A Weekend Mishmash

And Zeitgeist Grievances!

Reader Mailbox

Last week I wrote about the downsides of “silo-free” startups, and afterward exchanged fun gossipy texts with people from various unicorns (current, IPO’d, and fallen ones) that I won’t name, but chances are you’re streaming a “chill mix” from one of them and not leasing a DVF dress from another.

I wrote it as a look back at company cultures during the app boom of the previous decade, but turns out The Great Organizational Flattening is in full swing and causing more problems at tech companies than ever. Especially after big upheavals like layoffs.

For starters, you have the “no silo” structure (a contradiction in terms) so employees never knew where to focus in the first place. Then the added pressure of people knowing they could lose their job on any given Zoom meeting brings a Hunger Games/Yellowjackets vibe to the party. Finally, everyone splits into two camps:

1. They check out mentally and collect their paycheck while they look for their next job or

2. they freak out and overextend themselves by getting involved in everything, just in case one thing turns out to be a boon for the company and they can claim credit. (Of course there are zero boons when everyone does everything.)

Pro-Tip: Be good at something

This is why being an excellent individual contributor can make you more valuable at a small or mid-size startup, and gives you greater job security than being an average manager.

It’s not ironclad, but if I’m giving advice to early career folks, I’d say shoot for being excellent at your craft — whether it’s design, writing, coding or strategy — before running after the ego boost of becoming a “leader.”

If the startup you work for hasn’t clarified its focus, congrats: you have a wider platform for practice. Try a few things, and if you can tune out the noise that comes along with working at an unproven business, you can advocate for more time (and money) to hone your skills. Drive it like a stolen Kia on TikTok!

As the Belt Tightens: A Startup Soap Opera

Founders were debauched by free-flowing VC money at the start of this decade, and now they’re feeling the well dry up. There’s less spaghetti to throw at walls and too many hands on deck doing the throwing. (How many metaphors is that? I‘m a bargain bin of metaphors.)

Businesses that haven’t reached PMF or profitability will either shut down completely (“Decacorn” Brex is already shedding 20% of its workforce) or be forced into relentless focus.

This means positioning and differentiation (aka strategy) are crucial to survival. No more playing to just to play; matching your competitors’ features and going after the same vague audience. Put a stake in the ground and own it, founders!

OK, good talk.

Checking in on Zillennials

I’ve written before about the infantilizing quality of millennial “blands” and wondered about second-act Girlbosses fighting over who’s making cottagecore happen. Now a strange new spate of bumper stickers has this Gen-Xer even more baffled.

I first saw one on a Prius in my neighborhood: A bright rectangle with text that read, “Please don’t honk at me. I’m just a little baby.”

I don’t get it! I live in a car-heavy part of Brooklyn where people aggressively tailgate and honk if you dare stop for a yellow light or a pedestrian. This has only hardened me as a person. It triggers my base “Oh yeah?” instincts so often that I’ve accidentally taught my 4-year old how to throw up her middle finger.

Just this morning I fantasized about getting a giant inflatable middle finger installed on the roof of my car that would puff-up gloriously like the Beastie Boys’ stage penis as soon as someone starts tailgating me. I’d hit a button and POOF! A Macy’s Day Parade-sized “fuck off” to all my honking haters.

Then I receive these ads:

I love that these are magnetic in case you’re scared of committing to something as permanent as a sticker.

What is happening here?? Are we taking psychological safety on the road? Some of you have never been called a stupid American beetch for making an irresponsible lane change on the Sepulveda Pass two weeks after getting your license at the tender age of 16, and it shows.

There’s so much wrong with publicly likening yourself to a widdle baby or crying kitten when you’re old enough to drive, and I’m sure there are cultural forces responsible for this and implications for society at large, but I’m too tired from chronic road rage to dive any deeper into it.

(Funny how I thought I’d be an aloof No. 6 clog - Rachel Comey - Catbird - Sezane Brooklyn mom, but instead I’m driving a Camry around in Uggs and yelling “GROW UP!” when adult men zip by on their stupid standup scooters.)

But anyway.

Gear Shift

Let’s take a sharp left into artistic productivity.

It’s been 3 weeks since I started Club 6AM, a twice-weekly co-working session where anyone can show up for a shared hour of quiet focus. And much like the Bicycle Safety Club I started in 4th grade to compete with my younger stepsister’s “Cool Club,” membership has plateaued at zero.

Google Hangouts, giving it to me straight

Unlike the Bicycle Safety Club, I am ok with this! Putting myself on the hook and keeping the store open just in case anyone shows up have been hugely productive writing hours for me. I’ve also been sending motivational quotes to would-be attendees the night before that keep me motivated.

Here’s each one I’ve sent so far, in case you’re working on something this weekend and need encouragement:

Whatever you're trying to create is dependent on you sitting down, working on it, and staying focused. (Paraphrased from Jami Attenberg)

Talent is an important differentiator, but talent needs to put in the hours to excel.

Perfection doesn't exist but attention to detail is the next best thing. With hard work you can produce things that you're proud of that will also withstand the test of time and trends.

Never stop being in community with other artists.

(Those last three are mostly from 13 Creative Commandments)

Your project doesn’t have to be great for a long time while you’re working on it. In fact most projects are messy and middling until they…aren’t. Until you put in the work while you strive for something new and special and vibrant and different and unique. — Also Jami Attenberg

Courage is a desperate gamble that will place you in the arms of the creative angels. — Jerry Saltz

And my favorite:

I was going to end this with a lazy “I’m reading/I’m watching” recommendation list but you don’t need me to tell you that Feud is SO GOOD despite the wigs being SO BAD.

Can I tell you about faux-feminist discourse that we don’t need to pay attention to? OK!

Faux Feminist Discourse We Don’t Need to Pay Attention To

1. Oscar snubs for Barbie. I’m glad the Barbie movie exists. It’s a wonderful introduction to feminism for young girls who don’t know who Camille Paglia is. I don’t care if it wins any Oscars. Academy Awards are as culturally relevant as Good Housekeeping seals. Who cares.

2. Trad Wives. They’re not going to brainwash your daughter into abandoning her dreams for a software salesman, so just…let them. Women can do whatever they want! Even if it’s being basic and having no career. Also, this is just another strain of social media momfluencing, which means they’re not real and you can ignore them.

I’m sure I’m missing something, but hey, that’s the whole point.

See you next week!

A quick note for new subscribers:

Hello and welcome! I’m Phoebe: a writer, strategist, mom & nerd in Brooklyn. This newsletter is mostly about startups, culture, creativity, and modern motherhood with a critical side-eye and some hopefully helpful takeaways.

There are picks from the archive below if you’d like to keep reading.

If you know someone who would like Mess & Noise, go ahead and forward this email!

Mess & Noise - Parenting and pandemicking

Cottagecore Wars - Are millennials OK?

Toxic Startup Mantras, Wrapped