You can't schedule serendipity.
But you can increase the surface area of it.
Frankie James, Founder of Ideas FestIn Frankie's words
The agenda is not the point
We spend months on the agenda. We agonise over who goes on which stage, at what time and next to whom.
But ask anyone what they got out of Ideas Fest and they won't tell you about a panel. They'll tell you about the person they sat next to at breakfast. The conversation that started in the coffee queue and finished three hours later. The thing someone said at the Magic Teapot at sundown that changed how they thought about their business.
None of that was on the schedule. That's the whole point.
"What we're really doing is increasing the surface area of serendipitous connection and fun."
Frankie James
In Frankie's words
We're widening the odds
Every decision we make is really a decision about surface area. How many chances does one person have to bump into someone they should know? How long do they stay? How relaxed are they? How likely are they to talk to a stranger?
A DJ on the lawn the night before anything official starts
Camping, glamping and staying on site, so the day doesn't end at half five
Unstructured time, so conversations can go wherever they go
You can't manufacture the moment two people realise they should work together. But you can build a place where that moment has a thousand chances to happen instead of three.
In Frankie's words
Why this matters more now
I use AI every day, and I'm a fan. But the more I use it, the more I crave the opposite: something messy, human and unoptimised.
We're about to have infinite access to answers. What we won't have infinite access to is the feeling of being properly known by someone who gets it. The person who has been through what you're going through. The friend you can ring when it's all gone wrong.
In Frankie's words
The proof
One man came on his own, knowing almost nobody. He'd agreed to meet a speaker for ten minutes before their talk. By minute ten, the speaker said: "I'm in. What do you need?" Ten minutes turned into ninety.
"I left with new friends, probable investment and access to a network I could only have dreamt of."
In their words
Comments from business leaders and entrepreneurs on the LinkedIn post that started this page.
"I made my first connection standing in the queue for the gate on the first day. Every time I entered a tent, listened to a talk, sat down next to someone, shared a bench in the food area, even dancing in the field, I met a new person. And the best bit is many of us have said, see you next year, like we are already old friends."
"For me it was the energy surrounding everything. People I bumped into, people I knew, people I met. Not all intentionally, yet many people I will stay in touch with. I crave more unfiltered and honest human conversations about what matters."
"The connections I made at Ideas Fest felt completely serendipitous."
"Ideas Fest blew my mind. And literally took my voice away. I experienced all of the magical moments you've described, or witnessed them happen right in front of me, so many times."
"We arrived to showcase a basketball game, but the real magic was in how play broke down barriers and sparked conversations between complete strangers."
"Serendipity is a wonderful thing and so true. Our eyes and minds need to be open to see it though."
"Some of the best connections I have made have come from events like Ideas Fest."
"You've perfectly articulated the real magic here."
"I've seen you embody it from the day we first met. That's why it was such an immediate way for me to describe what you've built."
In Frankie's words
Serendipity is not soft
It's not the fluffy bit you do after the real business. For most founders, the relationships are the business. The deal, the hire, the investor, the co-founder, the person who talked them out of quitting. Almost all of it traces back to a room, or a field, someone happened to be in.
So every year, the question we ask isn't just "is the programme strong enough?" It's: "have we increased the surface area?"
More room. More chances. More fun.
About the author
Frankie James
Founder of Ideas Fest. Frankie writes about connection, community and building a place where business leaders and entrepreneurs find the people they need. Come and say hello, on LinkedIn or in the field.
Connect with Frankie on LinkedIn
A thousand chances. Two days. One field.
Ideas Fest 2027, 8th & 9th September, Champneys, Tring.
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