Before Apple, computing in the early days was not seen as entertainment devices. It wasn’t meant for pure consumption

It was a tool to help you you think. A bicycle for the mind.

But Steve and Apple made computing so easy that our relationship with technology became mostly consumptive.

Completely sedating us.

And profoundly changing our relationship with technology.

That’s what it means to be Black Pilled.

Today, most people use computers more like television. Mostly consuming software and content other people have made.

But I’ve been noticing companies and technologies that wish to change that dynamic. Trying to white pill the world with their products.

I guess you can call them Soft Hardware companies. Brands that are creating products that force you to be active participants. Focusing more on time, quality, feeling, and presence.

You have Kano Computing, the company behind the STEM player that Kanye used to release his last album on.

You’ve got the new Sony walkman.

Nintendo’s Game & Watch hand held devices.

And Playdate, who collaborated with Teenage Engineering on a gaming device that gives you 2 new games every week. Making players tune-in into the cadence of its release.

Teenage Engineering is the most interesting to me. After 15 years of bootstrapping the company, they received their first VC investment from Reddit Co-Founder, Alexis Ohanian. The round is said to have been in the 10+ million range, valuing the company at over a billion. I personally have bought many of their devices over the years, and was always impressed by their magical ability to delight with their products.

I want to highlight three of my favorite excerpts within a recent interview with the founder, who worked in advertising till 25, and co-founded Acne Studios thereafter.

1. CREATING YOUR OWN STANDARD:

   You are questioning the way we work, by doing so are you creating your standard?

   — I am, I think that’s the only way for me to survive. I have understood that I have to work in my own way. In the past it has been so much stress for me, trying to work in the traditional way and ultimately I ended up creating the kind of companies I wanted to work in, for the people like me who couldn’t fit in any other organisation.

   GOING SLOW AND THINKING LONG-TERM:

   How has that freedom translated into your products?

   — We only want to make great products and when you don’t focus only on making money and have reached a certain level, everything becomes about quality. Right now, there is a certain cultural fascination with fast growth, IPOs and so on, but I want to go slow, really slow and think long-term. It takes time to do good things. You see, this cultural phenomenon of speed and growth at all costs is displayed in every startup, they all look the same, it’s like fast food: it looks good, its taste it’s consistent but then you feel horrible afterwards.

   PLAY AND COLLABORATION:

   Does going slow allow you to play?

   — It does! We’re having fun, we’ll do anything but don’t release everything and that’s a big difference for us. It’s very hard to build an organisation that works in so many different areas and that pushes focus, which I believe it’s a great thing and it took me a while to fully understand it, especially when it comes down to products. I find it interesting to think about what makes a product, it can be the whole experience and that is something we talk about a lot at Teenage Engineering. For example, our first product was a synth and with that, we started going to trade shows and began meeting people who were into it and started forming connections, friendships that actually turned into collaborations as well. These connections are part of that product. Every person we’ve met, every opportunity we took is because we made a decision, ten years ago, and stuck with it. I find this to be so fun and it makes life much more valuable. I really believe in sticking to your gut feeling and don’t try to be anything else if not yourself.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

Hope you enjoyed your white pill for the day!

Sincerely,

Brian Gold