Was trying to help my wife and we accidentally started a company
My wife came home too tired to eat and said she had no time to draw anymore. I started building her a dashboard. This is how that turned into Cake.
3 min read
I heard her car pull into the driveway, but a couple minutes went by and she still hadn't come in. Usually that means it was a long day of tattooing that took a lot out of her, and she's taking a moment to herself before I bug her with kisses and all the "how was your day?" questions.
She was exhausted when she walked in, and she hadn't had time to eat lunch, so she was hungry. After she ate some leftovers she came into the living room. She put the back of her knees against the couch and let gravity take over, sinking into the cushions with an iPad in hand.
"I have soooo many emails to catch up on," she sighed. "I just feel like it doesn't stop and I don't even have time to draw new stuff anymore."
On one hand, we were both glad she was busy. Getting this many booking requests was something she was dreaming about a couple of years earlier. On the other hand, it was a bummer to watch her feel buried by the part she never saw coming. Bobbi loves to draw and paint, and I hadn't seen her do much of either lately.
"What if we built you something? Like a dashboard that shows you all your requests, reference images, whether they've paid a deposit yet."
A couple more weeks of watching her stressed by the admin, and I started building it. One goal: help her do less admin and more art. She's a lot happier that way, and I liked making her happy.
While I was building, she found a few other tools that did similar things. She tried some. None of them were the thing we had in mind. They missed on how they charged, or on the design, or on what the booking flow would let her do. They weren't built by tattoo artists, so they were missing things she needed. The few that were actually founded by artists were just bad.
Maybe it's delusional self-belief, maybe it's an obsession with tools that feel like art, but we thought we could do better with the right help. So we went looking for it.
I reached out to a friend, Devon, from a couple of communities I'm in. I knew he was a big tech and software guy, so I asked whether he knew any developers who might be open to a new project.
His reply: "I may be the one you seek."
Two hours later, after a conversation about Cake, life, creativity and existentialism, it was clear he was, in fact, the one we were seeking. Devon came aboard as co-founder and chief tech dude, and we've been building the hell out of Cake ever since.
Bobbi's inbox is handled. So is the inbox of every artist who's come on since, which we know because they keep sending Cake to their friends.
The vision is already turning real: an impeccable product, and a community of artists who'd rather spend the day making art than answering emails.
We're opening spots from the waitlist in small groups, because every founding artist gets walked through setup by a person. Claim your handle and we'll reach out to get you caked up when you're up next.