100 Founding Members, Lifetime Pro, a direct line to the team. What the concept is about and why we deliberately avoid the term beta tester.
We thought carefully about what to call the first 100 people who help build bakeqee. Beta tester felt too cheap. Co-founder felt too big (they're not, legally). What we landed on was Founding Member, because the word is clear and it describes what these people actually do: they're in from the start, and without them bakeqee wouldn't work.
This article explains what being a Founding Member at bakeqee concretely means, what you get, and what we expect in return. Honest, without marketing spin.
Before we say what it is, briefly what it isn't.
It doesn't mean you become a co-founder of our company. Seb and Maik are the owners. Founding Member is a role description, not a legal status. No one gets equity, no one is liable, no one pays in.
It doesn't mean you're a beta tester. Beta testers are asked whether buttons work. Founding Members are asked whether concepts work. That's a different mode.
It doesn't mean you're obligated to do anything. We appreciate regular feedback, but we don't put you on a schedule. Someone who checks in once a month is just as welcome as someone who posts every day.
Three things.
First: you're among the first 100 people to use bakeqee. Hard cap, not expandable. Once the 100 spots are filled, they're filled. Anyone who comes later becomes an Early Member, also good, but not the same thing.
Second: you get Lifetime Pro for free. Normally bakeqee costs €6.99 per month or €49 per year. For you: never. No trial, no card, no catch. We don't reserve the right to change that later.
Third: you have a direct line to us. There's a dedicated feedback area in the app where you can report bugs, post requests, and discuss in threads. We read every entry. What we build is shaped by what we find there.
You'll also get a badge on your profile. That's mostly symbolic, but when you post in the community, others can see: this is someone who was there from the beginning.
Honest feedback. Especially the negative kind.
We've both built products before where "it's good" and "it's fine" were the most common responses. We learn nothing from answers like that. What actually helps: "The editor was annoying because I couldn't reorder ingredients." Or: "I wanted to bake on the weekend but the photo upload wasn't working." Or: "I don't understand what BakeRun means."
Those specific, sometimes uncomfortable observations are exactly what we're looking for. If nothing stands out to you, that's an answer too, but that usually only happens when someone isn't using it actively enough.
We could have said 50 or 500. 100 is a compromise between two goals:
- Small enough that we can reply to each person individually. At 500, that would turn into a newsletter-list logic. At 50, we'd have too little variety in the feedback.
- Large enough that different baking styles are represented. Sourdough nerds, pizza bakers, enriched-dough people, beginners, experienced bakers. With too few participants, we'd only hear one perspective.
100 is the number at which we trusted ourselves to give each person real attention.
We review applications not because we want to play elite selection, but because we want diversity.
Concretely, that means:
- Baking experience ranging from a few weeks to several years
- Sourdough, yeast, pizza are all welcome
- Different living situations (city, countryside, big kitchen, tiny oven)
- Different devices (iOS, Android, desktop)
- Different languages (at least German and English to start)
If you fall into any of these categories and want to join, apply. We reply to everyone within 48 hours.
Then you become an Early Member. Also a badge, also updates, but no Lifetime Pro. When bakeqee opens to everyone, you'll go through the normal trial path.
That's not a consolation prize. It's a different role.
