“Leadership, Culture, Storytelling, Life, Disruption; these things don’t happen by accident, they happen by design.” — Mike Smith

Pick one keynote or stack multiple themes for a custom day:

• Leadership By Design: Challenge the status quo and turn values into vision through disruptive, thought-provoking exercises.

• Culture By Design: Use language, experiences, and space to create authentic culture and drive results.

• Life By Design: Prototype your next chapter in life with confidence using practical design thinking tools.

• Disruption By Design: Use design thinking tools to break the rules inside the lines.

• Character By Design: Explore and define who you’re becoming; prototype the kind of person you want to be, learn fast, and turn what you learn into everyday habits.

Perfect for: Any audience, corporate events, industry leaders, educators, foundations, brands, etc.

“Mike was the perfect kickoff to our conference! His energy and talk kept attendees talking not only throughout the conference, but also long after they had returned home.” — Lilly Uhlmann, Nebraska Tourism

Mike has taken the unconventional route in business, storytelling, and life, from skateboarding across Nebraska three times, to turning a forgotten warehouse into The Bay and Bay High, to filming an award-winning adventure on rural backroads and creating unforgettable human experiences along the way. He shows audiences how overlooked places, underutilized spaces, scrappy ideas, and unlikely stories can become their unfair advantage.

This keynote gives a misfit-minded lens for tourism, brands, and entrepreneurs who want to turn hidden corners, local culture, and limited resources into experiences people can’t stop talking about.

Perfect for: Tourism, adventure/outdoors, entrepreneurship, and entertainment.

“Mike taught me how to scale it and fund it. We are reaching more kids in more places than ever before.” — Coach Cooley, Pushin’ Forward

Somewhere to go. Something to do. People who care. This keynote unpacks the mindset and ingredients behind building real third places for youth in your community. Mike shares how a scrappy idea in Lincoln, Nebraska became The Bay and Bay High, — a Harvard Business Review featured “Third Space for Misfits” — and what he’s learned from 15 years as an award-winning founder and entrepreneur.

Audiences learn how to reimagine abandoned malls, empty community centers, unused warehouses, and parking garages; and how to think differently about programming, data, design, and innovation. This keynote shares research and a field guide for community leaders on how to design and create the third places your young people have been asking for.

Perfect for: After school leaders, foundations, designers, higher education, Parks & Recreation, youth culture and development.

Attendees leave with:

• Education: A clear grasp of what third places are, where they work, and the core formula for success: Somewhere to go, something to do, and people who care.

• Ideas: Tangible, community-driven concepts on where to build, how to activate, and who to partner with first.

• Next steps: Clarity on the three biggest obstacles and a “best next options” plan to start making real progress after the event.