An Ecosystem of Innovation: The future of The Loop
Noam Wasserman's "The Founder's Dilemmas" explores a fundamental choice entrepreneurs face - maximise financial returns ("Rich") or maintain full control ("King") of their company. This classic startup dilemma reflects deeper psychological forces and Wasserman's framework helps founders navigate the tradeoffs to align with their values and ambitions.
I bring up this analogy as we now venture into a new phase of The Loop, whereby our space is filled with businesses and the true potential of the site is beginning to manifest itself in ways unimaginable at the start. This moment presents a choice, one similar to the Rich vs King Dilemma in my view, whereby the partner team (who got the site from 0-1) chooses control or limitlessness. My experience in the workspace sector over the past 10 years has shown me that the latter can be hard to truly choose, as paradoxically, without placing their hand on the scale many of the great outcomes can’t be attributed to them. This has always been false reasoning to me, and it’s exactly why I joined the HWFI CDT, as they agree.
What the future holds for The Loop sits within the palms of those who will call it home. Our work sits within a chunk below them in the pyramid. We will be listening. Our local government and academic partners will be listening too. This will enable us all to work to increase the value add for the businesses and residents in a way that mirrors the direct experience on the ground. What shape this will take, we will find out, that’s what is most exciting about this project.
The next steps for The Loop will be shaped by the ultimate sine qua non in this equation: the incredible businesses that have decided to join us in this experiment of creating a local circular economy enabled by a central hub. Businesses focused on food waste, textile waste, logistics & software solutions to name a few will now operate daily from the space. Trailing solutions leveraging academic support from our partners UCL and deploying them in the local area for the benefit of businesses and residents alike. Bringing in expertise from across the country to improve systems. Fostering partnerships that can attract more people to the area to invest.
We will be hosting knowledge exchange days with our partners SHIFT through their Future Industries Demonstrator Programme. This will provide the space for businesses & residents interested in the world of innovation, climate change and circularity to connect regularly and collaborate. We already have our first innovation trail as part of the Future Industries Demonstrator programme on site with ALIVE LABS who have installed a moss wall unit, right next to adored local garden centre Growing Concerns, what a beautiful marriage.
How will The Loop benefit the community?
Increase awareness around circular economy issues at a local level
Increase sustainable consumption choices locally
Increase opportunity for local employment
Deliver a below market rate space offering
Increase quantity of local waste diverted from landfill
Reduction in carbon emissions
Hopefully you’ve gathered the theme of the site & this article being one of openness & curiosity. How can the community get involved? We have our ideas & plans but this is a dialogue. We want to know what you want to see & feel needs to change locally in the climate space. Do you want to shop more sustainably, learn more about the subject from experts, connect more with nature? Everything & anything is welcome. This is your space, it’s a community owned asset, the only way it can truly coruscate is with you. Reach out to us and share your thoughts!
Join The Loop
We still have a very limited number of spaces which we are inviting local innovators to apply for. If you are interested in desk and studio space, please download the information document and check the eligibility criteria.
To apply, please complete the online application form here. The online registration form asks for basic information about your business, as well as what you are currently doing around the circular economy and how you intend to support the objectives of the site.
Desk spaces will be allocated on a rolling basis and subject to availability on a first-come-first-served basis.
By Patrick Scally