Kara Swisher and Goldman Sachs CEO David M. Solomon chatted onstage.Photo: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Vox MediaMIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA—Vox Media recently brought hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway’s podcast franchise to life with the inaugural Pivot MIA event – a cross between a fan fest for listeners and a laid-back tech conference.
Over three days, Feb. 14-16, at 1 Hotel South Beach and Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Swisher and Galloway spoke with big names in media, finance and technology, including Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb; Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of WeWork; Meredith Kopit Levien, CEO of the New York Times; David M. Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs and more. The event was produced by Liberty & Co and sponsors included Klaviyo, TriNet, Klarna, Salesforce, SoftBank Latin America Fund, Alto and Knight Foundation.
Other Vox Media staff such as Preet Bharara, Olivia Nuzzi and Casey Newton also held interviews throughout the event, which was an extension of the brand. In 2020, Swisher and Galloway hosted a five-part virtual series, titled “Pivot Schooled,” which covered how COVID-19 had transformed the global economy.
“We wanted to make sure the audience had the opportunity to be part of the conversation, as well as use this as an opportunity to network and build their own businesses. Most of the audience were founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, VCs of companies, so we wanted to make sure they were part of the event in a really immersive and engaging way,” said Reilly.Photo: Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Vox MediaTara Reilly, vice president of experience at Vox Media, said this year’s event “seemed like a good opportunity for us to think about a new kind of conference, especially given all that’s going on in the pandemic and people looking for a bit of an escape and also a new version of what work is like for them, so that was a really good way for us to think of this as a combination of a conference, but also a bit more like a retreat in feel.
As Miami attempts to become the new Silicon Valley, organizers have tried to embrace that energy and infuse the event with the vibe of the city.
“There are several reasons why we chose Miami. The first is the most obvious in that Miami is an emerging new city for start-ups and tech companies, and it has new life. I think from that perspective, it was definitely the right fit for us,” Reilly explained. “But it’s also one of America’s most vibrant cities in terms of culture and diversity. And as Kara and Scott said themselves, everyone loves the beach.
As for the lineup, the organizers took inspiration from the tone of the podcast itself, relying on Swisher and Galloway for input regarding guest speakers. “What is point/counterpoint? What are the teaching moments? What do we want that thought leadership and provocative conversations to come out of this event and really build that momentum,” Reilly said. “Sometimes that means putting people on stage without necessarily knowing where the conversation is going. But we really want to make sure we’re giving everyone the opportunity to have a voice on stage.”
Although the event didn’t include a virtual component, the conversations are being repurposed as podcast content, which Reilly said was a natural fit.
During happy hour, past hors d’oeuvres served as a random seating assignment for dinner.Photo: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Vox MediaIn addition to discussions on stage, the 300 people present also enjoyed an interactive culinary experience presented by the Hygienic Dress League (HDL), followed by a choose-your-own-adventure-style after-party at Faena Forum. HDL is an American art duo founded by Dorota and Steve Coy, known for creating pop-up projections, guerrilla marketing campaigns, video holograms and installation art reviews. The personalized performance, titled “Museum of the Future”, immersed guests in a commentary on the future of the workplace with a gallery of objects from the “future”.
With a dystopian tone, guests were seated at long rectangular tables in the center of the space with performers circling the perimeter of the room. Guests received “future” notes containing a QR code that led to a special NFT offer. During the after-party, the guests were able to stroll between different configurations including a personalized burlesque show.
“Creating an immersive dinner was such an important goal for us to make sure we could create these organic moments where attendees could network and have an experience they had never had before,” Reilly said.
Regarding health and safety protocols for the event, Vox Media partnered with CLEAR for vaccine authentication, and all attendees were tested for COVID-19 upon arrival before receiving their credentials. Organizers also distributed home tests, allowing participants to test themselves on the second and third days.
As organizers begin to plan for next year’s event, Reilly said it was essential to adapt to attendees’ needs and their new way of working. “There’s this feeling that conferences and these types of events in the future will replace some of these one-on-one meetings that they’re planning and will replace this style of working that we had before,” she said. “How can we make this interesting for the participants? These live experiences not only need to be engaging during the event, but there also needs to be a long line afterward. It’s really important for us to think about it for next year.
See more from inside Pivot MIA below.
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