A Celebration of Human Connection
The emotions in the room were full of love and gratitude. The aim of the first Momentum Conference was to bring a community of heart-centered, mission-driven entrepreneurs together to connect, celebrate, and build momentum for 2023.
This was the first ever full-day conference hosted by Speaker Slam®, and what happened was a unique celebration of human connection.
The Event
The two-day experience opened on November 18th with a virtual pre-conference featuring Stu McLaren, Nim Stant, ShawnQ, Jason Reid, Blake Fly, Crystal Adair, and Krisha Young. On November 19th, the conference moved to the Glenn Gould Studio at 250 Front Street in Toronto, livestreamed globally, with keynotes, interactive workshops, networking segments, and the Passion Speed Share. The 2022 Grand Slam was held the same day, crowning the Inspirational Speaker of the Year.
It was Speaker Slam®'s first event at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio, the venue that has hosted every Grand Slam since.
The Speakers
Thank you to the speakers who were part of the experience: Darius Bashar, Kady Romagnuolo, Anthony Tomizza, Howard Brown, Laura Cargill Slinn, Kelley Oswin, Carol Schulte, Gina Hatzis (whose Don't Stop Believing session brought the whole room on stage), Blake Fly, Nim Stant, and Stu McLaren.
Carol Schulte held a special place in the lineup. She judged the very first Speaker Slam® event in 2016.
The conference was hosted by 8x TEDx speaker Blake Fleischacker. Watching him work the room was like watching a master at his craft, and the impromptu moments with the audience will be remembered for years.
The Partnership
A massive thank you to collaboration partner Avalon Empowerment, and to Laura Cargill Slinn, Kelley Oswin, and Ernie Pavan, for making the event possible at the Glenn Gould Studio.
A Year of Evolution
The night before, Dan Shaikh described what the Momentum Experience meant: "The last Grand Slam's theme was Rebirth, and it was the closing of a chapter for us on how we did things as a company. The beginning of this year was rough, with shutdowns and a blow to our vision of returning to live events strongly. Instead, we decided to pivot."
In one year Speaker Slam® evolved into a speaker development agency, launched the Booked & Paid program, began producing speaker reels, returned to live events with The Comeback, and saw the community co-create the book Our Yellow Brick Road. The Momentum Experience added two more firsts: a brand new competition centred on entrepreneurship and personal branding, and the first-ever conference built to give Emerging Speakers a platform to rise.
The Lesson
"This was by far the hardest we have worked to create and put something new out into the world. We learned so much on this journey and it's made us better for it. If there's a lesson here, then it's all about starting even when it's scary. Do your best and let the universe align your path."
The Momentum Conference was the culmination of everything Speaker Slam® had created and learned across seven years of competitions and events, and the seed of the Momentum membership that followed.