Davos Shattered My Dream and the Bazaar Fixed It
I went to Davos dreaming I would meet and talk to the world’s smartest people, the most influential, who are trying to solve the biggest problems facing us from refugee crisis to income inequality.
Dream shattered
My dream shattered on Day 1 of landing in Davos. I found that the Davos that I know was a tightly controlled closed event — a few rich and famous met behind closed doors, and hierarchies via the badge system made sure the system didn't break. Even worse, it was mostly an old boys club where women were objects, and status and money got you in. A well meaning Davos long-timer told me that with my looks and spunkiness I would be sitting in Bono’s lap by the end of the week so I shouldn't fret about access. What!?
Real Davos happens outside Davos
In peoples minds the image of Davos is a bunch of stuffy, rich people sitting on a panel. In reality this represents only a tiny sliver of Davos. The two thousand elites at Davos are in fact the attendees of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
I very quickly discovered that the real party is outside — they call it the Fringe Davos.
Ten times as many people attend the Fringe. In addition to the WEF attendees, there are opinion makers, free thinkers, and connectors who all come to meet each other. There is networking and problem solving that happens. And drinking, singing, dancing. Did I mention the Piano Bar?
Along with our partners, CNBC and TechCrunch, we at Tradeshift, celebrated the Fringe. Kevin Spacey, Jimmy Wales, Ariana Huffington, CEO of Siemens (Joe Kaiser), CEO of Renault (Carlos Ghosn), Bibop from Hyperoop and many more all came and openly networked at the Fringe.
The Secret to Davos
Most people who are in Davos for the first time have no idea of why they are there and what to expect. They often try to cram their week with back-to-back meetings with the most “important” people they can reach. The repeat visitors can be equally clueless unless they have discovered the secret.
The secret to Davos is serendipity.
The CEO of the one of the world’s largest real estate company told me that he too felt lost year after year coming to Davos. He finally gave up and left his schedule open 3 years ago. And then he discovered the magic. He started meeting interesting people from very different backgrounds solving very different problems. He now swears by the magic of Davos.
The Bazaar of the Fringe Davos
Fringe Davos is special because its a place that gathers truly diverse people from all over the world.
All of these people have one thing in common — they are on a mission to change the world in some way. The Bazaar of the Fringe Davos is where you meet new friends, build stronger relationships, exchange ideas.
The world is NOT going to be changed by only a small group of rich and famous — the next innovations, new thoughts and ideas will come from unlikely people that dare to dream.
If you are on a mission to change the world in any way, go to Davos next year and experience the power of the Bazaar at the Fringe.
