Experiences Are The New Luxury

“Scaling makes things go slightly wrong,” said Sam Altman in 2017 when he was CEO of Y Combinator. With growth, some problems arise that wouldn’t exist if you remained at a smaller scale. This applies to communication as well. Our social battery isn’t infinite, as people can only maintain a limited number of meaningful relationships at once.

Small gatherings — such as dinners, meetups, and one-on-one meetings — thrive because of their intimacy and non-scalability. Ever feel alone even when in a room full of people? At Guava, we focus on crafting intimate experiences that crush loneliness.

Small interactions have been at the heart of business for centuries. Merchants in the Renaissance formed guilds for exclusive deals, Jump from the Renaissance to the 2000s, and not much changed. Guilds are networks in the current era.

The signal in a network is weakened when there is too much interference via network traffic. Too many people trying to connect has disastrous results. The isolation Gen-Z feels is partially from too many options via social media. Everyone is replaceable so why bother interacting with people deeply?

This is what Sam Altman was talking about when he said experiences are a luxury In the future. At Guava, we focus on assembling a memorable experience that scratches the itch for genuine human interaction.

The longing for a deep connection is something that the internet can’t do. Connections, memories, and experiences are what people remember when scanning through their life timelines. It’s not a single post on social media, a dm or a voice call. It’s what you physically experience that is memorable.

The body holds memories and the more the body is used during an experience, the more deeply embedded the memory will be. Moreover, if the experience is confined to an environment with few competitors.

This is why conferences, expos, and conventions are elevated if they offer more intimate experiences. They can be private invites only or public with limited space. There is a direct stream of energy between you and the person you are interacting with compared to a dispersion of energy. The connection is felt more than the group.

Scaling your human interaction by attending events with thousands of people breaks the connection. We can’t meet endless people physically, so we believe small experiences are the king/queen. This is the easiest way to stand out in an era with endless options.

“Who am I, what am I, why am I here” are questions people will be asking more in the future as automation takes over repetitive work. This gives us more time to experience life outside of repetition. Shake up patterns with something that has infinite possibilities — a life experience.

No algorithm can predict how anything in life will go. This is especially true for social interactions. We vibe more with someone compared to other people. Whether you vibe with someone may not even be up to you.

There are too many random variables but what can be controlled is that atmosphere and environment through event planning. At Guava, we form favorable environments that facilitate you to connect with who you want.