Finding Members

Something’s happening in the City. A new generation of suits are breaking down the City stereotype. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of them to pick the best 150 to become Founding Members of Mesh (professionals working in the City who have creative second lives). So, for the past four weeks, every lunch break and evening has been taken up talking to them. I think my record was meeting six people in one day at the lovely Flat White. By the time I left I was buzzing!

Kay and I think it’s really important that we meet our Founding Members, or at least talk to them over the phone, because it shows them we’re taking this concept seriously and deeply care about it. It also gives us an opportunity to select the most committed members.

Throughout my meetings, I was struck by the diversity of the "candidates" both in terms of their professional and creative status: from trainee bankers to senior partners; from musicians who have appeared on Top of The Pops to published playwrights. One common thread that bound them was their feeling that they were alone and odd. Hopefully, they now realise that they are neither because Kay and I know of thousands of City professionals who are actively involved in creative projects of all shapes and sizes. Mesh aims to find a home and community for them. Here are a few I’ve picked at random:

Judy Ramjeet is a partner at a West End law firm. Judy has a fascinating life: she has recently set up a new department within her firm but still manages to find time to present a radio show, write a children's book, produce a short film and try to stage a play in the West End. Phew!

Then there’s Stephen Morris a solicitor who has just published his second book. What’s more fascinating is his recent publication is one of the first books to be published online. It’s called The Golden Generation and will be released online in five sections. The first section is available from 6 August 2007. I can’t wait!

Moving away from law, I met a very busy man who works as an Investment Banker but also finds the time to be involved in an enormous array of creative projects. As we sat drinking coffee in a City restaurant, I wondered whether he actually had time to sleep. He looked healthy enough. He explained to me that he was primarily a writer. In particular, he has written a few short stories and screenplays and is currently working on a novel. But, he is also a DJ and associate for a niche record label and a mentor to a Classical music label. This, I assure you, is merely the tip of the iceberg.

I also spoke to a very enthusiastic vice president of a top investment bank. She has a very interesting creative second life. In particular, she runs graduate fashion parties and band launches and also finds the time to write articles for magazines.

Finally, there is Tina "B" Baker. Tina started her career formally as a member of Rockers Revenge (remember their smash UK hit- a remake of Eddy Grant’s “Walking on Sunshine”?). Tina B has also provided supportive vocals for artists as diverse as Madonna, Al Green, U2 and Bruce Springsteen. After “retiring” from the pop world in the mid-90’s, Tina started her opera studies in New York City with Maestro Vincent La Selva of the New York Grand Opera Company. Since making London her homebase several years ago, Ms. B has had a residency at Bartok, a Mean Fiddler venue in Camden that features an eclectic mix of classical and modern music. And...she's a lawyer!

Mesh is not just interested in attracting members like Judy or Stephen who have active creative second lives. We're also interested in aspirers (members who would like to get involved in creative projects, but up until now didn't think they could) and associators (members who would like to associate with our demographic and may be get involved in projects in the future and who know loads of creative people who they can contact to help Mesh).

So to all the non-believers out there…it can be done! You can work in the City and find time to get involved in creative projects that inspire you. As one Founding Member said, “if you’re really passionate about something, you make the time to do it. Simple. You only live once.” Damn right.

get Meshed :: Mesh beta Launch Party

Party plans a-bound! We have been busy at Mesh HQ making plans for the launch party and will be sending out our "Save the Date" invites shortly.

Where: The Spitz, 109 Commercial Street, London E1 6BG.
When: Thursday, 23 August 2007 from 7 p.m.
What: You will experience a showcase of the private beta phase of the website, meet the exceptionally special 150 Founding Members and be the first to see the exclusive Mesh viral video. To top it all off, our friends at a Suit That Fits will be taking down your vital statistics for the prize draw to win a bespoke suit!



A Suit That Fits opened in 2006 as the world's first online tailor-made suit company. It was started with a vision to offer great quality, individually hand-tailored suits at a price that also fits. With over one billion possible styles, design, fabrics and colour permutations, a Suit That Fits offers the largest range of high quality suits catering to all tastes from the discerning City Gent right through to the latest celebrity look. Prices start from £110 for an EasyCare suit and £150 for a 100% wool 2-piece suit.

If you're on Facebook (who isn't nowadays?!), David and Warren have also set up a group to keep you updated with the latest news from a Suit That Fits' HQ: join here.

Last Sunday morning was spent shooting the Mesh viral video, a photo of which Jonny will be uploading soon. The video was shot by Dagmar Scheibenreif and featured one of the Founding Members of Mesh, Alex Liang. Alex used to work in finance in the City but gave it all up to become an actor and dancer. You can read all about his successes on screen here.

That's all for now! Enjoy the (intermittent) sunshine.

Hot and Sticky all over...

A superb evening was hosted at The Ambassador by the delightful team at Moo this evening to celebrate the launch of their funksome stickers. The miserable and unpredictable British weather held off so that a large 200+ strong crowd could gather on the terrace and spill out onto Exmouth Market, much to the disdain of certain car drivers who had chosen that route out onto Farringdon Road. At one stage, it felt a bit like mob rule as the Moo crowd booed and jeered at a car making a rather large racket, in a vain attempt to proceed along Exmouth Market at more than a snail's pace.

We initially made ourselves feel part of the Moo crowd by filling in our name-badge stickers and proudly adorning our chests with a little pink sticker neatly saying, "Yay!" Off we went to mingle and who should we meet but the man who seems to be everyone's friend, Mr. Sam Sethi. We enjoyed a very interesting chat with him about monetisation and also about the business model employed by A Swarm of Angels - the "Cinema 2.0" project and M1NT - the world's first shareholders club. It's certainly worth reading up more about the idea and perhaps offering our Founding Members the opportunity actively to own a share of Mesh.

It was also good to meet Sutha Kamal to whom we explained the concept of Mesh. Of course, the monetisation issue reared its head again and it was good to gauge his interest in our ideas. It's something we are currently working on - brainstorming revenue-making ideas and getting feedback and comments from a variety of people. As Sam correctly pointed out, it may be that you have good ideas for future monetisation, but only when you have got a fair amount of traction. VC's just aren't interested in anything but the rates of return on their investment, so we feel good to have made the decision not to spend our precious time on barking up the wrong VC tree for now. We plan to wait for at least six months and in that time, to really work hard on building a great product. Only then will people invite their friends thereby enabling the community to grow into successful venture.

We also bumped into the Trusted Places crew again and were fortunate to see the most excellent chaps, Raj and Jack from Kwiqq. We plan to share our template designs which are hot off the Zerofee press to gain their feedback and any ideas they may have. We love this way of working - it feels almost as if Mesh is being shaped and moulded by a cross-section of the London Web 2.0 scene. Huzzah!

Last, but by no means least, it was very interesting to meet Brian Murphy from Moo who shared with us plans to launch a Moo API. Now THAT'S something Mesh would love to support. We went along today with the aim of explaining how we want to collaborate with Moo for our launch party:

The way we see it is that our Founding Members would love to have 15 Moo cards with the Mesh logo and their unique access code and name on the reverse. That way, when they are considering who to invite to Mesh, they can physically give out one of their Moo cards rather than just having to send out an email. If they like the product (and we are sure they will), we envisage a large number of the active creative business professionals using Moo cards for their own use (e.g. to promote their work as a DJ or their new book). It has to be said that once you have something in your hand, it's far easier to remember what it is that someone has told you about. I cannot recall the number of times someone has told me something interesting and then I have totally forgotten it later due to a mixture of having several other conversations in an evening and the wicked effects of accidentally falling into an alky-hole. So there you have it... Alicia Zur-Szpiro, if you're reading, I'm coming to beat down your door until you say "YES!" to helping to sponsor the launch party Moo cards! Mesh has got a community of Moo-lovers - they just don't know it yet.

As soon as Jonny can locate a small sliver of time in his hugely hectic schedule of meeting potential Founding Members and directing the development of the website, he's going to do a short piece introducing some of the truly amazing people who are going to become the foundations and cornerstones of Mesh. From lawyers who have published books and released albums to bankers who have made films and showcased their paintings, we have them all... and their numbers are growing by the day. We think we're busy... You should hear about how theses guys manage their time. On that note, it's time for me to get some shut-eye. No sleep makes me into an irrational, irritated and idiotic person... What can I say, perhaps it just brings out the "creative" in me... Goodnight.

Secrets and Dreams

What a brilliant few days. The pace is fast at Mesh HQ. Since I last tapped out some words here, Mesh has had three very cool things happen.

First, last Saturday morning, as I opened up my email whilst sitting by the pool opposite Tracey Emin, I almost fell off my chair when I discovered that Doug Richard had written to express his interest in Mesh. We're hoping to strike up a great conversation with the man who brought us Library House - the essential source of comprehensive information on the fastest growing, most innovative ventures around Europe - and entertained us on the second series of Dragons' Den. In the mean time, I shall mostly be reading up on some relevant history.

Second, last week, I was contacted by none other than the editor and genuinely superb editor of le cool London, Mr Mathew Osman. After connecting on various levels, sharing ideas, chats and smiles, I was fortunate enough to be published in this week's edition of the newsletter! The newsletter changes week to week, so I'll put it up on the press section of Mesh so that it will live on ad infinitum.

I was first introduced to le cool by my brother who bought me the le cool Guide to Barcelona. I was due to return to my beloved Barcelona, where I had spent one year living back in 2000 and I found the Guide invaluable in showcasing some of the best kept secrets and hidden gems in one of the world's most wonderful of cities. After a prolonged absence from Barcelona, it was brilliant to feel as if I had only left the day before. The Guide allowed me to wander as the local I had once been and for that, I was very grateful. I thoroughly recommend the le cool book for an alternative travel guide that looks similar to someone's lovingly compiled scrapbook. Mat is working on the London Guide now, which should hopefully be out some time next year. Watch this le cool space.

Finally, Jonny and I had a most productive and excellent meeting with Sophie Gaskill and Peter Tullin of Arts & Business on Monday. It is always such a good feeling to speak to people who just understand Mesh 110% (the extra 10% being all the new ideas they bring to the table!). Both Arts & Business and Mesh are working towards similar goals in an arena where the arts and business worlds collide. We are now working hard on putting a collaboration proposal together that we hope will knock their socks off. It could just be the start of something very beautiful, indeed.

Next week, we've got meetings set up with the most personable and gregarious Steve Moore, Founder and Director of Policy Unplugged, which exists to help promote social networking, knowledge generation and sharing, co-creation and the harnessing of collective intelligence within organisations and communities. In addition, we'll be meeting Bernard Howard who is a good friend of the Mesh Heads. Finally, we'll also be meeting with Oli Watts and Jo Hill of The Connectors. It's just non-stop, but all good fun. Week two of my new job is going well too - I just wish there were more hours in the day, sometimes.

However, before all that, I am off for a big uni mates reunion at Ashton Court Festival, Bristol where the BBC has promised 21 degrees and a full sun. Rare.

For now, I invite you to post here a continuance of my le cool interview... What are your secrets and dreams? Go on, I dare you...

Chinwag Summer Party :: 5 July 2007

What a beautiful setting. Hats off to the Chinwag Big Summer '07 crew for choosing Imperial College for the setting of its big bash. After a fairly swift entry to Beit Quad (despite queue rumours that it was imminently to be a one-in one-out affair), Jonny and I headed straight to the bar.

Unfortunately, it took us twenty minutes of queuing at the bar to obtain our liquid refreshment and yet another fifteen minutes to get access to the BBQ. However, lamenting the size of the queues made for a good base for striking up a conversation. It was great to meet Steve Simmonds of RARE Design Associates who gave us some good tips on the viral campaign Mesh is planning in time for the Founding Members' launch at the end of August. He also commented that it was the first time he had been to a party where there was a queue in the men's toilets! The venue was rammed and the queues were quite tedious, but in true British "everyone in it together" style, we all managed to get on with the "Network Q" approach to the evening.

Jonny and I were also fortunate enough to hook up with Matt O'Neill from Cordovan who is an extremely friendly guy with a wealth of great contacts in the Web 2.0 scene. We look forward to developing a great friendship with him and to welcoming him to the launch party. He struck me as a guy who likes a beverage or two and, Matt, if you're reading, Spitz has an outdoor area where you can puff to your heart's content!

Once we had digested the delectable BBQ delights, we were also lucky to meet both Raj Anand and Jack Fairhall from Kwiqq - the social website builders from Brighton. Their tale is a most inspiring one and we really like what they have set out to do - it lends an enormous amount of strength to the Mesh concept - niche social networking is here to stay, it seems. We look forward to setting up a meeting with Raj and Jack to discuss developments in the scene and potentially collaborate in the future. These guys are ones to watch in the London Web 2.0 arena.

Another Brighton boy was checking out the London scene that evening - Alan Newman of Sensible Development who was keen to learn more about Mesh and was very positive about our future success. We look forward to bouncing some ideas off him.

It was also good to bump into Huw Leslie of Blognation UK who mentioned that he'd like to grab an interview with us some time. That would be a great opportunity and we would relish any chance to get a mention on a Sam Sethi creation.

In all, a great evening was had - it is always a good feeling when you meet people you want to meet again. We continue to mellow in the magic of Mesh and we feel very fortunate to have received such resoundingly superb feedback from everyone we speak to about Mesh.

Our next task is to set about consolidating all the contacts we have made over the last few weeks. The last thing we want to do is have a stack of business cards without nurturing the relationships we have started. We have met some really amazing people at the cutting edge of new media in London. Next up is meetings ahoy - left, right and centre - every spare moment not spent in our legal jobs is 100% dedicated to Mesh. Rock 'n' Roll.

Mesh would like to take this opportunity to thank Chinwag and the kind sponsors - Adobe, Agency.com, Channel 4, Neutralize and Purple for an great evening bringing together unique people in a unique venue. Well done.

Summer Party 2007, Soho

Yesterday I was invited by Oli Barrett to attend the Summer Party 2007 at the Chapel of the House of St Barnabas in Soho. The Party was hosted by seven like minded companies: Cognac, Cominded, Policy Unplugged, Connected Capital, Ian Moncrieff Macmillan, Freshminds and i-genius and was buzzing from the moment I arrived. The fact that there were free cocktails throughout the night wasn't bad either!

Oli fits the Malcolm Gladwell connector mould perfectly: he seems to know everyone and is a genuinely nice guy. In fact, he kindly introduced me to Jonathan Moules. Jonathan has been writing about UK business life for the Financial Times since October 2003 and edits the newspaper's Your Business page. I spoke to Jonathan about Mesh and our ambitions and he seemed genuinely interested. Unfortunately for me the heat emanating from the room (there were hundreds of people at this event) caused me to start perspiring so I was forced to make my excuses and move to the terrace area outside (obviously leaving with his contact details!).

On my way out in search of fresh air, I bumped into Freshminds Managing Director, Charlie Osmond. Charlie is an exceptionally talented entrepreneur. He co-founded Freshminds in August 2000 and in June 2003 Charlie was named the Business Link For London Entrepreneur of the Year. I managed to chat to him for awhile before he was whisked away by a sea of admirers.

Towards, the end of the night I met Andy Lopata, the former Managing Director of Business Referral Exchange, one of the UK's leading referral-focused networking groups. Andy and I had met previously at a Make Your Mark Connectors evening. He is a seriously busy guy and in addition to his numerous speaking engagements and work as a consultant has set up an online network, Word of Mouse, that aims to become the pre-eminent platform for online business referrals. Andy and I are meeting for lunch later this month. At the very least, I'm looking forward to picking his experienced brain about Mesh.

I always leave these networking events completely shattered, but buzzing from all the great connections I've managed to make. I think there is often a temptation to run around and try to collect as many business cards as possible. That's wrong. The key, in my opinion, is to make a couple of really good connections and then spend time consolidating them afterwards. Now it's time to consolidate.

Static Page Launch

Greetings.

It's been a while in the making, but I'm very pleased to say that the Mesh static pages are now live.

Mesh is an invite only network for creative young business professionals. We are currently in pre-beta phase; if you're interested please subscribe to our newsletter via the website.

All Work and No Play...

Mesh was built to provide a portal for young professionals who are loathe to abandon their creative pursuits on accepting a job amongst the City elite. In today's fiercely competitive recruitment market it's ironic that many feel they have to. They study so hard to get to the City and sell themselves as well-rounded individuals, but when they are accepted they wrongly believe they have to relinquish all these interests to focus on their jobs.

In fact, creativity and commercial awareness often dove-tail: arts inspire business and businesses support the arts. The skills and connections that can be built through creative projects can only help bolster an employee's commercial acumen. Many firms are becoming aware of this and are keen to partner with the arts to highlight the City as a cultural hub to attract the best talent. For example, the Tate Gallery's online arm, Tate Online, has been working with BT to create a series of interactive video installations. In particular, Arts and Business is a network that helps foster partnerships between arts and business.

Currently, Mesh is busy collating a list of Founding Members who will help provide feedback and direction to our network. We're looking for dynamic young professionals who have a flair for the creative: a lawyer, banker or consultant by day; a DJ, writer or musician by night. If you are interested in being selected for our beta phase, please drop us an email at join@meshminds.com.

Mesh: Connecting Young Business Professionals.