From Spark to Community to Civic Design Firm–Reflections on Five Years of CivicMakers
The spark came over coffee. I was still working at Change.org and meeting so many inspiring people working on seemingly endless inspiring projects. This day, it was Bart Myers, a former adtech startup founder who had just launched Countable as a way to do more values-aligned work. Bart was full of the passion and potential of the burgeoning civictech movement that I also felt so strongly, and we connected deeply. “Where can we meet the others,” I asked? “Why isn’t there a place for more of this?” And then, the spark: “We should start a meetup!” Within a month, there was a name, a venue and 200+ people registered for the Inaugural CivicMakers Salon on “Democracy & Technology.”
Little did I know that this spark would transform my life, but I did have a deep intuition that this spark was calling me forward. I’d like to share some reflections on the resultant journey, and how I’m trying to stay true to myself and the vision that we’ve co-created at CivicMakers of a world in which every community has the tools necessary to co-create solutions to their shared challenges.
First and foremost, I’ve come to realize, this spark is not mine alone, which makes me treasure it more. As this spark has spurred me to action, I’ve sought out others who carry the same spark in their hearts. And I’ve come to understand I am one among many in the long arc of democracy who are nurturing this spark by pushing for more participatory models of governance and delivering on the promise of a government “of the people, by the people, for the people”. Of, for and by ALL people. It has been my great delight and honor to have gathered many of them in community, cultivated under the banner of CivicMakers and through 50 events featuring 109 speakers, attended by more than 2500 people.
Often I feel as if I am standing on the shoulders of giants–all those in the past (and present!) who have looked around and thought to themselves that we can do better, and then did something about it. As I pay homage to these ancestors and peers, I have struggled with understanding my unique contribution, as well as that of CivicMakers. And further, how to balance the drive to achieve, with the desire to stand in service and support of others, especially those without my privilege. More than anything, this has been at the heart of my entrepreneurial journey.
After 5 five years, CivicMakers is a five-person strategic consulting firm working with amazing clients on rewarding, impactful work. Not only are we able to pay ourselves (winning!), in that short time, we’ve accomplished A LOT. I won’t list them all there, that’s what this accompanying social impact post is all about. But, when I take a step back, there are a few indicators that demonstrate how far we’ve come. Like evolving from a meetup group to facilitating the strategic plan for a major Bay Area city. Like when people say “wow, there are only 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5) of you? I thought you were much bigger!” Or when the webmaster at a State agency tells us that our work “has given me a language and a framework to express ideas that I have been passionate about for years.”
A lot has also transpired in my life in this time. The most significant transition has been that of marriage and family. I met the love of my life and moved in with her. I proposed, she said yes (!) and we got married. She gave birth to our beautiful baby boy and now we’re figuring out what it means to be parents. Our son has brought overwhelming joy (and plenty of disruption), but entering a stable, loving, supportive and honest relationship with my wife has provided space that I didn’t know how much I needed to focus on growing an amazing team of people doing amazing things. Thank you, my love ❤
I couldn’t be more grateful or more proud about all of this. But these words are just the journey of one person who joined the journey of others, which has became the journey of many more. There are many thank-yous below, but I need to mention a few people here, namely my business partners Judi Brown, Cristelle Blackford and Brian Purchia, along with friend and advisor Kevin Bayuk. Without them, I would lack so much of the insight, skill, support and laughter necessary to have made it this far. With them, my life has been filled with endless riches, including the greatest gift of so many other wonderful humans to whom they have introduced me.
In service of sparking the journey of many, many more wonderful humans, both at CivicMakers and beyond in the broader civic space, I humbly share a few reflections from my last five years. I’ve woven in Don Miguel Ruiz’ Four Agreements, a simple framework that I’ve found to be a useful reminder for self-reflection and self-evaluation. Of course, consider all of this with a grain of salt, and keep only what serves you.
Things I’ve done well:
- Be authentic, curious and kind in relationship to other humans.
- Focus on relationships and supporting the good work of others in service of the entire space.
- Push for long term vision and strategic planning, even when it feels like we can barely handle today’s task list.
- Be impeccable with my word. (Agreement #1)
- Always do my best. (Agreement #4)
Things I could have done better:
- Look, listen and ask for feedback on my blindspots.
- Make smaller bets–that multi-sided civic technology marketplace idea was a time suck! But we did learn a lot…
- Speak up for myself when I needed more help or was feeling mistreated.
- Not take things personally. (Agreement #2)
- Don’t make assumptions. (Agreement #3)
What I’ve learned about myself:
- Bringing people together feeds my soul, and it gives me hope for our democratic society.
- I believe the process is just as important as the product.
- Personal work is just as important as the professional work.
- I have a lot of work to do to bring more diversity of perspective and lived experience into my life.
What I’ve learned about this work:
- Being good at running a business is just as important as being good at the service you are selling.
- Finding amazing humans to collaborate with is more important than either of those things.
- Strategy is only as good as the culture in which it operates.
- Give, give and give some more. It will come back to you.
So. Many. Thanks.
This reflection would not be complete without many, many thanks. This list is woefully incomplete, but I have to start somewhere.
- Brian Purchia, for telling me once that we’d find a way to work together after our time at CCSF, for rubber-stamping the name “CivicMakers,” and for being such an incredible friend, partner and brother.
- Kevin Bayuk and Luke Fretwell for listening to my hare-brained idea and helping get the first few events off the ground.
- judi lynn brown for believing in me enough to do all the things as my friend, foil and bidness partner. What have we done?!
- Cristelle Blackford for believing in me and Judi enough to join this wild ride and help steer the ship in ways that we never could.
- Jim Rettew, Leah Tremblay-Adams and all the other folks who have worked with us, who spoke or volunteered at one of our events.
- All the people who gave me advice along the way. It’s impossible to count them now, but prime among them are Dan Parham, Gina Cooper, Meghan Nesbit, Julian Fishman, Chris Palmatier and Bart Myers.
Since that first meetup five years ago, I haven’t looked back, but I think of that spark often. More so, I am forever grateful that the spark lit and I was able to feel it, and that the right people were in my life to help slowly nurture that spark into a creative fire that still calls me forward. May you feel your spark, and find the people you need to cultivate it, and may I always have the energy and clarity of purpose to be in your humble service.
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PS — If you’re interested in our work, please consider signing up for LINKS, our twice-monthly missive of all things civic innovation for the Bay Area and beyond.
