I met Dhruv, my co-founder at Obvious, because his cousin (who was working with us at the time) brought him to our office. A founder who visited to meet me ended up serendipitously chatting with one of our clients for a couple of hours. Someone who came for our flu vaccine drive last year now plays badminton regularly with a colleague. We’ve spent many evenings in our office hosting board game nights, and come away with friends for life.
I know serendipity has a hand in all of this: meeting new people and connecting them in different, meaningful ways. But I can’t help but notice that our offices–the old ones as well as our current office – are the common thread. It’s where a lot of these lucky meetings and dialogues have transpired. The funny thing is, we didn’t plan for any of this. I think we were simply doing what felt right. We couldn’t be more delighted for our office to be a space where strangers become friends and people feel welcome, comfortable and creatively charged.
I have a theory: Creative people want to spend time with other creative people. (At the last event we hosted, fifty senior leaders from startups turned up, on a Tuesday morning no less, to listen to Shreyas Doshi.) Conversations can spark product ideas, friendships or be the start of extremely fulfilling side projects. Sometimes all it takes is a conversation to turn a bad day into a good one, to give you the perspective you needed and to feel that someone gets how you feel.
This – making fascinating conversations happen between fascinating people – is why we’ve decided to create The Residency, a community of creatives, builders and founders, led by Obvious.
Over the years, we’ve worked with many founders, independent consultants and creative people, and we realise it helps to have a group of people you can rant to, share your learnings with and strategize with.
If you’re interested, you could join The Residency as a (wait for it) ‘Resident’.
As a Resident, you can work out of the Obvious office whenever you want. It’s beautiful, it’s spacious, and it has ergonomic workstations (they may not save you from heartache, but they will save you from stiff shoulders).
You get access to our weekly events. Some centre around product and business, and some are lighter events to learn, share and play.
And of course, you’ll be surrounded by a community of founders, digital nomads and creatives you can bounce your ideas off.
We promise community, kinship, and a fresh outlook (or, at the very least, fresh coffee and tea). Join us.