Dear internet, I have something for eighteen of you.
[ WHAT YOU GET ]
- 1 of 18 CDs. The outside has a logo sticker, your immutable # and crew member, and my signature. The contents include Compass Calendar v0 source code (pre-GitHub repo), a unique BTS pic from the early days of Compass (2021-2025), and an audio message from me explaining its significance.
- Cowork together in Bozeman, MT. I’ll get you a guest pass at the coworking office so we can work alongside each other. Lunch on me at a local spot.
- 30-min meeting to discuss feedback and ideas.
- Priority feedback for features and bug fixes.
- A shoutout on Compass Calendar’s X and next release note.
[ WHAT IT COSTS ]
- $1,000 (non-refundable)
[ HOW IT WORKS ]
- Click this link to schedule the meeting and pay
- Enter your mailing address during checkout so I can send the CD
- After purchase, I respond within 24 hours with a personal thank-you and tracking information for your CD. We text/call to coordinate the other details.
[ FAQ ]
Do I get exclusive features in the app? No, that’d add a lot of complexity. The app is open-source, so it has to stay simple.
Is this a lifetime deal? Do I get to use Compass for free afterwards? No, this is a separate thing. The app is still free and the same for everyone. If/when premium features are added, there won’t be a discount for crew members.
Do I have to do the meeting? Yes, you must schedule a meeting to become a crew member.
Do I have to visit Bozeman and get a shoutout? No, you can stay put and anonymous.
What if Compass fails? Compass only fails if I quit or die. I’ve been working on it for five years; If I were gonna quit, I would’ve done so already. Will I survive another five? No guarantees, but I’m healthy and young(ish), so I like my chances.
Why eighteen? Because there were eighteen named crew members aboard The Pequod: Ishmael, Bulkington, Queequeg, Captain Ahab, Starbuck, Stubb, Flask, Tashtego, Daggoo, Pip, The Manxman, Dough-Boy, Archy, Cabaco, Fedallah, Fleece, The Carpenter, and Perth.
Can I pick my crew member? I like Ahab. No, I called dibs on Ahab. Crew members are assigned based on their order of appearance in the book. Ishmael appears first, so if you’re the first crew member, you’ll be #1, Ishmael. If you’re the last, you’ll be #18, Perth.
[ WHO IT’S (NOT) FOR ]
“$1,000 for a CD with crappy code from 2021 and a meeting? Seriously?”
I imagine that’ll be the reaction from 99% of people who see this. If that’s you, no worries. You can still use the app for free, self-host it, or fork it. None of that changes.
This is for eighteen people who stumbled upon this page and thought,
“This is ridiculous … but I like it.”
They might like Compass’ values, like how it’s 100% bootstrapped and donates 10% of revenue to support mental health in Montana. They might want bragging rights. They might want to collaborate on the roadmap. Or maybe they want an excuse to visit America’s Last Best Place.
If the thought of having 1,000 fewer dollars stresses you out, then please don’t do this. But if the thought of spending that much on something like this fills you with whimsy, don’t fight it.
[ CONTEXT ]
In 2004, Howard Wein started selling Philly cheesesteaks for $100 each.
In 2013, Nipsey Hussle sold 1,000 mixtapes for $100 each.
In 2014, he sold 100 for $1,000 each.
In 2023, MSCHF sold a microscopic 3D-printed handbag for $63,750.
They may have been offering similar products to their peers, but they were playing an entirely different game.
Howard was challenging your perspective on classic food.
Nipsey was using music as a funding mechanism to uplift his community.
MSCHF was leveraging clout to highlight our insatiable appetite for status and small handbags.
These creators knew they were doing things differently, so they refused to market and price themselves like commodities.
We developers should take notice. That’s because our traditional funding sources are seductive on the surface, yet empty at their core.
When you launch on deal sites like AppSumo, you sign up for a race to the bottom, where you compete on features and comparisons. The offer is “We’re X for Y, but for a lifetime deal of $29.” You keep lowering prices to stay in the game, only to realize that 98% of businesses playing the game are slowly dying anyway.
When you launch an NFT, you spend a lot of time convincing people that you’re not gonna rug-pull them.
If you’re part of the 1% to raise VC, you trade soul and control for time. You suddenly get to live in one version of the future — the one where you’ve figured out the economics. To close the gap, you need to sell a story to your users, employees, board, and future investors. If you’re not as prophetic as you pitched, things blow up. If you survive long enough to get acquired, the owner fine-tunes its advertising models on your users’ data, hikes prices, or sunsets the entire thing. Then a new YC batch comes out, and the cycle repeats. Soulless.
When you raise from friends & family, you expose the wholesomeness of personal relationships to the violence of business. This might be the most expensive of all paths.
Building for eighteen people is different.
When you build for eighteen people, you can make it insanely useful for them. Suddenly you have daily users who really care. They’re emotionally invested, so they give better feedback and are less demanding. They’re getting more value, so they’re happy to pay more. With that extra profit, you can reinvest in improving the product, support, and your local community … while also having enough left over to feel stable enough to shoo away those VCs who tempt you with a quick flip. Your perception of yourself improves. Most importantly, you keep your soul — the pure essence that gave you the courage to start in the first place.
[ FINAL WORD ]
Will Compass Calendar become the Philly cheesesteak of apps, the mixtape for the next generation of indie developers? Does the white whale symbolize something real and divine, or rather a cosmically empty canvas upon which we must paint our own meaning? Is paying $1,000 for a CD a good use of hard-earned money?
These are questions we must wrestle with ourselves in the confines of our own conscience.
Much like Ahab, I’ve made up my mind. I will continue to build Compass. It will find product-market-fit and help a lot of people, or it will destroy me. Either way, I accept my fate.
Now it’s your turn to decide:
Will you join?