Investor meetings are fun.
"So what's the monetization strategy?"
"People plant seeds in a garden."
Confused stares.
"It's like... community-funded AI coaching?"
More confused stares.
Here's why we didn't just build a normal subscription product.
The Problem With Subscriptions
Subscription businesses optimize for retention. Keep people paying. Reduce churn. Maximize LTV.
This creates weird incentives for a coaching product:
- The healthier you get, the less you need us
- If we actually help you, you might cancel
- Our success = your dependency
That felt gross.
Life coaching should be more like... tending a garden. Sometimes the garden needs daily attention. Sometimes it needs space to grow on its own. You don't subscribe to a garden.
How The Garden Works
Gardeners contribute what they can, when they can. There's no recurring charge hunting you down every month.
When you plant a seed, you're not buying access. You're nurturing something—for yourself and for others who can't contribute right now.
The philosophy:
- Those who can, give
- Those who can't, receive
- Everyone tends the garden
When someone in financial hardship uses Ferni at 2am, they're not "free tier users." They're part of the garden. Their growth matters. Their conversations make Ferni better for everyone.
Why This Matters for the Product
Because we're not optimizing for retention, we can optimize for resolution.
- If you work through something and don't need Ferni for a while, that's a win
- If your life stabilizes and you naturally talk to us less, great
- If you come back in six months with a new challenge, we're here
This changes how we build features. Nothing is designed to create sticky habits or artificial engagement. No streak counters. No "you haven't checked in today!" guilt notifications.
Just: We're here when you need us. Go live your life.
The Uncomfortable Truth
We can't know if this model works long-term. We're betting on a few things:
- People are generous when they believe in something and aren't being squeezed
- Word of mouth from genuinely helped people beats any marketing
- We can build lean enough to not need VC-scale revenue
These could all be wrong. We might need to change. We're okay with that.
What we're not okay with is building something that's designed to keep you coming back out of habit rather than genuine need.
What We've Seen So Far
Early gardeners have been... surprising.
Some plant monthly. Some plant once and leave a note: "Use this to help someone who needs it."
One person asked if they could plant extra seeds specifically for 2am users. "That's when people need it most," they said.
Yeah. Yeah it is.
The Name
We almost called it "Community Fund" or "Supporter Program."
But "The Garden" captures something those don't:
- Gardens require patience
- Gardens have seasons
- Gardens are alive
And there's something lovely about "planting seeds" instead of "making payments."
Language matters. The words we use shape how we think about things.
We wanted people to feel like they're growing something together, not buying something alone.
What This Means for You
If you're reading this and money is tight: Ferni is for you too. No paywall. No guilt. The garden covers you.
If you're in a position to give: Your seeds matter. Not because we need the revenue (though we do), but because every contribution is a vote for "AI can be different."
Most AI products are funded by people who want 10x returns. The Garden is funded by people who want more presence in the world.
That's a different kind of investment entirely.
Building in public means sharing everything—including our weird business model experiments. Questions? Email us.