Andrew and I went to a taster session for the Good Business Festival last month, part of the government's event testing programme. We both took covid-19 tests on Tuesday and have two more to take as a follow-up, but then were able to attend without masks, or social distancing. The groundbreaking project sees the University of Liverpool study data to help our hospitality and events sector reopen.
There were around 250 of us in attendance and it was great to be in company again. You could feel the excitement as people chatted with colleagues and collaborators over a beer and a Homebaked pie, the busy room buzzing.
The afternoon’s content was a taste of what was to come – although clearly none of us can sit still for two-and-a-half hours any more. How things have changed! There were interesting discussions with people from the city, including Craig from Future Yard in Birkenhead, talking about the venue’s aim to be the first carbon neutral grassroots music venue in the country, and journalist Paul Mason. The highlights were the Youthquake sessions – which also looks great for this summer – where we heard from two young women with two amazing business ideas for their communities.
The event wrapped with a talk from futurist Mark Stevenson (who we spoke to a little while back for Ethos and always enjoy hearing from) and some comedy.
The chance encounters are the lifeblood of business and creativity in Liverpool – the people you bump into; the unexpected conversations you have. They’re the things that you can’t schedule on Zoom, or plan for. We left feeling energised and excited for the summer, and couldn’t ask for more than that.
Tickets for this year's main event in July are available now…