Forbes Under 30 Summit 2026 Begins in Phoenix with Speakers and Events

The 2026 Forbes Under 30 Summit began in Phoenix on Sunday with a performance by Grammy-nominated artist Don Toliver. He performed songs including “E85” and “Body” for attendees comprising young entrepreneurs, creators, and business leaders. At the baseball game, actress and Under 30 alum Haley Lu Richardson threw the ceremonial first pitch, with Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane and a Forbes executive positioned behind the plate.

Monday, Randall Lane opened the programming by noting advantages for young entrepreneurs as digital natives, social natives, and AI natives. He described the current environment as one where companies can be built quickly and encouraged attendees to network with peers.

Lane stated that someone among the attendees could become a president or build a major enterprise. An official from the Arizona Commerce Authority welcomed participants and highlighted Arizona's growth as a hub for industry, citing investments and talent pools.

An NBA Hall of Famer discussed his transition from basketball to business, media, and investing in a conversation. He said his motivations include family and community, and he described feeling inexperienced in new fields. He emphasized work ethic, patience, teamwork, and building relationships over transactions.

He referenced lessons from the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, advising to balance confidence with humility.

Carter, founder of SET Active, and Jake Karls, cofounder of Mid-Day Squares, discussed strategies for building brands through community and storytelling. Carter focused on involving customers in decisions, while Karls emphasized transparency in sharing company experiences. Both noted challenges in scaling, such as inventory management and pivoting while maintaining core values.

Shawn Fanning, cofounder of Napster, and Andrew Frame, founder and CEO of Citizen, spoke with a Forbes editor about their early experiences in a hacker group. Fanning developed Napster at age 19, impacting digital music access. Frame created Citizen for real-time public safety information.

They discussed facing resistance and legal challenges, and advised that innovative objectives should feel ambitious.