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## Background

We wear clothing to forget about our bodies, to stay warm and dry. We need the basics or essentials of clothing. These essentials include socks, underwear, shirts, or tees.

### Clothing overload

Every day we decide what clothing to wear. The more diverse our closet becomes, the harder it becomes to choose. The paradox of choice kicks in. As we purchase more colors, styles, and sizes, we increase the closet complexity. With more choices, we deal with clothing overload.

### Wear and tear

Clothing shows wear and tear over time. Clothing stains and loses color, no matter how pristine it's kept. What we wear requires constant upgrades, constant renewal. This renewal process is at the core of the clothing industry.

### Ecommerce takes off

As COVID-19 spreads throughout the world, people are forced to adopt new habits. Physical distancing measures mean that fewer people are shopping today than in 2019. In 2020, consumers want the convenience of shopping online, from the comfort of their homes. Consumers want retailers and clothing brands to be online. Consumers want convenience when it comes to shopping, clothing, or anything else.

### Growing subscription boxes

Many services send subscription boxes directly to customers (DTC). A subscription box is a DTC service that sends mail every month. [Wohven](https://wohven.com/), [Loot Tees](https://www.lootcrate.com/wear/tshirts), [TeeBlox](https://teeblox.com/), [DudePerfect](https://dudeperfect.store/products/subscription-tshirt-monthly), [Monthly Tee Club](https://monthlyteeclub.com/), [Forma Supply Co.](https://www.cratejoy.com/subscription-box/forma-supply-co/), [Nerdy Tees by Nerdy Post](https://nerdy.ink/), [For Days](https://fordays.com/), [ParaBox](https://www.cratejoy.com/subscription-box/para-box/), [Into The AM T-Shirt Club](https://www.intotheam.com/products/t-shirt-club), [DudePerfect T-Shirt Club](https://dudeperfect.store/products/subscription-tshirt-monthly), [Tomorrow’s Laundry Essentials Club](https://tomorrowslaundry.co/pages/essentials-club-welcome), [Frank & Oak Style Plan](https://try.frankandoak.com/styleplan-hellosubscription/) come to mind.

## Introducing NotSoBasic: Modern Clothing Subscription Box

NotSoBasic (NSB) is a subscription box that ships the essentials of clothing every month directly to consumers. With NSB, consumers no longer have to go to the store to resupply their stock. Consumers use NotSoBasic to buy clothing on-demand and receive monthly top-ups.

## NotSoBasic Features

### Ecommerce

NotSoBasic is an e-commerce store that allows customers to order clothing online without leaving their home (or being exposed to COVID-19). NotSoBasic is powered by [Commerce.js](https://commercejs.com/), a headless commerce solution, and [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/), a modern [React.js](https://reactjs.org/) framework.

### Subscription box (or monthly club)

NSB is a monthly club where consumers receive mail after having specified their preferences and sizes. NotSoBasic is a subscription box that ships tees/shirts, socks, and underwear regularly (monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or yearly).

### Support for clothing styles

NotSoBasic is tailored for men and women. Men use NSB to dress in style (casual, smart casual, business casual, business attire, black tie, or white tie). Women use NSB to wear casual or active clothing. NotSoBasic also supports sports-specific clothing (running, biking, or swimming).

## NotSoBasic Benefits

### Reduce time shopping

NotSoBasic allows consumers to receive monthly clothing without asking them to visit retail or physical stores. With NSB, consumers shop online. Consumers bypass time sinks: driving and waiting-in-line.

### Shopping convenience

NSB allows consumers and shoppers to shop online in the comfort of their own houses. As physical distancing measures prevent people from coming close to each other, shopping is evolving to go from retail to online. Shopping from home becomes the norm.

### Simplify wardrobe

NotSoBasic allows shoppers to buy essential clothing and forget about wardrobe upgrades. With NSB, consumers simplify their wardrobe by focusing on the essentials.

Entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs have long discovered how to deal with information overload - by reducing choice. Mark Zuckerberg, Founder/CEO of [Facebook](https://facebook.com/), only wears grey t-shirts at conferences. Mark buys the same t-shirt, in multiple quantities.

> "I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community." -- Mark Zuckerberg, Founder/CEO at Facebook

## Conclusion

NotSoBasic allows people to make fewer decisions about clothing and more decisions about life. NSB allows people to re-purchase their favorite clothing and replace worn-out clothing.

The not-so-basic tee is designed to fit the modern man and woman. The not-so-basic socks are designed to be worn by adults of all cultures. The not-so-basic underwear is meant to be simple yet comfortable.

## Next Step

Interested to build the future of subscription boxes? Contact me about NotSoBasic.


Modern Clothing Subscription Box

NotSoBasic

## Background

Artificial intelligence technologies are advancing fast. Yet, companies struggle to bring AI ideas into reality. For companies to be competitive, hiring data science and machine learning teams is no longer enough. Attracting ML talent is one obstacle that companies struggle to overcome. Turning prototypes into production is another.

### Most ML models stall before deployment

Data scientists, researchers, developers, and engineers struggle to deploy machine learning prototypes into production. According to [Alegion](https://content.alegion.com/dimensional-researchs-survey), 78% of ML projects stall before deployment. While software deployment has come a long way, machine learning workflows and deployment best practices are still in their infancy.

### ML model deployment is slow

Machine learning practitioners are overly confident in their estimates to launch AI applications. According to [Algorithmia](https://algorithmia.com/state-of-ml), 40% of companies said it takes more than a month to deploy an ML model into production. The more time is spent on configuring infrastructure code to ensure the model is scaling, the less time is spent on solving industry problems.

### High maintenance costs of ML systems

Maintaining machine learning systems is a burden. ML practitioners underestimate how much time is spent on server maintenance. According to Stripe, developers spend 42% of their workweek on code maintenance. Developers spend over 17 hours each week dealing with maintenance issues and about 25% of their time fixing bad code. That's $300 Billion in lost productivity each year. Companies must realize that it's not the size of the engineering team that counts, it's how their time is being used.

### High infrastructure costs of serving ML models in production

Running machine learning models in production is expensive. According to [GennovaCap](https://gennovacap.com/case-study/aws-devops-cloud-costs/), companies pay up to $20,000 per month for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) servers.

What if there was a way to reduce server costs while simplifying ML deployments? I'm here to share with you a better way.

## Introducing Whoosh: Modern Machine Learning Hosting

Whoosh is a modern machine learning hosting platform. Whoosh makes it easy to build and deploy ML models into production. Machine learning practitioners focus on writing code and Whoosh takes care of the rest.

Developers use Whoosh to rapidly experiment with prototypes. Teams use Whoosh to transition from prototypes to production-ready applications.

Whoosh makes it easy for data science and engineering teams to get started with AI applications and ML systems. Whoosh allows teams and developers to deploy ML models into production using one-click deployments.

Whoosh is the [Netlify](https://www.netlify.com/) or [Fleek](https://fleek.co/) of AI application deployment. AI practitioners focus on the code, not managing servers.

Whoosh is accelerating the adoption of machine learning models. Whoosh is the catalyst for an artificial intelligence economy.

## Features

Deploying machine learning models is easy, thanks to Whoosh. Whoosh streamlines git-based workflows that developers love to provide build, deploy & host, and serverless functions to developers at scale.

### Build

You first define what does model prediction looks like. Whoosh allows you to define prediction APIs for any model, regardless of framework, using an intuitive interface.

Whoosh manages all build dependencies to ensure ML model compiles and runs as expected. When you trigger a build on Whoosh, our bot starts an AWS Lambda function to build your model. Before running your build command, our bot will look for instructions about the required languages and software needed to run your command. These are called dependencies, and how you declare them depends on the languages and tools used in your build. At Whoosh, we are launching with support for Node.js and JavaScript, and Python.

Whoosh acts as a tool for continuous integration (CI) thanks to Github. Whenever developers make changes to the code, Whoosh analyzes those changes and re-deploys the machine learning models where necessary.

### Deploy & Host

With Whoosh, you configure deployments with YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language). Whoosh uses declarative YAML to configure deployments. Stop worrying about Kubernetes, Docker, and model servers. Whoosh uses serverless architectures to manage servers for you so you can focus on ML code.

## Benefits

### ML deployment simplified

Whoosh makes deployment easy thanks to one-click-deploy. Whoosh simplifies deployment, so developers can focus on what they do best - writing ML code. No glue code is required.

### No server management for ML systems

With Whoosh, developers stop worrying about servers maintenance, upgrades, or patching. All infrastructure is abstracted behind Whoosh. ML infrastructure is managed for you.

### Production-ready ML models

Deploying machine learning models into production shouldn't be hard. With Whoosh, developers deploy ML models using serverless architectures and serve the first prediction within minutes.

### Make ML deployment affordable

Behind the scenes, Whoosh takes your machine learning models and serves them on auto-scaling infrastructure. Once your model is served by Whoosh, you can guarantee that it will stay online, no matter how many connections or how viral your application goes.

### Works for all popular ML frameworks

Whoosh works with popular machine learning frameworks, libraries, and tools to deploy any model into production. Whether you are developing a model using [TensorFlow](https://www.tensorflow.org/), [Keras](https://keras.io/), [scikit-learn](https://scikit-learn.org/), [PyTorch](https://pytorch.org/), or [Apache Spark](https://spark.apache.org/), Whoosh serves each model as web APIs, so the rest of the development teams can quickly integrate intelligent predictions into their applications.

### Gives back 42% of the time to developers

Whoosh frees up the developer's time. When developers are not required to manage servers, they are free to pursue other projects or complete other more important tasks. Freeing up developer's time is essential for companies wanting to extract maximum value from projects. Freeing up developers to pursue more important projects, rather than managing servers, allows companies to generate more revenue and be more competitive.

### Lower cost than deploying ML models to traditional servers

Whoosh manages servers for developers. While traditional servers incur massive inference costs, the serverless architecture allows Whoosh to deploy low-cost AI systems with auto-scaling built-in. Thanks to serverless machine learning, Whoosh stands on the shoulders of giants - [Amazon Web Services (AWS)](https://aws.amazon.com/).

### Deploy AI systems at scale

Thanks to Whoosh, you can host your machine learning models in the cloud. Whoosh provides an intuitive interface for deploying ML models as APIs. Best of all, Woosh automatically scales to handle production workloads.

Attending a conference and want to showcase your work? Whoosh has you covered. Launching a new feature, powered by deep learning technologies? Whoosh has your back. Decided to share your work on [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/), [HackerNews](https://news.ycombinator.com/), or [ProductHunt](https://www.producthunt.com/)? Whoosh will scale to make sure you are riding the publicity wave.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How does Whoosh work?

Thanks to Whoosh, you can deploy your model in minutes. Building and hosting ML models is done in three steps:

#### Step 1 Connect your repository

Whoosh detects the changes to push to git and triggers automated deploys.

#### Step 2 Add your build settings

Whoosh provides you a powerful and customizable build environment.

#### Step 3 Deploy your model

Woosh provides serverless deployments thanks to serverless machine learning architectures.

### Why use Whoosh for hosting ML models?

#### Git Integration

Whoosh integrates with [Github](https://github.com/) to empower developers to adopt git-based workflows.

#### Auto Deploy

Whoosh watches your code and triggers build scripts to ensure you are always serving the latest models into production.

#### Auto SSL

Whoosh configures your model to ensure that data is always secured by HTTPS (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).

#### Blazing Fast

Whoosh is blazing fast. How fast? All you hear is the sound Whoosh when deploying ML models into production.

#### Easy to Use

The model deployment should be made as simple as possible. The user interface behind the deployment process should facilitate and guide you towards serving models into production. Luckily, Whoosh provides just that.

#### Collaborative

Collaborating on ML models is essential to ensure that developers and ML practitioners are catching code errors and implementing industry best practices. Collaboration behinds with code review and code sharing. Whoosh integrates with [Github](https://github.com/) to ensure that developers are always in sync when it comes to code. Collaborating on ML systems is as easy as inviting team members to join the project on Whoosh.

#### Customizable

Customizing ML systems to ensure optimal performance is easier than ever. Once the developer specifies build preferences, deployment is taken care of by Whoosh.

## Next Step

Interested in building the future of machine learning hosting? Contact me about Whoosh.


Modern Machine Learning Hosting

Whoosh

## Background

The coronavirus 2019, or COVID-19, has impacted global sales. As consumers and businesses re-evaluate their spending and tighten their budgets, global sales teams are struggling to close deals and meet quota.

### Not having enough opportunities in the sales pipeline

As COVID-19 spreads, sales teams are struggling to find new leads. Sellers struggle to find motivated buyers as consumers and businesses are less willing to pay for products and services.

In response to the coronavirus, salespeople are changing their expectations. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/business/sales/blog/b2b-sales/introducing-the-state-of-sales-2020) recently surveyed 500 buyers and 500 sellers in the United States and found that 55% of respondents anticipated a decrease in their pipeline, with 14% expecting a significant decrease.

In the world of COVID-19, buyers are changing their buying behaviors. [ValueSelling Associates](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/27/2067906/0/en/Study-Finds-69-of-B2B-Salespeople-Do-Not-Have-Enough-Leads-in-Their-Pipeline-to-Meet-Sales-Quota.html) recently surveyed 300 sales professionals (sales representatives and sales leaders) in the United States. The study showed that 69% of salespeople do not have enough opportunities in the pipeline to meet the sales quota.

### Working with an inefficient sales process

There is a perception gap between the team's sales leaders and sales reps. According to [ValueSelling Associates](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/27/2067906/0/en/Study-Finds-69-of-B2B-Salespeople-Do-Not-Have-Enough-Leads-in-Their-Pipeline-to-Meet-Sales-Quota.html), 70% of companies have established sales processes, yet only 49% of sales teams believe these sales processes are effective.

Salespeople spend the majority of their day performing non-critical sales tasks. According to [Hubspot](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/how-salespeople-learn), salespeople spend 21% of their day writing emails, 17% entering data, 17% prospecting and researching leads, 12% going to internal meetings, and 12% scheduling calls, which can be easily be automated. Salespeople only spend 34% of their time selling. These critical sales tasks are not easily automated.

### Failing to communicate value to the prospect

Sales reps focus on the product or service, not the value. Salespeople often pitch the solution and forget about the value proposition or the impact of the solution. According to [ValueSelling Associates](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/27/2067906/0/en/Study-Finds-69-of-B2B-Salespeople-Do-Not-Have-Enough-Leads-in-Their-Pipeline-to-Meet-Sales-Quota.html), 29% of sales reps fail to communicate value in sales conversations with their prospects, customers, or clients.

## Solution

Here's a simple sales strategy that will double or triple your close rate:

> Use sales signals to crush your sales quota!

*What are sales signals?*

Sales signals, also known as sales triggers, are events that signal sales opportunities. These event-driven opportunities indicate buying intentions. Hiring a new person is an example of a sales signal. Raising capital is another example. Sales signals also give reasons for salespeople to reach out.

*Who are motivated leads?*

Motivated leads are individuals who are more likely to buy what you have to sell. Their motivation is driven by the desire to make a change within their new role. If you want to find a way to sell faster, you need to focus on motivated individuals or the portion of the total market that is motivated to make an impact.

Most salespeople focus their time on finding reachable leads, not motivated leads. Reachable leads have an online presence and are easy to find. Motivated leads, on the other hand, are a subset of reachable leads. Motivated leads are harder to find.

*Where do you find motivated leads?*

As a sales practitioner, focus your time on finding motivated leads or new hires. Your goal is to pitch to people new to their position or role. New hires are eager to make an impact within their company and are more likely to buy what you have to sell.

*What happens if there are not enough motivated leads?*

If you run out of motivated leads, focus your prospecting on reachable leads.

*How can you use sales signals to close more deals?*

Modern salespeople close more deals by finding and establishing relationships with motivated leads. They do not waste time on manual prospecting. Modern sales teams use sales signals to automate prospecting. They use signals-based campaigns to automate outreach.

## Conclusion

COVID-19 is the ultimate stress test of sales processes. Sales workflows and processes are tested against the worst-case scenarios. Companies must change their sales strategies in response to COVID-19. Modern sales teams must use sales signals to crush sales quota.

> Modern teams use sales signals to crush quota.

## Next Step

Interested to learn how to use sales triggers in your team or organization? Contact me.


Crush Your Sales Quota

Serial entrepreneurs are less emotionally attached to their businesses. Serial entrepreneurs are less likely to be attached to the outcome of their business and are more freely move forward with another venture. 

According to the [Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship](https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/09-028.pdf):

> We show that entrepreneurs with a track record of success are much more likely to succeed than first-time entrepreneurs and those who have previously failed. In particular, they exhibit persistence in selecting the right industry and time to start new ventures. Entrepreneurs with demonstrated market timing skill are also more likely to outperform industry peers in their subsequent ventures. This is consistent with the view that if suppliers and customers perceive the entrepreneur to have market timing skill, and is therefore more likely to succeed, they will be more willing to commit resources to the firm. In this way, success breeds success and strengthens performance persistence.

As entrepreneurs develop market timing and management skills, they strengthen their performance persistence and outperform industry peers in their subsequent ventures.


Serial Entrepreneurship

Innovation is the result of freely exploring and combining ideas. Innovation flourishes with freedom. Innovation is hindered by laws and regulations.

> The **main ingredient** in the secret sauce **that leads to innovation is freedom**. Freedom to **exchange, experiment, imagine, invest and fail**; freedom **from expropriation or restriction by chiefs, priests and thieves**; freedom on the part of consumers to **reward the innovations they like and reject the ones they do not**.
>
> — [Matt Ridley](https://www.harpercollins.com/products/how-innovation-works-matt-ridley)

Some countries are more innovative than others. Some entrepreneurs work, experiment, play, and take risks more than others.

> What explains this speed and breadth of innovation fury? In a word, work. **Chinese entrepreneurs are dedicated to the 9–9–6 week: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week**. That was what Americans were like too when they changed the world (Edison demanded inhuman hours from his employees); and Germans when they were among the most innovative people; and Britons in the nineteenth century; and Dutch and Italians before that. **Willingness to put in the hours, to experiment and play, to try new things, to take risks – these characteristics for some reason are found in young, newly prosperous societies** and no longer in old, tired ones.
>
> — [Matt Ridley](https://www.harpercollins.com/products/how-innovation-works-matt-ridley)

Innovation is similar to relationships. Relationships are formed when people mingle. Innovation is created when ideas mingle. Relationships are formed when individuals play, have fun, and have sex. Innovation happens when ideas play, have fun, and have sex.

> **Innovation happens**, as I put it a decade ago, **when ideas have sex**. **Innovation is the child of freedom**, because it is a free, creative attempt to satisfy freely expressed human desires. Innovative societies are free societies, **where people are free to express their wishes and seek the satisfaction of those wishes**, and **where creative minds are free to experiment to find ways to supply those requests – so long as they do not harm others**. Innovation happens **when ideas can meet and mate**, **when experiment is encouraged**, **when people and goods can move freely and when money can flow rapidly towards fresh concepts**, **when those who invest can be sure their rewards will not be stolen**.
>
> — [Matt Ridley](https://www.harpercollins.com/products/how-innovation-works-matt-ridley)


Freedom Leads To Innovation

## Background

Apps promise to give us superpowers. Browser plug-ins, add-ons, or extensions promise to make us more productive. Operating systems and software, in general, aim to solve our problems. By ourselves, we feel productive. When we join teams, our productivity plummets.

### Center of work

Dropbox and Slack promised to "solve work" for everyone. Launched in 2007, Dropbox aimed to capture and manage company documents and become the company's layer of work. Six years later, Slack promised messaging would become the center of work for distributed teams around the world.

What's striking is both products failed to fulfill the core requirement of distributed teams - collaboration. Dropbox popularity is fading and Slack growth is slower than expected. The app to "rule work" is nowhere to be found.

### Productivity apps

Work happens in the applications used to solve very specific problems. When collaborating, designers use [Figma](https://figma.com/), writers use [Google Docs](https://docs.google.com/), and remote workers use [Slack](https://slack.com/) and [Discord](https://discord.com/).

Figma allows designers to receive feedback from others without leaving the app. Figma sees itself as the "collaborative interface design tool."

Google Docs allows writers to receive edit suggestions from others without leaving the app. Google Docs sees itself as the "online word processor that lets you create and format documents and work with other people."

Slack allows remote workers to chat with their co-workers, while Discord allows people to chat with their friends. Slack's slogan is "where work happens". Discord sees itself as "your place to talk".

### Individual workflows

There is no right way to complete tasks. Individuals often use their own tools and methods to solve problems and they do not share their methods. Individuals follow their own workflows.

### Team workflows

Traditional browser extensions, apps, and operating systems are tailored to make the individual more productive, but they fail to improve team productivity. Most tools focus on individual workflows. Most software does not account for dynamic team workflows.

### Messaging and screen sharing

Most apps have no way to message peers and co-workers, no way to screen share. Most applications are missing built-in collaboration features.

## Introducing CommandCenter: Your Place To Work

CommandCenter is a screen-sharing and messaging app that runs on modern operating systems of Mac, Windows, Linux. This app allows workers to message each other without switching apps or drastically altering their workflows. CommandCenter also allows workers to screen share and work collaboratively with other co-workers.

CommandCenter is a meta-layer of team communication enabling one-click screen sharing and messaging for modern teams. CommandCenter provides an easy way for teams to be connected since individuals can see who's online and who's available to join a working session.

CommandCenter is the next generation of work collaboration. It is your center of work, your virtual office, your place to work.

## Features

CommandCenter consists of three major features.

### Peer-to-peer communication (WebRTC/HTTP)

CommandCenter allows peers to connect directly to each other with no server management, also known as peer-to-peer (P2). P2P communication is the process of sending data from one peer to another without the necessity of servers. CommandCenter uses WebRTC to achieve peer-to-peer screen sharing. WebRTC (Web Real-Time Connection) is an open-source project with a JavaScript API allowing you to create peer-to-peer connections between browsers. CommandCenter uses WebRTC's Screen Capture API to establish a connection between peers.

### Presence management (HTTP)

Presence management is the process of detecting which co-workers are online. CommandCenter uses Google Firebase to keep establish the presence or online availability.

### Signaling (LIBP2P/WebRTC/HTTP)

Signaling is the process of coordinating communication. CommandCenter uses Google Cloud Firestore to handle signaling and pass messages back and forth between clients.

## Benefits

### Online Presence

CommandCenter allows you to see which of your co-workers or friends are online. Active users of CommandCenter have it on all the time, even when they are not working. It’s a passive way to have a presence with your co-workers or friends.

### Remote Collaboration

CommandCenter adds collaboration to all apps. It allows co-workers to share apps and collaborate across them, chat directly with your co-workers, and screen share directly between devices, without having to upload them to any server first. When you and your co-workers and friends start working, CommandCenter makes it easy to join each other's screens with one click. Chat makes it possible to talk with your co-workers or friends across all work.

### Improved productivity

CommandCenter allows workers to connect directly to other co-workers to complete tasks while sharing the same screen. Having two people work on the same screen allows teams to solve tasks faster, catch more errors and work more efficiently. As individuals share their workflows, knowledge transfer allows teams to find optimal workflows to accomplish tasks.

Sharing the work, or pair working, allows individuals to receive feedback without involving meetings, reviews, or follow-up phone calls. Working collaboratively allows individuals to reach new heights of performance.

## Conclusion

Screen-sharing is the meta-layer of work. CommandCenter allows individuals to work side-by-side while forcing individuals to rethink their existing workflows. CommandCenter brings screen-sharing to the forefront of work, allowing teams to connect and accomplish tasks faster. Voice messaging or text messaging is used as a backup.

The center of work is a command center. When co-workers are online, screen-sharing offers the best of productivity and real-time collaboration. When co-workers are offline or do not wish to be disturbed, messaging allows teams to maintain communication. CommandCenter allows workers to pair quickly with their co-workers. Messaging is used as a backup that captures the edge cases of work.

As teams expand in size, they are faced with greater challenges. As individuals, we can only accomplish so much. As teams, we can accomplish so much more.

On the internet, we now have a new way to work - collaboratively. Thanks to CommandCenter, individuals can finally share their personal workflows while working effectively in teams. Modern companies use pair programming, pair writing, or pair designing to accomplish more.

The future of work is the center of work. The center of work lies between collaboration and productivity. The center of work happens in apps. The center of work happens in the command center.

## Next Step

Interested to build the future of work? Contact me about CommandCenter.


Your Place to Work

CommandCenter

## Introduction

Are you an executive or a decision-maker (CXO, Director, VP) who works in the retail industry? Are you an entrepreneur (Founder) who wants to change the retail sector?

You've come to the right place.

COVID-19 has shown that a coronavirus can wipe out most, if not all, stores visitors. In response to COVID-19, modern companies must adapt by changing how they operate.

## Background

Retail stores are operating blind. Retail stores do not know who their visitors are. Retail stores do not convert visitors to customers. Every visitor who is not a customer is a lost business opportunity. Every retail store that is not connected online is missing out on data.

### Retail locations are not connected online.

The retail industry relies on physical locations. Retail stores rely on foot traffic to maintain business revenue. Retail stores are disconnected from e-commerce stores. Retail stores do not direct their visitors online. Retail stores do not encourage e-commerce stores.

### Retail customers are untracked.

Retail stores do not track their customers. Store visitors are anonymous. Store customers are anonymous shoppers. Retail stores do not collect information about their customers.

### Retail stores do not offer memberships or accounts.

Retail does not convert visitors into customers. This lost opportunity means that retail stores are unable to follow up with their customers.

## Solution

Modern retail-driven companies are adapting in response to COVID-19. Modern companies are re-creating the Amazon Go experience without forcing their customers to download Amazon Go mobile app. Modern companies are creating phone number-driven shopping experiences, not app-driven shopping experiences. Not every company can hire in-house teams to develop and operate Amazon Go apps. Yet every company can outsource.

### Retail is online-first, physical-second.

As companies comply with social distancing measures, they are forced to adapt business operations. Companies are forced to go online amidst COVID-19.

**Physical experiences operate as extensions of online experiences.** Companies must create and optimize online experiences first and foremost. What does a visitor of my online store do? What do I want my online visitor to experience? Companies must adapt accordingly.

**Physical places operate as extensions of online places**. Online places are areas where visitors and customers gather. Imagine your online store as an extension of your physical store. Your online place is an extension of your physical place.

### Customers are identified by name and phone number.

No emails. Just accounts.

Every retailer must convert visitors into customers. But first, retailers must capture visitor data.

Online visitors generate the following data:

*   Pageviews: instances of your store's pages being served.

*   Unique visitors: different IP addresses engaging with your store.

*   Top locations: locations where your store has had the most page views.

*   Top pages: pages of your store that have had the most page views.

*   Top resources not found: resource requests for your store that returned the most errors.

*   Top sources: URLs that generated the most traffic to your store.

*   Bandwidth used: how much data has been served by the content delivery network (CDN) for your store.

Physical visitors generate the following data:

*   Store visitors: different store visitors engaging with your store.

*   Store customers: different store customers buying at your store.

*   Top products: products that have the most sales.

**Businesses can refuse new customers if they are not members or account holders.** Retail stores can say no to customers who wish to pay anonymously. Traditional companies use email addresses for receipts. Modern companies use phone numbers for receipts.

## Benefits

### Online-first, physical-second

As companies shift online, they accumulate data about their users. As companies shift online, they enable the capture of new user data.

**More visitors become customers.** Companies are able to convert more of their visitors to their customers. If a company knows more information about their visitors, they are able to convert them to paying customers. If a company knows more information about its users, the company is able to pursue its visitors to become customers.

**More data about visitors and customers.** Companies are able to capture more information when the visitors are digital. As visitors and customers are tracked online, businesses can form closer relationships with their visitors.

**Visitors and customers can gather online**. Online visitors and customers do not need to come to the store to receive service from a company. They do not need to go anywhere physically. They are already online.

### Customers are identified by name and phone number

Identifying customers by their name and phone number is essential for business operations. Knowing who the visitors and customers allowed modern organizations to move forward with confidence and deliver the maximum value.

**Each person is tracked.** Each person must be tracked one way or another. Modern companies store data about their visitors and customers.

## Conclusion

Modern retailers must shift from being physical-first to being online-first. In the world of coronaviruses, modern retail stores must adapt not only to survive but to thrive. Modern retailers must shift to online first, retail second.


Online First, Retail Second

I am a serial founder. I partner with modern companies and DAOs to launch token-driven products. I also collaborate with developers to launch software projects.

## Projects

Here's a shortlist of my projects:

🤖 [Produvia](https://produvia.com) (2013 to present)

🚀 [Dstack](https://dstack.xyz/) (2021 to present)

✈️ [Dtrail](https://dtrail.xyz/) (2021 to present)

🏋️‍♀️ [Fitplan](https://www.fitplanapp.com) (2014 to 2016)

🌱 [My Green Space](http://mygreenspace.co/) (2015)

🏠 [Domastay](https://web.archive.org/web/20130928183147/http://domastay.com:80/) (2014)

## Get In Touch

Want to collaborate with me? Reach out.

Interested to work with me? Let me know

Do you have feedback for me? I'm all ears.


About Me

## Background

The coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, is the ultimate litmus test for global business models. Business models are tested and stressed to their limits thanks to COVID-19. Every industry is struggling, including the food industry.

### Demand for Food Services

As people are forced to stay home and order take-outs, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) accelerated the rising demand for food delivery services. Before COVID-19, restaurants made 80% of their revenue from dine-in experiences and 20% from off-premise experiences, according to [Toast](https://public.tableau.com/profile/toast7104#!/vizhome/HowCOVID-19isAffectingRestaurants-City/CityLevelView). Today, these numbers are reversed. In response to COVID-19, Restaurants shift from sit-down to or take-out or to-go.

Yet amidst rising demand for food delivery services, we see business failure. Consider Foodora, an online food delivery company based in Germany that offers restaurant meals from restaurants in countries around the world. On April 28, 2020, Foodora filed for bankruptcy in Canada, effective May 11, 2020. According to the official [Foodora press release](https://euvolo-images.foodora.com/marketing/production/ca/images/nl/foodora_Press_Release_April\_27\_2020.pdf):

> *Foodora has not been able to reach a level of profitability in Canada that’s sustainable enough to continue operations, competing against strong local players and a highly saturated market for online food delivery.*

Failure to reach profitability is a sign that bankruptcy hints at a larger issue at play.

Consumers want food on-demand, delivered quickly, from their mobile phones. Restaurants must deliver food on-demand. The business model that makes this possible is commission. Before bankruptcy, Foodora charged a 20% commission. That means if a meal costs $20, Foodora was making $4. While this business model seems sustainable, it is misleading. According to [Foodora's insolvency filings](https://www.todocanada.ca/foodora-files-for-bankruptcy-and-it-owes-about-5-million-to-restaurants-and-other-agencies/):

> *The largest claim of nearly $1.1 million is for office employees and $243,608 for Riders Employees. Allied Properties REIT is owed nearly $568,000, Canada Revenue Agency $333,333, Revenue Quebec $177,000, Google $179,000, and workplace insurance agencies in Ontario, Quebec and B.C. a total of $419,000.*

In other words, Foodora owed money to multiple organizations and was unable to pay office workers, riders, property management companies, government institutions, third-party vendors, and insurance companies.

## Introducing FoodBox: Weekly Food Delivery

FoodBox is a weekly food delivery service. FoodBox partners with restaurants and repurposes employees for the delivery of weekly food.

## FoodBox Features

FoodBox combines restaurant delivery software as a service, white-label delivery platform, and workforce management and allows restaurants to offer modern weekly food delivery services.

### Restaurant Delivery Software-As-A-Service

As the number of restaurant food delivery systems has increased, so have the logistical challenges of tracking online orders—restaurants using delivery services usually must have each service's tablet or iPad to receive orders, which then must be transferred into the restaurant's own POS system. To streamline this, software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies have emerged to integrate the online ordering, billing, and dispatching of restaurant food orders. In addition to providing online ordering software for restaurant chains, these SaaS companies' digital platforms also provide data analysis that these restaurants use for medium- and long-term planning. FoodBox is a restaurant delivery SaaS, optimized for weekly food ordering and recurring payments.

### White-Label Delivery Platform

Consumers want food on-demand, delivered quickly, from their mobile phones. Modern restaurants that survive are those that deliver food, on-demand.

### Workforce Management

Modern food service companies or restaurants can retrain and repurpose the existing workforce to perform weekly deliveries. Modern restaurants can convert idle or underutilized employees into weekly food delivery drivers.

## FoodBox Benefits

FoodBox offers a new business model to dying restaurants and taps into the habits and rituals of food consumers.

### Recurring Business Model

Ubiquitous on-demand and subscription delivery of prepared or cooked food will become the restaurant standard. The subscription business model is a business model in which customers pay a recurring price at regular intervals to receive a product or service. In the context of FoodBox, customers pay to receive food every week. Customers select what they want and receive the same food each week. FoodBox allows foodservice companies to break ties with 20-30% commission fees imposed by traditional food delivery services.

### Habits and Rituals

People love routines. People often follow habits without conscious thought. A habit is something we do automatically, without thought or attention. People often eat the same thing, at the same time, every week. Think Pizza Monday, Donut Tuesday, Sushi Wednesday, Sandwich Thursday, or Pasta Friday. When people are conscious of their intention to eat the same thing, they form rituals. A ritual is an action done with intention and with a purpose beyond the scope of the action itself.

FoodBox taps into existing habits (unconscious actions) and forms new rituals (conscious actions). FoodBox associates pleasure (food) with time triggers (day of the week). Modern restaurants deliver food weekly and align themselves with people's habits and routines.

### Ownership of Customer Data

Restaurants using FoodBox know who their customers are. Owning more of their customers' data through direct phone, web, and mobile ordering, as opposed to paying commission to third parties, allows foodservice companies to break free of traditional food delivery companies.

## Conclusion

Modern restaurants use FoodBox to deliver prepared or cooked food every week. Modern restaurants use FoodBox to tap into customers' subconscious habits and conscious rituals. Modern restaurants use FoodBox to not only survive but also thrive in the world of coronaviruses.

## Next Step

Interested to build the future of food delivery? Contact me about FoodBox.


Modern Weekly Food Delivery

FoodBox

## Background

Modern organizations use open-source software to save money and time. Instead of developing proprietary software, companies can use free software thanks to open source. Today, the largest host of open source is Github with more than 46 million [users](https://github.com/search?q=type:user\&type=Users) and more than 47 million [public repositories](https://github.com/search?q=is:public).

To better understand the open-source landscape, consider open-source sustainability and open source license alternatives.

### Open Source Sustainability

Most open-source projects are not making money, are maintained by single developers, and struggle to fund one full-time engineering position. Open source projects lack capital for support, premium features, and hosting. If an open-source project receives donations, the money is typically used on hosting. Most open-source projects have no funds for ongoing support or premium features.

### Open Source License Alternative

Some cloud infrastructure providers make money by offering open-source projects as commercial services. The same cloud vendors fail to give back to the open-source projects or their commercial shepherds. Open-source licenses do not prevent these providers from doing so. While source-available licenses may offer hope, they are still being field or court-tested.

Open-source license alternatives include MongoDB Server Side Public License (SSPL), Confluent Community License (CCL), Timescale License (TSL), Redis Source Available License (RSAL), Neo4J Commons Clause, Cockroach Community License (CCL), Dgraph (using Cockroach Community License), Elastic License, Sourcegraph Fair SourceLicense, MariaDB Business Source License (BSL).

## Introducing Daploy: Modern Managed Open Source

Daploy is a managed repository as a service. Daploy is a cloud-agnostic managed hosting provider for open source projects. Daploy is the equivalent of the Apple iOS Store or Android Play Store for open source projects, allowing organizations to quickly install open source projects with one-click deployments.

Modern organizations partner with Daploy to streamline the management, deployment, and hosting of open-source software. With Daploy, organizations can get deploy open-source projects faster without vendor lock-in.

Daploy forms strategic partnerships with open source projects and provides a new revenue stream for open source-centric organizations seeking alternative funding mechanisms.

Daploy also contributes to the development of open source-centric organizations by providing alternative funding models. This partnership allows organizations to continue developing using open-source licensing while benefiting from recurring revenue.

Most open-source projects fail to generate revenue. With Daploy, open-source developers focus on building open source projects. Daploy takes care of the rest.

Most organizations need help to manage open-source software. With Daploy, organizations focus on using open source projects. Daploy takes care of the rest.

## Daploy Features

Daploy combines the latest advancements in software-as-a-service, deployment & hosting, and managed services.

### Software as a Service (SaaS)

Daploy is a SaaS platform, powered by cloud computing, which includes:

*   Managed from a central location

*   Hosted on a remote server

*   Accessible over the internet

*   Users not responsible for hardware or software updates

### Deployment and Hosting

Deployment is an activity that makes open-source software available for use. Deployment activities include release, installation, and activation, deactivation, uninstallation, update, built-in update, version tracking.

Daploy allows organizations to host open-source projects without vendor lock-in. Daploy uses multi-cloud to deploy and host open-source software on popular cloud vendors. Daploy works with Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure.

### Managed Services

Managed services are the practice of outsourcing the responsibility for maintaining, and anticipating the need for, a range of processes and functions to improve operations and cut expenses.

Daploy partners with open source-centric companies and extends open-source software for commercial use. Daploy offers managed services to provide a seamless user experience across management, billing, and support.

While some companies use in-house expertise to integrate free open source projects into their technology stacks, most companies need to manage open source projects.

## Daploy Benefits

Daploy benefits open source developers by providing alternative funding models and organizations wanting to open source projects by providing a platform for scaling open source.

### Funding Open Source

Daploy makes it easy for open source projects to receive funding.

Daploy services the open-source community by developing strategic partnerships.

If your company develops software, SaaS hosting could open a new realm of business opportunities.

Daploy forms strategic partnerships with open source-centric companies. Daploy supports and gives back to these partners by providing ongoing revenue to encourage development.

### Scaling Open Software

Daploy simplifies software deployment, hosting, and maintenance for developers and simplifies the management of repositories for organizations. Daploy makes it easy to deploy open-source projects into production. With Daploy, open-source projects focus on development and Daploy takes care of the deployment and hosting. Daploy allows companies to quickly deploy Github repositories into production.

Daploy allows companies to quickly deploy Github repositories into production. Daploy makes it easy to deploy open-source projects into production. Organizations use Daploy as a managed services provider for AWS, GCP, or Azure. With Daploy, open-source projects focus on development and Daploy takes care of the deployment and hosting.

Modern organizations want to use open-source technology easily and in a cloud-native way. Daploy makes open source more available with a cloud-native experience.

## Conclusion

Developers, teams, and businesses of all sizes use Daploy to deploy, manage, and scale open source projects. From simple prototypes or business-critical products, Daploy is a fully managed platform that gives organizations a simple path to deploying and hosting open source software quickly.

## Next Step

Interested to build the future of managed open source? Contact me about Daploy.


Modern Managed Open Source

Daploy

## Background

In the world of coronaviruses, companies are struggling to survive. As the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) spreads, business models are put to the test. As companies borrow from federal governments to stay afloat, they inflate the global corporate debt. Companies rush to receive bailouts and financial support from the government. Borrowing to survive exposes an organizational weakness - operational rigidity.

## Introducing WeTask: Modern Task Management

WeTask is a task management software, built on top of a version control system, for the modern organization. In the world of coronaviruses, modern organizations are flexible, efficient, and responsive. Modern organizations achieve flexible organizational structures by adjusting team structures in real-time, achieve operational efficiency by managing tasks, and become responsive using version control systems.

## WeTask Features

WeTask is the modern task management software featuring: flexible organizational structures, version control, and open-ended adaptation.

### Flexible Organizational Structures

Tasks are activities with a defined start and end date or a deadline for completion. Tasks can be linked together to create dependencies, where the completion of one task is dependent on another. Tasks allow organizations to achieve work-related goals. WeWork allows individuals to create tasks for themselves and for others. Team leaders can create tasks and assign tasks to themselves or other team members and vice versa. WeTask allows team leaders to approve, disapprove, or modify tasks created by team members and vice versa. WeTask allows organizations to modify teams and tasks. WeTask allows modern organizations to achieve responsive operational efficiency and flexible organizational structures. WeTask creates flexible organizations, powered by modern task management features.

### Version Control

Version control, also known as source control, is the management of changes to information or data. In the context of WeTask, the version control system refers to the management of changes to tasks. Version control systems allow organizations to better track changes or versions of the tasks. WeTask is built on top of a custom version control system powered by a diff algorithm. WeTask stores all data using the JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) format. WeTask version control allows organizations to branch and merge roles, teams, and tasks.

### Open-Ended Adaptation

Modern organizations are adapting to market conditions in real-time. Modern organizations engage in complex collective behaviors to accomplish complex open-ended goals. WeTask allows organizations to spin up new teams quickly when unplanned changes arise and enables team members to suggest bottom-up changes to the work and the organization. Changes can be issued at any time by team leaders and team members. WeTask allows organizations to achieve open-ended adaptation to meet changing market needs.

## WeTask Benefits

WeTask benefits organizations, team leaders, and team members in three ways: accelerated innovation, increased organizational efficiency and improved project management.

### Accelerates Innovation

WeTask empowers organizations to make decisions bottom-up, not just top-down. One of the major problems with today's top-down organizations (traditional organizations) is proximity is low. In top-down organizations, leaders and team leaders assign tasks for workers. In bottom-up organizations, workers suggest changes to the work and the organization. In bottom-up organizations, workers are on the edge of innovation.

### Increases Organizational Efficiency

WeTask allows organizational to operate at the speed of change. Since leaders, team leaders, and team members are able to make changes to organizational structure, organizations are able to adapt in real-time. Organizations that modify governance structures and project tasks in real-time are far more efficient than their traditional counterparts.

### Improves Project Management

WeTask introduces a new paradigm into project management, version control. While this concept is common in developing and managing code, it is not common in developing and managing tasks. WeTask allows all tasks to be managed by any person on the team. Top-down and bottom-up project management allows modern organizations to move at the speed of change.

## Conclusion

In a rapidly changing economy, accelerated by COVID-19, organizational flexibility is the only way modern organizations can survive. Thanks to WeTask, modern organizations move at the speed of tasks.

## Contribute

Interested to build the future of task management? Contact me about WeTask.


Modern Task Management

WeTask

In 2007, [Jeff Atwood](https://blog.codinghorror.com/) wrote [Always. Be. Shipping.](https://blog.codinghorror.com/yes-but-what-have-you-done/#:~:text=our%20job%20as%20software%20developers%20is%20to%20deliver%20features%20and%20solve%20business%20problems%2C%20not%20to%20generate%20neverending%20discussion.)

> Our job as software developers is to **deliver features and solve business problems**, not to generate neverending discussion

In 2010, Seth Godin wrote [The Truth About Shipping](https://99u.adobe.com/articles/6249/seth-godin-the-truth-about-shipping#:~:text=Keep%20your%20team,it.%20Ship):

> Keep your team small. Smaller than that. No team at all if you can help it.
>
> **Ship often. Ship lousy stuff, but ship. Ship constantly.**
>
> Skip meetings. Often. Skip them with impunity. **Ship.**
>
> Trick the lizard if you must, but declare war on it regardless. Understand that the only thing between you and the success you seek in a chaotic world is a lizard that figures out that safe is risky and risky is safe. The paradox of our time is that the instincts that kept us safe in the day of the saber tooth tiger and General Motors are precisely the instincts that will turn us into road kill in a faster than fast internet-fueled era.
>
> The resistance is waiting. Fight it. **Ship.**

In 2012, Naval Ravikant wrote [Build a Team that Ships](https://nav.al/build-a-team-that-ships#:~:text=Service-,People%20choose%20what%20to,joined%2C%20ship%20something,-Peer):

> **People choose what to work on. Better they ship what they want than not ship what you want.**
>
> No tasks longer than one week. **You have to ship something into live production every week – worst case, two weeks. If you just joined, ship something.**

In 2016, [Arshad Chowdhury](https://arshadgc.com/) wrote [How to Build a Successful App: ABL (Always Be Launching)](https://arshadgc.com/2288-abl-always-be-launching/#:~:text=I%E2%80%99ve%20always,needs%20to%20be):

> **I’ve always been launching in a quest to see which titles, search terms, and content meet demand. Without this rapid succession of launches, I would never have stumbled upon a working business model for apps.**
>
> **You need speed to succeed.**
>
> If your first launch takes too long, your subsequent launches will be tragically slow. **Slow development times, outsourced teams, firings mid-development all hamper launch time and can be poisonous to the early stages of your company.**
>
> **Which is why a long-delayed launch of your first product is a really bad sign. It signals that you either lack focus, an ability to execute, or both.**
>
> **If you’ve been developing your app for a long time but just can’t seem to launch on a reasonable, affordable timeframe, then focus on the things you can do instead.** Is your product social? Start hosting social events. Is it a fitness app? Host free training sessions. This kind of revenue-generating learning will only widen your reputation and network and give you more insight into what your product needs to be.

In 2018, [Adam Drake](https://adamdrake.com) wrote Always Be Shipping ([here](https://adamdrake.com/always-be-shipping.html#:~:text=you%20should%20always%20be%20shipping%20code%2C%20features%2C%20services%2C%20and%20every%20metric%20of%20value%20you%20deliver%20to%20the%20business.%20there%20may%20be%20times%20when%20more%20valuable%20output%20is%20produced%2C%20and%20times%20when%20the%20output%20lessens%2C%20but%20you%20must%20always%20be%20shipping!) and [here](https://adamdrake.com/always-be-shipping.html#:~:text=More%20than,term%20strategies))

> **You should always be shipping code, features, services, and every metric of value you deliver to the business**. There may be times when more valuable output is produced, and times when the output lessens, but you must **Always Be Shipping!**
>
> \[...]
>
> More than the fact that it isn’t necessary to stop shipping in order to do maintenance work, it’s outright detrimental to your system, team, perception as a leader, and your relationship with the business organization. **Instead, adopt a process and culture of continuous improvement while continuously shipping, and you’ll be supporting the business as well as your team with sustainable, long-term strategies.**

In 2018, [Dinesh Vernekar](https://hackernoon.com/u/vernekard) wrote [Always be Shipping](https://hackernoon.com/always-be-shipping-bd338ebd8826#:~:text=Shipping%20helps,to%20users)

> **Shipping helps you take your theories in front of your audience, helps you get valuable feedback that can be used to test your assumptions. In the worst case it confirms that your hypothesis was incorrect.**
>
> **Shipping also forces us to examine some of the minor use-cases we had ignored at the design stage. It gives us a sense of accomplishment. It keeps teams focused on the problem statement. Shipping solves business problems and provides value to users.**

In 2019, [Naval Ravikant](https://nav.al/) tweeted:

\<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">\<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Lindy Effect for startups:The longer you go without shipping product, the more likely you will never ship product.\</p>\&mdash; Naval (@naval) \<a href="https://twitter.com/naval/status/1158964119023652864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2019\</a>\</blockquote> \<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8">\</script>

In 2019, I tweeted:

In 2020, [Pieter Levels](https://levels.io/) wrote in [Make](https://makebook.io/):

> **You may need to try shipping 10 to 30 products for 1 to 3 years before you have anything that works.** That's how this approach works. **You build stuff and see what sticks.** **I don't know anybody who shipped one product and instantly became successful. It takes a long time to "get" it and even then it's a lot of luck and timing. If something doesn't seem to take off early on, it probably won't take off later, so make something new and try again.**
>
> **As I, and this book practice radical honesty, there's a chance nothing you make will be successful. But by doing you'll have figured something new out, that might lead you to somewhere else, that will make you successful.** Startups, and life, are about constantly pivoting when things don't work out. If you don't take action though, you can be sure nothing will ever happen. **Stagnancy kills. So ship.**
>
> **Always keep shipping.**


Always Be Shipping

You can create time.

Time is relative. Time is fluid.

Your perception of time changes. You perceive time differently than someone else. Your have a subjective experience of the passage of time.

When considering how to spend your time, ask yourself three questions:

1.  Can I not do this?

2.  Can I delegate this?

3.  Can I automate this?

When deciding on any task, ask yourself these questions. If you can avoid doing the thing you should be doing, don’t do it. If you can delegate the thing you should be doing, delegate it. If you can automate the thing that you should be doing, automate it.

When possible, create the circumstances around flow. Create the circumstances to live your life in flow. When possible, perform deliberate practice with flow state.

What is deliberate practice? According to Anders Ericsson, deliberate practice is the lifelong pursuit to improve performance in a specific domain.

What is flow state? According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow state is when time dissapears and you experience timelessness. During flow, we experience four states: selflessness, effortlessness, richness, and timelessness. The fourth state is most important since it allows us to create time at our own will.

You can create time engaging with engaging activities. You create time when you perform at you best. You create time when your skill matches your challenge level.

When you are focused on the present, you experience timelessness. In timelessness, hours seem to pass by in minutes and vice versa.

In timelessness, you don’t notice time passing since you are processing information at an accelerated rate.

When you specify goals, balance your skills with challenges, and receive feedback on your activity, you achieve flow.

Non-ordinary states, such as flow state, provide relief for the sense of time. In these states, we temporarily silence the inner critic. Time is a distributed perception which is calculated in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. During the flow state, our prefrontal cortex goes offline. That implies that we lose our peception of time when we are in flow.

Without the ability to separate time from past and future, we’re plunged into the “deep now”. Energy normally used for processing gets recollated during the flow state. In the flow state, we improve our focus and attention. We take in more data and process data more quickly.

During the flow state, we lose access to the neurotic part of the brain. Our most primative and reactive part, the amygdala, also calms down. In flow, you are involved in the process of what you are doing.

How do you increase the amount of time you spend in the present moment? Practice mindfulness.

When you experience timelessness, you feel you have time available, you are less impatient, you are more willing to volunteer to help others, you prefer experiences over material products, and you experience a greater boost in life satisfaction.

Without time in the picture, you have all the time that you need.

Time is an investment, an asset. If you learn something new or you challenge yourself to a new goal, you are investing in yourself. These time investments become your assets, your skills, your personality traits. Your goal is to grow these assets with time.

Time is an emboddied experience.


Creating Time

Your life is filled with time yet you waste much of it. You take time for granted.

You fix your eyes on objects and things but not time itself. You are easily distracted by novelty, urgency, and importance.

You squander time in carelessness. You don't realize how agreements with yourself and others affect your time.

Men guard their money with closed fists but not their time. Men count their dollars but not their minutes.

How much is your time worth? Are you worth 10 dollars per hour? 100 dollars per hour? 1,000 dollars per hour? 10,000 dollars per hour? Set value on your time and you will realize that most tasks are not worth doing.

Every minute you spend on one activity means you sacrifice another. Review your calendar once a day and ask yourself: "Am I wasting time?" If you are too busy, review your calendar once a week or once a month and repeat the exercise.

People live as if they have unlimited time. They don't consider the frailty of their bodies. When injury, illness, or death draws nearer, people are reminded of the shortness of time.

Consider a thought experiment, called "100 Year Clock". Imagine yourself to be 100 years of age. Look back on your life and ask yourself: "How much time was taken up with the pursuit of money, women, social activities, or fighting diseases? How much was sitting idle, spent when you had a plan, spent when you had no plan? How much of it when your mind was disturbed? How much was wasted on others? How much of it was wasted on sorrow, foolish joy, or greedy desire?" After you remove the activities that you must perform, you are left with the existence of a short life. The "100 Year Clock" experiment reveals that you have fewer years to your life than you can count.

Consider a thought experiment, called "Ring of Time". Imagine putting on a ring to remind yourself of time. When making decisions, ask yourself: "How much time will this take?" Every commitment you make affects your time. The "Ring of Time" experiment reveals that your life is a chain of time commitments.

Interrupt your day to reflect on your time. Set random reminders on your cell phone or smartwatch. Remind yourself of the "100 Year Clock" or the "Ring of Time".

Devote your life to controlling your time. Do not allow others to affect your time without your permission.

Time is elusive. Moments are fleeting.

The present is short, the future is doubtful, and the past is certain.


Wasting Time

The problem with innovation is that most people are focusing on the present, on the short-term, on the immediate problems. Most people are automating the present, not simulating the future. The best way to predict the future is to invent it. The best way to invent the future is to simulate it.

> Most things done by **most people today are still 'automating paper, records, and film'** rather than 'simulating the future'.
>
> The ARPA/PARC history shows that a combination of **vision, a modest amount of funding, with a felicitous context and process can almost magically give rise to new technologies** that not only amplify civilization but also produce tremendous wealth for the society.
>
> — [Alan Kay](http://www.vpri.org/pdf/m2004001\_power.pdf)

To simulate the future, apply mental contrasting. To innovate, you project yourself into the future and ask yourself: "What is normal?" Then bring your mind back to the present and ask yourself: "What roadblocks are within me that's preventing me from moving into the future?" Dedicate your time to overcome these roadblocks.

These are not technological problems but a lack of perspective. To innovate, you must broaden your mind and shift your perspective. To innovate, you must invest in developing technologies not for today, but for tomorrow and the day after.


Simulate The Future

I help startups and enterprises develop state-of-the-art technologies.

Hi, I’m Slava!

Who I work with

Trusted by Companies Big and Small

I will develop computer vision, natural language processing, or language models so companies can leverage state-of-the-art deep learning technologies.


I help brands develop deep learning,  technologies.

Deep Learning Development

I help companies launch token-driven projects. Interested to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs), social tokens, or fungible tokens? Let me know!


I help businesses develop blockchain technologies.

Blockchain Development

I will develop quantum approximate optimization algorithms, quantum state tomography algorithms, or quantum circuit equivalence checking
so companies can leverage state-of-the-art quantum technologies.


I help brands develop quantum technologies.

Quantum Development

What do I do?

How I Help Startups and Enterprises

Get in touch with Slava. It's as simple as leaving a message.


Want to chat?

Home

I pledge to build an abundant future for myself and those around me.

Seek wealth, not money or status. Wealth is having assets that earn while I sleep. Money is how I transfer time and wealth. Status is my place in the social hierarchy. Gain financial freedom by owning equity or tokens, a piece of the business, not by renting out my time. Get rich by giving society what it wants but does not yet know how to get, at scale.

Embrace accountability and take business risks under my own name. Build a singular, public brand - Slava.

Learn to sell and build. Society will reward me with responsibility, equity, tokens, and leverage.

Be too busy to “do coffee" while still keeping an uncluttered calendar.

Work smart, not hard. Minimize interruptions with "do not disturb" mode. Set timers when possible.

Become the best in the world at what I do and keep redefining what I do until this is true. Build a reputation that makes other people do deals through me.

Set high standards and ironclad integrity. Apply specific knowledge, with leverage and I will get what I deserve.

Reading is faster than listening. Doing is faster than watching. Learn from the internet. The best teachers are on the Internet. The best books are on the Internet. The best peers are on the Internet.

Follow my interests and curiosities. Create and share my thoughts and my work with others. Write blogs, books, record videos, and podcasts. Establish a personal brand by writing and launching projects. Establish credibility as a crypto-focused writer, author, entrepreneur, founder.

Aim for a direct connection with a thousand true fans. A true fan is defined as a fan that will buy anything I produce. To make a living as a creative, craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor, I need only thousands of true fans, not millions.

Meditate, exercise, and read daily. Habits define the man and the man defines the habits.

Explore, then exploit. Make many small investments before a few big bets. Build a community before building products. Launch many projects.

Tokenize my time. Use blockchain technologies to launch token-driven projects or decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

Use blockchains to create markets. Blockchains will replace networks with markets. Replace existing networks with blockchain-based market networks. Money is a network. A corporation is a network. Networks must be organized according to rules. Networks require rulers to enforce these rules against cheaters. Networks have "network effects" in which adding a new participant increases the value of the network. Networks create winner-take-all dynamics. Many networks are run by corporations. Examples of networks are social networks, search networks, and university networks. Blockchains give rise to market networks. Market networks are open and meritocratic. Give society what it wants and society will give me money. Give the network what it wants and the blockchains will give me coins. It's nonsensical to have a blockchain without a coin just like it's nonsensical to have a market without money.

Seek freedom to and freedom from. Meditate to be spiritually free. Read books to be mentally free. Travel the world to be location free. Get stronger to be physically free. Launch projects (startups or DAOs) and invest in assets (crypto coins, crypto tokens, stocks, or real estate) to be financially free. 

**Attribution:**

This Manifesto is inspired by [Naval Ravikant](https://nav.al/) and Kevin Kelly's [1,000 True Fans](https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/)



Manifesto

Thank you for contacting me. I will get back in touch with you soon. Have a great day!

Thank You!

Thank You


This is a paragraph. Malesuada bibendum arcu vitae elementum curabitur vitae nunc sed. Fringilla urna porttitor rhoncus dolor purus. Consectetur purus ut faucibus pulvinar. Nullam non nisi est sit. Tellus in metus vulputate eu scelerisque felis. Nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit tellus mauris. Phasellus egestas tellus rutrum tellus pellentesque eu tincidunt. Fermentum iaculis eu non diam phasellus vestibulum. Faucibus turpis in eu mi bibendum neque egestas congue.

# This is an H1
## This is an H2
### This is an H3
#### This is an H4
##### This is an H5
###### This is an H6

## Quoting

Nullam hendrerit dictum vehicula. Nunc nec tortor et dui vestibulum venenatis. Donec mattis ligula ac efficitur lacinia.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Donec pretium vulputate sapien nec sagittis aliquam. Turpis massa sed elementum tempus egestas sed sed. Orci a scelerisque purus semper eget duis at tellus at. Lacus luctus accumsan tortor posuere ac. 

> Ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit ut aliquam purus. Ultrices sagittis orci a scelerisque purus semper eget duis. Pharetra pharetra massa massa ultricies. Felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam.

In cursus turpis massa tincidunt. Tempor nec feugiat nisl pretium. Odio aenean sed adipiscing diam. Ut aliquam purus sit amet luctus venenatis lectus magna fringilla. Justo laoreet sit amet cursus sit amet dictum. Turpis tincidunt id aliquet risus feugiat in ante metus.

In non tempus urna, non blandit nisl. Phasellus aliquam, tellus et lobortis dictum, justo turpis placerat est, sed luctus nunc elit eu odio. Phasellus imperdiet, nulla a elementum tempor, nisi elit tincidunt dolor, eget venenatis metus libero et elit.

Vivamus tempus ornare urna, eget imperdiet quam venenatis ac. Donec fermentum massa id aliquet vulputate. Nam vestibulum ornare est, sed tincidunt mauris interdum a. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Pellentesque sit amet arcu sed risus vehicula fermentum sit amet a neque. Sed imperdiet lacinia magna sit amet dapibus. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Aenean non purus a quam placerat luctus. Proin orci risus, lobortis ut dictum at, gravida at nulla. 

## Unordered and Ordered Lists

+ Donec non tortor in arcu mollis feugiat
+ Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit
+ Donec id eros eget quam aliquam gravida
+ Vivamus convallis urna id felis
+ Nulla porta tempus sapien

***

1. Donec non tortor in arcu mollis feugiat
2. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit
3. Donec id eros eget quam aliquam gravida
4. Vivamus convallis urna id felis
5. Nulla porta tempus sapien

## Code Blocks

Blocks of code are either fenced by lines with three back-ticks, or are indented with four spaces.

```
let sequence = [1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13];
for (let i = 0; i < sequence.length; i++) {
  console.log(sequence[i]);
}
```

## Inline Elements

Emphasis, aka italics, with *asterisks* or _underscores_.

Strong emphasis, aka bold, with **asterisks** or __underscores__.

Combined emphasis with **asterisks and _underscores_**.

Strikethrough uses two tildes. ~~Scratch this.~~

Inline `code` with `back-ticks around` it.

This is <mark>marked or highlighted</mark> text.

This is [an example](http://example.com) link.

## Tables

<div class="responsive-table">
  <table>
      <caption>Table with thead, tfoot, and tbody</caption>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th>Header content</th>
        <th>Header content</th>
        <th>Header content</th>
        <th>Header content</th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <td>Body content</td>
        <td>Body content</td>
        <td>Body content</td>
        <td>Body content</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Body content</td>
        <td>Body content</td>
        <td>Body content</td>
        <td>Body content</td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
    <tfoot>
      <tr>
        <td>Footer content</td>
        <td>Footer content</td>
    <td>Footer content</td>
    <td>Footer content</td>
      </tr>
    </tfoot>
  </table>
</div>


Style Guide


Donec luctus lorem sit amet tincidunt euismod. Etiam ut mauris non magna placerat tempor non vel purus. Quisque ac urna eu sapien placerat aliquet eget id diam. Sed elementum enim non mollis consequat. Maecenas laoreet elementum elit, id luctus odio sagittis nec. Nam ornare lorem sed nunc aliquet vulputate. Phasellus fringilla lacus mi, in porta quam eleifend vitae. Cras suscipit, neque blandit tempor aliquam, tortor sem tristique ex, non scelerisque justo massa id tortor. Maecenas tristique at metus non volutpat. Pellentesque nec felis eu dui tristique cursus sit amet vitae nibh. Duis malesuada ullamcorper sapien viverra tristique. 

## Phasellus Finibus Risus Eget

Quisque malesuada, ligula vel lobortis ornare, turpis purus consequat massa, sit amet auctor velit neque sit amet justo. Donec at est sed nisl posuere commodo. Phasellus finibus risus eget est cursus finibus.

Aliquam aliquam porta massa, et aliquam tortor mollis quis. Sed sodales leo vulputate metus gravida cursus. In fringilla imperdiet elit. Etiam eget sapien elementum, facilisis arcu vitae, finibus ipsum. Aliquam erat nibh, commodo id urna ut, fermentum tristique metus. Morbi egestas ullamcorper vulputate. Mauris dignissim varius arcu in laoreet. In mollis erat velit, in hendrerit arcu lobortis in. Donec facilisis malesuada sapien, non mollis lacus faucibus quis. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. 

## Donec Vitae Tincidunt Erat

Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.

In et diam congue, porta dui ac, rhoncus diam. Quisque imperdiet ex nec lorem gravida ultrices. Fusce ut volutpat metus. Morbi sollicitudin mi vel erat consectetur gravida. Donec consequat velit eget turpis dapibus, sed scelerisque sem pulvinar. Phasellus sit amet arcu eu metus auctor finibus. Phasellus a mauris ut urna auctor ornare. Morbi mollis laoreet orci at iaculis. Aliquam at velit eu elit iaculis cursus. In eu neque leo. Proin felis risus, maximus at ornare non, feugiat ac dui. Nam ornare feugiat sem, ac pretium urna bibendum quis. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Curabitur sapien ante, molestie sit amet maximus id, malesuada eget felis. Praesent nec imperdiet neque. 

Terms & Conditions

Optional hero section subtitle

Pick Your Plan

---

### $9

per month, billed yearly

* Et semper leo mattis orci conubia congue
* Quisque eleifend imperdiet tortor
* Elementum eu rhoncus, volutpat
* Nisi cubilia interdum ultricies

Optional subtitle

Personal

left

---

### $19

per month, billed yearly

* Et semper leo mattis orci conubia congue
* Quisque eleifend imperdiet tortor
* Elementum eu rhoncus, volutpat
* Fringilla diam magnis libero lacinia
* Litora primis facilisis ullamcorper per

Premium

---

### $39

per month, billed yearly

* Et semper leo mattis orci conubia congue
* Quisque eleifend imperdiet tortor
* Elementum eu rhoncus, volutpat
* Nisi cubilia interdum ultricies
* Feugiat porta tortor

Business

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec nisl ligula, cursus id molestie vel, maximus aliquet risus. Vivamus in nibh fringilla, fringilla.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur?

Ac felis donec et odio pellentesque. Sagittis vitae et leo duis ut diam quam nulla. Ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum sed arcu non odio euismod lacinia.

Sagittis vitae et leo duis ut diam?

In tellus integer feugiat scelerisque. Aliquam eleifend mi in nulla posuere. Bibendum neque egestas congue quisque egestas. Mauris sit amet massa vitae tortor condimentum lacinia. Tortor at auctor urna nunc id cursus metus aliquam eleifend. Sed nisi lacus sed viverra tellus. Non enim praesent elementum facilisis.

Viverra nam libero justo laoreet sit?

Blandit aliquam etiam erat velit. In massa tempor nec feugiat. Volutpat maecenas volutpat blandit aliquam. Sem integer vitae justo eget magna fermentum iaculis. Amet est placerat in egestas erat imperdiet sed euismod nisi. Facilisi morbi tempus iaculis urna.

Cras tincidunt lobortis feugiat vivamus at augue eget arcu?

Facilisis gravida neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque vitae. Dictum varius duis at consectetur lorem donec massa. Porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum consectetur libero.

Porta nibh venenatis cras sed felis eget velit aliquet?

You asked, we answered!

Pricing

My answers

Frequently Asked Questions

It's important to me to fully understand your business and what you're trying to achieve. I will start with an interview and follow up with a tailored questionnaire. Then, I produce writing samples to make sure we're on the right track. Once we work together, we can make as many revisions as you'd like so that your content is perfect.

What is your process?

Of course! I am happy to manage Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and any other social media platform you wish to maintain. This includes both posting relevant and interesting content, and replying to questions and comments from your audience.

Can you manage our social media?

Depending on the scope and timeline of your content needs, we can work on a retainer basis, an hour bank, or a per-project basis. Once I understand your needs I will create a tailored proposal with several options to choose from.

How do you base your pricing?

No product or service is too technical to learn and understand. Part of our initial onboarding is an in-depth understanding of your offerings, your target audience and your level of technical writing needed.

What if my business is technical?

The onboarding process typically lasts 3-4 days and consists of an intro video call, an interview, a questionnaire and some back and forth communication for technical purposes. After that, we can go as fast as you need.

How fast can we get started?

You can choose to provide the design yourself, or I can include a design element to your proposal. I work with several wonderful designers with ample experience in web, digital, campaign and marketing design.

Who handles the design?


Donec luctus lorem sit amet tincidunt euismod. Etiam ut mauris non magna placerat tempor non vel purus. Quisque ac urna eu sapien placerat aliquet eget id diam. Sed elementum enim non mollis consequat. Maecenas laoreet elementum elit, id luctus odio sagittis nec. Nam ornare lorem sed nunc aliquet vulputate. Phasellus fringilla lacus mi, in porta quam eleifend vitae. Cras suscipit, neque blandit tempor aliquam, tortor sem tristique ex, non scelerisque justo massa id tortor. Maecenas tristique at metus non volutpat. Pellentesque nec felis eu dui tristique cursus sit amet vitae nibh. Duis malesuada ullamcorper sapien viverra tristique. Quisque malesuada, ligula vel lobortis ornare, turpis purus consequat massa, sit amet auctor velit neque sit amet justo. Donec at est sed nisl posuere commodo.

## Phasellus Finibus Risus Eget est Cursus Finibus

Aliquam aliquam porta massa, et aliquam tortor mollis quis. Sed sodales leo vulputate metus gravida cursus. In fringilla imperdiet elit. Etiam eget sapien elementum, facilisis arcu vitae, finibus ipsum. Aliquam erat nibh, commodo id urna ut, fermentum tristique metus.

### Morbi Egestas Ullamcorper Vulputate

Mauris dignissim varius arcu in laoreet. In mollis erat velit, in hendrerit arcu lobortis in. Donec facilisis malesuada sapien, non mollis lacus faucibus quis. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

### Donec Vitae Tincidunt Erat

Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.

In et diam congue, porta dui ac, rhoncus diam. Quisque imperdiet ex nec lorem gravida ultrices. Fusce ut volutpat metus. Morbi sollicitudin mi vel erat consectetur gravida. Donec consequat velit eget turpis dapibus, sed scelerisque sem pulvinar. Phasellus sit amet arcu eu metus auctor finibus. Phasellus a mauris ut urna auctor ornare. Morbi mollis laoreet orci at iaculis. 

## Aliquam at Velit eu Elit Iaculis Cursus

In eu neque leo. Proin felis risus, maximus at ornare non, feugiat ac dui. Nam ornare feugiat sem, ac pretium urna bibendum quis. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Curabitur sapien ante, molestie sit amet maximus id, malesuada eget felis. Praesent nec imperdiet neque.

Privacy Policy

Contact Slava in three simple steps

Contact Me

# Step 1

✔️ Follow Slava on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/slavakurilyak), [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/slavakurilyak), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/slavakurilyak/), and [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsxZ1PMHJFZ5PMcZX1Kjq8g)

# Step 2

👉 Complete this form

# Step 3

If there are any questions, Slava will email you back.

Please give Slava  48 hours to respond, and, if you don’t hear back from him, please don’t take it personally (he can only handle so many requests per day).