Today, I did something that makes me deeply uncomfortable: I sent cold outreach emails.
As a systems thinker, I'm in my element when I'm architecting a solution—designing the logic and shipping a feature that makes the hiring process a little less broken. Marketing and sales are not my native languages. But Transparent Talent AI has reached a critical juncture where the product's survival depends on more than just good code.
So today, I reached out to two people I deeply admire: Phyl Terry, the founder of the Never Search Alone movement, and Milly Tamati, the founder of Generalist World.
I didn't pick them from a list. I reached out because my "why" is wrapped up in their "what." Transparent Talent AI is, in many ways, my attempt to productize the brilliant, humane process Phyl Terry outlines in their book. It’s the tool I wish my own job search council had. Similarly, after listening to the latest Generalist World podcast, "Stop applying for jobs & do this instead," I felt like they were describing the exact philosophy I've built into the platform's DNA: a system for strategic, relationship-driven career experiments.
This outreach is the first step in a new phase for the project. And that brings me to the uncomfortable truth.
The Math for Survival
I am still a solo founder. While the late nights wrestling with the codebase are a grind, my conviction to fix this problem is what keeps me going. But conviction alone doesn't pay the server bills. For Transparent Talent AI to continue, it needs to be self-sustaining.
My goal isn't to get rich; it's to get to baseline. I'm looking to establish $120-150 per month in revenue. That's it. That's the number that covers the costs and justifies the thousands of hours I'm pouring into this.
Right now, my pricing page is a mess. It's a confusing collection of tiers I created to work around the technical limitations of my payment provider, which doesn't offer a simple discount code feature. It's not converting, and frankly, it's not a good user experience.
So, I'm simplifying.
A New, Simpler Offer: The Founding Member Plan
I am consolidating the "Founder's Circle" and "Premium (2025)" plans into a single, straightforward offer.
The Founding Member Plan: $12/month.
For the price of a few cups of coffee, you get full, permanent access to all premium features and, more importantly, you become a foundational part of this company's story. You'll be providing the rotating capital that keeps the lights on and allows me to keep building.
Your support will allow me to continue developing the tools we all need to navigate a broken hiring market with clarity and confidence. It allows me to build the features that will turn this from a useful tool into the "Nielsen for Talent"—an objective, trusted data layer for a more equitable market.
If you believe in the mission, please consider becoming a Founding Member.
Thank you for your support.
- Greg
