Jews in the D

12 | NOVEMBER 7 • 2019 

J

ust more than 100 years 
ago, the first issue of Forbes, 
a new magazine focused 
on American business was 
published. In recent years, the 
company has expanded its 
content and events to focus 
on young entrepreneurs, who 
were highlighted in an annual 
issue and an Under 30 Summit. 
Detroit expat Mike Posner has 
been a headline performer.

The 2019 event, which took 
place in late October, brought 
the Under 30 Summit to 
Detroit for a three-year run. 
About 200 speakers addressed 
thousands of attendees. 
Immersive experiences, 
including a private music 
festival, industry-focused 
programming track and a food 
festival also took place. 
“Detroit is a city on the 
move and a shining example 
of what can happen when 
entrepreneurs, investors venture 
capitalists, elected officials, 
students and entertainers come together to 
address challenges, create partnerships and 
jointly reimagine a city’
s role on the world 
stage,
” said Randall Lane, chief content 
officer of Forbes and founder of the Under 
30 Summit. 
“For six years, our Under 30 Summits 
have celebrated the people who are 
changing our world for the better, and 
we are proud to help focus the world’
s 
attention on Detroit and its leaders who 
are demonstrating how entrepreneurial 
capitalism is a force for good.
”
Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans 
was the presenting sponsor of the event. 
Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert spoke 
about the impact of this event coming to 
Detroit at a February 2019 news conference 
that featured Randall Lane of Forbes, 
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and 
Detroit Mayor Mike Dugan.
“
As Dan Gilbert likes to say, Detroit is 
the intersection of muscle and brains,
” 
Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner told the 

JN. “The Under 30 Summit is a perfect 
encapsulation of the drive that powers the 
Motor City, and Dan worked tirelessly to 
bring the event here to our hometown. 
We look forward to seeing what we can 
accomplish with Forbes over the next three 
years, as well as the thousands of young 
innovators who will see firsthand exactly 
what Dan means.
”

FEATURED SPEAKERS
The agenda and attendee list included 
several individuals connected to the Jewish 
Detroit community who spoke to the 
Jewish News in advance of their attendance. 
Two of the noted speakers were Josh Luber 
and Greg Schwartz, co-founders of StockX 
alongside Dan Gilbert. 

“Nearly four years ago, 
StockX launched with just 
six employees — today, our 
company is valued at more 
than $1 billion and we have 
more than 900 full and part-

time team members, 500 based 
here in Detroit,
” said Schwartz, 
StockX COO. “
As a leader in 
the e-commerce industry, we 
want people to understand 
how much Detroit has to offer 
and appreciate the light Forbes 
is shining on the fact that you 
don’
t need a Silicon Valley zip 
code to launch a fast-growing, 
impact-driven tech company.
”

Alex Fenkell, co-founder of 
SmileDirectClub, 
which became a 
publicly traded 
company this 
summer, was 
scheduled to 
serve on a retail 
panel alongside Harry’
s 
co-founder Jeff Raider and 
FIGS founder Heather Hasson. 
He planned to discuss his story 
as an entrepreneur building a 
successful direct-to-consumer 
company. His business, 
founded with fellow Detroit 
expat Jordan Katzman, is now 
valued above $4 billion. 

FORBES UNDER 30 WINNERS
Another featured speaker was Daniel 
Sillman, CEO of Relevent Sports Group. 
Sillman grew up in the Detroit area. 
His projects include leading the largest 
privately owned soccer company in North 
America, which operates the International 
Champions Cup (ICC), the summer’
s 
premiere international club tournament. 
The tournament has sold 5 million tickets 
and attracts more than 100 million viewers 
annually.
“It is an honor to be speaking at such a 
prestigious event in my hometown, and 
to have the opportunity to share some 
of what I have learned during my career, 
Sillman said. “I will be participating in 
the Founders Forum, speaking with 
other Forbes Under 30 winners. We will 
talk about our experiences in business, 
including best practices and other pieces of 
advice we have collected in leadership roles.
Schwartz

Fenkell

continued on page 14

Detroit
Summit

Thousands came for fi
 rst year of
Forbes Under 30 Summit in Detroit.

ADAM FINKEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER