Best resources when building a startup, consumer tech companies I'm watching and deep house music.

Welcome to Make life easy, Breezi.

Your friend who sends you a weekly update on what she's working on, reading through, and thinking about –?in a list.

I have one rule to this newsletter, lists only. The only exception is this yellow box. I'll use this to say anything that needs to be said in a full paragraph. This is my first ever newsletter and your feedback is going to help turn this into something incredible. Let me know if there are specific areas/ topics I should dive into, thank you!

In case we haven't met yet, here are 8 things I would love you to know about me

1. I'm a growth marketing consultant by day and founder by night
2. I studied business in college but my favorite classes to take have always been psychology, writing and math (yes, I actually liked math)
3. In college, I was a barista at Starbucks on campus
4. During one of my shifts, I met?Derrick ?who gave my first tech internship at his?startup
5. After that summer, I knew one day I was going to be a tech founder too
6. Growing up as an only child, my biggest fear was that no one was ever going to truly understand me and actually know me
7. I'm passionate about solving this problem because I know other's feel this way too
8. That's the inspiration behind Breezi, the startup I'm building now

Best resources I found when looking into building a startup

• Pmarca Guide to Career Planning: Opportunity ?– how do you know it's the right time?
• Read through?Secrets of Sand Hill Road , an awesome introductory book for learning about how VC + entrepreneur relationship works when you're too embarrassed to ask someone simple things like "what does safe mean"
• Going to?Startupy World ?to get into creative thinking and problem solving mode, I have?this post bookmarked ?and is something I read over and over
• A classic, the?Paul Graham's manifesto ?on how to (and not to) get startup ideas
• Techstar's exercise on?how to build your investor pipeline ?because it's never too early to get started on things like this

Consumer tech companies you should keep an eye on

• Melon : helps you sort the online content you consume – think Twitter bookmarks but organized
• Locker : a chrome ext that acts like the cool girl Pinterest that makes it easier for you to discover outfits
• Aavia : making hormones the best and brightest part of your day
• Landing : a visual playground where everyone can unleash their creativity (this thumbnail was made on Landing!)
• Safara : unified loyalty across over 1 million different hotel chains, they describe their service as "hotel curation" and that resonates deeply with me

Why I am obsessed with building in consumer social?

• In ninth grade, I went a performing arts high school to study music theatre
• A few weeks in, I noticed a girl sitting in her chair across our English classroom
• She had a pink Nalgene bottle and on it was a sticker from?Kodaline , an Irish alternative rock band – one that I've been obsessed with since I was 13
• I bee-lined over to her, sat myself down, told her I loved her sticker and?we lived happily ever after?Sophie became one of my best friends that year
• I wish things like that happened more often but I can't spend everyday staring at every single person's water bottle, hoping that I'll see a logo that I recognize
• Everything is online now
• "Social media has taken us a long way, but it is time to continue evolving how we interact, express ourselves, and build relationships" –?Jess Lee
• I think about that high school interaction all the time and how I can build a digital product that would replicate it for others
• So everyone can find their "Sophie's" and "Kodalines"

Favorite thought pieces on consumer products

1. In the Next Era of Social,?Build Rituals, Not Habits
2. Myspace, Tumblr, and the Long-Lost Weirdness of the Social Internet
3. Just Enjoy People’s Spotify Wrapped—It’s Nice to Feel Seen

Best quotes from the above articles, in case you're too busy to read all of them

• "Habitual social apps thrive off of your bad habits—things that you’ve become wired to do." (1)
• "One thought has been stuck in my head: Myspace and Tumblr would work if they launched today." (2)
• "We use Meta products because they’re ingrained in our lives, with powerful network effects. But Meta products don’t spark joy or provoke creativity." (2)
• "Looking at a person’s Spotify Wrapped isn’t like peering into their soul or reading their diary, but it is like walking past their messy room and getting a quick glimpse." (3)
• "Most people like to feel seen, and most people don't have many opportunities to make that happen." (3)

How I spend my days lately

• 9am - 5pm:?Growth marketing consulting ?for brands and tech companies
• 5pm - 9pm: Working on building Breezi
• Weekends: Reading, snowboarding and organizing my Spotify playlists
• Always: Becoming the truest version of myself

My favorite deep house music to listen while I work

• Adieu – Tchami
• Brightest Lights (feat. POLI?A) – Lane 8
• Erase – Ben B?hmer
• Northern Lights – Agents Of Time
• Tell Me – Tiinlicker

Why I love deep house music so much

• The music almost sounds ... euphoric?
• Songs flow from one to the next
• It doesn't take you out of your flow state
• Can't explain it but you literally won't want to leave your desk
• Upbeat enough to bop your head but still stay in your chair

Other music genres I like outside of house

• Melodic EDM (ILLENIUM ,?Gryffin ,?Nurko )
• Indie Folk (Andrew Belle ,?Iron & Wine, ?Hozier ?and?Kodaline ?of course)
• Pop Rock/ Electropop (LANY ,?Lauv ,?Fiji Blue )

In case no one told you

• Don't take time you have with your parents and family for granted
• Giving a stranger a compliment will actually make?you?feel better, even more so than it would make them feel better
• If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough
• Life happens?for?you, not to you
• Listening to the sound of birds chirping in the morning (real or a video you find on Youtube) raises your natural serotonin levels for up to 8 hours

What to look forward to in the next newsletter?

• Challenges I face as a non-technical founder
• My best growth marketing tips for new brands
• Places I'm thinking of travelling to this year

If you found anything in this newsletter helpful, I'd love to connect on Twitter –?tweet me ?a screenshot of your favorite part and let's chat???

I'll be back next week with more lists!