Herro, Perro! w.1

Arts & Culture

+Sound: I made a friend last fall who has built a company around the most sophisticated and beautiful sound system. I visited Jonathan in his studio this week to experience music and sound as it should be appreciated and discuss his latest creation.
+It's hard not to admire someone so dedicated to excellence and beauty - the very best. Jonathan's commitment to great taste and value, his indignation at any thought poorly formed, and appreciation of culture and history is what makes being around great artists so intensely interesting.

+The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak. I read both this week. I'd direct you toward the latter for several reasons that I'm not going to mention now. Both are about freedom.

Investing & Economics

+Ray Dalio says you should buy gold. But more importantly, you should understand history and paradigm shifts. Maybe the age of growth won't last forever.

+Where is content going? ReDef: The Streaming Wars: Its Models, Surprises, and Remaining Opportunities On SVOD models, re-bundling and all that. Related: The Slow Death of Hollywood.

Entrepreneurial Pursuits

+Board Operating/System: I'm pursing a 6-week sprint on a SaaS product to improve the effectiveness of company boards. I've white boarded and discussed this ad nauseam for over a year with a friend from Kauffman. He's finally quit his job and getting serious. I like getting serious.

+Low-Abv drinking: I'm in touch with the folks at Cornell Brewing Extension program and they are going to test a bottle of the White Pekoe Colorfield Aged Sparkling Tea (e.g, Kombucha). Let's see. Also prototyping Shiso water and highend instant coffee (hello, nescafe!).

+Market testing: I broke down and bought a bottle of Kin this week. It tastes like Fernet with no alcohol. I'm pretty sure the mood boost is placebo effect because I did feel *something*.

+YC Start-up School: It's online and free and I'm doing it. Started this week. Yay.

Reflections & Self-awareness

+I had set a goal to send this email out on Friday. It's now Sunday at 10:37pm. I've been afraid of writing things down and sharing. I like thinking! Communicating to be understood is hard.

+I completed two tasks this week that I'd been procrastinating on for several years. Action begets more action.