1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: Friends, hello, and welcome to a Neverpost funding 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,520 update. I'm your Neverpost funding update host, Mike 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:12,240 Rugnetta. The long and short of the news I have for you is the 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:17,645 following. One, we're not going anywhere yet. Two, our runway is 5 00:00:17,645 --> 00:00:19,485 shrinking, and we need your help. 6 00:00:19,485 --> 00:00:22,525 We are at a pivotal and, honestly, a little bit spooky 7 00:00:22,525 --> 00:00:25,500 moment in our trajectory towards becoming a self sustaining 8 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:29,500 program. And I'm gonna let you all know where we are, how far 9 00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:33,340 your help has already taken us, spoiler alert, very, very far, 10 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:37,500 the whole way, and, how we are thinking about what happens 11 00:00:37,500 --> 00:00:46,375 next. So here we go. Up until this point, Neverpost has had a 12 00:00:46,375 --> 00:00:50,455 financial runway built by client work that we all do together. 13 00:00:50,900 --> 00:00:54,340 The bulk of this has been covered by one client, in fact, 14 00:00:54,340 --> 00:00:56,180 a single contract. 15 00:00:56,660 --> 00:01:00,580 That contract just ended, which means that we'll need to 16 00:01:00,580 --> 00:01:03,780 establish a sustainable financial situation in one way 17 00:01:03,780 --> 00:01:08,985 or another by the end of the calendar year 2025. There are a 18 00:01:08,985 --> 00:01:11,225 bunch of ways that we are approaching that challenge, and 19 00:01:11,225 --> 00:01:15,945 we are hoping that the way we can do it is through listener 20 00:01:15,945 --> 00:01:20,825 support, through memberships. This is both scary and exciting. 21 00:01:21,300 --> 00:01:24,180 We've learned a lot working together over the last year on 22 00:01:24,180 --> 00:01:27,860 both Neverpost and our client work. There's a lot that we 23 00:01:27,860 --> 00:01:31,700 wanna do with the show, and every week, we learn more about 24 00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:32,820 how to do it. 25 00:01:33,060 --> 00:01:37,385 With the exit of our one big shared client, we all worked on 26 00:01:37,385 --> 00:01:40,585 this client work together. We've encountered a kind of bargain. 27 00:01:40,825 --> 00:01:45,785 We now have the time to try out more stuff with NeverPost, but 28 00:01:46,665 --> 00:01:50,620 none of us currently has a job. So this is a big inflection 29 00:01:50,620 --> 00:01:53,740 point. If you like us and you want us to keep doing what we're 30 00:01:53,740 --> 00:01:58,060 doing with the show and maybe help make it the thing we do, 31 00:01:58,700 --> 00:02:01,020 please consider becoming a member today. 32 00:02:01,605 --> 00:02:07,125 Now is the time. If you've been waiting for some any additional 33 00:02:07,125 --> 00:02:10,885 motivating factor, you can become a member for $4 a month 34 00:02:10,885 --> 00:02:15,400 on our website at neverpoe.st. While you're there, you can also 35 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,000 tip us any amount of money one time. The links are in the show 36 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,200 notes. We're gonna be doing a few things over the next month 37 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,080 to help us towards our goal of making the show financially 38 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,880 sustainable absent our client work runway. 39 00:02:28,365 --> 00:02:31,085 We're gonna be doing a member drive, roughly a week of mostly 40 00:02:31,085 --> 00:02:33,805 live streamed programming to help get some new members, 41 00:02:33,805 --> 00:02:36,685 introduce folks to the show, talk about how we think about 42 00:02:36,685 --> 00:02:40,445 and do what we do, and so on and so forth. We're gonna say more 43 00:02:40,445 --> 00:02:43,165 about this in the coming weeks in episodes and in the 44 00:02:43,165 --> 00:02:47,090 newsletter, but this is gonna be happening in late August. I hope 45 00:02:47,090 --> 00:02:49,890 you'll join us. We're gonna be selling our first run of T 46 00:02:49,890 --> 00:02:52,530 shirts, and they look red as hell. We already have the 47 00:02:52,530 --> 00:02:53,250 designs done. 48 00:02:53,250 --> 00:02:57,145 They're so, so good, so get really hype about that. And then 49 00:02:57,145 --> 00:03:02,025 we are also going to unarchive our old membership levels 50 00:03:02,025 --> 00:03:06,185 starting when this upload goes out. The $4 tier isn't going 51 00:03:06,185 --> 00:03:11,060 anywhere. It will still get you access to everything, but the $7 52 00:03:11,060 --> 00:03:15,940 and $12 a month levels will return, and they will both also 53 00:03:15,940 --> 00:03:20,100 have the same set of rewards. So there is no practical difference 54 00:03:20,100 --> 00:03:25,445 between $4.07, and $12 other than the final two are for folks 55 00:03:25,445 --> 00:03:27,925 who wanna help out a little more just because they can. 56 00:03:27,925 --> 00:03:32,245 And if you choose to do that, my god, do we appreciate it? 57 00:03:32,405 --> 00:03:35,300 Alright. That's the bulk of what I wanna say summarized. If 58 00:03:35,300 --> 00:03:38,420 you're a freak for the details, the rest of this upload are 59 00:03:38,420 --> 00:03:41,860 those. If you wanna bail now and go become a member straight 60 00:03:41,860 --> 00:03:43,780 away, I'm not gonna stop you. 61 00:03:43,780 --> 00:03:53,435 In fact, I'm gonna applaud you. Good work. Nice job. Just what a 62 00:03:53,435 --> 00:03:54,875 show. What a show. 63 00:03:57,755 --> 00:04:00,250 Okay. So if you missed the state of the pod episode at the 64 00:04:00,250 --> 00:04:02,410 beginning of the year where we talked about how we fund the 65 00:04:02,410 --> 00:04:06,010 show and how it's going, let me give you some backstory. We all 66 00:04:06,010 --> 00:04:08,090 work together at a small production company called Charts 67 00:04:08,090 --> 00:04:12,305 and Leisure doing client work. That means that companies hire 68 00:04:12,305 --> 00:04:16,625 us to make media for them. Over the last year and change, client 69 00:04:16,625 --> 00:04:20,305 work money has paid our bills, meaning we could do the work of 70 00:04:20,305 --> 00:04:24,385 Neverpost without being paid to do it, which, none of us are. 71 00:04:24,530 --> 00:04:27,490 The contract for our biggest client, the one providing 72 00:04:27,490 --> 00:04:30,850 coverage for all of us to make the show together, has ended. 73 00:04:31,090 --> 00:04:33,650 There was always a chance that this was gonna happen, but it 74 00:04:33,650 --> 00:04:38,530 happened a little sooner and a little more, completely than we 75 00:04:38,530 --> 00:04:42,445 expected. This effectively means we are all un or underemployed 76 00:04:42,445 --> 00:04:45,725 at the moment. We have enough in membership and ad money to pay 77 00:04:45,725 --> 00:04:48,685 for the show's direct expenses, including for occasional 78 00:04:48,685 --> 00:04:52,770 contributing producer segments. So we're not losing money, but 79 00:04:52,770 --> 00:04:56,130 the show doesn't make us any money in a meaningful way. 80 00:04:56,130 --> 00:05:00,930 So there's now a money vacuum in the life of the staff that needs 81 00:05:00,930 --> 00:05:05,330 to be filled. How it gets filled will have a big impact on the 82 00:05:05,330 --> 00:05:08,595 show going forward. So that's what I'm about to explain. The 83 00:05:08,595 --> 00:05:12,115 ideal scenario is that we become sustainable through membership, 84 00:05:12,115 --> 00:05:15,875 and this means that we each get paid roughly what it costs us to 85 00:05:15,875 --> 00:05:19,315 do the work required to make Never Post. We've made the show 86 00:05:19,315 --> 00:05:22,755 for a year, as something that we do between professional 87 00:05:22,755 --> 00:05:24,800 projects, and you've seen what we can do. 88 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:29,120 We were an Atlantic best podcast of the year. We won a Webby for 89 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:33,440 our live show. We did a live show at XOXO Fest, the last XOXO 90 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:38,015 Fest. We won an honorable mention for a best single 91 00:05:38,015 --> 00:05:42,255 podcast Webby. We were able to join Radiotopia, an extremely 92 00:05:42,255 --> 00:05:44,335 fancy storied network. 93 00:05:44,335 --> 00:05:48,095 We were featured on Apple Podcasts multiple times. Imagine 94 00:05:48,175 --> 00:05:53,880 what we could do if this show is all we did. To pinch a phrase, 95 00:05:54,200 --> 00:06:08,195 we are nowhere near our true power level yet. This is where 96 00:06:08,195 --> 00:06:11,555 you come in. If you join other people listening to become a 97 00:06:11,555 --> 00:06:14,515 member, if you aren't already, we stand a good chance of being 98 00:06:14,515 --> 00:06:18,690 able to focus more and more of our time on Never Post. 99 00:06:18,690 --> 00:06:22,050 And who knows next year, what sort of shenanigans we can get 100 00:06:22,050 --> 00:06:29,250 even more awards for. I bet I bet we can convince Georgia to 101 00:06:29,250 --> 00:06:35,825 sing. Tonys, here we come. Okay. So now but seriously, what are 102 00:06:35,825 --> 00:06:37,185 the other ways this can go? 103 00:06:37,585 --> 00:06:40,625 It is possible that the show's audience grows such that ads 104 00:06:40,625 --> 00:06:43,825 contribute significantly to sustainability, but this is 105 00:06:43,825 --> 00:06:47,790 unlikely. Ad rates are pretty low. Audience growth is slow for 106 00:06:47,790 --> 00:06:51,070 us and everyone else. I mean, don't get me wrong. Please tell 107 00:06:51,070 --> 00:06:52,190 your pals about the show. 108 00:06:52,190 --> 00:06:54,510 Share your favorite segments with them. It really, really 109 00:06:54,510 --> 00:06:56,670 makes a difference, but the number one thing you can do to 110 00:06:56,670 --> 00:07:00,145 help us in the near term is become a member. It's also 111 00:07:00,145 --> 00:07:03,025 possible that we pick up more client work. And if it pays well 112 00:07:03,025 --> 00:07:06,625 enough and doesn't demand sixty hours of work a week, we can 113 00:07:06,625 --> 00:07:09,585 divide our time the way that we have been up until this point. 114 00:07:09,905 --> 00:07:14,090 Finding new work and, you know, doing it takes time. 115 00:07:14,330 --> 00:07:17,290 And finding one client which can account for so much of our 116 00:07:17,290 --> 00:07:21,610 income as a whole team at once is really rare, but, hey, it can 117 00:07:21,690 --> 00:07:24,730 happen. And if any of you out there are looking to hire an 118 00:07:24,730 --> 00:07:27,865 amazingly talented content production team or work for an 119 00:07:27,865 --> 00:07:31,225 organization who might be interested in the same, you know 120 00:07:31,225 --> 00:07:35,065 where to find us. But the more we rely on client work and not 121 00:07:35,065 --> 00:07:38,585 the work of the show to support us I mean, what's to say that 122 00:07:38,585 --> 00:07:40,905 we're not back in this exact same situation in six months or 123 00:07:40,905 --> 00:07:43,450 a year? It's exhausting. It And also means that we miss the 124 00:07:43,450 --> 00:07:47,690 opportunity to see what we can do if the show is our focus. 125 00:07:48,250 --> 00:07:52,410 It's also possible a percentage of the staff go get, like, jobs, 126 00:07:52,410 --> 00:07:54,570 you know, like the normal kind where you're in an office at a 127 00:07:54,570 --> 00:07:57,370 desk, and they sort of frown on you making an unrelated podcast. 128 00:07:57,865 --> 00:08:01,225 It's also possible we each land our own separate client work, 129 00:08:01,465 --> 00:08:04,185 which could make it tough to coordinate six people making a 130 00:08:04,185 --> 00:08:07,065 show together. Or we land client work, but it's just it's so 131 00:08:07,065 --> 00:08:09,625 demanding that making the show alongside it becomes too 132 00:08:09,625 --> 00:08:13,510 difficult. The point being, the ideal here is we get paid to 133 00:08:13,510 --> 00:08:16,870 make the show that we make more and better. This, of course, has 134 00:08:16,870 --> 00:08:17,670 its own challenges. 135 00:08:17,670 --> 00:08:21,750 We have to go into fundraising mode at exactly the same time. 136 00:08:21,750 --> 00:08:25,055 So many other people and places and media outlets are doing 137 00:08:25,055 --> 00:08:31,455 exactly the same thing because, I mean, you know, you live in 138 00:08:31,455 --> 00:08:35,295 the world. You know what it's like out there. You know, I feel 139 00:08:35,295 --> 00:08:39,230 this as a consumer just as much as I do a producer. And, to put 140 00:08:39,230 --> 00:08:41,630 it succinctly, it sucks. 141 00:08:41,710 --> 00:08:47,870 It it just it sucks all around. But we also know, that, you 142 00:08:47,870 --> 00:08:52,105 know, you guys listen to the show, and you believe in it, and 143 00:08:52,105 --> 00:08:54,825 you're one of the many really incredible listeners who's 144 00:08:54,825 --> 00:08:58,905 engaged with us and the world around us and the Internet 145 00:08:58,905 --> 00:09:02,345 situation that we all inhabit and the media and information 146 00:09:02,345 --> 00:09:05,730 environment. And we just we hope that the things that we make are 147 00:09:05,730 --> 00:09:10,690 meaningful enough that, you feel inspired to help out. So we're 148 00:09:10,690 --> 00:09:13,010 gonna sell some t shirts. We're gonna reopen a few membership 149 00:09:13,010 --> 00:09:15,890 levels, and we're gonna do a membership drive in August, 150 00:09:15,890 --> 00:09:18,370 which we hope that you will join us for and tell your friends 151 00:09:18,370 --> 00:09:18,530 about. 152 00:09:18,935 --> 00:09:23,655 And if we're lucky, it'll all mean that we get to twenty 153 00:09:23,655 --> 00:09:27,335 twenty six, and we get to make the best dang version of this 154 00:09:27,335 --> 00:09:33,170 show that we know how to without, going bananas, been 155 00:09:33,170 --> 00:09:39,890 playing a lot of Donkey Kong lately, or into debt. I'm I'm 156 00:09:39,890 --> 00:09:43,250 crossing more fingers than I have. If you have any questions, 157 00:09:43,250 --> 00:09:45,890 we would love to answer them. Send us an email, a voice mail, 158 00:09:45,890 --> 00:09:48,845 a voice memo. Once we have updates for you on any of this, 159 00:09:48,845 --> 00:09:51,085 it'll be in the newsletter, in the news sections of the 160 00:09:51,085 --> 00:09:52,205 episodes proper. 161 00:09:53,805 --> 00:09:58,845 I I mean, thank you. Thanks for listening this far, to this 162 00:09:58,925 --> 00:10:04,090 detailed funding situation announcement. But really, like, 163 00:10:04,090 --> 00:10:07,850 just thanks a million for your support, and especially for the 164 00:10:07,850 --> 00:10:11,770 support of our members. We literally could not make this 165 00:10:11,770 --> 00:10:17,345 show without you, and that is only about to become more true. 166 00:10:17,825 --> 00:10:20,945 It's tough times, but we really believe in what we're doing. 167 00:10:20,945 --> 00:10:24,465 We hope you do too. We hope that we can keep doing it together 168 00:10:24,785 --> 00:10:28,945 the best way that we know how, and who knows, maybe even a 169 00:10:28,945 --> 00:10:32,560 little better. Alright. I'll see you this Wednesday, in a couple 170 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:34,160 days with a full episode.