Don't Be Afraid To Give Up The Good To Go For The Great

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

PODCAST

Why Voice Will Be the Fundamental Interface for The Future of Tech with ElevenLabs’ Mati Staniszewski

In this conversation, Mati Staniszewski, co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, explains how staying laser-focused on audio innovation has allowed his company to thrive despite the push into multimodality from foundation models. From a high school friendship in Poland to building one of the fastest-growing AI companies, Mati shares how ElevenLabs transformed text-to-speech with contextual understanding and emotional delivery.

He also discusses the company's viral moments (from Harry Potter by Balenciaga to powering Darth Vader in Fortnite), and explains how ElevenLabs is creating the infrastructure for voice agents and real-time translation that could eliminate language barriers worldwide. Conversation hosted by: Pat Grady, Sequoia Capital

Watch/listen to the full episode here.

QUOTE

Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.

John D Rockefeller

INTERVIEW

How Investor Melissa Bradley Is Changing The Face Of Entrepreneurship

Melissa Bradley, the founder of investment firm New Majority Ventures, joins Jabari Young on The Enterprise Zone at the Nasdaq MarketSite.

In their discussion, Bradley provides an update on New Majority Ventures, which was formerly known as 1863 Ventures. She shares insights on the firm's rebranding efforts aimed at unlocking $100 billion in wealth creation by 2030. Additionally, she addresses the challenges of raising capital in an increasingly anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) environment and discusses her goal of securing $50 million for underfunded entrepreneurs.

Watch the full interview here.

BOOK

The Courage To Be Disliked: A single book can change your life by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

One thing I have noticed is that age permits you to ignore the naysayers. You start to care less about what others think of you and that is very freeing because too many of us are held back - especially in our age of social media - by the fear of being disliked.

And that’s why I recommend this book. If you haven’t already read it, it will make a great summer read and leave you re-energised.

Book blurb: Millions have already benefited from the wisdom dispensed in The Courage to Be Disliked, its simple yet profound advice showing us how to harness our inner power to become the person we would like to be. A philosopher and a student have a discussion. Their conversation reveals a profoundly liberating way of thinking: by developing the courage to change, set healthy boundaries and resist the impulse to please others, it is possible to find genuine and lasting happiness. Your life is not something that someone gives you, but something you choose yourself, and you are the one who decides how you live.

Buy the book here.

WATCH

Forget Hustle Culture. Behold the Artist Corporation!

If you haven’t already seen Yancey Strickler’s TED talk, it’s worth checking out here. And you can listen to my interview with Yancey here - Yancey Strickler: Community, Collaboration & Self Acceptance.

In a world of AI, who will foster and benefit from creativity?

Thank you for reading the newsletter and for listening to the podcast, and if you enjoy them, please do share with your network - my goal is to have these stories reach as many as possible so that others can be inspired too.

Until next time...

Danielle