I moved back home last year to Bournemouth.
A huge part of that for me is getting involved in the community down here. There’s something about being able to zip around and be part of the change in an area that lights me up versus the anonymity of London.
There’s a rather wonderful human down here called Dan Ware who’s really got a vision of change for Bournemouth and it’s business growth. Last week, I popped along to The Spark Founder’s Support Group.
I had the chance to be in a room with 13 other brilliant founders — and wow, what a powerful reminder of the magic that happens when diverse minds come together!
We covered everything from the realities of balance and burnout, to the nuts and bolts of marketing and getting a business off the ground. But what really stood out was the richness of the conversation. Hearing what’s on everyone’s mind – the real challenges founders are facing right now – was both grounding and energising.
What made it even more impactful was breaking out into small groups to tackle these challenges together. Being a founder can often feel like working in an echo chamber of one and you can get so paralysed by decision-making! So, being exposed to such a breadth of perspectives and lived experiences was a total game-changer.
We often talk about using tools like ChatGPT for brainstorming (and, let’s be honest, we all use them!), but last week was a reminder that while AI is amazing, there’s nothing quite like a group of smart, thoughtful humans coming at a problem from all angles. The diversity of ideas, the collective problem-solving – it gave all of us not just new tools for our toolbox, but also that sense of feeling seen, support and connections that will help us put them into action.
That’s something tech will never replace.
Awesome to meet you guys and to Dan and the team, I’m really excited for what we can do next!
Louis Burt Tim Flynn Lee Francis John McLaughlin ABHILASH REVAPPA MURAGI Ekaterina Savosina Rosa Trout Olly Whittle
Connections in IRL? Who knew!
