The real power of inclusion? How it makes people feel.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou

A company is nothing without community. Community can mean different things to different companies, but to me it means the range of people that connect with the company’s core mission and values, regardless of whether they work for the company or use your products.

For the past 15 months, I’ve been laser focussed on building the most diverse and inclusive community possible around Wurqs. I’ve pushed hard to bring unique, marginalised and under-estimated communities close to what we’re doing, in the belief that these people will enrich it with their perspectives and personalities — communities such as: Ada’s List, Muslamic Makers, People of Creativity, Code your Future, Hustle Crew, Creative Mentor Network and ThisAbility.

On Thursday last week (16th November), we saw that community come to life, as I gave this special group of people a glimpse at not just our rebrand, but of our vision for the future and the values that will guide our journey and impact.

I was blown away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more diverse range of people at a tech industry event before. There wasn’t any format and formality to proceedings. No activities or structure to force people to interact. Just a space where good people could spend good time with good people. And the result?

Well, here is some feedback from a few of our attendees (unsolicited I might add. Posted on social media or sent to me directly). When reading it, don’t think about an event, but think about a company. Imagine creating a company that makes people feel this way. If that doesn’t inspire you all to do more and be better, I don’t know what else would.

Sulaiman Khan

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbp-6qghLIK/

“Wow. What an amazing event with amazing people. It was a very special moment, and a rare occasion where I felt completely at home and loved by the inspiring people joined us whom mostly I didn’t know. You could feel the positivity and energy of change to do things better, to do better in a tangible way to make the world a healthier, more inclusive place for all.”

Steph Slack

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbmNGlrgkK3/

“When you’re surrounded by amazing, genuine and inspiring humans. It’s rare that I walk into a room full of people I’ve never or barely met and feel 100% comfortable to be myself. But that’s exactly what happened last night.That room was Carl Martin’s preview of the relaunch of his business. Carl is all about creating diverse and authentic communities and if last night was anything to go by he’s about to create something epic.”

Mathilde Leo

“It’s so rare to see startups put strong values at the heart of everything they do, especially when they are values centred around equality and inclusivity. That’s what stood out for me on Thursday. Those values were resonant in a real, tangible way in the space and the people.”