Twenty Four. / Contributor Eighteen: Leann Abad, Ash & Erie
On Managing a Healthy Media Diet, Staying Mentally Stimulated, and Kobe.
Hey, everybody. I know you haven’t seen my own contributions to Le Cinq lately, and it’s mostly due to the fantastic list of upcoming contributors coming in to Le Cinq. Everyone has a great story to tell, and I love being able to pass the pen over to these fantastic humans!
Today’s contributor is yet another old friend from the startup world; I met Leann Abad during my early days in the VC world, and he’s seen quite a lot within the world of ecommerce. Leann, the floor is yours.
Enjoy!
Leann Abad is a writer, marketer, and recovering podcaster. Currently, his main thing is running marketing at Ash & Erie, a menswear brand for men under 5’8”. Having dropped out of college after his freshman year (Go Blue!), he’s ever the risk-taker and is always approaching things from an entrepreneurial mindset.
A fun fact: In 10th grade, a friend and I got a letter from LucasArts to use Darth Vader’s likeness on our Algebra 2/Trig class shirts! They liked the idea so much that they requested 5 of those shirts to store in their archives. :-)
UPDATE: Here are pictures of the shirt:
What are you currently working on?
Right now, I’m trying to reorganize my workflows both professionally and personally. One of my priorities this #QuarantineSzn has been to get my ‘media diet’ in check as well as hone my note-taking process. I’m one of those people who like to subscribe to any newsletter that seems interesting, but it’s gotten to a point where I have at least 10 ongoing subscriptions across 3 different inboxes.
(This is where the Archive button comes in handy.)
What are you currently excited about?
Quibi! I know it’s a bit out of left field, but Quibi is genuinely filling a time slot in my life that was impossible to fill. Hollywood-level productions and storylines in 10 minutes or less is something unique that Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter can’t fill.
Quibi is the only platform that reliably wraps up its storyline within the allotted time.
What’s a story or article that you're currently thinking about?
Ben Horowitz’s Peacetime/Wartime CEO memo. We’re in the menswear business, one of the most non-essential products you could be selling. While other ecommerce verticals have seen growth—at the very least, stagnation—in sales, the entire fashion industry has taken a hit. We’re no different.
At this point, I’m very grateful to have survived a round of layoffs, but that throws even more fuel on the fire for me to perform. We’ll be in survival mode for the foreseeable future, so I’m just doing whatever I can to help us stay afloat.
What’s a product you’re currently obsessed with?
I have two:
I LOVE Funko Pops. I want every single one. They’re so fun to look at and collect. They have a recognizable style and each one holds a piece of pop culture. Part of the appeal is the nostalgia each themed Pop holds — I have a couple Rick and Morty ones, a Dragon Ball Z one, and a Pokemon one.
When I get my own house, I swear that my man cave is going to contain my Haus, my Cohibas, and my Funko Pops.
Another product that deserves an honorable mention is the Nintendo Switch. I don’t have one but seemingly everyone is trying to get one — it’s out of stock at the big box stores and going for 2-3x resale!! I think a majority of the hype is caused by Animal Crossing. It makes me think about the gaming industry as a whole and all the seemingly nascent opportunities to monetize. For example, both Net A Porter and 100 Thieves made custom Animal Crossing skins available for wear and purchase in the game. Even players are getting in on this trend.
Wild Card: What’s an item you can’t shake your mind off of?
Two for this one as well…
Rubik’s Cubes. I learned how to solve one years ago when I was just a kid, and I recently got a speed cube. I use it as my fidget toy. What fascinates me about it is that it—to my experience—is the grandfather of all intellectual puzzle activities. As we grow older, we move from simple dexterity-intense activities to mentally-intense activities like sudoku.
Now with this quarantine, I’m looking into puzzles and other mentally stimulating activities to do by myself.
“Different animal, same beast.” embodied every lesson I took from Kobe Bryant. I wasn’t a huge basketball fan growing up, but it didn’t take much effort to recognize Kobe’s greatness. As I grew older, I came to respect his tenacity. His dedication. He was someone who obsessed over improvement. His approach to the game of basketball was maniacally polymathic. What do great white sharks and Allen Iverson have in common? Kobe Bryant. 💛💜
(Editor’s Note: Since this is the 24th edition of Le Cinq, Leann’s Kobe tribute is quite fitting here.)
~ C O L O P H O N ~
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