An invitation to Progress Summit!

I founded Fairbridge, and this publication with a simple conviction: that the most ambitious Founders of our time will be those building for social progress.

Fairbridge’s mission is to inspire, mobilize, and equip founders advancing the frontier of social progress through high-performance, market-based ventures that move markets and societies forward.

This year, we are taking a bolder step toward that vision.

On November 13th at 2pm, we’ll convene for the inaugural Progress Summit, at Rodney’s Comedy Club on the Upper East Side; New York’s oldest stage for truth-telling and reinvention.

We’re bringing together 150 Founders, funders, civic & public leaders, academics & thinkers, and builders for a day of inspiring storytelling, ideas exchange, and collaborative action!

Please apply and share this invitation with the most ambitious, mission-aligned builders in your network. Places are filling fast! Hurry up and claim yours! The summit is free for founders.

The Philosophy

Startups that solve the biggest problems of their time capture the greatest value. And today’s biggest problems of broad access to health, wealth, and a livable planet, represent the defining markets of this century. Delivering progress at scale demands Founders who can lead; who can harness technology and coordinate across complex stakeholders to build compelling businesses.

Q&A

Why mission-driven founders? Government, civic, and community systems once responsible for driving progress are stuck. Founders with sharp business instincts, differentiated insight, and most importantly, the right motivations are best positioned to create scalable, market-based solutions that advance society while generating lasting enterprise value.

Why stakeholders? Progress ventures demand alignment among operators, investors, and partners pursuing the same outcomes. When incentives are coordinated and aligned, value compounds faster, it scales bigger, and it endures.

Why meet in person? Social progress is a collaborative endeavor led by mission-driven Founders.

Why New York and why Rodney’s? New York is the global center for business, for diplomacy, law, culture, and creativity. Global stakeholders are dealing here daily.
And Rodney’s is a venue where truth has always been spoken plainly, yet boldly for a long time. From its stage came Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Mooney, Chris Rock, Jim Carrey, storytellers who made their audiences imagine the world differently. It’s the perfect place to showcase a community tackling social progress.

Who’s speaking? Founders, funders, leaders reshaping industries; your favorite people whose stories reveal how progress gets built and inspire action. This year, we are proud to honor and highlight our hometown builders including Esther Dyson (our keynote!), Murat Aktihanoglu, Dr. Selwyn Vickers and Antonio Rodriguez.

Why attend? This is the community defining what comes after “impact.” A generation of builders who measure success by action, by how deeply they transform markets, how they bring others in, and inevitably how progress follows.

How can you help? In addition to applying to attend, please spread the word to your friends, share on your Linkedin, and on your social media channels. And, please refer us to aligned partners in your networks for sponsorship opportunities.

Join Us!!

A new kind of Generational Founder is emerging; deeply authentic, commercially driven, systems-literate, and unafraid to channel her superior capability and take responsibility to tackle hard social problems. On November 13th, we convene to catalyze this movement, to celebrate those who are building what’s next after impact!

See you at the Summit! And, let’s accelerate social progress together!