Dynamic Duos: We Are Unity’s Ben Bars and Nat Cagilaba
In this week's Dynamic Duos, We Are Unity co-founders Ben Bars and Nat Cagilaba reflect upon how their friendship has grown alongside their business, after launching We Are Unity almost 10 years ago.
In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two members of the same organisation with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.
Ben Bars:
Nat and I met in 2010. We were introduced by a previous employer who thought we’d make good teammates. That introduction changed my life, and I haven’t looked back since. I can say with complete honesty that Nat has my full trust, respect and love, without his partnership my personal and professional ambitions would remain a pipe dream.
We had a lot of fun getting to know each other. Particularly on planes and in the airport lounges as we were doing a lot of travel together. At one stage we were both in Hong Kong and Shanghai every month with clients like Cathay Pacific and Corning. Some wonderful memories at Mid-levels and on the Bund as we grew our business internationally.
Our partnership is a meeting of opposites, he’s the yin to my yang; he’s always grounded, empathetic and pragmatic which is why he compliments my shortcomings so well. The thing I most admire about Nat is his insatiable thirst for knowledge and self-improvement, driven by his natural curiosity and need to understand why things are the way they are. His inclusive nature makes him a strong team player and he has an uncanny ability to connect dots that others may not see.
One of Nat’s traits that I enjoy the most is his ability to push me out of my comfort zone. My favourite example was when he encouraged me to forgo my 5-star holiday tendencies and take my family on an outdoor adventure across the Northern Territories instead. “Go and learn something!” He said. To this day, that is still my favourite holiday experience.
Our partnership spans both inside and outside of work. We try to find time throughout each year to spend quality time together and acknowledge the progress we’ve both made. Whether that’s at our weekly tennis game every Thursday morning, or our annual ski weekend in Thredbo together with our partners.
Nat takes an incredibly balanced approach to life. Present in the moment as much at home as he is in the office. He has the rare ability to really think things through from everyone’s perspective, and wear many hats at a time. In any single day he’ll play the role of Managing Director, CFO, CMO, COO and CIO. He is a true role model and I couldn’t be more excited about where the next decade in our partnership will take us.
Nat Cagilaba:
I’m surprised we’d never met before we did. It was like our worlds were running on parallel lines, from rival agencies in the UK to arriving in Sydney at a similar time and working in rival agencies here too. The reason we met was because Ben was setting up an internal agency within my main client that took away a large part of my pipeline. I was not that interested in a job discussion, but the one thing about Ben is his persistence. We met for a drink and I resigned the next day marking the start of our partnership.
Today, Ben is like my brother from another mother. Our relationship has been forged on mutual respect and trust. We are total opposites – two sides of the same coin – we each flourish differently so are never in competition with each other. We appreciate our different strengths and give unconditional support – in life and business.
It’s the secret sauce that has seen us through bad times and good. In challenging times, we can divide and conquer, have frank conversations and land critical decisions with confidence. This has given us the belief that we can achieve anything. Would I have that faith on my own? Not with as much conviction as I do with Ben by my side.
What we have achieved with We Are Unity in the last ten years is phenomenal. It still amazes me how quickly we can build on each other’s ideas to forge a common goal and then plan out how to make possibilities real. We approach things from very different angles, meaning we ‘go around the houses’ when working through an idea, but it also lets us see the challenge through many lenses. Once we land on an idea, we are both fully bought in and activation comes quickly.
In the early days we spent a lot of time in Hong Kong and Shanghai. That travel mixed with hard work meant we really got to know each other, from our taste in restaurants and wine through to our backgrounds, beliefs and aspirations. While we’re very different, there are a surprising number of similarities in our experiences and shared values. So when Ben pitched starting an agency together, it was a no-brainer to say yes. I knew it was going to be fun but that there was enough common ground and a good combination of skills to make it work. Ten years later, all expectations have been exceeded.
Ben on Nat:
Most memorable moment with Nat: We’ve had many memorable moments over the past decade, the one that really sticks out is when we decided to build the business together. I invited Nat to the pub without much context and pitched the idea of us becoming business partners.
Breaking away from corporate life and becoming masters of our own destiny! I remember his mouth dropping before he leant in and loudly exclaimed, “let’s do this!” That was a very special moment, our precipice into leadership together. Knowing that I had Nat’s partnership to design the next chapter opened up a world of possibilities.
Best word to describe Nat: Holistic.
Nat’s most annoying habit or endearing behaviour: His caring nature makes him authentic. He is genuinely interested in the impact on others. The consequence of every decision, in particular the safety of his team and others around him, is something Nat displays every day. This really made a huge difference to so many of us through the pandemic.
Nat on Ben:
Most memorable moment with the Ben: We have laughed so much over the years. There are so many moments it’s difficult to choose, but the Monogamous Chinese always makes me chuckle.
Best word to describe Ben: Fearless. Ben can get into a zone with such a singular focus that ‘no’ can never be an answer.
Ben’s most annoying habit or endearing behaviour: Ben goes overboard to make sure people are treated well and that they feel special. He is always making sure people are greeted warmly, have what they need, get home safely, etc. It can be annoying, but comes from such a deep-rooted sense of honour and interest in people that it is endearing.
If you and a colleague would like to submit your story to Dynamic duos, please email kwelch@mumbrella.com.au.
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