#5: Inside Purposefest
What went on at Bristol's B Corp bonanza?
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When was the last time you salsa danced at a conference?
For me, Tuesday. Yep, this was Purposefest, the event organised by Bristol legend and B Leader, Andy Hawkins. Imagine over 300 B Corp and ‘B-curious’ businesses coming together for a Dolly Parton sing-a-long, networking, on-stage panel talks and a spot of salsa and you’ve got the right idea.
It was my first time at Purposefest so if you want to get my take on who was in the room, the highs, lows and whether you should go next time, read on.
But first…
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Right then, let’s dive in to Purposefest.
The crowd.
I know it’s not for everyone but walking into a room full of people I don’t know is actually my idea of fun. Even so, I was arriving to Purposefest on my own, and as a non-Bristolian, so I was slightly apprehensive everyone else might know each other and not feel like welcoming this gal from Leicester.
But I needn’t have worried. I don’t think I’ve ever been to an event where people were so chatty and welcoming. Lots of people were there on their own and happy to introduce themselves and talk.
There was a great mix of folks from every career stage and a strong feeling of a crowd who are genuinely walking the walk and want to do it alongside one another.
The networking.
There was a 2-hour gap for networking at lunchtime which neatly split attendees into two groups with a colour-coded sticker on their name badge. This is inspired because I feel like so many events cram an agenda with talks and don’t leave nearly enough time for networking, which is the main reason I ever go to anything. Plus, with a 2-hour window, you’ve got plenty of wiggle room if seminars run over.
Again, lots of lovely people, very willing to chat and there was a bit of direction for anyone who wasn’t quite sure how to get started. Deanna from Creativ Moves, I take my hat off to you for organising everyone. Maybe a whistle for next time to shut us all up?!
The music.
It was totally inspired to put a live band at the side of the stage, Saturday Night Live style, for little guest intros and interludes. Alas, I don’t know who they were but both my parents taught music and I know a tight band when I hear one.
The rendition of “Lean On Me” seemed to go down better than the final song, “Proud”, I’m not sure why. Singing along may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it is a great way to shake things up a bit when you’ve been sitting still and listening for a while.
On the way out of the main hall at lunchtime I found myself jibing a quiet gentleman about the singing to see if he would like to join a choir. It was only later I realised this was, in fact, Clay Brown, Head of Standards at B Lab Global.
The free lunch.
They say there’s no such thing but I don’t see the catch. What a relief not to have to wander around a brand new city, searching for your food. Plus, all the more time for networking over wraps and sandwiches!
The organisation.
I think the digital comms in the lead up to the event, and afterwards, were really good. I got a lovely welcome on arrival from a very tall gentleman in a bright orange jacket who explained exactly where I needed to go and what to do.
No queues for picking up badges and not even an especially long wait for coffee or ladies toilets, the classic places where all events fall down. There were also really clear instructions from the front of the stage so that we all knew where to go and what to do.
There were one or two technical hitches during talks, probably more stressful for the presenters than the audience though. These were swiftly sorted out but it felt like the one place that didn’t run quite as smoothly as everything else.
The talks.
There were 3 main talks, all about an hour each with an interesting mix of guests and experts. I feel like it’s not an easy job to chair and introduce an interview panel and both Helena and Elly did well with it.
Overall, I didn’t really take specific takeaways from the talks, except that the new B Corp standards will have 8 sections, we’ll need to be doing something in every area, but we still don’t know by when.
A couple of folks mentioned to me in passing that they thought the topics were a bit too broad and one lady in particular seemed to take exception to Melvin (!) but I thought he had some interesting things to say.
The venue.
Bristol Beacon is only about 20 minutes walk from Temple Meads station. Locals tell me the building has had quite the face lift in recent times and I think the outcome is great. Lots of natural light, plenty of space for the crowd plus a lovely rooftop bar for our People, Planet, Pint meet-up at the end of the day.
So how about you? Did you enjoy Purposefest? Leave me a comment, I’d love to know.
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