The Journey of OCBN: Building Connections for a Greater Purpose

If there’s one truth I’ve learned through more than two decades of working with entrepreneurs, builders, and business owners across different regions, it’s this: progress rarely happens alone. There’s a trendy idea that the lone-wolf entrepreneur is real, but in reality, most breakthroughs come from small collisions between the right people at the right time.

The same is true for OCBN. It didn’t begin with a grand strategy or some neat, polished business plan. It began with two people — Suzette and me — who saw the same gaps from different angles and felt the same pull toward something bigger than either of us.

The world will learn about OCBN soon, in a more public way. But our story didn’t start on a stage. It started in quieter moments, long before this platform had a name.

How It Really Began

Before OCBN existed, before we ever imagined chapters across islands or a global relay of entrepreneurs connecting from six continents, there was CBN — a seed planted by Suzette, nurtured with a kind of determination and sincerity that’s becoming rare these days.

When Suzette and I first connected professionally, she kept saying, “You need to experience one of these meetups in person.” She believed the community spoke for itself; and she wasn’t selling an idea; she was inviting me to step into something she had already manifested into life.

In early 2025, I finally took her up on it.

Like several before me, I don’t think I fully grasped what she meant until the moment I walked into my very first CBN in-person meetup. The environment felt different — diverse, open, surprisingly honest for a business gathering. There seemed to be a lessening of egos, no guardedness, no corporate stiffness. It felt like a safe space, not in a trendy way, but in a deeply human one.

Even before I made that trip, I knew she had built something meaningful. But it wasn’t until I stepped into that atmosphere — the warmth of the people, the energy of the island, the way conversations sparked without effort — that I understood what she had been trying to describe. There was an unmistakable energy in the air – a higher purpose. A sense of synchronicity you don’t feel often in life.

It wasn’t “just” a networking group. It was the beginning of a movement neither of us could yet name.

The Vision Expands

As we started exploring what this could become beyond Curaçao, there once again was an absence of ego, and no “my idea” versus “your idea.” What became clear very quickly was that our values were aligned. We shared the same respect for all people, the same belief in collaboration over competition, and the same sense of responsibility to build something meaningful and impactful. Our strengths didn’t compete; they complemented one another.

That was the first real sign that what we were building wasn’t just organizational. It was aligned at its core.

We knew the Caribbean needed more than a one-island network. But we also knew the world was shifting in ways that made the Caribbean a meeting place for global talent, creativity, and innovation — not a small market on the periphery, but a bridge.

As we began developing OCBN, something unexpected kept happening. Connections were forming far beyond the islands we were focusing on.

One moment in particular stays with me. During one of our early OCBN global online meetups — back when we were still quietly testing the waters — a Canadian startup focused on affordable housing investments connected with a young virtual assistant from Kenya. The odds of those two crossing paths on their own were microscopic. But within minutes of meeting, they were trading insights and exploring possible future collaboration.

It was the clearest signal that what we were building wasn’t bound to a region. The Caribbean was the birthplace of this vision, but the world was already responding. People everywhere are searching for genuine connections. They’re tired of isolation disguised as “networking” and platforms filled with noise instead of relationships.

We weren’t creating something for the Caribbean — we were creating something that begins in the Caribbean and extends outward, naturally and organically.

Synchronicities You Can’t Ignore

I’m not someone who leans heavily into spiritual language, but there have been moments along this journey that felt less like coincidence and more like Universal alignment.

There have been moments when everything seemed uncertain — funding, timelines, technology, travel, partners, the sheer scale of what we were attempting. But then, without forcing anything, the right person would appear. An introduction would happen. A new partner would surface. An opportunity would align. Someone we needed to meet would reach out unexpectedly.

These synchronicities became their own kind of compass.

They reminded us that OCBN was never meant to be built through pressure or panic, but through alignment. Through people stepping in at the exact moment they needed to. Through doors opening the moment we were ready to walk through them.

What started as a local idea, then a regional dream, became something with a quiet, undeniable global pull.

Connection as the New Currency

The reason all of this matters — the meetups, the digital bridges, the introductions that seem to arrive right on time — is because connection itself has become one of the most valuable forms of capital in any modern economy.

For entrepreneurs, connection is what opens doors — to new partnerships, new markets, new ways of thinking, and access to resources.

For chambers, associations, and economic interest groups, connection plays a broader role. It becomes a form of strategic connectivity that allows an ecosystem to function — linking people, initiatives, and institutions in ways that create continuity rather than fragmentation.

At its best, connection doesn’t feel transactional or forced. It emerges through trust, shared context, and a common sense of purpose. It allows efforts to reinforce one another instead of operating in parallel (or in conflict), and it helps regions move with greater coherence as they engage beyond borders.

This is where momentum begins to compound.

When connections are intentional, local strengths become more visible. Collaboration extends outwardly, naturally. Small markets stop feeling isolated and begin operating as part of a larger, interconnected network.

That’s why OCBN exists.

Not to replace or redefine the work of chambers, associations, or existing networks — but to support and connect them, providing shared infrastructure where entrepreneurs, institutions, and economic enablers can align and grow together.

Because when connection becomes the currency, the value created extends well beyond any single organization — strengthening the entire ecosystem it touches.

A Shared Core

If there’s one thing I want readers to understand about the early formation of OCBN, it’s this: Suzette and I didn’t merge two different visions. We discovered we were already carrying the same one.

She brought the spark. I brought the structure.

Both were needed — and both still are.

What made the partnership work wasn’t role definition or titles, but alignment. We approached people the same way. We valued trust over visibility. We cared more about building something durable than being seen as the face of it.

That alignment is what shaped OCBN from the beginning. It was never designed from the top down. It took form at ground level — in real rooms, with real conversations, and real people showing up with intention. As more people stepped in with that same energy, the network grew naturally.

Even the coral heart symbol in our identity reflects this idea — not just sentiment, but structure. Like a reef, it’s strengthened by connection and designed to support life within and around it.

This isn’t “Ryan’s” story or “Suzette’s” story.

It’s shared — and it belongs to everyone who feels driven to contribute to something bigger.

Focusing the Lens

Our upcoming keynote will be a milestone, yes — but more simply, it brings greater visibility to what has already taken shape.

As attention widens, the work itself remains unchanged. The focus remains on building a connected infrastructure that respects what already exists, strengthens it, and allows people and organizations to create lasting, measurable impact across borders.

Some will engage immediately. Others will observe, evaluate, and join when it makes sense. Both are valid. This network was never meant to move faster than trust allows.

If the ideas here resonate — collaboration over competition, connection with purpose, and growth that strengthens and uplifts— then you already understand what OCBN is working toward.

What comes next isn’t about scale for its own sake.

It’s about clarity, continuity, and alignment, allowing meaningful work to drive positive impact — together.

—* Ryan Davis* Co-Founder, One Caribbean Business Network Foundation