Final SymSeren Mailout - 15/04/19

I hope you are well in mind, body and soul.

I wanted to give you an update on Symbiotic Serendipity, ahead of our planned launch in July 2019.

The short version...I failed. I'm moving on… I'm going to EssenceFest but, I'm not going to be launching Symbiotic Serendipity.  Hopefully this will not come as too much of a disappointment. 

It feels like an emotional intelligence decision to stop now, before more time and energy is invested and an undesirable longer-term outcome created. The process has provided me with beautiful experiences and sobering lessons, that have led to new knowledge about my personal vision and the world around me, and where I want to focus my energy.

Thank you for your support along the way, your time in completing the survey was very much appreciated. 

If you would like me to delete your data please reply with ‘DELETE’ in the subject line, and I will remove your details from the mailing list.

Thanks for your understanding.

The longer version of what went wrong...

So, I had an idea; identified people I thought I could corral, people who were passionate and identified with the idea, to make it happen. 

Used the tools, networks, business development, technology to bootstrap. Surrounded myself with cheerleaders and potential business partners, did a survey and test ran it...

As the journey continued… the ideas flowed, the free (and paid) advice was given but with more conversations and insight, the viability became weaker, taking with it the desire and the enthusiasm of the cheerleaders.

"Failing well means being able to gracefully accept a situation that hasn't gone to plan without being unduly self-critical - to accept that a great deal of failure is simply part of life" - Stein Lubrano - The School of Life

Thank you for your support in helping me to fail quick and learn fast. It has been a beautiful experience that has given birth to a new generation of ideas and possibilities… 

At the heart of the Symbiotic Serendipity idea was the desire to create access, inspire and empower a traditionally marginalized classification of people in a dynamic and self- determining way. 

Something many of us do in our own way… every day.  Whilst on this journey, I've been able to connect with and find out about many of those organisations and individuals. Here are some… definitely not all:

• Black Afro Hair

• Black Girl Collective

• Black Girls Rock

• Black Ticket Project

• Bud Billeken 

• Homage 

• I'mPossible

• J'Ouvert

• Project Embrace

• Rainchq

• World Afro Day

Last year, the process of Symbiotic Serendipity took me to New Orleans - EssenceFest - providing me with the opportunity to: 

• hang out in New Orleans with two of my favourite people

• have a barbecue in the company of Rev. Al Jackson

• host a Moët Hennessy event with a room of powerful black women, from across the world

• attend the inaugural Michelle Obama event with Oprah, in Chicago

• find out about a little known town in Arizona and spend a day traveling there with a childhood friend and his wife

• travel to Jamaica and go to the Bob Marley museum

• have a meeting with one of the worlds largest Consumer producer companies.

• Host a Christmas lunch at Upstairs at Brixton with a group of accomplished special guests, among other things...

When I recount the experiences, I have gained on the way to failure, it assures me that with the lessons of this failure, success is just around the corner.

Thank you again for your support and if you know someone who you think could make the idea of Symbiotic Serendipity happen, please share it with them.

I look forward to meeting you on the next leg of the journey, and if you are going to EssenceFest - 

See you in New Orleans!

Peace and Love