2023

I've had many ideas over the years, but when Qu arrived it stopped me in my tracks. Literally. Time stood still while the future rippled through my mind, and when it stopped, I was left with the strangest feeling of relief. I'd found what I'd been preparing for my entire life.

2024

So, I got to work. It was slow, as you'd imagine. An idea this big doesn't happen overnight, especially with limited time and resources, but I knew I just had to get started.

The big focus of that year was Qu Anytime - a video calling app that lets you instantly connect face to face with people from all around the world.

Qu believes that most of what we know, we learn from experiences and other people. The more things we do and the more people we meet, the more we learn and grow.

Fifteen minutes with the right stranger can teach you more than a week inside your bubble. Yet most of us see the same people on repeat. I wanted a way out of that. A door you could open any time, from anywhere, with brand new people waiting on the other side.

I didn't get the app built that year, but I did learn a lot about Qu, and about myself. And as I looked ahead, I knew there was much more to come.

2025

2025 delivered, and then some.

In the summer I held the Qu Launch experience - telling the origin story of Qu through art, performance, and shared experience. Nobody who came had been in a room like it before, including me.

I finally got Qu Anytime built, and by the end of the year it was up and running on the app stores. A few bugs, sure, but after almost two years, it was live. Cathartic doesn't cover it.

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When October hit, I'd already completed my goals for the year, including starting my first video series - The Qu Show - a documentary series capturing Qu's journey, and my own.

Content was always a part of the Qu story I was excited about. I love to tell stories, and this was a chance to tell a lot of them, in different contexts and for different reasons, but all as human as possible. No gotchas, no quick cuts, no contrived moments. Just people being people and sharing experiences.

And it wasn't long before I was planning my next show - The Other Qu Show.

I'm curious about everyone. I want to know how people think, how they feel, how they solve problems. I just want to understand people more, and the best way I know is to ask them questions. So I figured I may as well share it, and let everyone else benefit too.

Over time, the series will become a library of humanity.

Qu believes curiosity is fundamental to who we are. The thing underneath the thing. Every great idea, every connection, every moment of growth, curiosity was there first. But it's being slowly eroded. Scroll by scroll, notification by notification.

With a few weeks left to play with, I turned to the other big piece of Qu. The in-person experiences.

The Launch event was its own thing, and there'll be more like it, but what I really wanted was a vehicle I could take on the road. Something repeatable, something I could shape around any group with any ambition - and something that could change a mind in an hour.

Ambitious, I know. But I'd been thinking about it for some time, and I believed it was possible. The key was that it couldn't be through instruction. It had to be through experience. People have to feel it. Live it. Only then does anything actually change.

So I sat with it. Properly. No distractions, no half-attention - just me and the problem I'd been circling for years.

And then it came. Not piece by piece, but all at once. Everything I'd been quietly gathering in the back of my mind fell into place, and I could see it whole.

Qualia was born.

2026

I set the Qualia pilot for April 22nd. Earth Day.

If it worked, it would thrust Qu forward. If it didn't, I'd have to rethink the whole thing.

The theme picked itself. Curiosity. The heart of Qu - and a habit, which is the part most people miss. Curiosity isn't something you either have or you don't. It's something you can develop. I wanted people to see that, and more importantly, I wanted them to leave having actually done it.

I started before anyone arrived. I marketed it as a mystery social experience - no agenda, no running order, no idea what they were signing up for. By the time people walked through the door, their curiosity was already piqued. That was the point. The experience started the moment they got their ticket.

Now I just had to build something worth the mystery…

I knew exactly how I wanted people to feel, and in what order. At ease first. Then curious. Then confident. And by the end, calm, joyful, and inspired.

So I built it to be felt rather than heard. My job was to open the door and close it. What happened in between was down to them and each other.

And like everything with Qu, there was a layer underneath. While they were practicing curiosity, they were practicing something else entirely.

Qu believes the most valuable skills are human, not technical. Communication. Adaptability. Problem solving. Creativity. You learn them best through experience. Much less in bubbles.

They were practicing the skills that matter most today, and will matter even more tomorrow. As the world moves faster, what carries you is your ability to talk to people, solve problems on the fly, get creative when things don't go to plan, and adapt as change washes over you.

When I arrived that evening I still had no idea if it would actually work. Confident, sure - it was years of whittling away at one idea. But confidence isn't proof, and my own curiosity was through the roof. I had to know.

Fortunately, I got my answer quickly. As the experience unfolded I watched individuals change before my eyes, glowing a little more with every moment. And before long, 100 strangers become one. 

For me, it was a profound experience. For everyone else - well, see for yourself…

Now I know how powerful the experience is, I want it in front of as many people as possible.

It isn't a lecture. It isn't a training day. It's an experience, and what people take from it doesn't stop when they leave the room. In some cases it’ll stay with them for life.

So if you're part of a group, or you know one - anywhere from 50 people to thousands - and you want them to feel the way these people did, give me a shout. I'm taking bookings now, in the US and internationally. I've got the first couple in the mix already, and as of this week I'm turning my attention to filling the calendar.

There are two ways in.

Qualia: Curiosity is the introductory experience. The one you've just read about. A game-changer for anyone in the room. Available now.

Custom Qualia experiences are built around a specific group and a specific goal. The format was designed to flex to any ambition, dynamic, or culture — new student orientation, community building, fundraisers, mergers, collective problem solving. Available on demand.

If you'd like to change some people's lives, or your own, email me at [email protected].

And there's more…

And as far as I can tell, a format nobody else is doing. The interviewer becomes the interviewee.

The moment I finish interviewing a guest on The Other Qu Show, we swap seats and they interview me for The Other Other Qu Show.

The first episode with John & Keen is live now.

Qu Anytime

A full update, plus two new features: direct messaging with friends, and one-on-one video calls.

It's free, and I have no plans to sell anyone's data.

Available now on Apple and Android devices.

Your Daily Qu

A new daily series on our socials (links below). One small prompt, every day. Something to try, notice, or ask someone. It’s the smallest entry point into Qu.

Follow along at @justquandme, and share them with a friend.

2027

One last thing - Qu Games

Looking further ahead to a project I'm extremely excited about. Qu's first TV series, currently in development.

I can't say much yet. What I will say is that it's a real-life experience that takes place over two days - with contestants competing, and an audience that doesn't just watch. They take part, learn, and grow right alongside it.

Keep up to date for your chance to be in the room.

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That's everything for now, but rest assured, this is just the beginning.

If you're enjoying following Qu's story and want to support my work, please share this with a friend, follow Qu on social media, and most importantly, take what's useful to you along the way.

Warmly,

David