Ideas Fest 2026
Whew that was a WILD couple of days!
I signed up to Ideas Fest way back in March as my FOMO in 2025 was off the chart.
It wasn’t all great - there was no signal at all so the poor food and drink stalls were next level stressed to start with, and I couldn’t see my agenda. But guess what - what seemed like a disaster turned out to be one of the best things about it! No one could check emails whilst waiting for the loo, people had to…shock…ASK other people, strangers, how to find what they were looking for.
For me, this turned out to be the best cock up ever. It was so refreshing to be able to switch off, whilst being entirely switched on. I suppose this is being fully present.
There will be more to follow, but here are my first thoughts:
Lodestar Accounting hosted the Purpose Pavilion and I spoke on both days - an ‘Ask Us Anything’ with my friend and colleague Catherine Coward on day 1, and an immersive LEGO session called What The Heck Is Sustainability Anyway?! on day 2.
Community is everything
One thing that shone out repeatedly is how many wonderful people there are in this world. It was an honour to meet the incredible Luinluland (look her up on Instagram if you don’t know who I mean) who is loud, rude, kind, gentle, brash and soft all in one. She is, really, truly, deeply, human and it is absolute MADNESS to me that I got to speak on the very same stage that she spoke on. Pinch me!
Then there were chats in the loo queue, whilst waiting for coffee and for the shuttle bus. All these places I met incredible people who have made a lasting impact on me. There were hugs going on everywhere, raucous laughter and quiet tears. Magic.
You have to remember, this is a business event. There were many seriously financially successful people there, people who have scaled multi million pound businesses from their kitchen tables. They were dishing the hugs out too. Business does not have to be boring. It is ok to be human. In fact in an increasingly robotic world I would say it is more important than ever.
Purpose is crucial
I have spoken and written about purpose plenty of times. I KNOW it is vital, I know that without it that emotional connection and care are not present. But hearing the founders of Absolute Collagen, of Bio & Me, Lush and Freshwipes talk about the reasons behind their (incredibly successful) brands was inspiring. Did they want to be financially successful? Yes, of course. But for each of these businesses there was something more. A drive to solve a problem, to make money whilst doing it, but to do so with kindness.
Without purpose, success is soulless.
Be yourself
For goodness sake, none of us need to blend in. I had years when I was in the police of being told what to wear, where to go, what to say. When I started Planet & Purpose (then B Corp Expert) almost 4 years ago i made a commitment to myself that I would be myself. I knew running a business would be full on, and that I could not do it if I had to fit a mould. Have I wavered at times? Absolutely! If ever I needed a reminder to keep being myself this was it.
Business can be FUN! This is me, with my wonderful friends and colleagues Alexina (r) and Catherine (l), dressing up in Luinluland’s fabulous clothes
It was a whirlwind, but deepened my conviction that business hold so much power to change the world for good - so for goodness sake let’s use it!
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Thanks for reading 💚
Laura
