A quarter century of adventure
Millie Green chats with Justin Sayers about running Adventure Connections for over 25 years, and going from owning no computer to running “the Booking.com for Christmas parties”.
Justin Sayers first met Fi Shafer, MD at MDHUB, at Brighton Airport. His office at the time was somewhat rough and ready, so the airport proved a safer bet. Justin had just founded Adventure Connections, an events business tailored to stag and hen parties, group holidays and corporate trips. Justin shared that “I didn’t even have a computer: I literally had to go to a friend to search for company name and to register the business.”
He was warned early on by an advisor at the Sussex Business Advice Bureau that “you’ll be paid less, and it’s going to take so much longer than you think,” but Justin was determined. 25 years later, Justin admitted “he was so right!” But he’s absolutely loved the journey to where he is today.
At the time, MDHUB was trading as the hub100, and it was perfectly placed to support Adventure Connections as it grew. Justin has found his regular work groups invaluable and he explained that “I really love the core values that both Fi and Phil endorse: a peer-to-peer opportunity to support one another.” Justin shared that MDHUB has also acted as “critical personnel we can parachute in if we’re in need”. For example during the 2007/2008 recession, which proved difficult to navigate for the company.
After several tricky periods, the company have introduced a risk register. From Justin’s perspective, “the big risk is mental health. It’s incredibly prevalent within business owners and directors and there’s a high risk of undiagnosed issues related to and contributing directly to the state of mind.”
To mitigate these risks, Justin has a bank of options including “turning off, taking a holiday, playing sport, healthy eating, and of course talking about problems in my MDHUB workgroups.”
At its core, Adventure Connections is the result of Justin’s bold approach and his desire to “get stuck in” with the running of the business. He encourages his team to do the same: “experiential learning is something I’m keen to promote. it’s super important to allow everyone to make acceptable mistakes and develop from this – and I have made more mistakes than anyone I know!”
Making mistakes is an accepted part of working life; it also reduces pressure on staff to get things perfect every time, and gives them the space to try new ideas without the fear of disciplinary action.
Another key part of the business’ success is that most of their team work full-time in the office. The rapid pace of the events industry requires constant collaboration, and hybrid working simply doesn’t move fast enough.
To encourage the team to come into the office, Justin has invested in fantastic offices with breakout spaces for down time, kitted out with a projector for watching films, an Xbox and table tennis. These features make it possible to truly switch off for a few minutes over lunch before returning to work.
These days, technology is integral to Adventure Connections’ business model. Justin explained more: “Technology has always been the essential backbone along with experience.”
These days, the technology is so advanced that it’s essentially running itself: with integrations with different suppliers for different experiences throughout the website, far less admin is required to get an events package together.
Nikki Gatenby, one of MDHUB’s coaches and former MD at Propellernet, joined Adventure Connections’ Advisory Board in 2022. Her honesty and guidance has been instrumental, and encourages Justin to set bigger and braver goals for the future of the business.
One of Adventure Connections’ largest projects is The Office Christmas Party, an events service specifically tailored for festive corporate events.
With over 1.3 million partygoers already supported, Justin is excited to see how it continues to progress. From small teams of 10 with a sensitive budget up to companies with 1000s of employees and six-figure budgets, the team are continuing to expand their offering for business across the country.
Laughing, Justin shared that the swan analogy suits the Adventure Connections team: “the swans are gliding beautifully along the top; under neath, the legs are going ten to the dozen!” But for the guests on their trips, it’s plain sailing. Justin explained: “We support our guests just like MDHUB supports our business.”