A Firsthand Look At The Forbes Under 30 Global Summit
This past week, Forbes Magazine hosted its first global edition of the Under 30 Summit. It gathered over 600 up and coming millennials from Europe, Asia, America and beyond, kicking off in Tel Aviv and later moving to Jerusalem to deliver a multi-city summit in Israel (one of the world's most innovative countries). I had the privilege of attending and gained an experience I won't soon forget.
The summit began outdoors, under canopies to shade delegates from the hot Israeli sun and also providing colorful bean bag chairs as an alternative traditional conference layout. A sea of visionary 20 somethings, wearing everything sport coats to t-shirts, took in an incredible panel of speakers over 4 days. The summit also included food and music festivals highlighting local talent and culture, city and corporate headquarter tours, industry discussions, community volunteering opportunities, and most notably - an interview with former President and Prime Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres.
Day 1 of the summit felt more like 5. Kicking off the event off with Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was incredible. His natural endearment captured the audience as he shared his journey from childhood to current day. He spoke of being just 20 when he dealt with his first startup - which at that time didn't mean sparking a tech venture - it meant founding an entire country. Forbes Editor (and charismatic Summit leader) Randall Lane interviewed Peres live on stage while we watched (interview summarized here) - the energy in the room was so high you could literally feel it in your bones. When it concluded, the room cheered in excitement.
Over four days, the Under 30 Global Summit hosted speakers from a wide variety of industries and backgrounds, such as (a personal favourite) the founders of Casper: Neil Parikh, Luke Sherwin, and Gabe Flateman). The trio explained how they're looking to disrupt the sleep industry, by way of delivering the best bed possible right to your door and further disrupting retail bricks and mortar concepts.
Day 1 of the summit also led moderated panels on The Power of Story Telling andHow To Sell Your Startup, whose impact proved powerful, as evidenced by feedback and ideas shared on the Forbes Under 30 mobile app (a Tinder-like platform linking delegates from all summits across the globe). Everyone in attendance boasts something so unique, and these panels underscored the importance of conveying ones unique [brand] message - concisely, properly, and differently. Through group discussions, it was amazing to see people from all different industries work to ensure they leveraged storytelling to their advantage when promoting an overall vision.
The energy of 600 enthusiastic and visionary Millennial leaders was contagious as the first day closed. We networked over ice cream and coffee while sitting in bean bag village in front of the main stage, eager to experience the next few days. In following posts, I will cover more on the Forbes Under 30 Global Summit, sharing personal highlights on speakers, food culture, and Millennial trends. If you have a question or would like to know more, please message me and I'd be happy to chat.
Connect with me on Twitter: @ChefMikeLevine
