Build Something Beautiful

Kurt, Dave and Chris:

First let me apologize for taking a couple of days to put this outline together. When I spoke to Kurt I was in the middle of making a Fugazi album1, but I thought I would have a day or so between records to sort everything out. My schedule changed unexpectedly, and this is the first moment I've had to go through it all. Apology

... See more

There is beauty in something well-made. The fine fit of a tailored suit. The delicate stitching of a vibrant rug. The mechanical elegance of a well-tuned watch, ticking silently. The same aesthetic laws that govern these objects – and innumerable others – apply to the business world, too. There is such a thing as a beautiful, elegant business. Not... See more

Most innovation is a new wrapper for an old thing, meaning there's a fanbase already foraging for it. Your marketing job? Make sure the 'new' still 'looks like food' to this crowd. Use the same images, words, and ideas that resonate.

I think we have so many examples of assholes starting businesses, and if they’re the majority of examples, we’re only going to have shitty businesses. I want to see people with very specific perspectives and opinions on how to manifest things into the world. More people should take business personally.

“You feel differently towards the world when you make things.” – Milton Glaser

We can't build a sustainable business by chasing every opportunity.

A sustainable business is strategically constrained. Its leaders know what the business is and, more importantly, what it's not.

Patrick Collison on Stripe: “My intuition is that more of Stripe success than one would think is down to the fact that people like beautiful things and for rational reasons. Because, what does a beautiful thing tell you? It tells you the person who made it really cared, and you can observe... See more