Kate Downing Khaled | Founder & CEO
Sometimes the thing we need most makes itself known. I gasped and knew instantly that I had found what we were looking for.
There it was in my Google search, a listing that had been posted only thirteen hours prior.
And two days later, Imagine Deliver bought a Tuk Tuk, because the best way to gather generative, innovative, and powerful community insights is by creating inviting spaces that are just as unique as the ideas we’re seeking.
As an entrepreneur, I make a lot of decisions from my ‘gut’, so this wasn’t new for me, but it definitely made the team do a double-take.
Have you ever felt intuition resonate deep within you? That’s how I felt when I saw the listing posted for this vehicle, which was shipped over from Thailand and then traveled from Georgia to Minnesota to sell Hmong and Thai-style jerky products at local food markets.
And now, it will become one of our signature tools to make every-day spaces come alive with community genius.
On the day I discovered our Tuk Tuk, I hadn’t exactly been writing out the phrase “unique and custom-designed mobile food and entertainment vehicle” in the Google search bar.
But I was keeping my mind open, along with my Operations leader, Rose, for tools that could help us create more frequent, spontaneous and hyper-responsive community experiences.
Public, fun, and creative engagement not only produces the best ideas, but it also recognizes and celebrates the full humanity of the community members we’re trying to reach.
Whether it be through drawing, art, or aerosol painting, we find different opportunities for community members to get artsy and let loose. Our creative collisions might be focused on hearing from people who are most often pushed to the margins, but our community members are so much more than data points– so we make sure to have fun with it!
Art, music, delicious food and fair compensation help our conversations become moments of connection, not extraction.
And a Tuk Tuk offers us endless ways to engage with the level of responsiveness and care that we owe our communities – after all, they are our most important designers.
Popsicles and a sound system!
A local DJ and spray painting pop-up!
Hiring a neighborhood food vendor and slinging meals all night!
A holographic-painted, unicorn-design-inspired vehicle that draws you in with curiosity at the beach, in front of the grocery store, or in a city courtyard!
Yes, we will be re-painting the Tuk-Tuk, and these are just a *few* of some amazing pop-ups that we’re beginning to brainstorm.
I hope you feel inspired to add an element of art and fun the next time you’re trying to gather insights with your community. What will you be trying out? Reach out and send me a note — I’d love to hear from you.
And if you think a Tuk Tuk could help your insights process, send us a note. We can pop-up anywhere, anytime — we’ve got wheels and a deep commitment to the new futures that are taking root in our communities.
See you out there!
