Forbes Under 30: What you need to know about the Cleveland Summit

Posted by: Laura DeMarco on Tuesday, June 6, 2023

The spotlight will be on Cleveland this October, when hundreds of the most innovative and inspiring young Americans will gather for the Forbes Under 30 Summit. The honorees include 25 individuals who either grew up, studied or work in Ohio.

It’s a big deal – for the honorees, and city.

“It gives us validity in what we’re doing. And it helps show our retail partners that we’re a stand-out from the crowd,” says Evan Schumann, co-founder of Ohio’s L’Uva Bella Winery, of the honor.

“Ohio’s entrepreneurial spirit will be felt on the world’s main stage,” said Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer of Forbes and Creator of the Under 30 Franchise, of the decision to host the next three Summits in Ohio.

The 2023 Summit will be held October 8 to 11 at venues around town. Since 2011, Forbes has celebrated more than 10,000 young business owners, activists, scientists and entertainers. Cincinnati will host in 2024 and Columbus in 2025.

Ohioans in the spotlight

In honor of the event, Greater Cleveland Partnership is shining a pre-summit spotlight on the remarkable Ohioans on the list, from winemakers and filmmakers, to tattoo balm creators, medtech and cookie dough visionaries. We have talked to:

Forbes Under 30: Meet the 25 entrepreneurs and leaders with Ohio connections who made the list - Greater Cleveland Partnership

All of the honorees have commented on the connections and boost the honor bestows.

“It gives us a strong network of other entrepreneurs and innovators who are fighting the uphill battle that we already did,” said Manny Setegn, CTO of Genetesis medtech company.

Local listers

The honors don’t end with the Summit.

For the first time ever, Forbes will launch 30 Under 30 local lists in ten cities this year, including Cleveland.

“When reporting on our Under 30 North America list, we’ve seen an uptick of founders hailing from many of these places,” said Kristin Stoller, Deputy Editor, Forbes. “We want to shine a light on the next generation of leaders in some of the most up-and-coming locations for entrepreneurship.”

Local Impact

The selection of Ohio as home to the next three summits was announced at an event at the Rock Hall last fall.

Said Forbes CEO Mike Federle: “When we choose where the Summit is going, we look for a few key things: breadth of industry, educational institutions, diversity and a base of young talent and the next wave of leadership. We look at a number of locations every year. After our due diligence, we have made the decision to bring the Under 30 Summit to Ohio for the next three years.”

JP Nauseef, President and Chief Executive Officer of JobsOhio, who led the effort to bring the Summit to Ohio in partnership with GCP, Destination Cleveland, the City, JumpStart and TeamNEO, moderated the event.

“Forbes chose Ohio for its iconic Under 30 Summits because of recent, significant economic momentum we and our partners have recently built in the state,” he said. “The strong relationship developed between JobsOhio and Forbes over the last several months will highlight Ohio’s value proposition as a preferred location for business and top talent both nationally and globally.”

GCP CEO and President Baiju Shah was one of many civic leaders in attendance.

“The Forbes summit and platform will provide a spotlight on Cleveland’s innovators and our dynamic city,” he said. “It continues to help change the perceptions of Cleveland, especially for the next-generations, millennials and Gen-Z.”