Co-founder Stu Chapman shares his thoughts on our 2024 CEO Summit, held this September in Tuscany. But first, please enjoy some video highlights:
The Inside Scoop
Let me kick this off with a confession: I cheated at the Bike Ride challenge during the CEO Summit. Yes, it's true. Not only did I opt for the 50km course instead of the 65km route, but I also used an electric bike. While our CEOs huffed and puffed their way up the hills, I cruised along with ease. Am I proud of this? Not particularly. But it's out in the open now.
This was our third CEO Summit, and the core mission remains unchanged: create an environment where CEOs can share, learn, and support one another. For us at Molten, it's about deepening the emotional ties with these leaders, offering guidance, and motivating them to excel. We aim to create a setting where the bonds with Molten grow stronger, and our CEOs leave with renewed energy to tackle what lies ahead.
The formula is simple: set the right tone, make people feel comfortable, then push them physically and mentally. When people are out of their comfort zones, their defences drop, and that’s when the real connections and learning begin. Pulling this off takes meticulous planning, and we're incredibly lucky to have an exceptional team at the helm.
This year we asked: ‘What if you succeed?’
The theme for this year's Summit was refreshingly positive: "What happens if it goes right?" After two years of navigating cost cuts, a tough fundraising environment, and general market challenges, this was a shift in the conversation. We’ve seen a stabilisation in the market, and the mood of the CEOs was more forward looking. So as an exercise, we asked the CEOs to envision success, projecting their companies 30 years into the future to speculate what this might look like…
An AI-enabled film – set in 2054 – about what happens if companies do win. How the technology being developed today will, as our purpose at Molten clearly lays out: ‘push things forward and make the world better’. The result was a rare view into how interconnected tapestry of technologies. The joy of focusing on positive outcomes was palpable throughout the room.
For me, the true value of these events lies in the quieter moments. The real magic happens not in the conference room, but during casual conversations—whether on the beach, on a bike, or at the bar. Take, for instance, the moment when the CEOs of Lyst (luxury fashion) and Lifesum (health and wellness) discovered they serve the same customer profiles. These connections may be hard to quantify, but I believe this is where the event's real impact lies.
By the time I stood in front of the group on Thursday night, the atmosphere had shifted toward optimism. The struggles of the past two years hadn’t vanished, but there was a renewed sense of purpose and momentum. Each of our portfolio companies presented positive business opportunities.
Thursday night ended with a special moment—presenting Eric Mayers founder of Endomag with a "golden" (definitely not yellow) cycling jacket in recognition of Endomag's successful exit this year.
Eric was full of praise for the entire Molten team that supported him along the way. You might think Eric would be taking a well-deserved break after such an achievement, but no. He’s already back at it, and eager to help Molten find the next wave of winning investments.
That’s the answer to the question we asked at the Summit: what happens when you succeed? Success for us at Molten means building an ever-growing community of champions who continue to drive our shared progress through their lasting connections and contributions.
As we move forward, the takeaways from the CEO Summit are clear. There's a collective optimism that things can and will go right if we focus on today, and that the tough times we've weathered have only made us more prepared for what's to come. With the connections made and lessons learned, I’m confident the future for Molten and our portfolio is bright.
Let’s keep pushing, keep innovating, and keep asking ourselves, “What if you succeed?”