What we learned in our first year

We were running around to finalize the last details. We had been working for weeks, getting everything ready. And although we were flexible with the schedule, we felt intuitively that this was the time for it to happen. This was the time to press the “Send” button. And with our first email announcement in late February 2023, cosyn came into the world.

We celebrated cosyn’s one year anniversary by holding a retreat to reflect, deepen, and imagine new possibilities. We wanted to feel deeply connected, so we decided that there couldn’t be a better place than the ocean. 

Enjoying the sunset after our retreat as a way to restore, celebrate, and connect. 

As we reflected, we noticed the patterns that our journey took last year:

Rooting in and living our values

Having clarity about what guides our decision-making and direction kept us rooted and grounded in our ability to say no to opportunities that were not aligned and yes to those that were. It also guided how we worked and the policies and practices we developed. 

Experimentation (including failing forward)

You don’t know what you don’t know unless you try things. That includes your preferences, what advice you want to follow, and how you are choosing to show up in the world (in our case, also our business.) When we ventured into uncharted territory and encountered challenges or discomfort beyond our expectations, we gained insights into what truly nourished our lives and what we desired to incorporate more of what made us thrive into our daily practice.

Reciprocal and aligned relationships

Relationships that are aligned with our values are inherently why we decided to start cosyn. We wanted to partner with people and organizations in a journey of transformation that leads to social change. And centering our connection is key for reciprocity, because that is one way we challenge power dynamics and build meaningful equitable relationships. 

Investing in ourselves

Very early on in our journey with cosyn, we learned that in order to fully show up rooted, experiment, and be in reciprocal relationships, we needed to invest in ourselves first. That includes continuous professional development, equitable business system and policies, dedicated time for rejuvenation, introspection, and celebration, and strategic collaboration with aligned partners (such as lawyers, accountants, designers, etc.) Through investing in ourselves, we lived our value of abundance, and let go of scarcity of resources and risk aversion. 

View from our retreat space 

We’ve also engaged in deep reflection about what it truly means to operate an equitable, anti-capitalist business and how we embody those principles. While we continue to refine our own framework, we can already share is that being anti-capitalist, to us, signifies having sufficiency—knowing when we have enough. It means resisting the urge to grow merely for growth’s sake and rejecting the idea of working incessantly without purpose. It means that our offerings are aligned with what gives us joy, that we seek collaboration over competition, and that we refuse to use scarcity and fear-based marketing. And that we do restorative care, even when we are busy.

Our values guided cosyn’s first year, including our retreat.

Navigating growing a business in alignment with our values presents one of life’s most formidable challenges. We grapple with decisions, often diverging from convention and those we hold dear, even as they strive to bolster us. Our commitment entails not assuming we have all the answers, taking deliberate pauses, and finding a new way that embodies our best values and potential as people. All of this within the context of a culture that touts productivity and constantly developing outputs as a badge of honor. It can be draining. 

But living our values also opens up possibilities: dreaming, experimenting, opportunity, and meaning-making. It all starts with our own journey towards that transformation and our commitment to keeping it.