Our co-founder, Connie Low, LOVES coffee! So when she was challenged by Hanna Ruddies, then Impact Hub Global Onboarding Coach, during a skype call in March 2016 to have 400 cups of coffee in order to find the best co-founders, she happily accepted it. Why and what for, you may ask.
Well, let’s rewind the story a tad bit back to 2008. It was the year Connie first landed in London and subsequently stumbled upon a social innovation and entrepreneurship event at Impact Hub King’s Cross (which was then called Hub King’s Cross). Upon entering the subtle doors, she was immediately mesmerized by the inspiring, airy and light-filled coworking space, the cozy café area and wood-filled interior design. Perhaps it was this beautiful space, or perhaps it was the deep philosophical discussions she engaged in, but Connie never forgot this very first impressionable moment that left her feeling a sense of home and belonging surrounded by like-minded people who also wanted to create change in the world. She thought to herself, these are definitely her people.
Fast forward 6 years later, Connie finds herself unsatisfied by the fact that her new home in Basel does not have a place like Impact Hub King’s Cross. And so she decided she will start one. Hence, this brings us to that skype call leaving Connie with a challenge of the 400 coffees to network with the local community, in order to create the best team that can attract an impact-minded community to co-create and inspire change in Basel! As Connie is not from Basel, she was adamant that her co-founders have to be locals and made this quest slightly more challenging. It took about 4 months before the first co-founder, André Moeri, came on board. It took another 1.5 years, while losing count of the number of cups of coffee but definitely included many lunches and dinners, Hanna Byland joined the co-founding team.
Armed with years of sustainability and human rights experience working in major corporations, Connie is eager to help scale grassroots sustainable change by creating powerful collaboration between unlikely allies globally. Connie was overjoyed when she found André, who is an experienced entrepreneur with a passion for creating physical and virtual platforms that enable others to excel, and Hanna, a lawyer passionate about bringing justice to the ones who need it and using the power of governance to shape the future, to believe in her idea to pursue this together. On 29 May 2017, Connie, André and Hanna jointly created the Hubbasel Association which officially marked the start of our Impact Hub Basel journey!
Connie Low
