A Future Fest

A new business event reshaping the future of small business in our country.

Get Your Ticket

January 14-15, 2027

Charleston, South Carolina

Our Human First Experience 

A Future Fest is two days of practical workshops, thought-provoking business debates, inspiring keynotes and new friendships with small business owners across different industries.

A human-first agenda focused on raising the standard in the things that make good businesses last: customer and client experience, team development, community, reputation, and building a life outside the business.

Growing a business is one thing. Building one that can make it through the hard seasons is another.

Around 50% of businesses don’t make it past five years.

Our vision is to dramatically increase the number of businesses making it past five years by 2033.

Two days of growth for momentum that lasts the rest of the year.

Our 2027 Speakers

Join us at A Future Fest to hear from founders and builders who have created, scaled, and adjusted businesses through changing conditions. These are practical conversations about ownership, responsibility, and long-term business growth.

We are focused on a highly curated list of speakers. Additional speakers and workshops will be announced soon.

Mainstage | Jesse Itzler

A successful serial entrepreneur, Jesse’s mission is to continually raise the bar and build his LIFE RESUME. And with a passion for endurance challenges, he completed Ultraman in 2022 at the age of 53, which entails a 6.2 mile open water swim, 261.4 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run, the same year he sold his endurance hiking company, 29029 Everesting, to iFit. These things are not uncommon for Jesse, who also completed a 100 mile running race, sold Marquis Jet to Warren Buffett in 2010, and partnered with Zico Coconut Water which sold to Coca-Cola in 2013.

At the end of the day, his proudest accomplishment is his family—with 3 sons and a daughter, he and his wife, Sara Blakely (founder of SPANX), definitely have their hands full!

Featured Stage

  • Skye Michiels

    FOUNDER OF WITH HEART COACHING

  • Adrienne Crowley

    HOST OF BETTER DAYS START TODAY

  • More Speakers Coming Soon

Ticket Types

Ticket Types

A Future Fest
January 14-15, 2027
Charleston, SC

  • $1497 (Limited tickets remaining)

    Two full days of A Future Fest programming
    • Main Stage keynotes + featured talks
    • Live business debates + hands-on workshops
    • Built-in time to meet owners from across industries
    • Wednesday evening Opening Social
    (in downtown Charleston)

    Get your ticket

  • $1797

    Two full days of A Future Fest programming
    • Main Stage keynotes + featured talks
    • Live business debates + hands-on workshops
    • Built-in time to meet owners from across industries

    Coming soon

Message from our founder

It’s crazy to start a business. It’s even crazier to start one from scratch. You're in good company if you don’t want to stick to the status quo. And when you get a bunch of us owners together, the crazy thing is what once seemed impossible starts to become reality.

You may have never thought you’d spend more than a decade running a commercial and residential painting business. Maybe you took a trip to Italy and never imagined it would lead you to start your own travel agency, helping other Americans experience cultures around the world. Maybe you watched a YouTube video and five years later, you’re running your own small regenerative family farm.

That’s small business.

Despite the hard seasons, chaotic experiences, and sleepless nights, you keep going into the unknown. You keep building. You keep figuring it out.

This is the American spirit we want to preserve and grow through A Future Fest. Two days to learn from other small business owners, hear how they’ve made it through their own hard seasons, and be reminded that even though our businesses may look completely different, a lot of us are trying to figure out the same things.

Together, we’re reshaping the future of small business in our country.

-Robert-David

Our multi-venue experience

An immersive, multi-space experience anchored by a central hub for connection and collaboration, shaped by main stage & featured stage talks, and brought to life through moments shared around downtown Charleston.

  • Charleston Music Hall

    Address: 37 John St, Charleston, SC 29403

    Main stage venue with keynotes, debates, and connection zone.

  • Registration Hub (Coming soon)

    Address: coming soon

    Featured stage with workshops, talks, connections zones, breakfast, and work zones.

2027 schedule

A human-first agenda means putting the human experience first in business. You have an opportunity to decide the right ways to implement new technology in your business while reviving “old school” good business practices that preserve the human experience. Technology and AI have it’s place in business but if you’re looking for the latest AI tools and strategies to implement in your business, this business event isn’t the right one for you.

(Schedule subject to change)

Your business can only go as far as you're willing and able to take it. We're getting into the real demands of ownership.

Here's a look at the themes you can expect with our talks and workshops for Day One:

  • Raising a family while building a business | Workshop 

  • Building resilience in the hard seasons as a small business owner | Talk

  • How to protect your relationship when you’re both business owners | Workshop

  • Journaling the doubt out of your day | Talk

  • Understanding Where Your Food Comes From and How It Fuels You | Talk

Day One
Individual Accountability 

Day Two
High-Quality Ownership 

What does it take to build a business that's still thriving 10 years from now?

Day two, we're digging into the decisions that separate businesses that grow from businesses that last:

  • Keeping the human in your marketing | Workshop 

  • The competitive advantage in understanding your numbers before the economic downturns | Talk

  • Training your team on hospitality to deliver high-quality customer experience | Workshop

  • How to create a high quality customer experience that builds lasting loyalty | Talk

  • How to bring your kids into the family business | Talk

Our Hotel Partner

The Dewberry

Experience the energy of being in the center of the City of Charleston by reserving your stay at The Dewberry, The 2025 Best Independent Hotel in The World by Virtuoso. Our hotel partner is within 15 minutes walking distance to both event venues.

To upgrade your room or extend your stay into the long weekend, please contact their reservations team at reservations@dewberryhotels.com or 843-558-8000.

Reserve Your Discounted Rate

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Small business owners who want to elevate the human experience in their client & customer experience and are grateful to have a business based in America. Owners who are proud of what they’re building and want to keep building it for years to come.

    This is not an industry-specific event. We believe the best ideas come from a conversation with another owner in a different industry.

  • Your ticket includes access to both days of A Future Fest, including Main Stage keynotes, live business debates, workshops, featured talks and audience Q&As. You’ll also have access to our connection and work spaces, plus breakfast and coffee both mornings.

    Early Access tickets also include access to our Wednesday evening Opening Social on January 13.

  • Charleston International Airport (CHS). CHS offers direct flights from many major U.S. cities and is approximately 20 minutes from downtown Charleston.

  • Yes. Our hotel partner is the Dewberry The 2025 Best Independent Hotel in The World by Virtuoso. Our hotel partner is within 15 minutes walking distance to both event venues.

    You can reserve room with our discounted rate here (limited rooms available)
    To upgrade your room or extend your stay into the long weekend, please contact their reservations team at     reservations@dewberryhotels.com or 843-558-8000.

  • We are not taking speaker applications for this year.

  • You can email our team at support@afuturefest.com

    Please add the title “volunteer application” in the subject line of the email.

  • We are not offering brand sponsorships for this year’s event.

  • Please email us at support@afuturefest.com or fill out the contact form below.

COntact Us here

or email us at support@afuturefest.com