Sublime

my roman empire is how & why people signal status:

1. Patricians

high wealth, low need for status

ex: Loro Piana

2. Parvenus

high wealth, high need

ex: Birkin lawsuit

3. Poseurs

low wealth, high need

ex: dupes, Stanleys

4. Proletarians

low wealth, low need

ex: Carhartt

Zoning is losing its power. New ventures are able to reach a meaningful scale before regulators (and competitors) react. The boundaries between different uses are blurring, with people lodging in apartment buildings, living in hotels, working in restaurants and retail malls, and sleeping or socializing at the office.

Yancey Strickler argues that the way we see our self influences what we perceive as valuable - a concept he further expands through Metalabel and his idea of post-individualism. 

The invisible and the small is rapidly spreading as a desirable, status-signaling social experience beyond Tyler Brûlé’s world, Japanese bars, and menswear forums.

There are also promising cultural and macro shifts supporting a resurgence of entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small businesses.