The Brand-Yourself team works hard not to indulge in any of the distractions that accompany being a young startup. Instead we concentrate on growing the business and helping customers. However, once in while we can’t help but feel excited and honored by some of the hype.
This weekend we were invited down to NYC for the Kairos Global Summit, recognizing us (and 99 other awesome companies) as the most innovative young startups in the world. The Kairos Society, founded by student Ankur Jain, is a prestigious international non-profit organization focused on tackling global issues through entrepreneurship. Members and speakers include Bill Clinton, Bill Gates Sr., Ray Kurzwil, and dozens of others. You can read more about it on the Ankur Jain blog.
We are humbled by the invitation, but even more excited to meet the leaders of other young companies we admire. Attending the summit will be leaders of some of the most successful organizations in the world. No matter who you are you will probably bump into someone you greatly admire (I’m excited to meet Alan Webb, the founder of Fast Company).
This doesn’t change our business, our vision, or the amount of work we have to do. But it’s nice to be recognized.
From the Kairos Summit:
More than 500 of some of the world’s brightest student entrepreneurs from more than ten countries including the US, China, India and the UK will gather with more than 100 executives to discuss global issues such as “Diplomacy through Entrepreneurship,” “Understanding Global Entrepreneurship & Leadership,” and “Women’s Leadership.”
Participants include Duncan Niederauer (CEO, NYSE Euronext), Ray Kurzweil (Inventor), Bill White (President, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and Fallen Heroes Fund), Admiral William Owens (Former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff), Nolan Bushnell (Founder, Atari), Ellen Kullman (CEO, DuPont), Naveen Jain (CEO, Intelius), Peter Diamandis (Founder, X-Prize Foundation), Carl J. Schramm (President, Kauffman Foundation), Scott Mednick (Producer, “300,” “Where the Wild Things Are”), Bruce Mosler (CEO, Cushman and Wakefield), Alan Webber (Founder, Fast Company) and Maria Bartiromo (Anchor, CNBC).
