How Summit redefines community for entrepreneurs

Fast Company is the official media partner of Summit Detroit.

From the mouths of most companies, the word “community” amounts to nothing more than another cliched buzzword drained of any substance. But in some instances, the idea of community is so intrinsic to what the company is and stands for that the meaning behind the word evolves into something more. 

It’s why Jody Levy, CEO of Summit, had a hard time defining the word as it applies to her organization that hosts conferences and immersive experiences around the world.

“Community is not the right word. Network is not the right word. Tribe is not the right word. None of these words actually describe what being part of Summit feels like and delivers for the people that choose to show up and participate in the ecosystem,” Levy says. “It’s like choosing to be a node in an interconnected latticework of people across the planet that have certain things in common.” 

Or as Summit cofounder Brett Leve describes it: a mutual aid society for entrepreneurs. 

“If you ask anyone who started a company, on Tuesday it’s a hiring problem. On Friday, it’s a finance problem. The next week it’s a supplier issue,” Leve says. “There’s all of these things that come up, and there just aren’t a lot of go-to resources or places that train people to address those challenges. That’s where we landed on the concept of community being this panacea.”

Summit was founded in 2008 by a group of entrepreneurs looking to pool their resources and knowledge with other like minded individuals. Leve, who, at the time, was two years out of college with a business degree, understood he was still limited in what he learned on paper. 

“I don’t think any of that education gave me the tools that I needed to be an entrepreneur,” he says. “The entrepreneurial journey is so challenging. You need a very broad toolkit in order to address all of those challenges you bump up against.”

And so Summit was born as an invite-only organization using events as a way to bring members together to both educate them through curated programming touching on wellness, creativity, and beyond—but also to provide a unique atmosphere made to forge new relationships. Summit’s flagship event heads to Detroit this June 5-8 and promises to create the kind of connections it’s become known for. 

Take for example Christina Sass who, in 2012 at a Summit event, met someone who “would change the course of my life,” as she puts it. A fellow Summit member introduced Sass to Jeremy Johnson simply because they both seem interested in the same thing. “‘You two won’t stop talking about access to education,’” Sass recalls the Summit member telling her. “‘You should talk to each other about it.’ She was absolutely right.”

Fast forward two years and Sass and Johnson cofounded Andela, a marketplace for software engineers and other technical talent in emerging economies. The company grew to more than 2,000 employees and hit an annual revenue run rate of $50 million within five years of launching. 

Arturo Nunez, entrepreneur and board member of Estée Lauder and Abercrombie & Fitch, joined Summit in 2012 and says it reinforced his belief that being in the right rooms can change everything. 

“It’s not just about who you meet, but the energy, the exchange of ideas, and the way this community encourages you to think bigger, move with intention, and build with purpose,” Nunez says. “It’s a space where people don’t just dream—they execute.”

And sometimes the connections at Summit are less about front facing networking and more of an internal, personal journey.

“[Being part of Summit has] simultaneously helped me get over imposter syndrome while giving me a healthy dose of it,” says Phillip Cooley, former co-owner of Slows Bar BQ in Detroit. “It’s important to remain humble throughout life, but being in spaces with such wonderful people has also fortified my confidence and helped me trust my voice.”

It’s those stories that speak exactly to why Leve and his cofounders created Summit. 

“I’m still as inspired by the concept of it 17 years in as I was when we started,” Leve says. “It’s like a collaborative art project that changes over time. That’s the exciting part about it—every time you add someone into the mix, the whole network becomes stronger.”

Click here to learn more about Summit and apply to attend Summit Detroit this June 5-8, 2025.

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