Gimme sleep

We’ve been working hard to get this company going. We spend long hours in the office, coupled with short walks through the neighborhood to give our eyes a break from the screen. We’ve spent most of our time working towards what’s called the ‘MVP:’  or minimum viable product. The goal was to have a working app in our hands that performs the most basic functions of what we’re working for – uploading :15 sec dance videos so we could see what our basic user experience would be like.

A lot of time in our office is spent discussing the future: what our app is going to do, what our target demographics are, organizations that we hope to work with, and so forth. It’s been a challenge  to stay focused and streamlined when there are so many bases we need to cover. My first few weeks felt discombobulated, to say the least. I had what felt like a million projects with little idea as to how to complete them, or where to begin. Over the course of a few weeks we started mapping out what we needed right then and there and shifted our focus to what was directly necessary for the app. Without it, we had nothing to offer. Every potential sponsor we spoke with always had the same question: “Can you send me something?”

That’s me, being super creepy outside of our office.

Every day our TipTap network-of-good gets a little bit bigger, as we reach out to the local community. We’ve been looking for people and organizations with similar interests, namely: spreading positive vibes through dancing.

Latya has been dancing since she was three years old. Although she was never professionally trained, she discovered she had an intrinsic ability to dance at a very young age. She was a member of her neighborhood’s after school dance program for at risk youth and was a member all the way through her second year of highschool. When she was no longer able to participate in the program, she joined the staff to continue her involvement.

Be a noodle.

Now, she teaches hip hop dance at Vega Dance Lab. This past weekend we were lucky enough to get to sit in on one of her classes. As we chatted before class, it became clear that her passion for dance goes much further than an appreciation of movement. For her, dance has been her road to happiness and a means to share that joy with others. She told us that “You can’t dance and not smile, it just doesn’t work that way,” and after watching her class, I can see why.

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”― Friedrich Nietzsche

Ok, sometimes we really do look insane.

Nietzsche saw the importance of creativity as a means to improve the human condition. He took it upon himself to create, not for a higher purpose, not for an inflated sense of morality, but simply to create something that could be interpreted as beautiful. Something that would make people think, even if for just a moment. Something that would make people want to be the best versions of themselves. His works call for individual action to make the world a better place. It’s up to us.

I’m now working with a fantastic nonprofit that raises money for charities through user submitted dance clips. Check it out.