inthis

Build relationships around the experiences you share.

[kevinfadler]

Amazing time last week with 25 folks at fireside potluck #6 on productivity.

[inthisapp]

Ode to the Humble Potluck, that Building Block of Meaningful Relationships

The potluck. From its humble origins (the term derives from the 16th-century phrase, “the luck of the pot," or food provided to an unexpected guest) to its present day utility as a hassle-free, often cozy way for people to meet, groups to convene, and friends to hangout, the time has come to embrace potlucks for what they are: awesome. 

[continued here; excerpt from "Ode to the Humble Potluck" on GOOD.is )

[inthisapp]

Compelling ad.

[inthisapp]

For our logo, we like the hummingbird.

The majestic hummingbird flaps its wings 40-80 times per second, and flits from meal to meal, sampling a little of all with other hummingbirds enjoying the same nearby. 

[inthisapp]

A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

[inthisapp]

Why we do what we do (Annie Chen, co-founder)

i'm social, i have a small number of close friends, i have a larger number of people i find interesting and want to get to know. i'm selective about who i spend time with.

i'm an introvert. the quality of the company is important to me. i have a great memory & can share anecdotes and details people often forget. i don't document this stuff. 

i hate it when people whip out their phones during movies, dinner, or when people are talking. this is not okay. since when did an idea of a social interaction become more important than the interaction you're in?

i want an easy way to keep in touch. i'll never use facebook: there is too much crap i don't care about. too much noise. too much self-obsession. it may be the lowest common denominator for keeping people in your orbit. but i know what happens when you "queue" someone. right now i substitute deliberate action for the laziness that facebook allows. the set and forget mentality. i will remember first and last names, twitter handles, and google, and contact that person later. 

the laziness mentality is okay - as long as the "set and forget" serves a purpose. i don't want to end up with this meaningless network of ties ranging from super close to we met once. if "set and forget" means something actually comes of that action, then great.

tech should be our sidekick, not our overlord. 

[inthisapp]

A generation of social?

[inthisapp]

alumn.us - our values

In this together. We share a sense of mutual accountability and support as we sail this ship of ours into uncharted territory.  

Permission to succeed and fail. We encourage each other to do that which we fear. No matter what, you will always learn... we hope the most important lesson: confidence and “yes and...” are essential.

Be humble and direct. And open.

Genius is born out of non-sequiturs. If one thought isn’t good on its own, throw in another thought to make thought pie.

Strengthen relationships, build community. Help each other shine through thoughtful action and meaningful interactions.

Stay naive enough to change the world. Positivity, joy, and youthful curiosity — terribly underrated.

[inthisapp]

Why name-dropping is a good thing

Alumni (in the traditional sense) hold a special place in my heart. We share so much with our schoolmates. Inspiring teachers. Senile ones. Forays into mischief. Fights and tears. Notes in class. Getting destroyed in dodgeball.* 

Sharing an experience with someone is powerful. It's intimate. It inspires empathy: we're going through this together. And this happens despite proximity and the passage of time.

Busy globetrotting entrepreneurs 10 years your senior will find time to reminisce about mandatory French class in primary school. Award-winning authors will publicly joke with you about the "old alma". It can be surprising but it shouldn't be. That shared experience of schooling under the same roof was life-defining to you. Why would you expect it to be different for others?

And schools are just the most salient example. What about the other shared experiences large and small, enduring and ephemeral, joyous and distressing — that have shaped your life?

I think there's something to this idea. Something worth building a company around. With a fellow alum. 

*Just one woman's opinion here, but damn that was a quality sport.  

[inthisapp]

the answer to the question: what is alumn.us in one minute and 22 seconds?

[inthisapp]

This is your captain speaking

Because we strive toward transparency and honesty in what we do. Because we eat our own dog food; that is, we live our vision. Because our Captain + Chief Stargazer Kevin is clearly inspiring, our agenda for October 3rd deserves to be shared:

"Tomorrow, our day is super simple. Tomorrow, we don't worry about investors or financing. At all.

Instead, we pursue our passion for what we are doing. And see where it will take us. We will do this:

by connecting to people who share our vision for meaningful relationships, stronger community (as you so eloquently put it)

(and we do this by acting on our values — this could mean emails, but it could mean phone calls, or visits, or sharing, or kind words, or direct words. We invite them along for the journey with us, and if they decline our invitation request, we respect their unavailability but keep them in our orbit because we value them and have learned from them as people, thinkers, and doers)

by discussing and finishing the pitch deck, which isn't a pitch deck tomorrow, but a clear declaration of who we are and what we believe and why what we believe is the future

by advancing the mobile design and functionality, to make it easy and joyful for people to use toward building meaningful relationships and making new friends

by exploring new, uncharted opportunities for sharing our vision with a wider audience and allowing serendipity to connect us to people who share it, too. Incubators may be part of this, but so might be activity on a blog, commenting around the web, reading, listening to music and penning thoughts, interviewing passers-by, creating moving designs, talking, resting, and being

And every message we send out, every action we put forth is distilled to its purest, clearest form.

We chop out the noise, focus on what matters. Details will come later — in a natural way  — through honest exchanges on phone calls, in-person get-togethers, and subsequent happenings. We embrace the glorious essence of what we know to be true. And marvel as beauty emerges."

[inthisapp]

Startups: easy.

In general, people say startups are hard.

The people who say these things are smart people. Accomplished people. People who run prestigious incubators. People with designations like "the midwife of customer development." People who get 1, 31, or 262 RTs for saying startups are hard.

Bootstrapping a startup for a year without seeking to raise funds while maintaining a laser focus on users, product, team, and vision is really, really hard. I even know this.

And yet, when I take a step back, and take a measure of my life with alumn.us (and this startup is a significant part of life), I realize that startups are not hard.

They are easy. Almost too easy...

... if you have the best co-founder in the world.

(bottom right, not smiling)

A person who's integrity, passion, pizzaz, and humor make you love going to work every morning.

Our vision is unabashedly bold: remake social networking. And I know we will succeed.

But whatever the outcome, I consider myself the most successful startup founder in San Francisco. Because I have found the best co-founder ever.

While I type this, Annie Chen is on the phone with Gabriel from Zappos, working her way to Tony Hsieh.

"Okay. Sure I can email him. But just between you and me, I know Tony gets 2000 emails a day. Now, I'm sure you get a lot of calls like this, but we have a top-notch idea. Can you share how we really get Tony's attention?"

And she is our designer.

Pardon me. The High Ensign of Design.

Startups: super easy.

[inthisapp]

Why we do it

In doing this work, the question often gets asked: What motivates you? We actually ask it of ourselves far more than others do — and it can sometimes appear comically unproductive — but we see it as fundamentally important.

The short answer is, we believe in a better way.

We believe in the quiet power and strength of well-formed communities to buoy its members when in need. To remind us each of our values and where we came from. We believe that connection means human connection, and that means much more than collecting names, keeping tabs, and generic updates. Community provides the essential, but it also creates opportunity for elegant surprise, serendipity, and joy. 

We believe that technology can and should be good for us. We believe in tenacious creativity, in a willingness to say, "Yes, and...". And we believe in extraordinary outcomes. 

[inthisapp]

#3 In this together. We share a sense of place, personal responsibility, and uncompromising standards as we sail this ship of ours toward uncharted territory.

Our values.

[inthisapp]

#2 Sterling character. We act with integrity and are honest with ourselves and others.

Our values.

[inthisapp]

#1 Build and contribute to community. We want to help people live better lives with others.

Our values.

[inthisapp]

Whether you think you can, or you think you can't — you're right.

Henry Ford