There is a place where money doesn’t matter. And that place is where I like to call The Land of Make Believe. Other people refer it to What SF used to be like.

I didn’t realize how special it was to be accepted into this place, especially for who I am and what I do, until 2024, when I realized I wouldn’t be part of another in person Interact fellowship again and I cried about it.

When

The first time I felt this was 2020, prime COVID time, and I had just joined Contrary as a VP. It was a bunch of college kids on Zoom - talking about if any of us were tested on the Venture Mechanics presentation I’m sure I had accidentally skipped.

I got everything right.

I kinda laughed through it.

I actually studied.

I hadn’t been tested. And that put me on edge.

I’m sure they’re going to. Em. Or maybe not. Not a big deal.

Needless to say, I wasn’t and it was never a big deal at all. I obviously studied because I was 1) scared and 2) already nervous about being part of Contrary.

But it turns out that not everyone was and also, that wasn’t really the focus.

Fast forward to Retreat 2021.

The Land of Make Believe is a place where you can find and solve problems. You can make things and find them. It’s where you can be as cringe as you want but it didn’t matter because you made something.

There’s a certain groundedness to the people who have been there. At first, I thought it had been “context” or “pegidree” that had allowed me to be able to see it. But, it doesn’t even work that way. These people find you.

There are pockets of people who go there and sometimes they go together.