Each year, Synapse Florida hosts their flagship event, Synapse Summit, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. After the pandemic created a domino effect that caused almost every event in the world to be postponed or cancelled, Synapse saw an opportunity to innovate and take on their biggest challenge yet. Instead of cancelling their annual event, the organization took a virtual approach to celebrating Florida as a driving-force of innovation. Co-Founder and CEO of Synapse, Brian Kornfeld, perfectly described the event as, “physically distanced, but socially connected”. Synapse Summit 2021 brought in an astonishing 6000+ attendees, with 255 speakers, 3600+ new connections, and 1200+ meetings.
Synapse Summit is an annual celebration of innovation in Florida. Daymond John, CEO of FUBU and Star of ABC’s Shark Tank, discussed Florida's current positioning, "I think Florida is ripe for disruption. I think we have all the right elements here.” Francis Suarez, Mayor of the City of Miami, commented on Florida’s evolution and the importance of technology, “We're getting more and more immersed in a tech and knowledge-based economy. Tech is not just its own industry, it affects every industry, and makes every industry more efficient.”
Synapse Summit 2021 was a four-day virtual event that welcomed attendees from all over the world. With three different levels of tickets and the option to upgrade at any time, attendees were offered the opportunity to gain access to eight tracks of sessions; networking powered by artificial intelligence; virtual exhibitor booths; a digital photo booth for attendees to create Synapse-themed pictures for social media; and a Synapse Summit merchandise store.
The eight promoted tracks included: Healthcare, CleanTech, Defense and Space, Cybersecurity, Entertainment and Hospitality, Investing, Community Impact, and Emerging Tech. With multiple tracks featuring a total of 121 sessions, it was impossible for an attendee to watch every single live session. Synapse’s planning created a solution to this, by featuring on-demand viewing after each live session ended. This on-demand option was open for over a week after the event ended, giving people the chance to watch sessions at their convenience, and even continue to buy tickets for the event after it officially concluded. Thanks to both live and on-demand viewing, there were over 13,000 unique views of sessions!
Another important aspect of the event was its spotlight of high-ranking keynotes and speakers. Synapse Summit’s speakers discussed a wide variety of topics and gave some extraordinary insight and advice. In a session with Jerry Rice and Steve Young, the Pro Football Inductees and Superbowl Champions expressed the importance behind being competitive. According to Steve Young, “Competitiveness isn't about beating someone else, it's about ‘how am I going to improve what I'm doing day to day?’ The north star is: I'm trying to make myself better.” Jeff Vinik, Chairman and Governor of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning gave advice on hiring leaders. “In terms of hiring CEOs, my philosophy really is - I don't like to meddle. I think when you get outstanding people, if you give them the resources they need to succeed, let them go do their thing. Don't meddle, and then at the end of the day, hold them accountable for the job they've done."
The final session was the Inaugural Synapse Innovation Awards. Over 85 applicants submitted and there were 8 winners. Even though these innovators could not all be in the same room together, Synapse found a way to celebrate them in a live awards ceremony, with 3-D printed awards that were sent to the winners after the event. The winners and their respective tracks included: Peerfit for Healthcare; Sustainabase for CleanTech; Engineering and Computer Simulations for Defense Tech; Cigent Technology Inc. for Cybersecurity; Wall Crawl for Entertainment and Hospitality; Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative for Community Impact; Lunchpool for Emerging Tech; and the Grand Winner was Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative.
One of the keys to success in a digital space, is making everything as interactive and user-friendly as possible. For VIP and GA+ ticket holders, networking was centered around an AI-driven platform, Brella. Instead of wandering the halls of the arena, stopping by various booths aimlessly and feeling overwhelmed, Synapse’s utilization of Brella was more targeted and easier to navigate for the most ideal connections and experiences. High-level attendees were given access to make meaningful connections based on matches that the program found for them. In Brella, attendees created a profile based on their goals, which industry they were interested in, whether they were hiring or looking for a job, etc. This saved time and made sure that everyone connected with the right people. Chairman of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, Jeff Hoffman, perfectly described how Synapse Summit is making such a unique impact. “We have this moment in history where we can connect to way more people than ever before.” Brella was so successful that there were more than 3,600 new connections and over 1,200 meetings between attendees!
In a time where the world seemed to stand still, Synapse prevailed through innovation. Synapse Summit 2021 succeeded through its inspirational speakers, empowering sessions, engaging networking, and more! In their flagship event, Synapse Florida reminded the world that innovation lives here.
