The Quest for the Sublime in Digital Branding

In this episode of Out of the Clouds host Anne Mühlethaler explores the evolution of digital spaces with Sari Azout, founder of Sublime, a personal knowledge management tool for creatives. 

Born in Barranquilla, Colombia — the magical hometown of Shakira and Gabriel García Márquez — Sari describes herself as a cerebral child who found her intellectual home first at Brown University, where she developed a "fiercely independent mindset" and discovered the joy of the library as a social space.

With remarkable foresight( Sari "could always see around corners") she strategically planned her path to remain in the U.S. as an international student and got into banking, ultimately landing at Barclays during the 2008 financial crisis. This experience taught her valuable lessons about the importance of connecting work to meaningful impact.

Next the pair discuss Sari’s project, Sublime. Sari articulates her vision as both practical and philosophical, calling it "the personal knowledge management tool of my dreams." She explains that in a world where "intelligence is being commoditized," what remains valuable are "conviction, point of view, courage, intention — the artist's way." This connects to her writing practice, which has revealed that "ideas never come to me before I write. They always come to me in the process of writing."

Their conversation delves into Sublime's three core promises: never lose a valuable idea, never be uninspired, and transform from passive consumption to active creation. Sari emphasizes wanting to "facilitate helping people make things, not just consume things," noting that "being a consumer is just a state of helplessness." Drawing inspiration from books and Marshall McLuhan's quote that "the medium is the message," she envisions a "sublime internet" that moves away from quantifiable metrics toward meaningful engagement.

Sari also speaks candidly about the tension between selfishness and selflessness in entrepreneurship, and her "willingness to be misunderstood for a longer period." She shares her vision of transitioning from the attention economy to the intention economy, reframing digital tools as something "people use instead of products people consume."

The episode concludes with Sari sharing her perspective on happiness and describing her version of "paradise on earth" as working all day alone in anticipation of an evening in great company. This interview with Sari is a fascinating exploration of how we might build more intentional, meaningful digital spaces that serve our creativity rather than just our consumption. Happy listening!

Selected links from episode

Out of the Clouds website: https://outoftheclouds.com/

Out of the Clouds on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_outoftheclouds

The Mettā View website: https://avm.consulting/metta-view

Anne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annvi/

Anne on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@annvi

Anne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-v-muhlethaler/

Sublime.app

Join Sublime via this exclusive link

Sari Azout on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraazout

Sari on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sariazoutbaka/

Subscribe to Sari’s newsletter https://substack.com/@sariazout

And to the Sublime newsletter https://substack.com/@sublimethenewsletter

Tyler Cowel quote: “One of the highest value things you can do in life is raise other people's aspirations.”

Robert Green’s book, the 48 Laws of Power

Can you imagine a library of possibilities for reimagining the web -

Austin Kleon

Ev Williams

The Disappearance of Rituals by philosopher  Byung Shul Han

The Zine

Non-Stop from the Hamilton musical soundtrack

The story of Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet

The Aleph by Jose Luis Borges

X 10 Coffee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0BbDdRh2A4

What song best represent you, the Spotify playlist featuring guest answers from Out of the Clouds"

Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger

Invention - A Life - the James Dyson biography

Shoe Dog, a memoir by Phil Knight, the creator of Nike

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