More than 6,000 young entrepreneurs, disruptors, and altruists flocked to Boston last year for the 3rd annual Forbes Under 30 Summit. This year, we’re headed back to the most revolutionary city in the country to do it again, October 1st through 4th. But this time, we’re bringing 1,000 more Millennials.
What makes Boston a great place to bring together the world’s top innovators? It’s a city known for its cutting-edge tech scene that rivals Silicon Valley and New York’s Silicon Alley. Further, elite institutions like MIT, Harvard and Boston College turn out some of the nation’s brightest young people and provide considerable financial and institutional support for aspiring entrepreneurs. Boston is a hub for startups, accelerators, and venture capital firms, making it the perfect venue to assemble the world’s top young talent for four days of mentorship, food, music and more.
What makes this year’s summit bigger and better? Our speaker roster includes top influencers and business minds like YouTube stars Tyler Oakley and Lilly Singh, Girlboss Media’s Sophia Amoruso, Proday’s Sarah Kunst, and 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki. We’ve put together an exciting lineup for our Music Festival in partnership with Global Citizen, featuring Playboi Carti, Skylar Grey and house music favorite, Zedd. That’s not to mention a bar crawl inside the iconic Fenway Park led by a surprise celebrity host, a food festival featuring cuisine from the nation’s top chefs, and the ever-active Under 30 Village in Government Center Plaza, showcasing startup demos, small talks, lounges and endless opportunities to make connections.
Last year, the most decorated Olympian ever, Michael Phelps, led a run along the Charles. This year, attendees can join gold medalist and professional skier Lindsey Vonn for another Olympic-level workout.
We’re also hosting two pitch competitions that combined will give away one million dollars to young entrepreneurs. Forbes, Echoing Green, Bridgespan and The Rise Fund will grant $500,000 to an entrepreneur who is driving positive social and environmental impact during the Summit at the Impact stage. Additionally, Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary and Peter Boyce of Rough Draft Ventures will help choose the winner of the other $500,000 during the “Change the World” competition, as the four finalists pitch the investors, live on the Tech stage, on how they plan to make a difference.
But, that’s not all. Forbes is taking over MIT for a day devoted to determining solutions for tech’s gender problem. Five hundred women will join the conversation in the University’s Media Lab to network and talk about paths forward.
In an effort to support the industrious young talent in attendance, some of the world’s top companies will recruit for open roles at the Summit. They’ll be coming to hire and review resumes in our newly created Opportunities Hub.
Lastly, before we pack up, Forbes will be hosting a Service Day and Hackathon in an effort leave Boston better than we found it. The Hackathon will focus on developing ideas to support disaster preparedness and relief in the wake of hurricanes in the South. The Service Day will engage the local community by having Under 30 honorees visit Boston’s schools and teach math through different, hands-on approaches.
Less than three weeks to go until the Under 30 Summit heads back to Boston to educate, entertain and inspire the next generation of leaders. Will you be one of them?
