315: From Elaborate Events to a Major Ski Resort: How the Summit Brand Expanded Into A Global Empire

<p>In 2008, Jeff Rosenthal and his co-founders Elliott Bisnow and Brett Leve convinced 19 people they admired to go on a ski trip with them to Park City, Utah. They wanted to spend one-on-one time with this small group of thought leaders to learn from them and glean some knowledge.</p> <p>Little did they know that this was only the beginning of their long and successful entrepreneurial journey. What started off as a small event production company has morphed into a global behemoth that includes everything from nonprofits to funds to a major ski resort that all fall under the Summit brand.</p> <p>While the company is still primarily known for its famous invitation-only events, its biggest impact is its tight-knit community of innovative, creative individuals from around the world.</p> <p>In this podcast episode, Rosenthal talks about Summit’s explosive growth, what it takes to host a truly extraordinary event, and more entrepreneurial gold.</p> <p>If there’s any other type of content you’d like to see that would be valuable to you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com.</p> <hr /> <h2>Key Takeaways</h2> <ul> <li>What inspired Rosenthal and his co-founders to start their event production company Summit in 2008</li> <li>How Summit expanded into a family of companies, nonprofits, and funds over the last 12 years</li> <li>What makes a spectacular event, according to Rosenthal</li> <li>Why Rosenthal believes “keep it real” is terrible advice when it comes to events, and what he recommends instead</li> <li>The importance of leadership when it comes to event planning</li> <li>The correlation between creativity and capital</li> <li>How Rosenthal manages to lead the multiple entities under Summit</li> <li>The best advice on delegation Rosenthal received from his mentor</li> <li>Why profitability isn’t the only measure of an event’s success</li> <li>What it takes to attract top-notch speakers (and how to set them up for success)</li> <li>The way Rosenthal approaches balancing quality of e