubator in history. Open for business. Open to change. Open to inspiration. God bless America.