Supporting sustainable creativity: balancing inspiring tech change with celebrating local heritage, makers & nature.

It’s been nine months since I exited and left Momondo Group, after a 17-year journey.

Was it hard to leave? Yes. Do I think about our journey, learnings & the team?  Yes. Indeed, I’m in touch with many alumni who are forging future plans, which gives me huge pleasure. But now is the time to look forward and start a new chapter.  

I’ve been taking time out, thinking about what is important, what gives me pleasure, what I’m most passionate about. What is my purpose? I’ve been trying to say no to everything, to buy space and time, after such a busy period. It is telling, the things I’ve not been able to say no to: I am now a Patron of the not-for-profit Borders Art Fair to support a re-launch, continuing to make bold early stage digital investments, pursuing a project to support the continuity of rush seat chair making in a 100-year tradition and generally gravitating towards creativity in a variety of forms, which I find energising and exciting.

I thought it would be worth summarising the focus of my new chapter, sharing some news and explaining what might appear to be inconsistency of focus/ communications. It pains and sometimes amuses me, that my social media followers are being subjected to enthusiasm around the seeming polar opposite interests:

• A passion for digital technology shaping our future.

And...

• A love of a variety of aspects of the arts and crafts movement (often seen as luddite), heritage crafts and the art of making. 

In this brief update, I want to bring them together in a way that makes sense to me and I hope will resonate.

In short, my purpose is to support creativity. I love the buzz of creativity and the energy it generates in solving questions, but the practical part of my brain wants it create something sustainable – something lasting, something with purpose. I also love the impact that business can make in the world. Corporations have a huge impact on the vast majority of human experience and society. A company has the power to make life better, more sustainable and more empowering – that is exciting. Business can also lose focus and allow itself to be corrupted (this is not a holier than though preach, I think I have been culpable here at certain times).  

The story of the arts and crafts movement resonates with me – it was a reaction against the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century. Whilst it was an incredible period that brought wealth, dynamism and better lives, it also caused destruction of nature, social change, terrible working conditions and disenfranchisement of some. I think there are parallels with the Technology Revolution we are experiencing now – it is amazing, beautiful and empowering, but has darker sides. It needs balance. And for me that balance is often to be found in the values of the arts and crafts movement – a movement supported and forged by people with incredible stories of celebrating making things by hand, wanting to live in a community, to enjoy the beauty of nature, to live life to the fullest and with employment that is enjoyable, fulfilling and stimulating. A big part of the movement was also focussed on a Socialist utopia and - it is argued - a practical one. Today the challenges are different and this is not a path I choose to focus on, but the themes of celebrating nature, the handmade, the beautiful, the local and supporting those who are not part of the digital global economy resonate strongly. Balance is required and we can strive to get the best of both worlds.

Therefore, my focus or purpose, is to support sustainable creativity in the arts, crafts and business.  

I seek to explore and share my passion with others to help in making things happen, whether that is as an investor, through charity work, donations or as a simple sounding board.

As a guide, here is a quick summary of the ways in which I will be working:

-      Marchmont Ventures: I’m excited to announce that I’m forming a new office, called Marchmont Ventures (www.marchmontventures.com), with Alan Martin, who I was lucky enough to work with at Momondo Group. We are thrilled about starting a new chapter. This office will have oversight of all our activities, pursuits and investments.

-      HOWZAT Partners: The fund I co-founded with David Soskin in 2006, now including Sascha Hausmann as a Partner too, will continue to make exciting and bold early stage investments. We are on our third fund with over 60 investments and a lot in digital travel. I do not run the fund day to day but am a supporter and love to get involved with some of the investments where I can. Watch this space. www.HOWZATpartners.com

-      Marchmont House: I now spend more time in the Scottish Borders and a key project for me is making Marchmont House into a Home for Makers & Creators. This is a physical manifestation of the purpose of sustainable creativity and at the core of what Marchmont Ventures is about.  The House, which has been restored over the last 6 years, celebrates makers & creators. I am especially passionate about the arts and crafts collection and sculpture, but British – esp. Scottish artists – are celebrated in the House across a range of eras.  

I am planning to bring Marchmont to life in a variety of ways:

• Retreats: I’d love to see creative Companies using Marchmont for inspiring off-site retreats (like we did with Momondo Group). 
• Events: I’ve also started to organise symposia on topics celebrating great British makers & creators. 
• Marchmont Workshops. I’m building & supporting a workshop - within a charitable structure - to continue making rush seat chairs in the tradition of Philip Clisset, Ernest Gimson, Edward Gardiner, Neville Neal and Lawrence Neal. We would love other visionary wood craftsman to join us, in a small community of makers but our priority is recruiting apprentices to work with Lawrence.

Let me know if you have any ideas or plans that you think would fit... www.marchmonthouse.com

-      Investing: The primary early stage digital investment vehicle for us is through HOWZAT, but if it’s off piste and does not seem like an obvious fit for HOWZAT then we might have a look. If you have a purpose driven opportunity, that shapes a better world, challenging the way things are done to create sustainability through creativity then we might be interested and anticipate taking on a small number of larger investments, where we feel we can make a difference.

-      Supporting creativity in the arts & crafts: I am passionate about supporting creativity of makers and creators.  I have started this journey by being a Patron of the Borders Art Fair. I love the opportunity to support artists - especially in a rural setting - to help make them successful and support creativity which makes everyone’s lives more colourful. I have other projects in this area, that I look forward to announcing.

-      Property: In a galaxy far away and a long time ago, I founded a few small property companies and worked in our family business founded by my grandparents and father, which invests in property.  I look forward to working more with property, but with the purpose of injecting creativity to make better spaces, places and hopefully including ways to support the arts in some shape or another.

I relish this new chapter and am excited to see it start to take shape. I hope to build sustainable creativity in partnerships and ways that we can look back on and be proud of.  Creativity is fun. But sustainable creativity can create meaningful experiences and legacies.

Please be in touch if you have ways to work together or join in a conversation about what I have said above.

Many thanks. 

Hugo - Marchmont Ventures