This week I have been lucky enough to catch up with Elliott Bisnow for an interview.
Elliott Bisnow is a 23 year old entrepreneur. He is the Co-Founder of Bisnow Media based in Washington DC, and the Founder of Summit Series.
Adam: You support some very noble causes. What influences your decision to back certain charities?
Elliott: As a young entrepreneur (23 years old) I’m influenced by people I can relate to. We like to support organizations who have either an entrepreneurial mindset like the United Nations Foundation or Bill Clinton Foundation or whose founders are young like Charity: Water, Grassroot Soccer and Invisible Children.
Adam: Are you planning to travel with any of the charities to see how they spend the money that Summit Series has raised?
Elliott: One of our Mexico attendees, Chris Sacca (formerly of Google) went to Ethiopa with Charity: Water to build wells. And one of our Aspen Attendees, Dave Maestri of MobWars is going to Africa with Nothing But Nets to provide bed nets. I’d love to travel with one of the organizations we’ve supported.
Adam: The invitation from the White House must have been a fantastic moment. How did you prepare for such a key event?
Elliott: The event came up quickly, and we had only one week to prepare from the day we received the invitation to the day of the event. Preparation on our end was about bringing entrepreneurs with the largest economic impact who could listen to the White House initiatives and leave Washington with a better understand as to the direction of the new administration. We were able to bring many outstanding people such as Rob Speyer of Tishman Speyer, Aaron Patzer of Mint.com, Marc Ecko of Ecko Unlmited, Evan Williams from Twitter, Catherine Levene from Daily Candy, etc.
Adam: How did you initially formulate the idea of Summit Series?
Elliott: Summit Series starting in April of 2008 as a ski trip for 19 entrepreneurs. The original idea was for young company founders (the average age was about 26) to spend 4 days in a fun environment making new friends and talking about business strategy.
Adam: Do you still find time to play tennis? Are there any potential links between the sporting world and your philanthropic activities?
Elliott: When I’m not in NYC, I play tennis all the time. It’s a great sport and I met many of my closest friends through tennis. We’ve worked with a number of organizations that use sports to connect individuals from all over the world with philanthropic causes. Grassroot Soccer is a great organization that uses soccer to teach kids in Africa about the risk of aids. The Founder of Grassroot Soccer is Ethan Zohn who is in his early 30′s and after he won Survivor, took his million dollars and started this great organization.
Adam: Do you plan to expand Bisnow to other major cities across the US, or indeed around the world?
Elliott: Bisnow currently has 25 employees and publishes in DC, NYC and CHI. It’s a very cool company that publishes free daily emails about niche business industries in different cities such as technology, law, commercial real estate and medical services. You can check it out at www.bisnow.com
Adam: You have travelled extensively. Where would you still like to go? How have your experiences shaped your understanding of international issues?
Elliott: I’ve been lucky enough to visit each continent a few times and have been to about 45 countries. I’ve been inspired by the technology in Asia, the friendly culture in countries like South Africa, the sense of fashion in France and Italy, the tension with America in the middle east, the aspects of rebuilding nations like Albania and Cambodia, and the rapid growth in countries like Vietnam and China.
Adam: The last Summit Series charity auction prize was a United Nations dinner with illustrious guests. How will you top this next year?
Elliott: Maybe we can get someone to give us a trip to the moon 
Adam: You are only 23 years old, and have already achieved so much. To what do you attest your success?
Elliott: I am very lucky. Life is all about working hard and being lucky. When you get a lucky opportunity (like the White House Summit we held) you have to jump on it. No one will ever give you anything. Work hard, realize when you have a lucky break, and go for it.
Adam: Do you see future Summit Series being held in Europe, or other parts of the world? Are you planning to hold the events more frequently?
Elliott: We’re hoping to launch our first Europe Summit in the spring of 2010. We are always dreaming.
Adam Toren
