# every: side quests

> the pursuits around the company — firefly, the early startups, the podcasts, the courses, and the columnists' own projects.

- 2011–2014 — firefly (dan, ended): dan's college startup — a cobrowsing customer-support tool built with justin meltzer at upenn. first round's first dorm room fund investment ($20k), y combinator s13, ~$600k raised, sold to pegasystems for $2.5m the week of graduation. the operating rep that funds the later writing life. (sources: [first dorm room fund investment](https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/09/pegasystems-acquires-co-browsing-tool-firefly-the-first-investment-by-first-rounds-dorm-room-fund/), [zhao/mehta/shipper](https://techcrunch.com/2011/04/21/yc_y_u_no-give-twitter-link-readers-auto-entry-into-yc/), [closed jul 1, 2014](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1013857/000119312514295827/R21.htm), [pega–profeatable agreement](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1013857/000119312514229542/d741111dex991.htm), [$11k first 10 months](https://review.firstround.com/this-23-year-old-built-and-sold-his-startup-while-in-school-heres-what-made-the-difference))
- 2019 — the sleep-mask company (dan, ended): the sleep-protecting blackout-mask company dan ran on shopify during the wilderness years — a physical-products rep between the pega exit and the newsletter. 'i am a terrible programmer' era. (sources: [prehype eir 2018–20](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danshipper), [mancrosoft/doors](https://mixergy.com/interviews/dan-shipper-firefly-interview/))
- 2019–2020 — the four-draft novel (dan, ended): a pre-every 50,000-word fiction attempt — four drafts of a novel plus an illustrated novella about entrepreneurship. the writing rep that never stopped. (sources: [investing… startup incubator… four drafts of a novel… fall of 2019](https://every.to/superorganizers/dan-shipper-the-sultan-of-superorganizers-4345), [prehype eir 2018–20](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danshipper))
- 2020-01 — sparkle v1 (company, handed-off): sparkle v1 — a mac tray app auto-sorting desktop/downloads into para-style folders, bundled exclusively with superorganizers premium before every existed. the software-plus-writing bundle in miniature. (sources: [sparkle v1 launch post](https://every.to/superorganizers/introducing-sparkle--3a8-244537), [original sparkle (pre-ai), superorganizers perk](https://every.to/superorganizers/introducing-sparkle--244513))
- 2022–2023 — [lex](https://lex.page) (nathan, handed-off): lex — the ai word processor nathan built inside every on nights and weekends after parental leave; ~25,000 waitlist signups in a day, spun out august 2023 as lex ai, inc. with a $2.75m true ventures seed. every retains a stake; the spinout became the template. (sources: [sunday digest: were building a word processor… called lex](https://every.to/everything/the-metaverse-vs-pcs-more), [nathans build/launch account](https://every.to/divinations/how-lex-happened), [lex spinout](https://every.to/on-every/we-re-spinning-out-lex), [tc coverage](https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/23/lex-ai-writing-tool-seed-round/), [lex ~200k users, ~$3m raised](https://valley.labusinessjournal.com/technology/lex-has-bold-ai-visions-for-its-word-processor/))
- 2022 — the courses (company, ended): the course era — 'how to write with ai' and the prompt-engineering course ran at ~$650/seat before the apps existed. consulting's ancestor: the expertise monetized before it was productized. (sources: [course curriculum = chatgpt→claude→lex→spiral toolchain](https://every.to/p/how-to-write-with-ai-register-now), [nov 20–dec 19 cohort](https://every.to/p/enrollment-is-open-how-to-build-a-gpt-4-chatbot))
- 2023– — [ai & i](https://podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/ai-i/id1719789201) (dan, active): ai & i — twice-weekly, guests screen-share their actual chatgpt/claude histories: reid hoffman, tyler cowen, kevin kelly, dwarkesh patel, sarah tavel, mike krieger, claire vo. ~120 episodes; the front line of the agent-era coverage. (sources: [mypodcastdata](https://www.mypodcastdata.com/fr/podcast/show/ai-and-i-dan-shipper-3HdVjQo3/episodes), [format: screen-shared chats + live experiments](https://podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/ai-i/id1719789201), [original name how do you use chatgpt? (ep](https://share.transistor.fm/s/ef83db2b), [since nov 15, 2023](https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ai-i-dan-shipper-R-IJC915Hv8/))
- 2023-02 — the lenny bot (dan, ended): the lenny bot — a gpt-3 q&a over lenny rachitsky's newsletter archive, built in a weekend and shipped in public with honest retention numbers. the proof-of-concept for 'build in public, write the field report.' (sources: [lenny bot build post](https://every.to/chain-of-thought/how-to-build-a-chatbot-with-gpt-3), [3k users day 1](https://every.to/chain-of-thought/bonus-chatbot-sample-code-and-metrics-updates))
- 2024-06 — [spiral](https://spiral.so) (company, active): spiral — the prompt-builder for repetitive writing tasks, grown from dan's claude workflow for automating the 'business of writing': 3,000 users and 16,000 runs in four weeks, all organic. danny aziz rebuilt v3 essentially alone with claude code. (sources: [automates 80 percent of repetitive writing](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-spiral), [spiral launch](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-spiral.md), [3k users/16k runs/1](https://every.to/p/spiral-has-crossed-3-000-users-plus-our-first-feature-upgrade), [danny aziz solo-engineer build](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-spiral-v3-an-ai-writing-partner-with-taste), [spiral v2](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-spiral-v2))
- 2024-08 — sparkle v2 (company, handed-off): sparkle v2 — the ai file organizer rebuilt by gell and javi ezpeleta on gpt-4: filenames only, deleted after 30 days. the 2020 tray app, given a model. (sources: [sparkle ai launch](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-sparkle), [sparkle ai launch](https://every.to/p/introducing-sparkle-4ce57b2c-49df-4d98-9b53-efd220d7d33e))
- 2024-10 — every studio (brandon, active): every studio — the product-incubation arm formalized: five entrepreneurs-in-residence, a $150k 'speed round' from sahil lavingia, and a claim that a media company's distribution + editorial can de-risk early software. cora, monologue, and sparkle all ran through it. (sources: [studio launch](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-every-studio), [q3 demo day lineup](https://every.to/context-window/why-i-started-talking-to-my-computer), [eir names](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brandongell_introducing-every-studio-activity-7252373109821837313-ie8Z))
- 2025-02 — every consulting (brandon, active): every consulting — ai adoption work for mid-to-large orgs, after nine months quiet: a proprietary 'paradigm' reporting tool, claimed nps over 70, pacing $1–2m. natalia quintero runs it. (sources: [consulting arm](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-every-consulting), [15 fte](https://every.to/on-every/every-s-master-plan-part-ii))
- 2025-06 — [cora](https://cora.computer) (kieran, active): cora — the 'ai chief of staff for your inbox': screens email, pre-drafts replies in your voice, sends a twice-daily brief. kieran's mvp in a night, 10k waitlist by february, ga june 2025; nearly burned six figures on inference before the cost-down work. (sources: [$15/mo public](https://every.to/on-every/cora-is-out-of-beta-give-ai-your-inbox-take-back-your-life), [cora into bundle](https://every.to/on-every/the-every-bundle-now-includes-cora), [cora origin: summer-2024 eir mvp-in-a-night](https://every.to/podcast/an-inside-look-at-building-an-email-client-in-three-months), [cora incubation](https://every.to/p/introducing-cora-manage-your-inbox-with-ai), [$15/mo public](https://every.to/on-every/cora-is-out-of-beta-give-ai-your-inbox-take-back-your-life), [cora marketing: briefs, drafting in your voice](https://cora.computer/))
- 2025-09 — [monologue](https://monologue.to) (naveen, active): monologue — ai voice dictation for mac; naveen built v1 in a weekend because existing tools 'aren't quite right.' ~7,000 dictations a day at launch; the fastest path from studio incubation to bundle product. (sources: [naveen naidu gm](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-monologue-effortless-voice-dictation), [naveen naidu gm](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-monologue-effortless-voice-dictation), [pre-launch traction](https://every.to/podcast/he-got-thousands-of-users-before-his-app-even-launched))
- 2026-03 — proof and plus one (company, continuing): proof — a vibe-coded collaborative doc editor that went viral, fell over under load, and became a public postmortem. plus one — one-click ai coworkers in slack; every's own agent employee is named claudie. (sources: [agent-native doc editor](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-proof), [proof postmortem](https://every.to/chain-of-thought/when-your-vibe-coded-app-goes-viral-and-then-goes-down), [slack agents](https://every.to/on-every/introducing-plus-one-one-click-openclaw-agents-by-every), [plus one definition](https://help.every.to/en/articles/14291294-what-is-plus-one))
- 2025– — [the leverage](https://every.to/the-leverage) (evan, continuing): the leverage — evan armstrong's solo business publication after napkin math; launched with the template every gave him ('as an equity holder, i certainly hope so'). the collective model's alumni. (sources: [dan intro verbatim](https://every.to/napkin-math/the-leverage), [evans post-every venture](https://www.gettheleverage.com/about), [the leverage first edition](https://www.gettheleverage.com/p/the-weekend-leverage-first-edition))
- 2022–2026 — the visual language (lucas, handed-off): lucas crespo's visual language — the art direction that made every recognizable; left for openai's creative team in 2026 after building a gpt-4 digest bot with zero prior programming experience. (sources: [founders best friend](https://every.to/podcast/an-inside-look-at-every-s-design-philosophy), [de-risked content taxonomy](https://every.to/chain-of-thought/we-re-building-ai-into-our-media-business), [de-risked content taxonomy](https://every.to/chain-of-thought/we-re-building-ai-into-our-media-business))
- 2021– — the collective's shelf (columnists, handed-off): the alumni shelf — the publications and tools the collective produced: tiago forte's praxis, nat eliason's almanack, li jin's means of creation, fadeke's cybernaut, chris bosh's the last chip, and the spun-out lex. the bundle's output outlived the bundle. (sources: [everything→every](https://every.to/letter), [40k+ subs](https://web.archive.org/web/20211226110838/https://every.to/), [fadeke adegbuyis internet-culture newsletter](https://every.to/cybernaut/), [tanay jaipuria crypto column in bundle](https://every.to/almanack/olympus-dao), [rachel jepsen](https://every.to/the-long-conversation), [moc moved into a place of its own](https://every.to/divinations/announcement-1182790))

AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.

Canonical page: https://hraness.com/every/side-quests


Published by @ben in profile revision 1.
Original document: https://hraness.com/every/side-quests
Original credited author: Hraness
AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.

## Structured source and record data

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