Activator Caffeine Adventure IV: Recap
At Ministry of Awesome, we host a quarterly event called Activator Caffeine Adventure (fka Epic Caffeine Adventure). It’s a rapid-fire 20-minute session to brainstorm any early-stage venture or idea with a team. We spend the entire day in a new cafe in Christchurch listening to ideas. What? An entire day in a cafe? Why would we do that? Good question.
Christchurch is bursting with new ideas. We want to encourage ideas in a growing city but don’t feel like there are many places to go for advice on an idea. Some people feel like their ideas are too early-stage, too fresh, and/or invalid (for whatever reason) and that sharing it with someone is a waste of time. We disagree.
Ideas are cheap. They’re a dime a dozen. But that shouldn’t stop you from creating ideas (aka ideating) and sharing them with others. Big dreams, large companies, and amazing innovation were all once “just ideas”.
People come to Ministry of Awesome with their ideas because we’re real people (no offense to robots). We are approachable, connected, and experienced individuals. When you put enough of us around a table, things get really fun!
This is an opportunity to spend 20 minutes brainstorming an idea with a variety of people: veteran entrepreneurs, event directors, board members, NGO leaders, creatives, writers, tech/digital pioneers, and social innovators. It’s also a safe place to be yourself and get honest, candid, open feedback. If we don’t understand the idea, we’ll tell you — in the nicest way possible. We believe in getting in front of as many people as possible with your idea. Think of this as your first pitch practice.
We kicked off the new year with the 4th edition of Activator Caffeine Adventure at Kadett Cafe. We enjoy showcasing a new cafe in town each time we host the event. Kadett was no different with heaps of seating, tucked away corners to chat, and yummy coffee. We had 15 available slots (not including 2 waitlists). I arrived around 8:30am, settled in with my first coffee (flat white if you must know) of the day and geared up for a day full of discussion and discovery.
Here’s the best part: I love coffee. And I love ideas. Naturally, I love this event. I met with people who have ideas for a new wellness clinic, online shops, teahouses, craft breweries, software consulting firms, bike tours, apps and websites. The possibilities are endless. The ideas are never the same. People have thought of EVERYTHING!
The outcomes of these meetings are also never the same. Some people just want to know if their idea has legs (The answer’s always maybe. Depends on the validation you do). Some people just need a boost of confidence. Others want connections to people who can help with the next step (development, funding, R&D). Most simply need advice on validation (whether it’s for the business model or customer segment). We ask questions like, “Who is your customer?” or “Who’s helping you?”.
Ideators, as we call them, have come from all over Canterbury to share their idea with us and that means a lot. I also don’t know any other organisation spending a day in a cafe listening to ideas. I think that’s what makes us so unique and awesome.
After the adventure, I was fully caffeinated (one flat white, one cappuccino, a karma cola and lunch) but also incredibly grateful that people trust their inner most thoughts and ideas with us. I love that they want to give something a go and just need a nudge to make it happen.
