Our Story

Behind every
great business
lies an epiphany.

For Serge Dive and Sarah Ball, partners in business and in life, their lightbulb moment happened on a journey in the African bush.

They watched as Serge’s father, who was recovering from poor health, rediscovered his lust for life in this new place, fuelled by a newfound curiosity for the world and his place within it.

Our Story

An idea began to form in their minds...

Imagine if you could inspire this curiosity in others, harnessing its potential to power personal and business growth, while having a positive impact on the world?

They decided to find out, founding This is Beyond on a shoestring budget and launching their first event in 2009. Every decision they made was a rebellion against the boring, corporate functions they were so tired of – instead, they set out to create transformative experiences that would help people and businesses become the best they could be, while making commerce a force for good.

Since then, This is Beyond has created a growing portfolio of immersive events that reshape industries into inspired communities and show the power of humanity in business. Together, we are shaping a more exciting and promising future.

Our Journey

2008
July 2008

Serge and Sarah have their lightbulb moment on a trip to Africa

August 2008

The pair begins building the This is Beyond network, starting work around their kitchen table

2009
January 2009

We relocate from Serge and Sarah’s kitchen table to our first office

November 2009

Our first show, PURE Life Experiences, launches in Marrakech

2012
January 2012

As the company grows to 15 employees, we move to a new office in Chiswick

2013
June 2013

L.E/Miami & Ministry of Ideas launch together on South Beach

2014
January 2014

The Cape Town office opens to manage our new venture in South Africa

May 2014

Our third show, We Are Africa, launches in Cape Town Stadium

September 2014

MATTER, the un-conference for PURE, launches

January 2016

PURE Pursuits launches, with the first pursuit heading to Iceland

May 2016

Conservation Lab launches in Stellenbosch, South Africa

2016
September 2016

Our first company retreat, Assemble, takes the team glamping and rafting

2017
May 2017

FUSE, the We Are Africa un-conference, launches

September 2017

Our second Assemble sees over 30 Beyonders go on a team bonding adventure

2018
October 2018

The first edition of We Are Africa North America takes our tribe stateside

November 2018

Our fourth show, Further East, and its un-conference AWAKEN launch on the shores of Bali’s Seminyak Beach

2019
January 2019

The company retreat gets sophisticated in a rustic, rural Italian village

April 2019

We rebrand as This is Beyond – a new name that champions our ideals

2020
January 2020

We explore a luxurious slice of wilderness at the fourth edition of Assemble

Our People

Meet the people who help bring our vision to life.

Everyone here at This is Beyond has a role to play in our journey (while having plenty of fun at the same time). These are some of the people leading the way…

Serge Dive

Founder & CEO,
This is Beyond

Sarah Ball

Co-Founder,
This is Beyond

Ryan Wallace

MD & Co-Founder,
We Are Africa & Do Not Disturb

Zahava Abend

CO-Founder & Director, SET
Director, L.E/Miami | The House of Beyond

Eve Browning

Event Director,
PURE

Sophia Asghar

Event Manager,
Further East

Sabrina Corelli

Executive Assistant to CEO,
This is Beyond

How We Do Business

We aspire to be the change
we want to see in the world. Our code
of conduct helps keep us on track.

We are committed to a sustainable future.

So we pledge to minimise our environmental impact across all our events.

We are committed to going beyond ethics.

So we pledge never to put human or animal rights in jeopardy.

We are committed to building diverse communities.

So we pledge to make inclusion a prized necessity – never a nice-to-have.

We are committed to cultural awareness.

So we pledge to protect – not disrupt – communities and cultures.

How We Give Back

We don’t just talk the talk; we walk the walk, too – and each of our events plays a part.

  • This is Beyond

    Giving Back Locally

    +

    This is Beyond volunteers 560 hours every year to local community action, including activities like support for the homeless and sustainability projects.

  • PURE Life Experiences

    Developing Rural Communities

    +

    PURE Life Experiences supports Morocco-based charity Education For All, who enable girls from rural communities to get an education by providing safe lodging near schools, and the Make it MATTER initiative takes volunteers from the show to work on community projects in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.

  • L.E/Miami

    Donating to Local Organisations

    +

    L.E/Miami donates 1% of its profits to local non-profit organisations or charitable foundations who align with our brand values and beliefs.

  • We Are Africa

    Supporting Community Projects

    +

    We Are Africa works with a community development partner, Uthando, to donate a portion of its profits to worthy projects every year, as well as offering free exhibition stands for promising companies who might not otherwise afford one.

  • Further East

    Cleaning Beaches

    +

    Further East organises a beach clean-up at the event that helps tackle the ever-growing issue of plastic waste in our oceans.

  • Conservation Lab

    Reinvesting in Conservation

    +

    Conservation Lab is organised on a non-commercial, pro-bono basis and all income from attendees is reinvested into the event in order to help make the travel industry a stronger force for conservation in Africa.

Our Family

Meet the people who help bring our vision to life.

  • Management

  • PURE

  • L.E/MIAMI & SET

  • We Are Africa & DND

  • Further East

  • Buyers

  • Creative

  • CRM

  • House of Beyond

  • Accounts

  • Operations

  • Programming

Management

PURE

L.E/MIAMI & SET

We Are Africa & DND

Further East

Buyers

Creative

CRM

House of Beyond

Accounts

Operations

Programming