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PATRICK MCGINNIS

Decision-Making & Influence Thought Leader, Creator of the Term FOMO, Podcaster, Entrepreneur & Nasdaq Board Member

  • Creator of the concept FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), which is listed in all major dictionaries, and FOBO (Fear of a Better Option), both widely covered in global media including The New York Times, El País, El Mercurio, and TED
  • Author of the bestsellers The 10% Entrepreneur and Fear of Missing Out
  • Regular speaker at Google, IPG, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Paramount+, MercadoLibre, YPO, and Brilliant Minds
  • Expert in persuasion, influence, and marketing strategies based on behavioral economics
  • Fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and has given talks in more than 30 countries

Dubbed a "pop entrepreneur" by New York magazine, Patrick J. McGinnis is a venture capitalist, bestselling author, and creator of the hit podcast FOMO Sapiens, whose work centers on the intersection of decision-making, influence, and entrepreneurship.

He coined the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and its lesser-known twin, FOBO (Fear of a Better Option), in a 2004 article at Harvard Business School. FOMO has since been added to the dictionary, and FOBO was the subject of Patrick's popular TED Talk "How to Make Faster Decisions." The New York Times, Le Monde, FT, and El País have covered his work on FOMO, FOBO, and decision-making.

The author of The 10% Entrepreneur: Live Your Startup Dream Without Quitting Your Day Job and Fear of Missing Out: Practical Decision-Making in a World of Overwhelming Choice, Patrick is the brand ambassador for Latin American tech titan MercadoLibre's award-winning "Fear of Missing Audience" campaign. Additionally, Patrick appears in the cautionary crypto documentary This is Not Financial Advice, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Patrick began his career with private equity and venture capital investing roles at JPMorgan and was among the first investors in MercadoLibre and Despegar. He continues that work today as a public board member on the Nasdaq and as the founder of The xQuotient, an executive coaching firm that works with founders and investors in Latin America, the United States, and MENA.  

A graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Business School, Patrick has visited more than 120 countries and is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Patrick tailors each presentation to the needs of his audience and is not limited to the topics listed below. Please ask us about any subject that interests you:

  • Decision-making and leadership in uncertain times
  • FOMO, FOBO & the science of persuasion
  • Entrepreneurial thinking and innovation culture
  • Urgency, scarcity, and consumer behavior
  • Emotional intelligence in finance and investing

Signature Keynote: Leading with Conviction in the Age of FOMO

At a time of global and technological change when every opportunity feels urgent, and every competitor feels closer, decision-making has become the defining leadership challenge. In this interactive keynote, you’ll learn how fear-based decision-making, in particular FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and FOBO (Fear of a Better Option), is limiting how leaders think, act, and communicate under pressure. Drawing on cutting-edge psychology, behavioral economics, and real-world case studies, this session unpacks how FOMO and FOBO distort judgment, accelerate timelines, fuel reactive strategy, and quietly erode conviction. More importantly, you’ll gain practical tools to lead with clarity instead of comparison, make high-stakes decisions without getting lost in the noise, and build a culture that converts urgency into execution rather than chaos. Whether you are scaling a company, steering policy, managing investors, or guiding a team through uncertainty, you will leave with a framework for turning FOMO from a liability into a leadership advantage.

Signature Keynote: This is [Your Industry] on FOMO

Are you a CEO navigating a wave of industry consolidation? A leader worried about being left behind in the AI arms race? An investor watching in disbelief as peers pour money into things that make no sense? Whatever your challenge, there is a universal force that breaks down what’s going on: FOMO. FOMO is the force behind asset bubbles, speculative mergers, and poor strategic decisions in a wide range of industries, from the corporate world to finance, government, entrepreneurship, and non-profit. In this highly customized session that tailors the lessons offered by FOMO to your organization’s particular context, you will learn how to apply the psychology of FOMO to explain past trends (good, bad, and absurd) while acquiring an analytical framework to make smarter strategic decisions in the future.   

FOMAI: Fear of Missing Out on AI & What to Do About It

Just as FOMO can drive our behaviors and decisions in social settings, it also profoundly influences how we adopt disruptive technology. After all, both of these forces are deeply connected to human psychology. Whether in the business sphere or beyond, AI sits at the intersection of ambition, human anxieties, and the pervasive fear of being left behind in an age of profound change. Understanding the parallels between FOMO in the social sphere and its manifestation with respect to AI adoption is critical in a world where the relationship between humans and intelligent machines is evolving by the day. In this keynote, you will learn how to develop strategies for when to “miss out” and avoid the temptation to fall victim to all the AI hype, wasting time and money on the next not-so-big thing.

Signature Keynote: This is Your Brain on FOMO

Children are growing up in a world that poses an unprecedented challenge to their productivity, mental health, and self-esteem, as their brains develop amid constant pings, live streams, likes, and relentless pressure to keep up. They are not alone. Their parents and their peers are also glued to their phones. Behind these forces is FOMO, which goes far beyond memes or viral videos to shape identity, influence behavior, fuel anxiety, and hijack attention. In this engaging, relatable keynote customized for youth audiences (or tailored to their parents’ generation), Patrick explains how FOMO works, how it’s weaponized by companies and society, how it can be controlled, and how it can even be used for good. Rather than telling everyone to put down their phones forever, he empowers each of us to take back control. 

Signature Keynote: The Power of Entrepreneurial Thinking

Digital transformation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, blockchain, Web3, NFTs, and whatever comes next. Innovation is everywhere, and the pace of change is unrelenting. While the term intrapreneurship was first coined a quarter century ago, building a truly entrepreneurial culture at an established company remains challenging, regardless of its R&D budgets. But it’s not impossible. Any company can create a culture of entrepreneurship by encouraging its employees to explore their own entrepreneurial projects outside of work (i.e., their side hustles) and then challenging them to apply what they learn back at their day jobs. Based on Patrick’s international bestseller The 10% Entrepreneur, as well as practices at companies ranging from Google to Goldman Sachs, Patrick will provide your teams with the inspiration and the practical frameworks required to actively integrate every employee in the firm in the process of building an entrepreneurial culture.

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