Some observations on the Isle of Man, its three legs and how they might point the way
In the middle of last year we moved from Cologne to Castletown, a small town on the southern tip of the Isle of Man… and I have to say, I was a little apprehensive when we made the move but also curious — curious about the island’s history; how things worked; and where people saw its future.
So I’ve spent the past six months meeting people from all walks of life, asking questions, reading up, exploring, listening… and over that time, I’ve not only fallen in love with the place, I have become enthralled by its potential.
Here are my observations.
Stunning scenery, beautiful coastline, facilities for the young, extensive local transport network — buses and steam trains (!), direct flights to Manchester, London and Dublin, outdoor activities to boot, a wealth of cultural sites and so much more. All this is wrapped in a mix of sunny and sometimes “moody evocative stormy” weather as someone recently coined it.
Sure there are things that could be improved upon, but from a tourism point of view it is most certainly up there with the west of Ireland or Iceland in terms of potential.
From a wider industry and trade perspective, the island is located on the edge of the EU — the single biggest market in the world, between Ireland and Great Britain; has a rich history of innovation; high levels of employment; the flexibility to craft its own legislation and set its own taxes; significant private capital; a relatively healthy balance sheet (for now);… and for a long time, the courage to go its own way.
All this, as a nation of 80,000 people. It is all to play for.
Storms a comin’
But, a bit like the countryman in the classic Aesop fable, the island seems to have become enthralled by the goose that’s laid the golden egg and forgotten how to tend the farm. All this while the world has become more regulated, more connected, and more subject to global standards.
You see, over the past 20 years it has leveraged low taxation and light touch regulation to successfully attract financial services and e-gaming operators to the island, now accounting for a whopping 48% and 21% of gross domestic product respectively, which in many ways is a truly remarkable achievement… or as someone once called it, alchemy. But in a world where even the super rich are calling for higher taxation, the OECD is pushing for corporate tax harmonisation, and the e-gaming industry is under increasing scrutiny, the basis for the economy feels, well… incredibly fragile. And when capital and companies can move at the click of a button, and government has built a regulatory cost-base around these sectors, you can easily see how you could quickly kill that goose.
At the same time, there seems to be an almost frenetic focus on finding the next sector to import jobs with, from crypto to cannabis; a lack of appreciation of just how cluttered and competitive the holiday market has become and how challenging it is to cut through the noise; and all the while a withering of entrepreneurial culture, with the majority of local businesses simply set up to service these two dominant sectors or the high net-worth individuals that have moved with them.
Build resilience or get swept to sea
People look to tackle these sorts of situations in one of two ways.
The first is what I call the “Waiting for Godot” approach, where individuals expect government to save the day, and a bit like the clowns in Samuel Becket’s famous play, they get frustrated when he never shows up. I’ve heard this quite a bit in my discussions over the past few months but you see, early stage enterprise involves taking risks and by definition the possibility of failure. In government that can quickly kill careers and certainly doesn’t win you votes, so expecting the civil service to step in and lead on the development of a startup ecosystem, on fuelling an entrepreneurial culture is not just an oxymoron, it is us as citizens casting ourselves as Vladimir and Estragon, the clowns circling the tree.
Sure, blaming government is an option. It is an easy one. It’s one I’ve heard a lot. But it also doesn’t change the trajectory… and if you’re economically vested in the island, it will lead to frustration, a loss of business, property value or the need to uproot and move to another jurisdiction. The equivalent of being swept to sea.
The other approach is to learn from some of the most unlikely of places to have succeeded — parts of Wales or Idaho, the Faroe Islands, Fogo Island, Orkney, or the likes of the west of Ireland or Iceland which I mentioned before.
What is their common thread?
The three legs of Mann
They are all far flung places with innovation and creative ecosystems encouraging and supporting local people to build and make, creating meaningful jobs, attracting talent and capital, with a message to the outside world that cuts through the noise, a growing tax base, the young looking to return, flourishing communities with a pride of place and belonging amongst those that live and herald from there.
It is as if they had taken the 13th Century coat of arms of the Isle of Man, the three legs that symbolises independence and resilience, “Quocunque Jeceris Stabit” which literally translates to “Whithersoever you throw it, it will stand.” and made it their own.
Far flung communities, independent yet connected to the outside world, harnessing the powers of the prevailing winds to build resilience, claiming their unique place in it.
That is what they have in common, and I believe the Isle of Man can regain.
But how?
Set a different course
“Waiting for Godot” is not a strategy.
Instead, the island needs to claim its place in the world — one that leverages its unique strengths and aligns with global opportunities. From there it can start to build; uncovering and nurturing innovation and investment opportunities, in a phased programmatic manner, led by private capital.
What is that unique place? Where is that focus? The ingredients are there a plenty. Figuring out which area or thematic to double down on will come from convening a group of vested individuals who have the experience, connections, capital and most importantly mindset, to see where there is alignment.
Once there is, then the rest is relatively straight forward.
- An incubator program inspires people from across the island and from all walks of life to explore and develop ideas in this space, providing the support and accountability they need to take their concepts from paper to prototype to pitch. Seats are for standard levels of equity, fees or are sponsored depending.
- That then creates deal flow and commercial rationale for a network of vetted investors who share experience and due diligence, matching the best on-island ideas with on- and off-island investors — experience, connections and capital. It’s an island investment club, an enterprise fund, a way to accelerate promising ventures.
- Over time, this creates demand for and de-risks investment in a transformative piece of real estate — an inspirational space akin to Innovation Collective’s Innovation Den, the RDI Hub, or even a version of the Fjordarium concept; where innovators can flourish, that acts as a visual beacon to the outside world for this unique space the island lays claim to, and that generates rental return.
Regardless of focus, it’s about that founding group of successful entrepreneurs, vested in the Isle of Man, those who have paved the way, coming together to nurture and champion a vibrant creative community in a way that makes commercial sense, and in so doing, safeguarding the island’s economic vitality, prosperity and independence for the future. Led by builders for builders.
It’s an approach that has worked elsewhere, can deliver transformative results, and all the ingredients are here.
Already charted
These are charted waters I’ve seen work first hand, building relational infrastructure one community at a time — developing start-up ecosystems in small towns across America to validate demand for innovation hubs; a tourism cluster to validate demand for a high-end hostel and unlock significant government investment in the public realm; program development and strategy for a top-tier rural innovation space; co-founding a venture studio; real estate development; community development for global brands and more.
Seeking out and tracking note-worthy rural economic development initiatives — some private, public and mixed — such as the Shorefast Foundation, Fforest, Campus Ocean, Creative Orkney and many more.
And based on the belief that if you can align good people around something that stacks up, great things happen.
Leadership in Place - Shorefast
If you are interested in such a roundtable taking place or would like discuss it further, please feel free to get in touch. If there is enough of the right interest, we’ll make it happen and let’s see where this goes.
Waiting for Godot is not an alternative.