Part I — Internal Constitution
The Founders' Manifesto
This is us. This is why we're here. This is what we believe.
The Problem We See
The human mind is the most powerful tool in existence—and we're letting it atrophy.
We live in an attention economy that profits from our distraction. Every app, every notification, every algorithmic feed is optimized to capture our focus and sell it to the highest bidder. The result? A generation with infinite information and diminishing ability to think deeply, learn persistently, or achieve meaningfully.
The tools we use to think are either:
- Fragmented: Notes in one place, tasks in another, flashcards somewhere else, reminders scattered everywhere
- Passive: They wait for us to remember them, rather than actively helping us
- Dumb: They don't understand context, can't connect dots, won't do the simple work for us
We believe this is a solvable problem.
The Vision
Steve Jobs said the computer is "a bicycle for the mind."
He meant that just as a bicycle amplifies human locomotion—making us faster and more efficient than any other animal—computers should amplify human cognition.
But most software today isn't a bicycle. It's a distraction machine. It's a slot machine. It's a treadmill going nowhere.
We're building the actual bicycle.
brain.bike is an integrated system of tools designed to extend human cognitive capacity. Not to replace thinking—to amplify it. Not to do the work for you—to make your work more effective.
A bicycle doesn't move without the rider. It requires effort. But that effort goes further. You cover more ground. You arrive less exhausted. You enjoy the journey.
That's what we're building.
Our Core Beliefs
1. Tools Should Be Active, Not Passive
Your task manager shouldn't wait for you to check it. Your flashcards shouldn't sit dormant until you remember they exist. Your goals shouldn't fade into forgotten tabs.
Nudger exists because attention is the bottleneck of achievement. The tool that brings you back—gently, intelligently, persistently—is the tool that actually helps.
2. Integration Beats Isolation
A note that never becomes knowledge is waste. A goal that never becomes action is fantasy. A task that never connects to purpose is busywork.
Our tools talk to each other because your brain works that way. Ideas flow from notes to goals to tasks to flashcards and back again. The system should mirror the mind.
3. AI Should Augment, Not Replace
We don't want AI to think for you. We want AI to handle the friction that prevents you from thinking well.
- Don't know LaTeX? AI writes the formula.
- Need to break down a complex goal? AI suggests decomposition.
- Have notes that should become flashcards? AI extracts them.
- Have a simple task that doesn't need human judgment? AI does it.
The human stays in the loop. The human does the thinking. The AI removes obstacles.
4. Simplicity Is Strength
Every feature we add is friction we risk adding. Every option is a decision the user must make. Every setting is complexity to manage.
We will ruthlessly simplify. If a feature doesn't clearly amplify cognitive capacity, it doesn't ship. If a workflow can be automated, it should be. If an interface element can be removed, it must be.
5. We Build for the Long Game
This isn't about viral growth or addictive engagement metrics. We're building tools for people who want to become better versions of themselves over years, not get dopamine hits over minutes.
Our success metric is simple: did the user learn more, achieve more, think more clearly because of us?
The Four Components
We're building four gears. Each works alone. Together, they form the bicycle.
Nudger — The Attention Guardian
"Your focus brought back, gently and persistently."
What it does:
- Actively reminds you of what you committed to
- Sends intelligent prompts across channels (notifications, voice notes, messages)
- Integrates with all other tools to bring attention where it's needed
- Learns your patterns to nudge at the right moments
Why it matters:
The gap between intention and action is attention. Nudger bridges that gap.
Loopforward — The Goal Engine
"From vision to done, systematically."
What it does:
- Helps you set trackable long-term goals with deep context understanding
- Three-column board: Idea Buffer → This Week → Done
- Task decomposition for complex projects
- AI agents that handle delegatable subtasks
Why it matters:
Most goals fail not because they're impossible, but because they're not broken down, tracked, or connected to daily action. Loopforward makes the path visible.
Markdown — The Thinking Canvas
"Write to think. Think to write."
What it does:
- Dual-pane editor: source and rendered, side by side
- Click any rendered element to highlight its source
- AI assistance for formulas, structure, and clarity
- Real-time rendering that makes writing feel like sculpting
Why it matters:
Writing is thinking made visible. The friction between thought and page should be zero. Mathematical notation shouldn't require a PhD in LaTeX.
Ankify — The Memory Forge
"Transform knowledge into memory."
What it does:
- Digests notes, articles, documents into flashcards
- Generates powerful, minimal cards (not verbose, not trivial)
- Spaced repetition interface optimized for retention
- Syncs with Markdown for seamless note-to-card flow
Why it matters:
Information you can't recall is information you don't have. Ankify closes the loop between learning and knowing.
How We Work
Decisions
- User value is the tiebreaker. When in doubt, ask: does this help someone think better, learn faster, or achieve more?
- Ship and iterate. Perfect is the enemy of good. We learn from users, not assumptions.
- Disagree and commit. Debate hard, decide fast, execute together.
Quality
- If it's not simple, it's not done. Complexity is debt.
- If it's not fast, it's not done. Latency is friction.
- If it's not beautiful, it's not done. Aesthetics affect cognition.
Culture
- We use our own tools. Dogfooding isn't optional.
- We protect deep work. Meetings are expensive. Focus is precious.
- We stay small and intense. Headcount is not progress.
The Name
brain.bike
It's the Steve Jobs reference made literal. It's memorable. It's weird enough to stick.
The domain is a statement: this is a bicycle for your brain. Simple as that.
What Success Looks Like
In 1 year:
- All four tools in public beta
- 1,000 users who can't imagine going back
- Word-of-mouth as primary growth driver
In 3 years:
- 100,000 active users
- Profitable and sustainable
- The default answer to "how do you stay organized and keep learning?"
In 10 years:
- Millions of people thinking more clearly because of tools we built
- A new category of software: cognitive infrastructure
- Proof that technology can serve human flourishing, not undermine it
A Final Note
We're not building another productivity app. The world has enough of those.
We're building a bicycle for the mind. A system that makes human cognition go further, faster, with less wasted effort.
This will take years. It will be hard. Some ideas will fail. Some features will be cut. Some pivots will be painful.
But the destination is worth the ride.
Let's build.
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Document version: 1.0 · Last updated: January 2026 · Internal use only