At UNITE, a Star is Born

By Day 3, everyone had decided to stay at Kona Kai and form an independent nation of impact businesses. Just kidding, but what if, right? All jokes aside, Day 3 started with a surf session for the daring and a cacao ceremony for the contemplative. A cozy breakfast led to a phenomenal keynote by Tamara Loehr, co-founder of Beusail Academy and Concertina Team. Loehr delved into the strategy for fellow entrepreneurs and CEOs to scale and exit their companies through net-positive business models, scalable lead gen and sales processes, and digital transformation. She left everyone with a gem of a worksheet to work on during their plane rides home that helped them articulate their personal brand. Throughout Day 3, our world-class media team, Carla Kalogeridis and Kathryn Deen, were interviewing CEOs to get their stories into Real Leaders magazine.

 

Another Series of Difficult Decisions Ensued…

Real Leaders wanted to pack UNITE to the brim with world-class content. Unfortunately, for every speaker to be heard by every attendee, we would need to put on a 10-day conference. To any CEOs reading this, we would never ask you to leave your baby (or fur baby) for that long. Luckily, everything was recorded and will be released soon to be listened and re-listened to your heart’s content. Here’s who spoke during Day 3:

Richard Yelland, Founder and Director of Curtis Birch, Inc. — Turn Your Mission Into A Movement Through Storytelling

Simon Mainwaring, Founder and CEO of We First Inc. — Lead With Impact: How to Elevate Your Business Growth

Kevin Edwards, President of Real Leaders — Be Your Own Media Company

Those lucky enough to attend any of these talks were famished from the pure amount of knowledge consumption and promptly made their way to grab snacks before the final keynote. Shadi Bakour is the 31-year-old CEO of a company that is reimagining how we drink water. PATH Water has been around since 2015 and has seen massive growth over the past nine years. Bakour explained that his secret ingredient for this growth was simple: Collaborate with everyone. Bakour’s talk centered around the importance of co-branding and dispelled the common fear of brand purity in lieu of a cross pollination effect where in one brands customers are shared with the other through the simple act of putting them on their label.

Bakour answered a round of questions and was followed from the stage with resounding applause. Kevin Edwards and Tiffany Saunders, director of member impact of Real Leaders, closed out UNITE with a recap of the event for everyone in attendance, expressing gratitude to our sponsors, Creative Alignments, Sure Call, Salas O’ Brien, Priority Power, Big Path Capital, Central Reach, SVN, and Sunrise Banks, as well as every member of Real Leaders in attendance. With everyone starting to get up to head back to their home and their businesses, a voice called out, “Wait!” What transpired next is something many at a business conference would never expect. Christina Huang, associate principle at Green Dinosaur Inc, took the stage with a flute to perform an original Native American song inspired by UNITE. She serenaded the audience with extreme beauty and grace. What a way to end such a memorable conference.

Just like that, UNITE came to an end, and everyone better off for it happening. Social media posts followed expressing gratitude, joy, and a whole lot of love. We want to take this time to thank everyone who made UNITE 2024 possible and everyone who took valuable time away from their business to attend. We’ll see everyone again in 2025, and we can’t wait to welcome some new faces too.

Add Yourself to the Short List

Thank you for taking the time to read about Day 3 of UNITE 2024. Please consider sharing it with one leader whom you think deserves to be at UNITE 2025. If you would like to be added to the short list to receive first dibs at pre-sale pricing, please add your email below. Thank you again to all of the people who made this community thrive at UNITE 2024. We can’t wait to deliver another incredible experience in 2025.

The Big Bang

On Feb. 5, 2024, 100 CEOs, investors, coaches, and speakers started to trickle into the unusually rainy San Diego area. They made their way to Kona Kai resort, located on Shelter Island, a small neighborhood in Port Loma. Despite the rain, there was an unmistakable buzz of excitement in the air. Many of these people had been meeting virtually for years and were finally about to meet members of their forum in person. Not only that, they knew they were about to attend a first-of-its-kind event. Not entirely sure what to expect, they knew that these next few days would undeniably be something special.

 

After checking in with the hotel, they were greeted by Real Leaders staff and led to registration. Gift bags, name tags, handshakes, and warm hugs were most definitely not in short supply. What seemed like a rather large empty ballroom just a few hours before was now brimming with excited conversation from a variety of groups who were coming together for the first time. The buzz of excitement was quickly turning into a full-on outpouring of laughs and an almost electric engagement. A few people noticed someone whom they recognized from his weekly LinkedIn livestreams for the Real Leaders Podcast make his way to the stage, some remarking that he was much taller in real life than he was on their screens. “Welcome to Real Leaders UNITE, everyone. Thank you for being here.” Real Leaders President Kevin Edwards was standing at center stage, microphone in hand. The din of voices became a whisper until the room of 100 was all looking at Edwards, poised and ready to deliver his opening remarks. Edwards spoke about how UNITE came to be. During the long planning sessions, the question asked again and again was, “What builds community?” The answer inevitably was, “coming together to build human connections that translate to the business world.”

As Edwards wrapped up his opening remarks, he introduced a new speaker to the stage. An author of multiple books, most recently, The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profits and Socializes Costs, Chris Marquis was greeted and given the spotlight. Marquis is the Sinyi professor of Chinese management at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. Maqruis’ keynote address spoke to the need to embody a collective dedication to catalyzing change, fostering collaboration, and reshaping paradigms to usher in a more equitable and sustainable future. As the wrapped audience came to a thundering applause at the end of Marquis’ speech, Edwards came back on stage to direct everyone to the main course for the evening, forming the group forums.

Forums For All

This is where the magic really happened. People went in as acquaintances and came out as allies. Adlai Stevenson I said, “The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.” Although not a society, the beginnings of a real sense of community were beginning to form. The power of confidential forum is difficult to understand until you experience it, but in it’s simplest sense, it is a truly open and free setting to discuss business, life, and the unique role of being an impact CEO in a confidential, intimate setting.

Mapping The Impact Universe

With forums wrapping up, these leaders made their way back to the main stage where Marquis’ words of transformative change were still fresh in their minds. A new face was on stage, someone who a few of these people had known as a member of their forum for the past year. Mike Brown, previously the CEO of Impact Grove and member of the Real Leaders community, recently decided to take his impact to the next level by joining Real Leaders as Chief Impact Officer. His easy smile and confident demeanor were still the same, but many noticed that Brown had an even deeper sense of meaning in his life. He spoke about this on the stage, acknowledging that this transition was something he took on because he knew that, as a part of Real Leaders, he could make an even greater impact than he could as a founder. He went on to explain that it was his goal to create an impact in each and every business that was present that night and that he wanted to start by mapping the impact universe. He held up a large poster board and asked every person there to put a quote on the board, a headline that might one day make its way to Real Leaders magazine. As you can see below, people were pretty excited to put their name on the map.

Day 1 was coming to a close, and people were still buzzing. Conversations continued long after the speeches were over. People just needed to talk about what they had experienced and explain how it was going to influence their business. Yet, UNITE was far from over. Everyone knew that Day 2 was going to be a big one and so, one by one, they made their way to their rooms to rest and prepare for another big day of impact.

Add Yourself to the Short List

Thank you for taking the time to read about Day 1 of UNITE. Please consider sharing it with one leader whom you think deserves to be at UNITE 2025. If you would like to be added to the short list to receive first dibs at pre-sale pricing, please add your email below. Thank you again to all of the people who made this community thrive at UNITE 2024. We can’t wait to deliver another incredible experience in 2025.

A Meeting of Giants

Day 2 exploded right off the bat. Real leaders gathered rejuvenated and ready for another day of collaboration with their peers. Yet who could really be ready for a panel that included Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Black Ambition; Allie Burns, CEO of Village Capital; and none other than “The Shark,” Daymond John. Julie VanNess, CEO of Real Leaders, opened with a speech discussing the journey of Real Leaders, and how her passion for impact business, in tandem with Real Leaders Founder Mark VanNess, ultimately culminated at UNITE. She then introduced moderator Kevin Edwards and the panel of these three industry giants, who discussed everything from how to pitch your company to what to look for in a capital partnership.

After taking questions from the rapt audience, Edwards introduced the next activity, the Real Leaders pitch competition. Two entrepreneurs, Elikem Tettey-Tamaklo, COO of Therapeutic Innovations, and Chloë Cheyenne, founder and CEO of COMMUNITYx, both had five minutes to make their pitch to the panel and to answer questions from them. We won’t tell you who won — you’ll have to wait for the video to release — but needless to say, it was an absolute whirlwind.

A Difficult Decision

After this, everyone was faced with a number of difficult choices. Multiple world-renowned speakers were giving unmissable talks, all of which you’ll be able to watch soon. Below are a list of the speakers and their topics.

Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink — Killing Complexity

Stedman Graham, Chairman & CEO of S. Graham & Associates — Identity Leadership

Peggy Shell, Founder and CEO of Creative Alignments — Fueling the Energy that Runs our World: People

Michael Whelchel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Big Path Capital — Redefining Capital for CEOs: Impactful Transitions, Raises, and Exits

Keren Eldad, CEO of With Enthusiasm Coaching — How to Blast Past Impostor Syndrome and Truly Lead

Brad Stevens, Founder and CEO of Outsource Access — An Ironic Talent Solution: How to Retain and Attract Internal Talent by Outsourcing

Matthew Weatherly-White, Chief Investment Officer of Align Impact — Shaping the Future of Capitalism

Mackey McNeill, Founder of MACKEY — Essentials for a Regret-Free Exit

After these groundbreaking sessions, everyone had a chance to catch their breath and freshen up before the main event. People gathered for cocktail hour to mingle and take their turns being interviewed on the red carpet by Kathryn Deen, Real Leaders magazine’s managing editor. Under the bright lights and cameras, these stars shone bright.

UNITE Gala Dinner

As the gala dinner began, Edwards introduced one of the harder-hitting speeches by Geoff Davis, of Sorenson Impact. Davis told the story of the conception of Sorenson, how he overcame a life-threatening disease, and ultimately what it means to be dedicated to impact work. Yet nobody could be prepared for what came next.

A video shot from the point of view of an astronaut marooned in space, on a mission to align the stars of the impact community. He hears that Real Leaders have gathered from across the globe to UNITE and spread their impact across the galaxy. He goes into hyper drive, crash lands in the San Diego bay and surfs to the shore all the while the winners of the 2024 Top Impact Companies are highlighted on screen. We watch as he dances his way all the way to Kona Kai resort with the final shot showing him enter through the very doors everyone came through from the cocktail reception. Suddenly an astronaut bursts through the actual doors in the back and runs up to the stage. He takes off his helmet. It’s none other than Kevin Edwards, president of Real Leaders. He congratulates all of the Top Impact Company winners and after his speech takes pictures on the red carpet with them. Cocktails, laughter, and bubbling conversation close out Day 2.

Add Yourself to the Short List

Thank you for taking the time to read about Day 2 of UNITE 2024. Please consider sharing it with one leader whom you think deserves to be at UNITE 2025. If you would like to be added to the short list to receive first dibs at pre-sale pricing, please add your email below. Thank you again to all of the people who made this community thrive at UNITE 2024. We can’t wait to deliver another incredible experience in 2025.

Reflecting on this past week at Real Leaders UNITE 2024 gave me hope for the future of business leadership.

First and foremost, thank you to all of our Founding Members who have been with us since 2020, and to our UNITED Partners including: Creative Alignments, Sorensen Impact Institute, SureCall Contact Centers, Priority Power, Sunrise Banks, Salas O’Brien, CentralReach, SVN, and Big Path Capital. And to the companies who came forth with fantastic sustainable gifts in our goodie bags including: PATH, Sprout World, Karun Sunglasses, WeFirst, and Conscious Ink we thank you for your creative contributions (see below). Last but not least, an extra round of applause to the formidable first-time UNITE Pass holders who conquered the rain and thrived at the Kona Kai Resort in San Diego. Thank you all!

Pictured Here: Contents from the Real Leaders UNITE 2024 Goodie Bag

What Builds Community?

There was a burning question I couldn’t fully put my finger on all throughout 2023 – the kind of question that keeps you up at night. I raised it in team meetings, during job and podcast interviews, and of course, in my confidential Real Leaders forum to gain intel and seek an answer. But even with help from some of the best minds in the world, it was a query that words alone could not answer for me. 

The question was simply: What builds community? 

Brief History

Since the pandemic, Real Leaders has transformed from solely a global business leadership publication to an online community of impact CEOs that facilitates monthly forums via Zoom, for leaders to get direct support from peers who are navigating common challenges. Members meet in groups of 8-10 each month to get guidance and better clarity with whatever is keeping them up at night. For an impact CEO, there aren’t many (if any) business communities like this where people can speak their language,  so it’s extremely helpful to know that you’re surrounded by other CEOs who truly get it. 

Establishing an Identity

Although we had served hundreds  of CEO members over the course of those 4 years, I still felt that the community’s identity hadn’t been fully established. When I asked What builds community, to others, the common answers were: people, shared-values, connection, and leadership. Surely, these attributes existed but to me, something was missing.  

Going into UNITE, I can assure you I was so focused on the event to have any space for free thought. I quite frankly had no idea what would unfold and just prayed for strength and humility. UNITE would need to take its own shape and be built by the members themselves. 

Pictured here: Real Leaders members walking to the opening reception.

Raving Reviews for UNITE

To my surprise the 3-day experience in San Diego was a massive success! I am continually receiving messages from members and speakers who shared experiences that left a lasting impact on them. For those of you who experienced UNITE, you all know what I’m talking about. For those who did not, we will have a recap video for you shortly and I encourage you to learn more.

We received comments from member CEOs such as  “Generally, I go back to business as usual afterwards. Maybe it’s all about timing, but this event was like a wrench that helped me get unstuck.” or “It would be impossible to attend Real Leaders UNITE and not be inspired” — have been sent to us throughout the weekend.

Pictured here: Kevin Edwards, Allie Burns, Felecia Hatcher, Daymond John (Left to Right) on the opening panel: How to Get Impact Capital Now.

The Secret Ingredient — Love

Isn’t that crazy? I would have never guessed I’d be writing about love. Love is for softies!

For me, the unexpected takeaway was that our members demonstrated and exemplified human qualities that are critically important in thriving businesses today; empathy, compassion, and love for one another. This simple answer to my burning question came from left field and now has me wondering why I never thought of it in the first place. It’s probably because love is often suppressed and lays dormant in all of us. It is the key ingredient that built this community and is also the one that will protect it for generations to come. Stedman Graham, one of many respected speakers at UNITE discussing “Identity Leadership” said it best “Take fear out and replace it with love and everything will shift for the better.”

Pictured here: Stedman Graham delivers a moving keynote on Identity Leadership.

Protecting the Community

I believe what differentiates UNITE from a typical event or conference is that  lasting connections are created. You didn’t just meander around, meet a few leaders, listen to a couple of motivational speakers and leave. You left feeling like you found “your people” and created everlasting relationships. I now feel a deep responsibility to protect this experience and foster its growth. Many of you sought me out after the impact awards celebration (maybe because I was wearing an astronaut suit) and encouraged me to “keep it this size” because of the quality connections that you made. So we collected your feedback and did a deep dive the next day while we were still fresh.

ReUNITE in 2025

Our team has thought long and hard about what it will take to push boundaries while maintaining a quality event in 2025. First, we wanted to make sure that those founding members (from the inaugural  event) were grandfathered into the community since qualification and pricing will undoubtedly elevate. Second, we will be capping the event attendance to preserve a quality experience at UNITE and in our community. Third, we plan to continually keep high curation standards of the speakers and sessions to provide a unique experience that you can’t find anywhere else. 

Pictured here: A lone astronaut poses with Chris Sullens, CEO of CentralReach

Building Community — Add Yourself To the Short List

Thank you for taking the time to read my open letter and please consider sharing it with 1 leader who you think deserves to be at UNITE 2025. If you would like to be added to the short list to receive first dibs at pre-sale pricing, please add your email below. Thank you again to all of the people who made this community thrive, we can’t wait to deliver another incredible experience in 2025.