Skip to main content

​
First Principles

This document outlines the fundamental truths and axioms that guide our decision-making across all aspects of MOOD MNKY. These principles serve as our navigational tools when exploring unfamiliar territory and help us maintain consistency even as we innovate.

​
Understanding First Principles Thinking

First principles thinking involves breaking down complex problems into their most basic, foundational elements and then reassembling them from the ground up. Rather than following conventional wisdom or making decisions by analogy, we derive our solutions from fundamental truths.
At MOOD MNKY, first principles aren’t just a method for solving technical problems—they guide our approach to experience design, community building, and business model development.

​
Core First Principles

​
Sensory Experience is Fundamental to Human Wellbeing

Our senses are our primary interface with reality. The quality of our sensory experiences directly impacts our emotional state, cognitive function, and overall wellbeing.

Implications:

  • We design every product and digital experience with full sensory awareness
  • We consider how our digital experiences affect physical sensation and vice versa
  • We measure success partly by the quality and depth of sensory engagement

​
True Personalization Requires Contextual Intelligence

Generic recommendations based on demographic data points create generic experiences. Meaningful personalization must account for an individual’s unique context, history, and goals.

Implications:

  • We build systems that understand and adapt to changing user contexts
  • We value depth of understanding over breadth of data collection
  • We design for individual journeys rather than user segments

​
Integration Creates Exponential Value

When systems work together seamlessly, the value created exceeds the sum of their individual contributions. True innovation often happens at the intersection of previously separate domains.

Implications:

  • We prioritize interoperability across our ecosystem
  • We actively seek connections between seemingly unrelated fields
  • We measure the multiplicative effects of our integrated experiences

​
Authentic Communication Creates Trust

In an era of manufactured experiences, authenticity is both rare and valuable. Trust is built through consistent, transparent, and genuine communication.

Implications:

  • We communicate with transparency about our products and processes
  • We acknowledge limitations and tradeoffs openly
  • We cultivate authentic relationships with our community members

​
Human and AI Capabilities Are Complementary

Human creativity, intuition, and emotional intelligence complement AI’s analytical capabilities, pattern recognition, and scalability. The most powerful systems leverage the strengths of both.

Implications:

  • We design human-AI partnerships rather than replacements
  • We optimize for augmentation of human capabilities
  • We maintain human oversight of critical decisions

​
Memory and Identity Are Intertwined

Our memories shape our identity, and our sense of self influences what we remember. Systems that honor this relationship create more meaningful, continuous experiences.

Implications:

  • We design with temporal awareness and continuity
  • We create experiences that build upon shared history
  • We respect the role of memory in personal growth

​
Applied First Principles

​
Product Development

​
Product Development Principles

1. Start with sensory truth, not market trends

We begin development by understanding fundamental sensory experiences and human needs, not by analyzing competitor products or market categories. This allows us to create genuinely innovative solutions that address core human desires.

2. Design for extension and adaptation

Our products are designed as platforms that can be extended and personalized, not as fixed solutions. This first-principles approach acknowledges that users’ needs evolve over time and vary by context.

3. Measure experience quality directly

Rather than using proxy metrics, we develop direct measures of experience quality. This requires more investment in research but yields deeper insights into the actual impact of our products.

4. Create systems, not features

We build coherent systems that work together rather than collections of independent features. This approach requires more coordination but creates exponentially more value through integration.

​
Technology

​
Technology Principles

1. Data serves experience, not the reverse

We collect and use data to enhance user experiences, not as an end in itself. This principle guides our approach to data collection, storage, and analysis, ensuring we respect both privacy and utility.

2. Build for resilience through simplicity

When possible, we favor simple, robust solutions over complex ones. This first-principles approach acknowledges that the most elegant solutions often emerge from reducing complexity rather than adding it.

3. Infrastructure should be invisible but impeccable

The best technology infrastructure does its job without calling attention to itself. We invest disproportionately in reliability, performance, and security because these qualities form the foundation of trust.

4. Optimize for appropriate intelligence

Not every system needs to be “smart.” We deploy intelligence where it creates meaningful value, using first principles to determine where human judgment, rules-based systems, or machine learning are most appropriate.

​
Experience Design

​
Experience Design Principles

1. Design for the complete sensory journey

Every experience has visual, auditory, tactile, and sometimes olfactory and gustatory dimensions. By considering the full sensory journey, we create more immersive and meaningful experiences.

2. Respect cognitive limits and capabilities

Human attention, memory, and processing capabilities have natural limits. We design experiences that work with these constraints rather than against them, reducing cognitive load and increasing engagement.

3. Create coherent narrative arcs

Human brains are wired for narrative. We design experiences with clear beginnings, middles, and ends, creating a sense of progress and meaning that random interactions cannot provide.

4. Balance guidance and discovery

Too much guidance creates passive experiences; too little creates confusion. We design with a careful balance, providing clear pathways while allowing for genuine discovery and surprise.

​
Community Building

​
Community Building Principles

1. Shared value creation builds sustainable communities

Communities thrive when value flows in multiple directions. We design community structures where members can both receive and contribute value, creating sustainable ecosystems rather than one-way transactions.

2. Authentic connections require vulnerability

Meaningful communities are built on authentic connections, which require a level of vulnerability from all participants, including brands. We create spaces where genuine sharing is safe and valued.

3. Diversity strengthens resilience

Communities with diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills are more resilient and creative. We actively cultivate diversity in our community building, recognizing it as a source of strength and innovation.

4. Rituals create belonging

Shared rituals and traditions create a sense of belonging and continuity. We thoughtfully develop community rituals that reinforce shared values and create meaningful touchpoints for members.

​
Decision-Making Framework

When faced with complex decisions, we use the following first-principles approach:
1

Identify Core Truths

What fundamental truths do we know about this situation? What can we prove or validate directly?
2

Question Assumptions

What assumptions are we making? Which of these can be tested? Which might be limiting our thinking?
3

Build from Fundamentals

Starting with core truths, what solutions emerge when we build up from first principles rather than working by analogy?
4

Evaluate Integration

How does this solution integrate with our broader ecosystem? Does it create multiplicative value?
5

Test and Refine

How can we test this solution at a small scale? What feedback loops will help us refine it?

​
Case Studies

When developing our signature scent system, we started not by analyzing existing fragrance categories but by revisiting the fundamentals of olfaction and emotional response. This led us to question industry assumptions about fragrance composition.

Traditional approach: Create fragrances based on established categories (floral, woody, etc.) and marketing trends.

Our first-principles approach: We built from the neurological foundation of how scent affects emotions and memory. We asked: What molecular structures trigger specific emotional responses? How do cultural and personal contexts modify these responses? How can we create scent experiences that evolve meaningfully over time?

This approach led to our adaptive fragrance system that responds to both physiological and environmental factors—a solution that wouldn’t have emerged if we had simply iterated on existing fragrance concepts.

Key learning: By questioning the fundamental assumptions of an established industry, we created a genuinely novel approach that better serves our core purpose of personalized wellbeing.

When designing our product ecosystem, we rejected the conventional wisdom that digital and physical experiences should be developed separately and then “integrated” afterward.

Traditional approach: Develop physical products and digital experiences in separate teams, then create bridges between them.

Our first-principles approach: We examined the fundamental nature of human experience, which doesn’t distinguish between “digital” and “physical”—it’s all just experience. We asked: What if we designed for continuous experience across modalities from the beginning?

This led to our “continuous experience design” methodology, where products are conceived as having both physical and digital dimensions from inception. Our development teams include both physical and digital expertise throughout the process.

Key learning: By challenging the artificial separation of physical and digital, we created more seamless experiences that reflect how people actually live.

When developing our business model, we questioned the first principles of value exchange rather than adopting standard industry pricing approaches.

Traditional approach: Set prices based on competitive analysis, cost-plus markup, or what the market will bear.

Our first-principles approach: We examined the fundamental nature of value creation and exchange. We asked: What if pricing reflected actual value received rather than just production costs? What if we aligned economic incentives with our purpose of improving wellbeing?

This led to our “value-realized pricing” model, where community members can access core offerings through engagement and contribution, not just financial payment. Premium experiences are priced according to personalization level and value created.

Key learning: By rethinking the fundamentals of pricing from first principles, we created a model that better aligns with our mission while remaining economically sustainable.

​
Applying First Principles in Your Work

All team members are encouraged to apply first-principles thinking in their work:

Question Assumptions

Regularly ask “Why do we do it this way?” and “What if we approached this differently?” Challenge accepted wisdom, especially industry “best practices” that may not serve our unique mission.

Seek Fundamentals

When facing a new challenge, identify the most basic truths and principles that apply. Build your solution from these foundations rather than by analogy to existing solutions.

Test and Refine

Develop small experiments to test your first-principles solutions. Be willing to iterate and refine based on real-world feedback while staying true to your foundational insights.
First-principles thinking is powerful but should be applied thoughtfully. Not every situation requires reimagining from the ground up. Use discernment to identify when to leverage existing solutions and when to rebuild from fundamentals.