LOG ENTRY 003

The Day Everything Changed

Dundee, Scotland

I ended my last Journal by saying something that probably sounded a little strange.

For years, I've been talking about Terra Nueva as my project. My idea. My company. My vision.

The funny thing is...I don't think it ever was.

That wasn't some grand revelation. It was more like one of those thoughts that crept into your head while you're driving home after a meeting.

You know the sort. You keep replaying conversations in your mind and suddenly realise you've been looking at something completely the wrong way. I've had a lot of those moments over the last year.

As Terra Nueva has started to take shape, I've found myself talking to people from completely different worlds. One day, I'm discussing livestreaming with musicians. Next, I’m sitting with people who work in film. Then it's gaming. Virtual production. Immersive technology. Artificial intelligence. Sports. Education.

At first, none of it seemed connected.

Different industries. Different conversations. Different people. Or so I thought.

Then something clicked.

Every single one of them was trying to answer the same question.

How do we create better experiences for people?

That's it. Different industries. Same challenge.

The more conversations I had...The more obvious it became.

Terra Nueva was never about music. Or cinema. Or sport. Or technology. They were simply different roads leading to the same destination.

Connecting people.

Then another thought hit me. One that should've been obvious years ago. I've spent over forty years in the live entertainment industry. In all that time, I've never seen a successful tour built by one person. Never.

People buy tickets because of the artist. But behind that artist...There's a tour manager. Production manager. Sound engineers. Lighting engineers. Backline technicians. Drivers. Promoters. Venue staff. Security. Caterers. Freight companies. Hundreds of people. Nobody ever applauds them.

But without them...

The show never happens.

The same is true for films & festivals. In fact, it’s the same is true for almost everything worth building. So why on earth did I think Terra Nueva would be any different?

The answer is...

I didn't. Not really. I'd just never stopped to think about it. That's when I realised I'd been using the wrong language.

I didn't want followers, subscribers or customers.

I wanted...

Explorers.

Naturally curious people.

People who enjoy asking..."What if?"

People who believe that the best ideas usually begin with someone saying...This might sound a bit crazy..."

Because that's exactly how Terra Nueva began.

Not with a business plan. Not with investment. Not with a strategy. But, with a question.

"What if we did things differently?"

The more I thought about it, the more obvious it became. Terra Nueva isn't really a destination.

It's an expedition. And every expedition needs a crew. Not passengers. People who bring different skills, ideas & experiences. People who don't just watch the journey. They help shape it.

That's why these Journals matter. They're not here to tell you how successful Terra Nueva becomes. They're here to let you watch it happen. The good days. The difficult days. The breakthroughs. The disappointments. The conversations that change everything. Because if you're reading this...

You're no longer watching from the sidelines. You're already part of the expedition. And that means Terra Nueva stopped being my project the moment you decided to join the journey.

Funny, really.

I spent forty years trying to build a company.

Turns out...

I was actually building a community.

Anyway...

That's enough philosophy for one evening.

The coffee's gone cold again.

In the next Journal, I'll tell you about the moment Terra Nueva stopped being an idea and started becoming something real. That's when the conversations became meetings. The meetings became partnerships. And the dream finally began stepping out of the notebook.

The journey continues...

Next Log: The Dream Steps Out of the Notebook...

Stu