Summit

Summit, run by Summit Series, L.L.C., is an invitation-only events organization and paid community that began in April 2008 as a ski trip for 19 young entrepreneurs and grew into a series of festival-style gatherings. Its programming spans six pillars - thought leadership, culture and performance, art and expression, culinary and hospitality, wellness, and impact - and its stated curation test is that candidates are leaders in their field and warm people who fit the organization's eight published principles. In 2013 Summit bought the Powder Mountain ski resort in Utah and moved its base there; the resort passed to Reed Hastings in 2023, though Summit still describes it as an affiliate. Alongside the events, Summit now sells an annual membership at US$2,000 that adds monthly in-person gatherings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Austin and New York, curated one-to-one introductions, virtual learning sessions, a member marketplace called PARTICLE and directory access. Attendance at flagship events can also come through nomination: the site invites anyone to nominate an attendee or a speaker.

How it works

Prospective members apply online with contact details, company, role and city, and candidates are interviewed against two published tests: that they are a leader in their field, and that they are a warm, kind person who resonates with Summit's eight principles. Members pay an annual fee and get complimentary access to Summit's year-round "Happenings", monthly gatherings in five cities totalling more than 60 touchpoints a year, curated introductions, a topic-based learning series and priority registration for the flagship events. The flagship events themselves are ticketed separately and can also be reached by nomination.

Typical member

Summit describes its community as entrepreneurs, academics, athletes, artists, astronauts, authors, chefs, engineers, explorers, philanthropists, spiritual leaders and scientists. The application asks only for name, contact details, company, role and city, so admission turns on the interview rather than a financial test. Past presenters listed on the site include Jeff Bezos, Bill Clinton, Kendrick Lamar, Brene Brown, Malcolm Gladwell and Eric Schmidt.

Summit is a events business first and a membership organization second, which makes it hard to compare with peer-advisory bodies. There is no revenue or net-worth test, no forum structure and no confidentiality regime; the filter is an interview about character and standing in a field, and the emphasis is on serendipity, culture and programming rather than business problem-solving. The US$2,000 membership is cheap by the standards of this category, but the real cost of participating sits in flagship event tickets and travel, and Summit publishes no ticket prices at all. Two things to check before joining. The published outcome statistics - capital raised, funding rounds, marriages - are self-reported and not independently audited. And the Powder Mountain relationship, once central to Summit's identity, changed materially in 2023; the site's description of the resort as an affiliate should be read against that.

Editorial analysis by Peer Group Guide editors. It is separated from the record above and follows the editorial policy.