In 2019, Qu’s mother, a doctor in China, attended her first international medical conference in Chicago. The connections she made at the event were invaluable, but what it took just to get there—three flights and a lengthy visa process—was expensive and complicated. So Qu, a Facebook alum, and Xuan Jiang launched Run The World, an online venue for professional events. Her timing was unexpectedly (and unfortunately) perfect. In March, just one month after the platform’s official launch, live events shut down worldwide. Run The World has grown from five employees to 45 and hosted 10,000 virtual events for clients such as OpenTable and Andreessen Horowitz. The most popular feature? A virtual cocktail party in which attendees are matched for five-minute one-on-ones in what passes for schmoozing in the pandemic era. It has raised $15 million from investors including Founders Fund and actor Will Smith’s Dreamers VC.
As North America settles in for a long pandemic winter, there are bright spots on the horizon. Hundreds of them. The 600 young entrepreneurs, activists, scientists and entertainers featured in our 10th Annual Forbes 30 Under 30 give everyone reason to hope. Some are defying the odds and building businesses despite Covid-19; others are helping to fight the illness, serving on hospital front- lines or working with A.I. to discover new drugs. This year they were photographed by one of their own: Mamadi Doumbouya, a 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea who appears in this year’s Art & Style group. Collectively, our Under 30 trailblazers have raised over $1 billion in venture funding and are proof positive that ambition and innovation can’t be quarantined.
Read the full list on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2021/
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