H2B2 State of the Year Q2, 2025

Hey, it’s Nathan.

Today I'll be talking about:

How did Q2 go?
Where we're going: dipping your toe, the shallow end, middle depth
It's time to go bigger
This is not a funnel

I write these yearly and quarterly updates for a bunch of reasons, but namely as the "First in Command" of How to be Second (still feels weird), I’m holding myself accountable in public to those investing themselves in what H2B2 is doing, and to the Second community overall.

Part of "What is good for Seconds" is knowing the plan.

The State of the year and Quarterly updates are here:

HOW DID Q2 OF 2025 GO?

Right now, you’re likely glancing through your emails on your phone, drink in hand, watching this roll in with the morning brew (3 editions of it) and landing in between something about AI and a Costco ad.

And in this Secondness thing, you’re probably just getting started. You signed up for a weekly email, probably unprepared that Nathan was here to drop a “state of the movement” update on a Thursday in August and use a “swimming pool” metaphor A LOT.

WTF??? Movement???

You were probably thinking that going a little deeper into this Secondness thing might be for you, or perhaps not realizing there is a deeper at all, or that there’s value in exploring it.

Meanwhile, I have recently been told that it sometimes feels like I am in the ocean wrestling a shark, or, basically, that I’ve kinda lost the plot on what it means to NOT be all the way in the deep end on this stuff.

Oh hi, it’s me, I’m the problem, it’s me.

But.

For real, this Secondness thing and this work is SO good.

And there IS a movement. (Bill, there IS a movement)

There’s Secondness in other countries (Hey Victoria)

There’s Secondness in other LANGUAGES. (Tig Tig Saya, Kyren)

And I’m thankful to say that some of you have found value in moving deeper into this. (Shout out to the OGs like Sarah)

And I am CONVINCED there’s meaning and porpoise in all this.

…Purpose.

ANYWAY!

What I’m getting at is that I’m way in the deep end and it’s crazy and difficult and so good and that’s great but we ALSO need some things in the shallow end because as a child I was thrown in the deep end and told to “figure it out” and that was pretty traumatic so let’s not do that and that’s why what we’re focused on right now as an org is more stuff towards the entrance of the pool because that’s much better for the majority of people and for H2B2 it’s time to go BIGGER.

Ahem.

Look, you and I, we’re both Seconds. (Probably)

Our superpowers are wildly valuable to all the people around us, from our friends and families, to our neighbors and communities, and also to people with money who want things to be true in the world and need other people to do that.

Fundamentally, I believe that if you took away the money, Seconds are some of the most powerful people in the whole world… Because we get things done.

Interestingly, the world seems hell-bent on giving all the money to the crazy people, so we’re often left with a weird power dynamic that can’t be ignored.

I was bitter about that for a while, but I believe we’re better together - crazy people who are inspired to make things happen when they look at the world, and those of us who are inspired by people who seem crazy.

And that means what is ours to own are our powers and our value – there may be nothing to do about how our inner core is called to serve by accomplishing things on behalf of others… but it IS ours to choose whether we serve as sycophants, or as dance partners. (Spicy? I hope so.)

Whatever we choose, it means there is development professionally that we’ll need to do, but there is SO MUCH personal development as well, and those two things are NOT the same.

Especially in the pursuit of becoming excellent dance partners (taking turns leading and following, together), there ARE going to be a few professional development requirements, like knowing some basic steps… and there is a a forever pursuit of the development of self - the confidence to listen to the music, and to own your followership, which is what makes you a good dance partner.

The pursuit of personal development would still be necessary but probably at a more relaxed pace if it were just for family and friends and self and neighbors and community. But it’s also needed in professional spaces, so we’re reminded basically every day.

And that means we need the deep end, we need to know it’s there, and we need to know we’re invited to it… and it’s also not for everyone, and certainly not RIGHT AWAY.

So, where do we go from here?

We do more stuff in the Shallow End.

That’s why right now we’re working on (and releasing) stuff in the shallow end.

Here’s a BUNCH of things that How to be Second either HAS AVAILABLE NOW, or is Making available SOON, and how “Deep in” the commitment level is for that.

DIPPING YOUR TOE IN

We launched the “Am I a Second?” assessment.

It’s not definitive, but it is directional – if you haven’t taken it, I encourage you to!

Consider it a way to dip your toe in. Also, it’s free.

We launched the One Second podcast!

A conversation between a natural “Visionary” type and a natural Second, in a “react” format, which STARKLY shows the differences in how we move. A way to dip your toe in, and maybe give to your crazy person you work with. Also free, available on all the platforms. Listen here: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

The Weekly Email

We’re retooling the weekly email a bit, you may have noticed. Laura Brown (the H2B2 second in command) has done a fantastic job of making it more accessible than I ever have. It's also free.

Shows

Our new head of awareness, Kerry Clements, has been given the objective of building out several pilot “Shows”, aka consistent programming, run by the different heads of. The One Second podcast is one of my shows, the weekly email is Laura’s show, the workshops are Lisa’s shows. A bunch of these will be in the shallow end.

THE SHALLOW END

The Book

The book already exists and it's how many of you know about H2B2 so far, but let’s be honest, it’s kind of a commitment. It’s a little deeper in, and it costs a few dollars. It’s a great way to wade into the shallow end.

H2B2 Supporters

We set up a supporter system, where you can support what we’re doing at How to be Second for even five dollars a month. Another great way to invest in yourself and this thing being built for you.

Webinars

We’re building out some webinars, like with Kaitlin Strand around matchmaking. These will be free to you if you’re a supporter, but cost a little otherwise.

The professional development platform

Jen Goldman is our Head of Professional Development (and owner of MVCOO), and we have been working on building out a platform that will be the access point to a bunch of videos, courses, and content that’s curated (continually) by people in the H2B2 community and the partners we keep making. The platform will have a fee (we’re thinking $347 annually or ~$30/mo) and ALSO serve as the entryway to professional coaching Mastermind groups. (BTW - Any of our current coaching clients or people who sign up for coaching by launch will get the first year for free.)

MIDDLE DEPTH

The monthly Meetup.

Let’s not play, the meetup isn’t really in the shallow end. IT IS FREE… But you have to register, show up at a specific time, and be IN CONVERSATION with other people. That’s a commitment, and we often talk about sorta heavy topics too! But this is when it gets real – real community, real people, real depth. (This is Chris Blaisdell’s show!)

In Person Workshops

We have an upcoming BROAD finance workshop on September 24th, in person in the Twin Cities, $299, an afternoon simulating being a company leader meeting with your key finance vendors. 4 Speakers, 1 day, lunch included, ridiculous value. Lisa Wolf is the reason we still have workshops and plans for more, and sponsorships at all.

Also, totally a commitment. I’ve described it as “Just the right amount of anxiety.”

Matchmaking - “Get me Ready” or “Access”

This is the “For Seconds” side of matchmaking; it includes multiple personality assessments, doing what we call “the homework” or “agreements with self”, and a coaching call. This also puts you at the top of the list for review when we get a First in Command who is looking to be matched with a Second. (Because we have to KNOW you in order to make a match) Not cheap - $500. (There is value in the work itself, and also we will email you back - and yes, that is a dig.) Kaitlin Strand is pushing matchmaking forward and already has been instrumental in professional development coaching already.

One-on-One Coaching, Personal or Professional

This is a real investment in both time and vulnerability. It can get real serious here. Working with Summer Miller has been the unlock of how the personal and professional development ARE different things and also they bleed into each other with the integration of the whole person. Coaching is focused 70/30, either 70% personal, or 70% professional, but your WHOLE SELF and your SECONDNESS are acknowledged and respected. Starts at $150/h. (There are two tiers - some of you are 20+ year executives after all).

Professional Coaching has a 10 session minimum. Personal has a 6 session minimum (and other programs). Both Available right now.

Mastermind groups

Another thing coming with the release of the professional development platform in the coming months.

We’ve been talking about releasing Mastermind groups for a long time – it’s happening. This is not for the faint of heart – I have been in conversations with Jen, and other people have been in professional conversations with me – this is ass kicking. It’s 80% skills, 20% personal. Focused. $1,750 a year, 7 people per group.

Also, if you're in the Twin Cities and around the Manufacturing space, we've recently partnered with Josh John and The CBC Way and they have IN PERSON groups available now.

(If you’re like, “Nathan, that is so much stuff!” - Yes, it is. It takes a lot of stuff to serve a whole identity.

It's time to go BIGGER

I won’t belabor this point much, but part of the reason we’ve been focusing on the shallow end is that there are (we believe) ~300 million Seconds in the world, today, and we are not serving all of those people with community and sanity and helping them own their value for themselves.

But we want to, and there is no mystery that this movement wants us to, and there is no mystery that every person who jumps into the pool is thankful they found this for themselves.

So, it’s time to go BIGGER, and that means more stuff in every end, but especially the shallow end.

And it also means Nathan getting out of his own way and being really transparent about things like money, and our need of it. Because H2B2 is currently run on volunteer power, and that’s neither going to scale, nor good for Seconds. Not those in it, and not those being served.

If any of the stuff I mentioned above is worth at least $5/m to you to see it become real, consider being a supporter.

Thank you current Supporters - I can name every one of you… but I haven’t texted you to ask if I can in public yet.

AND…

This is not a funnel

Let’s get something out of the way – I’ve been in the marketing world for a long time, and when I talk about this shallow end and deep end stuff, some people are going to naturally imagine a funnel.

The whole purpose of a funnel (whether in business or straining cold brew) is to get things to the bottom of it. In business, we call that a conversion, and in cold brew, we call that delicious.

Either way, there is a clear end point we are driving towards with a funnel.

THIS (How to be second) is not THAT.

Part of the reason I have struggled with making a podcast, making videos, making webinars, making workshops, masterminds, coaching, or even having things that can be BOUGHT AT ALL, is a wild (and I believe valid) fear of causing a movement about a type of human being to be perceived as another marketing gimmick, or Nathan’s big ploy to become rich.

Also, that there might be some sort of endpoint that I am proposing H2B2 can get you to.

Those things could not be further from the truth.

Since day one, people have asked me to define what I meant by “own your value” in the mission statement, and I have always said, “That is not mine to answer for you.” I still believe that.

The work of self is never-ending. There is always more that we can unpack, more to explore, more to understand about who we are and how we show up in the world (often despite our best efforts) and of holding in tension the reality that we might RESOLVE some of those things but never SOLVE any of them.

Being a Second is a lifelong reality. The working theory (meaning it is both a theory AND that it is actively WORKING) is that this is who you are, at your core. There’s no escaping it, only ignoring it.

And it’s obvious to everyone else when you’re ignoring it.

So yes, as an image, a swimming pool, with a shallow end, and a deep end, and an invitation to go deeper… But not a FORCING to.

So, not a funnel.

And yes, there are some things that have money involved, because those things are valuable, and also it takes resources to support almost anything, let alone a movement.