If you asked me what I'd say to anyone starting their project with £0, this is what I'd say.

An open-letter to bootstrappers | Otter

The platform enabling entrepreneurs & independents to thrive online. - Start selling online for free, with your very own (and fully customisable) store.

MvThru - Tools that Fuel™

In: Local sourcing, more compassion for customers, prioritizing team needs, truly flexible working.

Out: Website pop-ups, excessive plastic packaging, supporting exploitative mega-corps, purchasing carbon offsets over directly reducing emissions, encouraging over-consumption, endless flash sales.

An archived version of the packaging transparency page at Cupboard.

Unpacking Cupboard | Otter

Each yeah, starts receive hundreds of billions in funding… only 0.5% goes to queer founders.

‎THE MOST CUSTOMIZABLE BROWSER
Create your perfect browsing experience, from feature-packed toolbars to minimalist designs that maximize webpage space.

• Personalize the toolbar by selecting the buttons you use most frequently. Optimize button placement and order for easy one-handed navigation, or i…

‎Web Browser by Quiche

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/web-browser-by-quiche/id1668363952

Bit of a weird one, but it's pride month after all, so I'll shoot my shot...

It's no secret that throughout history, the work of queer pioneers has been censored, and in many cases, erased from the history books entirely. In an effort to preserve and celebrate the individuals who's work you've probably never heard of, but has quite literally (in big ways and small) changed the course of our lives, I want to put together a digital record that honours them and their work.

I'm looking for someone willing and able to chip in £130 towards a really memorable one-word domain, to help set things off on the right foot. If you're interested or know someone that might be, give me a nudge! 🫶❤️

Motherfucking Website

Semi-regular updates on all things MoveThrough. Peek behind the scenes, and follow along.

[Mailing List] MoveThrough

Dinaw Mengestu on American Writers Who Have Astounded, Moved, Haunted, and Influenced Him

James Baldwin - Library of America

https://www.loa.org/writers/233-james-baldwin/

https://twitter.com/marioecg/status/1789726485483233758

If businesses think they can just get really nice coffee and put it in pretty packaging, they won't survive the next 5 years

Opportunity in the Coffee Industry | Otter

https://otter.work/journal/the-coffee-landscape

20 followers, 2 following, 2 posts – see Instagram photos and videos from Sparrow Jacket Co. (@sparrowjackets)

Sparrow Jacket Co. (@sparrowjackets) • Instagram photos and videos

https://www.instagram.com/sparrowjackets?igsh=OTMyYTNla3JvaW42

https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLAQEVXFEJ2Z6/checkout/KJGNLUW2IA5LR3YAKBZSIS24

When I started out in the coffee industry, I had a hard time with the fact that I never seemed to get the level of traction my peers did, despite similar enthusiasm and excitement around our brands. Turned out we were in different arenas. otter.work/tiny/ol2b

I've been selling online since i was 14, nobody had heard of Shopify, and selling online meant building your own systems.
13yrs later, a lot has changed, but options for merchants are still limited, expensive, and bloated. Well… they were, MvThru is here now. ;)

In/Out for Business in 2025. What's on yours?

final test jacket, just few final tweaks to make, and some website content to write. orders opening soon… 🫶✨

Just finished watching “I saw the TV glow”, what an incredible film! 😭

If anyone's interesting in materials or sustainability, I just archived my old company's packaging transparency page. It's by no means a deep-dive, but figured some folks might find it a helpful starting point. https://otter.work/tiny/unpack

It’s happening… Orders on my first release will be open before the year’s out. 🪡🧵☺️ - Really appreciate everyone’s interest, means a lot. 🙏

got the sizing done and dusted, just waiting on a BIG delivery of buttons and then we're ready to roll! 🪡🧵

Less social networks, more social gatherings.

Quiche is my new favorite web browser on iOS. I really love the clean experience and it has excellent ad blocking. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/web-browser-by-quiche/id1668363952

Astra Carta watch face - Glow-in-the-dark version 🌑

It’s finally live 😮‍💨 what a mission! This is one of the most complex fonts I’ve made yet. The cursive variant was especially testing, but I’m quite happy with the outcome 😊

Would love some suggestion/advice on what to put on the marketing site for my new e-commerce platform. Figure it’ll be a lot of user highlights/metrics down the line, but we don’t have that rn: mvthru.com 🙏 - Thoughts?

Screenshot because of the character limit. 😅

Some points to think about as I design my next simple website…

https://motherfuckingwebsite.com/

In business, there’s a lot of unspoken rules about what’s acceptable and “professional”, being queer often means going against a lot of these expectations just by our very nature, so in order to be taken seriously, we can fall into the trap of hiding who we truly are. [1/2]

MoveThrough, is a springboard to explore fresh ideas, and bring all my work under one roof, whilst also being an honest example of startup life.

If you're interested in the messy reality of being a creative + bootstrapping startups, pop yourself on the mailing list. 🧑‍💻

Never set any new years resolutions or goals before, but writing down my “wants” for 2025. - Inline with my theme for this year, slow & engaged/proactive. ✨

James Baldwin, one of the twentieth century’s most important writers, was born one hundred years ago today. If you aren’t familiar with his work, browse around this Library of America page dedicated to him: https://www.loa.org/writers/233-james-baldwin/

Anyone got any tips/suggestions for taking effective product photograph by yourself and without a budget? 😅

Kinda vibing with pocketless jacket… 🤔

this animation is a weirdly accurate reference for what the visual aura of a vestibular migraine is like. mix with intense prefrontal head pain, dizziness, and weird sensations, it's spot on - [WARNING: FLASHING LIGHTS] https://twitter.com/marioecg/status/1789726485483233758

yayyy! thanks for the love in this weeks digest @andy 🫶❤️

Was really looking forward to some chill time these last 2 weeks of the year. Man, layoffs suck. 🫤

It makes me so sad when I see indie creators use AI to write copy for their website/portfolio/product.

As an indie creator your unique voice is one of your top assets, don’t give it up. 

Leave the generic meaningless AI word salads to big companies who have to be boring

After 10 years, I stepped away from   coffee last year, here’s my closing thoughts on the state of the industry. https://otter.work/journal/the-coffee-landscape

Work in progress:  Exploring textures, colors, and randomness through code. #abstractbyai #glsl

this was a bit of a test run, but soo happy with how they turned out! - plan is to sell some patches alongside the jackets, primarily to include more people with varying financial situations 🫶

No matter what, people will support people. There is still humanity here after all. If you're looking for support during this time or know someone who needs it, please reach out if you're able. Do yourself a favor, do not suffer alone.

And another one to celebrate the new Pantone of the Year!

if you’re interested in the jackets i’m making, i’ll be posting more specifically about jackets over at @ sparrowjackets on instagram, would love to see ya there! ☺️ - will defo keep you posted on here too tho ✌️ https://www.instagram.com/sparrowjackets?igsh=OTMyYTNla3JvaW42

i've started making jackets! lots of driving forces, but ultimately an attempt to step away from soo much screentime, better look after my mental health, and reconnect with nature. more soon: sparrowjacket.com

don’t sleep on email marketing, despite what many will tell you, email isn’t dead. 💀

for anyone interested, i’ve just dropped a pay-what-you-can plan over at sunshine.email. would love to help any of you get started with emails, just sign up and give me a nudge!

i'm putting together a small collection of mailing lists that you'll actually be happy to receive, anyone got any suggestions? - here's where it's at so far: https://sunshine.email/meaningful-mail

When we diversify business, everyone benefits. Would love anyone’s support on this, honestly nervous to put myself out there so openly queer, but it feels more important than ever. ❤️ queer.work

any barista's in the house? 👀 - home, part-time, or otherwise...

Forever kinda obsessed with how the labels for my jackets turned out. 👀

This Saturday, Coffee Club is hosting our 2nd cupping of 2024 at Thank You Gallery. If you’re in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, come taste some delicious coffees with us.

Get your ticket:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLAQEVXFEJ2Z6/checkout/KJGNLUW2IA5LR3YAKBZSIS24

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