It's been a roller coaster

I know that no-one writes articles on linked in anymore - it's a dead zone - so why am I bothering?

For myself - that's why, because today feels like a milestone I want to remember so if I write an article that no-one reads - am I bovered...its me marking a milestone.

Just over TEN years ago myself, and Lyndon Docherty sat on a beach in Barcelona with a couple of beers in our hands (at a Gartner symposium - which was always a laugh), bemoaning how they had to be a better way of connecting real hands-on experts with clients who wanted something different. We didn't really have a full blown - "how it would work thing" in our head - more like a vague idea it would.

From this vague idea, Lyndon took the plunge and left Gartner and started HiveMind Network , a name which was incidentally picked by the first member Ian Carroll , who did so much to get HiveMInd going with Lyndon. Being less brave at the time I decided it was a bit too risky and left Gartner to start working as the Innovation, Improvement and Information Director at Northern Gas Networks . Where I met some amazing people and actually ended up using some of the fledgling services of HiveMind to help implement enterprise agility (in under two years), not least because of some fab people like Matthew Little , Howard Forster , Colin Sweetman , Kenny Grant Mark Dickinson , Chris Roberts , Matt Turner , John Morton CENG FBCS CiTP FIoD , Ruta Blazeviciute , Tom Notman , Sian Fletcher , David Gill , Nicola Collister , Eileen Brown to name just a handful...

I loved NGN but wanted to share my brilliant experiences of working with HiveMind Experts with other companies that, like me, might be prepared to try a different approach. So, following an emotional conversation with NGN's CEO, Mark Horsley, I took the plunge and joined HiveMind as an expert and investor.

It was terrifying

I know there are many many friends and connections who've left stable, safe, sensible jobs to take a chance. It's so scary. You worry about everything. Clients, Sales, Delivery, Family, Health....everything - or at least I did! Slowly but surely more people started to get involved with HiveMind, more clients came on board and it started to feel a bit better BUT in all honesty anyone building a business knows the underlying fear is always there. I suspect it's a good thing and strong motivator.

So why is today important for me?

Today we launch our 'next gen' website. It's MVP, and it will evolve at pace - but for me, it's the distillation of what HiveMind does and is, what we aspire to and for me, that's important.

In the early days, we ate what we killed and sometimes we went very hungry. As we now lay plans for the future and a stronger focus on what we do and don't do, and our expansion, it makes much of the early fear seem worth it. So, for anyone else embarking on this journey in whatever field, here are my only words of limited wisdom (there are plenty of smarter people than me to listen to).

Lessons I've learnt

1. You will learn more from your mistakes than someone telling you (so ignore me)
2. You will probably feel like quitting many many times, but if you can ride it out
3. EVERYONE is an expert in building a business and will tell you how much you're doing wrong - be tolerant they mean well lol
4. Your systems can be held together by glue and tape for longer than you think!
5. Sort out your products and services asap (thanks Craig Wright )
6. Don't worry if you've not become a unicorn overnight, not many do, I used to
7. Treasure your clients dearly, every day
8. Hire the best people you can afford
9. Make space and time for the people you love
10. Try and laugh at least once a day

People I owe

Lyndon Docherty Ben Dickie Ruth Walker Cari Hewer Craig Wright Sophie Marshall Clark Nick Burton Matthew Little Colleen Good ?? Lauren Smith Tracey Wheeldon Glynn Timmins Juliette Price FCCA Jason Wedlock Maame Arthur Ian Donkin Lucy Darwin Paul Clavering Dimitar Filipov Nathan Allchin Nadia Abrar Charles Clark Joni Clark Anja Klüver Amanda King Martin Judge and around 100+ more...