Icons 2024 in numbers

Founder Empire

While scrolling through the 2024 Icons Substack, something caught my eye—a reflection on a dinner hosted by Gvantsa (Gwen) Karanadze K. with Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist. The headline, "The Most Ordinary Extraordinary Person," immediately stood out. It wasn’t just a catchy title, it spoke to the effort and care Gwen poured into telling a meaningful story about her guest. It’s not just hosting—it’s creating moments that celebrate the people we bring together.

2024 was truly the year of NY Icons. Gvantsa (Gwen) Karanadze and Ben Gusberg led the charge, and they absolutely nailed it. They didn’t just host dinners, they built a thriving community with structure, discipline, and purpose.

Meanwhile, the SV Icons community was equally vibrant this year. We welcomed incredible speakers like Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, and Jan Koum. We also welcomed an incredible host Elsa Bismuth, who already hosted 6 dinners in 2 months. Our star hosts Brandon Nydick and Simba Jonga kept hosting the biggest names in the universe.

What really strikes me is that Icons has now been around for three years. That’s no small feat for a community. In the Bay Area, where trends shift at lightning speed, many communities fizzle out after just a few months. But Icons has endured, and its longevity speaks volumes about the value it brings to its members.

Reflecting on 2024, what stands out most are the people—the members and hosts. Over 50 of the Icons members raised a seed round. Icons have played a role in their journeys by helping hosts build their influence or connecting members to co-founders, VCs, or potential clients.

All in all, 2024 was an incredible year for Icons. We hosted 69 dinners. We even reached >1k followers on substack without any marketing, which speaks about the content that Brandon Nydick Gvantsa (Gwen) Karanadze and Elsa Bismuth. Here’s to another impactful year ahead.

We greatly appreciate our supporters from Silkroad Innovation Hub Asset Abdualiyev Asror Arabjanov and our sponsor EffectiveSoft Alexander Kachaev.

And, of course, Icons Emeritus hosts Aizada Marat Chyngyz Dzhumanazarov James da Costa Yingkai Xu Will Agramonte+ Michelle Julia Ng, who helped us with community building

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