From A Domain Name To A Community

Why I Founded Impromptue - by Elise Nardin

· impromptue,corevalues,team

In October 2015, I bought the www.impromptue.ch domain name, not really knowing what I would make of it. I had a sheer interest in cross-industry collaboration and several ideas of bringing people together for spontaneous gatherings. However, I could not define what the intrinsic value of the latter should be. The community element appealed to me, but somehow, the ‘why’ was missing. I decided to just let the idea float in the back of my head.

Fast-forward to fall 2017. Over the last two years I met several women, my age or older, in different stages of their lives and their careers. What struck me most was that they - and ultimately we - shared a drive to explore ideas we’d been toying with for a while without really materializing. Parallel to these encounters, I had several conversations with women who had started their own side project or even their business, but who felt stuck, sometimes isolated, not knowing who to bounce ideas, doubts, and thoughts off of.

A two-week vacation this summer gave me the chance to focus on my emotions and on my body: First, surfing (ok, trying to stand up on a surfboard) in windy and powerful Portuguese waves; and later, a reset week aimed at allowing myself to recharge. This double hiatus sparked a process which unfolded itself, imperceptibly but steadily, unravelling what lay underneath. The summer further fuelled the process, by way of long conversations with a close friend, reflecting on our respective careers, lives, and senses of belonging. Somehow, out of nowhere, or maybe after a day spent at the public pool together, the kids taking off of jumping boards, thinking out loud about possible side projects, the purpose of my domain name became clear to me.

The process was very organic, but in hindsight, my original idea resurfaced this summer in concurrence with three enabling elements. First, I felt compelled to provide a community for these women - and for myself - that would offer a safe and supportive environment to exchange and learn from. Second, I had a desire to nurture my creative side through work on a new side project which I was committed to, and which would have a direct impact. Third, I was ready for change.

My conversations over the past two years have taught me that there is tremendous potential in having a community where one can be honest, reach out, learn, and share experience and knowledge. Through these one-on-one conversations, I realized that the community I wanted could and should include the women I had met. But the community I envisioned was inexistent per se. I would have to help it take shape.

I created Impromptue as a side project, and I am investing my personal time to enable women to have a community whose values they share, to provide a community they can benefit from and, above all, contribute to. I want to empower other women to take risks, to get out there and materialize their ideas. I know I will make mistakes along the way, and I’ll occasionally have to take a step back and reassess the project. Despite that, I am deeply convinced, from-the-bottom-of-my-soul convinced, that this collective effort can have a direct impact on our lives. I'm excited for what's to come and to take part to the conversation. We live in challenging times, but I’m all the more driven to craft a positive narrative, one that will have a lasting, long-term impact.

'Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with' - Seth Godin