Jason Preston, a co-founder of the Dent conference, believes “the staying power of an experience at an event is almost always inversely proportional to the number of people you have it with.” That assumption is the reason Preston and co-founder Steve Broback have intentionally created an intimate, invitation-only retreat that provides a variety of small-group experiences for the participants, which include entrepreneurs, investors, designers, artists, and other innovative thinkers.
Held each spring at the Sun Valley Inn in Idaho, the 200 guests begin with a day of recreational activities such as skiing, gallery tours, and parkour workshops. The small-group dynamic continues on the second night, after a day of content sessions, when guests go to dinner at local restaurants in groups of 25 with transportation provided by conference sponsor Buick. “We assign the groups, trying to optimize for compatibility and making new connections,” Broback said. “When we were first developing the event, what was paramount was what was happening on stage. But what we quickly learned was that it’s the community that emerged at the event that is paramount. People started to hang out separately and host their own dinners and meetups and gatherings. The dine-around we think was sort of pivotal in helping to create that environment.”
After realizing that many attendees had an interest in speaking at the event, organizers set aside time at the end of the conference in March for “unconference sessions” lead by attendees and selected by their popular vote. New for 2016, organizers have created an upgraded registration option, and some of that revenue is being used to fund scholarships for the conference next March. “As we have gotten to know our attendees better, we see two distinct groups. The group that has made their dent is eager to see more of the younger up-and-comers, so we thought it was natural to facilitate a scholarship program,” Broback said. “Central to that is just keeping our ear to the ground on why the attendees are there and what can enhance their experience.”
Previous: #6 Future of Storytelling
Next: #8 Adobe Max
