Everyone has a few hacks they rely on to maintain their desired level of productivity. Whether it be turning off distracting notifications, checking e-mails on the go or only scheduling meetings on certain days, it can take a while to find out what techniques are most constructive. But for these three New York-based founders, music is what helps them get the job done while they work to grow their startups.
Bora Celik is the founder of Jukely, a subscription service for concerts. A Jukely subscription allows music lovers to get into a different show every day for only $25 per month.
How often do you listen to music while working?
Probably half the time at work I have headphones on with music.
What type of music do you feel makes you more productive?
I listen to metal when I'm writing code and need deep focus. Other times electronic music and indie rock.
What does music mean to you?
It's not much different than breathing for me. It can instantly lift my mood so for me it's much more than a nice to have.
As a founder, how is your love of music reflected in your work?
Our company focus is very much about new music discovery and introducing emerging acts to our members. I don't listen to popular music for the most part, never have. Before I started Jukely I've always sent new music to my friends and now that's what we do as a company.
Jesse Mann is the Chief Operating Officer of FANS.com, a tech platform aiming to capture the entire experience around being a music fan. Brooklyn Bowl owner Peter Shapiro launched the site in 2016 as a space for music fans to reflect on shows they go to.
How often do you listen to music while working?
All day, every day. Usually I start out with classical, jazz or blues and move into other genres just after lunch. I am enjoying classical lately because there is just so much to learn.
What type of music do you feel makes you more productive?
It all depends on the type of work. For building decks for presentations or proposals, classical. For creating large project plans, I tend to listen to rock. Late in the afternoon when I am trying to get through a packed email inbox — it can be anything from Beastie Boys, Jurassic 5, Run The Jewels or A Tribe Called Quest to Sturgill Simpson or Jason Isbell or Grateful Dead / Jerry Garcia Band. Now that I think of it, I listen to Outlaw Country on SiriusXM a lot!
What does music mean to you?
Music has always been the thread which has connected me consistently to other people personally and professionally throughout my life. I started working in tech in 1995 well before I got into working in music (around 2007) then back into tech through music via a partnership with YouTube Music and now through our FANS platform. I love learning about emergent artists or listening to 'new to me' music from established artists and other genres which I do not have a strong knowledge of. I go to love shows all the time, wherever I am in the country. Via Wunderlist, I keep a 'to-listen' list for any recommendations I read about or something someone shares with me.
As a founder, how is your love of music reflected in your work?
It is a consistent theme for me, every day, all day. FANS was built to give fans/users the ability to connect, share, recollect and communicate with each other about their passions for artists, past/future concerts, albums and venues. The value that the artists, venues, labels, agents, and promoters receive is massive, essentially a contextually specific database of users to market to via not just specifics as to who/where/what they “like" but also as a measure of their depth of fandom about our subjects. Having the largest canonical concert history on the internet helps the product achieve engagement. And it's always fun to ask someone what their first concert was or share with them the shows that you have seen recently within the FANS database.
Kinesh Patel is the co-founder and CTO of SevenRooms. Founded in 2011 by Joel Montaniel, Allison Page and Patel, SevenRooms is a CRM-driven reservation and management platform that helps hospitality operators drive better service through data.
How often do you listen to music while working?
Every day. At SevenRooms, working with engineering teams means jumping in and out of intense periods of focus. For some people, like myself, having music in the background helps direct the intensity of that focus. It's like you're driving to a place you've never been before and you need to make decisions on where to turn — music helps your internal GPS keep going without stopping for directions.
What type of music do you feel makes you more productive?
Music without words. It gets pretty diverse for me — classical, EDM, classic rock instrumentals all fall under this wheel house. The type of music I listen to is also driven by what I want to accomplish and my mood — repetitive beats let me plow through a marathon of tiny decisions without interruption. Melodies with dynamic range and complex arrangements fuel creative thinking and put me outside my box.
What does music mean to you?
Music is life — and it's no cliche. In physics we are taught that everything is a wave — light, electricity, matter, and the behavior of subatomic particles. Music is the universe repackaged to light up your ears.
As a founder, how is your love of music is reflected in your work?
Music is a way of providing meaning to things in a way that shows the artist's opinion. If I said 'Hello' to you, you'd take it as a common greeting — when Adele sings Hello, the meaning takes on a whole new character. At SevenRooms, we're a product company — we like originality in our work and are opinionated about what makes product great. When we work on product we want you to see the meaning shine through.
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