A Decade of Under 30
Within minutes of our publication of the first Forbes 30 Under 30 list nine years ago, our phones and inboxes filled up, Forbes.com lit up and Twitter blew up. Even the biggest professional successes tend to take a while to prove out—it’s a nice and rare feeling to know you’re sitting on an instant winner.
We got a lot of things right out of the gate. First, timing. A generation ago, the Bill Gates and Michael Dell types were the exception. But over the past decade, wunderkinds became the rule: Digital natives had the vision and tools to disrupt pretty much every industry, and funders lined up to write billion-dollar checks to entrepreneurs not yet old enough to rent a car. Second, our process enabled us to evaluate thousands of nominees in an apples-to-apples way, and by bringing in legends from each industry as outside judges, the list carried extra validity. It clicked.
In this 10th edition, though, you’ll see a lot of improvement. While the list has always reflected American diversity, we’ve increased our efforts to look beyond the usual suspects, creating not just the most meritocratic roster of young leaders in the U.S., but among the most pluralistic. We expanded from 12 to 15 to 20 categories so fields like education and social entrepreneurship wouldn’t be overlooked. And we’ve gone global, with more than 25 Forbes 30 Under 30 lists worldwide.
Most important, though, the 30 Under 30 has made a difference. Ask any member of our 10 classes of honorees and they’ll tell you how the recognition opened doors, bestowed credibility, forged partnerships, deal flow, acquisitions. (And a few marriages.) By bringing together this amazing group virtually and in person, we have a platform to drive positive change.
With this class ushering in Under 30’s 10th anniversary year—and a community approaching 10,000 strong—we’ll spend 2021, already a year of rebirth, accelerating it all: with a directory so honorees can update one another and stay in touch. With a growing commitment to For(bes) The Culture, the Under 30 community for Black and Brown professionals. And with a vow to meet in the second half of the year in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas to encourage entrepreneurship on a scale worthy of a list now synonymous with it.