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THe Cultural Layer
In archaeology, the cultural layer is where we find evidence of human activity. It is also where we find meaning.
Here is a collection of our thinking on marketing, sales, and culture, with a focus on the human element of business.
THe Department of x
This series highlights interesting people doing exemplary things. We build these stories through a mix of words, film, and design.
The Future of the Brain-Computer Interface
Through hacking 25-year-old equipment, the team from BRILL Neurotech in collaboration with Cognitive Neuroimaging Lab (CNL) at University of Illinois has created a new type of non-invasive brain-computer interface that knows what you will do 96 ms before you do it.
Enter The Alley
- I bought my first bong from you.
- I bought my first motorcycle jacket from you.
- I bought my first pair of Dr Martens from you.
- I came to your store, and I had always been uncomfortable with my family and my community, and it was the first place that I felt safe.
- When I was 16, I stole my parents car and The Alley was the first place that I went.
Dynamics of Growth
Overview
Brian DemaThis project is organized as a series of principles or logical posits that build upon each other. Taken together, they are a way to think about marketing and sales.
Chapter 1
Brian DemaTrade is the result of connection. Marketing exists to facilitate trade.
Quick Principles of Marketing
Overview
Brian DemaThe following is a set of principles that were hard-won through battle. They range from philosophical to mundane, but all are useful.
The Dispatch
Field Notes
John Brown's Underground Runs Deep
Jordan RobertsDante Colombo of John Brown’s Underground in Lawrence, KS sits down to talk about mixology fame and unforeseen successes.
Up Up and Away: Art and Activism in the Chicago Sky
Khytul QaziKhytul Qazi reports from the second annual Up Up Kite Show at Promontory Point
Worlds in the Palm of a Hand
Khytul QaziEmploying the language of sculpture and the intimacy of scale, Margie Criner of the Itty Bitty Mini Mart renders memory as a tactile, participatory art form.
VCX
The DeepTech 50 Twitter Network
Han de JongA study of information centrality and how ideas flow through the DeepTech VC community on Twitter (Han de Jong, 2021).
John Brown's Underground Runs Deep
Dante Colombo of John Brown’s Underground in Lawrence, KS sits down to talk about mixology fame and unforeseen successes.
Up Up and Away: Art and Activism in the Chicago Sky
Khytul Qazi reports from the second annual Up Up Kite Show at Promontory Point
Worlds in the Palm of a Hand
Employing the language of sculpture and the intimacy of scale, Margie Criner of the Itty Bitty Mini Mart renders memory as a tactile, participatory art form.
Startup State of Mind
"Don’t think of emotional skills as something you either have or you don’t. Think of them as muscles. Muscles that grow through use." -Dr. Ashish Mehta
Volume 2: Big Events, Big Identity
Original publish date: May 27th 2025
Volume 1: Battle of the Bands and Better Brands
Original publish date: May 17th, 2025
King of the River
...A masked figure playing accordion under the trees, slowly gathering a crowd like the pied piper...
Chapter 1
Trade is the result of connection. Marketing exists to facilitate trade.
#10 One sale does not a customer make.
The DeepTech 50 Twitter Network
A study of information centrality and how ideas flow through the DeepTech VC community on Twitter (Han de Jong, 2021).
#9. Timing is everything
#18. Break down marketing and sales into discrete steps. This allows you to measure the unmeasurable
#2. A salesperson is a leader
#1. People have the wrong view of sales
Overview
The following is a set of principles that were hard-won through battle. They range from philosophical to mundane, but all are useful.
Philosophy
Marketing is a science, an art and a language.
Overview
This project is organized as a series of principles or logical posits that build upon each other. Taken together, they are a way to think about marketing and sales.
Quick Principles of Marketing & Sales
Distilling marketing, sales and management into simple, actionable guidelines