How to make users go ‘whoa’

The most human part of humanity is not our logic or use of reason, but the way we socially mediate the creation of meaning and value in arbitrary ways.

There has to be a point of view. In our case with Sublime, it's not just about its functional utility as a tool to save anything interesting you come across; it's about the vibe, the community, the people that use it. This emotional connection and sense of identity are what truly drive consumer decisions.

Sari: People want to go on a journey. They want to understand what your vision is, not just what problem you’re solving. They're looking for belonging, something to be a part of.

Of course market demand matters. But demand isn’t born out of nothing. Desires are formed. We are all responsible for what one another wants. We need to build a world and t... See more

We're still learning how to convey this essence effectively, and a part of it is recognizing that language isn't the only tool to community. Just like the iPhone or Notion, not every product finds the perfect tagline. And there are countless ways to communicate what something is beyond words.

Elan: I often think one of the hardest things about positioning a startup is that in the early days when vision is often so distant from the reality of what you offer. How do you play with that tension and work towards that vision?

Sari: Yeah, honestly, this has been my biggest challenge because we initially started describing Sublime as a ‘more hu... See more

But what I'm creating is an infinite game for myself that I want to play for a very long time. So I optimize for joy.

We live in a world where everything needs to be quantified and it's about productivity and efficiency and oftentimes those things are at odds. But I truly do believe that we have to take creativity and productivity and efficiency and invention seriously because we have no competitive advantage over robots when it comes to efficiency, quantity, and ... See more

And so I think of ideas as these fragile things that need time to grow and fully blossom.

But the truth is that ideas are something that you grow. You plant an idea seed and then you nourish it, and then some parts kind of wither and die off, but then a tree suddenly starts to grow in this random place.