A core part of Fast Company’s Innovation Festival has always been our panel discussions where today’s top business leaders take the stage to share advice, experience, and learnings with attendees.
But Festival-goers also find value in learning by doing and getting their hands dirty (sometimes literally . . . there will be a bonsai bar this year).
We’ve put together a list of 12 sessions you don’t want to miss next week, in honor of 12 years of Innovation Festival.
The best way to take advantage of being in New York City for the week is through our Fast Track programming: our version of field trips for attendees. Venture into the offices and headquarters of some the most innovative companies in Manhattan and Brooklyn for immersive, behind-the-scenes experiences.
Here are some of the Fast Tracks you don’t want to miss:
Democratized Distribution: The New Playbook for Brand-Led Entertainment
Hosted by Wavelength
Entertainment used to require gatekeepers. Today, distribution is more accessible than ever, giving brands new ways to reach audiences through streaming platforms, creator ecosystems, podcasts, social video, and emerging channels. But while distribution has become easier, earning attention has become much harder.
Join Wavelength for a conversation exploring how democratized distribution is creating new opportunities for brands to craft premium content and entertainment that audiences actively seek out. The event will include light refreshments, giveaways, and networking following the discussion.
Exploring Personal Presence and Professional Impact
Hosted by Anine Bing and The Style That Binds Us
What does it really take to command a room, build trust instantly, and lead with authenticity in a world that’s moving faster than ever? The mother-daughter duo Alison Bruhn and Delia Folk of The Style That Binds Us pull back the curtain on the strategy behind personal presence, the subtle but powerful cues of style, posture, and polish that shape how leaders are perceived before they say a word. Attendees will get hands-on style demonstrations inside Anine Bing’s curated collection, walking away with actionable strategies for translating personal impact into professional influence, whatever industry they’re in. Expect real talk, real styling, and a room full of ambitious people ready to connect.
Where Sauna Culture and Social Wellness Intersect
Hosted by Bathhouse
There’s a reason bathhouses have existed in nearly every culture across human history, and Bathhouse is updating the experience to meet modern design and hospitality standards. Join Bathhouse Flatiron to discover how the company has turned contrast therapy into New York’s ultimate social ritual.
This Fast Track begins with a 30-minute candid Q&A with cofounder Jason Goodman to learn how he and his cofounder, Travis Talmadge, turned a passion for sauna into one of New York City’s most innovative wellness concepts. Attendees will then enjoy a 15-minute aufguss: a performance that uses heat, essential oils, and music for a multisensory sauna session. Next, enjoy an hour and 15 minutes of open access to move freely between the facility’s thermal pools, cold plunges, saunas, and steam room. Please bring your swimwear and water bottle. Bathhouse will take care of the rest.
Behind Edge NYC’s Transformation into a Year-Round, All-Weather Experiential Destination
Hosted by Edge NYC, Journey, Moment Factory, and SOFTlab
Edge NYC, the highest indoor and outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, this summer unveiled an all-new indoor experience in partnership with Journey, Moment Factory, and SOFTlab. Representing the largest transformation of Edge since its opening in 2020, this multimillion-dollar investment brings the magic of the skyline indoors year-round with seven playful, colorful installations designed for discovery, photography, and social sharing, including NYC’s largest kaleidoscope—a room filled with endless reflections and vibrant colors, where every angle reveals a completely new view.
Join Edge and its collaborators for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at how this new immersive experience was conceived and created, taking guests “beyond the view” with a once-in-a-lifetime New York City moment. Discover how cutting-edge physical design, light, sound, and digital media come together to create NYC’s newest, most memorable entertainment destination.
The Future of Natural Health and Movement at Vivobarefoot
Hosted by Vivobarefoot
What if the future of health starts by reconnecting us with our natural biology? Hosted at Vivobarefoot’s new SoHo flagship, this intimate Fast Track explores how movement, sensory connection, and nature can reshape the way we think about human health and performance. Guests will hear from leading voices in natural health, and experience Vivobarefoot’s approach firsthand through interactive foot health and movement experiences. Join a community of innovators for conversation, connection, and a chance to experience the future of footwear from the ground up. Personal foot health and gait analysis, 3D scanning and fitting, and food and drinks will be provided.
Read the Room Before You Write the Brief
Hosted by Wieden+Kennedy
Every single day, leaders and brand builders face complicated, high-stakes questions that don’t fit neatly into a creative brief or a management consulting deck. And in today’s climate, they’re all stuck with the same bad choice: Play it safe and disappear, or take a swing and risk becoming the next viral news subject and case study. This session takes a look at how the real advantage belongs to leaders who understand different markets, culture, geopolitics, and stakeholders before the big idea gets pitched, not after it blows up. Drawing on what’s happened this year to some of the biggest and most famous brands, Brian Williams, managing director, brand advisory at Wieden+Kennedy, breaks down five habits any founder, creative, or brand leader can use to make braver work that survives contact with the real world.
Audience members will participate in a live idea review, putting to work fresh perspectives they’ll actually use on Monday. They can also network with other attendees and enjoy light bites and drinks served before and after the session.
Protecting Place and Celebrating Community Through Collaborative Public Art
Hosted by ArtBridge
Join ArtBridge for an immersive Fast Track experience at Baruch Houses, the largest New York City Housing Authority development in Manhattan, for a walking tour and Q&A that explores how public art can transform critical infrastructure into a canvas for identity, pride, and storytelling.
After the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy, Baruch Houses underwent significant resiliency upgrades, including the construction of new flood walls designed to protect the residences from future storms. Through a collaborative public art initiative, ArtBridge worked alongside Baruch Houses residents and local NYC artists Kat Lam (@lamkat) and Marissa “Minhafofa” Molina (@minhafofa) to reimagine these protective structures as vibrant public artworks shaped by the people who call Baruch Houses home. Attendees will engage with the murals that pay homage to the Baruch Houses community and hear from Camille Napoleon, president of the tenants association, who calls the art “lifesaving.”
This guided tour will take attendees through the completed artworks of Lam and Molina to explore the collaborative process behind them, accessing a behind-the-scenes look into how ArtBridge approaches public art as a tool to amplify community voices and connect residents to their surrounding neighborhood. Participants will gain insight into the process of community-developed artwork and the people creating public art across New York City.
Additional sessions include solving design challenges with Girl Scouts of the USA, touring Wonder’s kitchens and taste-testing the company’s recipes, and watching a live recording of All Things Considered put on by WNYC. Be sure to check the Fast Tracks page on our Festival website for a full list of experiences!
And if you’re hoping to take a break from panels but don’t want to leave the programming hub, there are plenty of immersive activities to choose from happening right at Innovation Festival’s home base:
Experiential Lab with Piera Gelardi: A Creative Play Break for Your Brain
Featuring Piera Gelardi, Cofounder and CEO; Cofounder, NoomaLooma; Refinery29, 29Rooms
We talk a lot about creative thinking in business—but how often do we actually practice it? This high-energy experiential lab treats creativity like a muscle: something you strengthen through repetition, experimentation, and play—and the author and creative entrepreneur Piera Gelardi is your personal trainer. Drawing from her book The Playful Way, Gelardi will lead you through a series of quick, low-stakes “creative interval training” exercises designed to loosen rigid thinking, make unexpected connections, and get ideas flowing. You’ll leave with a practical tool kit of creative exercises you can pull out before a big meeting, brainstorm, or anytime you find yourself stuck in the same old way of thinking.
Experiential Lab with Levi’s: The Future of Fashion Is Already in Your Closet
Featuring Paul Dillinger, Head of Global Design Innovation, Levi Strauss & Co.
The most sustainable thing in your closet might be the clothes you already own. In this experiential lab, Paul Dillinger, head of global design innovation at Levi’s, will explore how to rethink fashion’s throwaway culture through better design, circularity, and one deceptively simple idea: make clothes last. Then you’ll put that idea into practice. Inspired by Levi’s Wear Longer Project, you’ll learn the basics of repairing and refreshing preworn Levi’s garments—with guidance from experts who know how to give old denim new life. You’ll leave with a one-of-a-kind repaired piece and a new appreciation for the power of wearing, caring for, and reimagining what you already have.
Experiential Lab with Bonsai Bar: The Art of Slowing Down
Featuring Jessica Cauttero, National Director, Private Events, Bonsai Bar
So much of our lives are spent on screens, moving from one thing to the next, that it’s easy to forget the simple pleasure of slowing down and making something with our hands. Bonsai Bar is bringing that feeling back—one tiny tree at a time. Founded in 2021 as a series of pop-up workshops at New England breweries, Bonsai Bar has since grown into a nationwide movement, teaching more than 100,000 people how to make and care for their own bonsai. In this experiential lab, you’ll get your hands dirty as you learn to pot, shape, and style your own tree—all while tapping into your creativity, connecting with new people, and taking a much-needed break from the digital world. No experience necessary. No artistic talent required. Just come ready to slow down, make something, and have some fun!
Pleasure Principles: Flamingo Estate’s Guide to Slowing Down
Featuring Richard Christiansen, Founder, Flamingo Estate
In a culture obsessed with optimization and speed, Richard Christiansen is building a business around a radical proposition: What if we slowed down? The founder of Flamingo Estate has transformed his Los Angeles home and garden into a global brand spanning food, fragrance, beauty, and ritual—all designed to reconnect people with the natural world and the simple pleasures of everyday life. In this conversation, Christiansen shares how he turned a personal obsession with nature into a distinctive and rapidly growing business, why prioritizing pleasure can be a radical act, and what the garden has taught him about creativity, taste, and building brands.
And the conversation won’t end once guests leave the room. You’ll take home a little piece of the Flamingo Estate philosophy with a curated gift designed to inspire you to slow down, get your hands dirty, and grow something of your own.
A Brand Called You: How to Amplify Your Authentic Self
Featuring Julie “Hesta Prynn” Slavin, DJ and licensed clinical therapist
Before you can build a personal brand, you have to get clear on what you actually want—and how to get there. As part of Fast Company’s “A Brand Called You” track, DJ and licensed clinical therapist Julie “Hesta Prynn” Slavin leads this interactive workshop designed for high-performing executives and creators. Through a blend of neuroscience, music, and writing prompts, you’ll leave with both greater clarity about the future you want to create and one clear, actionable strategy designed to move you toward it.
There’s still time to grab tickets to Innovation Festival, which will take place from Sept. 14–17 at Convene at Brookfield Place. See you there!