You can’t buy your way onto the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and you don’t need anyone’s permission to apply.
I made the 2021 list in Consumer Technology as a co-founder of PatientPartner. People ask me how to get on it. Here’s how Forbes actually picks the list, what our process looked like, and what I’d tell any founder who wants to make it.
The short version:
- Anyone can apply, and it’s free. You can nominate yourself or someone else. No one can pay their way on.
- You have to be 29 or younger on December 31 of the year the list comes out, and never on a Forbes Under 30 list in the U.S., Europe or Asia before.
- Reporters read every nomination. Four independent judges score the finalists in each category, and every finalist gets a background check.
- The window is short. Nominations for the 2027 U.S. list closed on September 1, 2026.
- The business is what gets you picked. Real numbers, real impact and a clear story beat everything else.
What the Forbes 30 Under 30 list is
Every year, Forbes names 600 people under 30 across 20 categories for its U.S. list. Europe and Asia have their own lists. Forbes says its nominations bring in more than 20,000 entries a year across the three, and for the 2025 U.S. list its editors and judges reviewed more than 10,000 candidates.
The categories change. Mine doesn’t exist anymore: for the 2025 list, Forbes swapped Consumer Tech and Enterprise Tech for AI and Transportation. The 2027 list has 20 categories, including new ones like Defense & Cyber Security. Check the current ones on the nominations page before you apply.
Who can apply
- Age: you must be 29 or younger on December 31 of the year the list comes out. For the 2027 list, that’s December 31, 2026.
- First time only: if you’ve been on a Forbes Under 30 list in the U.S., Europe or Asia, you can’t be named again. Forbes’s local Under 30 lists and lists by its licensees, like Forbes France, don’t count against you.
- Founders count for more: Forbes says founders get more credit than employees.
How to apply
There’s no secret door. You fill out the form on the nominations page. Anyone can nominate anyone, including themselves. Forbes gives every nomination the same weight, whether it comes from you or from a famous founder, and getting nominated more than once doesn’t help.
What helps is a strong nomination. Forbes asks for your numbers, the impact you’ve made, how you plan to scale and exactly what you and your company do. Write it the way you’d pitch an investor.
Pick the category that fits you best. Forbes’s reporters move people between categories when they need to.
It costs nothing. Forbes calls the list an editorial project and says there are no fees to apply and “no one can pay their way to secure a spot on the list.” If someone offers to get you on it for a fee, walk away.
When to apply
Nominations for the 2027 U.S. list closed on September 1, 2026. For the 2026 list, Forbes opened nominations in mid-May 2025. Recent U.S. lists have come out in late November or early December.
Forbes doesn’t tell anyone ahead of time. You find out you made it the day the list is published, along with everyone else.
How Forbes picks the list
- Reporters build a shortlist. They read every nomination, take tips from Forbes’s more than 8,000 U.S. list alumni, and ask investors, companies, universities and founders for names.
- Four independent judges score each category. Each one is a leader in their field. They score finalists on things like funding, revenue, investors, stage, inventiveness and social impact. Forbes also looks at scale and potential, and says there’s no one formula.
- Every finalist gets a background check.
Forbes is also open that money matters. Raising from strong investors or doubling your revenue in a year gets its reporters’ attention.
What our process looked like
We applied. It was a quick submission and a questionnaire. Then we had interviews.
Why do I think we were picked? Two reasons. Healthcare was a big focus during that period. And we were building a platform for human connection, not just software. PatientPartner pairs people about to have surgery with people who have already been through it. A lot of technology left the human part out. We built the whole company around it.
What it actually did for us
The biggest benefit was the network. We met incredible people, went to the events, and it opened doors when we were raising money for the business.
My advice if you want to make the list
- Don’t obsess over it. Apply, then get back to work.
- Get to know people who’ve made it. Network with past honorees and see if they’ll nominate you. Forbes asks its alumni who it should look at.
- Keep building amazing things. If you build something incredible and you’re making an impact, that will go further than anything else you can do.
- Don’t pay to get on the list. You can’t buy a spot.
- Don’t showboat. If you make it, be humble about it.
- Spend your time on the people. Connect with the others in the 30 Under 30 network more than anything else.
If you’re building something and want help getting from idea to revenue, that’s what I do. Read more about me, or get my newsletter. It comes out twice a month.