Meet Michael Weiss | Owns conference organizer business

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Weiss and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, how do you think about risk?
In the United States, taking risk with a career isn’t all that risky. In other words, if your business fails you are going to survive. Even if you run out of money or accrue some debt, both of which I’ve done, you are still going to survive.

That “you are going to survive” perspective helps me take on risk by realizing the stakes aren’t as high as my monkey brain would have me believe.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I tried to bring the Worlds Fair back for 3 years. We organized these mini Worlds Fairs called Worlds Fair Nano, which were 5,000-10,000 person technology festivals. We did four of them, 2 in NYC and 2 in SF. Very cool events, but didn’t make enough cash to finance growth.

In 2018 we were out of money and made the tough decision to ditch the Worlds Fair path. We launched Ai4, which is a business conference focused on artificial intelligence. We made the decision to focus on AI b/c we knew from Worlds Fair Nano that AI was at the center of 21st century technology development, then we chose business people since we figured they’d be more valuable to sponsors. It was a tough choice b/c while I was interested in AI, I didn’t have a particular passion for business conferences, so the decision was comprise my personal interest in order to make a good financial choice.

We held the first Ai4 event in 2018 and it’s done very well, allowing us to finance the growth of this conference business. The event has grown into the leading AI industry conference in the U.S.

The difficulty for me has been in navigating the balance between internal motivation (fulfillment) and external motivation (money).

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Austin is great. Moved here last year from NYC. If you visit or move, hit me up.

As far as where to go…to outdoor scene is great here, parks, swimming, paddle sports. For parks, Zilker Park is the biggest and is great, Auditorium Shores is cool and has a view of downtown, and then my favorite is Commons Ford Park- off the beaten path, but worth it. Also go to Barton Creek for a swim in a natural pool (it’s cold).

Def play some pickle ball. Go to Pan Am park for that.

e 6th is great for bars- Whistlers for a cocktail, the backyard a Latchkey is fun late night. Closer to down, Barbarellas is great for dancing. Cheer Up Charlies is a good time. Coconut Club is fun too (although I think it’s closing soon).

Food scene is solid, tacos for days… Suerte is great mexican, kind of a fancier mexican spot. Granny’s is awesome taco truck. Greater Goods is nice for coffee.

Enjoy!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Many shoutouts.

There’s a book that set me down a path of building my own company. It’s called “The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson. I became fascinated with Worlds Fair history after reading that book, which inspired me to started history’s first privatized effort to organize a 6-month Worlds Fair in the United States. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-17/bringing-the-world-s-fair-back-to-the-u-s-#xj4y7vzkg). Thanks Erik for writing a great book :).

Thanks partner Ally Sprague for supporting me over the years.

Thanks friend Marcus Jecklin for joining me in 2016 to pursue that lofty goal.

Thanks parents Ayda and Jay for not dissuading me from taking on a risky project.

Thanks friends Max and Mazz for continued support.

xo

Website: https://ai4.io/usa

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-j-weiss-9522a8181/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ahumanmichael

Other: Substack: https://michaelweiss.substack.com/ DM me on twitter or linkedin to get in touch!