Hey friend 👋,

Guess what happened.

While we were polishing Brick, we accidentally (well, almost) built another app. Happens to everyone, right?

Now, let’s cut to the chase.

What the heck is Clockbane?

Clockbane is our new app that kills the clock on your Mac.

That’s it.

It literally has one job: hide the clock so you can’t check it.

• The clock is a HUGE distraction. Yeah, I know it’s actually kinda small. But we check the time all the time! As much as (or even more often than) the phone.

• Thank Apple for baking their notification center right into the clock. So, there’s now no built-in way to hide the clock on the Mac. You’re stuck with it. Unless you use Clockbane, that is.

• Hiding the clock can help you be more present, focus on your work, and maybe even help with a rare condition called chronophobia.

Now that the Why is clear, what about the How?

Clockbane is as simple as it gets.

It works in 3 simple steps:

1. Flip the switch. Control everything from the menu bar. And the notification center is still where you left it.

2. Turn on ‘open at login’. If you want the app to launch when you turn your Mac on, it’s one toggle away.

3. There’s no step 3. Power to you, not the clock.

Losing track of time doesn't sound bad anymore, does it?

Your turn. Hit the download button and go (clock-) free.

Download Clockbane (DISCONTINUED)

Enjoy!

But please don’t forget to send me your thoughts! Deal?

I reply to every email.

Now let’s talk business.

I mean lessons I’m trying to learn here.

Clockbane is our second app and we (my co-founder Alexander and I) are hell-bent on avoiding the mistakes I made with Brick.

Here’s what’s different:

• We're shipping an MVP (minimum viable product) With Brick, we kept improving & polishing until BOOM: almost 2 years in, we still weren’t live. So this March, we set a deadline to ship Brick in May. Aaand… We finally launched in mid-June after a 2-week fight to get Apple to approve the app. We got the app ready by the May 24 deadline though.
  
  This time, I’m having none of this. We have a product. It’s not perfect, and it works in some situations better than in others. No matter. We’re shipping it as is to find out right now if people actually want it. If yes, we invest in building it out. If not, we chuck it. No wasting time & money. If there are no critical issues, we’ll launch Clockbane on ProductHunt next month. That makes your feedback incredibly important (seriously, send me your thoughts, alright?)
  
  

• Free ≠ useless for business Don't get me wrong, there is monetization potential. But the purpose of Clockbane as a product is different:
  a. A lead magnet. When people get Clockbane, they also learn about Brick.
  b. An authority builder. If people want it, we get a boost as a credible SaaS team. With these two in mind, even if Clockbane never makes a cent, we still get a return on our investment.
  
  

• An additional value for TBL. As a subscriber, you get early access. With this move, I’m making sure TBL subscribers always get the best deal, even if the deal is 1.3 megabytes of pure clock destruction. And, just like that, in just 3 issues (and 3 products), I’ve built the foundation of TBL subscriber benefits: 1. Workspace that works is my first TBL exclusive. 2. WTW and Clockbane are the first early-access offers I created just for you. 3. As a subscriber, you now enjoy a permanent 20% off our flagship app, Brick (see yesterday’s issue for details).

Let’s see if this strategy is any good.

Thanks for reading, and let’s get building.