Hello dear friends!
Today Colin and I are briefly discussing my impressions from the last few weeks in a coliving space in Portugal (“The Garden“) and also how we are validating new Deep Work services with the market.
After the brief overview, I also attached a much deeper and more unstructured conversation we had this morning, around similar topics. It is unfiltered and unedited, so be prepared.
Active projects
Justina completed a mission/value alignment workshop with RaidGuild and Savannah is writing a pitch deck for a team of lawyers.
Balint, Anya, Savannah, and I have met a few times to explore how else we can support startups with our design skills. There are many options for creating value for our target audiences, for example with a retainer/long-term collaboration.
As mentioned above, I have completed two client-facing organizational mapping sessions.
Last month, we had an increase in the project count, since we've also started logging smaller projects (see previous newsletter).
Leaving “The Garden” in Portugal
I just moved on from the fourth coliving space and will probably slow down further exploration/research. As expected, the need for an appropriate organizational structure is high, and all teams I've met so far struggle to set it up. Mostly, the purpose and mission of the places are not clear, which makes goal-oriented coordination of tasks difficult.
All that said, my experience in the space was once again very unique and felt transformative. Living in a safe space with people who all seek human connection makes you reflect on your beliefs, push your boundaries, and learn a lot about yourself.
You meet a lot of people who deeply care about the nature of the human experience and find a way of sharing their views with others. I met incredible storytellers, dancers, and even someone who guides people through death experiences. A surprisingly large number of people (over 60 during my stay) were attracted to live in the space, most with “normal jobs”, running a business or freelancing.
Validating new org design services
For the first time, two teams I've worked with paid for a unique offering by Deep Work, and more have signed up. This is generally an important step because it means we can now use the same approach to productize and sell any service we find meaningful.
The org mapping session aligns teams and brings clarity to their business management while allowing us to understand their needs and provide specific advice.
In both cases, I was asked for more support and collaboration after the workshop. The first was an early-stage team that, among other small tasks, needed a better mission and audience definition. The other team, more established, needs a system that will replace their COO. I'm currently working with Sascha Kellert on a sprint-like org design process for the latter.
Validated public-facing workshop
I also facilitated a public-facing “Introduction to Self-Organization” session, similar to the one we did in Barcelona a few years ago (see title image). It has again motivated a group of individuals to take ownership and action on conditions worth changing. I will use this framework in other conferences.
Planning Deeper Experiences
Rory, Yuval, Vesta, and I have discussed deeper plans about how we can progress our “Deep Experiences” concept toward bigger, high-quality retreats. We need to define the ideal customer segment for these events and will run a smaller Deep Experiences event in Berlin at the end of August. So far, we can imagine three formats of events to work well:
1-day event with smaller sessions and dinner. Should be free and make guests interested in more.
10-14 day retreat, with more in-depth expert-guided sessions that focus on health, embodiment, creativity, and productivity.
2-3 months coliving, for weaving deeper connections.
Events we're planning to attend
Web3 summit in Berlin (Aug 19-21)
EthTokyo in Tokyo (Aug 23-26)
Token2049 (and Solana Breakpoint) in Singapore (Sept 18-21)
Devcon 7 in Bangkok (Nov 12-15)
EthDenver in Denver (Feb 23 - Mar 2, 2025)
Recommended content
Consensus Bricolages by Yasushi Sakai
This thesis from the MIT Media Lab’s City Sciences department explores how a combination of different governance systems in urban planning can increase voting participation and avoid the “not in my backyard“ problem.
State of Creative Education by RSA Events
In this panel discussion, social science researchers are trying to make sense of skills, education, and the labor market of the creative industry. They express uncertainty around skill measurement and how the education system could be shaped to support creative work.
Total Treasury Balance
~ $8,536.33 USD
1,859 USDC
5.01122 SOL (~$616.63)
0.1121 BTC (~$5,919.70)
0.06 ETH (~$141)
(as of Aug. 5th 2024 - in the podcast we’re mentioning the numbers from Aug. 4th)
More details about our treasury allocation are in our Treasury Policy.
Revenue: $2,590
Profits: $90
Profits were low this month because we've mostly prioritized validating new services. As we increase value density, refine the narrative, and optimize our customer segment, we will increase the profit margin to represent the value of our work.
Internal payments: $0
Operational costs: $732
I hope you have a nice start to the month and see you all soon!
Andrej
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