WeWork is the platform for creators. Beautiful workspace, an inspiring community, and business services to thousands of members worldwide. WeWork want to do more to help their members and creators far and wide, from getting started right the way through to expansion. And so the Creator Awards were born, a global initiative to recognise and reward the creators of the world. WeWork were inspired to launch the Creator Awards by the fact that the WeWork community reached a new milestone: they are now 100,000 members strong.
The Creator Awards is intended to acknowledge and empower those who exemplify what it means to be a creator. Anyone who brings a new idea into the world, pursues his or her passion, and believes in something greater than oneself is a creator. From freelancers to founders, nonprofits to small businesses, artists to educators, creators are bringing new ideas into the world — and making it a better place — every day.
Once the awards were announced the WeWork team began touring the world hosting events all over the place, one of those places was Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds. I was thrilled to not only be invited to attend the event, but compère the panel of speakers, who included Nicola Elliott, founder of Neom Organics, Dave Tucker from Sonocent and David Atkinson from Yorkshire Meatball Co, all from completely different industries, backgrounds and business journeys.
The panel were fantastic, insightful and inspiring, whilst being very honest about the realities of being an innovator and business owner. The main takeaways from the evening were;
- Everything takes longer than you think it will, from building a team, being successful, every single step takes longer - but if you want it, it's worth it
- Don't be afraid to network, use your contacts, develop relationships and find your tribe of people
- Have an exit plan, you may never need to use it, but without it you will never be able to guide your business
"We're a company that want provide people with an energy source, that wants to provide people with a motivation, with excitement, we want them to love what they do," says company co-founder and chief creative officer Miguel McKelvey in a film about the awards.
"The Creator Awards is not just about pitching and connecting, it's about entering a city and changing the reality of that city, which is what we love to do," adds Adam Neumann, co-founder and chief executive officer.
Applying for a Creator Award only takes a few minutes—and with more than $20 million up for grabs, what do you have to lose?
Huge thank you to the team from WeWork, including Emma & Shelley along with the guys at Belgrave who spoilt us with awesome fries and pizza.
It was a complete honour to compère the evening panel and I really hope that a number of attendees take WeWork up on their awards offerings, it has to be someone, so why not you?!
Huge thank you to Beverley for the beautiful photos!