Full-Time Curious with Alexandre #1
A new beginning ...
Hey everyone,
I hope you’re doing well! First I would like to thank you for subscribing to this newsletter experiment 😊
I am going to experiment with the newsletter, sharing various pieces of content around tech, VC, music, photography, books, and more..., with some personal news on top of it 🙂 I don’t know if there is an interest in this newsletter so I would love to have your feedback on it.
But first, a little update 🗓
After studying for 2 years in Lannion, I left my apartment on Friday 5th. Nostalgic about all the memories there with my friends 😪 I am finishing a 2-year Computer Science degree with an internship and have moved this Tuesday to Madrid 🇪🇸 for the next 3 months. I am joining the amazing team at Monday, to work on Front end Development and Growth. I can’t wait to start tomorrow!
This week in Madrid
I am starting work on Monday but I spent the last 5 days in Madrid with my brother, exploring the city. The goal in the next 3 months is to get out of my comfort zone as much as possible, in my job and also in my personal life so stay tuned 😉
I visited the beautiful neighborhoods of Madrid during 5 days, left my first Airbnb this morning, said goodbye to my brother at the airport and am writing this newsletter from my Airbnb for the next 2 weeks. I am planning on moving to a flatshare with other international people in 2 weeks. Lots of new things happening 😉
Now, enough about personal news, let’s get started with the content itself for this week👇
📺 Videos of the Week
I woke up at 5 am for 30 days by Matt D’Avella
Matt D’Avella quickly became one of my favorite content creators of 2019 and this video is again a great example of his talent. Each month for 30 days, Matt D’Avella is doing a self-improvement challenge like meditation or cold showers. Last month, he decided to wake up at 5 am. Not everything went well as he explains in this video.
Compared to articles telling you to wake up at 4:30 am like Tim Cook to win the day, this video is a great way to nuance the early risers trend. As a morning person myself, I know 5 am would be too early for me even if I prefer to wake up early. I love mornings but also love sleep 😁 Are you an early bird or a night owl?
What is UX Writing with freelance writer Owen Williams, by Femke van Schoonhoven
I have been following Owen Williams and Femke van Schoonhoven for a while now but didn’t know UX Writing until I watched this video. This important step in the Product Development process is well explained by Owen Williams so I highly recommend this video if you are working in tech.
Ma victoire contre l’anorexie by Marine Noret
The following video is in French. This video is the story of how Marine Noret, triathlete, beat eating behaviour disorders after several years of fight against them. The video is super inspiring and shows a message of hope for people who might be struggling with anorexia.
📖 Reading of the Week
Andreessen Horowitz Is Blowing Up The Venture Capital Model (Again)
For those that don’t know, Andreessen Horowitz aka a16z is a Venture Capital firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz in 2009. (Read more about the history in the article) You might not know a16z but you probably know some of their portfolio companies like Facebook, Slack, Github or Oculus. In “the wonderful world of VC” as Harry Stebbings would say, a16z is a firm that impacted how VCs work, invested and continue to invest in the next unicorns.
Alex Konrad from Forbes did a fantastic research and interview process to create this article, a deep dive on A16z and what they are planning for the future. What does it means in a nutshell? A16z is going to be able to buy up shares from founders and early investors, trade public stocks and invest in riskier crypto projects, which was not possible for a traditional VC firm before. See below how they did that 👇
From Voi to Flash, we compare Europe’s scooter startups
Scooters are everywhere now. Paris, Madrid, London, Los Angeles, and countless more cities have them. Since I arrived in Madrid, I have seen at least 8 different brands of dockless scooters, and other e-bikes in the streets. (Madrid authorized 18 companies in February)
To understand better the market, Sifted did a great study of the market that you can find here. Studying the scooters market really shows what VCs and scooters companies are planning and how the market is going to evolve, especially with country regulations.
Now that I read this, it might be time to try one of them 😄I will share my thoughts when I try one. What do you think of dockless scooters? Did you try one of them?
By the way, if you are interested in dockless scooters, I highly recommend this blogpost by Nick Abouzeid.
What are Instagram Class Accounts by Taylor Lorenz:
Taylor Lorenz is always finding the new pop culture thing, the last memes and trends. You should follow her work because you will discover so many trends you did not know existed like Instagram husbands or why Google Docs is becoming the hottest app for teens. This time, she explains how freshman college students are starting Instagram accounts to meet their new classmates. I think it’s a great way to meet people when you arrive in a new city and college. Personally, I did not see anything similar in France so I would love to hear if you saw this or something similar around your college.
🎧 Soundtracks of the Week
Clozee
I discovered Clozee, a French electronic and bass music female producer, thanks to content creator Sam Kolder 2 months ago. I started to listen to her discography only this week. I love how she blends electronic and bass music with world music.
Lost Frequencies
2011 was the year of Kanye West & Estelle’s hit “American Boy”. To start Spring with the right mood, the Belgium producer remixed it into a chilled-out house track.
RØMIN
I am a big fan of Lauv’s songs and RØMIN, a talented producer I just discovered this week did a nice job on remixing his song with Troye Sivan. Check him out, he only has 3 tracks and 62 subscribers for now!
Other tracks to listen to:
Unreleased Avicii - Faster Than Light Ft. Ronny Khalek (Deerock Remake)
Dennis Lloyd’s EP - Exident
📸 Photos of the Week
Visiting a new city means taking lots of photos. That’s why I started an Instagram highlight sharing my favorite pics from Madrid. I am going to start posting photos soon on my profile.
On Instagram this week, I also discovered the excellent Instagram account of Mehmet Geren, thanks to Creapills. I love how classic art and 2019’s humor can work together.
👥 People Met
I started to meet people in the first week even if it seems to be one of the hardest parts of moving into a new city.
I met Jesus, my Airbnb host who was really nice. I spent 5 cool days in his apartment with my brother, exploring the city.
I also met the roommates of the flatshare I am hopefully going to join on April 28th. They are all super nice so I can’t wait to move if everything goes well!
Finally, I met the family I am staying with for the next 2 weeks.
🙏 Thank You
Thank you for tuning in to the 1st issue of Full Time Curious with Alexandre. I hope you learned or found something useful in it 🙂 Feel free to share your thoughts with me!
See you next week for another issue of this experiment. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact me on Twitter @mrcalexandre, I am always here to help!
Best,
Alexandre Mouriec
Twitter: @mrcalexandre | Instagram: @mrc_alexandre