I love that we get to see each other in person every now and then. This town is lucky to have you. Somehow we managed to steal you away from LA. I’d love to know what are some LA things that we could use more of here?
You’re too kind man, thank you. I feel very grateful to live in such a special place. Some obvious answers would be tacos or in-n-out or something, but the truth is that what I miss most is the energy. I get so inspired by places like that, where the creativity is contagious. People are just making their own rules and raising the bar everywhere you look, it’s infectious.
We have a tiny bit of that here in Ithaca, mostly lead by you and Allison! I find myself always wanting more of it.
If I were to see you on the street, which I sometimes do, and if I didn’t know you, I would think you are way too cool to be a dad. You’re both, though I think you’d never admit to being cool. Do kids keep parents humble? Do kids make parents cool?
Oh my kids definitely keep me humble, and they teach me so much. It’s like looking in a tiny funhouse mirror that exaggerates all of your qualities; for better or worse. Whenever I feel like I have a lesson to teach them, I end up learning something instead.
I think we don’t have enough examples culturally of cool people that are parents. Parenting is super cool, and I wish I had been able to embrace that earlier on in my own journey. It doesn’t always feel cool, and your kids definitely won’t think you’re cool. Mine don’t, anyway. But I do believe that being a good parent and keeping true to your coolness can go hand in hand so well.
What’s something you’re passionate enough about to dedicate a podcast to, but wise enough to never start?
What a great question. My podcast would be about following your own creative compass. I think that when the things you love are in harmony with what you’re valued for in the world, it can be magical. And, importantly, I believe that’s possible for just about everyone. I have a lot to say about that topic. Maybe I would interview creative people or something like that.
I’m learning to try and limit the amount of things I take on. I have a tendency to bite off too much and then leave a million dead pet-projects in my wake. I just get excited about making things. So for me, that’s where the “wise enough to never start” comes in.
You’re the kind of person that can slay anything you put time into. So it seems like you could have chosen any career. What keeps you doing what you do?
I have a hard time articulating exactly what my career is at this point in my journey, but I know that technology and beauty are at the center of it. I am drawn towards things that the romantic in me wants to fall in love with and that the analyst in me wants to learn every detail about. That is exactly the intersection where I try to spend all of my time, and the shape of my career is a byproduct of that.
I’d like to say that it happens by some kind of deliberate decision, but the truth is that I don’t feel like I have any power in that process at all. If I don’t love something then I can’t get myself to do it, and that’s that. I suspect that quality of myself has been the driving force behind a lot.
You’re famously “offline” in terms of social media. Kind of an internet ghost, outside of your business. It’s admirable. What’s up with that?
It has a lot to do with what I was just trying to articulate, actually.
I think social media is so cool. It has been a fascinating engine of connection and innovation in the world. I genuinely feel grateful to live in a time and place where it exists. When it comes to using it though, if there is some kind of bone in the human body that makes a person interested in it, then I just don’t have it. I can’t get myself to love the act of engaging with it, and so that’s that.
It would probably be more interesting if I had some philosophical stance against it, and my non-engagement was some kind of protest. But really I just haven’t found a way that it feels inspiring to me, personally.
