Travels from Los Angeles, California, USA
Alex Banayan's speaking fee falls within range: $0 to $75,000
Searching for a guide on how to create a path to success, college freshman Alex Banayan incidentally trail blazed his own when he sought out interviews from some of the world’s most reputable names in business, science, and the arts. His passion project ultimately resulted in the best-selling book, The Third Door and a career as a nationally regarded consultant on how to hack your way to the top of your industry or craft.
An eighteen-year-old pre-med student, Banayan couldn’t ignore the unnerving feeling that he was pursuing goals that his family had set for him, rather than his own. Searching for his path, he launched on a journey to find out how respected pioneers like Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg had gotten their starts. Despite tons of reading and research, the books published on these industry icons didn’t quite answer his questions, so he decided to go to the sources themselves and write the book that he wanted to read.
Faced with several obstacles, such as a lack of capital, Banayan pulled an all-nighter studying strategies for winning The Price is Right (instead of studying for his final exams which were two days later), went on the classic game show, and won a sailboat which he promptly sold in order to fund researching and writing his book. Through extensive and wild means, he procured one-on-one interviews with Lady Gaga, Larry King, Steve Wozniak, and dozens of other household names.
Banayan is a contributor to Fast Company, The Washington Post, and TechCrunch. He has shared his framework for problem solving and achieving goals at Apple, Google, Nike, IBM, Snapchat, Salesforce, Disney, and Harvard. Renowned as a top thought leader of the Millennial generation, he has been recognized as one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Business Insider’s “Most Powerful People Under 30.”
Alex Banayan is the author of national bestseller The Third Door, which chronicles his five-year quest tracking down Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Warren Buffett, Maya Angelou, Steven Spielberg, Jane Goodall, Steve Wozniak, Jessica Alba, Larry King, and dozens more of the world’s most successful people to uncover how they broke through and launched their careers.
Banayan has been named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, Business Insider’s Most Powerful People Under 30, and been featured in major media including Fortune, Forbes, Businessweek, Bloomberg TV, Fox News, and CBS News. An acclaimed keynote speaker, Banayan has presented the Third Door framework to business conferences and corporate leadership teams around the world including Apple, Nike, IBM, Dell, MTV, Harvard, and countless others.
– National Bestselling Author, The Third Door
– Forbes “30 Under 30”
– Named “World’s Youngest Venture Capitalist” by Fortune Magazine
– Thought Leader on Millennial Trends for Business
What do Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates, and Maya Angelou all have in common? Best-selling author, Alex Banayan explains the common denominator to these cultural icons’ successful breakthroughs into their respectful fields, which incidentally, was also the driving factor in his success as a writer: a concept he refers to as “the third door” of an exclusive night club.
While 99% of people pass time in line at the main door hoping they’ll get in and a select elite group slips through the VIP entrance immediately because of who they are, a minute few get in the “third door,” which is basically any entryway they can find as a result of perseverance, personal initiative, and an open mind focused on spotting opportunities in unlikely places.
“There is alway the third door,” Banayan insists. “It’s the door where you have to jump out of line, run down the alley, bang on the door a hundred times, crack open a window, or sneak in the kitchen...there is always a way in.”
Out-of-the-box thinker, Alex Banayan demystifies the scariest and most difficult steps we need to take to achieve our dreams. From start to finish, he fuels his presentations with accounts he received firsthand from dozens of industry leaders on how they made their big break. Furthermore, Banayan’s equally fascinating journey crafting his own career illustrates how he has lived the very framework he advocates for problem-solving and grinding your way to greatness and fulfillment.
Banayan’s keynotes have had far-reaching effects, acting as the catalyst for a new way of thinking. The Third Door™ framework has helped individuals discover unconventional routes to achieve their biggest dreams and has aided Fortune 500 companies to take new approaches to sales, marketing, and exponential growth.
Since the publication of The Third Door, Banayan has brought his message of possibility to millions of people in more than one hundred countries. At the core of Banayan’s mission is his belief that, “When you change what someone believes is possible, you change what becomes possible.”
Banayan is the youngest bestselling business author in American history. A renowned expert on perseverance and exponential growth, Banayan has presented the Third Door™ framework to business conferences and corporate leadership teams around the world, including Apple, Google, Nike, IBM, Snapchat, Salesforce, Delta Airlines, Mastercard, and Disney.
The Third Door chronicles Banayan’s seven-year quest to uncover the definitive mindset of success. The book is a #1 international bestseller, has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and has been acclaimed by the New York Post as “a joy to read.”
Named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list and Business Insider’s “Most Powerful People Under 30,” Banayan is his generation’s leading expert in high performance and personal development, having been featured in FORTUNE, CNBC, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Washington Post, MSNBC, Fox News, and NBC News.
Topics:
HOW TO DREAM BIGGER, ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS, AND TAKE THE THIRD DOOR (40 minute speech + 20 minute Q&A) Named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, Alex Banayan is the author of the highly anticipated business book, The Third Door, which chronicles his journey tracking down the world's most successful people to uncover how they launched their careers. Over the course of his seven-year quest, Banayan sat down with Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Jane Goodall, Jessica Alba, Maya Angelou, Pitbull, Quincy Jones, Larry King, Tim Ferriss, Tony Hsieh, Steve Wozniak—and had remarkable run-ins with Warren Buffett, Steven Spielberg, Mark Zuckerberg, and many more. After exclusive interviews and years of extensive research, Banayan uncovered the single trait every one of these leaders has in common: they all took the Third Door.
In Banayan’s most popular keynote, he takes the audience on an astonishing journey that leaves listeners inspired, empowered, and most importantly, transformed. Packed with practical business lessons—from Bill Gates’ negotiating secrets to Pitbull’s key to continued growth and reinvention—Banayan’s keynote changes the way organizations achieve their goals.
BILL GATES, WARREN BUFFETT, AND THE PRICE IS RIGHT: DECODING THE ART OF RISK TAKING (60 minute speech) Drawing from his three most popular stories—his wild quest to interview Bill Gates, how he hacked Warren Buffett’s shareholders meeting, and how he funded his book by winning the iconic game show The Price Is Right—Banayan distills the three keys any organization can use to take better and smarter risks, which is essential to organizational growth. In this widely celebrated keynote, Banayan’s framework will transform your view of risk taking from it being the enemy—to it being a friend. No matter your age, and no matter your stage, risk taking is the key to growth, innovation, and achievement—and we all need a better relationship with it. Banayan’s keynote shows us how.
THE 5 MILLENNIAL TRENDS THAT WILL TRANSFORM THE NEXT 30 YEARS OF BUSINESS (40 minute speech + 20 minute Q&A)
What will the world of business look like thirty years from now? And how will the nuanced, and often misunderstood, habits of millenials shape your company’s growth?
Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and “world’s youngest venture capitalist” Alex Banayan has the answers. In this wildly insightful and mind-expanding presentation, Banayan expounds on topics ranging from the pervasiveness of artificial reality to the automation revolution. Weaving in examples from Snapchat to Tesla, Banayan shows us how the products millenials are obsessed with clue us in to the habits his generation will perpetuate over the coming decades.
Whether you are a corporate executive looking to better understand your millennial employees or you are an investor searching for future market trends, Banayan’s keynote will provide you with the insights you want and the answers you need.
“As the host and keynote speaker of our annual IBM Amplify conference, Alex Banayan’s passion was exactly what we needed to energize our corporation at such a pivotal time in our transformation.” -IBM
“When Banayan spoke at my department’s off-site, his energy was contagious, his stories were inspiring, and his ideas pushed my team’s leadership. If you’re looking for someone with insight and passion, then Alex Banayan is your man.” -NIKE
“Alex Banayan is an unbelievable storyteller. He is thoughtful, engaging, and dynamic. Banayan represents the voice of entrepreneurship, the power of hustle, and the energy of unlimited potential.” -APPLE
“Alex Banayan’s keynote and Q&A was one of the best our organization has ever had. It had people buzzing for months. Alex is a speaker with inspiring passion, unbelievable stories, and immensely practical lessons.” -Harvard Ventures
“Everything went really well – standing ovation! [Everyone] really enjoyed it and the feedback was very good.” -K2 Elite Mastermind Business Accelerator
“Alex Banayan’s keynote at the Alabama YP Summit was a wonderful example of one person’s story of dedication and perseverance. The presentation was not only engaging and hilarious, but also delivered a lasting and poignant message. Truly remarkable!” -Alabama YP Summit
“The event was a wonderful success! We’ve received nothing but positive feedback from students, faculty, and staff. Alex’s speech was full of energy and his interaction with the students afterward generated a great deal of interest and enthusiasm.” -Lamar University
“Alex was absolutely fantastic – what a 23 year old! His energy and confidence knows no bounds, he got the whole audience engaged and interacting, including the more cynical ones of us!” -Reed Exhibitions
“Banayan is the world’s youngest venture capitalist…He’s also the youngest author signed at Crown Business, a Random House imprint, and probably the only college student in the world to have received offers from MTV (for his own reality-TV show) and from a singer-songwriter at Interscope Records (to manage him) and turned both down…He wants, he says, to change the world.” -Fortune
“Alex Banayan is one of the most collaborative, inquisitive, and thoughtful people I’ve crossed paths with. I’m fortunate to know him and I admire his natural ability to inspire and motivate others.” -Global Lead of Education Communications at Dell
“Alex Banayan’s energy lights up a stage and brings an event to life.” -The Summit Series Conference
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The Third Door: The Wild Quest to Uncover How the World’s Most Successful People Launched Their Careers
The larger-than-life journey of an 18-year-old college freshman who set out from his dorm room to track down Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, and dozens more of the world’s most successful people to uncover how they broke through and launched their careers.
The Third Door takes readers on an unprecedented adventure–from hacking Warren Buffett’s shareholders meeting to chasing Larry King through a grocery store to celebrating in a nightclub with Lady Gaga–as Alex Banayan travels from icon to icon, decoding their success. After remarkable one-on-one interviews with Bill Gates, Maya Angelou, Steve Wozniak, Jane Goodall, Larry King, Jessica Alba, Pitbull, Tim Ferriss, Quincy Jones, and many more, Alex discovered the one key they have in common: they all took the Third Door.
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