✦ A Personal Invitation
AN INVITATION TO
THE DUFFIN FAMILY
Dave,
This isn't a business proposal.
At least not yet.
This is an invitation.
Over the last few years I've found myself spending less time asking:
"What should we build?"
and more time asking:
"Who should be in the room?"
The older I get, the more convinced I become that the future isn't built through plans.
It's built through relationships.
✦ August
In August, a small group is gathering at Shope Creek Wilderness in Asheville, North Carolina.
131 acres.
Creeks.
Trails.
Artists.
Musicians.
Founders.
Storytellers.
Builders.
People trying to figure out what comes next.
Not for the world.
For themselves.
Stephen and Mary Sedmak have spent nearly three decades cultivating and exploring the Field, including 12 years protecting and stewarding Shope Creek Wilderness.
This will likely be the last gathering before they transition to California.
That alone makes this one special.
I'd love for you to come.
Not as an investor.
Not as a sponsor.
Not as a customer.
As Dave.
Bring your wife.
Bring Solomon.
Bring Solomon's business partner.
Bring your nephew.
Bring your Asheville friend.
Come experience the place.
Meet the people.
Have the conversations.
See what emerges.
✦ Legacy
One thing I've learned is that every family carries stories worth preserving.
Most never get documented.
Most never get shared.
Most disappear.
I'd love the opportunity to spend time with your family and capture some of those stories.
Not for marketing.
Not for content.
For legacy.
For future generations.
For the people who come after us.
Jackson Averett, the filmmaker documenting Shope Creek Wilderness, will be there.
Part of what we're building is a living archive.
A place where stories, music, ideas, inventions, art, and relationships are preserved.
Not because they're famous.
Because they matter.
I also think there may be something interesting between Shope Creek Wilderness and what Solomon is building.
Maybe there isn't.
That's okay.
The goal isn't to force alignment.
The goal is to discover it.
Technology.
Community.
AI.
Storytelling.
Creative ecosystems.
Physical places.
Future systems.
There's enough overlap that I think it's worth exploring together.
✦ The Only Agenda
Show up.
Experience the land.
Meet the people.
Tell some stories.
Ask some questions.
See what happens.
I've spent most of my life creating rooms where interesting people could find each other.
This one feels different.
Not because of me.
Because of the land.
Because of the people already gathering around it.
Because something is emerging there that none of us fully understand yet.
And I'd love for you and your family to experience it with us.
Craig