Company BBQs are a great way to bring your staff together to enjoy themselves outside of a work environment. As summer approaches, outdoor events like BBQs are fun and family-friendly. By incorporating these ideas into your company BBQ, your event is sure to be a success!

Pick a Theme

Assigning a theme to your company BBQ allows everyone to get in the spirit of things. Decorations, the food that is served, and the dress code can be based on the theme. Some fun BBQ themes include:

• Red, white, and blue
• Hawaiian luau
• Western
• Summer camp

Don’t let these options limit you! The sky’s the limit when it comes to event planning creativity. Just make sure it’s family-friendly and easy for everyone to adhere to. Consider choosing your theme based on where your company is located and the age range of employees.

BBQ Sauce Taste Test

Did you know that barbecue sauces from different regions taste different? Many of them have sweet notes from fruits that are incorporated into the recipe. A taste test competition is a great way to tie the theme into a fun game. The major regional  BBQ sauces are Kansas City style, Alabama white sauce, Eastern Carolina style, St. Louis style, Lexington dip, Carolina Gold sauce, and Texas style. Provide information on which notes are present in each sauce, then have volunteers conduct a blind taste test to guess which one is which. The winner can take home a flight of BBQ sauce bottles as a prize.

Host Games

Games are fun for kids and grown-ups alike. They can bring everyone together as an icebreaker, or provide entertainment for the kids as the adults socialize. Here are some suggestions for family-friendly games:

• Three-legged race
• Water balloon toss
• Horseshoes
• Cornhole

Games are also a great opportunity to tie in the theme of the BBQ. For example, if your theme is Western, horseshoes would be a fitting game to play. If you choose Hawaiian luau, you can tie players’ feet together with a lei to stay on theme. The possibilities are endless!

Swap Recipes

Swapping BBQ recipes creates a sense of sharing and community amongst coworkers. Food often carries memories, and as people share how they made their food, they can also share what they remember about it. A recipe swap is a great way to incorporate a potluck into the BBQ as well, that way everyone is pitching in for food. Catering can be expensive and overwhelming to plan. A potluck ensures that there will be enough food and everyone will have something they love to eat.

Teach Techniques

Allowing employees to learn unique BBQ techniques from one another is a great way to make the event more engaging. Find a local chef who is willing to come and teach grilling techniques to your group. If there is a BBQ aficionado in the group, they can also help lead the tutorial. This helps maintain BBQ as the focal point of the event and helps everyone learn a thing or two. Event organizers can coordinate with the chef and keep pieces of meat or other foods on hand for the class in a portable fridge.

Hold a Cook-Off

A cook-off is another fun way to integrate friendly competition into the BBQ event. If you have some self-proclaimed chefs in your group, have them prepare their best dish during the BBQ. Event organizers can provide outdoor grills to cook on. Then, have the rest of the group vote to decide which one is the best. As they are cooking, the chefs can provide insight into how they came across the recipe and what their special techniques are. Other members of the group can follow along and maybe learn something along the way!

Rent Food Trucks

If not many people are showing enthusiasm about cooking, or if it is just too overwhelming to plan, rent food trucks! This is a great way to support local businesses and provide a variety of food options for everyone. You can invite multiple BBQ food trucks from the area, or choose different foods that relate to your event’s theme. Renting food trucks can also help you save time and effort on setting up before and cleaning up after the event. Also, no one will be stuck cooking the entire time, and everyone can instead focus on enjoying the event. If food trucks are not feasible for your event location, you can also cater food from a local restaurant.

Conclusion

Company BBQs provide a casual environment for coworkers to come together outside of the office. Picking a theme, hosting games, and providing lessons on BBQ techniques are just a few ways to engage everyone. Though planning one can be overwhelming, there are several tips you can implement to make your event a success.

The post Seven Company BBQ Ideas for Work in 2023 appeared first on ReadWrite.

The web3 community is gearing up for one of the biggest events of the year – ETH Denver. This event is a gathering of developers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts from all over the world, who come together to discuss the latest trends, innovations, and projects in the blockchain space.

With so much talent and innovation under one roof, it’s hard to know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the top chains and protocols to meet at ETH Denver.

Algorand

Algorand is a high-performance blockchain platform that uses a unique consensus algorithm called Pure Proof of Stake (PPoS). Algorand is designed to be scalable, secure, and decentralized, and it’s a great option for developers who are looking to build dApps that require high levels of security and scalability.  Learn more about Algorand EthDenver.  

Celo

Celo is a mobile-first blockchain platform that’s designed to provide financial services to people all over the world. It’s a fast and secure platform that allows for fast and cheap transactions, making it a great choice for developers who are building dApps that require financial services. Celo is hosting the Climate Summit in Denver. 

OK Chain

OK Chain is a high-performance blockchain platform that was built by the team behind OKEx. It’s designed to provide fast and reliable transactions, as well as advanced smart contract capabilities. OK Chain is a great option for developers who are looking to build decentralized applications (dApps) that require fast transaction speeds. OK Chain launching is next hackathon while at ETHDenver. 

Arbitrum

Arbitrum is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that uses Optimistic Rollups. It’s designed to provide fast and cheap transactions, as well as a more user-friendly experience. Arbitrum is a great option for developers who want to build dApps that require fast and efficient transactions.

BNB Chain

BNB Chain is the blockchain platform that powers Binance Smart Chain (BSC). It’s a high-performance blockchain that allows for fast and cheap transactions. Binance Smart Chain is becoming increasingly popular as a platform for building decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, and BNB Chain is a great choice for developers who want to tap into this growing ecosystem. BnB Chain hosted an afterparty and is an official sponsor. 

Polygon

Polygon (formerly known as Matic Network) is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum. It’s designed to improve the performance of Ethereum by providing faster and cheaper transactions, as well as a more user-friendly experience. Polygon is a great option for developers who want to build dApps that require fast and efficient transactions. Polygon has a series of side events.

NEAR

NEAR is a sharded blockchain platform that’s designed to provide high levels of performance and scalability. It’s a great choice for developers who are looking to build dApps that require fast and efficient transactions, as well as a high degree of security.

The Graph

The Graph is a decentralized indexing protocol that’s designed to make it easy to search and find data on the blockchain. It’s a great option for developers who are building dApps that require easy access to data on the blockchain.

Polkadot

Polkadot is a sharded blockchain platform that’s designed to provide high levels of performance and scalability. It’s a great choice for developers who are looking to build dApps that require fast and efficient transactions, as well as the ability to interact with other blockchains.

SUI

SUI is a decentralized platform that’s designed to make it easy to build and deploy smart contracts. It’s a great option for developers who are looking to build dApps that require advanced smart contract capabilities.

While these aren’t every chain you should know at ETH Denver and I’m positive I left off a couple well deserving chains, this is a great start towards getting to know all the main people at the event!

Here’s to a successful  ETH Denver!

The post Top Chains and Protocols to Meet at ETH Denver appeared first on ReadWrite.

Looking to elevate your brand? Attending conferences in 2023 are an excellent way to do so. From accessing new ideas and feedback to networking and marketing opportunities, conferences offer a host of benefits to forward-thinking brands. 

But with hundreds of thousands of conferences held in the United States alone every year, it begs the question: which conferences should be at the top of your list this year? 

To give your brand a boost in 2023, read on for a roundup of 10 conferences to consider.

1. Distilled’s SearchLove Conference

March 13-14, 2023 | San Diego, CA.  Now in its 8th year, this two day, single-track SEO conference for online marketers brings together many of the world’s learning thinkers for cutting-edge conversations on the latest in relevant topics like analytics, search, website optimization, paid promotions, content creation, and much more. 

With a speaker list of handpicked industry experts like Orainti’s Aleyda Solis, MOZ’s Dr. Pete Meyers, SearchPilot’s Will Critchlow, and SEER Interactives’ Will Reynolds, topics include Can Your Outrun the Algorithm; How to Generate 8 Million SEO Test Ideas; Joining Forces at the Intersection of SEO and CRO; and other crucial and deeply relevant topics. Presenters will also address the latest in the world of search from ChatGPT, Machine Learning, Bard, GA4, and Generative AI.

Limited to just 200 or so attendees, SearchLove San Diego is also noteworthy for its resort-style ambiance with access to intimate networking, a VIP dinner with the speakers, and topic table sessions—plus a beach party and industry drinks. 

2. Inbound

September 5-6, 2023 | Boston, MA. (and via livestream) Inbound is known for its focus on inbound marketing and sales strategies, which prioritize attracting, engaging, and delighting customers through valuable content and personalized experiences. Hosted by HubSpot, a leading marketing and sales platform, this conference brings together industry experts, thought leaders, and professionals from around the world.

One of the highlights of Inbound is its lineup of influential speakers. Just a few of this year’s speakers include industry icons Reese Witherspoon, Andrew Huberman, Derek Jeter, and Morgan Debaun. In addition to the informative sessions, Inbound provides ample networking opportunities. You’ll have the chance to connect with fellow marketers, industry leaders, and potential business partners.

With its vibrant atmosphere and focus on innovation, Inbound offers a platform for attendees to gain valuable insights, discover new strategies, and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving marketing landscape. Whether you’re a marketing professional, business owner, or entrepreneur, Inbound is a conference you won’t want to miss.

3. Sustainable Brands’ Brand-Led Culture Change 

May 22-24, 2023 | Minneapolis, MN. With consumers increasingly demanding social consciousness, the imperative is clear for brands seeking to capture their attention…and their business: go green or go home. Unfortunately, these can be easier said than done—especially when you consider the challenge of balancing sustainability with affordability.  

Attended by thought leaders, sustainability executives, and brand innovators in the sustainability space, Brand-Led Culture Change will help brands gain the knowledge, skills, and inspiration they need to drive growth, motivate action, and accelerate meaningful change. 

This year’s event tracks include Unpacking Consumer Trends, Culture Change Communications, and Strategies and Tactics Driving Behavior Change at Scale with speakers including Amazon’s Head Of Category Growth, Climate Pledge Friendly Zac Ludington, Estée Lauder Companies’ Vice President, Global Product Development, Innovation, And Brand Sustainability Jill Tomandl, Be/Co Founder Lola Bakare, and many others. 

4. Gartner Data & Analytics Summit

March 20-22, 2023 | Orlando, FL. Advancements in data, analytics and data science have tremendous power, but only for brands equipped to harness it. Designed to help attendees expand their thinking about data analytics and the implementation journey; discover new trends, technologies, and approaches; and make smarter business decisions in today’s rapidly evolving landscape, the conference includes opportunities for listening, engaging, and networking.  

Bringing together more than 4,000 data and analytics leaders, the Data & Analytics Summit offers six tracks: Leadership, Skills and Culture; Data Management;  Analytics; Strategy and Value; Data Science, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence; and Trust, Governance and Policy with keynote speakers including Distinguished VP Analyst Debra Logan, VP Analyst Kurt Schlegel, and Distinguished VP analyst and Gartner Fellow Daryl Plummer. 

5. Cloud & Cyber Security Expo

March 8-9, 2023 | London, UK.  Looking to go big now that conferences are finally back? Look no further than this massive cyber security networking and educational event uniting more than 12,000 business leaders, technologists, and cyber security experts for proactive conversations about cyber resilience against cyberthreats in the complex digital space.  

This year’s themes include Future of Cyber Security; Threat Detection & Response; Zero Trust; and Skills, Talent and Culture with expo speakers including ThreatAware CEO Jon Abbot, Mend EVP Product Ori Bach, Mastercard Director of Product Management, Cyber & Digital Resilience Yonatan Israel Garzon, Sky Group CTO Prasana Gopalakrishnan, Wellcome Trust Head of Data for Science and Health Tariq Khokhar, and many others. 

6. Leadscon2023

March 13-15, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV (and digital). This well-known lead generation and performance marketing conference brings in some of the biggest names in marketing and business development from across the globe covering everything from understanding changing customer behaviors to the latest techniques for driving conversions.  

A few of this year’s topics include Target Backward Planning and Growth Execution; Lead Gen on TikTok – Your Next Generation of Leads; How To Grow Your Business and Build Your Audience Using The Formula That Elects Presidents; Tactical Marketing & Lead Gen Optimization – Improve Today & Prepare for Tomorrow’s Customer Acquisition Environment with speakers including SoFi Senior Director of Operations Tabish Ahmed, The 9point8 Collective Co-Founder and Managing Partner Evan Allen, Botsplash CEO and Founder Aru Anavekar, AA Media CEO Adam Animasaun, Chief Outsiders Partner & CMO Jennifer Apy, LeadsCouncil Executive Director Rob Seaver, and Google Advertising Head of Brand Studio Geoff Colon.  

7. Adobe Summit

March 21-23, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV (and virtual). This “digital experience” summit comprises over 200 sessions, abundant networking opportunities, and the ability to customize a personalized agenda based on your specific needs and interests. In-person preconference training and credential exams are also available. 

This year’s sessions include B2B Marketing, Analytics for Customer Journeys, Collaborative Work Management, Content Supply Chain, Commerce Made Personal, Customer Data Management and Activation, Developer Ecosystem, Content that Drives Performance, Powering your Digital Business with Adobe Experience Cloud, Personalized Omnichannel Engagement, and Trends and Inspiration with feature speakers including Adobe Chairman and CEO Shntanu Narayen, Academy Award-Winning Writer, Director and Playwright Aaron Sorkin, Verizon SVP, Head of Customer Engagement Sasha Lucas, and many other industry and business leaders. 

8. Seismic Shift

October 23-26 | San Diego, CA. Catering to sales enablement, marketing, sales, customer success, and operations professionals, this content marketing conference is all about nurturing growth through disruption and innovation. In informative and insightful keynote speeches, seminars, and breakout sessions, groundbreaking industry experts share stories, knowledge and skills applicable to what’s happening right now in the marketing world. Shift 2023 schedule and speakers TBD. (Sign up here to be notified.)

9. Medium’s Culturati

April 2-3, 2023 | Austin, TC. The foremost corporate culture event for executives, investors, and scholars, Culturati invites culture luminaries to speak on three programmatic pillars: Leadership Reimagined, Talent in a Hybrid World, and Future of the Workplace. Held annually at the Campus on Lake Austin, this invite-only event facilitates next-level discourse on how to design cultures that spur performance and cultivate thriving communities. 

Culturati’s 2023 speakers will include Retired US Navy Admiral Wyman Howard, McKinsey Chief People Officer Katy George, PhD, Dell Medical School Department of Neurology Chair David Paydarfar, MD, FORTUNE Magazine Senior Editor Ellen McGirt, and other esteemed leaders in their fields. 

10. Funnel Hacking Live

September 27-30, 2023 | Orlando, FL. This 3-day annual conference—usually attended by approximately 5,000 people—is run by Russell Brunson and his team at ClickFunnels.com. It’s aimed at business owners looking to build their marketing skills—specifically as they pertain to sales funnels. In addition to hearing from 10-20 speakers sharing their successful funnel-building tactics, Funnel Hacking Live is also an excellent networking arena for everyone from marketers to entrepreneurs. 

While the 2023 lineup isn’t out yet, past topics have included monetizing content, fixing a funnel, and how to get people to show up for a webinar (and stop leaving it). According to Brunson, attending makes nearly 33 percent more revenue in the immediate months after attending Funnel Hacking Live than their peers who don’t. 

The post 10 Conferences That Should be on Your List in 2023 appeared first on ReadWrite.

As the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency continues to grow and evolve, it is important for entrepreneurs and developers to stay on top of the latest trends and opportunities in the industry. EthDenver 2023 is bringing together some of the brightest minds and most innovative companies in the space.

If you are planning to attend EthDenver and are interested in meeting with top VC funds, join us at OnePiece Labs’ afterparty on March 1st!

Besides us, here are some that should definitely be on your list: 

1. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Crypto
   a16z is a top-tier venture capital firm that has invested in some of the most successful startups in the world. Their crypto division, a16z Crypto, was founded in 2020 and has raised $7.6 billion in total with a recent addition of $4.5 billion to its fourth fund.
2. 1kx Network
   Founded in 2017, 1kx Network is a token angel fund with the thesis of extrapolating Bitcoin’s success to embed cryptoeconomic incentives into everything; transactions, computation, storage, prediction, power. Their portfolio includes some of the most innovative and promising projects in the blockchain space, such as The Sandbox, and Matter Labs.
3. Pantera Capital
   Pantera Capital is one of the oldest and most well-respected blockchain-focused VC funds in the industry. They have invested in over 100 blockchain projects, including some of the most successful ones like Coinbase, BitGo, and Polkadot.
4. CoinFund
   CoinFund is a blockchain-focused VC fund that invests in decentralized protocols, blockchain-based applications, and cryptocurrency infrastructure. They have a broad portfolio that includes projects like Blockdaemon, Dapper, and Polkadot. They launched a $300M Web3 fund in Aug, 2022. Sectors of interest for the early-stage fund include layer 1 blockchains, gaming and NFTs. With check sizes ranging from $6 to $10M, the fund will likely back 30 to 40 companies.
5. Dao5
   Dao5 is a $125 million fund led by Tekin Salimi, who is a former General Partner from Polychain Capital. Salimi’s vision for Dao5 is to become a fully founder-owned DAO by 2025. Dao5’s advisory board include Emin Gün Sirer — founder of the Avalanche protocol, Do Kwon — founder of the Luna protocol, Ben Fisch — professor of computer science at Yale University, Ivan Soto-Wright – Founder of Moonpay.
6. Galaxy Ventures
   Galaxy ventures is a diversified financial services and investment management company focused on digital assets and blockchain technology. Their portfolio include protocol, scaling solutions, DeFi, and Web3 infrastructure with notable investments like Fireblocks and Polygon. Apart from its venture division, Galaxy also provides trading, mining, asset management, and advisory services. Galaxy partners with Bloomberg to calculate weighted crypto indexes.
7. Matrixport Ventures
   Matrixport Ventures is a financial services platform that provides a range of services for individuals and institutions in the blockchain space. They have a venture arm that invests in early-stage projects that are building the next generation of decentralized financial services.
8. NGC Ventures
   Led by founding partner Roger Lim, NGC Ventures has their portfolio spanned from top L1 chains such as Algorand, Avalanche, Solana, and Polkadot to Defi, infra, and metaverse companies with a global presence. They closed their third blockchain fund at $100 million last year to extend its focus into GameFi and NFTs.
9. Outlier Ventures
   Outlier Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in startups that are building the future of the decentralized web. They have a strong focus on Web 3.0, DeFi, and NFTs with a portfolio of over 100 Web3 companies. They have recently partnered with Aptos Foundation to launch the Move Accelerator in May 2023.
10. Variant fund
    Variant fund backs mission-aligned founders at the earliest possible stage. They have a focus on interoperability, privacy, and scalability, and have invested in projects like Uniswap and Aptos. Jesse Walden, Co-Founder and General Partner at Variant, was an investment partner on the first crypto fund at Andreessen Horowitz and later led a16z Crypto Startup School.
11. Two Sigma Ventures
    With a portfolio across all industries, Two Sigma Ventures has invested in several promising Web3 projects with successful exits. Its data-driven approach, deep industry expertise, collaborative approach, and long-term investment horizon make it a strong choice for entrepreneurs and investors looking to engage with the rapidly evolving Web3 industry.

This list is not the most exhaustive one, but would be a great starting point to get to know some key players at ETHDenver.  

The post Top VCs to meet at ETHDenver 2023 appeared first on ReadWrite.

Valentine’s Day is a special day for all couples around the world. And Dubai is no exception. with luxury hotels, famous restaurants, and many tourist attractions, Dubai is the perfect place to enjoy romantic nightlife. Note that Dubai is an Arab city, and there may be rules to respect their culture.

Everyone knows Dubai is a city of dreams and luxury; Everyone knows Dubai is a city of dreams and luxury; you can’t say there’s nothing to do and see. So, what about celebrating the most romantic holiday of the year Dubai? If you’re planning to spend Valentine’s Day in Dubai, you’re in for a treat! we’ll explore the unique experiences that Dubai has to offer couples looking to celebrate Valentine’s Day in style. Get ready to light up the night with a spark of love as we take you through the most romantic ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the city of the future.

Romantic Dining Experiences in Dubai

Dubai is famous for its delicious food, and what could be more romantic than sharing a delicious meal with your important person on Valentine’s Day? From beachside brunches to fancy five-star dinners, Dubai has something to offer for every taste and budget. Here are some of the most romantic dining experiences to consider in Dubai:

1. A Private Dinner under the Stars: For a truly intimate and romantic evening, why not dine under the stars in a private desert oasis? With nothing but the twinkling stars overhead and the sound of the desert winds, this is the perfect way to spend Valentine’s Day with your loved one.
2. A Dinner Cruise along the Creek: Take in the stunning sights of Dubai as you sail along the creek while enjoying a delicious dinner onboard. With live entertainment, music, and breathtaking views, this is the perfect way to spend a romantic evening in Dubai.
3. A Beachside Brunch: Enjoy a romantic brunch with your loved one on the beautiful beaches of Dubai. With an array of delicious food and drinks, live music and plenty of activities, you’ll never forget this unforgettable experience.
4. Rooftop Restaurants: Enjoy a romantic dinner with a view at one of Dubai’s many rooftop restaurants. From al fresco dining to luxurious indoor spaces, there’s a rooftop restaurant for every taste and budget. It will give couples a lot of happiness and love.
5. Themed Dining Experiences: For a truly unique dining experience, consider booking a themed dinner in Dubai. From exotic Moroccan nights to immersive pirate adventures, there’s something for everyone in this city.

Unforgettable Experiences in Dubai

If thinking about full, exciting experiences city, you should think about Dubai, and what could be more romantic than creating new memories with your loved one on Valentine’s Day? From exciting adventures to relaxed spa treatments, there’s no shortage of things to see and do in Dubai. Let’s see some unforgettable experiences in Dubai:

A Hot Air Balloon Ride: Take the skies for a romantic hot air balloon ride over the desert, with incredible views of the Dubai desert and the city skyline. This is the perfect way to experience the beauty of Dubai from a bird’s eye view.

A Couple’s Spa Day: Relax and unwind with your loved one on a couple’s spa day. With various pampering treatments on offer, it makes a perfect way to spend a relaxing and romantic day in Dubai.

A Dune Bash Adventure: Get your adrenaline pumping with a thrilling dune bash adventure in the Dubai desert. With stunning views and the opportunity to drive a powerful 4×4, this is the perfect way to spend a fun and romantic day in Dubai.

Technology and Romance in Dubai

Dubai is a city that is constantly pushing the boundaries of technology and high technology. It’s no different when it comes to celebrating Valentine’s Day. From cutting-edge virtual experiences to stunning light shows, there are so many technological wonders experiences in Dubai. Here are some most innovative ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Dubai:

The Internet of Things: Celebrate Valentine’s Day in the future with a visit to the Internet of Things (IoT) show. With the latest cutting-edge technology on display, this is the perfect way to experience the future of romance — because love is like technology to develop and move on continuously and steadily.

Virtual Reality Experiences: Step into the world of love with this virtual experience. From exploring exotic destinations to exciting experiences of adventure, there are many virtual Reality experiences to choose from in Dubai.

Light Shows and Fireworks: Dubai is famous for spectacular light and sound shows and spectacular fireworks displays, and could it be more romantic than watching the fascinating light show with your loved one on Valentine’s Day? From the Burj Khalifa to the Dubai Fountain, there are various light shows to choose from in Dubai.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day during Ramadan in Dubai

Celebrating Valentine’s Day during Ramadan in Dubai is a unique blend of love and spirituality. As Dubai is a hub for various cultures, it’s no surprise that the city sees a mix of festivities even during the holy month of Ramadan. Are you looking for a lifestyle change this Valentine’s Day? Why not try celebrating it in Dubai? Let’s come to Dubai.

Ramadan is a time of fasting, reflection, and devotion, but that doesn’t mean the festivities come to a halt. In fact, the city lights up even more with prayers, charity, and good deeds. During this time, Muslims break their fast at sunset and indulge in lavish Iftar spreads. This makes it the best time for couples to bond over food and enjoy each other’s company.

For a romantic and spiritual experience, head to the mosque for Taraweeh prayers after Iftar. It’s a beautiful sight to see thousands of people come together to pray and seek blessings from Allah. The ambiance is serene, and the devotion in the air is palpable. After the prayers, indulge in some dates, traditional Iftar food, and sweet Arabic tea, and take a stroll around the city.

To increase some excitement to your Valentine’s Day, head to Global Village, a cultural extravaganza that showcases pavilions from different countries. Take a walk down memory lane and visit the pavilions that hold special memories for you and your significant other. Indulge in street food, shop for souvenirs, and enjoy live entertainment.

As Ramadan is a time of giving, you can also consider volunteering at a local charity organization. Spend time with the less fortunate, and make a difference in someone’s life. This act of kindness will not only bring you closer as a couple but will also give you a sense of fulfillment.

Conclusion:

Celebrating Valentine’s Day during Ramadan in Dubai is a unique experience that combines love, spirituality, and lifestyle. Whether a romantic candlelight dinner, going through Global Village, or volunteering at a charity, something awaits everyone. Make Valentine’s Day a memorable one and enjoy the perfect blend of love and spirit in Dubai.

So, Are you planning a celebration of Valentines’s day with your beloved in Dubai?, Wow, Amazing. Get to be ready and light up your night with sparks of love as we take you to celebrate Valentine’s Day in a superb place. Why are you waiting? Start planning your perfect Valentine’s Day celebration in Dubai today — or on any special day!

Featured Image Credit Provided by the Author; Brown Modern Real Estate; Thank you!

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There are many ways to raise money, but a reputable fundraising support event is one of the most well-known and engaging means to raise funds and recruit supporters. There is no doubting the careful planning and laborious work that goes into making a significant occasion, even while the outcome may astound.

Every single event requires difficult labor and planning, whether for a great purpose or some other reason. Therefore, events for fundraising events must be carefully planned if they are to succeed. Here are ten key components you should include in your event strategy, regardless of the specific fundraising goal, to help you ensure that your gathering pledges event is a success.

1. Purpose

You should decide what the purpose of your event is before moving on. The following are a few questions: Is this actually a fundraiser event? Or does it instead have other goals? Is it accurate to say that you are surrounded by a huge group of friends who have little understanding of your goal or a smaller group of trustworthy allies and reasonable givers? To have a successful event, you must first understand how success influences your relationship.

It’s crucial to calculate precisely how much money you need to make from this event because that goal will reveal a lot about your arranging procedure. You must concentrate on your larger fund-raising strategy and determine how an event might fit before choosing the appropriate cash goal.

2. Goals

After consulting with your board, association employees, and significant donors, you should decide how much money you hope to raise during the event. If this is a gathering fundraising event, everything in the event plan will be capable of raising this specific amount of money.

The amount you choose should be what you hope to net or, at the very least, what you wish to generate after expenditures are eliminated. Given the coworkers and tools at your disposal, you should cultivate an objective.

3. Financial Planning

While events for collecting pledges can be huge money-makers, it’s essential to keep in mind that you’ll need to contribute your own money to get the event started. Before you start spending, make a detailed financial plan to ensure you are in control.

Make a list of everything you’ll need and conduct research to get the most advantageous arrangements and prices of the fundraising event ticketing tool. Additionally, you should include an extra cost in your budget for unforeseen costs. Also, don’t forget to consider potential backers as well.

4. Leadership

Decide who will be in charge of the various aspects of your gathering pledges event before you get too far into the planning process. Fundraising events, typically hire a leader chief to develop various fundraising event ideas and manage the budget for various pledge drives.

A leader who is in charge of planning gives other team members someone to direct questions to and ensures that everyone is working toward the same goals. When you develop a strategy for your initiative, you’ll reduce the risk of misunderstandings and errors and ensure that every employee and volunteer knows exactly what their role will be during the project’s progress.

5. Target Audience

Who is the impartial party in your event? Is this a general fundraiser event that welcomes everyone? Or, on the other side, is this event catered to a specific group, such as local groups, guardians, retirees, or young professionals? Therefore, you should decide who to invite to your event. Ask what kind of event and what elements would be best for the objective participants.

6. Set the date

You need to know another crucial aspect, namely the date and time of the occasion, before you can start making reservations for entertainment and seeing potential locations. You should be careful while choosing a date for your donation campaign because you can’t just randomly choose one. When planning a time that will be beneficial and generally interesting for givers, you should use prudence.

7. Publicity 

When you market your event, you should have a process in place for negotiating accurate ticket prices or accepting presents for the occasion. You should decide if different levels of dedication will be required for the situation. You should determine who will sell the tickets, how they will be delivered, and who will be in charge of organizing the upcoming information. 

8. Prepare for The Big Day

The time is now to carefully review all of your preparations for the eagerly anticipated day (or evening) of your support-raising event.

Make sure to include all interested parties in creating rules for events with a broad reach. A straightforward game plan will ensure that all coworkers-from full-time pledge drives to volunteers at the event-know well what their responsibilities are and are up to it to make the event successful.

Doing a pre-trail of the big day is also a good idea. All things considered, you want all the involved parties to feel confident that the fundraising event will proceed as planned.

9. Participate in Your Fundraising Event!

You can be tempted to look at or assume that all your consistent effort has been completed when the primary night actually rolls around. Even though you can (and should!) relax a little, your work is still far from done. You should concentrate on the following tasks during your event:

• Attract customers.
• Publicize your event online.
• Enjoy yourself!

10. Follow Up

Even though the event may be over, your effort isn’t. You should immediately send cards of gratitude to everyone who participated in your event, including sponsors, guests, and volunteers.

Keep your allies informed of your progress as well. They’ll need to understand how this fundraising event impacted your objective, so be as specific as possible. Send a summary to everyone who attended the event in order to gather their feedback on it. 

Following these steps, you’ll not only be able to get a better sense of how successful your event was, but you’ll also have the option of using their responses to inform your future event planning.

Feature Image Credit: Provided by the Author; From Shutterstock; Thank you!

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Near the end of 2021, the United States was set to reach a historic high for the number of battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) sold. Statistics showed a rise of more than 88% through the end of September. Yet, despite that impressive growth, the same study indicated EVs only accounted for 3% of new car sales during the year.

The Future of Electric Vehicles

The researchers pointed out that car shoppers only had about 20 fully electric models available to buy during the study period. What’s more, most were high-end models, out of reach of many consumers who may otherwise seriously think about owning them.

If CES 2022 is any indication, electric car enthusiasts will have a lot to get excited about soon. Many of the debuted models may not be among the most affordable. However, they’ll have style and features to spare.

Sony Launches New Prototype, Announces EV Business Arm

When people think of Sony, most probably envision televisions and game consoles. However, its leaders signaled a new direction at CES 2022. It will establish an operating company called Sony Mobility, Inc. in the spring of this year, then use it to explore EV market opportunities.

However, Sony isn’t starting from scratch. First, it had an EV prototype called the VISION-S 01, which underwent public road testing. Then, the company introduced the CES crowd to the new VISION-S 02, a sleek SUV.

Various sensors installed on the vehicle help it perceive and analyze three-dimensional space. The system also gives driver alerts, such as through the vehicle’s sound system, to help people stay aware of potential hazards.

Time-of-flight (ToF) sensors inside the car will help the vehicle recognize authorized drivers. They also let people make gestures to perform commands. Customization is the main draw of this car, too.

Each user can customize the car’s display interface and even tweak how the vehicle sounds as it accelerates or slows.

A look at the car’s entertainment offerings shows Sony returning to some other products it sells. For example, if a person has a PlayStation at home, a remote-link feature lets them connect to that console to get engrossed in games while inside the vehicle.

They can also use cloud connectivity to download new games. In addition, speakers built into the seats cater to music lovers by recreating the experience of being surrounded by sound at a concert by a favorite artist.

It’s too early to say whether Sony’s official foray into electric vehicles will have a significant impact.

However, it’s promising that the brand had the second of its two prototypes ready to show off at CES. The way Sony fares after this bold move could influence whether other non-car brands decide to venture into the electric vehicles sector.

Volvo Teases Fully Autonomous Driving for Forthcoming Electric Vehicle

The concept of getting into a car and reaching the destination without ever touching the steering wheel has fascinated people for a while. However, Volvo is among the brands intending to make it a reality for some car owners.

While at CES, the auto brand announced stronger partnerships with Luminar, Google, and Qualcomm. Company leaders say those entities will help Volvo move towards a more tech-focused future that includes being a fully electric car company by 2030.

Volvo also previewed planned outcomes of such tech parings. Mats Moberg, head of research and development at Volvo Cars, said, “We are proud to announce the planned U.S. launch of our first truly unsupervised autonomous driving feature, as we look to set a new industry standard for autonomy without compromising safety.”

The autonomous technology includes more than 24 sensors, including Luminar’s high-tech lidar sensor that interacts with the system’s specially developed software.

Moberg continued, “Having Zenseact’s brand new [autonomous driving] software and Luminar’s lidar standard in our new fully electric SUV is a game-changer for Volvo Cars, as well as for automotive safety and autonomous driving.”

California residents will get the first chance to have the so-called Ride Pilot feature on their cars before the brand proceeds with a broader rollout.

Volvo intends to help people expand what they do while traveling. Thanks to Ride Pilot, their cars will take them where they need to go while the individuals inside engage in activities like reading or writing.

However, the chip shortage affecting Volvo could disrupt these ambitious plans. Its December 2021 sales fell by 18.1% due to the global lack of semiconductors. It’s certainly not alone in dealing with the issue, though, with many other automakers in similar positions.

There’s no single solution to the component shortage, and analysts believe it’s not ending anytime soon. Fortunately, when automakers and people working in other in-demand industries have excellent inventory visibility, it’s easier to adapt as conditions change.

Many tools have built-in forecasting and scalability features, helping users see current statistics and possible scenarios.

Mercedes-Benz Targets Eco-Conscious Electric Vehicle Enthusiasts

The opportunity to drive without relying on fossil fuels is a significant factor in many people’s decision to get EVs. They like that plugging in for power is good for the planet. Plus, it eliminates the money they spend filling up at the gas station pump.

Many individuals make planet-conscious decisions that span far beyond transportation and extend to all aspects of their lives. Mercedes-Benz has those people in its sights with the VISION EQXX electric car. It has fantastic examples of what manufacturers can do if they think creatively about using non-traditional materials.

The interior features vegan leather is made from prickly-pear cactus and mushrooms’ root systems. Then, the door trim and steering wheel have a polyester material made from recycled plastic bottles.

While the carpets include 100-percent bamboo fibers, Mercedes-Benz achieved an auto industry first by working with a vegan silk company. That luxurious material covers the door pulls.

The VISION EQXX also takes major steps in conquering range anxiety. It boasts 620 miles per charge and even has roof solar panels to charge a supplemental battery powering the car’s ancillary systems.

The automobile’s coupe-like body has an aerodynamic design, while the battery pack under the hood is lighter than those in other vehicles from the automaker.

Both of those aspects should help with energy efficiency, too. Mercedes-Benz plans to have this vehicle on the market by 2024.

Chrysler Brings its First All-Electric Vehicle to CES 2022

It may surprise you to learn that Chrysler never had an all-electric vehicle at CES before this year. However, it revealed a change in the future with a white Airflow Concept, which should be available to purchase by 2025.

The automobile’s front and back have two 150-kilowatt batteries. They should collectively provide 350-400 miles of range and allow people to power up quickly via a fast-charging feature.

The chassis has animated LED lights for an eye-catching look. People can also get interesting perspectives of the passing scenery through the panoramic roof. A look inside the vehicle reveals an unusual, oval-shaped steering wheel beside a much larger display screen.

There’s yet another screen mounted to entertain the front-seat passenger. This one is smaller, indicating the brand’s push to help people bring their digital lives with them on every trip.

People who own this Chrysler model can also use it for Level 3 autonomous driving. Plus, since the car supports over-the-air updates, it’s easy for owners to stay current with the latest features.

Despite the Airflow Concept’s appealing style and user-friendly features, some analysts wonder if Chrysler has left it too late to entice people with electric vehicles.

The increasing availability of other models from brands more established in the EV market may mean consumers don’t consider Chrysler a go-to option.

The Electric Vehicle Market is Getting More Exciting

People seeking inspiration from electric vehicles can find it in this CES 2022 coverage and articles elsewhere.

These new cars show us what’s possible.

Still, it’s unclear whether the manufacturers in question can overcome obstacles such as the chip shortage and road tests showing autonomous driving is a safe option.

In any case, we have a lot to look forward to while watching the electric vehicle market evolve.

Image Credit: Pixabay; Pexels; Thank you

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A Mastermind is a peer-to-peer mentoring group used to help members solve their problems and improve their lives. We have all read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. The central concept is to surround yourself with like-minded individuals who have what you’d like to create if you haven’t. Masterminds allow you to gain new experiences and perspectives, growing your life and business.

Mastermind groups have exploded in popularity in recent years. If you’re not in a Mastermind, the world will pass you by. The world is changing rapidly and surrounding yourself with other industry leaders is essential to staying ahead or catching up.

Being part of a group that thinks alike and different will make you better. They will also challenge your thinking. Most of these communities are exclusive and invite-only. If you qualify, consider yourself one of the fortunate ones. It is up to the participant to show up and receive value within all these groups.

Check out more masterminds on Coursera.

Why join a specific mastermind and which group to join can be complicated?

I am in a few different masterminds for different reasons. One is a business and speaker mastermind, another is a spiritual mastermind, and another focuses on marketing and sales strategies. 

You can join masterminds for every industry, entrepreneur, or business leader.

A few years ago, I was at a mastermind dinner for one of the groups below. One of the members was debating whether he would rejoin for $25,000 for year two. One of our fellow members asked why he would not rejoin. He responded that he didn’t feel he had received $25,000 in value or even a fraction of the $250,000 the program guaranteed. 

This member shared how he thinks about receiving value in these communities upon further discussion. It isn’t on the mastermind leader or the group to provide the value. It is on the participant to receive the value. He shared his thinking: how on day number 1 of a year-long program can I receive $25,000 or $250,000 in value in my life or business. The rest of the year and days in meetings are a bonus for accomplishing this. This thinking forever changed how I show up and receive value from these groups. Masterminds have led to millions of dollars of opportunities, friendships, and business collaborations. 

Being a member of many masterminds over the years, I want to outline the top 22 to join during 2022 to make it the best year of your life and business. 

1. YPO

Young Presidents Organization (YPO) is one of the oldest, most respected, and most prominent masterminds globally. The group was founded in 1950 by Ray Hickok. It connects 30,000 CEOs globally. Admission is invite-only and with business standards like 50 full-time employees and revenue over 13 million. Members connect in-person and online over the course of the year. Events often include speakers like Richard Branson, Steve Wozniak, and heads of state. Money’s no issue for members, but the annual fee is reasonable. So if you’re offered an invitation, don’t let the opportunity pass.

• Website ypo.org
• Investment: $10,000 plus Annually

2. Genius Creators Collective

Genius Creators Collective is an exclusive community of young creators focused on connecting and becoming empowered in building the future. The members (Genius Creators) include entrepreneurs, musicians, athletes, actors, executives, investors, and artists born during and after 1985. They host events at luxurious properties around the world. The community also meets twice a month online. Genius Creators Collective was created on the premise that young leaders crave a place to connect, learn, grow, and flourish collectively. The founders run investment companies and use the community to determine and support their investments. The community is startup founder and finance centric with influencers building all industries. 

• Website:  GeniusCreators.org 
• Investment: $11,000 Annually

3. Selfless Givers Mastermind

An invite-only mastermind that includes multiple best-selling authors, YPO members, hall of fame speakers changing the future. Membership costs $55,000 per year and consists of an epic trip to a remote location. Last year they rented a 90-foot yacht off-coast of Cabo. The group has launched members to number 1 on the WSJ list three times during 2020. They know how to market and create businesses changing the world from real estate to startups to consulting firms. 

• Website: SelflessGivers.com
• Investment: $55,000 Annually

4. Connected Geniuses

Sacred invite-only masterminds very few people have heard of. Members include the COO of a public company, investors, speakers, and business owners. Membership is capped at 22 members and includes an annual trip. We had no idea of the cost, yet we talked with one member who said it’s a place where he can be vulnerable and learn arm and arm with his brothers.

• Website: ConnectedGeniuses.com
• Investment: Undisclosed

5. The Lifestyle Investor Mastermind

Justin Donald’s Mastermind is a 12-month program that’s perfect for anyone looking to go beyond his book, courses, podcasts, and connect with top investors. The Lifestyle Investor Mastermind gives you the space for building your confidence, skills, network, and portfolio — all in one spot. The tax strategies of high net-worth individuals gain more than pay for the investment in this mastermind. Members get preferred rates to invest alongside Justin in his deals. They meet annually in-person and monthly online. So if you want to work less and have your money create a new lifestyle, this is the mastermind to join.

• Website: justindonald.com/mastermind
• Investment: $50,000 Annually

6. Mastermind Talks

A veteran entrepreneur, Gaignard is the founder of a top-rated business podcast on iTunes and runs one of the world’s most exclusive events for entrepreneurs through Mastermind Talks. His invite-only event brings together brilliant minds. His work has been featured by influential publications like Forbes, Life Hacker, and Business Insider.

Since 2013, more than 19,000 entrepreneurs have applied to MMT from across the globe. With our community capped at 150 members annually, MMT is one of the most exclusive entrepreneur groups in the world.

• Website: mmt.community
• Investment: $15,000 Annually

7. Genius Network

I alleged War Room was pre-Illuminati, but that’s before I researched ‘Genius Network.’ Joe Polish’s group connects members to educational content, a digital network, and colossal annual events where Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis, and Richard Branson speak. Pricing is either 25K or 100K annually. By most accounts, it’s the premium mastermind option. 

Genius Network is recommended for the most experienced masterminders. It is best to join knowing how to network, create partnerships, and market your business. Learn to walk before sprinting a marathon and joining Genius Network.

• Website: GeniusNetwork.com
• Investment: $25,000 or $100,000 Annually

8. The Human Gathering

The Human Gathering is a community created under the belief that nothing is impossible through the right community. Together, it is possible to gather the power to change the world. The focus is to leave behind a legacy carved into the history of humanity. Members include executives from public companies, entertainment, music, and diplomats. 

• Website: humangathering.com
• Investment: $5,000 Annually

9. EO

EO is perhaps the most well-known mastermind brand. Over 13,000 entrepreneurs are members globally. Each meets the standard of running a business over at least $1 million in revenue. Meetings are in-person at local chapters with discussions covering business, life, and balancing the two. 

If you meet its requirements, EO is very reasonable. The membership cost is minimal compared to other groups. The network is international, with members near every major city you can travel to. It has reigned as the 800-pound gorilla of masterminds since 1987 for good reasons.

• Website: eonetwork.org
• Investment: $9,500 Annually

10. Live for Livin 

Olenka Cullinan’s mastermind is a perfect place where driven executive women go to recharge, find balance, elevate their business and gain their time back. This combination of 1-1 work and peer connection Mastermind model helps executive women create life on their own terms while scaling and maintaining success. Cullinan has more than ten years of experience as an executive coach. As a result, she understands the main struggles women entrepreneurs deal with daily. This is the foundation for why she created Live for Livin. It’s a vetted group of very driven women running six to eight-figure organizations around the globe.

• Website: liveforlivin.com
• Investment: $9,500

11. Titans Mastermind

The Titans Mastermind is a business and personal growth. It is run by Brian Kurtz, one of the best direct response marketers in history. His group meets multiple times her year in-person and on zoom. So if you want to turn your company into a marketing machine, this is the group for you. 

Brian has worked with all the great marketers in history. These marketers are regular attendants and speakers at his events. In addition, this legend has mailed over 1.5 billion pieces of mail and shares his secrets with the group.

• Website: briankurtz.net/mastermind
• Investment: $20,000

12. War Room

War Room is where the top entrepreneurs, marketers, and game-changers meet to share strategies. Hall of Famers include Sara Blakely of Spanx, a Shark Tank Judge, and a former Pepsi VP. Executives share written templates, checklists, and systems on a private social network. War Room’s goal is to “double your business every year.” 

This mastermind tier is recommended for the experienced. Try out informal groups first to see if you do well in them. The payoff only justifies itself if you’re already good at networking, forming partnerships, and, generally, playing extraverted business.

• Website: warroommastermind.com
• Investment: $30,000 Annually

13. Elite365 (Itzler’s Mastermind)

Jesse Itzler created this mastermind to help members prioritize their lives over their work. Members discover that who they are matters more than what they do. Its main objective is to inspire people to build their life resumes, give them tools to do so, and experiences to create. Jesse is also a serial entrepreneur who has sold businesses to Warren Buffett, Coca-Cola, and iFit. He is also an ultra-endurance athlete who once hired David Goggins to live and train him for 30 days.

• Website: jesseitzler.com/elite-365/
• Investment: $25,000 Annually 

14. Strategic Coach

Strategic Coach is an organization run by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Coach is the recognized leader worldwide in entrepreneurial coaching. For over 30 years, Coach has worked with more than 20,000 successful business owners from around the globe to help them achieve faster growth, greater profits, and an exceptional quality of life. In addition, Strategic Coach offers business coaching workshop programs designed to step up progress and accelerate your business and personal life results. The global community of successful entrepreneurs, highly experienced coaches, an arsenal of proprietary tools, and deep-dive strategy sessions are the cornerstones of member success.

• Website: strategiccoach.com
• Investment: $25,000

15. Tony Robbins Platinum Partnership

Platinum Partnership provides the unprecedented opportunity to network and learn from Tony and master teachers. Limited to an exclusive group of serious players worldwide. Membership involves traveling to some of the most spectacular destinations on earth. An annual commitment, The Platinum Partnership is an opportunity to receive a personalized level of coaching from the Robbins organization. In addition, members can attend Tony Robbins live events whenever they want, as often as they’d like, anywhere in the world.

• Website: tonyrobbins.com/platinum-partnership
• Investment: $85,000

16. World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is independent, impartial, and not tied to any special interests. The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance. Moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does.

• Website: weforum.org
• Investment: $62,000-$620,000 Annually
  

17. Blue Collar Mastermind

This is the mastermind designed for contractors. Meetings educate business owners on how to position companies as elite. Content focuses on increasing sales, marketing, and increasing the profitability of all contractors. In addition, the founder’s experiences as a contractor coach and sales strategist give this Mastermind a unique perspective for the contractor’s industry.

• Website: Bluecollarmastermind.com
• Investment: $30,000

18. Aubrey Marcus Fit for Service

Fit For Service is a curated fellowship with some of the world’s top coaches and experts, specifically designed to help you become physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, romantically, and spiritually fit. To use this to be in service for the good of all. Everyone who enters this program will leave more equipped to tackle life’s challenges with absolute confidence. This is not a mastermind, this is a transformational experience. It doesn’t matter where members are starting from, all have a lion inside, just waiting to emerge with a roar that says, “I am done playing small, I am done hiding my voice, I am done being the good girl, or the good boy. I would rather live one day as a lion than a thousand days pretending to be less than who I truly am.”

• Website: aubreymarcus.com/pages/fit-for-service-academy
• Investment: $30,000 Annually

19. The Conscious Leader Mastermind – Gerard Adams

The world-class network will power up and accelerate your path to financial fulfillment, global influence, and joyful spiritual growth. A full-stack, exclusive experience for 33 selective individuals… and you’re one of the lucky 33.

You’ve built your business. You have success. Now what? This Conscious Leader Mastermind is an exclusive high-level group for established entrepreneurs and high performers who are ready for their next level of self-mastery alongside a world-class network of leaders.

• Website: mastermind.leaderscreateleaders.com/
• Investment: $30,000 for 6 months

20. Elevate Club

The Elevate Club is a peer-to-peer learning community built around building capacity in four key areas—spiritual, intellectual, physical and emotional capacity—to help members reach full potential in their personal and professional lives. Elevate Club members include over 100 CEOs, entrepreneurs, executives and thought leaders from the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, India and Guatemala. Members meet regularly for keynotes/seminars, participate in on-demand online courses, and have experience sharing discussions in a private online community. The group is led by Robert Glazer, a serial entrepreneur, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author and creator of Friday Forward, an inspirational newsletter read by over 300,000 leaders each week.

• Website: elevate-club.com
• Investment: $497 Annually

21. Dan Martell

Are you in the early stages of building your SaaS startup?

You’ll learn the “3 P’s of Growth” in the Growth Accelerator—product, positioning, and promotion. You’ll learn how to build compelling software, position it attractively to the right market, and promote it in a way that creates traction so you can scale your way to $10K/MRR in record time. Scale your software company. Optimize their revenue engines and build escape velocity in their business.

• Website: danmartell.com
• Investment: $125,000 Annually

22. Women in Tech

Women in Tech is an international non-profit organization to close the gender gap and help women embrace technology. They promote girls’ and women’s empowerment worldwide, focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 5b: harnessing technologies. It is a global movement with chapters in 6 continents, counting over 70.000 members.

The aim is to educate, equip and empower women and girls with the necessary skills, confidence, and opportunities to succeed in STEM career fields.

• Website: Women-in-tech.org
• Investment: Starting at $995 Annually

Being part of a group of people who think alike and have the same interests and ambitions will make you better at what you do. Not only will these masterminds challenge, but they will also support your wildest dreams.

Despite their exclusive, private status and investments, these groups have proven to be very effective in helping entrepreneurs to uplevel their lives and businesses.

Check out more masterminds on Coursera.

Let us know which groups you join or are already a member of. I look forward to seeing you at one of these masterminds this year.

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Customer service happens at every step of the customer’s journey. It is a skill that is essential from the moment a customer feels the need for your product or service — to after the sale is made. 

Learning and reinforcing customer service lessons are valuable for leaders as well as employees across all departments. Customer service experts and keynote speakers are your organization’s resources for impactful presentations and training. 

Here are the top 20 customer service keynote speakers in the industry right now. 

1. Shep Hyken 

Shep Hyken is recognized as one of the world’s leading customer service experts. He is the chief amazement officer of Shepard Presentations. This company helps organizations develop customer service strategies that amaze and inspire customer loyalty through live customer service keynote speeches and virtual events. Shep’s weekly articles and blog posts, YouTube videos, Amazing Business Radio podcast, among other resources, help his followers and clients develop a customer-focused culture that drives repeat business and customer loyalty. He has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for his achievements in the speaking profession. In addition, he is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His latest book, I’ll Be Back: How to Get Customers to Come Back, Again and Again, is a masterclass in turning customers into repeat customers and repeat customers into loyal customers.

Website | Linkedin 

2. Joey Coleman 

Joey Coleman is a lawyer, salesman, teacher and spy. He has worked as a trial attorney, college and graduate school teacher, and the Secret Service and the CIA. Today, Joey is the chief experience composer of Design Symphony, where he helps businesses keep their customers and employees as a keynote speaker, workshop leader, and consultant. He believes that the first 100 days are crucial in the relationship life cycle between businesses and their customers, as well as their employees. Joey shares lessons from his myriad life experiences in his No. 2 Wall Street Journal bestselling book Never Lose a Customer Again. 

Website | Linkedin 

3. Brittany Hodak 

Brittany Hodak is an international keynote speaker who helps brands create superfans. She is known as the “expert at creating loyal fans for your brand.” She mixes creativity and humor to help businesses, big and small, implement real changes. She is an expert at connecting a brand’s story to the customer’s experiences to create a partnership that turns them into superfans. Brittany is also an award-winning business leader, earning a spot in AdAge’s 40 under 40 and Billboard’s 30 under 30. In addition, she received an award from the Impact Awards at the United Nations as the Most Disruptive Marketing Entrepreneur.   

Website | Linkedin 

4. Steven Van Belleghem 

Steven Van Belleghem is a keynote speaker, thought leader, and bestselling author on customer service in the digital age. He is passionate about spreading ideas on what customer service should look like today and in the future. He believes in the balance between technology and the human touch, which he covers extensively in his bestselling book, When Digital Becomes Human: The Transformation of Customer Relationships. This balance is essential in an age in which customers have vast amounts of access to information about your company and your competition. 

Website | Linkedin 

5. Dennis Snow 

Dennis Snow is a keynote speaker, consultant, author, and CEO of Snow & Associates. He spent 20 years working for Walt Disney World. He uses his experience at Disney along with his many years of consulting with businesses around the world to help brands develop a “walk-through-fire” customer loyalty, just like diehard Disney fans. In Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service, Dennis shares his customer service expertise, a book about designing and implementing an excellent customer service culture in a competitive environment. 

Website | Linkedin 

6. Scott McKain 

Scott McKain is a customer service expert and the author of two “Year’s 10 Best” business books and four No. 1 business bestsellers on Amazon. He is the founder of Distinction Institute, a company that helps individuals and organizations own their industries. His book ICONIC: How Organizations and Leaders Attain, Sustain, and Regain the Ultimate Level of Distinction helps companies move from standing out to the highest level of distinction in their marketplace. Through his live and virtual events, he delivers impactful presentations that positively influence customers and the company’s bottom line. 

Website | Linkedin 

7. Matt Dixon 

Matt Dixon is the chief research and innovation officer of Tethr, an AI and machine learning platform that analyzes the value of phone conversations in sales, customer service, and profitability. In addition, Matt is a keynote speaker and business writer. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies in the areas of sales and customer service. He is a frequent Harvard Business Review contributor and a bestselling author. Business Insider considers his book The Challenger Sale to be “the beginning of a wave that will take over a lot of selling organizations in the next decade.” 

Website | Linkedin 

8. Doug Lipp 

Doug Lipp is a keynote speaker and consultant on the topics of leadership, customer service, and becoming a globally competitive business. Fluent in Japanese, Doug was part of the startup team that built Tokyo Disneyland. After his return from Japan, he led the Disney University Training team. Today, he helps companies create a strong brand that is based on values, teamwork and innovation. In addition, Doug has written eight books on business and leadership, including his latest, Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World’s Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees. 

Website | Linkedin 

9. Jay Baer 

Jay Baer is known as “the world’s most inspirational marketing and customer service speaker.” He delivers live and virtual presentations to audiences worldwide on word-of-mouth marketing, content marketing, and improving customer service, primarily online. Through the company he founded, Convince and Convert, he works with brands to help them gain new customers and keep existing ones. Jay is a six-time author, and his latest book is Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth. 

Website | Linkedin 

10. Jeff Toister  

Jeff Toister is the “service culture guide.” He is a customer service trainer, consultant, and speaker who helps teams create a customer-centric culture. He is the president of Toister Performance Solutions, Inc., which helps leaders nurture employees to become obsessed with providing excellent customer service. He is the author of four bestselling books, including The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service. In addition, his blog, Inside Customer Service, has been recognized as one of the Top Customer Service Blogs by Customer Contact Central and many others. 

Website | Linkedin 

11. John DiJulius 

John DiJulius is a keynote speaker, workshop leader, and expert on all things customer service. As the president of The DiJulius Group, he helps companies develop consistent customer service experiences across all employees, departments, and locations. He also leads the Customer Service Revolution, which many consider being America’s No. 1 customer service conference. John is a customer service expert who walks the talk. In addition to the DiJulius Group, he also owns John Robert’s Spa, testing his customer service theories and best practices. John shares more of his expertise in his bestselling books, including The Customer Service Revolution: Overthrow Conventional Business, Inspire Employees, and Change the World. 

Website | Linkedin 

12. Joseph Michelli 

Joseph Michelli is an author, speaker, and consultant helping businesses create memorable and profitable customer service experiences. In addition, he provides customized solutions for employees and leaders to address their unique needs. He is the chief executive officer at The Michelli Experience and a bestselling author. Among his many titles are When Fish Fly: Lessons for Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace, co-authored by the owner of Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market, and his latest, Stronger Through Adversity: World-Class Leaders Share Pandemic-Tested Lessons on Thriving During the Toughest Challenges. 

Website | Linkedin 

13. Laurie Guest 

Laurie Guest is a keynote speaker on topics including customer service and staff development. Known as the funny lady from the Midwest, Laurie delivers witty and impactful training to organizations worldwide. More than 24 years of experience in healthcare has equipped her to coach workplaces to provide excellent customer service in the moments that matter most. Her most popular keynote, Life in the Espresso Lane, teaches how employees thrive in a fast-paced world. Her book The 10¢ Decision is for team members and leaders who want to take their careers to the next level.  

Website | Linkedin 

14. Adam Toporek  

Adam Toporek is a customer service expert and speaker. He is the author of Be Your Customer’s Hero — his playbook to succeeding on the customer service front line. His expertise in customer service stems from his background as an entrepreneur working in wholesale, franchising, and small business. For Adam, customer service must be the primary focus of any organization. Excellent customer service can have a significant impact on a business’s bottom line. Adam utilizes a real-world approach to help organizations face their unique challenges. 

Website | LinkedIn 

15. Lisa Ford 

Lisa Ford provides customized presentations on the topics of leadership and customer service. She helps individuals and organizations in the United States and worldwide deliver exceptional customer service that inspires customers to return. Lisa is known for her video series, Exceptional Customer Service: Exceed Customer Expectations to Build Loyalty & Boost Profits, the No. 1 selling business series in the U.S. for more than five years. The National Speakers Association inducted her into the Speakers Hall of Fame in 2002. Her book, Exceptional Customer Service, teaches companies to thrive by building customer loyalty. 

Website | Linkedin 

16. Ron Kaufman 

Ron Kaufman has been ranked as the No. 1 Customer Service Guru in the World by Global Gurus for three consecutive years. He is an educator, keynote speaker, and thought leader on customer service culture development. As co-founder of UP! Your Service — Ron helps companies worldwide deliver uplifting Service to their customers using the customer service culture methodology he has developed over the years. Ron has written 15 books, including his latest New York Times bestseller, UPLIFTING SERVICE: The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues and Everyone Else You Meet.  

Website | Linkedin 

17. Robert Spector 

Robert Spector has been in the customer service business since the age of 13 while working in his family’s butcher shop. Today he delivers keynote presentations all over the world to audiences ranging from individual organizations to industry-wide conferences. He is widely known for his bestselling book, The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service, inspired by his experience as the only journalist granted access to how Nordstrom does business. 

Website | Linkedin 

18. Ross Shafer 

Ross Shafer is dubbed as America’s Funniest Motivator. He is an Emmy-winning TV broadcaster and comedian who uses his humor and industry experience to help companies in business, growth, motivation, and customer service. In addition, as a leadership coach, Ross has written and produced 14 human resource films. He has written nine books, including No More Customer Friction: A Bold Blueprint for Raising Customer Scores, that guide front-line employees and leaders on how to retain customers for life. 

Website | Linkedin 

19. Shaun Belding 

Shaun Belding is the CEO of The Belding Group of Companies, Inc., a management consulting firm that provides leadership and customer service training. He is a keynote speaker who brings his 30 years of experience and humor to his customized presentations. He coaches organizations in every industry to create a workplace culture that is focused on customer service. Shaun is the author of five books, including The Journey to WOW: The Path to Outstanding Customer Experience and Loyalty, a book on creating a customer-obsessed organization that successfully earns customer loyalty. 

Website | Linkedin 

20. Chip Bell 

Chip Bell is a keynote speaker, trainer, and expert in customer loyalty and customer service innovation. He has been named one of the top 10 speakers on customer service by Global Gurus. His customer-centric strategies have helped many Fortune 100 companies enhance their customer relationships. Chip is also a bestselling author with 22 books under his name to date. His new book, Inside Your Customer’s Imagination, talks about building a co-creation partnership with customers that aims to fulfill their hopes and aspirations, not just their needs and expectations. 

Website | Linkedin 

Inner Article Image Credit: LinkedIn Photos; Thank you!

Top Image Credit: Borta; Pexels; Thank you!

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The future always arrives faster than you think and it often hits before you’re ready. Some people, though, have a talent for spotting trends. They see which technologies will make an impact, how new innovations will change society, and what’s coming up next for business and commerce. They also share what they’ve discovered. I’ve put together a list of the top futurist speakers to have at your conference in 2021.

Here are 25 of the best futurist keynote speakers. Each of these futurists speaks at major tech events — and when they’re not sharing their knowledge with audiences, they help top-level executives and marketing teams to prepare for the future.

1. Joel Comm

Joel Comm tops the list with his almost 25 years of doing business online. He co-created Yahoo! Games, published 15 books, built a chart-topping iPhone app, and hosts a top blockchain podcast. He now leads the way with digital collectibles, a fast-growing field that combines blockchain technology with collection-building.

Comm is a top futurist speaker who helps businesses and brands arrive before the competition, and makes seemingly complex material easy to understand, refreshing, informative, and entertaining.

2. Lisa Bodell

New technology and work practices can be complex and confusing. Lisa Bodell makes it simple. As the CEO of FutureThink, an innovation training firm, she provides innovative solutions that cut through the complexity.

Bodell spots new changes, identifies the most important characteristics that companies need to understand, and teaches them how to adapt and use new innovations.

3. Bran Ferren

Bran Ferren used to have the best job in the world. After creating special effects for movies and theme parks, he became president of research and development and creative technology for Walt Disney.

Ferren is now the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Applied Minds, a design and invention firm. He also invented the pinch-to-zoom technology popularized by Apple. Ferren’s talks focus on the value of innovations and explain why we should care about new technology.

4. Tan Le

For Tan Le, it’s all about the brain. A former refugee from Vietnam and now the founder and CEO of EMOTIV, a neuroinformatics company, Tan Le uses electroencephalography to deepen understanding of the brain and to develop brain-computer interfaces.

Her work has won her a host of innovation awards. Tan Le is the speaker you need to hear when you want to know how you’ll be using your brain in the future.

5. Kate Ancketill

Kate Ancketill is the co-founder and CEO of GDR Creative Intelligence, a consultancy that helps brands to identify innovation trends. Her talks are packed with research that has been tested in the field and shown to help brands stay ahead of upcoming changes.

Ancketill explains how big companies change with technological and social innovation, and adapt to new customer behaviors.

6. Brian Solis

Brian Solis is the Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce where he focuses on thought leadership and research into digital transformation, innovation and disruption, and the cognitive enterprise.

Solis is also the creator of “Lifescaling,” a model for living a creative digital life without diversions, focused on what’s important and making the most of the possibilities that technology offers.

7. William Higham

William Higham is the head of Next Big Thing, a consultancy whose clients have included Amazon, HSBC, and MTV. He started his career in the music industry but his focus now is on consumer trends. He helps businesses and leaders predict changing tastes and adjust to meet them.

Higham’s successful trend-spotting has included helping the drinks industry cope with the rise of the New Sobriety, identifying Wellbeing Consumers, and championing Strictly Come Dancing, a surprising hit BBC show.

8. Travis Wright

Travis Wright is the co-author of “Digital Sense: The Common Sense Approach to Effectively Blending Social Business Strategy, Marketing Technology, and Customer Experience.” He is the co-presenter, with Joel Comm, of the Bad Crypto Podcast, the leading guide to blockchain technology, and is also a pioneer in the world of digital collectibles.

Wright’s views of AI, machine learning, the blockchain, and martech has brought him to keynote stages around the world, including the annual Martech conference.

9. Poppy Crum

Poppy Crum is an Adjunct Professor in Computer Research at Stanford University and the Chief Scientist at Dolby Laboratories. She has practical experience of using an understanding of human behavior, data, and combinations of wearable and immersive technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning to build commercial innovation.

Crum helps organizations to rethink their understanding of personalization and explains how technology can make products more personal and less technical.

10. Ben Casnocha

Ben Casnocha is a venture capitalist. He’s a co-founder and partner at Village Global, a $100 million investment fund, and was the chief of staff of LinkedIn chairman Reid Hoffman. They’ve written a couple of books together, and Casnocha has helped to form an organization to promote Hoffman’s strategic priorities.

Casnocha’s has also founded e-government firm Comcate, and mentored at startup incubator, Techstars. Ben Casnocha’s speaking topics have covered the new employer-employee relationship, millennials at work, and the importance of thinking like an entrepreneur in today’s work environment.

11. Michio Kaku

Michio Kaku is best known as a theoretical physicist who is trying to complete Einstein’s unified field theory.

Kaku is a Physics professor at the City University of New York is also a trendspotter. His book “Physics of the Future,” includes interviews with 300 of the world’s top scientists to understand what the next decades, and century, will mean for science.

The science includes the future of computers, robotics, biotechnology, and more. Kaku’s talks cover both the physics of the future and the future of the mind.

12. Vivek Wadhwa 

Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program. He’s the author of five books and has been named by Foreign Policy magazine one of the world’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers.” His research focuses on the effect of technology on employment.

Wadhwa has explored the role of corporate training programs in the rise of Indian companies, diversity in Silicon Valley, and the risks of America’s visa program for skilled workers. His talks cover ways to navigate technological change, disruption and opportunity, and the role of technology in medicine.

13. Kate Darling

For Kate Darling, the future is all about robots. A research specialist at MIT’s Media Lab, Kate Darling conducts experiments into the way that humans and robots interact. She’s taught a robot ethics course at Harvard Law School and has researched incentives in copyright and patent systems.

Although Darling has a background in law it’s her insights into the behavior of robots and how humans will interact with them that make her talks so vital.

14. Kevin Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick is unusual among futurist speakers in having once been placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. He had hacked into more than 40 major companies to see whether he could do it.

Mitnick is now one of the world’s most skilled white hat hackers, hired by governments and corporations to test their security and cyber defense systems. Mitnick’s talks cover a range of cyber defense issues from digital privacy to remote workplace safety and social engineering.

15. Crystal Washington

Crystal Washington helps businesses apply technology to increase their profits. She plots a path through social media’s most effective functions, explaining technology hacks that can increase sales.

Washington talks through her own strategies for building an effective and efficient home office, and she ensures that technology serves her clients instead of forcing companies to accommodate themselves to new innovations.

16. Gary Shapiro

Gary Shapiro is the president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, the owner and produce of the Consumer Electronics Show. He’s a leading lobbyist, pushing for more skilled employees, immigration, and free trade, and the elimination of regulatory and tax burdens on innovators.

Shapiro’s talks focus on the place of innovation in America and how it can create jobs and build new industries.

17. Chike Aguh

Chike Aguh is a Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Harvard Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and a Venture Partner at New Markets Venture Partners with a focus on workforce technologies.

Aguh talks about the future of work and explains how automation could change as much as two-thirds of jobs. He also discusses the social impact and the effects of the gig economy, re-skilling, and a multi-generational workplace.

18. Cate Trotter

Cate Trotter is the founder and Head of Trends at Insider Trends. Her focus is on retail. She looks for the effects of trends like wearable technology, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things, and explains to brands how those changes will affect the customer experience and future commerce.

As an entrepreneur, Trotter has created and run two companies of her own. She is able to describe both theory and its practical effects and provides these explanations to brands.

19. David Hanson

If tomorrow’s world is filled with robots, it will probably be because of David Hanson. The founder and CEO of Hanson Robotics, Hanson started his career at Walt Disney, as a sculptor and a technical robotics consultant.

Hanson has now used artificial intelligence and new skin materials to create a realistic android called Sophia. David Hanson’s talks explain how the world will look when it is filled with androids.

20. Gary Hamel

Gary Hamel is the author of “The Future of Management,” a future he’s been bringing to businesses throughout his career. As a consultant, he’s helped a number of large brands update their management and production processes, helping them get more out of their employees and develop more efficient ways to generate innovation.

While many futurist speakers focus on how demand will change, Gary Hamel talks about how management will change to meet that demand.

21. Hakeem Oluseyi

Most futurist speakers focus on how the future will affect business. Hakeem Oluyesi is more about the science. A difficult childhood, which involved ten schools in seven years, led to plenty of reading and science television.

After completing a Ph.D. at Stanford, Oluyesi worked on computer chips in Silicon Valley then moved to NASA where he is now the organization’s Space Education Lead.

Elon Musk might be building the rockets that will take us to space but Hakeem Oluyesi understands what we’ll find when we get there.

22. Magnus Lindkvist

Magnus Lindkvist notices the small stuff. In his book, “Minifesto,” he explains how small ideas will help to build large narratives.

At the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship, Lindkvist created the world’s first academically accredited course in Trendspotting and Future Thinking. His talks focus on how we think about the world, and how we can use those thoughts to understand, predict, and build the future.

23. Rachel Armstrong

Much of the future will focus on building and improving sustainable environmental solutions. Rachel Armstrong is a professor at Newcastle University in experimental architecture. She looks for innovative environmental solutions to address challenges such as carbon capture, recycling, smart materials and sustainable design.

Armstrong’s expertise is in synthetic biology which she believes could offer sustainable solutions to built environments.

24. Richard Watson

Richard Watson is a Futurist-in-Residence for the Technology Foresight Practice at Imperial College and a founding member of Futures House, a scenario planning consultancy.

Watson’s talks focus on trends and strategic foresight, but his skill is applying those trends to innovation, retail, and other industries, and explaining how those industries will need to adapt.

25. Rohit Bhargava

After 15 years at two of the world’s biggest marketing and branding companies, Rohit Bhargava struck out on his own, forming three companies. He is the founder of the Non-Obvious Company, and also its Chief Trend Curator.

Bhargava’s Non-Obvious Trend Report is published at the end of every year and is read by more than a million people.

Top Image Credit: maria eduarda tavares; pexels

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There are many amazing marketing speakers that can help shed light on the intricacies of marketing. However, only a select few understand what growth marketing entails. Growth marketing is a specialized segment of digital marketing, and it focuses specifically on online customer acquisition.

To learn how to incorporate this marketing segment in your business, it helps to get firsthand guidance from growth marketing thought leaders who present at marketing conferences across the country and around the world. Here are 15 exceptional growth marketing experts you’ll want to speak at your next industry event.

• Eli Schwartz

Eli Schwartz is the former director of growth at SurveyMonkey, building organic search from the ground up. During his stint with High Gear Media, he led user acquisition and grew new monthly users from 500,000 to six million in three years. Eli now works with large-scale growth companies on building products poised for hypergrowth. As an SEO expert and digital marketing consultant, Eli has assisted world-renowned B2B and B2C companies like Quora, BlueNile, and Shutterstock with strategies designed to grow organically.

Eli is a regular speaker at marketing events throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, as well as serving as a guest lecturer at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Singapore’s Civil Service College, and the Founder’s Institute. In 2019, Eli Schwartz’s speaking engagements included the Internet Marketing Summit, Content Marketing World, Digital Summit, GrowthHackers Conference, and the Growth Marketing Conference.

• Ann Handley

Ann Handley is Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs and Founder of ClickZ. Considered to be a digital marketing pioneer, she has also been cited in Forbes as the most influential woman in social media and recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the top 20 women bloggers. Ann has also been named as one of just seven key people shaping the modern marketing environment.

Besides her ongoing stint as a best-selling author, Ann also is a regular speaker who delivers memorable presentations on a wide range of digital marketing topics. Ann Handley’s recent keynote topics included “How to Level-Up Your Writing and Make it Ludicrously Spectacular,” “ASAP: As Slow as Possible,” and “The Big, Bold, Brave New World of Content & Storytelling.”

• Sean Ellis

Sean Ellis is the Founder and CEO of Growth Hackers, the first marketer at Dropbox, and the guy who coined the growth hacking methodology. He developed growth initiatives for other companies, including Eventbrite, LogMeIn, and Lookout, which helped shape his growth marketing model.

Sean is the author of a book on growth marketing and has a blog that helps startup founders unlock business growth. He is a regular speaker at his company’s own event, GrowthHackers Conference, as well as presents at organizational workshops and conferences. At these events, he shares stories, use cases, and results from implementing growth marketing initiatives. Sean Ellis has also been a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School and the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley.

• Gareth Everard

Gareth Everard is co-founder and CMO of Keyto, a technology and wellness company funded by Craft Ventures and Floodgate Fund. He previously founded Rockwell Razors, an award-winning zero-waste consumer goods company that sells online and in over 6000 retail locations around the world. In addition to managing millions of dollars of growth marketing budget over his young career, Gareth raised over 2.5 million dollars through crowdfunding campaigns to launch products from patented razor designs to keto diet breathalyzers.

An experienced speaker, Gareth’s candid, and engaging storytelling combines tactical advice and fresh perspectives, leaving attendees always learning something cutting-edge and exceptionally valuable. His topics include leveraging communities to drive memberships, consumer product launches, and how to dial in your digital marketing funnel. Gareth Everard has been featured as a speaker at marketing conferences, universities, and intimate masterminds around the world.

• Lee Odden

Lee Odden is co-founder and CEO of TopRank Marketing, a U.S.-based digital marketing agency that serves major B2B brands, including GE Digital, Oracle, Virgin Pulse, LinkedIn, Dell, Microsoft, Staples, General Mills, State Farm, Slack, and more. Lee is a recognized content creator and influencer marketer as well as an all-around marketing expert.

In addition to his role as a book author and content contributor to multiple media leaders, he is a prolific public speaker often called upon for keynote presentations in digital marketing industry conferences. In the last decade, Lee Odden has given close to 200 presentations in 13 different countries. His engaging stories and stage presence, combined with deep thought leadership across multiple digital marketing segments, make him a not-to-miss speaker.

• Carla Johnson

Carla Johnson is known as a world-renowned storyteller, entertaining speaker, and prolific author. Consistently named as one of the top influencers in B2B, digital, and content marketing, she works with entrepreneurs and companies like Amazon, Dell, and Intel to define themselves through their strengths.

From global conferences to company events, Carla shares her marketing and branding wisdom in fun, memorable ways that feel less like formal presentations and more like engaging conversations. Carla Johnson shares entertaining stories and thought-provoking ideas about marketing and customer experiences.

• Dorie Clark

Dorie Clark is a coach, content program creator, author and professional speaker, specializing in reinvention. Her books include  “Entrepreneurial You,” “Reinventing You,” and “Stand Out.” In addition to serving as an adjunct professor of business administration at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, she guest lectures at universities, such as Harvard Business School, Harvard’s Kennedy School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, MIT School of Management, and more. Dorie has worked with a who’s who of brands, including Boeing, Goodyear, FedEx, and Google.

Besides reinvention, speaking topics include personal branding, leadership, networking, and social media. Catch Dorie Clark at an upcoming global speaking event like numerous Deloitte University CORE Leadership Program dates through 2021, HMZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration, University of Dayton Center for Leadership, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Moscow School of Management.

• Andy Crestodina

Andy Crestodina is the co-founder of Orbit Media, an award-winning web design company in Chicago. For nearly two decades, he has been involved in the evolution of digital marketing through web design and interactive marketing. Andy has helped thousands of companies develop and implement their growth marketing strategies.

Be sure to catch Andy at one or more of the national content marketing conferences where he shares his deep expertise in search, analytics, and content strategy development. One of the most exciting perspectives he provides is how companies can improve results from their existing websites rather than focusing on web design leads. Andy Crestodina is also the founder of Content Jam, considered to be Chicago’s largest content marketing event.

• John Rampton

John Rampton is Co-Founder of Calendar, a time management and productivity app, as well as a serial entrepreneur with multiple other startup successes. He also leads Adogy, an interactive marketing engagement agency that leverages his expansive and proven digital marketing tactics to help clients achieve their own strategic growth objectives. John has leveraged what he has learned to create viral content with thousands of views, likes, and shares in a matter of 48 hours as well as generate and convert B2B leads into long-term customers.

As a regular on the speaking circuit, John shares numerous stories and examples of growth marketing in action, leveraging his knowledge, personal demeanor, humor, and love of helping people to interact with audiences. His topics include how to use influencer marketing, how to build and scale a solution people want, and how to make digital marketing tactics and tools work on a lean budget. John Rampton continues to be featured as a keynote speaker and panelist at marketing and content conferences all over the world.

• Jay Baer

Jay Baer is the Founder of Convince & Convert. He is a well-respected business strategist, keynote speaker, and New York Times best-selling author of five books, including “Hug Your Haters.” Jay has also advised more than 700 companies since 1994, including Caterpillar, Nike, Allstate, The United Nations, and 32 of the Fortune 500.

Jay applies nearly three decades’ worth of knowledge, practical experience, and stories to his keynote presentations. Recent keynotes illustrated the wide range of digital marketing and customer experience topics he understands, such as “Talk Triggers: Turn Your Customers Into Volunteer Marketers,” “Youtility: Why Helping Always Beats Selling,” and “Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers.”

• Scott Monty

Scott Monty is the CEO and Founder of Scott Monty Strategies, a strategic communications consultancy. After serving as global head of digital and multimedia communications at Ford Motor Company for six years, he now focuses on serving as one of the best marketing speakers for large groups as well as on advising brands and agencies about how to leverage digital marketing and communications effectively.

His engaging presentations combine real-world stories from his experiences, helping companies with digital marketing with historical and literary references, analogies, and humor. Scott Monty’s speaking topics run the gamut from transformational storytelling and personal interaction to how to have patience and endurance and understand how to leverage timeless business guidance.

• Mark Schaefer

Mark Schaefer is a keynote speaker, educator, podcaster, business consultant, blogger, and author of seven books, leveraging over 30 years in marketing, communications, and public relations as the basis for his marketing insights and actionable advice. Mark has the unique perspective of having been at the forefront of the migration from traditional marketing to digital and growth marketing models.

His global keynote speaking events cover topics around branding, social media, analytics, content strategy, email marketing, and related growth marketing tactics. Mark Schaefer is a fixture at large conferences, such as Social Media Marketing World, Growth Acceleration Summit, SXSW, AMA events, and Content Marketing World.

• Alisa Meredith

Alisa Meredith is Content Marketing Manager at Tailwind as well as a blogger, author, speaker, and self-professed Pinterest inbound marketing “nerd.” Areas of specialty include Pinterest marketing and promoted pins, social business development, inbound marketing, lead generation, and social media strategies.

Alisa’s vast experience in these niche growth marketing areas makes her an in-demand speaker. Alisa Meredith’s past speaking engagements include Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference, Social Media Marketing World, and Social Media Success Summit.

• Andrew Davis

Andrew Davis leads his own digital marketing agency and is a best-selling author and renowned keynote speaker. Previously he was a producer for NBC and worked on The Muppets show. His focus is now on helping startup founder and Fortune 500 business leaders learn how to use growth marketing to build and expand their companies.

Andrew delivers some of the most enthusiastic keynote presentations, pulling stories from his stints on NBC and the BBC, as well as using real-world examples from the brands he’s helped. Find Andrew Davis at some of the world’s largest marketing conferences like the Content Marketing Conference, Influence 2020, Elevate 2020, and the Super Niche Media event, just to name a few.

• Heidi Cohen

Heidi Cohen Is Chief Content Officer for Heidi Cohen’s Actionable Marketing Guide and President of Riverside Marketing Strategies. She is also an author, consultant, blogger, and influencer, as well as a keynote speaker, panelist, and moderator. Before striking out on her own to help other companies, Heidi had results-driven marketing careers with Citibank, Bertelsmann, and The Economist.

In the complex world of digital marketing, she specializes in helping simplify and untangle the seemingly endless number of tools, strategies, and processes available for companies to execute their marketing programs. Heidi Cohen’s speaking topics include business growth, research, social media marketing, branding, and content strategy and production. This past year, she was a featured speaker at Social Media Marketing World.

• Will Critchlow

Will Critchlow is Founder and CEO of Distilled, an online marketing agency that specializes in SEO and technical consulting, digital public relations, and content creation. He and his team are the driving forces behind many of the digital transformations of known globally recognized brands.

Besides speaking at other conferences about his digital marketing experiences, it’s also worth checking out Distilled’s own events known as the SearchLove Conference where Will also participates. Will Critchlow’s speaking topics focus on what he knows best, like conference design, web app development, SEO, and search marketing.

• Erik Huberman

CEO & Founder Erik Huberman launched Hawke Media in 2014. Now valued at over $150 million, Hawke Media is the fastest-growing marketing consultancy agency in the United States. Prior to its launch, Erik successfully founded, grew, and sold two e-commerce companies from the age of 26. Huberman has continued to strategically expand his business portfolio inclusive of a handful of company acquisitions, such as the launch of Hawke Ventures which has funded start-ups with as much as $5.6 million., the launch of his own podcast, HawkeTalk, the launch of HawkeZ, which offers brands the tools needed to tap into GenZ, and most recently authoring The Hawke Method. 

Huberman is a lauded recipient of a number of honors and awards, including Forbes 30 Under 30, CSQ’s 40 Under 40, Inc. Magazine’s Top 25 Marketing Influencers, The International Business Awards’ Entrepreneur of the Year, and a Telly Award for the Hawke Media commercial he co-wrote and starred in. Huberman was recently featured on the Drew Barrymore Show, where he awarded young entrepreneur Jordan James the funds and mentorship to create his dream project.

Hear What These Growth Marketing Leaders Have to Say

In 2020 and beyond, find these speakers, follow them on social media and on their blogs, and travel to conferences, seminars, and workshops where they have been chosen to present.

Looking for a few top speakers for your next event. Here are a few other top speakers we’ve found:

• Blockchain Speakers
• Futurist Speakers
• Marketing Speakers
• Leadership Speakers
• Reputation Risk
• Virtual Keynote Speakers

A few other guides to finding the best speakers:

• Find a Keynote Speaker

Updated March 2023

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One of the most tried and true marketing tools available to companies of all sizes is that of the live event. Hosting a networking function, a product launch, an industry conference all carry with them a certain responsibility to the attendees. Any type of branded event or in-person event has a way of drawing crowds and generating buzz, unlike most other marketing initiatives can. Today, large events rethink safety and emergency protocols using software.

Emergency protocols using software.

In an age of ever-present physical and data-oriented threats, it’s critical that marketing and events teams remain on the cutting edge of security technologies. Armed with the right technology, businesses can help prepare and face a crisis should one arise.

It’s with security in mind that we spoke with Shane Edmonds, CTO at Aventri. Aventri is a global event technology firm ensuring event organizers plan and execute within data safety guidelines. Attendees — and attendees’ personal data — will remain safe and secure during company functions.

ReadWrite: In an era of mass casualty incidents, how can event organizers use technology before their event to attempt to keep attendees safe from any potential threats?

Shane Edmonds:

Social media is probably your best bet before an event. You can use social listening tools to track any possible threats in the context of the event. Make sure that you are tracking your show’s hashtag to see the chatter. Track the region and location of your event as well.

You should also be checking all the engagement that your own posts receive. If you see something that seems strange — check the profile of the individual who posted. See if profiles and postings look legitimate. Is the account real or something that’s causing concern?

In addition, always make sure that you are using technology that follows all the standard protocols for data security. Don’t risk a leak of attendee information.

ReadWrite: If an incident should occur during event, how can technology be used to help – both during and after the incident?

Shane Edmonds:

 Your mobile app should be considered your best mode of communication. Most attendees will already have the mobile app downloaded on their phones. Attendees like to view their schedule and engage in networking activities.

However, your app is also your first line of communication with your attendees. Encourage all event attendees to download the app so they can receive up-to-date alerts on anything happening at the show.

Let your very special brand-ambassadors (attendees) know that this will be your primary way of alerting them to any incidents on-site. Through the app, you have the ability to send push notifications to users’ phones to let them know of anything going on.

With Aventri, even if users don’t have push notifications enabled, once they open the app, they will see that they have an unread message in their notification center.

Additionally, if events are using beacons and NFC, you will know “where people are” within the event. For a security incident at a specific location — you’ll use your mobile app to first alert people within that location range. Then, you’ll alert the rest of the attendees, secondly.

RW: What about data security? What measures should events teams take to protect attendees’ digital information while they’re on-site?

Edmonds:

Data security is extremely important today. With things like GDPR active to protect individual’s rights to privacy, you need to make sure that you are doing your part as an event organizer. You’ll ensure that those who are attending your event have their data protected.

Keep data secure by avoiding storage information locally. Leverage the cloud when you can. Avoid storing registration files on your local computers. Manage all information on the platform in which you originally captured their information.

If you are not currently using a registration platform to capture that information you should look into this service.

Additionally, avoid putting personally identifiable information (PII) on badges, QR codes or RFID. PII could be any data that could be used to identify a particular person like full name, address, email, job.

RW: Is there anything attendees should do before attending an event to make sure their data is secure?

Edmonds:

Attendees should question how the events they’re signing up for is processing personal data. Most events today will have a privacy policy in place that will explain how data is used and stored so the attendee can have peace of mind.

Once you sign up, as an attendee, for the event and receive your registration confirmation, don’t forward that email to anyone else on your team. Forwarded emails contain PII about you. You’ll want to keep anything that has a link to PII private.

RW: Does the safety-oriented (physical and data) technology need to change much depending on the size of the event?

Edmonds:

Yes! Large events with thousands of attendees have different factors to worry about compared to smaller meetings and events. Large events need to follow protocols concerning traffic flow and crowd control. There are simulators that model this process to inform and educate event planners.

NFC enabled badges will help. You want to bring a seamless attendee flow to the show floor. You’ll know where your attendees are on the floor at all times. With crowd location, you’ll be in a position to control, help and inform your crowd more easily.

RW: Is there anything else events teams should know about using technology to ensure attendee physical safety and data security?

Edmonds:

Gratefully, there’s a ton of new technology on the market today that can be used to keep your event secure. Best practices are to put in place the best tech you have at each event you host. No matter what your budget is, there’s a technology-oriented option available.

When you’re thinking about attendee badges for your event, consider adding photos to them. This will ensure that the person who actually registered for the event is the person who is at the show. (Photos help you avoid adding personal information.) Upon check-in, use a camera or an iPad to snap a photo of your attendee to print onto their badge.

Every time someone scans the badge to attend a session, the photo of the attendee will be visible on the device. Your badges can also be NFC enabled. NFC technology creates access-control abilities. With this tech, you are enabled to regulate attendee access to specific areas in seconds.

Your check-in systems should track reprints and have policies that are automatically enforced by the system.

Three Key Tools for Event Security:

As Edmonds points out, there are many different technologies that events teams should be implementing for security purposes. Three of the most useful are:

1. A mobile app for your company or event. Your company app will be used as a valuable communication tool.
2. Use a cloud-based storage option. The cloud-based option prevents attendees’ data from being stored locally. Local storage is a vulnerable storage option.
3. Technologically advanced badges. By using up-to-date technology with attendee badges you avoid using personal identifying information (PII). Instead use the attendee photos for identification purposes. Implement NFC for security and access usage.

The post Large Events Rethink Safety and Emergency Protocols Using Software appeared first on ReadWrite.

No one knows precisely what the future will bring, but some people seem to have their finger on the pulse of tomorrow more than others. These individuals’ ability to see what’s coming next makes them high-demand for tech conferences and events all over the world.

Futurist speakers keep their eye on technology, stay ahead of the trends, and they track where the world is going.

Here are fifty of the best futurist keynote speakers that speak at significant tech events. These speakers consult C-level executives and equip sales and marketing teams to move into the future with stealth and confidence.

Top Futurist Speakers to Have at Your Conference

1.  Joel Comm

Joel Comm hits the top of the list with his almost 25 years of doing business online. He has 15 books, a chart-topping iPhone app, hosts a top blockchain podcast and is the co-creator of Yahoo! Games. Comm is a top futurist speaker helping businesses and brands “get there” before the competition. Joel makes seemingly complex material easy to understand, refreshing, informative and entertaining.

2. Tan Le

Tan Le is a futurist speaker who’s all about the brain. As the founder of EMOTIV, a maker of brain-wearable technology, her talks focus on the use of neurotechnology and its effects on advertising, education, and people with neurological issues. Tan Le has spoken at the PCM, the University of Vermont and a host of other futurist events.

3. Brian Solis

Brian Solis is world renowned digital analyst and 8x best-selling author who has been called “one of the greatest digital analysts of our time.” He explores the effects of emerging technology on business, marketing, and culture, and helps brands and startups to manage digital transformation and adapt to new connected markets. Brian Solis is a top keynote speaker who shares his vision and experience of the dynamics defining innovation and disruption, connected consumerism and the future of business and organizations.

4. Eric O’Neill

Eric O’Neill is a former FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence operative who helped to capture notorious spy Robert Phillip Hanssen. He is the subject of the feature film, “Breach.” O’Neill’s talks about cybersecurity and advances in cyber espionage have made him one of the top futurist keynote speakers. Eric O’Neill is also a lawyer and author whose talks give insights into work situations that are relevant to several different industries.                         

5. Peter Zeihan

Peter Zeihan is one of a small number of futurist speakers who have worked for the U.S. State Department and private think tanks. His talks specialize in the relationship between the United States and other superpowers, and he discusses the future of global energy and finance. Peter Zeihan has talked about the end of Europe, a world with China, the future of worldwide agriculture and manufacturing, and more.

6. Vivek Wadhwa 

Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering and teaches in Silicon Valley about technology and industry disruption. His talks cover the future of innovation, technology, and healthcare. Wadwha is a top futurist keynote speaker because of his comprehensive take on future developments. Vivek Wadwha is ready to discuss the benefits of unlimited green energy, clean vehicles and mass-produced 3D printed meat, but also the downsides of artificial intelligence, human redundancies and new viruses.

7. Ben Casnocha

Ben Casnocha stands out among futurist speakers. He is the founder of e-government firm Comcate, advises venture capital firm Wasabi Ventures, and mentors at the startup incubator, Techstars. Casnocha was also the chief of staff in the office of the chairman at LinkedIn and is now a partner in his VC firm Village Global. Ben Casnocha’s speaking topics have covered the new employer-employee relationship, millennials at work, and the importance of thinking like an entrepreneur in today’s work environment.

   8. Mike Walsh 

Mike Walsh is the CEO of Tomorrow, a consultancy that helps businesses prepare for the 21st century. While other futurist speakers look 20, 30 or 50 years ahead, Mike Walsh describes how business, employment, Big Data, and the Internet of Things will develop over the next five years. He has spoken at the main stage at the Million Dollar Round Table in front of an audience of more than 8,000 people.                                   

9. Scott Klososky 

Scott Klososky is the developer of HUMALOGY, an idea that blends technology and humanity. His talks are about cybersecurity, data intelligence, trends, and digital marketing. Klososky is a top futurist keynote speaker because of the breadth of his knowledge, picked up in a series of start-ups in fields from digital marketing to online banking. Scott Klososky has a depth knowledge learned while sitting on the boards of technology firms.

10. Erik Qualman 

Erik Qualman is an MBA Professor at the Hult International Business School and the founder of Socialnomics.com, a blog about the way social media affects life and work. Other futurist speakers might not want to adopt his trademark green glasses, but they do envy his live performances on stage. People love to listen to Erik Qualman’s talks on innovation, leadership, trends, and transformation.

11. Rohit Bhargava

Rohit Bhargava talks about marketing, branding, innovation, digital strategy and business trends. Bhargava’s primary focus is his Non-Obvious Trend Report published at the end of every year and is read by more than a million people. He’s spoken on futurist topics at events run by companies including NBC, TEDx, MetLife and Prudential. Rohit Bhargava’s topics include how to be more innovative and, he says, actually predict the future.

12. Peter Diamandis

Most futurist speakers talk about the future, Peter Diamandis helps to create it. He is the founder and executive chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, which awards prizes for large, ambitious competitions. Diamandis talks about how people will meet their needs in water, food, energy, healthcare, and more, and he has spoken for General Electric, Coca Cola, and Microsoft, among others.

13. Shara Evans

Shara Evans is the founder and CEO of Market Clarity, a technology analyst firm that researches the telecom and emerging technologies markets. Evans also founded and sold Telsyte, a telecoms and technology research consultancy firm. What makes Shara Evans a top futurist speaker is her combination of an engineering background, her work with top scientific research organizations, and her regular technology punditry in the Australian and other media.

14. Jim Carroll

Jim Carroll’s talks focus on what businesses should do in an era of acceleration and disruption. He gives companies the guidance they need to align with and adopt new trends. Few futurist speakers have Carroll’s grip on innovation or his 25 years of experience. Jim Carroll has spoken at events for 7,000 leaders, and he’s also given a one-hour talk at an event for just eight senior executives.

15. Patrick Dixon

Patrick Dixon is a top keynote speaker who has written more than a dozen books about trends. Dixon focuses on the long-term, slow-moving trends that drive business opportunities, and he explains how businesses can use them. Patrick Dixon has spoken at a broad range of futurist events discussing the future of industries from food and the packaging industry to the automotive industry and banking.

16. Marcus Buckingham

Marcus Buckingham is a leading authority on employee productivity, and also talks about leadership and management. He used to be a senior consultant with The Gallup Organization but now focuses on cultivating employees’ strengths. Futurist speakers often tell a business what the future is going to bring so that they can prepare themselves for those developments. Marcus Buckingham helps companies manage their employees to create those futures.

17. Phill Nosworthy

Phill Nosworthy is the founder and managing director of Switch L+D, a learning and development company that coaches teams at leading organizations. Nosworthy’s focus on education and what businesses need to know to prepare for the future makes him a top futurist keynote speaker. Few other futurist speakers can help their audiences gain the skills they need to prepare for the coming economy.

18. Erik Brynjolfsson

Erik Brynjolfsson is Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, a professor at MIT Sloan School, and a Research Associate at NBER. His research looks at the effects of information technologies on business strategy, productivity and performance, digital commerce, and intangible assets. Brynjolfsson has spoken at TED talks in Long Beach, CA, at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, Florida, and at the National Science Foundation among others.

19. Daniel Kraft

Daniel Kraft speaks about innovation and healthcare. He is the founder of IntelliMedicine, a company building personalized medicine, and is the inventor of the MarrowMiner, an FDA-approved device for harvesting bone marrow. Futurist speakers can imagine the future, but few can say that they were as ready to lead it, as Kraft was. Daniel Kraft was a finalist for astronaut selection, and while he might not have made it into space, he does look to the stars.

20. Peter Sheahan

Peter Sheahan is the founder and Group CEO of Karrikins Group. He talks about how businesses cope with increasing commoditization and the emergence of new technological disruption that threatens business models. Peter Sheahan has spoken at more than 2,500 events, reaching a total audience of more than half a million people.

21. Lisa Bodell

Lisa Bodell is the CEO of futurethink, an innovation training firm. Her focus is on simplicity, and she talks about how businesses can simplify innovation and manage change, making adaptation easier and businesses more competitive. Most futurist speakers see the coming world as a complicated place filled with challenges and difficulties. Lisa Bodell’s ability to eliminate complexity makes her a top keynote futurist speaker.

22. Kevin Surace

Kevin Surace is the creator of the first smartphone and digital assistant and is now looking at climate change as an engineer. He talks about how to make manufacturing processes more environmentally friendly. Kevin Surace has spoken at many corporate and organization events, including those in the power industry and the software industry.

23. Seth Mattison

Seth Mattison is an expert on workforce trends and generational dynamics. He works with brands, institutions, and leaders to explain what work, influence, and leadership will mean in the 21st century. Mattison is a top keynote speaker and a top futurist speaker because he’s able to match future trends with organizational changes and the role of leadership.

24. Erica Orange

Erica Orange is Executive Vice President and  Chief Operating Officer of The Future Hunters, a futurist consulting firm. She looks at emerging social, technological, and other trends, and identifies their significance for businesses. Orange has spoken at events organized by the sporting goods industry, insurance companies, and Erica Orange frequently speaks up for the education industry.

25. Greg Williams

Greg Williams is the Editor-in-Chief of the UK version of Wired Magazine. He is a leading authority on technology trends and their effects on business and society. Other futurist speakers read the articles he edits to stay in touch with trends. Williams grip on those trends has made him a top keynote speaker on topics from ecommerce to data marketing.

26. Mikko Hypponen

Mikko Hypponen is a security expert and Chief Research Officer of F-Secure. His talks focus on cybersecurity. He discusses what the next killer virus might be, how the world can cope with it, and how to protect digital privacy in an age of government surveillance. Hypponen has spoken at events including TEDGlobal in Edinburgh, EDIST in Toronto, DLD in Münich, Forum the la Haute Horlogerie in Lausanne, and at various IDC events.

27. Nick Bilton

Nick Bilton is a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, a former lead technology writer for The New York Times, and the host of the Vanity Fair podcast, Inside the Hive. He has written books about the growth of Twitter, and the development of the dark Web, and covered the growth of Theranos in an article that inspired HBO’s documentary “The Inventor.” Among futurist speakers, Nick Bilton’s on the front line, talking to changemakers and reporting on their activities.

28. Neil Jacobstein

Neil Jacobstein is the chair of the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Track at Singularity University, an organization made up of people from Google and the X PRIZE Foundation. Jacobstein looks at the future of technology and artificial intelligence, and their impact on the industry. Neil Jacobstein has spoken at TEDx events and is a mediaX Distinguished Visiting Scholar.

29. Shawn DuBravac

Shawn DuBravac is a former chief economist of the Consumer Technology Association, an organization representing many of the world’s leading consumer electronics companies. DuBravac provides economic analysis and discusses technology trends affecting consumer electronics. Few keynote speakers can cover such a broad range of topics or dive so deeply into how data is building a new future.

30. Jerry Kaplan

Jerry Kaplan is a serial entrepreneur. The founder of four Silicon Valley startups, he teaches philosophy, ethics, and the impact of artificial intelligence at Stanford University. Kaplan has spoken at events including the WSJ CEO Council Annual Meeting, the LinkedIn Speaker Series, the Wired NextFest in Milan, and the Dong-A Economy Summit in South Korea.

31. Salim Ismail

Salim Ismail is the founder and chair of ExO, a former executive director at Singularity University and a Yahoo executive who sold his own company to Google. He talks at a variety of futurist events discussing innovation, growth, and the new kind of organizational structure needed by tomorrow’s businesses. Salim Ismail explains how companies can leverage technology and strategy to grow as much as ten times faster than their peers.

32. Erik Peterson

Erik Peterson is a partner and Managing Director of A.T. Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council. He was a fellow of the World Economic Forum who now examines key long-range trends and explores how they transform opportunities and risks for population, resources, and technology. Erik Peterson is a top keynote speaker who has addressed audiences at colleges and business events around the world.

33. Andrew Scott

Andrew Scott is a professor and of economics at London Business School. His talks at futurist events discuss the future of the financial sector, regulation, demographic change, and sustainability. Andrew Scott has spoken at events for companies including Fujitsu, Citibank, and Hays.

34. Ayesha Khanna

Ayesha Khanna is a co-founder and CEO of ADDO AI, an artificial intelligence firm. She’s also the founder of 21C GIRLS, a charity that teaches coding and AI to girls in Singapore, and an advisor to Octa, a chatbot for travelers, and Arro, a sports robot. She talks about AI, smart cities and fintech. Ayesha Khanna combines experience on Wall Street with life as a start up entrepreneur. She has spoken at futurist events organized by major financial, technology and industry conferences, provided high-level government briefings, chaired symposiums such as AI Asia, and spoken at TEDx events.

35. Adam Cheyer

As the former VP of Engineering for Siri and having worked on Bixby, Samsung’s voice assistant, Cheyer is a futurist speaker with an expertise in artificial intelligence. His talks prepare businesses for the new AI environment. Adam Cheyer has also talked about the future of personal assistants, building start-ups, and the future of AI in business.

36. Bruno Marion

Someone with a spiritual background is unusual to find at a futurist event, but Bruno Marion is also known as “the Futurist Monk.” He is an expert on global trends and innovation, and in addition to meeting CEOs, he even talks to gurus in India, people in jail, the super-rich, and the homeless. He talks about future trends, organizational shifts, and radical innovation.

37. Calum Chace

Calum Chace spent 30 years in the industry and now speaks about artificial intelligence and its effect on society. His significant interest is on the relationship between machine and human cognition, and how it may make most people unemployable. Calum Chace has spoken at events organized or sponsored by Price Waterhouse Coopers, Telefonica, and the annual investors’ meetings of top private equity firms.

38. Mariana Mazzucato

Mariana Mazzucato is a professor of Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London. She focuses on the relationship between innovation and growth, with an emphasis on the symbiotic partnerships that result from growth that is innovation-led, inclusive, and sustainable. Mariana Mazzucato is one of the top motivational speakers who has addressed events for transnational organizations as well as the business and public sector.

39. Nicolas Sadirac

Nicolas Sadirac is the co-founder of computer science schools “42” and “Epitech.” He pioneers “active pedagogy” in France, a new approach that looks for talent in people of all backgrounds. He talks about educating tomorrow’s technological world. Most futurist speakers try to predict the future. Nicolas Sadirac is also building it by giving today’s youth the skills they need to build it.

40. Pablos Holman

Pablos Holman is a hacker and inventor. He has worked in cryptocurrency, AI for stock market trading, 3D printers, and even built spaceships at Blue Origin for Jeff Bezos. Pablos Holman has spoken at various futurist events, discussing innovation, invention, hacking, technology, and cybersecurity, including for Singularity University, Stanford University, the United Nations, and the World Economic Forum at Davos.

41. Francois Bourdoncle

François Bourdoncle is a top keynote speaker, the CEO of FB&Cie, and a pioneer of Internet search technology. He was the co-founder and CEO of Exalead, a search engine for enterprises, and worked on the LiveTopics project for AltaVista. Francois Bourdoncle talks at futurist events about search technology and Big Data.

42. Louisa Heinrich

Louisa Heinrich was a design director during the dotcom boom, creating many of the first digital consumer projects for banks, healthcare and governments. Her company, Superhuman, focuses on the human aspects of digital technology. Heinrich speaks about the future of technology, its effect on society, personal identity in the digital age, screen-less interfaces, and more, and has spoken at futurist events including MEX in London, MIPTV at Cannes, and MoCo in Amsterdam.

43. Danny Forster

Danny Forster is an architect, a designer, and the host of Discovery Channel’s series Build It Bigger, which looked at spectacular engineering and architectural projects around the world. He talks about the future of architecture and its filming and is unusual among futurist speakers for his hands-on experience of building the physical world. Event audiences get to see Danny Forster’s creations on more than the screen and the stage.

44. Catherine Mohr

Catherine Mohr is Vice President of Strategy at Intuitive Surgical, a Silicon Valley firm that makes a surgical robot. She started her career as an engineer, then became a surgeon before switching to strategy. Catherine Mohr is a top keynote speaker who talks about alternative energy, emerging markets, green building techniques, and medical technology.

45. Travis Wright

As co-author of “Digital Sense: The Common Sense Approach to Effectively Blending Social Business Strategy, Marketing Technology, and Customer Experience”, Travis Wright’s perspective on AI, machine learning, blockchain and the future of martech has brought him to keynote stages around the world, including the annual Martech conference.

46. Chuck Martin

Chuck Martin is a leader in the field of emerging technologies and the Internet of Things. He also edits the world’s most extensive AI and IoT daily publication. His talks focus on the growing Internet of Things and its effect on the economy. Chuck Martin has spoken at futurist events on behalf of companies including Intel, Microsoft, AT&T, MasterCard, and IBM.

47. Chad Hurley

Chad Hurley has already created the future. As the co-founder and CEO of YouTube, he re-created the way the world watches video.  He talks about the rise of YouTube, about the lessons learned creating a revolutionary product, the changing media environment, and what technology is bringing next. Chad Hurley is a top futurist keynote speaker because few other futurist speakers have had such a real, direct influence on the future they’re discussing.

48. Christer Holloman

Christer Holloman is the chairman of First Tuesday, a network for high growth SMEs, and helped Expedia founder Rich Barton to launch Glassdoor in Europe. He is also the CEO of fintech start-up Divido. Christer Holloman talks about technology and social media. He has spoken at events on behalf of brands including Visa, Microsoft, and Ogilvy.

49. James Bilefield

James Bilefield is a former digital president of Condé Nast and was an executive at Skype and Yahoo. His talks describe the challenge of scaling Skype around the world and managing the digital transformation of Condé Nast. Bilefield is a top futurist speaker who gives audiences a unique insight based on his experience with some of the world’s leading start-ups.

50. Christian Baudis

Christian Baudis is a renowned futurist keynote speaker. He is the former managing director of Google Germany. Christian is the founder of My Digital, a digital innovation and consulting firm. Christian Baudis talks about digital media, digital transformation, and online customers. As a former Google executive, he understands how decisions are made at the world’s biggest tech firms.

Looking for a few top speakers for your next event. Here are a few other top speakers we’ve found:

• Blockchain Speakers
• Futurist Speakers
• Marketing Speakers
• Leadership Speakers
• Reputation Risk
• Virtual Keynote Speakers

A few other guides to finding the best speakers:

• Find a Keynote Speaker

Updated April 2020

The post The Top Futurist Speakers to Have at Your Conference appeared first on ReadWrite.

More than 25,000 people descended upon Toronto for Collision Conference 2019. Speakers and big brands alike showed up to explore the future and how technology can be leveraged to improve quality of life.

And while the larger companies are set to make a major impact on the world, there are hundreds of startups who have big dreams. Here are twelve interesting small startups that were encountered on the show floor.

• HalisBack

Remember Hal from the Stanley Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey? He wasn’t great at opening pod doors but then Siri isn’t much good at understanding human speech or answering questions either. Hal Is Back has a solution. Instead of using AI to search the Web for answers, it employs teams of local humans, a kind of Uber for everything. Pay $3.99 a month, and you have Hal 24/7. You can ask questions, order food, make reservations, and a human will do the work for you.

The platform launched a year ago and is currently active in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Toronto.

• Horizon Games’s Skyweaver

Skyweaver is a trading card game that runs on the Ethereum blockchain and on the maker’s own platform, Arcadia. The game was designed by someone who worked on Magic: The Gathering, and has gameplay that’s familiar to anyone who played that game: there are five prisms; 20 or 30 card decks; creatures cast spells, and so on. The difference is that every card is a cryptocurrency and winning gives you new cards that you can sell and trade with other players, or swap on an exchange.

• Grobo.io

Grobo is a box about the size of a small closet. Users can choose a recipe from a cannabis app, plant their seed, and the box does the rest. It automates nutrients and lighting, and sends notifications throughout the grow. All you have to do is set, forget, change the water occasionally… then bake some cookies.

• Ask Brien

When Jeeves is busy and Quora hasn’t a clue, there’s Brien. At least, that’s the hope of the people behind a new Q&A service that’s aimed at the business and legal markets. The service is signing up experts and inviting them to contribute their knowledge to a new system. Is there room in the market for another Q&A service? Ask Brien.

• Dentist Robot

Visiting a dentist is always a scary experience, but would it feel any better if your dentist was a robot? The makers of Dentist Robot certainly hope so. The aim is to make dental treatments easier and less uncomfortable for patients who will only have to visit the doctor once. Software creates a 3D model of a new crown or bridge, which is finished by technicians. The robot is fitted into the patient’s mouth, kept aligned and the new part is put in place. And if that doesn’t scare you off candy, nothing will.

• CityGuydApp

Your mobile phone can supply plenty of information about sites you visit as you travel but it’s still hard to beat a real-life tour guide. CityGuydApp is trying to combine the two. The company first films a guide using 3D cameras as she guides through a tourist site. When you visit that location and open the app, the guide appears on your phone in augmented reality. You get to travel with a guide but keep her in your pocket. The service will be available starting in Israel and France in late summer 2019.

• Karma: The Game of Destiny

Karma: The Game of Destiny is bringing gamification to classified personals. Instead of joining a dating service and paying a subscription fee, users pay $3.99 and receive a token with three lives. They use that token to buy a profile, and can begin interacting with other users, playing games like Truth or Bomb. Players can zap each other but if they’re zapped three times, they’re out… and lose all their messages and content. Make a match and sponsors can offer discounts on the date. The makers see it as a next generation television show, with opportunities beyond dating. Mostly though, it’s an interactive dating app.

• Muub.co

It’s Uber for… cows? Seriously? If you’re a moo with a place to be then Muub will get you where you want to go. Or rather, if you’re a rancher who needs to move cattle, then Muub will put you in touch with truckers who can bid for your business. The service is already available in Colombia, and will soon start a pilot in Brazil. Let’s hope the cows aren’t driving the trucks too.

• Bookmark.com

Building a website has certainly become easier over the last few years but Bookmark want to make it easier still. Their AI service claims to be able to design and build a unique website in around 30 seconds. The company shuns templates in favor of AIDA, its Artificial Intelligence Design Assistant. Answer a bunch of questions, and the AI assistant will search the Web for more information then grab your cursor and start building. The technology took five years to develop and the platform has been active for a year.

• Olli Watch

Stephen Eades is the father of a young girl on the autism spectrum. His Olli Watch uses simple imagery to keep autistic children on schedule. The children get notifications and reminders telling them what they must do next and are rewarded when they complete the tasks. A biometric monitor watches for rising anxiety and overstimulation, and takes children to a pre-determined calming technique. The watch will be out in early fall 2019, and an app will also be available for the Apple Watch. Stephen Eades says that it can also be used for elderly care.

• Mechanicly.com

A trip to a repair shop is never fun. Mechanicly isn’t solving the problem using a robot but it will send a mechanic to your house to work on the car in your garage. As long as the car doesn’t have to be hoisted, they can fix the problem. The cost should be the same or less than a repair shop. Mechanicly currently serves three areas in Canada but expect it in the US soon.

• Vote Our Voice

Is your politician doing a good job. Probably not, right? Vote Our Voice is a non-partisan voting tool to grade politicians. Tell the service where you are and pick the topics you care about. The platform will call up relevant legislation and show how your representative voted on the issues that concern you. You’ll be able to see how close your representative matches your views; how your views compare to others in your voting district; and how the voting district compares to its representative.

That’s twelve startups trying to get traction. Some will make it, some probably won’t. Keep an eye on them and see how they grow.

The post 12 Interesting Startups from Collision 2019 appeared first on ReadWrite.

This year the AR/VR industry feels like it is finally progressing toward mainstream adoption. The AWE show, which takes place in Santa Clara, California at the end of May, celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. This year’s theme is “Enter the Next Dimension” and the organization has come a long way since it started as a small, community-driven, nonprofit whose core mission was to help advance the entire AR/VR industry as a whole.the latest developer and creator tools. The show will feature new tracks such as “Sales and Marketing” that will discuss the massive opportunity available this year in AR/VR advertising. Another dedicated track will bring together a select group of leading startups to pitch investors seeking to get involved in the massive opportunity presented by AR/VR. Most importantly, AWE will also continue to highlight the human aspects of the business and the use of technology for social impact, diversity & inclusion of special interest groups of all types.

To honor this 10th year of the show, we spoke with cofounder Ori Inbar and chair Tom Emrich and have identified 10 major themes that you can expect to find front and center at this year’s show:

1. Enabling AR/VR

Thanks to advancements in enabling areas of tech like computer vision, spatial audio gesture recognition and eye tracking, AR/VR experiences are becoming more natural and immersive.

2. 2019: Year of the Creator

A number of authoring tools aimed at equipping the next generation of creators with fast and easy tools for building AR/VR experiences without code are setting the stage for 2019 to be the Year of the Creator.  

3. Advertising and Marketing

AR proved itself last year by increasing sales for early adopters like Houzz; 2019 is shaping up to be another good year for mobile AR ads as well as VR marketing and consumer research campaigns.

4. Gaming, eSports, and Location Based Entertainment

 You need to experience a new reality to believe it, which is why immersive gaming, eSports and LBE signal the best way forward for AR/VR at a time when the average consumer cannot afford good immersive experiences.

5.Humanities, Privacy & Ethics

AR/VR are raising critical issues around access, privacy, consent and harassment. At the same time, we have the opportunity to make a conscious effort in including people of all gender identities, sexual orientations, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds in the future of computing.

6. Enterprise

AR/VR are now well-established tools providing ROI at a number of Fortune 500 companies, with larger and even full-production rollouts of AR/VR solutions expected to ramp up in the next few years.

7. Future of Mobility

AR/VR are helping to design, assemble, service and shop for the cars of tomorrow, and may very well serve as the primary form of in-vehicle entertainment when we no longer need to pay attention to the road.

8. AR Cloud

The race to build an index of the real world is on, with companies working to align digital content with the physical environment on a global scale in order to enable next-level augmented reality.

9. WebXR 

Web-based AR/VR content will impact immersive tech adoption and overall use by exposing the masses to augmented and virtual reality without requiring an app download.

10. 5G 

The next-generation of AR/VR applications are going to require greater bandwidth and lower latency than 4G can deliver; hence why the future of immersive tech depends upon the rollout of 5G.

Tickets for the upcoming AWE show are currently available – to learn more visit www.awexr.com.

The post The Top 10 AR/VR Trends for 2019, According to the Founders of the Upcoming AWE Show appeared first on ReadWrite.

First, ticket buying went digital. Over time, more and more players entered the events tech industry, developing new technologies to lessen the burden on consumers and make it easier to access our favorite events.

The sports industry is using the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the consumer experience.

Ticketing platforms are bolstering their apps to make event searches and purchases more efficient. Venues are now equipt with technologies to make event attendance both convenient and appealing.

Thanks to AI and IoT, the online events industry is becoming far less tedious to navigate. In the sports events industry, in particular, AI and IoT are making huge improvements for consumers. Here’s how they’re doing it.

Engaging Fans with Chatbots

Several players in the sporting events industry are experimenting with AI in the form of chatbots designed to better serve the customer while drawing more people into the game. E-commerce tools — including ticketing platforms — are using AI chatbots to engage with consumers and provide support for events.

Through Facebook Messenger and iMessage, companies are using chatbots to have human-like conversations with fans and users about their favorite events and teams. Chatbot messages and helps are becoming more sophisticated, and engaging than email. As a result, the bots are becoming increasingly popular in the ticketing industry.

The use of chatbots doesn’t stop there — once fans are at the game — they can continue to engage with chatbots. Wimbledon uses a chatbot called Ask Fred which is a cognitive assistant for event attendees. The virtual assistant, which is enabled by IBM’s Watson technology, uses AI to interact with Wimbledon attendees and answer event-related questions about anything from souvenir shopping to dining spots. If Ask Fred is well-liked and successful, sports arenas around the world could adopt similar in-game AI technology in the future.

Improving the Search Experience

In addition to making the most of chatbots on Facebook Messenger and iMessage, companies are improving the online search experience by integrating AI into their apps. The sports ticketing app Gametime, for example, applies the concept of virtual reality in their virtual seating chart, allowing users to check out the view from their seats before purchasing. Such ticketing apps can then use AI and machine learning to remember customer seating preferences and make relevant suggestions for subsequent games.

Apps are also using AI technologies to identify fans who haven’t been to a game in a while and to offer them ticket deals based on information about their favorite players and teams. This kind of targeting isn’t only a great marketing strategy, but it also improves the search process for fans, who, rather than having to sift through heaps of options, are immediately presented with games and prices that appeal to their interests.

Making Stadiums Smarter

As smart stadiums enter the scene to draw fans off their couches and into the arena, the stadium itself has embraced the Internet of Things. An increasing number of stadiums are adding cameras, sensors, and digital signs, connecting them to networks and servers to provide real-time information for fans.

IoT technology in California’s Golden1 Center helps attendees find their friends and provides fans with information ranging from parking spots to bathroom lines to the number of hot dogs available.  Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara has installed over two thousand battery-powered beacons from Aruba Networks to identify the location of fans. This information then integrates with the team’s mobile app, which helps attendees find their seats, order food to their seats, and more.

As part of the evolution of smart stadiums, Intel’s True View technology incorporates augmented reality into the game experience. While the integration of technology in stadiums is still in process, True View would connect cameras on the field to AR headsets that allow attendees to zoom in on their favorite players and watch the game from a variety of angles. The various cameras and beacons connected throughout the stadium for the purposes of fan entertainment and convenience are turning stadiums into one big IoT platform.

Conclusion

From searching for a match to purchasing the tickets to attending the game itself, AI and IoT are disrupting the sports events industry from start to finish. At a time when many fans prefer to watch the game from the comfort of their homes, stadiums and teams are working hard to adopt engaging new technologies that draw fans back to the arena for live experiences. For us fans, the lure of these technologies makes event attendance more appealing than ever before.

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Experiences have flooded the marketplace. Whether they’re investing in pop-up stores or festivals, brands have recognized the major shift happening. The IPA Bellwether Report found that in the U.K., experiential marketing was the only area to experience significant growth in spend in 2017 besides internet marketing.

Similarly, EventTrack found that American consumers gravitated toward the brands that gave them experiences to savor, with 74 percent reporting they were more likely to purchase from brands engaging them with experiences. In fact, 98 percent admitted they created social content when they participated in these experiences — and all of those who created content also shared content.

The writing’s on the wall for companies that have paid attention. These experiences can be beneficial to brands of every type, and Surkus is determined to use technology to make experiential accessible.

Abandoning the Spray-and-Pray Model

Surkus classifies three major areas as experiential: branding experiential (such as pop-ups), ticketed experiences (such as concerts or festivals), and immersive experiences (such as VR). In working with brands that launch experiences in every category, Surkus focuses on making the strongest matches it can between its members and its clients.

It does that through technology. The brand’s platform uses an algorithm to identify the right audience members for each experience being offered. By curating a group that’s expressed interest in a certain subject or a similar brand, Surkus pinpoints the members who will feel excited about the opportunity.

That translates to a win for Surkus’ client companies. Surkus’ focus on targeting the right audience makes both attendance and engagement possible. Clients can ask for a variety of engagements — social content, surveys, market research — with Surkus enabling communication between clients and members throughout every point of a campaign.

“We don’t need to complicate things, but simplify them,” explains Stephen George, Surkus’ CEO. “We want to make sure the right audience is attending and engaging, and we know the little things are our clients’ entire objective in working with us. It doesn’t have to be complex.”

Capitalizing on What They’ve Got

Surkus’ knowledge of where members are at every touchpoint is valuable: By tracking members’ locations and activity, the platform can nudge them and offer reminders. The platform, designed for Instagram posts, can point out that a member, still at an event, just took 50 photos and should post one of them. If the member exited the venue, the client can ask questions to get real-time feedback on how the installation or product played in front of its audience.

“It’s important to be able to time our interactions and engagements correctly,” George says. “In the moment, members shouldn’t be interrupted so they can absorb the experience. But there hasn’t been an easy way to transfer instantaneous reactions. Brands don’t want to target people when they walk in or when they’re in the middle of a performance — they’re not going to get very good information.”

But good information is there for the taking. George points to concerts as an example: If a concert producer spent the majority of his budget on the closing act and the grand finale fireworks, but 40 percent of concertgoers left two hours before the encore, Surkus can provide that data to the producer so he can reconsider where he’s spending his money. While Surkus’ goal with members is to provide them with compelling experiences, the brand’s focus for clients is driving long-term value.

“If brands have already planned out the production of their events and are wasting money at certain times, we need to be able to tell them,” George explains. “They may be able to restructure the production to use the same layout of money but increase engagement. And the longer we can keep people engaged, the more ancillary revenue that drives — but there’s also a better experience because there’s no lag in the event itself.”

Bringing Experiential to the Masses

Technology has made things more affordable, particularly through automation. Surkus itself thrives on this fact: While a PR agency helping with experiential activations can handle 20 clients at one time, Surkus can work with 10,000. “Bodies just aren’t as efficient as our algorithm,” George says.

This sheer volume helps every activation under Surkus’ umbrella — as its base grows, so does its data collection. This enables Surkus to give first-timers a head start by giving them insight into what’s worked well for similar types of events or which types of audience members responded best. But, as George says, that data becomes more meaningful as clients repeatedly work with Surkus to launch experiences; the brand can provide continuous data on who engaged or took actions so constant tweaks can occur.

The affordability and ease created by technology hasn’t completely trickled down, and George says that’s created a misconception that lingers among small brands. “There’s a perception that events have to be grandiose, multimillion-dollar affairs that only global brands can afford,” he says. “It can be a small mom-and-pop retailer with a pop-up event, and that can be just as enticing as Under Armour launching a $1 million activation at its store. The point is targeting the people who will respond.”

Brands from small businesses to international conglomerates should be fitting experiential into their budgets, regardless of the size. While attention is paid to experiences offered by Netflix, Anheuser-Busch, or LiveNation, anyone can do it, George points out, and platforms like Surkus enable the same types of results for brands of every size.

Smaller brands that refuse to invest in experiential, in fact, will run into a universal problem: ad blockers and other tools that allow consumers to bypass marketing. With people skipping commercials regularly and billboards simply not having the reach they should for their cost, experiential has become a more affordable way to stick in consumers’ minds. Surkus’ platform offers a la carte services, allowing clients to determine what’s most important in terms of engagement and what fits within their budget. Getting one attendee to walk through the door at an event can cost as little as $3. After an era of spray-and-pray advertising, with money sprinkled everywhere, experiential can result in reverse sticker shock.

What’s Next

Bringing experiential to the masses also means expanding markets, and that’s next on Surkus’ agenda. George, the former co-founder and head of operations for Groupon, says the Los Angeles-based business launched in Boston last month and is “relaunching” in San Francisco in October.

“A lot of our markets in the past grew organically, but now we’re announcing launches in targeted areas — we’re highly dedicated to these new markets,” George says. The brand also has an eye on global growth and serving its clients in any market they’re operating in; beyond its office in Hong Kong, Surkus plans to expand to Singapore in the next few months.

That reinforces the company’s belief that experiential isn’t necessarily what people think it is — and it’s not outside anyone’s reach. By incorporating technology to make experiential activations more affordable and accessible, Surkus just may have found a way to bring personalized experiences to the masses.

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While I love having conferences close to home, I was really excited to see the news that the Collision Tech Conference, considered to be one of America’s fastest-growing tech conference, is moving to Toronto, Canada in 2019. Traveling internationally for conferences always provides a more diverse perspective on where we are headed in business and technology.

Canadian Government Sees Economic Potential

The announcement was made by Paddy Cosgrave, CEO of Web Summit, and Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. This illustrates the growing understanding by governments around the world that they need to partner with business to find the solutions they need to local, regional, and national issues.

In return, Toronto is set to reap a significant economic benefit in the form of nearly $150 million over the course of the next three years thanks to almost 100,000 attendees during that time.

Why Toronto?

In the case of this conference, the move was prompted by Canada and Toronto’s focus on tech, its depth of diversity, and focus on inclusion that made it an ideal location for what Collision Tech represents and values. Also, the Collision team chose the city because it is considered to be a metropolitan hub with state-of-the-art infrastructure and one of the most vibrant tech and startup sectors in North America.

In Toronto, there is a world-class AI hub headed by the godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton. Toronto’s tech sector employs 401,000 people in 18,000 tech companies. This accounts for 15% of all jobs in the region. At the rate it’s growing, Toronto will have more technology jobs than Silicon Valley within the next two years.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, noted in a press release on the move, “Toronto is a key global tech hub and an example of the diversity that is our strength. Here in Canada, we know innovation and inclusion go together and the rest of the world has taken notice. Tech talent is coming to our country in record numbers and with our skills and innovation plan our government is making it easier for innovators to succeed and for investors to support them. Whether it’s thanks to the global skills strategy, the innovation superclusters or the women entrepreneurship strategy, we know Collision will bring even more energy and vision to Toronto’s tech scene.”

Growing with Tech Trends

I plan to be there May 20-23, 2019 when Collision Tech kicks off at the Enercare Centre in Toronto. It will be the sixth year that the conference will have been held. There will be over one million square feet of exhibit space to house even more tech startups.

Starting with just 5,000 attendees in Las Vegas, it is expected to host more than 25,000 tech executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and media from approximately 120 countries in New Orleans this year. With the move to Canada, next year’s conference is set to become even bigger.

The four-day international conference format has expanded to include 12 other tech-specific conferences. These include relevant tech segments, such as AI, automated and connected vehicles, data, security, design, investment, software development, marketing, music, and sustainability.

Collision Conference Toronto Location

Starting in 2019 Collision Conference will be located at the Enercare Centre in Toronto

Address:

Enercare Centre

100 Princes’ Blvd

Toronto, ON M6K 3C3, Canada

I hope to see all of you in New Orleans this year and Toronto next year!

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