Don't hate me, I'm an artist

If you're pissed at me or Artizen, first read our 'Don't Hate Me, I'm an Artist' policy.

René makes stupid faces and, occasionally, stupid mistakes.

Some of you are mad. I get it.

We moved our Season 5 curation deadline again. For good reasons—we're launching 20 new funds with up to $200,000 in backing, and they need more time to ramp up. But it still sucks. Deadlines matter, and pushing them around feels shitty for everyone—including me.

But here's the deal: Artizen isn't a normal startup. It's my obsession—an art project seventeen years in the making. I'm an artist first, entrepreneur second. Creativity is my top priority, not deadlines.

I trust my intuition, more than metrics. I improvise instead of sticking to a rigid plan. I experiment constantly—and sometimes deadlines shift, rules change, experiments fail, and things blow up. None of that's ideal. Believe me, I try to minimize it. But it's the messy, unavoidable cost of making great art. Every experiment—successful or not—brings us closer to truth and beauty.

Why take this route? Because funding is broken for creators. If we want to adequately fund art, science, technology, and culture… then we must invent something new. That means occasional chaos, unexpected detours, and missed deadlines.

Thanks for sticking around. Your patience means a lot to me.

Together, let's build something extraordinary.

Love,
René Pinnell
Founder of Artizen

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