The Beans Group moved to Kentish Town in 2012 and now employs over 50 people. Meanwhile, as the result of many chance encounters and his work running local meet-up Kentish Cluster (full details of this week’s free event below), James has increasingly become interested in improving how we all connect, using smart new technology.
“A few years ago I was on the underground when guy sat down next to me who I spotted had a CV in his hand. I asked if he was looking for a job and the short version of the story is that Nick ended up coming to work with us at The Beans Group.
It got me thinking. We often stop ourselves from speaking to people and making connections as we feel like we don’t have permission to say something, don’t have the confidence or are simply not sure what to say.
Maybe that’s called being British – but I’ve decided I’m here to change that and do something about it. Seeing Nick’s CV gave me the permission.
I’m currently in the process of launching a new venture, Causr.co, (currently an alpha web app) to help connect people on the go. Giving people the permission and confidence to take action and connect.
The idea has been developed over time but at the end of our Kentish and Camden Cluster events, many people have asked if there’s a better way for everyone to connect in between the monthly meet-ups, which also convinced me of the need for such a tool.
From my experience, our lives seem to be a patchwork of experiences that all seem to interconnect in some way to influence the paths we take.
Some people would call it luck, others fate and others simply coincidence, but I’ve found that – sometimes in the most unlikely of places – I seem to meet relevant people and put myself in situations that result in positive outcomes that couldn’t have planned better if I’d set out to achieve them.
Founding Kentish Cluster came about via a string of such chance encounters, including meeting Titus from the NW5-based MVF Global when speaking at the same event in Oxford, which planted the seed for us to move The Beans Group to Kentish Town.
Later, when going back to speak at my former uni, the University of Birmingham, I was introduced to a Special Advisor to The Prime Minister, Daniel Korski. As I shared with him my excitement about the growth and opportunities in Kentish Town and the Cluster he revealed that he is very familiar with the area since he lives locally.
He suggested our group of local business leaders attend a roundtable discussion in Downing Street which proceeded to happen. It’s funny to think I had to go all the way to Birmingham to make that local connection.
With my new app, based on your location, you can see people around you, who they are and what they do and connect with them if that’s of interest. Feel free to have a look at causr.co and let me know what you think.
I look forward to connecting with loads more Kentishtowners at Wahaca this Wednesday too.
