Duncan McFadzean
- Tell us what about yourself and your venture?
ARK creates community spaces impacting a local area for good. We build creative spaces where both businesses and people can flourish. Whether its coworking spaces, coffee shops, artist studios, makers spaces or more, we look to create spaces where community, creativity & collaboration are at its core, impacting local areas for good.
Back in 2016 we started ARK coworking in Kings Cross, partnering with Kings Cross Church. We provide a genuinely affordable community space for freelancers, start-ups and social enterprises, whilst also impacting our local area for good. Since then we have worked with other churches to explore new creative expressions of ARK communities.
- How did you get involved with Creo?
I connected with CREO initially through a mutual gathering of pioneers from various churches in London. I felt that I met a group of kindred spirits, with a shared passion for cultural renewal and curiosity about the way we can equip, empower and encourage pioneers in the church. A few years into the ARK story, and after a year of COVID, it felt like the right time to revisit the genesis moment in my own journey, to be more proactive in my own learning & to explore how we might be able to grow.
- How did you find your experience of Creo? How did it help your venture?
I’ve been inspired by CREOs accessible content & support for those who are walking a pioneering journey. At a personal level, I have found the time so far with CREO incredibly helpful & healing after a challenging year of COVID, providing space to reset my vision & values, recognising that my own personal journey is an important factor in the way that we lead ARK. I feel like CREO can play an important role in creating a culture of pioneering within churches, and excited about a new wave of entrepreneurialism & redemptive action that we are seeing.
- What are you most excited for in your venture?
I look forward to sharing our learning & experiences with other churches, helping them to think entrepreneurially about the resources they have in their hands, and how they might also be able to set-up ARK communities to engage with people’s working lives. Its an incredible privilege to walk beside individuals as they go about their work & run their businesses, and I’m excited about the impact that we could have in supporting people in their journey.
- What are some of the things you’re thinking about/questions you are asking as an entrepreneur?
CREO has helped me to think more about self-care & integrated faith as a leader. Its been inspiring to hear about the amazing success stories from some culture-shaping ventures and the pioneers behind them; learning from them I’d love to think more about the practices I can put into place in my own life to develop my character as a leader.
Nick is married to Lizzie and a father of three, living near Kings Cross, London. After studying a MSci in Physics, Nick began his career in the London and New York offices of Ernst & Young where he trained as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Nick then went on to set up his own accounting practice supporting social businesses, which eventually led him to set up ARK coworking with a friend, Gavin Turnbull, in partnership with Kings Cross Church. Nick is passionate about developing a culture of pioneering within church, and equally excited about the role that ARK can play in helping churches engage with people’s working lives.