10 Nexus Global · The Nexian Way

Audacious Company

How 10 Nexus designs experiences where global leaders, builders and creators dare boldly and support one another through their most ambitious goals.

Audemus unaWe dare together

I · Philosophy & mottoOur philosophy and motto

Grit is personal. Resilience is communal.

Behind almost every story of perseverance is someone who helped the person keep going. Audacity is one of the core values of 10 Nexus. But audacity without support is just risk. So we call what we build Audacious Company: "company" in both senses, the people beside you and the institution built to hold them.

What we do together

Audemus una

We dare together

Who we are

Ex pluribus, una vox

From many, one voice

The two mottos share one small word, una: one, together. Ex pluribus, una vox describes who we are. Audemus una describes what we do together.

Audacious Company rests on three ideas that are often confused:

Grit"I will keep going."Staying committed to something meaningful over the long term.

Resilience"I can adapt."Bending when life changes the conditions, without breaking.

Grace"I can learn from this."Accepting reality without surrendering agency.

Grit without resilience becomes stubbornness. Resilience without grit becomes drifting. Without grace, both eventually exhaust us.

II · Design principleThe design principle

The Nexian design principle

The more audacity we ask of someone, the more deliberately we raise the support around them.

Every 10 Nexus experience is designed for high challenge with high support.

Low support

High support

Low challenge

Stagnation

Comfort

High challenge

Overwhelm

Growth

We design for the bottom-right: high challenge, with high support around it.

Every Nexian moves through the same loop, again and again:

Audacity
→
Action
→
Adversity
→
Reflection
→
Support
→
Adaptation
↺

The loop has no finish line; growth is what builds up with each turn. People on their own tend to stall at Reflection and Support, so that is where our community does its most important work.

Support scales with the stretch

When we ask for…	…we provide
Vulnerability, as in a storytelling exercise	Trust and confidentiality
Uncertainty, as in a founder challenge	Peers who've been there, and mentors
Unfamiliarity, as in a cross-cultural immersion	Belonging: a partner and a cultural guide
A bold public commitment	Encouragement and honest feedback

Audacity is measured against the person. For one founder, speaking to 500 people is easy, and asking a cofounder for help is terrifying. We reward meaningful stretch, not spectacle.

We don't make the path easy. We make it safe enough to attempt hard things together.

III · The scienceSituated: designing the situation, not just the person

Grit is necessary but not sufficient; the situation decides whether effort pays off. That's the argument of Angela Duckworth's Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best (Scribner, September 2026), the follow-up to her bestseller Grit.

"It takes effort to make your situation your ally — but a little effort goes a long way."Angela Duckworth, Situated

Duckworth points to three kinds of influence. We design with each of them:

Place"objects within arm's reach"Commitments made visible, and rituals on a fixed calendar, so showing up doesn't depend on willpower.

People"your peers and mentors"Accountability partners, often from different cultures, and mentors across our global network.

Culture"even your zip code"Norms that make audacity ordinary: celebrating attempts, asking for help, and confidentiality.

Duckworth also reframes burnout as a sign of a situation that isn't working, not a person who isn't enough. So when a Nexian is struggling, our first question is "What about your situation isn't working?", not "What's wrong with you?"

We don't just ask people to be grittier. We design situations where grit can pay off.

IV · PracticeThe Nexian reflection questions

When we teach children resilience, we ask: What did you try? What did you learn? What might you try differently? Who could help you? Those questions don't stop working when we grow up. We just stop asking them of each other. Nexians ask six:

	The question	What it does
1	What did you dare to try?	Names the audacity, not just the activity
2	What happened, including what surprised you?	Separates what happened from the story we tell ourselves about it
3	What did you learn about the situation, and about yourself?	Turns a setback into information
4	What will you try differently next time?	Brings back a sense of agency
5	What kind of support would help you take the next step?	Makes the need specific
6	Who in this Circle can help?	Moves from "I" to "we"

The short form, for weekly check-ins: What did I dare? What am I learning? Where could I use support?

The sixth question is where resilience turns into co-elevation. It's no longer "How do I become strong enough to do everything myself?" but "How do I find the courage to keep moving, and the wisdom to reach for others?"

V · RhythmThe rhythm

Resilience can't be taught in a single workshop. At 10 Nexus, it's the rhythm of every Circle, cohort and retreat.

When	Ritual	The practice
Start of each month	The Audacity Commitment	Each member completes the sentence "This month, I dare to…" in front of their Circle: pitch the investor, publish the essay, have the conversation, ask for help, change direction.
Every week	Accountability Partners	Pairs, often from different cultures, check in between sessions. Someone notices when you go quiet.
Every week	The ten-minute check-in	Three short questions and one status: Growing, Stretching or Support. Asking for help becomes normal long before anyone reaches a crisis.
Every month	Beautiful Attempts	Members share something they tried that didn't work: what they were aiming for, which assumption was wrong, what they're carrying forward. We celebrate the quality of the attempt, and raise a glass to beautiful attempts.
Every quarter	Keep, Adapt, Release	A structured review of what deserves our perseverance (see below).
End of each cohort	The Comeback Story	"Where did something not go to plan, and who did you become in responding to it?"

Over time, the Comeback Stories become a library of Nexians saying: I tried this. It didn't work. Someone in this community helped. I changed my approach. Here's what happened next.

VI · CareSupport that fits the moment

Well-meant support can miss the mark. When someone shares a struggle, several people usually jump in with advice, even when the person needed to be heard. So every Nexian reflection ends with one sentence: "Right now, what I need is…"

"Right now, what I need is…"	How the Circle responds
someone to listen	We reflect back, without advice: "I hear you. That's hard. I'm here."
encouragement	We name the strengths and past evidence we've seen
perspective, honest feedback, or a challenge to my thinking	We ask questions, then give candid, specific feedback
an introduction or expertise	We connect you with someone in the wider 10 Nexus network
accountability	We agree a date, and your partner checks in
help doing something	We offer concrete time or skills

Learning to ask for the kind of support you need is a leadership skill in its own right. Two habits follow from it:

Ask before advising: "Do you want me to listen, encourage or challenge?"
Remember that the best support is often quiet. An introduction made quietly, or a task taken off someone's plate, can do more than a public pep talk.

Across culturesIn many cultures, asking for help in front of a group can feel like losing face. So every ritual offers a private way to take part, such as a message to a host or a word with a partner, alongside the open Circle. Being bold together shouldn't require everyone to be bold in the same way.

Care, with boundariesWhat's shared in a Circle stays in the Circle, and no one is ever required to share. When a member needs more than a peer community can give, our hosts help them find professional support. Knowing where a community's role ends is part of caring well.

VII · DiscernmentKnowing when to let go

Grit doesn't mean never quitting. Sunk-cost thinking dressed up as grit can do real damage, especially to founders. Resilience sometimes means changing strategy, asking for help, resting, admitting a hypothesis was wrong, or leaving something you've invested years in. Even Duckworth's family rule allows quitting only at a natural stopping point, never on a bad day.

Each quarter, Nexians sit down in pairs for Keep, Adapt, Release:

Keep: what still deserves my perseverance, and why?
Adapt: what's right in purpose but wrong in approach?
Release: what might I lovingly let go of, to free energy for what matters?

Partners ask the second question twice. The first answer is usually the story; the second is usually the truth.

VIII · EvidenceThe research behind it

Audacious Company draws on decades of research on grit, resilience and human development.

Idea	Research	Finding
Grit matters	Duckworth et al. (2007)	West Point cadets one standard deviation higher in grit were more than 60% more likely to finish their first summer of training.
…but it isn't everything	Credé, Tynan & Harms (2017)	Across 66,000+ people, grit's effect on performance is real but modest; its perseverance half does most of the work.
*Growth needs challenge and* support**	Nevitt Sanford (1967)	"Development occurs when the individual experiences a challenge to which he is competent to respond, and for which he is supported."
Resilience is ordinary	Ann Masten (2001)	Resilience "is common and usually arises from the normative functions of human adaptational systems": everyday relationships, not rare heroism.
Relationships are the foundation	Harvard Center on the Developing Child	Children who do well despite serious hardship have had "at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult."
Psychological safety enables learning	Amy Edmondson (1999)	In 51 work teams, psychological safety was linked to learning behaviour, which in turn drove performance.
Quiet support works best	Bolger, Zuckerman & Kessler (2000)	Among couples preparing for the New York bar exam, the most helpful support was the kind the stressed partner didn't notice.
The situation shapes the outcome	Angela Duckworth, Situated (2026)	Grit needs the right people and places to pay off.

IX · What's nextWhere to experience it

Audacious Company already runs through our Circles, Nexus Salons and Dinners, the Nexus Voices storytelling fellowship and our Rise Retreat. In the months ahead, we're building new formats around the same principle: bigger audacity, deeper support.

Accountability PodsSmall groups, steady rhythmSmall, cross-cultural groups that meet regularly to make commitments, check in, and hold one another to their boldest goals.

Founder SprintsFocused, time-boxed pushesIntensive pushes for builders facing a defining moment — a launch, a raise, a pivot — with peers and mentors alongside.

ResidenciesTime and place to go deepImmersive stays across the 10 Nexus homes to step out of the everyday and work on what matters most.

Mentorship & AdvisoryFrom those who've walked the pathGuidance from founders, leaders and creators who have faced the rejections and pivots, and kept going.

Be Audacious with us

Join a Circle or register interest in an upcoming format. Early members will help us shape them.

Join the community

Empower Circles, 10 Nexus — an Audacious Company. Audemus una.

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