“A Letter From the Founder” – Why am i doing this?

Mike Darnell

2 years ago

My name is Mike. I’m the founder of Proseed, and our current leader.

Thanks for stopping by…

The text below is my attempt to explain:

How Proseed happens
What it’s for.

Proseed – A New Beginning – Bangkok – October 2024

“…We all have a share in building a better world…”

Dear Proseed founders, members, and friends, for 6 years, and 49 meetings, i’ve had the honor of somehow receiving your trust to run our community.

Now, as we approach our 50th meeting, it’s time to ask: what’s next?

Since you’re Proseed’s stakeholders, i’m sharing our new course with you, but before that, i want to offer an exit ramp.

How We Get Rid Of Me

“…Leaders, like diapers, should be replaced often and for the same reasons…” – Mark Twain

I hereby swear, with all of you as witnesses, that whenever 9 Proseed members, or 5% of the people in our Friends of Proseed WhatsApp group, offer a new nominee leader, and a new agenda for Proseed, we’ll run a democratic vote in the forum where the nomination was made and i’ll accept the outcome of that vote.

It’s an easy commitment to make.

I’m not comfortable leading Proseed, i never was, and for reasons i will soon share, i doubt i ever will be.

With that out of the way, let’s move on…

A Little History

“…Study the past if you would define the future…” – Confucius

Some of you will remember that originally we founded Proseed as a for-profit, cooperative, startup accelerator.

The idea was that since we all offered complementing services to the same target audience of startups and entrepreneurs, it made sense to pool our efforts and create a shared platform that would serve as a lead generator for all our businesses.

While the logic was sound, that model never really materialized the returns we hoped for, and understandably, some of you reduced your engagement.

But in the year or so that passed Proseed had already developed a life of its own.

It evolved into a networking group focused around Entrepreneurship, Authenticity, and Kindness, and it gathered a following, but it also increasingly became a one-man show, and therein lay the roots of the challenge we now face. That one man has grown very tired of running it. I think this is primarily for two reasons:

Running Proseed is a lot of work.
Out of respect to you guys, i always tried to align to our original vision, even as my interest in that vision waned.

When you add to these challenges the pandemic, and the fact that i’m diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and over the past few years have struggled with recurring anxiety and depression, it’s no surprise that the frequency of Proseed meetings has declined.

In all honesty, earlier this year i thought Proseed was over – i didn’t feel i had the strength for it any more.

But over the past months so many people asked me “When is Proseed again?” that i slowly felt inspired again, and then, a couple of weeks ago, someone told me they loved Proseed, because “…Like you promised – it’s networking for people who hate networking”. Evidently, that was the final push i needed.

That said, i know that going forward i can only do Proseed if i can be honest about our focus, and what it means for me.

What Is Proseed’s Focus?

“…The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others…” – Mahatma Gandhi

Proseed has always been a gathering of PROfessionals.

Moving forward i’d like us to focus on the SEED part:

S.ocial
E.quity
E.nvironment.
D.iversity

I feel there’s a deep need to address these issues with authenticity, and i’d like Proseed to be a place where that happens.

To me, this is a pragmatic and natural extension of the belief in kindness that we all share.

What Does Proseed Mean For Me?

“…Be yourself; everyone else is already taken…” – Oscar Wilde

Earlier I shared my mental health diagnosis.

I did this because i know i’m surrounded by friends, i feel safe, and i have an agenda:

To inspire authenticity, i have to be open.
To make Proseed a Safe Space, i have to be vulnerable.

But i also have a personal motive.

To show those i love the most that being neurodivergent is neither a handicap, nor a cause for shame, I need to lead the way.

If not me – Who?

If not now – When?

What’s Next?

“…The best way to predict the future is to create it…” – Abraham Lincoln

Now that we’re done with the preface, it’s time to get to work, and here’s how you can help:

Help select the most compelling panels.
Suggest your own ideas for panels and events.
Help secure panelists.
Volunteer to moderate discussions.
Offer ideas to make Proseed financially self-sustaining.
Share suggestions for making “Friends of Proseed” more engaging and active.
Let me know if you think Proseed events should be monthly, or every other month.
Join our events and lunches.
Contribute in any way you believe can make Proseed a better community.

I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and thank you again for trusting me with this incredible community.

I’ll never forget it.

We all have a share in building a better world

Doing good

The charity we support are Hands Across the Water, dedicated to saving Thailand’s most vulnerable children from dangerous environments and to giving a home to those who have no family or known relatives to care for them. With your help, these kids don’t have to go hungry, miss out on education, face the challenges of life on their own or be forced into undesirable employment.