Published text

Structured research records

1. the weekend hack · gumroad-eras · 2010–2012 (approximate)

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   {
     "id": "origin",
     "range": "2010–2012",
     "summary": "a weekend hack becomes a funded company.",
     "title": "the weekend hack"
   }

2. the unicorn chase · gumroad-eras · 2012–2015 (approximate)

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   {
     "id": "chase",
     "range": "2012–2015",
     "summary": "venture-backed growth, then the math stops working.",
     "title": "the unicorn chase"
   }

3. the failure essay · gumroad-eras · 2015–2019 (approximate)

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   Original structured fields

   {
     "id": "essay",
     "range": "2015–2019",
     "summary": "layoffs, quiet years, and the essay that re-narrated the company.",
     "title": "the failure essay"
   }

4. the small company · gumroad-eras · 2020–2022 (approximate)

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   {
     "id": "contractor",
     "range": "2020–2022",
     "summary": "no employees, no meetings, and a crowdfunding round.",
     "title": "the small company"
   }

5. recent history · gumroad-eras · 2023– (approximate)

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   {
     "id": "recent",
     "range": "2023–",
     "summary": "fees, open source, and the antiwork umbrella.",
     "title": "recent history"
   }

6. dropout to pinterest · gumroad-timeline · 2010 (year) · reported (original editorial confidence)

   Original location · source-16c0280a8eb6281a10c0 · source-839cdfc83bb4c2a46b27

   Original structured fields

   {
     "confidence": "reported",
     "date": "2010",
     "detail": "sahil lavingia enrolls at usc for computer science and drops out within the first semester to work for pinterest remotely — a teen app-selling operation on flippa already behind him.",
     "era": "origin",
     "id": "evt-h-usc-dropout",
     "sourceIds": [
       "src-p-et-dropout",
       "src-p-bi-teenager"
     ],
     "title": "dropout to pinterest"
   }

7. early pinterest employee · gumroad-timeline · 2011-01 (month) · reported (original editorial confidence)

   Original location · source-580ee0fbb62ba7f198ed · source-db90b6f3b4a962c46d35 · source-cdbaeaa9e5265d7615be

   Original structured fields

   {
     "confidence": "reported",
     "date": "2011-01",
     "detail": "joins pinterest full-time — 'second employee' in his telling, 'fourth' per the billfold — and builds the pinterest iphone app.",
     "era": "origin",
     "id": "evt-h-pinterest",
     "sourceIds": [
       "src-p-reflecting",
       "src-p-billfold",
       "src-p-founders-in-arms"
     ],
     "title": "early pinterest employee"
   }

8. the billion-dollar tweet and the weekend build · gumroad-timeline · 2011-04-02 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

   Original location · source-580ee0fbb62ba7f198ed · source-bb679dc3b08993c6577b · source-7cc9918fd051912a5068

   Original structured fields

   {
     "confidence": "confirmed",
     "date": "2011-04-02",
     "detail": "tweets 'just had an idea for my first billion-dollar company. tomorrow, i start building it.' — then codes gumroad that weekend, roughly 22 hours across saturday and sunday.",
     "era": "origin",
     "id": "evt-h-billion-dollar-tweet",
     "sourceIds": [
       "src-p-reflecting",
       "src-h-hn-launch",
       "src-h-blog-walkdown"
     ],
     "title": "the billion-dollar tweet and the weekend build"
   }

9. show hn launch · gumroad-timeline · 2011-04-04 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

   Original location · source-bb679dc3b08993c6577b · source-7cc9918fd051912a5068 · source-f196885af02b6a7248bf

   Original structured fields

   {
     "confidence": "confirmed",
     "date": "2011-04-04",
     "detail": "show hn: 'a sort of link shortener but with a payment system built-in' — ~52,000 visitors day one, 396 points, 202 comments. the mvp ran on stripe while stripe was still in private beta.",
     "era": "origin",
     "id": "evt-h-show-hn",
     "sourceIds": [
       "src-h-hn-launch",
       "src-h-blog-walkdown",
       "src-i-dexa-stripe-beta"
     ],
     "title": "show hn launch"
   }

10. fired before the cliff · gumroad-timeline · 2011-08 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-abf8c40cba03ecb3c41a

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2011-08",
      "detail": "fired from pinterest just before his one-year equity cliff — a fact he discloses only in 2024, having told everyone he 'left.' the firing becomes his stated origin for obsessing over equity and cliffs.",
      "era": "origin",
      "id": "evt-h-pinterest-firing",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-dividends"
      ],
      "title": "fired before the cliff"
    }

11. $1.1m seed · gumroad-timeline · 2012-02-08 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-c1ab70c432138e7e428d

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    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2012-02-08",
      "detail": "$1.1m seed announced — levchin, sacca, conway's sv angel, naval, collaborative fund, accel, first round. techcrunch frames it as 'a bit.ly with payments built in.'",
      "era": "origin",
      "id": "evt-h-seed",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-tc-seed-2012"
      ],
      "title": "$1.1m seed"
    }

12. $7m series a · gumroad-timeline · 2012-05-07 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-542c3d8148dbd2d93e79 · source-6956d138fd3df3f65b2f

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2012-05-07",
      "detail": "$7m series a led by kleiner perkins' mike abbott — ~$8.1m raised within months of launch, staff of three.",
      "era": "chase",
      "id": "evt-h-series-a",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-tc-seriesa",
        "src-h-allthingsd"
      ],
      "title": "$7m series a"
    }

13. musicians adopt gumroad · gumroad-timeline · 2012-08-17 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-67432e7a2657920cfa3d

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2012-08-17",
      "detail": "musicians adopt the link-as-storefront — girl talk, wiz khalifa, david banner. coverage pivots from founder myth to artist adoption: 'we're turning a link into an impulse buy.'",
      "era": "chase",
      "id": "evt-h-musicians",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-c-verge-girltalk-2012"
      ],
      "title": "musicians adopt gumroad"
    }

14. the publishing features era · gumroad-timeline · 2013-01-23 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-785a29b89acae1f1f04a

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2013-01-23",
      "detail": "publishing push: verified sellers, pdf stamping, pre-orders. nathan barry earns $108,761 from ~3,000 twitter followers — the case study the creator-economy pitch runs on.",
      "era": "chase",
      "id": "evt-h-publishing",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-tc-publishing-2013"
      ],
      "title": "the publishing features era"
    }

15. twitter's buy button · gumroad-timeline · 2014-09-08 (day) · reported (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-15dfd5346a2fdb8da7d0

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "reported",
      "date": "2014-09-08",
      "detail": "gumroad powers twitter's first 'buy now' button — the partnership ends in january 2017 when twitter kills commerce. a weak-sourced but oft-told episode.",
      "era": "chase",
      "id": "evt-h-twitter-buy",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-failurebeforesuccess"
      ],
      "title": "twitter's buy button"
    }

16. the growth stall · gumroad-timeline · 2014-11 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-580ee0fbb62ba7f198ed · source-34e5a3d55d3e9fb7755b

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2014-11",
      "detail": "growth stalls; the series b doesn't come together. the company peaks and starts burning against a flat curve.",
      "era": "chase",
      "id": "evt-h-stall",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-reflecting",
        "src-p-wired-unicorn"
      ],
      "title": "the growth stall"
    }

17. the 4x bridge · gumroad-timeline · 2015 (year) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-c3cb4514a374a6dde5ce

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2015",
      "detail": "a $2m bridge round at a 4x liquidation preference buys six months — the term-sheet detail sahil discloses only in a 2020 thread.",
      "era": "chase",
      "id": "evt-h-bridge",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-threadreader"
      ],
      "title": "the 4x bridge"
    }

18. the layoffs · gumroad-timeline · 2015-11-05 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-37c66947c08574b7f780 · source-777a7fc3f61a6be7698c · source-580ee0fbb62ba7f198ed

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2015-11-05",
      "detail": "techcrunch reports layoffs of all but ~3 of 22 staff — the billion-dollar obituary. october had been the company's biggest month ever; the failure was runway math, not usage.",
      "era": "essay",
      "id": "evt-h-layoffs",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-tc-layoffs",
        "src-c-hn-layoffs-2015",
        "src-p-reflecting"
      ],
      "title": "the layoffs"
    }

19. one person and a consultancy · gumroad-timeline · 2016 (year) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-0fa4d263d5f3c93ed245 · source-0afde387ce5a3559dded

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2016",
      "detail": "down to one person. bigbinary — an indian consultancy — keeps the site alive while sahil answers support tickets. he canvasses for bernie sanders in nevada and starts painting.",
      "era": "essay",
      "id": "evt-h-one-person",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-work",
        "src-p-doge-days"
      ],
      "title": "one person and a consultancy"
    }

20. provo and the failed sale · gumroad-timeline · 2017 (year) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-2de8db772b5ec3d514ac · source-34c7f3a7db181654b2e1 · source-53ccaccb18a749b14df0

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2017",
      "detail": "moves to provo, utah for brandon sanderson's byu writing class; paints ~30 hours a week. a one-pager of manual tasks kills an attempted sale of the company.",
      "era": "essay",
      "id": "evt-h-provo",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-bubble",
        "src-p-god-mode",
        "src-p-ih-100"
      ],
      "title": "provo and the failed sale"
    }

21. from bubble to bubble · gumroad-timeline · 2018-02-07 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-2de8db772b5ec3d514ac · source-eabcf446a6ae2e99f258

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2018-02-07",
      "detail": "publishes 'from bubble to bubble' — sf to provo, church on sundays, and a public reckoning with outrage twitter. 'across the border,' a short story, follows in august.",
      "era": "essay",
      "id": "evt-h-bubble",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-bubble",
        "src-p-border"
      ],
      "title": "from bubble to bubble"
    }

22. the failure essay · gumroad-timeline · 2019-02-07 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-580ee0fbb62ba7f198ed · source-658d4474715bf95514e7

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2019-02-07",
      "detail": "'reflecting on my failure to build a billion-dollar company' — #1 on hacker news with 2,101 points. $10m of investor capital became $178m for creators; the essay becomes canonical anti-unicorn literature.",
      "era": "essay",
      "id": "evt-h-failure-essay",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-reflecting",
        "src-h-hn-reflecting"
      ],
      "title": "the failure essay"
    }

23. open board meetings begin · gumroad-timeline · 2019-08 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-b5ef760b050d1798c625 · source-34e5a3d55d3e9fb7755b

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2019-08",
      "detail": "first open board meeting, livestreamed — ~100 live viewers, thousands later. quarterly public board meetings follow.",
      "era": "essay",
      "id": "evt-h-open-board",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-monrovia-pdf",
        "src-p-wired-unicorn"
      ],
      "title": "open board meetings begin"
    }

24. the wired redemption feature · gumroad-timeline · 2020-01-19 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-34e5a3d55d3e9fb7755b

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2020-01-19",
      "detail": "wired's 'he wanted a unicorn. he got … a sustainable business' — the prestige-press capstone of the redemption arc, disclosing 2018 revenue ~$5m and $195,554 profit.",
      "era": "essay",
      "id": "evt-h-wired-unicorn",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-wired-unicorn"
      ],
      "title": "the wired redemption feature"
    }

25. the rolling fund · gumroad-timeline · 2020-08-05 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-7e70a70737395d6653fa · source-e7972270af42aaba2114

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2020-08-05",
      "detail": "launches shl.vc — a $5m/year angellist rolling fund, $100–250k checks, lps including naval and arlan hamilton. the anti-vc founder becomes a vc.",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-rolling-fund",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-tc-fund",
        "src-h-angellist"
      ],
      "title": "the rolling fund"
    }

26. memberships · gumroad-timeline · 2020-11-19 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-daea2906ec311b0497c3 · source-0fa4d263d5f3c93ed245

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2020-11-19",
      "detail": "memberships launch — patreon-style recurring support, built by contractor helen hood 'without a single meeting or video call.'",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-memberships",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-verge-memberships",
        "src-p-work"
      ],
      "title": "memberships"
    }

27. location-based pay deprecated · gumroad-timeline · 2020-12-03 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-0fa4d263d5f3c93ed245

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2020-12-03",
      "detail": "deprecates location-based pay — same salary in san francisco, bangalore, or lagos.",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-location-pay",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-work"
      ],
      "title": "location-based pay deprecated"
    }

28. no meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees · gumroad-timeline · 2021-01-07 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-0fa4d263d5f3c93ed245 · source-c7164cc726991bc8ebcc · source-0b9336715e0500b9292b

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2021-01-07",
      "detail": "'no meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees' — ~25 contractors, zero ftes including sahil, $50–250/hr, async on github and notion. 1,329 points on hn; the labor debate splits the thread.",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-no-meetings",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-work",
        "src-c-hn-work-2021",
        "src-i-bi-2021-work"
      ],
      "title": "no meetings, no deadlines, no full-time employees"
    }

29. the $5m crowdfunding round · gumroad-timeline · 2021-03-15 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-1e53391e72ac8b46371b · source-2e82557c1d50f4770752 · source-ce6d3128e7c97c0898b7 · source-0b7d7a3c1ffae519bb81

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2021-03-15",
      "detail": "the day the sec raises the reg cf cap to $5m, gumroad becomes the first issuer to use it — $5m from ~7,300 investors in ~12 hours at a $100m cap, plus $1m from naval and jason fried.",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-crowdfund",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-republic",
        "src-h-sec-formc-2021",
        "src-h-tc-crowdfund",
        "src-h-forbes-crowdfund"
      ],
      "title": "the $5m crowdfunding round"
    }

30. the minimalist entrepreneur · gumroad-timeline · 2021-10-26 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-9d0d3aa6ab66f502b86c · source-814febdefc566062d9a1

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2021-10-26",
      "detail": "'the minimalist entrepreneur' ships via portfolio/penguin — the book-length version of the doctrine, blurbed by jason fried.",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-book",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-penguin",
        "src-c-sivers-tme"
      ],
      "title": "the minimalist entrepreneur"
    }

31. the sliding-scale fee · gumroad-timeline · 2021-10-01 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-266694f5273270eb89c0 · source-4b549be9cc1df3182298

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2021-10-01",
      "detail": "creator-friendly pricing: a sliding 9%→2.9%+30¢ scale — 'pay less as you earn more' — framed as stripe-parity at the top. it lasts fifteen months.",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-sliding-fees",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-i-pricing-2021-post",
        "src-h-verge-pricing2021"
      ],
      "title": "the sliding-scale fee"
    }

32. the nft meltdown · gumroad-timeline · 2022-02-08 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-199a7a410afc0e01852c · source-8e230d06cd0564acf7f7 · source-33deb704a626d2f5a20b

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-02-08",
      "detail": "the nft meltdown: cartoonist box brown quits over leaked nft-pitch dms; the official account fights critics and briefly reveals a user's private messages. pinned denial: 'no plans' for crypto. no nft product ever ships.",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-nft",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-c-engadget-nft-2022",
        "src-c-w3igg-nft-2022",
        "src-c-garbageday-nft-2022"
      ],
      "title": "the nft meltdown"
    }

33. equity by the hour · gumroad-timeline · 2022-08-04 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-c3cb4514a374a6dde5ce · source-abf8c40cba03ecb3c41a

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-08-04",
      "detail": "the model gets formalized: 20–35-hour weeks, quarterly cadence, 'equity by the hour' — contractors choose how much of their pay arrives as options.",
      "era": "contractor",
      "id": "evt-h-equity-by-hour",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-threadreader",
        "src-p-dividends"
      ],
      "title": "equity by the hour"
    }

34. the 10% flat fee · gumroad-timeline · 2022-12-17 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-4fa2151b28151d5d6c6c · source-75f34eecb3247fbe5b22 · source-2c0c160c5e25f1d27d26 · source-e092c372b8d5f2d22013

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2022-12-17",
      "detail": "a flat 10% fee replacing the sliding scale is announced inside a slide in a tweet thread — no email blast. creators do the math in public: top sellers' effective rate triples. thomas frank migrates >$1m in sales to lemon squeezy.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-fee-hike",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-ih-fee2022",
        "src-h-hn-fee2022",
        "src-c-denning-2023",
        "src-c-thomasfrank-notion-2023"
      ],
      "title": "the 10% flat fee"
    }

35. the hike works · gumroad-timeline · 2023-01-31 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-34c7f3a7db181654b2e1 · source-ea8868570a19022822fb · source-0f2f0314231a0731b816

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-01-31",
      "detail": "the fee takes effect. sahil later calls it a unilateral 'god mode' call — 'gumroad doubled our pricing to 10% flat. but really, i did.' the hike doubles monthly revenue and flips 2023 to +$8.9m net.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-fee-effect",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-god-mode",
        "src-p-sacra-21m",
        "src-i-information-profit"
      ],
      "title": "the hike works"
    }

36. the trial dividend · gumroad-timeline · 2023-07 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-abf8c40cba03ecb3c41a · source-10e87f70745cdd24f2dc

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2023-07",
      "detail": "first trial dividend — $1m paid via flexile, the in-house contractor-payroll tool turned product.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-trial-dividend",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-dividends",
        "src-p-flexile"
      ],
      "title": "the trial dividend"
    }

37. the nsfw ban · gumroad-timeline · 2024-03-15 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-f88fd8a08b1700c27fbb · source-b69a8be5ce6056ee2c1e · source-4f33752765824afe2c70

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-03-15",
      "detail": "gumroad bans most nsfw art overnight under payment-processor pressure — 'we have been asked to be more rigorous.' adult creators scatter; the card stack is revealed as the platform's real sovereign.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-nsfw-ban",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-tc-nsfw",
        "src-c-eroscripts-nsfw",
        "src-c-buttondown-nsfw"
      ],
      "title": "the nsfw ban"
    }

38. the $5.34m dividend · gumroad-timeline · 2024-05-14 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-abf8c40cba03ecb3c41a

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-05-14",
      "detail": "first annual dividend: $5.34m — 60% of net income, a charter amendment blessed by all the original vcs. freelancers bought $268,988 of equity at the 2021 valuation.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-dividend",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-dividends"
      ],
      "title": "the $5.34m dividend"
    }

39. the antiwork rename · gumroad-timeline · 2024-10-17 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-34c7f3a7db181654b2e1 · source-2eba90e00964d4dfc561 · source-3f569d33a0b2950aecde

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-10-17",
      "detail": "'god mode' — sahil renames gumroad's parent company antiwork, answers paul graham's founder-mode essay with growth-optimization-destruction, and admits the fee hike was his alone.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-antiwork",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-god-mode",
        "src-p-q4-antiwork-allhands",
        "src-c-rivalsense-antiwork"
      ],
      "title": "the antiwork rename"
    }

40. merchant of record · gumroad-timeline · 2024-12-11 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-7a11d6084ee24956d00b · source-ac20d5370c27f9876678 · source-44555b346e8b10452594

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2024-12-11",
      "detail": "gumroad becomes a merchant of record effective january 1, 2025 — worldwide sales tax handled — alongside a new fee structure: 10% + 50¢ direct, 30% on discover-attributed orders.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-mor",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-i-mor-post",
        "src-h-pricing",
        "src-c-gumroad-mor-2024"
      ],
      "title": "merchant of record"
    }

41. open-sourcing everything — and the doge reveal · gumroad-timeline · 2025-04-04 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-c10e1b207ee2888b3782 · source-c3cb4514a374a6dde5ce · source-41af0d73c2afd78b8a0b · source-88c121acec531583028d

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-04-04",
      "detail": "the pre-announced open-sourcing completes: shortest → iffy → helper → flexile → gumroad itself, mit-licensed on its 14th birthday — 'a bet on agi for software engineering.' the same day, wired outs sahil inside doge at the va.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-open-source",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-h-blog-oss",
        "src-p-threadreader",
        "src-h-github-gumroad",
        "src-p-wired-va"
      ],
      "title": "open-sourcing everything — and the doge reveal"
    }

42. booted from doge · gumroad-timeline · 2025-05-09 (day) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-0afde387ce5a3559dded · source-2a7d7874f51119388516 · source-4f66e2c9780531d01d2b

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-05-09",
      "detail": "day 55: access revoked 'without warning' after a fast company interview. 'doge days' publishes may 28; propublica later documents his contract-flagging tool hallucinating values.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-doge-exit",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-doge-days",
        "src-p-fastco",
        "src-h-propublica"
      ],
      "title": "booted from doge"
    }

43. the irs job and the ceo handoff · gumroad-timeline · 2025-11 (month) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-7e1b831c9500835ef35b · source-004bfb182aa1b4d057c9 · source-2658026e67f2aa6a9afa

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2025-11",
      "detail": "sahil joins the irs as a career it specialist on online accounts — recruited by treasury cio sam corcos — and steps down as gumroad ceo november 19, handing the seat to ershad kunnakkadan.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-irs-ceo",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-wired-big-interview",
        "src-h-li-ceo-transition",
        "src-h-sahil-2026-meeting"
      ],
      "title": "the irs job and the ceo handoff"
    }

44. the agent runs the company · gumroad-timeline · 2026 (year) · confirmed (original editorial confidence)

    Original location · source-92ea23ec9f6aea4f4eaf · source-ec8705c2d40e24fd0c32 · source-e85181e572d2e7c38b06 · source-8bbc6f8d29d6b140ffd5

    Original structured fields

    {
      "confidence": "confirmed",
      "date": "2026",
      "detail": "antiwork.com states the endgame plainly: one agent — gumclaw, on nous research's hermes agent — runs support, code review, fraud, payouts, and the books; 'five humans set the direction'; the founder works ~1 hour a week while holding a federal day job.",
      "era": "recent",
      "id": "evt-h-gumclaw",
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-p-antiwork",
        "src-i-gumclaw-page",
        "src-p-hermes-agent",
        "src-i-burk-cli"
      ],
      "title": "the agent runs the company"
    }