really good emails, the smartest website you haven't heard of, and vibe capitalism

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Startupy is your refuge from the noisy Internet. We're building a new space for people in love with interesting ideas to curate, explore, and interconnect the best knowledge on the Internet.

Mood

Cool things curated in our universe

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Good emails

I love a well constructed email - the kind that makes you want to screenshot it and revisit it occasionally just to relish in its magic, so I'm starting to collect good emails here - including job pitches, cold emails, or emails responses. If you want to contribute to this collection, just reply to this email and I'll give you access!

For now, this one and this one are very good.

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On why the magic is in the mundane

I enjoyed this blogpost by the co-creator of Django on embracing the grind:

I often have people newer to the tech industry ask me for secrets to success. There aren’t many, really, but this secret — being willing to do something so terrifically tedious that it appears to be magic — works in tech too.

A few related thoughts on this:

Startupy curator Jason Levin wrote a great post on how learning a new skill isn't a straight line up. It's a zigzag across a continent of Google links.

I love Austin Kleon's simple Keep Going - let go of the thing that you’re trying to be (the noun), and focus on the actual work you need to be doing (the verb). Doing the verb will take you someplace further and far more interesting.

I discovered Daniel Kazandijan's writing via startupy curator Stuart Evans and particularly enjoyed this piece on why Greatness isn't grandiose: There’s an aesthetic gap between what success looks like and what it actually is. It appears glitzy and grandiose when it’s actually modest and mundane.

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On the smartest website you haven't heard of

We've been deep down the product design rabbit hole at startupy HQ which is why I was delighted to discover this - an overview of what a sane, customer-focused website looks like, and why it’s very different from what we've come to see as modern design.

It reminds me of this by Don Norman: Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible.

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On vibe capitalism

I enjoyed this 20 minute video by Geoff Lewis - a poignant reminder for those of us building tech products not to trade a good life for an efficient life.

"Efficiency is wildly profitable, but when it is treated as a God instead of as a means to the end of aliveness, it undercuts what makes us human - our vibes."

Bonus: there is a rich tech and society collection brewing on startupy.

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On being curious > judgmental

A good post on being curious, not judgmental referencing a video that went viral a few years ago where Twitter was quick to judge the factory reset process for a smart lightbulb.

“There’s more to the design of everyday things than meets the eye. By being curious, not judgmental, we can start to understand these peculiar things around us. Only by understanding, we might even find a way to make them better.”

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Curator spotlight

David Sherry

Founder coach to early stage CEO’s and leadership teams. Prev Founder of death to stock and community organizer Jacuzzi Club.

startupy.world/davidsherry

twitter.com/_brandswell

davidsherry.me

Rabbit hole: Finding your Zone of Genius

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Why is this topic interesting?

I think COVID has totally accelerated a change in how people think about what work means to them, and how to find work that matters to them.

This topic is relevant to everyone, because we all want to do meaningful work that only we can do!

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A podcast worth listening to on the topic?

Boyd Varty on Invest Like the Best is an incredible podcast from a rare voice: an African wild animal tracker. What if you could pick up on the scent of your life’s path and follow it… sign post by sign post?

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Things worth reading and watching on the topic?

Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity

On the split between our “work life” and our “soul life” which has been forced underground, and may present the root of our unhappiness at work.

The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level

This is the original book on your “zone of genius”! Highly recommend this if you’re ready to get past your current “ceiling” of growth and embrace your best work.

Wishcraft: how to get what you really want.

“Every time you worry that you could get trapped in some kind of work you don't care about, you're dealing with the problem of meaningfulness. I guarantee that in the back of your mind is the thought that somehow you have to make a contribution to something…”

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Projects worth following?

If you look at which classes at universities are highest rated, with the most popular professors, many are classes about topics like meaning and life rather than science or technology.

For example, this class “Managing Happiness” at the Harvard Kennedy school by Arthur Brooks author of Strength to Strength.

Community health

This week on startupy:

650 contributions
1,580 connections
648 highlights

Welcoming Chris Muth and Sorrel Salb, and virtual high-fiving Stuart Evans, Austin Robey , Sarah Wood, Jay Matthews and Juan Orbea for their contributions.

If you’re a regular reader, we hope you consider joining the startupy membership.

What's startupy?

Startupy is your refuge from the noisy Internet. We're building a new space for people in love with interesting ideas to curate, explore, and interconnect the best knowledge on the Internet.

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Startupy curator Jason Levin startupy curator Stuart Evans product design rabbit hole sane customerfocused website

really good emails, the smartest website you haven't heard of, and vibe capitalism

Key phrases

Older messages

going slow to go fast, wisdom on parenting, and things to read when it's hard

Issue #26: questions for an extraordinary life, spatial software, opinionated design, and staying put

Issue #25: underrated business writers, a story we can’t forget, AI content generation

Issue #24: good questions, an exceptional podcast episode, and being argument driven over data-driven

Issue #23: software we're obsessed with, Dee Hock, and organic tech

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