index 4b5e464..d5ba426 100644
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ that's it. that's the financial outcome so far. I'm not going to pretend otherwi
a few reasons:
-1. **I haven't needed it yet.** the free stack (Vercel, Cloudflare, Supabase, GitHub Education) means you can build and deploy products for $0. I haven't hit a point where money was the bottleneck.
+1. **I haven't needed it yet.** the free stack (Vercel, Cloudflare, Supabase, GitHub Education) means you can [[shipping-products|build and deploy products]] for $0. see [[tools-stack]] for the full breakdown. I haven't hit a point where money was the bottleneck.
2. **the projects I've built haven't been "fundable" in the traditional sense.** hackathon projects, research, tools for myself — these aren't venture-scale businesses (yet).
3. **I'm not anti-funding, I just haven't had the right thing to fund.** applying for funding without a clear use for the money is a waste of everyone's time.
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ I'm not going to write detailed guides on programs I haven't experienced. but th
- **Emergent Ventures (Tyler Cowen):** $1k-$50k grants, minimal strings attached. reportedly fast process. 13+ eligible. this is probably the most accessible one for young builders.
- **1517 Fund:** VC fund backing founders without college degrees. also runs Medici Project ($1k grants for interesting projects).
- **Z Fellows:** $10k + one week in SF with mentorship.
-- **Hack Club grants:** various grant programs for teen projects throughout the year.
+- **Hack Club grants:** various grant programs for teen projects throughout the year. Hack Club is also one of the best [[communities]] for young builders.
if I end up doing any of these, I'll update this page with an honest account.
@@ -50,6 +50,6 @@ the workarounds:
## what I'd tell my past self
-don't optimize for funding. build the thing. if it's good, the funding will follow. every funding application is 10x stronger if you have a working prototype with users.
+don't optimize for funding. build the thing. if it's good, the funding will follow. every funding application is 10x stronger if you have a working prototype with users. and the [[mentorship-networking|connections]] you make through the application process can be as valuable as the money.
-and honestly — the free tier of modern dev tools is so generous that "I need money to build" is rarely true for software projects. the bottleneck is almost never money. it's time, skill, and knowing what to build.
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+and honestly — the free tier of modern dev tools is so generous that "I need money to build" is rarely true for software projects. the bottleneck is almost never money. it's time, skill, and knowing what to build. often a [[work-experience|paid internship]] or hackathon prize is a more practical path to funding your work.
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