It looks like Future Proof is in the process of spinning up a high-altitude counterpart. Matt Middleton leaked to a rival publication that he's preparing a "Breakthru Retreat" in Colorado Springs next spring.
This one is going to be far from the Huntington Beach venue that has taken Future Proof from experimental start-up to industry linchpin event in only two years. For one thing, it's going to start intimate and intensive: attendance capped at 500.
That's exclusive compared to the recent Future Proof, which moved over 3,000 advisors, industry observers and other financial professionals across the California boardwalk.
From the name, it's probably going to focus on the fast Breakthru meetings that made Future Proof such a dynamic and energizing experience last year. This was the "speed dating" aspect of the event, where people in the crowd could schedule a 15-minute one-on-one talk with their conversation partners of choice.
The pavilion was filled with productive chatter. A lot of people took solid business away from it: new partners, new customers, new vendors. While I am not the one who got the scoop on this (Matt told me other things, including ambitious plans for Future Proof 2024), it sounds to me like the Colorado event will deemphasize other programming tracks to let the speed daters do their thing.
To me that's a lot more efficient. Once you gather critical mass of people who are truly in it to share ideas and expand their networks, the old "broadcast" (one speaker, hundreds of passive observers) model can actually get in the way.
Five hundred industry leaders. Four conversations an hour, if the Huntington Beach model applies here. Everybody talks. Everybody listens. Up to 8,000 new relationships in an eight-hour working day.
And when you aren't networking, the Colorado venue is nice in itself. The Broadmoor. Get out there. Hike. The slopes should still be open.
Take the tram. Pretend you're in the old Royal Bank of Scotland ad where the smart banker scares off the eagle and gets them to their destination.
If you're eager to get on the list, I bet they can help you at AdvisorCircle.com.
