Confluence means to "Flow Together". We are a community of people who want to create, grow and level up every day. We aim to thrive and build a better city by sharing space with others who raise our bar - and with whom we can collaborate to build the next big thing .
C O N F L U E N C E . C I T Y
“There are four things that need to be in place in order to build a startup scene. The first is a venue that is cheap and central, where meetups can take place. The second is a monthly event where all startups gather. The third is an established hashtag everyone in the community can use to share photos and event info. And finally, a coworking space that is open 24/7 so that when an outsider lands in the city, they have a place to go and meet tons of people in the scene.� David Lumb in article about how Tyler Crowley built Startup Communities in LA, London and Stockholm
Why Confluence 1. The Lighthouse If you want to meet entrepreneurs, artists, hackers, designers and makers in KL: where do you go? A physical and virtual space is needed to bring like-minded individuals together.
2. Thriving Community Why do some cities which thrive in entrepreneurship more than others? Context matters. Our community aims to spread a growth and creative culture typical from cities like NY and SF.
3. Engineered Serendipity What if Peter Thiel, Max Levchin and Elon Musk (Paypal) never met? As in physics, we will increase the amount of collisions, increasing as well the possibility of successful encounters.
“Silicon valley works because there is such a high density of people working on start-ups and they are inclined to help each other. Other tech hubs have this as well but this is a case of Metcalfe’s law - the utility of a network is proportional to the square of the number of nodes on the network. Silicon Valley has far more nodes in the network than anywhere else” Sam Altman (Y Combinator) in “Why Silicon Valley Works”
3. Engineering Serendipity People just need an excuse to get together: so we engineer it, from monthly events to online groups and weekly content. It must be constant, since community building, just like making friends, requires reliability. Examples: Startup Grind KL: community of 3000+ people in KL., hosting monthly events. 300 attended Joel Neoh's event, out of 500+ subscribed. TheList.KL: weekly newsletter with curated list of events in tech, arts and design. 3000+ readers. Let's Meetup and Get Things Done: intended to spread the culture of coworking, this community has gathered 420+ freelancers in only 3 meetups. Amarit, Hubba Thailand ASEAN Coworking Community
Let's Meetup and GSD Meetup #1
“Community Building is like the Turkey in the Thanksgiving dinner. You know: people get together to eat the Turkey, but what really matters is what happens around the table�
Hugh Mason (JFDI Asia, Tech Startups Accelerator based in Singapore)
2. Community. We are... Courageous: in order to level up daily, we embrace vulnerability and dare to fail: which is the only way to grow. Abundance-Minded: we give more than take. Others success is our success too: which makes us a fearless and open-source crowd. Enthusiastic: we are full of purpose and that inspires us to create new things and proactively change the world for better. Everyday. Diverse: we are different in minds, colors and skills: and we love it. We welcome different - because that allow us to innovate. Collaborative: we believe in making friends first: building trust. Sharing because we know we can do more and better together.
2. Community of Community Builders: Breaking Walls, Building Bridges Coming from technology, we see the opportunity of connecting all dots directly with each other. A distributed network is stronger and more sustainable since it allows dots to stay connected regardless of a "centralised dot". It's also about democratising access and opportunity - allowing information to flow faster and interaction to happen freely, on internet-speed.
2. Possible* Community Friends
Wu Han, WebCampKL Designer Community
Lais, Startup Grind + MaGIC Founders Community
Arzumy, CTO KFit Coders Community Other Communities Google Business Group Google Developers Group Startup Mamak MaGIC
Grace, Hub Singapore Global Coworking Community
Amarit, Hubba Thailand ASEAN Coworking Community
* Just friends with whom we have worked before and possibly would jump in.
1. Lighthouse: the space Accessible. To be the “go-to-place� for locals and internationals, it must be central, accessible and easy to reach. Convenient. Affordable and positive surroundings. Good walk score, food options (cheap and good) and flexible working hours are fundamentals. Inspiring + Functional. Design matters. The space must educate users on how to get things done, collaborate and get the best out of it. Fast Wifi = Oxygen . Open Desks: modular spaces, flexible for events. Kitchen: cozy open space for small gatherings Dens: small private spaces for meetings and conference calls Amenities: writing walls and boards, standing desks. And real good coffee! Good to have: open 24/7
1. Still on the Lighthouse: Ideal Space in a Nutshell FUNDAMENTAL Daylight | High Ceilings | Good Ventilation | Warm Lights | Inspiring Design Good Service | Caring Staff | Flexible Operating Hours | Safety FLOOR PLAN Open Spaces | Private Spaces | Smoking Area Meeting Rooms | Cozy Rooms | Get Things Done Rooms | Chill Out Area Kitchen Facilities (Fridge, Microwave Oven, Stove) | Good Toilets + Shower POWERED Super-Fast WiFi | Abundant Plug Points | AV System | Speakers | Writeable Walls and Boards | Entertainment (Board Games, Videogame KTV, Books) Free Flow Water | Coffee & Tea | Easy Food | Sweets
To build greater things, we must work together. To work together, there must be trust. To have trust, we get to know each other. Confluence is to "Flow Together". Our challenge: the “Muddy� side of it. Working together is hard at the start - until we overcome the mud: getting to know, accept, tolerate and, eventually, care for each other). Trust is fundamental to start flowing again.
C O N F L U E N C E . C I T Y