issue # 33
sorrel salb down the scenius rabbit hole, nick cave on inspiration, a great interview with bernard arnault
Welcome to the startupy newsletter, a laid back column about very serious ideas. Every week, we curate the hottest links from our universe and share them with you here.
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Mood
Cool things curated in our universe
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…inspiration is not something that finds you, or offers itself to you, nor for that matter is faith. Inspiration and faith are similar in so far as they both ask something of us. They each require real and constant practical application. For me, inspiration comes only when I practice certain things regularly and rigorously. I must commit fully to the task in hand, sit down each day, pick up my pencil and get to work. It is not exactly toiling down the coal mines, but it is labour enough, and I undertake it through the good times and the bad, through the dry periods and the periods of abundance, and I keep on going regardless of my successes or failures. Inspiration comes because I put in the work.
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A beautiful corner on the Internet
I was delighted to stumble upon Folkert Gorter's (the ceo of cargo, the site builder for artists) clippings - a personal repository of quotes that resonated with him. My favorite part is his description of the page:
The words gathered here are not necessarily aimed at public consumption — if one connects with something here that is of course wonderful. But this is ultimately a personal reservoir, a store where I can return to remind myself, when low and forgetful, to revive my awe of all that is blooming and has come to pass.
I love this because it mirrors my own experience curating on startupy - it's something I do for myself, making my personal internet more alive, and generative, and useful. But it's also a gift I leave behind for others – giving others jumping off points to research, wander, and curate their own Internet. ✨
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An interview with Bernard Arnault, the CEO and founder of LVMH
A great old interview with Bernard Arnault, the founder of the world's largest luxury goods company. Standout highlights:
I don’t want to sound like a pessimist. Some brands out there will make it to stardom. But their managers cannot be in a hurry. It takes time. But once you get the elements of a star brand aligned, they last for a long time. They stay and stay, and they deserve to. (more on cultivating a long term mindset).
The biggest mistake a consumer company can make is to delegate advertising to the marketing department. (more on advertising).
A lot of companies talk about quality, but if you want your brand to be timeless, you have to be a fanatic about it. Before we launch a Louis Vuitton suitcase, for example, we put it in a torture machine, where it is opened and closed five times per minute for three weeks. And that is not all—it is thrown, and shaken, and crushed. You would laugh if you saw what we do, but that is how you build something that becomes an heirloom. (more on greatness).
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On playing infinite games
Revisiting my highlights from Infinite Games by James Carse and the framing of finite vs. infinite games feels especially resonant right now - a finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game is played for the purpose of continuing to play.
Most founders start with the goal of selling or exiting within a matter of years, I'm much more interested in earning the right to continue playing the game for decades to come.
Curator spotlight: Sorrel Salb
Community Manager for COLORSxCOMMUNITY
Rabbit hole: Scenius
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Why is scenius interesting?
Recently I've been fascinated by the concept of scenius and thinking about how communities such as DAOs can nurture its emergence. The term scenius was coined by Brian Eno: “Scenius stands for the intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. It is the communal form of the concept of the genius”.
While explorations of scenius emphasise the importance of physical spaces to allow it to emerge and be sustained, I'm very interested in the role that digital communities can currently play in these networks.
I'm the Community Manager for the COLORSxCOMMUNITY DAO, a global interdisciplinary community of creatives, curators, and tastemakers creating stages for non-ordinary creative expression. So far, we've mostly been connecting digitally. In that time, I've already seen a lot of elements of scenius emerge within the community.
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Podcasts worth listening to on the topic?
Conjuring Scenius featuring Packy McCormick.
A great overview of the concept with key historical examples.
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Things worth reading and watching on the topic?
This foundational essay by Kevin Kelly for a good overview and this in-depth exploration of influential scenia throughout history and how the conditions for scenius have evolved by Packy McCormick.
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Projects worth following on the topic?
I'm biased, but COLORSxCOMMUNITY DAO is a case study of scenius emerging within a global community.
End Note
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