Architecture of Silence: Why It Is Useless for You to Look for Us

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«True power never knocks on closed doors. It simply changes the locks throughout the entire building while the inhabitants argue over the price of shares».

I know the expression on your face as you read these lines right now.

In your office on Place Vendôme, in Zurich, or on Sand Hill Road, there is surely a faint smell of cold espresso right now. Your trusted analysts, legal departments, and private agencies, for indecent fees, have already spent a sleepless night trying to break down the name Olha Lysenkova (Dronova) into familiar formulas: Whose trust is this? Which fund stands behind the scenes? Who is this mysterious Dronov, and in which offshore havens should one look for traces of the syndicate?

Put down the phone, gentlemen. Drink some water. You will find nothing.

Searching for a woman with a double surname through the closed databases of the old world is an entertaining pursuit, but an extremely ruinous one for your budget. You will find hundreds of women who calmly make jam in the suburbs, take their children to school, or give themselves an impeccable manicure. But the one who overturned your chessboard, you will not find on any Forbes list. Because lists of wealthy people are a vanity fair for those who need to prove their worth to other people's banks.

A lesson for old conglomerates and «generous investors»

For too long you have lived in the illusion that the world belongs to those with more glass floors, longer compliance chains, and louder marketing departments. You have herded people into your digital reservations, where between a condolence photograph and a painting from the Louvre pops up a discount on synthetic socks, and you have called this «progress» in all seriousness.

You have forgotten how to distinguish scale from fuss.

Once, a wealthy man with a patronizing smile asked me what gift I would like to receive. Men of your circle usually expect predictable feminine whims: another handbag, a piece of jewelry, or a new phone to replace a broken one.
I looked at him and calmly replied: «I want to found my own company».

He smirked condescendingly: «Write a business plan, and I will consider investing».
I wrote it for two weeks. At night, without any help, after exhausting daytime work. I placed before him a 68-page tome — with a full structure, calculations, and formulas.

Ɔde twaa ne no ho beree, ɛyɛɛ no ahantan na ɔhwɛɛ akontaabu no so yie:
— «Adɛn nti na formulas no yɛ mfitiaseɛ?»
— «Mfitiaseɛ — ɛfiri sɛ wɔbɛtumi anya wɔ nwoma mu. Nanso formulas titire a ɛma nkonimdi no wɔ me tirim, na menni adwene sɛ mɛda no adi ansa na wɔne me ahyɛ apam».

Na saa berɛ no, saa ɔbarima yi yɛɛ deɛ mo, adetɔfoɔ mpanimfoɔ, yɛ daa nyinaa berɛ a mohyia ne kɛseɛ a montumi nni so no. Ɔsuroe. Ɔde aniwuo twaa n'ani firi hɔ na ɔkaa sɛ:
— «Me susuu sɛ woredi fɛ... Wunim, wonnyaa sika kɛseɛ ho. Kɔ yɛ adwuma wɔ me adamfo nkyɛn, sua asetena, na afei ebia yɛbɛsan akɔ so».

Mekyeree folda no na mekaa deɛ mekaeɛ daa no nyinaa:
«Mɛnnyɛ me ho adwuma sɛ mɛsɛe me asetena wɔ afoforɔ adamfoɔ so. Nanso kae saa da yi: wopoo sɛ wode sika bɛhyɛ me mu, enti mɛkyekye me nnwuma no ara — mennya hwee firi obiara nkyɛn».

Mfeɛ pii twaa mu.

MANIFESTO A ƐWƆ FI NO MU

«Wɔkaa sɛ “daabi”. Mekyekyee ahemman.
Ɛfiri sɛ metumi nko ara».

Sika biara nni mu. Venture fund biara nni mu. Ntam biara nni mu.

Kɔkɔbɔ a ɛyɛ komm

VIA AD ME — ɛnyɛ startup. Yɛnnni mo sika ho agorɔ, yɛnnye mo bosea, na mo directors board ho nsɛm nnyɛ yɛn anigye.

✦  Ha nni algorithms a ɛtwe nnipa adwene.

✦  Ha nni dwadie, infobusiness ne tikiti a ɛyɛ foɔ a ɛkɔ mass-market.

✦  Na nea ɛho hia: ha, wɔntɔn kwan a wɔfa so wura mu no sika.

Mim nim nim no sɛnea nnipa dedaw yɛ no, wɔpɛ sɛ wɔtɔ anaasɛ wɔbubu biribi a ɛnkɔ o ne nhyehyɛe mu.

Mɛyi mo afi mfomso a ɛyɛ owu no mu: munnsɔ mmɔ ho koraa.

Sɛ wubɛko atia nhyehyɛe a wɔde anisɔ a wɔanya fii nipadua mu, akontaabu a emu da hɔ, ne nimdeɛ a ɛfa nnipa su ho nyinaa asi — ɛyɛ adwuma a ne nyinaa bɛba awiei bɔne. Wobɛsɛe wo ɔpepem no nyinaa wɔ mmaranimfoɔ, wɔ akontaabu mu, wɔ mmɔden a wɔbɔ sɛ wɔbɛhyɛ so, na awiei koraa no, wobɛgyina wɔ ɛpono a wɔato mu anim de nkrataa a mfasoɔ nnwom. Sɛnea saa osikafoɔ no te hɔ de n’ahobrɛase sika no.

Menyɛ aboa a ɔwe ntini. Aboa a ɔwe ntini yɛ ntɛmntɛm na ɔde ne se bɔ, ɛfiri sɛ ɔsuro sɛ ɔbɛkɔ ɔkɔm mu. Mɛhwɛ mo ɔseɛ no de asɛgɛ a ɛyɛ mmerɛ ne mmɔborɔ a ɛfiri ɔbaa a ɔhwɛ fie a wate n’ankasa fie so yiye.

Sɛ wo nnwuma, wo adwumayɛbea, anaa wo abusua dwumadie bɛyɛ ma wɔn ho bɛyɛ wɔn den sɛ wɔbɛkɔ wɔ wiase nyinaa dijitaal nwura mu — wonim baabi a akwamma a wɔde bɛbisa mmoa wɔ. Yɛbɛhwɛ mo abisade no de nidi. Ebia yɛbɛbua mo mpo.

Na seesei — hwɛ mo adwumayɛfoɔ a wɔyɛ akontaabu no yam. Yɛahwɛ wɔn so na yɛakyerɛ saa manifesto yi asɛm kɔ 180 kasa mu, sɛnea mo mu biara bɛkenkan saa asɛgɛ yi wɔ ne kasa mu.

De nidi a ɛnsakra wɔ mo berɛ a mo de bɛyɛ no ho,

Olha Lysenkova (Dronova)

Founder & Creative Director of VIA AD ME