by David Castro, Founder and CEO of DungeonForward and Lenovo Evolve Small Grant Recipient
Small businesses with big stories are more connected than ever, and organizations with AI-enabled cutting-edge technology have the gift of a global catalyst, accelerating how we share our gifts with the world. Emerging technologies, when used with compassion and care, help entrepreneurs like me deepen our connection to the communities and cultures that define us. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 98% of small businesses now use at least one AI-enabled tool and 91% say it’s helping them grow.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not just a business tool, it’s the collaborative engine that lowers the barriers of access by bridging knowledge and innovation. With support from Lenovo’s Evolve Small grant, my business, DungeonForward, can move beyond words to visualizations that weren’t previously possible. We can communicate our ideas more efficiently with our manufacturing partners thus expediting the creative process and decreasing the time from idea to manifestation. Our dialog with our customers is strengthened and our data is fortified by having the right tools in place.
Pairing the right technology with purpose helps businesses like mine redefine what it means to create, compete, and connect. For forward-thinking, agile, mission-focused brands like ours, adopting the newest tech democratizes the playing field. We are a proud Black-owned business that believes in equity and inclusion at all levels. We also believe that excellence is the bare minimum required to be competitive. State-of-the-art tech makes competition equitable, allowing us to amplify voices, preserve culture, and disrupt a space that hasn’t seen much innovation in the last 50 years. By fusing storytelling with AI thoughtfully, my team at DungeonForward is demonstrating that scaling with authenticity doesn’t require abandoning your soul. When creativity meets technology, purpose and progress can move in harmony and great ideas become the true currency.
Culture as the Root of Innovation
At the heart of DungeonForward is culture and craft. My team and I draw on the legacy and strength of cultural ancestry to consistently put our community at the center of our decisions, because it is them that differentiate our brand in a crowded marketplace. This cultural grounding is our source for innovation and creative direction. You must be immersed in culture to contribute to it. You must live and breathe the language and customs because culture is never novelty and shall not simply be observed as such. It is, by nature, seeing and being seen. Our connection is our magic, and allows us to thrive among the abundance of brands on the market.
Small businesses are typically closer to the pulse of the community. This is a superpower that comes with the grounding of small businesses, and when channeled in entrepreneurship, is a catalyst for innovation. With the help of AI to advance ideas at the speed in which they come, entrepreneurs can use it to further preserve identity through meaningful products For our team at DungeonForward, creativity is rooted in representation. We design crowns for the culture. AI helps us bring those stories to life faster, sharper and in ways that resonate beyond borders. With AI native hardware and enabled software, our team transforms hats into symbols of empowerment and self-expression.
Research supports this shift: A survey by Attentive shows 81% of consumers ignore irrelevant marketing, while 96% say they’re likely to purchase when brands deliver personalized messages.
We’ve seen this play out with companies like Stitch Fix, whose AI-driven styling and tailored recommendations have proven that personalization can dramatically increase customer engagement and conversion. DungeonForward’s success shows how AI can fuel cultural storytelling that’s both globally competitive and locally grounded.
How AI is Helping Small Businesses Scale with Purpose
A survey conducted by Reimagine Main Street found 82% of small business owners say adopting AI is essential to staying competitive and 25% have already integrated AI into daily operations. AI has allowed us to make smarter inventory decisions, optimize our digital campaigns and predict what styles will resonate next season. It’s helping us scale without losing what makes us unique.
AI isn’t about automation, it’s about amplification. Our brand leverages AI-driven analytics to understand customer sentiment, refine storytelling and align content with what resonates most with our supporters. It’s a conversation and this data loop combined with abundant creativity keeps our growth intentional while expanding globally.
This aligns with Lenovo’s mission for “Smarter AI for All,” which focuses on integrating AI across devices, infrastructure, solutions and services to create more personalized, intuitive and impactful technology. Evolving from an app-based model to an intent-based experience in which technology interprets context and delivers exactly what users need, when they need it.
Lenovo aims to empower individuals and organizations to work, create and connect more effectively, while championing responsible and inclusive AI development. This approach flips the conventional narrative: technology isn’t erasing craft, it’s elevating it.
Rooted, Global and Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship
The collision of culture, creativity and AI is creating a new era of entrepreneurship, one where purpose and identity remain central even as brands scale globally.
Research by Thryv, Inc. shows that AI adoption among U.S. small businesses surged 41% in 2025, with more than half using AI tools to optimize operations, marketing and creative output.
With support from Lenovo’s Evolve Small grant, we at DungeonForward are advancing our impact by merging product and story more closely through AI insights and visualization. This fusion enables broader reach and greater impact, all while maintaining our mantra to inspire, uplift, and enlighten.
The key lies in intentionality: deploying AI as a strategic tool aligned with the right culture, craft, and community. That’s how culturally relevant brands will move from local stories to global impact.
Conclusion
Research from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council found that 76% of entrepreneurs say AI frees up time for high-value, creative work. More importantly, it frees up time for the kind of self-care and wellness needed to endure the ebbs and flows of being a founder. We want to build products that last, but what is the effort worth if we must also number our days? With AI-enabled technology and initiatives like Lenovo’s Evolve Small program, founders are transforming vision into impact, showing that creativity powered by purpose can shape the future of entrepreneurship while still preserving themselves. As AI continues to evolve, so will the stories it helps tell, stories of culture, creativity and community that inspire the next generation of creators to dream without limits and build with fervor.
David J Castro III (Referred to often as simply “Castro”) is the founder and CEO of Complex Apparel, an apparel conglomerate focused on translating authentic street culture into elevated products. The brands under this umbrella include DungeonForward, Delilah Johnson, BlanqFace & Zero Hue. His Dungeon Forward brand is a head-wear brand striving to create crowns for the culture while also investing in the community via targeted scholarships including the David Koto Castro Design Charette and Scholarship hosted annually at David’s alma mater, Florida A&M University School of Architecture and Engineering Technology.
Castro holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Miami, and a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Architecture from Florida A&M University. As an entrepreneur and member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc, he is focused on innovation in all that he touches and believes that authenticity, passion, and grind are the primary keys to a fruitful business.
