If you’re not redirected please click here for the latest 9others news.
A Coffee Morning with 9others & 9others online
The next 9others Coffee Morning in Radlett (25 mins north of St Pancras) is on Thursday 3rd December at 10am - details and sign-up here.
The first one, above and below, was a great success so if you’re keen to escape London and get some fresh air in the Hertfordshire countryside then please book in.
For those of you who aren’t within striking distance of Radlett we are hosting two more 9others online in 2020:
Wednesday 18th November, 6:30pm (UK time) - details and sign-up here.
Wednesday 9th December, 6:30pm (UK time) - details and sign-up here.
July, August & September @9others
The next three meals with 9others are:
Wednesday 29th July — online — sign up here.
Wednesday 26th August — online — sign up here.
Wednesday 30th September — London — sign up here.
People are as generous and helpful as ever so during lockdown we’ve continued to host meals with 9others. It’s been great to connect with entrepreneurs all around the world, something we’d never have done without Covid19, and I hope you can join us.
Here’s how 9others runs online:
Grab something to eat or drink and turn on your Zoom camera.
Each of us will introduce ourselves and share the challenge that's "keeping you awake at night".
For each person in turn we'll spend 10-15 minutes as a group brain storming each problem.
We want 9others to be the kick-off to connecting and solving problems so after the meal we connect attendees over email, share notes of the conversation held and add everyone to the 9others Slack community to continue the conversation.
After each session 9others will make a donation to Meals for the NHS and 9others in Yemen.
Also please do get in touch if you think Matthew or Katie can help with anything. If you’re facing a new challenge then the chances are we’ve heard it before and/or know something/someone that can help.
We also hear of opportunities to invest in or join some terrific startups in the network. So if you’re keen on angel investing or a new role just hit reply and let us know.
Finally this week’s Weekend Reading is here. Enjoy.
Weekend Reading - 11th/12th July 2020
The Rise of the Solo Capitalists by Nikhil Basu Trivedi
“I view them as a distinct group, separate from angel investors and from venture capital firms, in today's financing ecosystem”
Our Minds Aren’t Equipped for This Kind of Reopening by Tess Wilkinson-Ryan
“For social-distancing shaming to be a valuable public-health tool, average citizens should reserve it for overt defiance of clear official directives—failure to wear a mask when one is required—rather than mere cases of flawed judgment”
Slate Star Codex and Silicon Valley’s War Against the Media by Gideon Lewis-Kraus
“Other prominent figures in Silicon Valley, including Paul Graham, the co-founder of the foremost startup incubator, Y Combinator, followed suit”
Weekend Reading - 4th/5th July 2020
Don’t Build Roads, Open Schools by Helen Lewis
“And yet the message from governments around the world still sounds a lot like Suck it up. In May, Johnson breezily assured a member of the public that employers would be understanding about child-care issues preventing some staff from returning to work”
Adam Grant on how jobs, bosses and firms may improve after the crisis by Adam Grant
“The experiences from past recessions and crises suggest that covid-19 is likely to transform three features of our work lives: job satisfaction, ethical leadership and trust”
Keep Running! by Morgan Housel
“No one’s ever safe. No one can ever rest”
Joining Yemeni Entrepreneurs
It was a huge privilege to be able to join the 9others event in Yemen yesterday.
Yusra is an absolute force of nature and has been hosting meals with 9others in Sana’a since 2016.
Many challenges of Covid19 such as customers staying at home, disrupting sales and some businesses going under. But of course there are opportunities for some working from home and selling online. Indeed one entrepreneur is enjoying being more famous because of Covid19!
2 x 9others this week From Valencia and London (sort of...)
9others hosted by Neil Lewis in Valencia
This week we held two online 9others events, one hosted by Matthew and Katie in the UK and one hosted by Neil in Valencia. Entrepreneurs joined from all around the UK, Spain, USA and Germany and just in Neil’s group alone an incredible 13 languages were spoken!
Challenges included go-to-market strategies, growth challenges, fund raising Vs customer finding, finding a co-founder, thinking about what’s next in life and many more!
Weekend Reading - 27th/28th June 2020
The virtual couch by Sharon Hendry
“At first the abnormal suddenly became normal, says Blumenthal: “The initial phase of covid-19 turned psychopathology on its head. Many people showed signs of hypochondriasis, ocd, paranoia and depression – while those who had those symptoms anyway felt normalised.””
The Secrets of Successful Female Networkers in HBR
“The female executives who rise to the top are “more strategic and thoughtful””
Culture wars risk blinding us to just how liberal we've become in the past decades by Kenan Malik
“the very decline of the economic and political power of the working class has helped obscure the economic and political roots of social problems”
Why John Bolton Book’s Revelations Won’t Make a Difference in Trumpland by David French
“To stop the worst mistakes (Bolton claims that Trump once threatened to quit NATO, our nation’s most important military alliance), one must be “in the room where it happens,” to quote Bolton, quoting the musical Hamilton. But to stay in the room, one must engage in the flattery and the loud public defenses Trump requires.”
The Decline of the American World by Tom McTague
“For the United States, this cultural dominance is both an enormous strength and a subtle weakness. It draws in talented outsiders to study, build businesses, and rejuvenate itself, molding and dragging the world with it as it does, influencing and distorting those unable to escape its pull. Yet this dominance comes with a cost: The world can see into America, but America cannot look back. And today, the ugliness that is on display is amplified, not calmed, by the American president.”
Modelling the Human Trajectory by David Roodman
“How much should we care about people who will live far in the future? Or about chickens today?”
Weekend Reading - 20th/21st June 2020
Zbigniew Religa after a 23 hour heart transplant, watching his patient’s vital signs. Image via National Geographic
Marc Andreessen by Sriram Krishnan
“It's really, really, really hard to be a good poker player. And if you're kicking yourself every time you have a bad hand, the bad habits just simply happen”
The Gospel According to Peter Thiel by Tara Isabella Burton
“According to the tenets of Thielism, creativity means thinking outside the bounds and strictures of failed institutions, including academic credentials, freeing us from resentment, and opening new paths of progress, technology, and positive change”
The history of a picture that changed the world by Andrei Mihai
But when James Stansfield took this picture, he didn’t just tell a story of a surgery – in a way, he changed the world
The surprisingly narrow path to success by Scott H. Young
“What if you’ve already strayed from the perfect path? What should you do?”
9others in June, July & August
The next three online meals with 9others are:
Wednesday 24th June, 18:30 BST — here
Wednesday 29th July, 18:30 BST — here
Wednesday 16th August, 18:30 BST — here
Please book in, come along, share a challenge and support your fellow entrepreneurs (and Meals for the NHS — we donate the ticket price to them).