An interview with Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer at Forbes Magazine
The Forbes Under 30 Global Women's Summit (March 31 – April 4) will bring the most powerful female leaders from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia together in Tel Aviv for a week packed with parties, networking events and even a fashion show lead by women designers through Jerusalem's Machne Yehuda Market.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Forbes has hosted a 30 under 30 summit in Tel Aviv, but this one is different. It has the main goal of changing the business world for women all over and helping create investment opportunities as well as promoting women entrepreneurship and mentorship.
The guest speakers include Susan Ma, founder and CEO of Tropic Skincare; Charlie Javice, founder and CEO of Frank; Nadia Masri, founder and CEO of Perksy; and more.
We sat down with Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer at Forbes Magazine.
2018 Event
Why do you think the women’s summit is important?
We plan to bring 500 women to Tel Aviv, each of whom has so much history and vitality behind her. We need more women-leading companies – and more investments for women. The vast majority of funding is going to male founders, and this has to change. Women outperform men when they do get funding. We believe that the conversation has to be between the women and the men. We are letting up to 20 percent of male founders be involved, but not before they write an essay on how they are going to help the cause of women in business. This not only creates a sense of commitment but also gets them thinking about how to do it.
Will actual investors be looking for women-led projects?
Yes, this is attracting investors. We have a whole team from General Catalyst coming to discover new ventures and there will be more people looking to connect with women-led startups.
Who will be attending? Who are the women to watch?
There are so many! Tyler Haney, the CEO of Outdoor Voices is really interesting. She got tired of people telling her to use her “woman’s voice” in a field that is usually male-oriented – athletic apparel.
Payal Kadakia, the founder of ClassPass, a monthly subscription that offers access to a wide range of gyms and activities.
Model Iskra Lawrence will be there too; she’s one of the models and prominent leaders of the body positivity movement.
Just so many women with disruptive ideas on their way to unicorn funding will be there. It’s very exciting!
2018 Event
How has Israel changed since you first started coming here?
There is a newfound confidence here, like a sense of maturing with the idea that this is a global city and a place that people are drawn to. The confidence has really grown. In the last four years, it’s starting to stand up taller. Startup founders are celebrities now. It’s all evolving so much.
What is important about this summit?
It is important that we leave the host country in a better state than we found it. We want to do our service and help to make changes. We want a focus on co-existence, where all groups are represented. That is our key focus.
For more information, click here