Building Fractal: #1
This is the first in a series of weekly newsletters where I'll be sharing my journey of building a new company in the future of work space.
What is Fractal?
David Graeber, the acclaimed anthropologist, argues that in contemporary society, “bullshit jobs” waste human potential in several ways:
On a macro level, they consume a significant amount of time and resources that could otherwise be spent on more productive and meaningful pursuits, hindering progress and innovation for society at large.
On a micro level, bullshit jobs can negatively impact an individual’s mental health by forcing them to waste a substantial portion of their lives engaged in activities they perceive as pointless. This negative impact on mental health can, in turn, reduce overall productivity and stifle creativity.
To achieve my aim of reigniting human potential in line with the “human economy”, Fractal’s approach should unlock the full capabilities of both AI and human talent. The long term vision is to achieve this through aligning meaningful work in the labour market with the right talent at the right time.
My lifelong mission is to reignite human potential and mobilise people around problems that matter, so you’ll probably agree this makes sense (hopefully).
Onto the juicy parts…
💡 In this section, I’ll evaluate how building went last week.
What we did well last week:
What we could do better this week:
Main learnings 🧭
💡 I find the best way to integrate learnings into future work is to clarify them through writing and share them so they can be helpful to others.
Being laser-focused on the problem vs the solution is, in my eyes, the right approach, but it can sometimes be frustrating. It’s easy to get excited about potential solutions, but harder to continuously interrogate whether it’s the most effective or impactful solution for the people you’re trying to help. Having a clear Theory of Change or North Star is really important as an anchor to keep coming back to throughout the early days of this process, where things are constantly in flux.
There are so many facets of the future of work: AI x human integration, gender equality, values literacy, skills taxonomies, project-based learning, fractional talent…to name a few. If I’ve learnt anything over the past few years, it’s that taking the time to properly research (both through reading and talking to people) the problem space before diving into building is absolutely critical. Sure, you can overdo this, but it’s up to you to define where that line is. I am tackling an incredibly complex problem that touches everything from the evolution of economies and the future of technology to systems thinking and language design. Given the depth and breadth of this problem space, I plan to spend more time understanding what has failed and succeeded in the past and why.
There are so many different ways to build a business in this day and age, from alternative funding mechanisms to new types of ownership and organisational structures. Keeping an open mind about what this solution could look like is key to creating something that is truly powerful.
Kudos 🙌
💡 A quick moment to show my appreciation for my community, collaborators and supporters.
I’d like to thank Serj Hunt and Max Haining for being my accountability partners last week. I can’t recommend doing in-person Pomodoros enough; keeping each other accountable to taking 5 minute breaks and unblocking/accelerating each other continuously is incredibly motivating. They’re both doing awesome work in the education space, by the way. Go check them out. And if you’re interested, we’re co-hosting the first of a series of AI After Hours hands-on workshops next Tuesday (30th May) in central London. We’d love to see you there!
Asks & Offers 🍀
💡 What support do I need and can I offer this week?
Offer: If you are a non-technical founder (or happen to know one) who has a great idea for an AI-driven product and is looking to test the feasibility of the idea or build an MVP, please reply to this email. I’m doing free scoping calls to help people understand what the product development process looks like.
Offer: If you’ve recently been laid off and are job-seeking, please feel free to book a free career consulting call with me here. I know how tough it can be in the current climate and I’m keen to help however I can.
Ask: I’m trying to speak to as many people as possible (both talent and Heads of People/CHROs/Heads of Talent at different organisations) to understand the key pain points they’re currently facing as we progress further into this new AI-fuelled
future ofwork. If you’re keen to share your thoughts and challenges, please book a 20 minute call here. I’ll ensure it’s worth your time! If you can’t make the time, feel free to shoot a quick reply back to this email with your top two pain points.
Sending good vibes for the week ahead and thanks for reading,
Nikita