Forbes Magazine admitted three alumni to the Forbes North America Under 30 List on Nov. 28. Harry Gestetner ’18 and Simon Pompan ’18 were selected for social media, and Larry Zhang ’14 was selected for consumer technology.
The list recognized 600 leaders within 20 different industries, including art and style, media, entertainment, education and science. Honorees were selected from a 20,000-nominee pool, featuring candidates from North America, Europe and Asia.
Zhang co-founded Bandana, a modern media search platform that aims to provide users with more transparent information regarding wage-based jobs. Now featuring a 50,000-user population, Zhang said Bandana was founded as a result of his personal struggles in finding a job.
Gestetner and Pompan founded Fanfix, a subscription-based social media platform for digital creators to monetize their content. After becoming friends in high school, Gestetner and Pompan founded Fanfix in their sophomore year of college and sold it to talent agency SuperOrdinary for an estimated 65 million dollars in their senior year, according to Forbes.
Gestetner said being recognized by Forbes was the culmination of multiple years of hard work and dedication to entrepreneurship.
“There’s a lot of hard work behind the scenes,” Gestetner said. “[Forming a business] takes longer than you think. We’ve been doing this for work in this business for three years now. It was very rewarding and amazing to see our achievements recognized because it was a representation of hard work over a multi-year period.”
Gestetner said Fanfix’s appeal comes from its ability to give creators a greater stake in deciding where their income originates.
“[Fanfix] is incredibly empowering for our creators because we have shifted the balance of power from the large conglomerates, like Meta or ByteDance, back to the creator,” Gestetner said. “These are creators [who are] monetizing directly from their most loyal fans, and they don’t have to rely on brand deals or ad revenue.”
Pompan said he attributes his success in the business world to the work ethic and relationships he developed at the school.
“Harvard-Westlake impacted my career and how I make decisions,” Pompan said. “I was a member of the lacrosse team and the basketball team, so managing my time effectively is something that has brought over into the real world and that [I] use daily.”
Pompan said having his name on the list will give him opportunities to expand his social and business connections.
“Being on the Forbes list allows you to engage with other Forbes members who have gone before you and [in] other categories,” Pompan said. “[It is] something I could leverage in the future. [I can] build meaningful relationships that could turn into something much more.”
Gestetner said the school’s Venture program helped prepare him for his career.
“I was very involved in Venture, and [it was] incredible to get exposure to LA-based entrepreneurs [and] Harvard-Westlake alumni entrepreneurs,” Gestetner said. “[Venture Advisor Rob Levin] and [Head of Communications and Venture Teacher Ari Engelberg ’89], in particular, were very important in showing us the path to being a successful entrepreneur.”
Engelberg, who served as an advisor for Fanfix, said Gestetner and Pompan showed a deep determination for success from the beginning of their career.
“[Gestetner] and [Pompan] have had a ‘Why not us ?’ attitude from the beginning and have backed it up with hard work and good decisions,” Engelberg said. “It’s hard to start a company and be successful, but from the beginning, [Gestetner] and [Pompan] have put in the work.”
Head of External Relations Ed Hu said the fact that multiple alumni are selected yearly for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list serves as a testament to the school’s academic and social excellence.
“For the last six or seven years, multiple Harvard-Westlake alums have been on that list which is pretty astounding,” Hu said. “I think [that] speaks to the kind of people that we’re putting out in the world and [the kind of impact] they’re having in so many different areas, whether it’s in media, technology or social media. It makes us proud of the kind of people that are graduating.”
