Coffee with Tanya - Vol. 6

Today’s volume is about:

1. Culture and Art - the world’s largest LEGO artwork and cars dressed up as bags
2. Personal Development - Twitch Ex-CEO - 8 things to learn
3. Product, Growth, Career - Lenny’s Newsletter - All you need to know about startups, technology, and venture capital
4. Entertainment - ”The Last of Us” - a masterpiece by HBO
5. Fun stuff - Brands Color Quiz - can you recognize them all?

Travel, Culture, Art, and History

LEGO lovers?! (and art:) This one is for you!

Chinese artist and political activist Ai Weiwei's first exhibition focused on design and architecture, "Making Sense," was opened at the Design Museum in London on April 6th. The exhibition features site-specific installations, including "fields" made up of hundreds of thousands of objects collected by the artist since the 1990s. Ai Weiwei's "Water Lilies #1," made of almost 650,000 LEGO bricks in 22 colours, is the largest-ever artwork made entirely from LEGO. The exhibition also includes works that reference the Covid-19 pandemic, exploring tensions between past and present, hand and machine, precious and worthless, and construction and destruction.

'Ai Weiwei: Making Sense" is open from 7 April to 30 July 2023 at the Design Museum in London.

Another interesting story is about the clever marketing strategy of JACQUEMUS, a French clothing brand founded by designer Simon Porte Jacquemus in 2009. The brand created a remarkable campaign in which cars were dressed up as bags designed by the brand, showcasing their creativity and innovation.

When I first saw this, I was amazed and couldn't believe either it was real or just a dream. I was convinced it was true, but then I came across an article that shattered my hopes. However, as I was collecting the pieces of my shattered dreams, I discovered the artist behind this incredible work - a talented 3D illustrator named "origiful". You should definitely check out some of the amazing things he’s doing.

Personal Development

Recently, I discovered a podcast called "My First Million" by Sam Parr and Shaan Puri, which explores new business ideas based on market trends and opportunities. While sometimes famous guests join them to brainstorm, this episode is different and focuses on Twitch Founder & CEO Emmett Shear, who recently resigned. In just 20 minutes, Shaan shares insights he learned from Emmett Shear's career:

1. Deals fall through, and it's important to maintain an even keel and not get too excited or discouraged about it.
2. There are four ways to frame a meeting with a company leader: FYI, need approval, seeking input, and update on agreed-upon plan.
3. The "What, Why, So What" framework can be useful for company updates: what happened, why, and what the company will do about it.
4. Being a "fierce nerd" - highly competitive and obsessed with their pursuit - can be advantageous in business.
5. Do not get petty about credit or recognition; focus on the bigger picture.
6. Being smart, well-read, and curious can lead to success.
7. Using a Socratic style of leadership to challenge assumptions and get closer to the truth.
8. Emmett Shear's favorite book on communication helped him become a better communicator and prioritize getting things right over being right.

If you don't have 20 minutes to listen to the full episode, these highlights are a good way to catch up.

Product, Growth, Career - Lenny’s Newsletter

Lenny's Newsletter is a weekly email newsletter that features stories and insights on startups, technology, and venture capital. The newsletter is written by Lenny Rachitsky, a former product leader at Airbnb and founder of the marketplace startup Localmind. Lenny's Newsletter has gained a large following among entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts for its concise and informative content.

Here are some podcasts I really enjoyed listening to:

• How to make better decisions and make a joyful career | Ada Chen Rekhi (Notejoy, LinkedIn, SurveyMonkey)
• Driving alignment and urgency between teams, work-life balance, and the changing PM landscape | Nikita Miller (The Knot, Trello)
• Lessons from scaling Stripe | Claire Hughes Johnson (ex-COO of Stripe)

Entertainment - “The Last of Us”

If you missed the latest global pandemic, this one is definitely for you! A masterpiece called The Last of Us by HBO (everything they create is gold).

Based on the popular video game franchise of the same name, the show is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a fungal infection has turned most of humanity into aggressive creatures known as "infected." The story follows the journey of Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting a young girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the country in order to find a group of resistance fighters known as the Fireflies. Along the way, they face many dangers, both from the infected and from other survivors. The show captures an emotional exploration of survival, loyalty, and the lengths we'll go to protect those we love.

The series is being developed by Craig Mazin, creator of the acclaimed miniseries "Chernobyl," and Neil Druckmann, the writer and director of the original "The Last of Us" game.

Fun Stuff - Color Quiz

You’ve probably opened Facebook and Twitter tens of thousands of times in your life. But can you tell which hues of blue their logos are or the specific shades of the other apps you — and millions of other people — open every day?

Take the quiz here

On This Day in History - April 23

• 1611 - The greatest dramatist of all time, William Shakespeare died
• 1920 - End of the Ottoman Empire
• 1984 - AIDS-virus identified as HIV (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
• 1992 - McDonald's opens its 1st fast-food restaurant in China
• 2003 - Beijing closes all schools for two weeks because of the SARS virus

Quote of the Moment

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.” // Muhammad Ali

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback, comment, notes, and likes are more than welcome :)