Mixing Minds
How might we create the conditions for people from diverse backgrounds to connect, grow, and explore, together?
#community #collective learning #cross-pollination #experience design
Mixing Minds was a global community for collective learning, cross-pollination, and lasting transformation.
It functioned as a dynamic ecosystem where diverse individuals could converge, share their unique skills and passions, and forge deep connections through a wide spectrum of shared experiences.
Overview
In a world that often encourages specialization and social siloing, Mixing Minds offered a space for intentional serendipity. The community was designed to bring together people who would not normally meet, creating a fertile ground for new friendships, unexpected collaborations, and profound personal growth.
It was a living experiment in the power of a diverse, member-led network to generate its own magic.
Why it existed
To solve the core challenges of social and professional fragmentation. Many networks are homogenous, catering to a single industry or interest. Mixing Minds was founded on the belief that the most potent learning and innovation happen at the intersection of different fields, cultures, and life experiences.
It existed to blend the professional with the personal, creating a space where a lawyer, an artist, and a chef could learn from each other as equals.
How it worked
By acting as a member-stewarded platform for shared experiences. The lifeblood of the community was a rich and varied calendar of events, from intimate dinners and skill-sharing workshops to international retreats and adventure trips.
Each event was proposed, organized, and hosted by the members themselves, creating a vibrant, self-organizing culture of contribution and co-creation.
What it was
A global, multi-hub community active between 2012 and 2020, with a presence in Oslo, Amsterdam, Kathmandu, Bali, and Los Angeles. It was a dynamic network that organized over 150 unique events, touching the lives of more than a thousand people through experiences designed to foster connection, growth, and exploration.
Who it's for
A curated but diverse membership of "Polymathic Spirits," individuals from all walks of life who shared a deep curiosity and a hunger to learn. The network included over 35 different professions, from neuroscientists and entrepreneurs to magicians and surf instructors, representing more than 12 nationalities.
The Challenge
The Paradox of the Modern Network
The aspiration for deep, meaningful connection is universal, yet the structure of modern social and professional life often leads to homogeneity and isolation. We connect with people who are like us, who work in our industry, and who share our worldview.
The core challenge is the absence of a "third space" that is intentionally designed to break down these silos and facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas, skills, and friendships across diverse domains.
The recognition of this challenge, with its wide impact and lost opportunities, became the essential foundation on which Mixing Minds was built.
Key Barriers for Users
Professional & Social Siloing
Most networks are built around a single unifying identity, an industry, a hobby, or a university. This creates echo chambers that limit exposure to new perspectives and stifle the potential for true interdisciplinary innovation.
The Transactional Nature of Networking
Many professional networking events are superficial and transactional, focused on exchanging business cards rather than building genuine, trust-based relationships.
The Separation of Learning and Living
Learning is often confined to formal, structured environments like classrooms or workshops, disconnected from the social and experiential contexts where the most profound insights often occur.
Scaling Volunteer-Led Communities
Sustaining a vibrant, global, volunteer-led community is immensely challenging. Without a robust operational framework and sustainable incentive models, these networks are highly vulnerable to member burnout and coordination failures.
Intervention
The intervention was a member-stewarded global community designed to intentionally create the conditions for "magic" to happen. The strategy was grounded in curating a diverse membership and empowering them to co-create a rich tapestry of shared experiences that blended the social, professional, and personal.
Core Strategic Intent
The core strategic intent was to dissolve the artificial boundaries between social and professional life by creating a high-trust environment for diverse individuals to connect, grow, and explore together.
By focusing on the quality of the experience, Mixing Minds aimed to foster a culture where deep friendships and professional collaborations were the natural outcomes of a shared journey.
Guiding Principles
Connect, Grow & Explore
This was the central mantra. Every event and interaction was designed to fulfill at least one of these three goals, ensuring a consistently valuable and enriching experience for all members.
Member-Led Co-creation
The community was not a product to be consumed; it was a world to be built. Empowering members to host their own events based on their passions was the engine of the network's vitality and diversity.
Experience as the Curriculum
We believed that the most powerful learning happens through direct experience. An "Introduction to Neuroscience" was not just a lecture; it was a conversation over dinner. A "Back to Nature" trip was not just a hike; it was a multi-day immersion in collaboration and resilience.
Diversity as a Catalyst
The deliberate curation of a diverse membership across professions, cultures, and life experiences was the key ingredient. This diversity was the source of the network's creative energy and its capacity for generating novel insights.
Evolution
Mixing Minds was an eight-year journey of organic growth, experimentation, and learning, fueled by the passion of its members.
2011 – The Spark: The community began with an initial group of 8 founding members in Oslo, Norway, who shared a desire for a different kind of network.
2013 – First Expansion: The second hub was launched in Amsterdam, leading to the first cross-hub events and a growing international dimension.
2015 – Going Global: With around 70 members, the community expanded to Asia with the launch of the Kathmandu hub in Nepal, followed shortly by a hub in Los Angeles.
2016 – Organic Growth: During a member-led adventure trip, the fifth hub was established in Bali, Indonesia, demonstrating the community's self-organizing capacity. By then, the community had grown to over 80 members, representing 12 nationalities and spanning ages 23 to 64.
2017 – A Milestone: The network crossed the 100-event mark, with a global membership of around 80 dedicated individuals.
2018-2020 – The Great Resolution: The accumulated strain of managing a global, volunteer-led network led to the gradual closing of most hubs. The Amsterdam hub continued until 2020, marking the end of an era.
The Mixing Minds community concluded having organized nearly 150 events and created a lasting legacy of friendships and collaborations.
Team & Partners
Mixing Minds was a project founded and stewarded by its own members.
Team
Core Team
Mixing Minds Core Team in alphabetical order by first name:
Adrian Leversby
Daniel Torkildsen
Inger Alice-Lea
Joakim Trøbråten
Johan Erkkilä
Jonas Wærstad
Kim Sellberg
Kristian Haukland
Martin Vrana
Paul I. Huse
Truls Fossum ❤️
Amsterdam Hub
Mixing Minds - Amsterdam Hub Team in alphabetical order by first name:
Benji Beesemer
Caspar Alberts
Martijn Alberts
Pablo Lucker
Sebastiaan Durlacher
Tarik Binnekade
Kathmandu Hub
Mixing Minds - Kathmandu Hub Team in alphabetical order by first name:
Tsering Dorje
Subir Shrestha
Los Angeles Hub
Mixing Minds - Los Angeles Hub Team in alphabetical order by first name:
Friso Cramer
Contact
For all inquiries regarding Mixing Minds, please reach out.