Strands of Genius: Ending Who Knows Where, The New Social, It's Never Too Late
Guest curated by Katya Kotlyar, Co-founder of donut, the first social platform connecting donors, volunteers and nonprofits
Each year we aim to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. This edition is guest curated by Katya Kotlyar, Co-founder of donut, the first social platform connecting donors, volunteers and nonprofits.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, KATYA KOTLYAR ::
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
Hello! I’m Katya, an accidental immigrant and intentional long-time reader of Genius Steals. I also co-founded a startup that modernizes local and international aid where I continue to do creative and brand strategy from my “before” advertising life in addition to wearing many, many other hats. The rest of my time is spent at a live show, in a movie theater or attempting to be a good dog aunt to my sister’s dog Buffy, the first dog-vampire slayer (jk, the only things she slays are soft toys and treats).
Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): We are so happy to have Katya here with us this week. We loved reading her links and were thrilled to learn about her non profit platform, donut. We can’t wait to see what’s next in Katya’s world - maybe behind the camera directing “Buffy, the First Dog-Vampire Slayer”?!
:: THE LINKS ::
ENDING WHO KNOWS WHERE
Lessons in leadership can and should come from anywhere, and one of those places is a movie set. What creative process is more hectic than making a movie with that many moving parts? Those who make great movies and are known for running a great movie set are worth learning from. Steal Denis Villeneuve’s POV on how to drive the creative process and team forward. (Spotify)
THE NEW SOCIAL
Opening a popular social network today can be an overwhelming experience, to say the least. It feels like we are overdue for a major paradigm shift. Digital & social “noise oceans” aren’t sustainable as communities — niche social is the future. (Dirt Fyi)
ITS NEVER TOO LATE
Guess the average age of a successful startup founder? Hint: it’s over 30. There’s truly never too late to try and make your idea happen. Ever since I became a founder, I started looking at the success stories a bit differently. There's so much more to a founder then a stereotype of a college dropout. Many successful founders start their businesses after gaining life experience that helps their business take off. It makes sense - we wouldn't make a Jr Strategist do the job of a CSO for a reason, right? (Entrepreneur)
Looking for more from Katya Kotlyar? Coming Friday, look for an interview from her in your inbox!
:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: Game :: In addition to poker, I love the Ukrainian version of klaberjass. Puzzles and strategy board games are another passion. Funny enough, Ukraine took escape the room games to the level of a mini adventure park event, and I'd really love for that craze to take over the U.S., too.
:: City :: My two hometowns -- New York in the U.S. and Odesa in Ukraine.
:: Book :: Any collection of short stories by Robert Sheckley. He is one of the most underapprecated sci fi prophets of the century.
:: Podcast :: Team Deakins
:: Album :: It's an impossible question for a music fan, but I've definitely single-handedly clocked 90% of Spotify plays for The National's Boxer
:: BUFFY ::
The real source of my inspiration from the introduction section!
Follow me on the bird platform I refuse to call by its new name!
donut on iOS | donutsocial.com | donut on Google Play
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)