what is algae?

algae is a creative r&d studio building tools that help creatives execute, think, and plan.

where does the name come from?

ecosystems are built by tiny parts. algae is one of those parts. it operates quietly in the background, and the whole system depends on it. that’s the role i want this studio to play for creative people.

why does algae need to exist?

the tools that exist for creatives aren’t easy enough.

i don’t think they’re terrible. i think they’re not built for people to pick things up quickly and feel at home in. you end up bouncing between five pieces of software that don’t talk to each other and don’t share a logic/philosophy, and then getting frustrated that you can’t bring a rough idea to life. that friction is exhausting, and it’s the reason a lot of people give up on the idea before they get to the work.

a lot of why people latched onto llms is because they’re intuitive. you type something in, you get something back. one input, one output, no setup. teenage engineering does the same thing with hardware. volvo does it with cars (this is fresh in my mind because my wife just got a volvo). it’s minimalism in service of getting out of your way.

algae makes tools in that lineage. one input, one useful thing back.

what is a capsule?

capsules are the drop model for algae. a capsule is a focused tool or idea. i wanted to form the studio after the culture that thrived in my childhood- steetwear culture. the word “capsule” is intentionally vague because what we make won’t always be software. sometimes it’s a website. sometimes it’s information that wasn’t easily accessible, gathered into one place. sometimes it’s an art project. the format is whatever the idea needs.

what does streetwear have to do with software???

we’re in the era of individual-made software. non-developer software. the ideas fueling new tools are coming from people who couldn’t build them before, back when the barrier was higher. the work can finally address specific needs that didn’t fit a market.

i think about software the way i think about streetwear. what you wear says something about you. the music you listen to, the shows and films you watch, the things you consume. these are culture. they help you express who you are.

most software doesn’t participate in that. most software is boring. algae is an attempt to make software that’s part of culture, not separate from it.

who are you?

my name is jon. i made music for a while (still do). then i started working in music as someone who could sit between the creative and the business sides because i’d been on both. i could talk to other creators because i was one. work landed in tv and a few places i’d rather not name, because that’s not really the point.

most of the problems algae addresses are problems i’ve had personally. and most of them were about translation. i had taste. i had ideas. i didn’t have a clean way to hand a fleshed-out version of an idea to a collaborator. and creatives are spread thin by default. you’re playing five jobs at once. algae tries to fix some of that.

how does algae actually make money??

right now, we don’t. that’s by design for now.

the model is patronage. algae is fiscally sponsored, which keeps overhead low and lets the tools stay free. the structure is executive producership, like in film. someone who wants to see an idea come to life can participate directly. it keeps the tools free and keeps me from owing anyone a roadmap.

algae will be the fubu of software. for us, by us. as a black solo founder, that’s not a borrowed metaphor. it’s the lineage. someone making things for the community they’re already part of. algae is built by a creative for creatives, and the model has to reflect that. tools stay accessible. the people funding the work are part of the world the work is for, or want to see creatives and artist founders make cool shit.

we’ll test other revenue models over time. patronage is the starting position.

what does an algae thing look and feel like???

like magic. the goal is to get from idea to execution as fast as possible without losing fidelity between mediums.

bleep, an algae capsule, is a good example. you talk or type into a single box and it spits back what you said formatted for every platform you publish to. one input, four outputs. twitter, substack, linkedin, bluesky, etc. captain’s log is another, smaller one. open it, write out your tasks for the day, see the day in front of you.

visually, algae looks like one thing. sharp corners, almost no rounding. black, white, and grey, with one accent color per capsule. spring animations, never linear easing, because interfaces should feel alive instead of static. minimal but not cold. opinionated.

a lot of what algae makes is built around communication, because communication is the most important tool human beings have. most creative problems are communication problems in disguise.

what’s already out in the world?

captain’s log is the first drop. a focus timer + creative journal combo that holds the day. local storage, no accounts, open sourced on github so people can fork their own.

bleep is for anyone publishing across substack, twitter, linkedin, or anywhere else. write or talk it through once. it organizes and sends to all of it.

treatment lab is an expedited way to build treatments. for film, commercial work, cover art, anything creative.

those three are phase 1a.

what is algae not?

this is the easy one.

algae will never be a saas company. it will never be an agency. it will never be an ai company. it will never be fast fashion for software.

it will always be ideas that address the needs of creatives, and ideas i find fun + interesting. it will never be a thing someone is paying me to build because they want a specific outcome, unless the desired outcome is shared. what i’m actively trying to avoid is the vibe-codification of software. a lot of software looks homogenous because there’s no taste or decision-making in the loop. it boils down to people not doing their research or embedding their personality and taste into their work. algae has to have its own name, voice, look, and feel, or it isn’t algae.

and it’s not the pitch deck of the early 2020s. not “uber but for xyz.” not “ai but for x.”