mcurial

That probably applies to many cities of economically advanced (or even less advanced) countries. I think the (Anglo-Saxon) startup narrative for too long has been about growth at all cost, go big or die trying, sell out your company as early as possible to VCs and be essentially employed by them as a founder. Starting a normal innovative, profit-making company and growing it sustainably is just non-news, unfortunately.

Can’t speak for the American megachurch since I didn’t attend one but I spent a good 10 years in one in Singapore (grew up there) whose membership peaked at >20k at one point.

I would say the main allure of megachurches is the gap between being a consumer and a contributor of that “local church”. Bridging that gap is always challenging for any normal person, and that is true for all sorts of communities. Couple that with an easy-listening “TED-talk”, it is not too difficult to see why one rather just consumes from the pews every Sunday from a larger church.

If you’d use coffee as an simplified analogy for Christianity, the worship service at a megachurch is like a Frappuccino - the easiest drink to get started, appeals to the masses, sweet, lots of other stuff and not too much coffee, which is bitter. Smaller churches feel a bit more like getting coffee at a hipster cafe, costs a lot more (you have to get involved in church, oh my), doesn’t necessarily suit everyone’s taste, a lot more coffee than additives, and only starts tasting great if you’ve learned a bit more about coffee.

(Well, that’s as far as coffee goes to explain a very complicated and nuanced subject matter, but hey, it was worth it.)

Agree, that's definitely one of the gems of wisdom from the software product world that would work in many aspects of life. Finding ways to get an MVP of something, getting feedback and iterating definitely makes one get the motivation from quick visible results, and also definitely teaches one a lesson or two about humility too.

An anecdote of why we should be comfortable with not idolizing any moral figures and yet respect whatever good things they've achieved / done. I guess this dichotomy of how broken men / women can also do great things or how great men / women can also do bad things is something we have to deal with in the real world. Could I point to DC Comics for some simple life lessons on that?