How Summit is leaning on community to drive innovation

Fast Company is the official media partner of Summit Detroit.For the past 17 years, Summit, an organization hosting conferences and immersive experiences around the world, has brought together entrepreneurs and creatives in lush settings that double as vacation destinations—think Tulum, Mexico; Palm Desert, Calif.; Powder Mountain, Utah; and even out on the open sea. This year marks the end of Summit’s larger-scale events as the company pivots toward more intimate gatherings. So it’s little surprise that more than a few eyebrows were raised when Summit announced Detroit as its last big hurrah this June 5-8. [Illustration: Summit] “We came together and decided to convene our community in a place that embodies the Summit spirit, that is filled with surprise and delight, and has abundant, beautiful spaces for us to activate and bring to life,” says Jody Levy, CEO and global director of Summit. “We have had an outpouring of excitement from people across the world that we are gathering in Detroit. Those who know know!” Founded in 2008, Summit is the brainchild of Elliott Bisnow, Brett Leve, Jeff Rosenthal, and Jeremy Schwartz, who coalesced around the idea of finding the connections between their personal interests and entrepreneurial endeavors. They set out to develop a community of like-minded people by hosting a series of events leaning into the intersection of work and play. At a Summit event, it’s not uncommon to hear a talk on the future of human longevity before heading to a poolside DJ set or a wearable balloon art dance party. That feeling of the unexpected also translates to Summit’s chosen location this year. “I’ve been watching [Detroit] really hit the stride of what everybody always wanted and saw for the city,” Levy says. “There’s so much happening here that’s being exported to the rest of the world that my partners and I [at Summit] decided to come to a place that’s a little unexpected, that’s got a little bit of that like grungy grit that we all as entrepreneurs have.” Summit Detroit will have much of what Summit has become known for: high-level speakers including Ev Williams, cofounder of Mozi and Twitter and the founder of Medium; futurist Pablos Holman; author and psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb; tracks focused on the future of transportation, next-gen entrepreneurship, and mental health; and live music sets. The event will also take advantage of being in downtown Detroit with design tours and a lineup of Detroit’s culinary arts. But what Levy is most excited for is the track on creative expression and storytelling. Featuring speakers including famed choreographer Bill T. Jones, artist and activist Shepard Fairey, and head of design at Google Ivy Ross, the track will explore how to apply design thinking to your pursuits, the importance of transient moments to the human experience, and more. [Photo: Amanda Demme] “As creative doers who are always pushing what comes next, there are many people globally feeling lonely and isolated,” Levy says. “It tells me that the Summit community and the creative community at large need to come up with new ways to support each other. With the rapid pace of technology, AI, and information, it is increasingly important for us all to be reminded of the space where our passion and purpose coalesce. That is the place that the Summit community has in common, and it is imperative to how we grow and evolve our companies and products.” Summit is an invite-only community composed mainly of referrals from existing members, some of whom have been part of the group since its inception. It’s not meant to be some secret society—it’s more about preserving the integrity of the company’s mission: bringing the best thinkers, creators, inventors, investors together to learn and support each other. Or, as Levy describes it: a mutual aid society for our time. “When there’s somebody that we know through Summit, there is a nod of credibility,” she says. “They’re probably a high-octane doer that has a certain way of operating that you trust because they’ve been invited into the Summit community.” Levy believes that Summit can have an especially meaningful impact at moments such as now, when the world is unstable and in transition. “When we, the Summit community, come together, we are able to explore all kinds of topics in a neutral space that allows our community to bump up against the outer edges of our belief systems,” Levy says. “People end up growing and learning from each other. Summit has always been highly effective in giving people new vantage points and opportunities for collaboration to make our endeavors more successful.”

Mar 21, 2025 - 11:34

How Summit is leaning on community to drive innovation

Fast Company is the official media partner of Summit Detroit.

For the past 17 years, Summit, an organization hosting conferences and immersive experiences around the world, has brought together entrepreneurs and creatives in lush settings that double as vacation destinations—think Tulum, Mexico; Palm Desert, Calif.; Powder Mountain, Utah; and even out on the open sea.

This year marks the end of Summit’s larger-scale events as the company pivots toward more intimate gatherings. So it’s little surprise that more than a few eyebrows were raised when Summit announced Detroit as its last big hurrah this June 5-8.

“We came together and decided to convene our community in a place that embodies the Summit spirit, that is filled with surprise and delight, and has abundant, beautiful spaces for us to activate and bring to life,” says Jody Levy, CEO and global director of Summit. “We have had an outpouring of excitement from people across the world that we are gathering in Detroit. Those who know know!”

Founded in 2008, Summit is the brainchild of Elliott Bisnow, Brett Leve, Jeff Rosenthal, and Jeremy Schwartz, who coalesced around the idea of finding the connections between their personal interests and entrepreneurial endeavors. They set out to develop a community of like-minded people by hosting a series of events leaning into the intersection of work and play. At a Summit event, it’s not uncommon to hear a talk on the future of human longevity before heading to a poolside DJ set or a wearable balloon art dance party. That feeling of the unexpected also translates to Summit’s chosen location this year.

“I’ve been watching [Detroit] really hit the stride of what everybody always wanted and saw for the city,” Levy says. “There’s so much happening here that’s being exported to the rest of the world that my partners and I [at Summit] decided to come to a place that’s a little unexpected, that’s got a little bit of that like grungy grit that we all as entrepreneurs have.”

Summit Detroit will have much of what Summit has become known for: high-level speakers including Ev Williams, cofounder of Mozi and Twitter and the founder of Medium; futurist Pablos Holman; author and psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb; tracks focused on the future of transportation, next-gen entrepreneurship, and mental health; and live music sets. The event will also take advantage of being in downtown Detroit with design tours and a lineup of Detroit’s culinary arts.

But what Levy is most excited for is the track on creative expression and storytelling. Featuring speakers including famed choreographer Bill T. Jones, artist and activist Shepard Fairey, and head of design at Google Ivy Ross, the track will explore how to apply design thinking to your pursuits, the importance of transient moments to the human experience, and more.

“As creative doers who are always pushing what comes next, there are many people globally feeling lonely and isolated,” Levy says. “It tells me that the Summit community and the creative community at large need to come up with new ways to support each other. With the rapid pace of technology, AI, and information, it is increasingly important for us all to be reminded of the space where our passion and purpose coalesce. That is the place that the Summit community has in common, and it is imperative to how we grow and evolve our companies and products.”

Summit is an invite-only community composed mainly of referrals from existing members, some of whom have been part of the group since its inception. It’s not meant to be some secret society—it’s more about preserving the integrity of the company’s mission: bringing the best thinkers, creators, inventors, investors together to learn and support each other. Or, as Levy describes it: a mutual aid society for our time.

“When there’s somebody that we know through Summit, there is a nod of credibility,” she says. “They’re probably a high-octane doer that has a certain way of operating that you trust because they’ve been invited into the Summit community.”

Levy believes that Summit can have an especially meaningful impact at moments such as now, when the world is unstable and in transition.

“When we, the Summit community, come together, we are able to explore all kinds of topics in a neutral space that allows our community to bump up against the outer edges of our belief systems,” Levy says. “People end up growing and learning from each other. Summit has always been highly effective in giving people new vantage points and opportunities for collaboration to make our endeavors more successful.”