Hey there.

I write a letter about business and brands, mostly to find out what I think.

Each letter starts with a brand or business story, gets under the headlines, and follows it to some kind of human story underneath. A story about Nike becomes a story about fatherhood. An AI story becomes a story about friendship.

Sometimes these stories are very personal.

It’s for people who still want to build a remarkable life, but have found that achievement and meaning aren’t the same thing. If you’re done with the endless performance, at work and on the screens, this is somewhere to breathe out.

The letter lands every Friday morning, with the week’s signals, curated.

I’m Jonathan Trimble. By day I oversee And Rising, the brand company I co-founded, and a few other interests. Twenty years inside consumer brands is where most of the stories start; the letter is where I work out what they mean.

Rise Up is free, and stays that way.

If it helps you find out what you think, let me know.

Replies reach me directly.

Stay gold 🙏🏻