Fast Company Innovation Festival: Building a Fan Base

How do you create an event with such buzz that attendees want to return year after year? That’s what happens at Fast Company Innovation Festival, which was just named by Skift Meetings as one of the Best Business Events of 2024.

During an online event last week, Kristin Mooney, Senior Vice President, MV Live, shed light on the choose-your-own-adventure event, which took place in New York City September 16-19.

A highlight of the festival’s 10th Anniversary Celebration this year were main stage discussions with the 10 most innovative people of the past 10 years, which included Ryan Reynolds, Issa Rae, Lin-Manuel Miranda and José Andrés. There were also more than 130 additional speakers on stage and in workshops over the four-day event.

The hub was at Convene at 1 Liberty Street, with additional sessions at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. But much of the event took place all around the city, with attendees signing up for 75 ‘Fast Tracks’ – visits to various offices and venues.

“It’s an urban field trip,” said Mooney. “It takes attendees behind the scenes into some of the most innovative companies within the city.”

Attendees design their own experiences right on the web site. “No two attendees will have the same experience,” she said. “I think that's what makes it so unique and special. An attendee might just do the Fast Tracks or might just participate in the programming and the stage moments.”

Curated Dinners and Foodie Activations

Many attendees – Mooney refers to them as ‘super fans’ – return year after year. “And we now have a subset of super fans that have taken to our ‘Taste of Innovation’ dinner series, and come to every single dinner that we do.”

The dinners were launched two years ago, as intimate 30-person curated experiences featuring high-profile speakers. They are held at all types of venues around the city, from 11 Madison Park, an award winning plant-based restaurant, to Tacombi, an authentic Mexican taqueria.

“Because it's such an intimate setting, you walk away with really meaningful contacts,” said Mooney. “I think that's why these dinners are gaining such a following.”

Another popular feature is the many food-inspired activations, all of which have give-back missions.

There’s Tony’s Chocolonely, a chocolate bar whose goal is to end the exploitation in the cocoa industry; The Goods Mart, which features healthy snacks, many of them from underrepresented communities; and 787 Coffee, which grows, produces and roasts all of its coffee in the U.S. “They pride themselves on paying fair wages from everyone, from the farmers picking the beans to the baristas behind the bar,” said Mooney.

In conjunction with the Innovation Festival is a gathering of the Fast Company Impact Council, an invitation-only collective of business leaders that also meets throughout the year for roundtable sessions and virtual events. “We bring them together to talk about their most pressing challenges and how they're pushing their businesses forward in innovative and impactful ways.”

Looking Ahead

Two areas Mooney and her team plan to focus on for 2025 are accessibility and sustainability. “We have, of course, our checklist of sustainability initiatives. But we want to grow that and also help our venue partners and vendors join us in the mission to decrease our carbon footprint,” she said.

“But I think the biggest and the main mission is the one in the event’s name – innovation.

“We are showcasing so many innovative companies, and we too want to be keeping up. So bringing innovation into the event itself is always a key focus for us.”