January 14, 2010

Spend a few minutes with Elliott Bisnow, the 24-year-old founder of the Summit Series, and you’ll immediately have a sense of how optimistic Gen Y entrepreneurs can be.  According to the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor (Fall 2009), more than three-quarters (80%) of Gen Y entrepreneurs have a significantly more positive outlook on business prospects versus business owners overall (55%).  And, before you accredit youthful optimism to a lack of experience, you should know Elliott founded and failed at two previous companies before co-founding Bisnow, an e-newsletter company that should earn $2 million to $3 million in revenue this year, and Summit Series, a fast-growing networking and conference organization of young entrepreneurs.

The story of Summit Series is an interesting one:  Elliott only started it to help him learn how to run Bisnow.  After his two prior business attempts, he was all the more driven to succeed with his third, and decided he needed to connect with other young entrepreneurs who could offer their insights.  Unable to find the right networking opportunities or resources, he decided to create his own.

He cold-called more than 60 young entrepreneurs and invited them on a ski trip in Aspen.  He didn’t just call anyone, he called the founders of CollegeHumor, iContact, Thrillist, and Tom’s Shoes, among others.  Though he had no previous relationships with any of them, nineteen joined him on that first trip in January 2008.  Part of the lure, of course, was that Elliott offered to pay for hotel, meals, and activities.  It may not sound like the smartest plan, but not quite two years later, Summit Series is preparing for their fourth event, hosting 250 entrepreneurs in Miami – and this time the entrepreneurs are paying to attend.  Summit Series now has seven employees and has secured such sponsors as Goldman Sachs, Raymond Weil, Calvin Klein, Diageo, and Marquis Jet.

Elliott admits that he didn’t see the business prospects until after the second event.  “I think a lot of businesses start with someone filling a need and not necessarily having that “a-ha” moment until about 6 months later,” he said.  After that, it was only another 6 months before he saw the turning point. In March of this year, he received a call one Friday evening from the Obama administration asking him to bring 35 young entrepreneurs to the White House – on the following Friday.  He succeeded in bringing a group that included Mark Ecko (Ecko Unlimited), Evan Williams (Twitter), and Ivanka Trump (The Trump Organization), and they discussed such topics as healthcare reform, energy independence, and job creation.

“The White House Summit really gave us legitimacy,” Elliott said.  And it’s led to more calls, including one to meet with President Clinton to brainstorm fundraising ideas for the Clinton Foundation.  That Summit, held in the home of Russell Simmons, included former NBC Co-Chairman Ben Silverman, MTV President of Programming Tony Disanto, and approximately 30 company founders, including Chad Hurley (YouTube), Eric Ryan (Method), Ricky Van Veen (College Humor), Jessica Jackley (Kiva), Jason Binn (Niche Media), and Rob Kalin (Etsy).

When I asked Elliott what he thought contributed to the success of these Gen Y entrepreneurs, he said, “Gen Y is much more collaborative.  They’re more willing to work together to find solutions.  That’s why I was able to create Summit Series.  These entrepreneurs wanted to meet each other and work together.  We’re also more socially conscious.  My goal now with the Summit Series is to connect and inspire them to make socially conscious changes.  This past year, we’ve raised almost $1 million for charities.”

Elliott also told me that if he had to sum up what he’s learned thus far, it would be this: “That one individual can really make changes.  I was told so many times that I would fail, that no one would listen to a 22-year-old.  I’ve learned that nothing is impossible.”

If you have a leadership story you’d like to share, please e-mail me at marcy@openforum.com.  I also invite you to follow me on Twitter @marcyshinder and OPEN Forum via @openforum.

For more information about the Summit Series, including their upcoming event May 13th -16th in Washington DC, visit www.summitseries.com.