• Include an agenda. A meeting isn’t a fortune cookie—nobody should be guessing what’s inside. For each issue, we’ll lead with an agenda (aka the sides of our desk) for that week.

• Follow the agenda. There will be no detours. A meeting without an objective is just loitering with slides.

• Get to the point. We've all been in that meeting where Tyler decides to launch into a passionate monologue for 25 minutes of a 30-minute meeting, leaving 5 minutes for the actual topic. Not here. Brevity is a great meeting's best friend.

So, with that said, here’s our first agenda:

1. Who are we?

2. What is this newsletter series, exactly?

3. What you can expect in future issues.

Who we are:

• We have demanding corporate jobs.

• We moonlight as entrepreneurs.

• We love connecting with people who also thrive on caffeine, ambition, and questionable work-life balance.

So, we’re doing this. Whatever this is. Stay tuned. This is for you. For us. For whatever this is.

What is this exactly?

An email for people who hate useless meetings but enjoy:

• Original thought.

• Realistic performance hacks.

• Marketing, creative, and design.

• Side hustles and entrepreneurship.

• Memes that hit too close to home.

• Overthinking life at 2 AM instead of sleeping.

If that feels familiar, you’re in the right spot. If not—there’s a polite unsubscribe link a few scrolls away. We won’t be offended. Much.

What to expect:

✅ A maximum 5-minute read. Because we respect your time (unlike Tyler in your last meeting).

✅ A highly curated mix of things that have absolutely inspired—or enraged—us.

Agenda topics may include, but are not limited to:

• How we look after ourselves while working two jobs (and getting paid for one).

• Founders doing cool (or chaotic) things.

• Spicy marketing and entrepreneur news + gossip.

• Playlists, one song at a time.

• Late-night thoughts we probably should’ve kept to ourselves.

Alright, close this tab like you’d leave a meeting that should’ve been an email: quietly and with a slightly awkward wave.

We live in a world that encourages everyone to get on the hamster wheel—and stay there.

The alarm goes off. Hit snooze. The alarm goes off. Get out of bed. Coffee. Commute. Search for parking. Search for parking. Search for parking. Sit at your desk. Emails. Meeting. Emails. Notifications. Coffee. More meetings. More notifications. Funny meme from your favourite colleague. More emails. Pack up your laptop. Traffic. Workout. Dinner. TV. Go to bed. Repeat.

But sometimes, on the drive into work, or during that meeting (that could have been an email), or while basking under the warm glow of fluorescent light—you have an idea. A really good idea. An idea about a poem, a product, a brand, a photo, a blog, a TV series, or a song. But it comes and it goes. The Hamster Wheel is a tightly run ship. There are emails to respond to. There is rent to pay and White Lotus to binge. The treadmill of capitalism stops for no one.

But what if the treadmill didn’t have to stop?

Side of Desk began as an experiment by a few creative people with demanding careers who thought, “You know what would make life more stressful? A startup.” By day, we bring others’ visions to life; by night (or lunch break), we bring our own to life. It’s chaotic, exhausting, and wildly fulfilling.

Maybe one day, this side project will move to the front of our desks. For now, though, we’re balancing two worlds: the grind of the hamster wheel and the thrill of building something that’s ours. This isn’t for the faint of heart, but damn, does it feel better than giving all of our creative energy to someone else.

With that said, we live by the Writer’s Room philosophy. If you get enough smart people into a room (or on a Substack), anything is possible. So we’re doing both.

Stay tuned for our upcoming series of emails that should have been a meeting. Where you can expect:

🤖Our POV on everything from AI to crosswalks.

🎨Marketing, creative, and design.

☕️Side hustles and entrepreneurship.

💼Corporate memes that hit too close to home.

🧩Community building

🥝Performance hacks

🔨Tools that make our lives easier.

🧠Overthinking life at 2 AM instead of sleeping.

🪴Hot takes on why office plants are the real MVPs.

This isn’t for everyone—but if you’re still reading, it might just be for you.