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Monday Coffee (Nov 18)

David Sherry
3 min read

Hey all – it's been awhile since I've done a ☕ Monday Coffee.

This is where we sort of catch up and I share a bit more about what's new with me.

Feel free to share whatever is on your mind in return. I want to share more about the everyday work I'm doing with founders and brands as well as some latest stuff with (DTS) so I'll see if I can weave that in here and in my A$A letters. Anything you want to share? Any questions on your mind? Shoot.

"No Code"

Last week I was at the No Code Conference put on by Webflow in SF. I've been working with the Makerpad Team and so this was a chance to get together in person


"What is the deal with "No Code"?"

"No Code" refers to the series of applications that allow non-technical people or non-programmers the ability to create websites and applications.

Programming computers has continued to get democratized, meaning that more and more people are able to do it with less technical skill – thanks to new abstractions from root level programming.

At every step, we're making it easier to program computers to work for us.

It went from punch cards, to the command line, to languages like HTML, to site builders (Squarespace, Wordpress) and now there is a giant flood of applications making it even easier to create, Webflow being one of them.

This is, I believe, a 10x-100x improvement and is going to lead to more opportunities for more people to build and launch products.

29.5, the Emotional Flu

I don't know what it is, but it seems like the transition for Men (women, do you feel this too?) from age 29 to 30 brings up a ton of change.

The more guys I talk to, the more I see this as a recurring pattern. Many guys will say this was the year that things fell apart, or changed, or where things really got started for them. There's even an interesting astrological thing about this if you're into that, called Saturn Return and probably some other mythological stories with this narrative.  

All I know is I'm 29.5 and suddenly I'm getting really emotional and a lot feels like it's changing. I welcome all growth, and I'm curious to see what's around the bend. I've been writing less but I'm learning more, which is interesting because usually the two run in parallel. Hopefully I'll try and capture more of this in writing as I know many people might have similar feelings.

What are your thoughts about major transitions like this from one decade to the next?

Do you feel the same way about going from 2010's to 2020's ?


"How Do you Make a Brand that Stands Out?"

I'm writing more at my Brand/Community/Tech focused newsletter here:
http://davidsherry.substack.com

In a recent post I wrote a big list of obvious (once you see it) edges that brands use to stand out.

Examples from that list:

Engage Overlooked Senses

  • Pop Rocks
  • Aromatherapy

Beef up security

  • Stainless Steel or an OtterBox Case

Make it Sensual

  • Ruki
  • Magnum Ice Cream

Revive an Old Format

  • Vinyl Resurgence


Treat Customers like Owners

  • REI

Treat customers like shit


Read 40+ Other Brand Edges.


Telegram Reading List

I'm still looking for the best place to allow readers to "subscribe" to the articles I'm reading around the web. That way if you're looking for something to read you can see everything I've been reading in the last week to pull from in case that's interesting to you.

Right now I'm using Telegram https://t.me/artxattention

You can subscribe to that list and you'll see notes every so often with links. Is there a better place to share a stream of links? Lmk.

Quote I'm Digging:

“Well-being is Good Luck”

- Marcus Aurelius

I've never thought about Luck that way but I find this quote to be incredibly deep.

My call times for 🍵#ArtistTherapy were fully booked up, and it's been great to meet so many of you all. I'll do another one or two of these before the New Year.

As a reminder, now is the best time to start to think about sending out cards, or planning.

Be well and be lucky,

☕ David