Architecture of Silence: Why It's Useless 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 scent 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, I will consider the investment».
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.

O ne mo palela ka nako e telele, a tshwenyega mme a belaela dipalo:
— «Mme ke eng fa diforomo di le bonolo hakalo?»
— «Di bonolo — gonne di ka fitlhelwa mo dibukeng. Mme diforomo tsa botlhokwa tsa katlego di mo tlhaloganyong ya me, mme ga ke ikaelela go di senola pele ga konteraka e saenwa».

Mme fa e ne e le monna yo o tlhomphang yo o dirile se lo se dirang ka metlha, beng ba dipeeletso, fa lo kopana le bogolo jo lo sa kgoneng go bo laola. O ne a tshogile. A faposa matlho ka tlhoafalo mme a bua ka lentswe le le kgethegileng:
— «Ke ne ke akanya gore o a tshega... O itse, ga o ise o nne o ipaakanyeditse madi a mantsi. Ya go dira kwa motlhakeng wa me, ithute botshelo, mme morago, gongwe, re ka boela kwa puisanong».

Ke ne ka tswala folother e mme ka mo bolelela se ke se gakologelwang botshelo jotlhe:
«Ga ke ikaelela go senya botshelo jwa me mo metsweding ya batho ba bangwe. Mme gakologelwa letsatsi leno: o ntse o gana go nteeletso, mme se se raya gore ke tla aga khampani ya me ke le nosi — ke sa tsee sente epe go ope».

Dingwaga di ile tsa feta.

MANIFESTO YA NTLO

«Ba ne ba re “nnyaa”. Ke ne ka aga mmuso.
Fela gonne ke kgona».

Ga go na peeletso epe. Ga go na sekhwama sa dipeeletso sa vencher epe. Ga go na tumelano epe.

Temo e e didimalang

VIA AD ME — ga se setartap. Ga re tshameke mo dikgaolong tsa lona tsa dipeeletso, ga re tsee dikadimo tsa lona mme ga re kgatlhwe ke dikhansele tsa lona tsa botsamaisi.

✦  Fano ga go na dithulaganyo tse di ntshang tlhokomelo ya motho.

✦  Fano ga go na papatso, kgwebo ya tshedimosetso le ditikiti tse di kwa tlase tsa mmaraka o mogolo.

✦  Mme se se botlhokwa: fano go tsena ga go rekisiwe ka madi.

Ke itse ke itse gore karabo ya ntlha ya kapitle ya kgale e nna ke keletso ya go reka kgotsa go thubaganya se se sa tseneleleng mo thulaganyong ya yone ya dikgato.

Ke tla lo golola mo phosong eno e e bolayang: le se ka lwa leka.

Go lwa le thulaganyo e e agilweng ka maatla a botho a a utlwilweng botlhoko, dipalo tse di phepa, le kitso e e feletseng ya tlhago ya motho — ke kgwebo e e nang le poelo e e sa siamang. Le tla dirisa dimilione tsa lona mo babuising, mo tlhatlhobong ya ditshwantsho, mo maitekong a go gatelela, mme kwa bokhutlong le tla ema kwa kgorong e e tswetsweng lo tshwere faele ya dipego tse di se nang mosola. Fela jaaka mokgweetsi yole a ne a ntse a dutse le madi a gagwe a a sa tshwenyegeng.

Ga ke sebata. Disebata di tshwenyega e bile di bontsha meno ka gonne di tshaba go sala di tshwerwe ke tlala. Ke leba modumo wa lona ka poso e e bonolo, e e tlotlang ya mong wa ntlo yo o rulagantseng fela ka tsela e e phepa mo ntlong ya gagwe.

Fa leina la lona la kgwebo, madirelo a lona kgotsa ofisi ya lona ya lelapa le ka tswa le tennwe ke go nwela mo matlakaleng a lefatshe a dijithale — lo itse kwa konopo ya go kopa go amogelwa e leng teng. Re tla sekaseka kopo ya lona ka boikokobetso. Gongwe re tla araba.

Mme fa e sale jaanong — bolokang dikakanyo tsa ba sekaseki ba lona. Re ba tlhokometse mme re fetotse manifesto eno mo dipuong di le 180, gore mongwe le mongwe wa lona a bale poso eno ka puo ya gagwe ya botsalo.

Ka tlotlo e e sa fetogeng mo nako ya lona e e dirisitsweng,

Olha Lysenkova (Dronova)

Founder & Creative Director of VIA AD ME