There are a lot of millionaires in the world… hell, even my dentist is a millionaire. But billionaires are a rare breed. They may cross paths or compare notes privately, but it’s not as if dozens of them fire up their private jets and converge in someone’s backyard for a cookout, right?
Actually… they do (in a way). And they do it in my (figurative) backyard.
The Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference
To the outside world, this is a pretty mysterious event. When dozens of the world’s top net worth individuals converge for a private conference nestled in the mountains of Idaho, it sounds like a plot device in a conspiracy thriller.
To someone who lives and works around Sun Valley, Idaho (like me), the annual Allen Company conference is more of a curiosity than a conspiracy. It’s the reason why there’s traffic for one week of the year. It’s a chance to see a different type of celebrity hanging around town than our area’s typical residents-or-vacationers-of-note (like Bruce Willis and Adam West).
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at a previous Sun Valley Conference wearing a vest from my company SCOTTeVEST. We have provided clothing for attendees for three years. Embedded image used under editorial license from Getty Images.
Widely considered to be the most exclusive business conference in the world, the Allen Company Sun Valley Conference guest list is a closely guarded secret.Frequent attendees include Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Tim Cook, George Soros, Rupert Murdoch, Oprah, Mark Zuckerberg, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and other high-profile media leaders.
The combined net worth of the attendees tops $1 trillion. Yes, with a T.
The Sun Valley Conference isn’t a cultish event shrouded in Illuminati mumbo-jumbo, but it is a very private, secretive event. The invitees often bring their families, since the Sun Valley Resort where it is held is a wonderful vacation spot, regardless of your level of wealth.
Reporters are held at arm’s-length from the event, since there is an expectation — and enjoyment — of privacy by the attendees.
That’s about to change (just a little).
Tech on Deck: An Inside Look at Allen Company’s SV Conference
Let’s see what happens when you bring together tech luminaries like Rackspace Futurist Robert Scoble, globally-known photographer Thomas Hawk, Apple’s first evangelist Guy Kawasaki, the founder of The North Face Hap Klopp, the founder of Revision 3 Jim Louderback, and Gary Shapiro, the CEO of the company that runs CES (amongst many other confirmed guests).
No, that’s NOT part of the Allen & Company roster. They are part of the new event across town that seeks to shed light on what happens inside the billionaire conference and comment on the news that emanates from it, while pushing their technology-centered conversations even further.
We created Tech on Deck to be a parallel event focused on media and technology situated 1 mile from the main conference. Tech on Deck offers an inside-out perspective on the annual “billionaire’s conference” with a Top Gear-inspired broadcast streamed in high-definition, featuring collaboration and network technology from Cisco and a NewTek TriCaster multi-camera video production system, along with other important sponsors.
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See www.TechonDeck2015.com for coverage schedule.
The goal is to provide an immersive experience for viewers before, during andaround the Allen Company event; to provide viewers with a glimpse of what really happens during the conference. Many deals have been announced at the conference in past years, including the massive AOL/Time Warner merger. Tech on Deck is poised to provide expert commentary on breaking news in real-time.
The main broadcast sessions of Tech on Deck will be posted on TechonDeck2015.com, and unscheduled broadcasts will go live with breaking news from the conference.
Officially Unofficial
There is no corporate affiliation between Tech on Deck and Allen Company, and all coverage around the event is offered as editorial commentary, which is a very good thing.
Tech on Deck is not reporting events with the spin that would be expected from the few news outlets that are given very limited access to the conference. In that way, we are impartial and un-influenced to report on news and happenings based on a third-party agenda.
This is your chance to get an inside look at what really goes on when hundreds of the world’s most influential people get together.
Visit www.TechonDeck2015.com to watch live and recorded sessions that lift the veil on the most secretive private event in the world.
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ABOUT SCOTT JORDAN and SCOTTeVEST
Scott Jordan is the CEO and Founder of SCOTTeVEST, which creates multi-pocket clothing designed to carry electronics. He is the author of Pocket Man: The Unauthorized Autobiography of a Passionate, Personal Promoter.
Read a sample of Scott’s book for more about his experience on Shark Tank and the pocket empire he has built.
Interested in working at SCOTTeVEST? The team is growing and there are several openings available for motivated candidates. Be sure to send a thank you note!