#why my first startup was failed

[ytmarketing001]

Failure is the pillar of success. In this video, I'll share my journey from losing thousands of dollars at 21 with my first business to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Let's learn more about why my first startup failed - lessons that every entrepreneur must learn. ��Subscribe to my channel to stay tuned:    / @pauladaba  

[sariahsue]

Wherefore Art Thou My(stery) Lady

When a failed attempt to let Chat Noir down easy ends with Ladybug learning his name, she does what any lovesick teenager would do: teases him mercilessly. Ch 1 Ch 2

Chapter Three

Adrien didn't remember falling asleep, but he jumped awake with a jolt, diving for his phone, before realizing with dismay that he'd forgotten to plug it in and it had died overnight. Had he imagined the whole thing? Had Ladybug really texted him and told him she loved him, or had he made that all up?

He fumbled for the plug, begged the startup screen to load faster, and frantically plunged into his messages. There was the final message she sent, as real in the morning as it had been the night before.

My Lady – And for the record, I love you too.

He read it over and over again. She loved him. She'd said so. He hadn't made it up! Ladybug LOVED him! LADYBUG loved him! Ladybug loved HIM! 

And she knew who he was! And she'd actually said yes to him when he asked her out! 

“I can tell from your face that you're not done being lovesick yet.”

“Nope,” Adrien said, staring at the message. He was stretched out on his stomach across the bed, chin propped up in one hand, dopey smile on his face. “This is my permanent state of being now. Get used to it.”

“Are you going to get me some breakfast?”

“No.”

Plagg left him, making gagging sounds the whole way to the cheese stash. 

Nathalie came in to get him for school a short time later, only to find Adrien still fully dressed in yesterday's clothes (not that she realized it) and looking happier than he’d ever been before. In his entire life. 

“Did something good happen?” she asked, hand resting on the doorknob. Her body and her attention were both already halfway out the door.

“Just got a really nice text,” he said, jumping off the bed. “I'll be ready in a moment.”

---

Adrien texted Ladybug several times while he was getting ready and riding to school. No responses. At first, he wondered if she was sleeping in. She had obviously been up just as late as he had, or even later. But when there were only ten minutes left before class started, he began to worry. Had she thought about what she'd said and decided to take it back? Was the prospect of dating her partner just too weird?

“Maybe her phone died,” he muttered to himself as he walked into the building. That was entirely plausible, considering what had happened to his phone. It was cool against his palm compared to the otherwise warm morning. It vibrated suddenly. A new text message.

My Lady – Urrgh. Why do mornings have to happen so early? Adrien – Have you been sleeping this whole time? You're going to be late! My Lady – Why are you so happy in the morning? It's terrible. Mornings are terrible. Why do I stay up so late? Adrien – Because you love spending time with me. Adrien – And thanks for the clue! My Lady – What? Adrien – Not a morning person. I should have guessed that already. I’m going to check the list of tardy students today. My Lady – I’m not going to be on it. So ha.

Who did he know that liked to sleep in? A plan to skip first period to watch the front doors for the late students popped into his mind, but he knew he'd get a call home and quickly scratched it out. 

She was someone from school, who he was probably friends with since she’d had his number, and hated mornings. What else could he piece together about her? He knew her physical description, and that she couldn't be in his class. He had the numbers of all of his classmates, and most of them had already been akumatized anyway. 

The most likely candidates were the other classes in his year, since Ladybug looked to be around his age. He'd start his search there, and then move to the other grades. It shouldn't be too difficult.

He walked all the way to his first class without another text from her. Nino was there, smiling at him smugly. 

“What happened?” Adrien asked him. 

“I got a text from a mutual friend of ours,” he said. “Just a few minutes ago.”

“Who?”

“I'm not allowed to say.” 

Adrien's stomach flipped. Ladybug had talked to Nino? What had she told him?

“She said she'd finally confessed to you. Anonymously.” He put extra emphasis on the last word, and shook his head, like he couldn’t believe she’d do something so crazy.

“Yeah, I got a text like that,” Adrien said, sliding into his seat and trying not to act too excited about it. It had been anonymous, after all. There was no easy way to explain to Nino he already knew it was from the love of his life. “Did she say anything else?”

“Just that I'm not allowed to give you hints. Is she really making you guess who she is?”

“Yeah. I have an idea of where to look.” The yearbook. Easy. If she had last year’s, he knew she would have to be in it.

Nino shot a look up at the table in front of them and looked quickly back. Alya smiled at him and turned around to the front. 

Ms. Bustier pulled open the classroom door just then. “Good morning!” she said, ever cheerful. The class collectively huffed out a quiet “hello” except for Adrien, who instead smiled broadly and waved. Sometimes he felt like the only awake one in their first period classes. Maybe not being a morning person wasn't such a good hint after all. Most of the class was trying to cover their yawns.

“Where's Marinette?” Ms. Bustier asked, counting her students. “Is she late again?”

“I'm here!” Marinette said as she dove through the door. “Sorry. Slept in.”

“Oh yeah? Why?” Alya called, in a tone that clearly said she already knew the answer. Marinette went pink but didn't duck her head. Instead she marched up to her seat, and said, “Good morning, Adrien” without a single stutter as she sat down. He waved to her too, then pretended to focus on the lesson. He was really just staring at the stack of books on the teacher’s desk, not taking in any of the words. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket. When Ms. Bustier turned her back on them to write on the board, he pulled his phone out to read the message. 

My Lady – Figure me out yet? Adrien – No, but I know where to start.

He felt bad. He didn't usually text in class, but this morning, he wasn't the only one. No sooner had he pocketed his phone than Marinette's notification alert went off, informing the whole class that someone had sent her a message. Ms. Bustier whipped around.

“Sorry!” Marinette said. “Sorry! I forgot to put it on silent.”

“Don't let me see it out again.”

“Good thing Bustier is so nice, girl,” he overheard Alya whispering to Marinette a few seconds later. Mendeleiev would have made you read that message out loud. Wouldn't that have been terrible?”

Marinette squeaked, and Alya laughed. 

Adrien barely heard them.

---

It was Wednesday night, and there wasn’t a patrol scheduled, but Adrien was willing to risk wasting his free time for a chance to see his Lady. Even if he didn’t run into her - and there was no reason why he would - it was nice to be out and seen by people. It gave the citizens of Paris a sense of security, a feeling that they were being watched over. (That was what he told Plagg when the kwami had griped at him for waking him up from his nap - oh, and also for using his powers for selfish reasons. Plagg had quit complaining when Adrien offered him double cheese for dinner.)

Chat Noir stopped at the Montparnasse Tower and looked over the city. It was just after dusk. Lights were twinkling on all around him, and from where he was, he could see the sun slipping over the distant horizon.

His cat ears twitched. Soft footsteps landed behind him, about 10 meters away. They crept forward three steps, stopped for a few seconds, then started up again, and he smiled. Ladybug was trying to sneak up again. His heart beat faster, but he pretended he hadn't noticed. 

He debated as she tiptoed closer, trying to decide if he'd turn around unexpectedly and scare her, but he held himself back. She knew who he was this time. There was no telling what she would do. 

Gentle hands reached around his head and covered his eyes. “Guess who,” she said, her breath so close it tickled his ear. Involuntarily, he leaned backward into her. 

“Probably Ladybug,” he said. She was warm and solid, able to hold him up even though he was putting what felt like more than half of his weight on her. She still had his eyes covered.

“I didn't surprise you at all, did I?”

“Sorry.” 

She lifted one hand away to tug on his cat ear, then slipped both hands around his waist, before she suddenly pulled away, leaving him unbalanced, literally and figuratively. 

“I forgot! I should probably explain,” she said quickly. “So last night, I figured out who you are, and I... like you. But I can't tell you who I am. We should probably not date as superheroes either. That's what I should have said first.” She wrung her hands in front of her. The light from the sunset reflected off of her face and made it glow slightly orange, clashing with her suit. 

“What about what you said in the text messages?” he asked, confused and more than a little hurt. From the sound of it, she was reconsidering everything.

“What text message?” She said it so sincerely, eyes wide with innocence, mouth set in a neutral line. She was perfectly non-responsive. Too perfectly. 

“The– the messages you sent me last night and this morning.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked. “I know who you are, but that doesn't mean that I automatically know your phone number.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. And that’s when it clicked. She was doing this on purpose. 

“Oh.” He fixed a frown over his face, which was difficult through the relief that he felt. “I just started talking to someone over text last night. I thought she was you.”

“That's unfortunate. I hope you didn't give away anything important.”

“I... I maybe mentioned that I'm Chat Noir.”

Her surprised reaction was too rehearsed to have been believable, even if he hadn't been expecting it. “You did?! Oh no! What if she tells someone!”

“It's okay, it's okay! Really! I can fix it!”

“How on earth are you going to fix this, Chat? You just admitted it to a complete stranger, and now they could tell anyone!”

“I'll just tell her tomorrow that I'm really Hawk Moth, and then she'll just think I'm crazy.” 

Her actual surprised reaction was very different from the fake one. She didn't shout, and her eyes didn't go wide. Instead, her face scrunched together as she thought about the new information. 

“You're not buying this at all, are you?” she asked.

“You looove me!” he said, drawing toward her. 

“I thought I was giving you a heart attack, and you were just playing along.”

“You’re in looove with me! Say it!” He wrapped his arms around her, and she didn't pull away. SHE DIDN'T PULL AWAY.

“I’m in love with you,” she replied, and the force of hearing her say it in person punched through him. Her slender arms wrapped around his waist again, hugging him back just as fiercely. 

He'd been so lucky lately that he decided to push it just a little further and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She only hugged him tighter. 

“Once I figured out that you were, well, you, I couldn't believe how obvious it was. You two look so much alike!”

“I thought you said we'd been in the same place at the same time before.” 

“Volpina, but that had been an illusion,” she listed. “Simon Says, though I realized I hadn't actually seen you two together that day after all. The only one I'm still confused about is Gorizilla. How did you pull that off?”

“I had a helmet on hand that Marinette had given me,” he said. “I just gave it to someone who was dressed similarly. That's all.”

“So you could come and help me,” she said. “Smart.”

They stayed wrapped around each other until the sun was almost completely gone. Lights illuminated the darkening streets below them. 

Chat Noir was first to break the silence. “So you know Nino.”

“Here's another hint,” she mumbled into his shoulder. Even through his tough leather suit, he could feel the soft kiss that she placed there. His head started to spin. “I've known Nino for longer than you have.”

“No offense, but that's a terrible hint.” She kissed along his collarbone and he completely lost his train of thought. 

“That hint is terrible because?” she prompted.

“Uh.” There’d been a very good reason. He was sure of it. It was only when she’d rested her chin on his shoulder that he was able to have a coherent thought again and figure it out. “Almost everyone in school has known Nino longer than me.”

“I know him well, not just know about him.” She pulled away so she could frown at him properly. “Don't insult a perfectly good hint.”

“You'll need to give me a better one then.”

“Maybe later.”

“Come on!”

“Why don't you try asking me things?” She put her face back into his shoulder, her hands wandering up and down his back. 

The feeling of holding her was nice, but the feeling of being held by her was exquisite. 

“What did you tell him? He said you texted him this morning.”

“That's not much of a clue,” she said. “I don't know how that's going to help you.”

Truthfully, he was just curious. Nino hadn't given him much of an answer. 

“I told him, and my bestie, as close to the truth as I could. That I'd texted a confession to you, then remembered afterward that we hadn't actually exchanged numbers. I got it from one of our mutual friends.”

“When? Why?” 

“Oh, one of many failed attempts to ask you out ages ago. Super embarrassing.”

One of many? How many? “Do I get to hear that story?”

“Not today!”

“Why tell our friends, though? Nino taunted me about it all day.”

“Oh, good.” She peeked up at him and smiled. “I just thought it would be an easy way to explain later.”

“Explain what?”

She pecked his jaw. “Why I'm suddenly kissing you in public.”

The combined force of her words and her lips against his skin left him dizzy and clinging to her for support. Kissing, and kissing in public, were part of a reality that he fully supported living in. 

“Can I have another hint now, please?” His voice sounded raspy, and he tried to clear his throat.

“Hmm... I live close to you.”

“That's another terrible one.”

“No, it's not! These are all good hints!”

“We're in the same school district,” he said. “Of course we live close to each other. I deserve a better hint.”

Ladybug pulled back and pouted at him, then she stepped away. The vacuum she left behind was cold. “Civilian me has blue eyes.”

“Really? That's it?”

“There's less than eighty years' difference in our ages.”

“Now you're just being mean.”

“I eat food at least once this week.”

“Fine! I'll figure it out without any more hints!” 

“Okay, here's one that probably won't help you either.”

Chat Noir sighed, and she stepped up close to him again, though not as closely as he would have liked. There was still a few inches of space in between them. 

“I've had a gigantic crush on you for a long, long time. I probably wasn't subtle about it, but I don't think you noticed.” Her emphasis on “probably” made it sound more like “definitely.” He was a celebrity, though. He filtered out those types of signals from people daily to keep his sanity.

“If I didn't notice,” he said, “how is that a good hint? I think you should give me one last hint to make up for my shameful inattention to you.” 

Their faces were drifting closer together. He was acutely aware of when it started. She took another step toward him, looking like she wanted to say something more, but when her mouth opened to speak, he glanced away from her eyes and down at her lips. She took the hint and moved in even closer. He hesitated for only a second before lowering his face down to hers, slowly, slowly, until...

“Nope,” Ladybug said, bopping a finger on his nose and breaking the spell. “There's no way you're tricking me into kissing you before you figure it out.”

“You never said that was part of the deal!”

“I'm saying it now. Haha!”

“I was right. You are just being mean.”

“It's for your own good. It'll motivate you to find me faster.”

“Oh,” he said. “I'm very motivated.”

She giggled, then stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind already.” 

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from a true temptress like you.” He tilted his head, ready to kiss her back this time.

She put a finger on his lips to stop him. “You can't kiss me,” a kiss on his other cheek, “but I can kiss you,” and another on his nose. 

His lips felt hot where she pressed on them, and when he tried to kiss her fingertip, she pulled away fast, like she’d been burned. 

“Not allowed, Kitten.”

“That shouldn’t count. It was barely a kiss.”

“Do you want to try again?” she asked, smiling widely. “Or should I just go home?” 

“You’re having too much fun with this.” He held his arms stiffly at his sides to signal that he was willing to behave himself. (He had no intention of keeping his hands to himself, though.)

She reached up, lifting herself on her tiptoes to reach his forehead and left a small peck there. “And having fun while kissing you is bad because…?”

“Teasing me is.”

“My poor Chaton,” she crooned. She left the lightest hint of a kiss on his neck, right above the collar of his suit, before dropping back to his shoulder. “Maybe I should just stop?” 

His response was a garbled choke. No, he wanted to say. Never. But he couldn’t force the words out. Not when she was standing so close to him, mouth level with his, mischievous eyes pinning him in place. 

She reached for his hand - he hadn’t even thought to move it yet, he realized vaguely - and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “See you around?”

Chat Noir collapsed into a puddle as soon as she was gone.

Ch 4

---

Author note: I forgot to update last week, sorry! But you’re getting two this weekend to make up for it!

Tag list: @eclipsesmoonshine14, @alittlewolf2

[libraford]

The good news is that he found a different job and next week is his last week and I only have to work with him 2 more times and only one of those times will I be alone.

Tech talk and rant below.

But in my opinion, we should have fired him earlier on because two weeks into the season he was unclear of what any of the equipment apart from the camera actually did.

The camera takes the picture.

The lights light the subject.

The computer matches the subject to the picture.

The transmitter connects the camera to the lights wirelessly, so that when you take the picture the lights flash automatically.

The sync cord connects the camera to the computer so that the image is displayed on the screen.

The skyport connects the lights to the computer so that they automatically adjust.

Its just all the electronics going through a circular systems check to make sure they are firing properly and matching it up against our white balance test. I know it sounds complicated, but its literally just a circle.

I understand that this can be complicated for someone who is used to 'click button, get picture.' But having the same problems over and over again because he doesn't understand the proper procedure and doesn't look at the checklist that he swears he never received even though I gave him my laminated copy and having to fix all of the problems that are literally because he didn't respect me enough to listen when I explained it to him cuts into the time that could be spent getting ready.

Now we are a month and a half in and on Tuesday he asked me what the skyport does.

If your skyport fails, you have to adjust your lights manually.

Therefore... skyport makes the computer talk to your lights.

And every time something fails, he says 'this would be so much easier without computers' and I'm like. Fine. Okay? Try to match 900 student names to photos without a computerized indexing system. Try getting the light to be consistent without a startup exposure test.

No sense of troubleshooting, which isn't very difficult. If something isn't right, restart the computer and try again. If you get a repeat of the problem, call Freddie from IT. But usually, a reboot fixes most problems.

But then he started breaking the rules, and in a very intentional way. Like at first it was 'oh I didn't know I wasn't supposed to show them the photo' even though we went over this in training. Then it was 'well, I'm not supposed to show you the photo but if you come back here while I'm adjusting my lights I can't stop you.'

At first it was 'hey, Jay, remember what Freddie said about the no-touch policy during training? I know you want to make the kids like you, but its very unprofessional to ask them for a high five, especially since these schools are very strict about their own no-touch policies and also did we not just go through a wholeass pandemic?'

And now students are complaining about him physically adjusting their posture with his hands.

Like... I don't mind bending the rules a little. But before you can bend the rules, you have to understand why the rules are there, so that when they are bent there is a good reason. The rule about showing photos is there to make workflow consistent. The no touch rule is for the safety of ourselves and the students.

But breaking the rules constantly just out of disrespect means that I can't bend them myself. I have to be a hardass. I hate being a hardass. But if I'm not a hardass and someone tells me that he's violating our no-touch policy, the company gets in deep trouble.

Not that he'll ever... ever follow my advice on the subject because as previously mentioned- he respects no one here. He has 15 years experience as a photographer and is too good for this place. Why would he listen to someone under 40 with three years experience dealing with schools?

His pictures aren't even very good. They're average.

Just two more jobs with him and then he's off to do something else and gods I hope he's better at that than he is a school photographer.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Learning from Silicon Valley Bank's apologists

My weird hobby is taking pictures of signs, especially “vernacular” signs, handwritten and odd. The best kinds of signs tell you what other people think you are thinking, or what you don’t understand. I’ve nabbed over 4,600 of ‘em:

https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=37996580417%40N01&sort=date-taken-desc&text=sign&view_all=1

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/15/mon-dieu-une-guillotine/#ceci-nes-pas-une-bailout

I think you learn more about the world by delving into others’ misconceptions than you learn from their factual understandings. Facts are out there for anyone to discover, but when someone inadvertently affords you a glimpse into their wrong beliefs, well, that’s something that can’t be learned in any other way.

Which brings me to the apologists for Silicon Valley Bank, who are busily churning out incredibly revealing bad takes about why bailing out SVB was the right thing to do, and why you’re wrong to call it a bailout, and why all of this is Very Regrettable but nevertheless The Right Thing To Do.

Here’s a terrible reason to support the SVB bailout: because if we let all the tech companies who did business with it fail, you might not be able to get into your house anymore after your smart-lock fails because the cloud service it depends on cuts off the startup that made it because their bank account went up in a puff of smoke:

https://www.wired.com/story/silicon-valley-bank-collapse-fallout/

Look, if you think the fact that my Internet of Shit door-lock failed because the company that designed it made no plan to let me into my house if they went out of business would make me sympathetic to that company, you are out of your fucking mind. If that happened to me, it would make me want to tear the lock out of my door, hunt down the CEO of the company that made it, set the lock on fire, and throw it through their front window.

Here’s another terrible reason to support the bailout: if SVB’s depositors lose their money, every other large depositor will flock to Morganstanley, on the theory that Morganstanley is too big to fail, and will behave just as recklessly, but will never be allowed to go under precisely because they are so structurally important:

https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2023/03/can-the-svb-crisis-be-solved-in-the-longer-run.html

I’m pretty sure this is true! It doesn’t make me want to support an SVB bailout though — it makes me want to break up Morganstanley, regulate the everlasting shit out of the resulting fragments, and create massive public banks that are run by and for their depositors, insulated from the reckless, speculative conduct of these maniacs who keep crashing the world economy:

https://prospect.org/economy/2023-03-15-federal-reserve-banking-public-option/

One more very bad reason to support the bailout: “it’s not a bailout.” The Biden administration wants us to know that SVB’s creditors and shareholders aren’t being bailout here, just the depositors — everyday folken with more than $250,000 in liquid cash in their checking accounts. Whomst amongst us can’t relate to that?

https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/biden-administrations-message-dont-call-bailout-rcna74628

There are a lot of totally normal people who would suffer if not for this bailout — the people who clean the toilets or answer the customer-service calls for tech companies aren’t stock-option-fattened bros in Patagoinia vests. They’re totally normal working people who took no risks and bear no responsibility for the failure of SVB.

But come on. Does anyone seriously believe that the absolute fucking ghouls who came out against a barely-there student debt cancellation as a precursor to literal Stalinist gulags are advocating for endless billions for SVB’s depositors because of the janitors?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/03/12/larry-summers-says-now-is-not-the-time-for-moral-hazard-lectures-about-bailouts/

Listen: people aren’t pissed off about the bailout because they want startups to fail. They’re pissed off because they are living in the century of “socialism for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor”:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/iaqdrl/as_martin_luther_king_jr_said_in_1968_this/

They’re pissed off because the Treasury official who presided over the theft of millions of houses by corrupt, bailed-out banks after the 2008 Great Financial Crisis and then wrote academic articles defending the decision to “foam the runways” for the banks with everyday Americans’ homes is about to join the Federal Reserve Board:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/06/personnel-are-policy/#janice-eberly

They’re pissed off because Biden reneged on his promise for muscular, sweeping StudentDebtCancellation in favor of a self-immolating weaksauce version that would barely dent the crushing financial devastation faced by millions of young people:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/03/utopia-of-rules/#in-triplicate

Only to have the illegitimate dotards of the Supreme Court make even that symbolic gesture moot:

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/28/1159606491/student-loan-forgiveness-supreme-court

(As to what Biden should do about it? The same thing Trump would: Pack the court. Pack the fucking court. Pack it. Just do it. The court’s legitimacy could not sink any lower. There is no downside. Do it.)

The rage at well-capitalized startups being rescued from unearned distress isn’t motivated by a free-floating techlash rage at “bros.” It’s rage born of the fact that young Americans are being put on the hook for their dead parents’ debts:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/19/zombie-debt/#damnation

There is infinite political will and bottomless appetite for money creation when VC-backed companies face distress, but when the death of your parents is followed by years of brutal debt-collector armbreakers chasing you from phone number to phone number, it’s just crickets.

There’s no question that the SVB failure resulted from a series of extremely technical phenomena that offer a fascinating peek into the behind-the-scenes forces that power an economy built on private banking and home ownership as the sole means of intergenerational wealth transfer.

But the fact that this is a complicated circumstance doesn’t mean that laypeople don’t have a right to be furious about it. We should all be suspicious of the inevitabilist narratives of the “experts” who claim that none of this could have been avoided:

https://prospect.org/economy/2023-03-15-qa-daniel-davies-venture-capitalist-bailout/

When finance “experts” tell you that you have no business opining on this highly technical matter, just remember that these are the same experts who were paid fantastic gobs of cash to certify that all these failing banks are just groovy, mere weeks ago:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/kpmg-faces-scrutiny-for-audits-of-svb-and-signature-bank-42dc49dd

Those same experts were caught bribing government officials to help their top staff cheat…on ethics exams (!!!!!!!!!!!!):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/04/aaronsw/#crooked-ref

Even if it turns out to be true that the kind of risk that SVB was exposed to is an inevitable consequence of an economy built on private banking and housing as an asset, rather than a human right:

https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/banking-in-very-uncertain-times/

Remember that those choices are not inevitable. The decision to make housing the primary driver of intergenerational wealth transfer is both recent and very, very stupid:

https://gen.medium.com/the-rents-too-damned-high-520f958d5ec5

Private banking doesn’t need to be an unregulated free-for-all, nor does it have to be the only game in town:

https://publicbankla.com/

As SVB’s apologists insist that tech startups should be preserved lest our IoT gadgets brick themselves, or that SVB should be preserved so that the Morganstanley cancer doesn’t creep into more of our social organs, or that bailing out SVB is acceptable because it’s to defend elite startup founders, not ultrawealthy bank owners, they are missing the fucking point.

But they’re missing it in a useful way. Like any weird sign, these bad takes teach us a lot about how the people who utter them model our own beliefs. They think that people like smart gadgets. They think that we don’t want the finance sector reformed. They think that we’re motivated by schadenfreude, which means that they also think we’ve forgotten about broken student debt promises, about robosigning and the foreclosure epidemic. They think we are fully onboard with rugged individualism for the poor and socialism for the rich.

These bad takes reveal a profoundly out-of-touch elite, the spiritual descendants of the French aristos who went to the guillotine with sincerely baffled hearts, unable to imagine why anyone would be this angry at them.

Upton Sinclair said, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” It’s even more difficult to get a one percenter to understand something when the system that insulates them from the endless, spiraling economic wreckage of our new feudal economy is on the line.

Next Monday (Mar 20), I’m doing a remote talk for the Ostrom Workshop’s Beyond the Web Speaker Series.

[Image ID: A sign reading 'Pull on handle to open closet. Handle is rigid and doesn't turn.']

[mllemaenad]

The Magnus Protocol: Futures

Lena The world is full of opposing forces, some benevolent, most not. In order for the wheels to keep on turning, all these forces need to be monitored and balanced. That is where we come in. Gwen That doesn’t mean anything. Lena And yet it is the only explanation you’re going to get for now. Gwen So what? We’re the bad guys? Lena We are… managing the “bad guys”. – The Magnus Protocol: Futures

Do they now? Do they really? At least in The Magnus Archives it was more that the various forces just were balanced, whether you wanted them to be or not. Oh, sure, there was all the business with Robert Smirke and architecture, and the tunnels beneath The Magnus Institute – but that seemed to be more a matter of accurately observing a phenomenon than of creating one.

John/Jonah Magnus You see, the thing about the Fears is that they can never be truly separated from each other. When does the fear of sudden violence transition into the fear of hunted prey? When does the mask of the Stranger become the deception of the Spiral? Even those that seem to exist in direct opposition rely on each other for their definition as much as up relies on down. To try and create a world with only the Buried makes as much sense as trying to conceive a world with only down. – The Magnus Archives: The Eye Opens

You can't bring one entity into the world; it has to be all of them. If you kick one entity out of the world, the rest must follow. It isn't even entirely clear that they actually are separate beings.

Attempting to use the concept of "balance" to control and empower himself did not work out all that well for Robert Smirke. Frankly, even with all his extra knowledge and study, it did not work out all that well for Jonah Magnus either, in the long run.

But of course, this particular bit of dialogue is immediately followed by a case about the illusion of control. In a lot of ways, Darrien feels like the brother of the gambler from Rolling With It. There is a lot of similarity – except that the gambler had a better understanding of what was happening.

Chester/Statement Giver The thing is though I still don’t really know if they ever made me roll them. I mean, I did. A lot. And I knew that the risks probably outweighed the rewards but I don’t think I ever felt them like “calling” to me or anything y’know? It always felt like my choice. Even if it was a shitty choice. Besides, I've never gotten anything good in my life except by blind chance, so why should this be any different? – The Magnus Protocol: Rolling With It

He knew he was gambling. Yes, there was a "system" but he recognised that it was never going to be perfect. And over time, he got more caught up in the allure of being a mysterious agent of fate than in the benefits he got from actually rolling the dice. The gambler's mistake wasn't in failing to recognise the peril in the act of gambling, it was in underestimating the hold it had over him.

But Darrien – this poor idiot thinks he's in control.

Darrien I took my entire student loan out and got straight to shorting using your app. This was back when it had only just launched. I struggled through your first janky interface, your weird background checks, all those damn glitches but I stuck with it because unlimited Margins and Deposits was pretty sweet. Made some quick cash shorting failing startups then used that to broaden into Crypto, leveraged some EM ETFS, scraped up a few pennies then started to go long on a few obvious winners like Omni and Sparkhub for some hedging. Easy peasy. – The Magnus Protocol: Futures

Shorting is a very high-risk strategy, meaning that Darrien is effectively gambling just as much as the guy with the dice was. But he doesn't think of it like that: to him it's "the plan", and when it transitions to destroying his own life in order to "earn bank" it's "the loophole".

Except ... well, except. He's pretty obviously not gambling, or investing, or anything else within his control. Darrien is being lured. He has only ever invested using Zorrotrade, which had perks that drew him in ... and almost certainly ensured his success, and the eventual failures that led him to the Personal Projection Short Selling settings. He was set up, but is too arrogant to see it – right up to the end.

It's interesting. Looking back at The Magnus Archives, altruism, personal gain, or most often some combination of the two, were perfectly acceptable as entry points for most of the people who got tangled up with supernatural entities. John plied his questioning powers, largely in seasons three and four, to attempt to stop rituals. Oliver Banks attempted to warn people of their impending deaths. Trevor Herbert started out from the perfectly reasonable position of killing vampires who were eating people right in front of him.

That's logical. People in these stories may not be wholly moral but – "Hey, why don't you serve an eldritch god that will eat up your life and strip you of your humanity?" isn't exactly a winning argument. It makes sense that there's a reason. That a person could think doing this could, conceivably, be for the best.

But eventually, you are supposed to stop caring about helping others, or even your own wellbeing, and just give yourself over.

Jude Perry I know now they were simply guiding me upon the path to my true epiphany. All this time I was serving my god, but only for my own glory. But with each new gift, each renewal of the fire, I saw how lifeless and hollow it was, how grey and ashen my existence had become. It became clear that, where once I had destroyed to fuel my life, I now lived for the pain that I caused. And for Agnes. My sweet, hopeless Agnes. – The Magnus Archives: Twice as Bright

And here you have the gambler, who perhaps had the temperament for this business: the sense of drama, the deep addiction to the dice rolls – but ultimately not the stomach for it. And Darrien. Well, he's got the stomach for it: an amputated limb, a coma and a dozen other serious injuries and he's still not fazed. But he was never ever going to give up the self interest. He clung to the illusion of control, the idea that he could demand his "goddamn money" right up until something consumed him.

You can see hints here, of Sam and Gwen and even Celia. Sam the underachieving gifted kid, desperate to find something in The Magnus Institute to explain his circumstances; Gwen the rich woman in the crap job trying to get "in" on the big secret; Sam and Celia together, trying to take control of their odd relationship by putting all their cards on the table – but both clearly hiding a couple of doozies up their sleeves.

Mostly, though, it seems to be a commentary on Lena. She says that there are benevolent forces out there, and that balance is necessary. And sure, maybe. New universe, new rules. Anything's possible. But it would be a new thing, and there's been little evidence of it so far. If you tell yourself these things, though, you can feel like you're in control. So who is she kidding – Gwen, or herself?

And ye gods there is something very wrong with the tech in this world. The Magnus Archives had its haunted tape recorders, sure, but that was a single point of weirdness in a world where the technology largely behaved as expected. But here?

Someone or something seems to be able to listen through virtually any device that has a microphone

Making Adjustments involved streaming inking someone with a cursed tattoo to the world

Personal Screening had an obviously evil website, and closed with a cursed film

Needles and the threatening call to emergency services

Mr Bonzo, who is summoned by recordings of his theme song

... and now the cursed investment app

And Freddy, of course. Can't forget Freddy. It's not every case, but it's enough cases that I'm sure there's a pattern. I am more certain that The Magnus Protocol refers at least in part to network protocols – and that Colin has largely been kept quiet because he could say too many useful things. Colin is stressed, in part, because somebody wants an app.

Yeah. I don't think an app would improve anything about this situation.

Meanwhile, there is Alice's small tragedy. Of course, it was clear even from the trailer that she recommended Sam for the job. But this:

Sam I had a breakdown. Stress. There was an… incident at work. I… freaked out during a presentation. After that they “encouraged” me to move on and I did. Six unemployed months later and I took a job at the O.I.A.R. Celia (slightly cautious) Alice hooked you up? Sam (noticing) Yeah. Full disclosure, we dated at uni and stayed in contact after. I did my best to help her though her parents’ deaths, but… after that we pretty much dropped out of touch. According to her, she dropped me a line about the job after “the most pathetic vague-post she had ever seen.” – The Magnus Protocol: Futures

That Sam had a breakdown and Alice, unprompted, invited him into the OIAR. He didn't reach out to her. They didn't reconnect for other reasons and it just came up. She made that move. Alice who knows her workplace is sinister and advises everyone not to look to closely at the cases – and is suspicious of anyone who does. Alice who clearly still has feelings for Sam. She can chide Sam all she wants about his poking around The Magnus Institute, but she brought him here.

I keep thinking about Tim, and the way he blamed John for trapping him in the archives. John had his share of screw ups, of course, but that one always felt a bit unfair. There was no way John could have known the archives job was extra evil. But this time? If something does happen to Sam – whether that be physical danger or mental distress, or even a descent into evil – Alice can't say her hands are clean. Some of it will be her fault.

[realinspirations]

Interview with Jane Carter: The Visionary Behind TechSphere Solutions

 Jane Carter is the founder and CEO of TechSphere Solutions, a business enterprise that has revolutionized cloud-based totally cybersecurity for small groups. Starting from a one-bedroom condo with just a pc and an concept, Jane has grown her employer into a worldwide powerhouse. In this different interview, she shares insights into her adventure, challenges, and vision for the destiny.

Jane Carter entrepreneurship interview insights

Interviewer: Thank you for joining us, Jane. Let's start with your entrepreneurial adventure. What stimulated you to begin TechSphere Solutions?

Jane Carter: Thank you for having me! My adventure commenced at some stage in my time as a cybersecurity analyst. I noticed that even as massive organizations had robust structures to protect their statistics, small organizations were regularly left prone due to the fact they couldn’t have the funds for the identical degree of protection. Cybersecurity is critical, but such a lot of small companies underestimate the risk. I desired to create an answer that became both effective and inexpensive for them. That’s how TechSphere Solutions was born.

Interviewer: That’s incredible. Were there specific moments early on that showed you had been on the right tune?

Jane Carter: Definitely. I recollect landing my first large customer—a circle of relatives-run business that had simply experienced a substantial statistics breach. They had been devastated, and I presented them our services at a discounted rate to help them get better. Within weeks, they saw a drastic improvement in their security and peace of thoughts. They referred us to others, and it snowballed from there. That became the instant I knew I was solving a real problem.

Interviewer: Starting a enterprise from scratch is not any easy feat. What were some of the largest demanding situations you faced?

Jane Carter: Oh, wherein do I start? (Laughs) In the early days, funding became a major hurdle. I had financial savings, but they handiest went to this point. Convincing buyers to again a small, unproven organization changed into hard. There were also moments of self-doubt. When you’re building something new, specifically in a aggressive area like cybersecurity, it’s clean to wonder in case you’re loopy for trying. On pinnacle of that, balancing work and personal lifestyles turned into hard. I worked 14-hour days for months on quit.

Interviewer: How did you conquer the ones challenges?

Jane Carter: Perseverance and adaptableness. For funding, I commenced with small presents and angel investors. I additionally stored my operational costs low—I hired freelancers in preference to full-time personnel first of all. As for self-doubt, I leaned on my help network. My buddies and circle of relatives have been tremendously encouraging. They jogged my memory why I commenced this adventure in the first place. I additionally learned to delegate as the enterprise grew. You can’t do the entirety yourself, and trusting my group became a sport-changer.

Interviewer: Speaking of your group, what’s your technique to constructing a high-quality team?

Jane Carter: Culture is the whole lot. I look for people who are not only skilled but additionally percentage our enterprise values: innovation, integrity, and collaboration. During interviews, I usually ask approximately a time they failed and what they found out from it. Resilience is key in a startup surroundings. I also consider in giving human beings room to grow. If someone on my group has an concept, I need to hear it, and I need them to sense empowered to take possession of it.

Interviewer: Let’s communicate approximately leadership. How has your management fashion developed over the years?

Jane Carter: When I started out, I concept being a leader supposed having all of the solutions. Over time, I found out it’s greater about asking the right questions and listening. I’ve end up more empathetic and open to comments. I additionally consciousness on placing clear desires and letting my crew discern out the way to gain them. Micromanaging doesn’t paintings—it stifles creativity. Leadership is about inspiring and guiding, now not controlling.

Interviewer: TechSphere Solutions has grown drastically. What strategies helped you scale the commercial enterprise?

Jane Carter: Scaling requires a mix of strategic making plans and adaptableness. One primary step turned into automating parts of our service shipping to address elevated demand with out sacrificing first-rate. We also improved through partnerships. Collaborating with larger tech firms gave us access to their networks and credibility. Lastly, we invested heavily in advertising and purchaser training. When customers understand the fee of your product, they’re much more likely to stay loyal and endorse you to others.

Interviewer: The tech enterprise is constantly evolving. How do you stay in advance of the curve?

Jane Carter: Staying ahead requires a mind-set of continuous studying. My group and I are continually learning rising traits and threats. I additionally prioritize attending industry meetings and networking with other leaders. Beyond that, we listen closely to our customers. Their remarks facilitates us perceive gaps and innovate. For example, whilst clients began asking approximately AI-powered threat detection, we made it a priority to combine that into our platform.

Interviewer: Balancing work and existence is a commonplace struggle for marketers. How do you manage it?

Jane Carter: It’s a piece in development! (Laughs) Early on, I ignored my private life, and it took a toll on my health. Now, I’m extra intentional approximately putting obstacles. I block out time for circle of relatives and pursuits, and I try and unplug from paintings at some point of weekends. Exercise has also end up a non-negotiable a part of my routine—it facilitates me de-strain and live focused. I’ve discovered that looking after yourself isn’t a luxurious; it’s vital for lengthy-term success.

Interviewer: What role has failure performed in your adventure?

Jane Carter: Failure has been one in all my finest instructors. In the first yr, we released a product feature that flopped—it didn’t meet patron needs, and we misplaced cash. It changed into a hard pill to swallow, however it taught us the significance of thorough market research and beta trying out. Every setback has been an possibility to examine and develop. I inform my group all the time: failing isn’t the hassle; failing to analyze is.

Interviewer: What recommendation could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Jane Carter: First, start with a trouble you’re passionate about solving. Passion will preserve you going while things get difficult. Second, don’t await the entirety to be ideal before you begin. Perfectionism can paralyze you. Launch with what you have got, examine from the feedback, and iterate. Third, surround your self with the proper humans. Mentors, friends, and a supportive group make a big distinction. And in the end, live resilient. The street isn’t clean, but it’s exceptionally worthwhile.

Interviewer: Looking in advance, what’s subsequent for TechSphere Solutions?

Jane Carter: We’re exploring new markets and making an investment in AI-driven cybersecurity equipment to live ahead of emerging threats. Our goal is to make advanced cybersecurity reachable to every small enterprise worldwide. I’m additionally obsessed on mentoring the next technology of marketers, so I plan to dedicate extra time to that. The future is complete of possibilities, and I’m excited to look where the adventure takes us.

Jane Carter: Thank you! I’ll just say this: when you have a dream, cross for it.  Believe in yourself and your imaginative and prescient, and don’t be afraid to take dangers.

[mariacallous]

Of all things about dating that people got wrong in 2024, one remains the standout: that old people don’t have a lot of sex.

On several dating platforms, boomers (individuals aged 59 to 72) were actually the fastest growing userbase. Aging singles were also having the most orgasmic sex of their lives, according to data from Match.com, where 50-plus daters are joining at a higher rate than every other demographic. Since 2022, the kink-positive app Feeld has experienced a 340 percent surge in users who are 60-plus. “Feeld has definitely introduced me to new desires and made me 100 percent more aware of my body and what I enjoy,” Wendy, 72, said when we spoke in April. “It’s been liberating.”

Many other apps also reported a record 2024. Tinder, setting a new benchmark, reached 50 million users. Hinge’s global downloads topped an all-time high, ranking it as the second most downloaded dating app in the markets it serves, the company reported in a November shareholder letter. Sniffies, the platform for queer cruisers that uses map technology, saw a 26 percent increase in straight singles. A total of 130 billion chats—yes, billion—were sent between gay men on Grindr. On Bumble, where women make the first move, paid users increased by 10 percent, topping 3 million.

So why, in spite of that growth, was 2024’s unifying hypothesis that dating apps failed?

Modern dating is broken. If you caught any whiff of the cultural metanarrative around love and sex this year, that’s probably the story you heard. Many traditional relationship structures loosened as a result—polyamory was on everyone’s mind, for one—and many people turned to TikTok for dating advice from armchair therapists. A study released by Flirtini found that one in four people rely on TikTok to figure out how to navigate their relationship, despite a clear rise in misinformation.

Singles were also caught in an “assumptions epidemic,” according to Tinder’s annual trends survey, where many users said they regularly misinterpreted green flags for red ones. The study found that “65 percent of women thought men were mostly after casual flings, but only 29 percent of men actually said that was what they wanted.” In more ways than one, it was a year of mixed signals.

To fix that, several startups launched niche dating apps—some puzzling, others entirely predictable—designed to satisfy unique needs, with many of them built around the promise of AI. Volar, created by a former product director at Snap, uses a chatbot to message back and forth with potential daters on your behalf. There’s also Rizz, Iris, and Elate, all of which leverage AI to find your soulmate by helping users maneuver first impressions and awkward conversations. For singles interested in other, let’s say, avant-garde forms of companionship, ones that completely remove humans from the equation, there are apps like EVA AI and Luna, who act as your AI girlfriend.

It’s still too soon to say how effective any of these AI-powered apps are in lessening the possibility of people being ghosted, but a recent report from Hopelab found that 40 percent of young people rely on chatbots to have ongoing conversations. Dating’s future, the report concluded, promises to be chattier, and stranger, than ever.

Still, the exhaustion of swiping right remains a major concern among singles of every demographic. In the dating wilds, app fatigue is contagious. No one knows that better than JB, the power dater from New York I spoke with in September. At the time, he’d been on 200 dates following a breakup—the majority sourced from Hinge and Raya—and expressed a feeling of burnout, even as he couldn’t fully pull himself away from app dating’s addictive thrill.

I heard from JB in December. He reached out to let me know that he’d somehow forgotten to share the “most unhinged” dating story from our initial series of conversations. “I can’t believe I only thought of it recently,” he wrote via text message. “A girl on our third date saying, ‘If you fuck me really good tonight I’ll cancel my other dates this week.’”

Did she? I shot back.

“I was pissed. I almost ended the date,” he said. “She was winning until she hit me with that toxic shit.”

JB told me he is still exhausted by the apps but very much still on them. The week we talk, he is fresh off another breakup. A recent courtship in Philadelphia, he said, fizzled after the woman lied about talking to other people. She made the first move on Raya and they later established more of a bond trading DMs on Instagram. She had pursued him, which was rare and a refreshing change of pace. “I was smitten,” he says. Which made it all the more difficult when the relationship ended. “She sought me out, only to lie about it?”

JB is currently on the rebound, or what he describes to me as a period of “side quests”—pet-sitting his neighbor’s cat, surfing TikTok, trying new restaurants. “I was down bad but we back up,” he told me. He wonders if dating apps will ever have a solution for singles like him. “It’s truly rotten out here.”

[derpigeonthefifth]

As it was : (2)

It's around the time dinner begins. People are chatting, dancing, and whatnot, when the man next to you strikes up conversation with Bruce, you following in suite reluctantly. Your eyes quietly absorbing him.

"Mr.Wayne." He greets with a smile. He introduces himself as Josh, some CEO of a startup. Bruce catches the sight of a ring on his left hand. A rather uncomfortably long handshake later, Bruce and Josh speak about some business ventures, with Bruce constantly trying to seek eye-contact with you. You're disinterested and obviously uncomfortable as you sip on your champagne. You must be, because to you it must seem like your childhood best friend ghosted you for a good decade. Unrecognisable. He knows this persona must look so fake to you. But he can't help it. It's a necessary evil.

Josh seems to catch his gaze. Because he turns towards you. Saying your name. "She's my fiancee." Josh states. Bruce freezes for a moment. His eyes subtly going wide as he notices a ring on your left hand's finger. Josh continues to brag. "She just got a job as an editor at the Gotham gazette." Bruce meets your gaze seeking out your eyes but you refuse to.

"We've met." Bruce says with a smile.

"You've met?" Josh raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we went to school together." Bruce wears his brightest smile. He doesn't fail to notice how your frown deepens. It feels like all he can make are mistakes near you. The charming, billionaire, persona he wants to put up is cracking at the very seams when he's in your presence. You do this to him. You threaten everything he's ever built, everything he's ever built, and he's scared.

"You've never told me that, honey." Josh says turning your way. It makes him sick. Hearing your fiancé say that so sweetly.

"Yeah." You smile faintly. "We just went to school together. It wasn't a big deal." You say meeting his gaze dead in the eye. A sense of sobriety fills Bruce. He can't be hurt by this. He's the one who pushed her away first. He's the one who cut contact for years. She's probably a different person than he remembers. He wonders why he didn't factor that in his big IQ brain. He can't be unrealistic and expect everything to go back to how it was.

There's a beat of silence. Josh doesn't catch how tense your exchange is.

You swirl the lute of champagne and sip on it maintaining eye contact. Bruce gives a charming smile to ease the tension. Before he can say something his phone rings and he knows it's an alert for the batsignal. He winces internally. Awkward.

"How about we catch up sometime later?" Bruce offers.

You nod faintly. "Sure.” You don't look to keen on it. Neither do you mean it. Your eyes follow him as he leaves. Your fiance whispers something in your ear drawing a faint smile on your lips. Bruce barely fathoms it before he turns on his chin and walks out the banquet hall.

<Prev

[bmodiwrites]

Hi friends! This is my Day Six of @steddie-week! I took the prompt misunderstanding & ran with it. I did a little outside POV take, so I hope you guys appreciate it. It's an unofficial part three of the Xander Cole Chronicles. You can find part one and two here! Thanks for reading, my friends. Here's the AO3 link! Enjoy Nancy's take on Steddie!

Despite, or maybe because of everything in their past, Nancy Wheeler loves Steve Harrington.

Now, before everyone gets all huffy – she can totally explain.

The love she feels for Steve is like that of a brother. She kind of looks at him like she does at Mike – there’s interest and concern and possession but the boat stops there. More than anything, Nancy loves Steve enough to want him to be happy.

Admittedly, Nancy is the reason why their relationship doesn’t work out the way Steve absolutely wanted. At that stage in her life, Nancy wasn’t prepared for the sort of love Steve brings to the table. She looked to Jonathan because he’s the opposite of Steve in so many ways.

How things ended between them is and probably always will be Nancy’s biggest regret. Though she’s glad they decided to go their separate ways, hurting Steve is never something Nancy wants to do. She’ll forever be making up for it.

Thankfully, Eddie Munson is Steve’s saving grace. Nancy is at first taken aback by the fact that they both were able to hide their bisexuality from each other and the rest of the world. As Eddie becomes a permanent fixture, however, Nancy is just glad to see Steve brighten up and find a bit of joy and peace, no matter who it’s coming from. Eddie is a shining star in Steve’s life that Nancy is positive she never could be. Steve looks at Eddie like he hangs the stars and moon and rotates the very sun above them. It’s that force of attention that Nancy wanted to escape – for Eddie, Steve’s intensity is everything.

Which is why they end up working out for the long haul. At first, Nancy is skeptical about Eddie’s job and Steve’s naivety about it. As someone who’s both assertive and innocent, a guy like Eddie screams no in so many ways to her. Yet, Steve finds a way to tame the wild beast of a rock star. Instead of losing Eddie to fame and fortune, Steve learns the ropes of Eddie’s business and becomes priceless to both him and the band. Eddie relies on Steve the same way Steve leans on him. Without one, the other fails. It’s a pleasure to see and a joy to share with her friend.

Nancy and Robin eventually find their way to each other after college and a couple of startup jobs on Nancy’s end. It feels like kismet, coming home to run the Hawkins Gazette and immediately running into Robin. Their conversation about Robin’s job at the high school turns into a night tangled up in the sheets and then several dates after that. Nancy isn’t certain why she never looked at Steve’s best friend but she’s very happy her eyes are finally open.

Their whirlwind romance is something Steve can’t help but be happy for. That’s a fun thing to experience the first time Eddie and Steve stop by on one of their breaks from tour. Steve and Robin are still thick as thieves, that much is clear by the way they meld into each other and finish each other’s sentences like no time at all has passed them by. Nancy and Eddie stick to the background, watching the loves of their lives rekindle the weird platonic soulmate relationship between them.

As the years pass and Eddie thaws out a little, Nancy becomes his friend, too. She learns quickly that Eddie is the type of person who is loyal without a fault. He loves Steve, that much is obvious by the way he lights up while talking about him. As a rockstar who’s living the life, Nancy is always taken aback by how wholesome Eddie truly is. At first, his love for Steve is what enamors her towards him. Little by little, Eddie’s quirks become something Nancy appreciates, too. Her stake in their relationship isn’t just for Steve’s sake, anyway – she cares about Eddie and his happiness, too.

A few years into their marriage, Robin and Nancy welcome their first baby. Theo is the best addition to their family. Nancy loves being pregnant and enjoys the idea of being a mom even more. Having Robin by her side, doing it together, that really takes the cake. For a while, that blissful happiness is all Nancy sees.

Then, Steve and Eddie come for a visit and the rest of the world becomes a thing to her once again. Nancy sees the longing on Eddie’s face and remembers a conversation from so long ago. Steve too talked so lovingly about a big family. At the time, Nancy tried hard to forget the conversation because it all sort of pointed to her. Now though, it all comes rushing back. Both men cling tightly to her and Robin’s small son as they fight for his attention. Theo isn’t put down one time while the boys are around and Nancy knows – she knows from the very bottom of her heart that Steve and Eddie are meant to be parents.

The boys make do with Nancy and Robin’s children, though. By the time the second comes around, Theo is more than accustomed to time with Uncle Steve and Uncle Eddie. Rosalie is similarly spoiled by the men who long for something more but can’t find the best way to make it happen. In knowing that, Nancy gives them grace where other parents might be territorial or offended. Her kids tell Steve and Eddie they love them just as readily as they do Robin and herself. It’s the best of a sticky situation – it works for them.

Then, a Xander starts to get mentioned and Nancy is over the moon. Eddie’s eyes light up when they mention the kid and Steve, once he’s finally on board, seems to react excitedly, too. First it’s casual mentions and then the name is brought up more habitually. It’s almost a relief when Steve finally announces they’re going to take Xander into their home for good.

To celebrate, Robin and Nancy put together a party that’s geared towards kids Rosalie’s age. For some reason, Nancy’s got it in her head that Xander is a young child who’s coming from a bad home. Robin gives her funny looks whenever Nancy mentions Xander playing with their youngest daughter, but they’re easily brushed off. Robin looks at her funny most of the time they share the same space together – it’s a reason why they work so well. Nancy never stops getting enjoyment out of it.

Nonetheless, Nancy gets her way with the party plans and is excited to finally meet the newest addition to Steve and Eddie’s family. Her friends are finally getting exactly what they’ve always wanted.

So, Nancy is noticeably shocked when the boys walk in with a teenager who is much, much, much older than their sweet Rosalie. Xander, as it turns out, is almost sixteen years old. He’s a kid who’s family completely gave up on for being gay and Nancy immediately understands. It’s not quite the picture perfect thing that she’s been picturing but it’s clear to see her friends love the odd teenage boy.

By the end of the night, Nancy is positive she loves him, too. Whatever misgivings she had are out the window – honestly, she’s close to fighting Steve and Eddie for custody of the kid. Nancy is so happy, she’s glad her misconceptions and preconceived notions are not the reality. Her friends are finally complete – that much is obvious.

Later in bed, as Robin snuggles into her, Nancy wraps an arm around her lover, sighing with contentment. “Do you think Xander will babysit for us?” Nancy sleepily asks, a smile on her lips.

With a laugh, Robin presses a kiss to Nancy’s forehead, then another against her lips. “Steve and Eddie will make him. Don’t worry, we’ll have him wrapped around our fingers in no time.”

Chuckling herself, Nancy nods her head and settles down. As she drifts off to sleep, Nancy smiles again – nothing is ever as it seems and luckily, no one in her life is anywhere close to predictable.

As it turns out, Nancy Buckley-Wheeler kind of likes that.

[tumblingyeti]

A brand mythology that brought a startup into the heart of the nation’s children

I thought for my first belated post, I’d talk about a story of rebranding from an Indonesian start up where I spent four years as VP of Product and reflect how Go-jek’s branding story touches on the concepts of brand mythology and equity, brand architecture, and even friction.

A bit of context

Go-jek was founded in 2010 and is on-demand “super-app” platform that started as motorcycle ride-hailing but now one of the largest SEA tech giants, providing more than 20+ services extending beyond transportation to logistics, food-delivery, grocery-delivery, digital payments and lending, entertainment, e-commerce, and more.

Brand mythology

Go-jek’s registered company name reads “Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa” which translates to “an application that is the work of the nation’s children.” This tagline resonated with many people in Indonesia; the fourth-most populous country in the world which was in the midst of the smartphone revolution and which had yet to produce a “unicorn” (tech company valued over $1Bn). By using this tag line as part of their brand mythology, it allowed the company to become more than its on-demand transport and delivery products. It sought to enter the consumer psyche as something that they can be proud of. Go-jek aspired not just  to be the story of a company but a story of the nation. The emotional implication was that using the services would feel like an act of patriotism.

Exhibit 1: Photos below show the tag line “Karya Anak Bangsa” as well as the Indonesian flag (and colors, red/white) featured prominently on advertisements as well as the Gojek driver jackets.

The following excerpt from a 2018 blogposts describes this well “There is pride in what GO-JEK has done in Indonesia. And when you talk to Indonesian’s about GO-JEK, you will notice a particular phenomenon: The brand is theirs, their home-grown star, a reflection of a new era in technology.” Source: Medium Blogpost (2018) - “Why Go-Jek is the operating system of Indonesia”

Brand equity and extensions

The mythology as well as smart use of words, was in-part, one of the reasons why Go-Jek was able to expand from 3 services to 20+ within a span of three years. Subsequent product launches included Go-Car (car ride-hailing, think Uber/Lyft), Go-Food (food delivery), Go-Beauty (on-demand haircuts and beauty services, beauticians would come to you!), Go-Pay (peer-to-peer transactions, digital wallets, and more) and so-forth. Because Go-Jek had so much brand power and recognition, there was a lot of built-up trust and it reduced the hurdle for consumers to try out new services immediately after they were launched, even if it was in a completely new vertical. For example, one may not think that a company you trust to get you from place a to b is one that you might also trust to get you a good haircut or one that you may trust with sending money or taking loans.

I personally find it hard to imagine if Uber or Lyft launched a peer-to-peer transaction or money lending service in the US that their brand equity would carry over and consumers would try out those new services. I think if this happened, this would end up like the failed brand extensions that we discussed in class (e.g. the fate of Bic’s perfume and Levi’s suits).

This brand mythology was not a one-time play but a strategy that we continued to invest in as a company. In 2018, eight years after the company was founded, Go-jek launched a campaign titled #AnakBangsaBisa (translates to: Children of the Nation Can) to celebrate the 73rd independence day of Indonesia. Source: Gojek Blog

And in the Youtube comments of the campaign video, we can glean that the emotional impact of national pride is still very much alive:

This perspective of brand mythology / equity / extensions adds a new dimension to my previous reflections on our work at Gojek. What I thought was more of a branding strategy for recruiting and “feel-good” emotional aspect with using our services may have also played a significant role in enabling us to extend to so many different services in such a short time and become the “super-app” that it is today.

Final thoughts on friction

In 2019, Gojek did a rebranding with a new logo, a new look, and new in-app landing page. The new company mission was to “remove friction from people’s lives.” Refer to the LinkedIn post below by one of the CEOs at the time announcing the new homepage. Source: LinkedIn.

In thinking how this squares with the discussions in our last class. In a country where life is chaotic (ask any Indonesian or person who has been to Jakarta, the capital city, and chaotic will be an adjective that is certain to come up), daily life is fraught with friction. In that sense, I do believe that the overall mission to remove friction was aspirational and is still relevant.

However, when thinking of the work I did day-to-day as a product manager considering today’s era of surveillance capitalism, and given the lessons learned in our last class, I am becoming increasingly more cognizant that removing friction in the design of products and applications should not be done at the expense of the user’s agency and should not exploit their resources including their data, time, and money. Sources: “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” by Shoshana Zuboff and Renee Richardson Gosline’s MIT Sloan 15.846 Branding lecture.

[wrenchinator-central]

Wait, wait, now I really want to know the story about you not getting an aircraft carrier museum in your backyard (feel free to table this ask for tomorrow...)

I've done this rant before, but I'll do it again because you should never miss a chance to dunk on the Jacksonville Jaguars, or the NFL. Get some popcorn, this is gonna be a long one.

So here's the basic gist. Back in the day there was a supercarrier named the USS Saratoga. Sara served with distinction throughout the Cold War, taking part in both Vietnam and Desert Storm. But like all ships she was eventually decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1994. It is here that our tale of woe begins.

One of Saratoga's main ports during her service was Naval Station Mayport; a naval base nearby Jacksonville. In the mid 90s, Jacksonville was interested in upgrading the downtown area (they still are; it sucks and there's nothing out there). To that end, it was decided USS Saratoga would make a fine museum ship; she had history in the area, was part of the first "supercarrier class", It would be perfect! The startup costs began at 4.5 million, but for some reason the city was reluctant to cough up the funds.

That's because the NFL got their greedy paws on it first. They were also interested in Jacksonville's money downtown upgrade. They just needed a measly 130 million to raze the old stadium and build a brand spanking new one. So they leaned over to the city council and whispered in their soft seductive voice-

"Jacksonville: Home of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL Team"

And so a significant portion of that 130 million was given away by the city. Saratoga didn't even get half of the needed funds, and the ship was eventually removed from donation hold. There was an attempt by a town in Rhode Island to get her, but nothing came of it and she was scrapped in 2014. So she's dead and gone, the Jaguars for the longest time were the laughing stock of the NFL (might still be, I don't follow them out of spite), the stadium had to be revamped in the 2010s with a swimming pool to actually attract people to Jaguar games, and it was only last year that Jacksonville finally got a destroyer for a museum ship in the USS Orleck. After she was nearly destroyed by neglect and a hurricane at its previous moorings in Texas, and another museum candidate failed to come through (this one at least was the Navy's fault). Not to disparage Orleck, she's a storied old girl and quite interesting to tour, but a supercarrier she is not.

This is sad to me not just because I missed out on getting to have an aircraft carrier in my backyard, but because the country missed out on one of the last chances to have another carrier museum. Saratoga was a conventionally powered ship as opposed to nuclear. You really can't turn a nuclear powered ship into a museum; the process of refueling or decommissioning one basically involves ripping the ship open from flight deck to engine room to get at the nuclear fuel. By the time it's done, there's not much reason to put everything back together unless the ship is going back into service. It's why the four Essex and one Midway carriers preserved are all conventionally powered, and ships like the first nuclear powered carrier, USS Enterprise, is currently being scrapped. Besides the Essex and Midway classes, the two Forrestal carriers (Saratoga's class) and the four Kitty Hawks were the only ones that could become museum. Everything else is nuclear powered. There are the ostensibly light carriers we call amphibious assault ships, but it's not the same. The whole situation feels like wasted potential; a big beautiful aircraft carrier losing out to a mediocre NFL team. Am I biased? Yes. Am I sensitive about this because similar plans fell through for my grandpa's ship and she got scrapped too? Also yes. Did the decision to go with the Jaguars probably make the city more money in the long term than Saratoga would have? Probably, but NFL teams and stadiums are a dime a dozen in this country. No one, and I mean no one, can say they have a supercarrier in their backyard.

[z3ncat]

INTERESTING.

I appear to have been banned from showing up as a reblog or from having my replies shown on any of the @featured / @postitforward posts.

You can see my comment on a reblog here:

And yet here is what the notes show:

There were NO replies on this post until I replied with a link to the article I quoted in my reblog. And INSTANTLY the "some replies may have been hidden, blocked, or removed" message appeared. My reply didn't show up for even a second.

This is the SECOND one of the Koko posts I've reblogged only to find my additions, and even my name in the reblog list, hidden.

My previous comment was the same link to the article mentioned above. I thought it failed to show in the notes because @staff had decided to block any reblog with that link, which is why I just quoted the headline the second time. I deleted the reblog of the first post without thinking to screenshit it.

I don't doubt this is because I, on a previous Koko featured post (see below) linked to the same article and said that this partnership between tumblr and Koko is not one that should exist and is definitely not one that has the well-being of tumblr's users in mind given the HORRIFICALLY UNETHICAL and HORRIFICALLY DANGEROUS way Kokobot works.

Looking at the notes on that post, I don't show up there, either - and neither do the people my activity says reblogged from me, or the other comments I saw when I checked the notes after adding my comment that also criticized Koko. (Comments criticizing the fact that the concept of "love languages" was created by an evangelical homophobic abuse apologist are also not showing up in the notes.)

[nobossinc]

12 Steps To Starting ANY Business For Guaranteed Success

As a New Business Consultant, I work with and create content for new entrepreneurs every day. Often I am asked ‘how I can make starting a business and making money look so easy’.

Well, the truth is, it's not easy, it's a process, and it takes time too! While some ideas take a little more time than others, no matter how small or grandiose your business idea is, be ready and willing to put in some work if you want to succeed. 

What others see are the benefits of the businesses that I’ve started~ the aftermath and results of my efforts.

What they don’t see is the time, planning, and process I use to make sure my business ideas will work. A process that I figured out when I started my first business many years ago. But my process is not a secret, it’s not a formula, and it’s definitely not magic!  In fact, every successful entrepreneur does it.

 HOW TO START A BUSINESS

There are 12 key steps to establishing any business, no matter what business idea you have, or whether you want to stay small or be the next Amazon. Within each step, you are to gather relevant information about the specific business idea. Failing to address these steps when initially planning your business could mean encountering them later when you're struggling to stay in business or have already failed.

12 ESSENTIAL STEPS OF THE BUSINESS STARTUP PROCESS:

Discover the perfect business idea for you and develop a business marketable concept

Validate idea, Identify target market, and determine Income potential

Create a family of product and service solutions to offer

Establish Cost, Prices, and Profit

Create a S.W.O.T. Analysis and Competitor Landscape

Create a Marketing Strategy

Management Plan: Overhead, HR, Assets, Policy, Production, Goals, Other

Finalize the Startup Budget

Capital, Funding Sources, Partnership Agreements

Create Business Model

Launch and execute a strategies

Tracking methods, financial analysi

Experienced entrepreneurs know these steps, and how to gather the relevant information and resources. However, for the new entrepreneur, their age-old dilemma has always been:

Most of these steps are unknown

Lack of knowledge of how to fulfill each one

NOBOSS Workshops is the solution to this dilemma. Through research and experience it is proven that Entrepreneurship is a learned skill, and starting a business is an actionable process. One without the other is ineffective for starting a business.

LEARNING - will arm you with a wealth of information necessary to identify business opportunities and minimize risk.  However, learning alone won’t get your business started.

DOING - Create plans and execute for results. However, there are several elements that need to be in motion, and simply registering for a business license isn’t going to start your business or make it successful.

 So, to be a successful entrepreneur, one must learn and do ~ Learn the skill and do the process!

NOBOSS Workshops guides you step-by-step, from an idea into a success!

 Everything is right here!

It is a highly effective process.

Its actionable content makes for a progressive business planning process.

It covers all the steps of starting your own business.

It also addresses the top reason for business failure.

It makes starting your business less stressful.

It makes starting your business more realistic.

You will startup much faster.

Its interactive learn-and-do method of starting a business means:

Better decision-making and better results.

Builds business acumen

Builds confidence

Statistically reduces the risk of failure

Increases the chances of success

 Someone once said…

"A structure is only as strong as its weakest point"

This insightful comment applies to almost every facet of life and business. Therefore, if you're investing weeks, months, or even years, why wouldn't build your business on a firm foundation?

 NOBOSS Workshops is the game-changer you need. Check it out and download the trial version.

No more guessing on how to start a business.

No more snatching information in bits and pieces from the internet and skipping crucial business stages.

Not a ton of checklists that you have to figure out on your own.

Launch any business idea.

Learn at your own pace about the most recent legal requirements, marketing options, financial resources, and technical solutions.

Start multiple businesses, develop side projects, and create multiple income streams.

Count on NOBOSS Workshops to help you make your next “NOBOSS move” faster, with less risk, and more confidence.

To be a boss, get NOBOSS!

[writer-dipsundarkanjilal]

Why Improving Thoughts?

There are thousands of motivational books around, talk about how to improve your thoughts. Now a days many YouTubers have started sharing lectures about thought leadership. Even I heard that in India, many motivational speakers are conducting seminars just to talk about Time management, Startups etc. and citizens are investing good money to attend them. But, why?

Why Improving Thoughts is so important? What's wrong with your existing thoughts and believes? Are they not true?

Then how our parents and ancestors were surviving without hearing these lectures??

Don’t misunderstand my arguments, they are not mine. I know improvement is inevitable. These are the questions from my audiences.

First of all, your mind is the kitchen of all your Thoughts. You derive thoughts when you observe something from your surroundings. Later your constant observations on something in a particular way, creates you believe that approach. After this we all know. Your belief system controls your mind for subsequent action and your action returns your result. This is a known psychology.

What is not so common here is why do you think in a certain way without evaluating that positive and negative aspect of it? Or, even if you see all positive aspects in a negative thought, why do you see all positive only?

Your observation is sometimes diluted by distractors. We are distracted by our own lifestyles. Unknowingly, we convert our Wants into Needs and pay hefty Credit card bill every month. We are distracted by so many advertisements, channels, media, newspapers, social media, our business, our office, our families and so on. They are not bad but they provide so much of information that instead of focusing on our intelligence and discover new ideas or opportunities, you burn all your energies daily in processing the available information. You forget to pull the husk to draw the seeds. You forget to go depth in one topic and become master of that instead.

In order to grow in today’s world having “T” shaped mentality is important. Breadth and Depth. Only widening your knowledge about many things can confuse your decision-making power.

As a result, you will become short lived, low patience, lack of control on your thoughts because you don’t have time in the race of processing all information.

The real problem is – Lack of mindfulness. We are suffering from this disease and we realize it more often when we face some challenges and don’t get any answer from our mind to solve them.

Mind fogging is a problem and hence mind works abnormally. It wants everything at one go. In order to avoid mind fogging, motivational speakers spread this slogan – improve your thoughts! Like in some families in India, they believe that if someone calls you from behind while you are starting your journey for a good work– that day can turn into evil for you and you might fail to achieve your desired result from your work. This believe has become so widespread that no one questions the rationale behind it.

A negative thought can generate wrong believe and the result would be further negative. Some people make this further down. When they fail, they make this supersition as a rule in their families. They create more negative thoughts and frustrations. Finally, this process of thinking becomes a Fictitious Cycle.

In older days, our ancestors never used to get so much of information so easily due lack of globalization. They used to follow motivational guidance from the Holy books. Therefore, the urgency of improving mindfulness was met at that time through their spiritual masters.

At present, some people take Holy books as religious fanatism.  Therefore, you need to work on your consciousness as a daily ritual. Consider this as mind exercise by following the motivational speakers and this is an investment in your career.

Using intelligence in the place of mind is a better option. If someone believes in spirituality, he will say – "Do not listen to your mind at all. Focus on your soul – which is your true sense of AWARENESS". That is pure and eternal. Your Inner-You is transcendental. If you start following your intelligence more, you can restore your positive energy, improve your thoughts as a result and you will get positive answers from within during all your obstacles in life.

Believe that mind has answers to all questions but those reside within your subconsciousness. If you learn to extract the right information at the right time, you can create better impact in your life.

Now, another important question is – Improving Thoughts towards where?? Upwards, downwards?

How do I know which direction is right for me?

You need to ask these questions to your awareness. Only your Inner-You is completely aware of what is right and wrong for you. Having less dependency on your mind and more on your consciousness and finding the true purpose of your life can help you to answer where your thoughts should be directed to.

Happy Reading…

[baohouse]

Personal framework for running a global engineering team

Five months in being Director of Engineering for a fintech startup, overseeing a small team that spans south Asia and North America, I'm building a global engineering culture that produces a high-quality technology product. Greatest challenge I've ever faced. What is helping me?

1. Being a systems thinker.

As a child my uncle would go to a used computer store, Weird Stuff, in Silicon Valley and bring home junk. I would take apart and rebuild computers. At the same time, on weekends, I would help mom look after our garden filled with abundant fruit trees.

Looking after a garden helped me practice managing micro-ecologies. I played a lot of video games growing up, notably SimCity, Civilization, and SimEarth. It was fun to explore different ways of managing complex systems (cities, nations, planet).

2. Understanding culture via ethnic studies.

I became interested in understanding my Vietnamese heritage while entering college. I became involved in Vietnamese student organizing at the school, regional, and continental level, especially organizing conferences.

I took a course in Native American Studies and Asian American Studies to help compare. What was important was to have a statistical and anecdotal view of culture. Traits can manifest by many, or by few who still see themselves part of the group.

Also important was tweaking or implementing new cultural practices. A big focus during my time as a student organizer—credit which goes to my peers—was building social cohesion among people in different geographies via group activities, e.g. scavenger hunt, trò chơi lớn.

Sometimes it failed. Other times it succeeded. Either way, a lesson learned: utilize one's upbringing, or design a way to introduce people into a new practice. Which segues into...

3. Practice marketing and product development.

I practiced asking/answering: What do people do? Is there something (a product) that exists to fulfill their needs? How can it be improved? I practiced via student community organizing, and continued having joined many tech startups.

At every startup company, we created a tech product (I developed my software engineering skills), and had to test and validate its viability. And in the context of a startup, I learned product development processes such as Agile methodology.

Culture is a product too, e.g. instituting a mentorship program, or Vietnamese New Year festival. They're not software, but it benefits from asking the same questions. Can't just do things just cuz it's always been done that way. Why do it? Otherwise people flock to alternatives.

4. Study leadership.

One way to approach it is learning the levels of leadership. The first person you lead is yourself. And then you learn to lead peers/groups, then organizations, then communities, societies, etc.

For each level one had to learn different skills. Level 1 (self) you learn self-awareness and self-love. Level 2 (peers) you learn empathy, chit chat, paired activities (hanging out; dates). Level 3 (group) you learn things like conflict resolution mediation.

Learning and practice never ends. Just because I practiced how to do it with peers my age, as time goes on, you just end up practicing with people of different backgrounds: age, origin, beliefs, life circumstances, disabilities, etc.

5. Learning and applying industrialization.

So it's one thing to learn how to create products. It's another matter to make it accessible at scale. I'll watch videos on how things are built such as how Coca-Cola Company makes soda. Or how McDonald's churn out burgers quickly.

It helps to be a systems thinker, to really identify where things get slow. When I played SimCity, I loved identifying and clearing out traffic bottlenecks. It also helps to understand lifecycles (thanks high school biology), because a lot of problems come down to timing issues.

Now... I don't have a formal training in industrial processes like Six Sigma or Toyota Production System. But it's definitely something I'm interested in. Why? Because I like to model after good practices that already exist. Which segues into...

6. Leverage partnerships and external inspirations.

An important lesson I learned while organizing in the Vietnamese nonprofit community is: if you can't do it yourself, partner with someone who can. Build their work into your flow. Or model their process.

I worked with nonprofits, so I only had shoestring budgets or volunteer hours to work with. My mentees created youth development programs by inviting staff of other nonprofits to participate. DIY is cool, but if it's not an option, collaborate.

Or if limited resources, introduce an abbreviated form. Set a goal for each team member to learn and apply one new thing each month to steer the team towards a framework. Sometimes it's about introducing terminology, because words shape our reality and the way we do things.

Sorry this is so long; really this is a brain dump. I need it because I needed to create my own personal framework for how I am running the engineering team.

[digizenzee]

Why Local Web Design Companies in Delhi Deliver Unmatched Value

Your website is no longer just a digital storefront—it's often the first impression your business makes on potential customers. That’s why investing in professional web design is non-negotiable in today’s market. But if you’re looking for the best partner to bring your vision to life, here’s my take—local web design companies in Delhi deliver unmatched value, and here’s why.

1. Personalized Service and Understanding

What sets website design company delhi apart is their deep understanding of the regional market. Unlike large international firms, local agencies in Delhi are immersed in the city’s unique business landscape. They know what resonates with the local audience, from language preferences to design styles that perform well here.

Picture this—you’re a Delhi-based café chain catering solely to young professionals. By choosing a local company, you get a design team that understands neighborhood preferences, emerging trends in your industry, and the kind of content that grabs attention in this market.

Needless to say, this level of personalized service is hard to beat. What’s more, working with local designers often means simpler communication. Instead of explaining the nuances of your audience over countless emails, all it takes is one conversation to get everyone on the same page.

2. Accessibility and Hands-On Support

How often have you signed up for a service only to feel abandoned after the first interaction? One of the clear advantages of choosing a digitechnique delhi is their accessibility. When you work with a Delhi-based agency, setting up face-to-face meetings is easy—whether you need to discuss site revisions or troubleshoot an issue during development.

This ability to meet in person and foster real connections is invaluable. For example, startups often need immediate website updates for launch campaigns. With a local team, you can count on hands-on support that’s just a quick phone call or in-person meeting away.

Local companies are fully invested in their community and often build long-term relationships, offering ongoing support and maintenance to keep your website evolving with your business needs.

3. Competitive Pricing Without Compromising Quality

There’s a common misconception that hiring local means compromising on quality. But I’m here to tell you this isn’t the case. Delhi’s web design industry boasts a vibrant pool of talented designers and developers who deliver world-class designs at competitive pricing.

Whether you’re a small business looking for a clean, functional website or an enterprise needing complex functionalities, local agencies can tailor solutions without adding unnecessary costs. Plus, many of these firms offer bundled services, from SEO optimization to performance testing, saving you money in the long run.

The kicker? You’re not just hiring a designer; you’re partnering with a supportive team that genuinely cares about your success. That’s an intangible value big, faceless firms often fail to provide.