Dedicated to the next generation of leaders

But why do we do what we do?

Our Story

Dffrnt started life as something a little… different. In the early years, we ran a few small meetups for young entrepreneurs to meet one another. But as we grew, dffrnt evolved too.

Over time, we changed our focus on age, to a focus on attitude, and our focus on business owners to a focus on rebellious people, doing interesting things.

Now, this is our mission at both the highest–and deepest–level. We’re developing the next generation of super-skilled leaders, to drive radical positive change over the coming decades.

How do we do it? 

We’re a proudly tiny team – doing a lot, with very little. We believe people deserve better ways to develop themselves than courses run by cowboys and get-rich-quick schemes.

We know we can do things better – by providing quality education, with a collaborative community and game-changing support and benefits. We’ve done this for years and have seen the results. You are a future result, and we’re excited to be a part of your journey.

Why is this important? 

We increasingly use the real world to escape the internet, rather than using the internet to escape the world. While we may not be able to change that, we want to make sure that in a world focused on developing technical skills, we don’t forget what makes people great leaders, friends, colleagues, founders, creators, parents, and humans.

Emotional intelligence, communication and a breadth of other soft skills are key to being a great manager, winning that next job interview, convincing investors or just being a great date. We want to arm you with those skills and enable you to build the best opportunities for your career & life.

How do we know what works?

Dffrnt was founded by Ash Phillips, an entrepreneur at heart but a human first. Ash started with very little, and instead of cash and contacts, built his toolkit of soft skills, to grow and leverage networks & social currency into new business opportunities.

Now, over a decade later, Ash is an established business commentator; from humble beginnings stacking shelves in Sainsbury’s in Bristol, UK, Ash is an award-winning entrepreneur, mentor, consultant and speaker, recognised by the Sunday Times, featured in Forbes and speaking for TED. Ash is an independent angel investor, also working alongside VC firms in companies such as Ecologi (whom, since meeting them at idea-stage, have now grown to a team of over 70 and planted over 50 million trees).

Ash attributes his continuous learning and a supportive community to his success and the opportunities he’s been able to take advantage of. He wants to share this with the next generation, so the world is able to communicate better, build better, and work better together.

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