Leadership conference Millsummit pops off in Delaware, with workshops, networking and a bright new venue

The 2024 Millsummit was a whole new experience, in a whole new space.

One of the region’s major leadership and professional development conferences, Millsummit started in 2017. Over the past eight years, the Spur Impact event has taken place in different locations around Wilmington, from the traditional conference setting the Chase Center on the riverfront to The Queen, a downtown music venue that gave it a less traditional conference feel.

Over the past decade, the event’s profile has grown, and it now attracts people not just from Delaware but from all over the country. Around 300 people registered this year, per Spur Impact founder and conference organizer Charles Vincent, with another hundred or so participating virtually through livestream.

The setting was the Hercules Plaza atrium. The brightly lit space has a food hall whose eateries provided lunch — a major perk for attendees, with lots of good, made-to-order options — and where the after-event happy hour was hosted.

Unlike Millsummit’s most recent iterations, where the panels and workshops were spread out over two days, this year brought one single day full of networking, resources and expert presentations.

“Some people will say, well, I already went last year,” Vincent told Technical.ly. “But it’s really different every year.”

The towering Hercules Plaza, once the home of Hercules, Inc., made for a more “open concept” setting. 

While the upper floors still house several law firms, the building and its grand atrium have been partially vacant since Hercules dissolved in 2008. You might remember the building as the home of 1313 Innovation, a coworking space and startup accelerator founded by then-building owner Paul McConnell. 

By the start of this decade, 1313 Innovation had petered out. In 2022, the ground floor became home to the Chancery Market Food Hall and Bar by TSG Hospitality, which owns that part of the building. The atrium itself also got a refresh in recent years, making it an appealing space for conferences like Millsummit.

Scroll down to take a peek at some of the talks, tables and breakouts from the event.

After a welcome from the Millsummit co-chairs, the day kicked off with a fireside chat with Denée Crumrine, Director of Communications, Highmark Health, Highmark Blue Shield

Gloria Bell, Board President of Philly Startup Leaders, gave a talk and Q&A on building your social media brand — and being aware that future employers will be looking at it.

Evan Ehlers is the founder and CEO of Sharing Excess, gave a fireside chat about his journey to rescuing and redistributing food to help alleviate hunger.

Nick Martin, cofounder of Carbon Reform and Anshuman “Ansu” Sahoo, who leads the Climate Strategy, Analysis, and Advisory team at Capital One, gave a joint talk about green leadership.

Rob Markman, media and music executive and VP of content strategy for Genius gave the afternoon fireside chat.

Throughout the day, there were additional panels in the breakout room

There was a “Coaches Corner”

There were tables on the lower level, along with free headshots

I even stumbled on some remnants of 1313 Innovation near the restrooms:

Technical.ly was a media partner for Millsummit 2024.