Every. Single. Year.
There are different stages to running an event like the Startup Mountain Summit. First comes the excitement of what’s ahead. We always have a pile of new ideas to make the next year better, and it’s a great feeling to start putting them in place. Next, we focus on speaker selection and fundraising. This part is hard. We work to make sure our sponsors get real value, and we vet every speaker our selection committee sends us. Then comes the long grind of finalizing speakers, sponsors, contracts, venue details, catering, and everything else that has to come together before the Summit opens its doors.
Despite our past success with the summit, each year still brings extreme highs of excitement and many stretches of doubt. Sounds just like a startup, right?
That might sound crazy after four great years. You’d think I’d be overconfident by now. I’m not, and it reminds me of some of my most successful startups. Even when things were at their best, it often felt like a balloon rolling across a bed of needles. Everything could be going perfectly and I’d still be waiting for the pop.
Experience can be a tremendous asset for a founder. It can also be a steady source of anxiety. I’ve done this long enough to know how fragile a startup, an event, or a program really is. The fourth Summit needs just as much attention as the first one, if not more.
Built by a small crew
What makes it all work is a great team. The vision for the Summit would never become reality without ours. Adriana handles contracting, vendors, speaker logistics, and last-minute changes perfectly. The catering order probably haunts her dreams for weeks after the conference. Her communication with our speakers and attendees is a big reason it all came together, and she keeps us on track and reminds us to keep the scope within reach.
Isaac takes a $5k marketing budget and brings in people from 10+ states every year. The work he puts into outreach, partner promotions, and ad messaging is remarkable.
Because of that team, we pulled off another great Startup Mountain Summit. There was some craziness, of course. The hurricane backed up flights, and two of our speakers had to go the extra mile to make it in time. Overall, it couldn’t have gone smoother, and I’m thankful to everyone who came and helped make it a great experience for all.
Speaker logistics
CommunicationThe details that made it all come together
What went right
An excellent turnout
This year, people came from 10 states and 68 different zip codes. The number of founders in the room was impressive. We also had many investors and ecosystem builders attend the Summit for the first time. That mix created more connection and conversation than we’ve seen in past years.
There were 18 industries represented, from Software as a Service, Healthcare, and Social Impact to Small Businesses and Consumer Packaged Goods. It’s a diverse audience, and it keeps coming back.
Who showed up
A wide slice of the regional economy, from software and AI to finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and nonprofits. Here is how the room broke down.
Communication and the app were a hit
Last year, some of you told us we needed to communicate more. We can always improve, but this year it looks like we nailed it. Based on your feedback, our emails and communication platform made the conference feel more connected. Most attendees also liked that we built it as a website instead of an app you had to download. For those who wanted a downloadable app, we’ll have you covered next year.
Connecting people worked
Scheduling limits meant this year’s two days were more condensed than in the past. To make up for it, we leaned on the conference app to make connections and left open time for people to meet. Many times I saw the upstairs and downstairs hallways packed with people talking. I hadn’t seen anything close to that at the previous three events.
Speakers continue to impress
Picking speakers for an audience this diverse is hard. No speaker will fit every person in the room, but the feedback shows most of our speakers continue to reach people in a meaningful way. We’ll keep looking for exceptional speakers and keep delivering a wide mix of inspiration, education, and frameworks you can use in your business.
Some of this year’s favoritesI could go on all day, because your feedback called out every single talk in a positive way. That’s a real compliment to our team and our selection committee, who work hard to find speakers from across the country to come speak to you.
Vendor connections paid off
Being able to reach out directly to a lawyer, accountant, or banker got a lot of use. Some feedback asked for more of an office hours format, and we’ll add that next year. Overall, getting your questions answered on site was a big success.
Networking is still the top ask
One of my favorite paradoxes of the Summit is how many people ask for more networking while also telling us they skipped our networking events. All the same, we get it. Networking is a big reason people come. This year, networking averaged 4.2 out of 5, and many of you shared good ideas for more of it that we plan to use.
Adventure networking is still an attendee favorite and doubled in size this year. Meeting people while doing something you enjoy is one of the best ways to connect with other founders and supporters. We’ll keep finding ways to grow it.
What we’ll improve
No matter how good an event is, there’s always room to make it better. Listening to your customers is the only sure way to keep delivering value, and we take your feedback seriously.
A perception of tech focus
One area we want to improve is explaining how we choose speakers. This year, about 8% of survey respondents felt we leaned too heavily toward tech startups. Our goal has always been to support every type of company by picking speakers who focus on the common language of business.
That said, we do lean into how technology can help your business. There’s a lot to learn from how a Software as a Service startup markets and how a Consumer Packaged Goods company manages pricing. We need to explain that crossover better and make it clear in the schedule who each talk is for.
Some felt we were AI heavy
Another 4% felt the conference was too heavy on AI. Three of our ten presentations were AI talks. It likely felt like more since AI came up throughout the conference. I understand the uncertainty around AI for plenty of reasons. Still, the businesses that learn to use it to run more efficiently, especially non-tech small businesses, will compete at a much higher level than the average business.
We want our community to thrive in an uncertain future. We also want balance.
We are not an AI conference.
Every AI focused talk was followed by a non-AI one, and our workshops offered alternatives for anyone looking for other topics. We’ll keep offering options and representing different kinds of businesses throughout the Summit. Next year, we plan to expand our offering to include consumer packaged goods and small business focused talks.
Year five
Next year is the 5th Startup Mountain Summit. Like startups, events rarely make it to five years. Most fail well before that. That’s why we’re planning to make the 2027 Summit extra special. Here’s what’s coming.
Attendee talks
Every ticket holder can pitch a topic they want to speak on. The audience votes on who gets selected. We’ll announce the number of spots in early 2027, but this opens the stage to your expertise.
New speakers, a few old friends
We’ve been working on some of these speakers for years, and we can’t wait to announce the 2027 lineup. Plenty of spots are still open, but we’re excited about the ones already in the works. It’s going to be epic.
A bigger Summit app
The website stays, and a native app joins it. Better ways to connect, schedule meetings, and get reminders to follow up. All optional, and the schedule will be easier to find so you don’t have to scroll.
Lunch pitches and more networking
We’re opening the floor at lunch for attendees to pitch their startup, business, or service. Rapid fire, strict time limits, as many people as we can fit. We want you to know who’s in the room. Expect more guided networking throughout the event too.
Back to November
This year we shifted dates to host the Startup World Cup. Next year we’re back to early November, with an entirely new concept for The Pitch. A wider range of businesses, and the audience helps pick the winner.
The Summit keeps growing
Every year I wonder if we can match the last one. Then I look back at the moments that make this event worth all the time we put into it, and every one of them centers on the people who attend. The conversations I overhear, the deals that get made, the opportunities that come up. This year I’ve already heard about funding deals being finalized, new partnerships forming, and collaborations that wouldn’t have happened if both people hadn’t been in the room.
This year, when something good happens for your business send us your story!
We want to hear more of these stories. Next year is going to be a big one, and we can’t wait to watch your businesses grow.
See you at the Summit!
David Nelson
Executive Director, FoundersForge
Scenes from the Summit
See you in November 2027
