Alex Dobrenko

Our “small giants” approach optimized for mojo over growth. We wanted a small, talent-dense team with a focus on craft, autonomy, and quality of life for all team members. We banished the term “founder” in favor of “partner” and tried to be transparent with all business matters across the team.

We took some capital from investors in order to invest... See more

I showed off my samples, stressing the cream paper, the ribbon markers, and the striking cover designs that supposedly set our brand apart. He shook his head and handed me a familiar black notebook in response. “See this?” he said. “We make them ourselves, own brand. The same size, the same number of pages. We use the same paper, the same boards,... See more

We are always telling stories, whether we realize it or not. We might as well get good at it. Good stories win people over. They provoke and inspire and inflame the human spirit. It’s a tremendous source of power.

Remember that Kathy Acker was big on task work, too: “I really didn’t want any creativity,” she said, “so I set up this task, this nutty task basically, and I’d do it!”

I've been playing around with breathing for a few years now. Some people call it "breathwork" but that's a term I don't love — why does everything have to be about work? Also, there's something about the term "breathwork" which makes it sound a little woo-woo maybe — but breathing changes your state in ways that are firmly rooted in physiology and... See more