The Story: Why I created Miki Island? by Ouss, Creator & Founder

Welcome to Miki Island: A Journey That Started with a Simple Belief – Learning Can Be Different

A couple of years ago, the seeds of Miki Island were planted – not in a boardroom or a brainstorming session, but in a quiet moment of reflection in a holiday in Thailand.

I had the privilege of leading Learning & Development at IKEA Southeast Asia, where I was deeply involved in culture transformation, leadership development, and team effectiveness. Later, as Regional Director of Facilitation & Instructional Design at one of Asia’s leading training companies, I continued to work with some of the region’s top organizations and leadership teams. But no matter where I went, something kept nagging at me.

There were three truths I couldn’t unsee:

✅ Learning shouldn’t be boring, passive, or easily forgotten.
✅ Most learning solutions are made for individuals – yet work happens in teams.
✅ Technology and data should enhance the human side of learning – not replace it.

That’s when the idea for Miki Island was born.

We needed something different. Something research-based, engaging, and effective. A way to shift behaviors, unlock collective intelligence, and drive extraordinary levels of performance – not just for individuals, but for entire teams and organizations.

And why not have some serious fun while doing it? 🎉

Building Miki Island: From Insight to Impact

I knew if we were going to build something meaningful, it had to be:

1. Versatile – Something that could adapt to different learning outcomes and business needs: from psychological safety and collaboration to change and resilience.

2. Anchored in research – So we partnered with GDQ Associates, the team behind the Integrated Model of Group Development (IMGD), to ground Miki Island in proven science of how teams grow and perform.

With that foundation, Miki Island quickly became:

• A perfect solution for team workshops and offsites, team coaching journeys, leadership programs, and culture transformation rollouts.

• A global community of 200+ certified partners, coaches, and training companies who bring the experience to life across contexts and cultures.

• A trusted experience for leading brands (see the client sample list) – from banks to tech companies—looking to drive team effectiveness and leadership impact.

And we didn’t stop there.

We’ve continually improved the platform to include team assessments, micro-learning, and additional learning content, making Miki Island not just a one-time event, but a scalable tool for sustained learning and development.

A Growth Engine for Coaches and Learning Partners

Beyond being an impactful team experience, Miki Island also became a powerful sales and marketing tool for coaches, facilitators, and training companies.

In a crowded L&D market, where many professionals offer similar solutions, it’s become harder to stand out – and harder to charge what your work is really worth. This often means lowering rates and struggling to win high-value corporate clients.

Miki Island changes that.

By giving partners a premium, proven experience backed by research and used by global brands, it helps you offer something that’s not only different – but differentiating.

✅ It’s experiential – clients feel the impact, not just hear about it
✅ It’s scalable – run it online or in-person, with teams of 5 or 500
✅ It works – it drives real behavior change and business outcomes
✅ It opens doors – helping you win bigger clients and grow your business

Many of our certified partners have grown their business significantly—some by nearly 10X—thanks to Miki Island. They’ve won new clients, unlocked repeat business, and built a reputation for delivering engaging and results-driven team experiences.

From Southeast Asia to the world 🌏

Today, Miki Island is being used by partners and organizations across the globe – from Singapore to Switzerland, from Japan to Sweden. It’s been run with C-Suite, leadership teams, engineering squad or middle managers from startups to multinationals. We’ve seen it energize offsites, kick off transformation programs, and even become a core part of leadership development and team effectiveness journeys.

This isn’t just about gamification. It’s about reimagining the way we learn and grow at work. Together. As teams. As humans.

If you’re a leader, coach, or learning partner looking to create real impact for your teams—without the yawns and the forgettable slides – then maybe it’s time to take your team on a different kind of journey.

🌴 Welcome to Miki Island. Let’s get to work.

🎯 [Join Our Next Gameplay Demo] – 90 minutes, hands-on, and completely free.

🌟 [Explore Certification Program] – if you’re ready to bring this magic into your work.