Cleveland chosen as 1 of first 10 cities ever to feature local Forbes 30 Under 30 lists with nominations open now, and flagship summit to be held here

CLEVELAND — Forbes Magazine has selected Cleveland as one of 10 cities where, for the first time ever, local versions of its famed 30 Under 30 lists will be announced, and has also chosen our city to host its flagship Under 30 summit in October.

Forbes is working to honor Northeast Ohio's young entrepreneurs, leaders and changemakers in categories including Business, Art & Culture, Food, Retail, Entertainment, Impact and Tech.

In being chosen, Forbes referred to Cleveland as a "vibrant innovation hub" alongside Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Puerto Rico, Seattle and Toronto.

“When reporting on our Under 30 North America list, we’ve seen an uptick of founders hailing from many of these places,” said Forbes Deputy Editor Kristin Stoller. “We want to shine a light on the next generation of leaders in some of the most up-and-coming locations for entrepreneurship.”

Nominations for a chance to appear on one of these lists are open now through June 9, with honorees announced in August. 

In October, Cleveland will host Forbes' flagship Under 30 Summit featuring its national honorees over four days at the Cleveland Public Auditorium. (These honorees have already been selected at the national level, and the conference is open to anyone who purchases a ticket.)

The full list of categories where Cleveland honorees will be named in August includes art and style, media, entertainment, social media, science, sports, healthcare, energy, enterprise tech, consumer tech, music, finance, food and drink, social impact, manufacturing and industry, venture capital, marketing and advertising, retail and e-commerce, games, and education. 

You can submit a nomination for someone to be included in one of these lists here.

Nomination guidelines:

• Nominees must be 29 or younger on August 9, 2023, and have never appeared on an Under 30 list before.
• Nominees must reside in or have their business based in the following areas: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Puerto Rico, Seattle or Toronto.
• Those who appear on the final Under 30 Local Lists are still eligible for future Forbes lists, including the Forbes 30 Under 30 North America, Europe and Asia lists. Nominations for these lists have now opened here.
• The deadline for nominations is 11:59 p.m. ET on June 9, 2023.
• To source candidates for the list, Forbes writers and editors comb through these online submissions, as well as tap industry sources and list alumni for recommendations. Candidates are evaluated by Forbes writers and a panel of independent, expert judges on a variety of factors, including (but not limited to) funding, revenue, social impact, scale, inventiveness and potential.