Bootstrapped AF – Welcome to Goat Pen
Welcome to Goat Pen and Bootstrapped AF.
Writing this feels necessary, but it also feels like sophisticated procrastination.
I’ll keep this short.
I’ve “launched” this thing several times before. Launched in “air quotes” because my launches have been false starts.
There is a fine line between being ready for launch and launching too early.
I set arbitrary deadlines because the internet told me to and I didn’t want to get stuck in the perfection/excuse trap.
This is bootstrapped project and I’m building in public.
Goat Pen as a private community and social networking platform is done and ready for members.
Internal profiles, groups, messaging—all up and working.
Externally facing profiles for G-Force (explained below) are up, ready to be built, and ready to be discovered.
G-Force Live (explained below) is in development. But, the events calendar is up and ready for events to be shared and discovered.
What is Goat Pen?
Goat Pen is the social platform I wanted to exist.
The problem was the place I wanted didn’t exist. So I built it.
I’m a trainer and instructional designer by trade. My background is military, maritime, and high risk industries like tree care and utility vegetation management. I’m also an authorized OSHA general industry trainer and podcast engineer. At my core, I’m a problem solver and builder.
I wanted to create a place for workforce trainers, mentors and podcasters to serve their industry. A place to push training boundaries, try new things, and take training back from the academics and managerial class.
I also wanted a place where doers and builders could solve problems, work on ideas, design products and services, and build cool shit.
Most “training” has become a grift.
Most “entrepreneurship” has become a grift, dominated by meta-successful meta-marketers and meta-content creators chasing influencer status and personal branding.
Social media algorithms incentivize and reward junk content and performative (fake virtue signaling) behavior. I’m unapologetic in my disgust for this because it has social consequences and makes it difficult to cut through the mix. Voices, talent, and ideas worth developing and sharing get drowned out by the noise.
My hope is that Goat Pen becomes a place where the workforce trains itself, and builders are free to ideate, collaborate, and build.
The Goat Pen Ecosystem
- Goat Pen is the social platform.
- G-Force is the builder network.
- G-Force Alliance is a virtual fraternal lodge for real doers and builders to collude to beat the algorithms.
- G-Force Trainer is for workforce trainers who specialize in instructor-led training.
- G-Force Multiplier is for subject matter experts and industry mentors to run our Pens (groups).
- G-Force Pen Podster and the Pen Pods Podcast Network supports trade, industry, and workforce related podcasting.
- G-Force Launcher is zero commission crowdfunding.
- G-Force FanChiser is a crowdscaling concept for sharing your product/IP using simple revocable terms and conditions.
- G-Force Recon is an internal voluntary security force to keep our Pens clean.
- G-Force Live is an app we’re developing to support G-Force with a tool to run and share interactive live sessions including livestreaming and in-person events.
- Next-Pat (Next Pattern Patriots) is Goat Pen’s tribe of problem solvers and futurists actively seeking ways to leverage AI and respond to change.
- G-Love Match is an opt-in layer and internal community for connecting with others on a personal level (romantic, special interest, community etc.)
- L•iN•X (Living Information Exchange) is our networking, opportunity, and talent search utility (partially in development) that will make connections based not only on structured profile data but also on community activity and contribution.
- NOLOCO is our pricing philosophy and it stands for no-and-low-cost.
- Bootstrapped Pirate Social is our attitude towards building and social media. It’s about being gritty & pirating the airwaves when you can.
We didn’t just build the platform, we’re using it. We’re offering training, running pens, delivering podcasts, launching ideas, and sharing them as FanChise opportunities.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and stay tuned for updates and more content.
- Make sure to look around and check out our Goat Pen Ecosystem about page
- Join Goat Pen
