Alptitude - A "Conference" For Purpose Driven Founders

With this post I want to share some highlights from my recent trip to the Giffre Valley of the French alps in a small village called Samoens. The week was organized by The Happy Startup School whose mission is to build a community of purpose-driven entrepreneurs and changemakers. Alptitude is the group's flagship event and brings together 25 purpose-driven entrepreneurs and changemakers from around the world for a unique, meaningful experience in stunning natural surroundings. Their next event is in Mt. Hood, Oregon in October.

The event was nothing like I’ve ever experienced. With a loose agenda the organizers left space for the group that attended to explore the areas that they were most interested in. People were asked to let the group know what they need help with and what they could offer the group. Part of the time was spent on topics that the group brainstormed and wanted to talk about; part of the time was spent 1-on-1 with other attendees getting to know each other; and the most significant portion of the time was spent on outdoor activities that exposed us to the beauty of the valley.  

The day typically started with a mindful activity like yoga, meditation or pilates followed by breakfast. Then we spent 2-3 hours on topics that attendees had experience with and wanted to share with the group. Some were more scripted presentations and others were facilitated discussions. After lunch we would head out to experience the area by hiking, biking or a nature walk. The outdoor activities gave a lot of space for folks to get to know each other well. My favorite activity was hiking up to a refuge at 1,763 meters and spending the night there. The refuge is taken care off by a family and provides food and shelter to hikers. There are hundreds of these refuges in the Alps and one can plan hiking trips and visit a number of them in a trip.

I signed up to attend this event without a specific goal in mind. I was attracted to the unstructured agenda and the opportunity to meet other like-minded entrepreneurs. The setting and the outdoor activities was the icing on the cake. The event delivered everything promised and then some. The conversations and discussions validated and reinforced what I’ve come to appreciate about life in the last few years. The best way to live, in my opinion, is by focusing on the process instead of the outcome. The journey not the destination. Optimizing for the long term over the short term. Couple that with leading a creative life, focusing on intrinsic motivation, and spending time using your talents to build something that gives you joy and pleasure at each moment. Finally, do all the above in the presence of friends that share your values and you have the best opportunity to live a truly fulfilling life. I left the week reinvigorated and with a number of new friends.

Below is a collection of resources organized by topic that sparked my interest during the week.

Entrepreneurship

Gini Handbook
Gini is a German company whose purpose is to free mankind from paperwork. The company has enjoyed success by partnering with a number of banks and building a solution that enables customers of a bank to pay any invoice that they receive electronically. The company has primarily had success in one market segment and has grown its team to close to 30 people.  They recently began to consider other market segments and also began questioning how they should organize the company to best be able to fulfill its vision and build the best possible working environment. The company decided to organize around a structure that is as flat as possible and decentralizes decision making. The Gini handbook is an inspirational resource that covers how the company organizes and conducts day to day business.

Maptio
Maptio is a startup that is focusing on helping self managed organizations visualize their organization. It’s for leaders who want to find ways to work and organize without traditional management hierarchy or the overbearing rules of Holacracy. The product lets you see who has taken responsibility for what; who's helping who; and how the big vision breaks down into its component parts. The company is in private beta and is looking for prospects.

Agile manifesto
Agile manifesto is widely known but I wanted to include it in this blog post as a reminder. It came up in a number of discussions and I had forgotten how inspiring the main 4 principles are:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan

While items on the right are valuable it’s the items on the left that should be focused on more.

EOS
The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) is a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that helps entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses. The system helps get everyone in an organization on the same page, instills focus and accountability throughout the company, and helps create a cohesive, functional, healthy leadership team.

The entrepreneurial lifecycle
Jeroen Meens was kind enough to share his thoughts on the entrepreneurial journey.  He discussed what to expect from each stage and what you should be doing.  

Personal Development

Gallup StrengthsFinder
StrengthsFinder is a tool that helps you find and develop your talents into strengths. It's based on decades of research and documented success in multiple case studies. Talent is your natural way of thinking, feeling or behaving. When talent is combined and developed with knowledge and skills, it becomes a strength. Strength is performing with near-perfect results on a consistent basis. To take the assessment allocate about 30 minutes of uninterrupted time. For better results work with an experienced coach like Jo Self. I am particularly intrigued to use this tool for parenting and to help raise my kids to discover and strengthen their talents.

Money
I had the chance to experience a short version of the workshop that Tom Nixon runs on the topic of money. The workshop was very insightful and reinforced my beliefs about money. I came out with new tools that help me identify and keep at bay undesirable ways of thinking and projecting myself when it comes to money.

Impact

Once Upon a Doug
I had the pleasure to meet the founder behind this non-profit project. At the moment this project provides regular monthly income for 15 women. The goal is to grow that to 200 by 2020 and he needs your help. Check out the inspiring story via the link above.

Forest Man
Since 1979, Jadav Payeng has been planting hundreds of trees on an Indian island threatened by erosion. In this film, photographer Jitu Kalita traverses Payeng’s home—the largest river island in the world—and reveals the touching story of how this modern-day Johnny Appleseed turned an eroding desert into a wondrous oasis. A truly inspiring story about the impact one person can have.

Incredible Edible
The Incredible Edible project is an urban gardening project which was started in 2008 by Pamela Warhurst, Mary Clear and a group of like-minded people in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England. The project aims to bring people together through actions around local food, helping to change behavior towards the environment and to build a kinder and more resilient world. In some cases, it also envisions to have the groups become self-sufficient in (local) food production.

Cycling Without Age
Cycling Without Age is a movement started in 2012 by Ole Kassow. Ole wanted to help the elderly get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a tri-shaw and he started offering free bike rides to local nursing home residents. He then got in touch with a civil society consultant from the City of Copenhagen, Dorthe Pedersen (now Cycling Without Age), who was intrigued by the idea and together they bought the first 5 tri-shaws and launched Cycling Without Age. The company has now spread to all corners of Denmark, and since 2015 to another 28 countries around the world.

Fun

Alp Adventures  
Your one stop shop for adventure planning in the Giffre Valley - this week would not have been successful without the help of Alp Adventures. Most of the outdoor activities consisted of exploring the trails of the Grand Massif either hiking or on bikes, and were organized by our guide Arno de Jong.

Alpsretreats
I had the pleasure to meet the founder of this company that has transformed her home into a place that folks can use to experience the wonder of the area. Sally-Anne organizes customized retreats to serve your needs. Check out her cool site for more info.

Dan Milner
Dan lives in the area and came over and gave us a slideshow and a funny narrative from his experiences travelling the globe to capture awesome moments (he’s a photographer). He represents the epitome of living a full creative life. I encourage you to check out his adventures.

Other fun activities included….
Yogic laughter - A fun group activity
Coupe des Alpes - An automotive event
Naturally seven - The art of becoming an instrument using the human voice

Conclusion

While it may sound a bit (and I admit, it felt a bit this way) like I just spent a week gallivanting around the French Alps, the more I reflect on my experience the more I realize how valuable it was. I have spent my career in an industry obsessed with “innovation,” yet when I reflect on the industry conferences and meet-ups I’ve attended over the years I see anything but innovation.

What is there to the “standard” conference format of cheap hotel rooms, quickly erected corporate booths, and regimented presentations that is so effective? The inspiration that I derived from a week spent in nature with a small group of 25 reinvigorated me in a way no other event has. The relationships and friendships that I formed, both from a personal and business perspective, will benefit me for months and years into the future. When was the last time you could say that about any event that you attended?

As I continue to build Outseta I plan to look for opportunities to borrow heavily from Alptitude’s format. Whether it’s putting on customer events or organizing a company retreat, I believe that this format can be both more enjoyable and more productive than what’s today so often considered “the norm.” My hat is off to the team at The Happy Start-up School for so fully embracing their purpose driven mission with this event. It was my pleasure to attend!