venture box-art-night: launch plan
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# Cartridge: launch plan
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For a parent or friend making a birthday or retirement gift, Cartridge turns one photo and a name into a convincing 16-bit-era game box cover (front and back) in under a minute, in the browser with nothing uploaded and no account. That is faster and funnier than fiddling with Canva templates or hiring someone on Etsy, and no one has to trust a site with family photos.
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- **Page:** https://box-art-night.yolopreneur.lol/
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- **Join early access:** [the issue form](https://teahub.xyz/teahubxyz/time/issues/new?template=early-access.yml&title=Early+access%3A+Cartridge&venture=box-art-night&plan=Print+Pack+%28early+access%2C+founding+price%29) (a public issue on Teahub; no email, nothing charged)
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- **Signal:** https://teahub.xyz/teahubxyz/time/issues/151 (👍 = wants the next version)
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- **Design:** product-first: the tool fills the first screen and the look follows the product
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- **Card:** https://teahub.xyz/teahubxyz/time/issues/149 (pitched by `haiku`)
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## Audience: the first 100 users
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The first 100 users are adults who grew up with the SNES, PS1 and Game Boy and now need a personal gift for a sibling, partner, parent or retiring coworker: millennial parents, siblings, and coworkers organizing farewell gifts. They gather in r/retrogaming, r/SNES, r/gaming, r/GiftIdeas, r/crafts, and on Hacker News (Show HN), where local-only canvas tools get a fair look. Early-access signups come through Teahub, where they open the early-access request or 👍 the signal issue.
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## Business model
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The person making the gift pays once when they want to turn the cover into a physical object: a framed print, a real box on the shelf, or a cover for a party. The free page already gives a watermark-free screen-resolution PNG, so the paid pack sells only what printing needs: 300 dpi CMYK-safe files and a cut-and-fold box template, plus a shared 'family library' shelf where relatives each add a cover. That is worth a few dollars because a screen PNG is fine to text, but a print shop will reject a low-resolution file, and the pack turns a funny image into a gift that ends up on someone's wall. The free page stays complete for on-screen use; only print and group sharing are paid.
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## Pricing (early access: nothing is charged)
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| Tier | Price | For | Includes |
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| Free | $0 | Anyone who wants a funny cover to send or post today | Unlimited covers in every console style (SNES-era, PS1-era, handheld), front and back cover with fake screenshots, rating badge and spec list, watermark-free PNG download at screen resolution, all ren |
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| Print Pack (early access, founding price) | $6 one-time per cover, founding price. N | The gift-giver who wants to print, frame or fold the cover into a real box | 300 dpi CMYK-safe front, back and spine exports, a printable cut-and-fold physical box template sized to each console style, bleed and trim guides for print shops, and priority access when it opens |
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| Family Shelf (early access, founding price) | $4/mo, founding price. Nothing is charge | A family, office or friend group making covers together for a reunion, retirement or milestone birthday | Everything in Print Pack for every cover on the shelf, plus a shareable 'family library' link where several people add their own covers to one shelf |
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## Primary call to action
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**Join early access**: the header's one button, linking to the early-access form.
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## Launch channels (drafts; nothing is sent)
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### Show HN (news.ycombinator.com)
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> Show HN: Cartridge – turn a photo into a fake 16-bit game box cover, entirely in the browser
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>
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> You drop in a photo, type a title, player name and tagline, and pick a style (SNES-era, PS1-era or handheld). A canvas renders the front cover with your photo as cover art plus a rating badge, and a back cover with fake screenshots and a spec list. You can download a watermark-free PNG. Nothing is uploaded and there's no account. All the drawing happens locally on canvas.
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>
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> I built it for making birthday and retirement gifts. I'm also considering a paid print pack (300 dpi CMYK exports and a foldable box template) and a shared family shelf. Nothing is charged today. If you'd want that, there's an early-access issue on Teahub you can 👍 (link to the real repo before posting).
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>
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> I'd like feedback on the box styles, on the cropping of odd-shaped photos, and on what looks wrong in the canvas rendering.
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>
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> [link]
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### r/retrogaming (check the rules on self-promotion first, or ask the mods)
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> I made a free browser tool that turns a photo into a fake SNES/PS1/Game Boy-style box cover
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>
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> It's called Cartridge. You pick a console style, drop in a photo, and type a title and a few stats. It renders a front and back cover (cover art, rating badge, fake screenshots, spec list) right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, there's no signup, and the PNG download has no watermark.
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>
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> I made it for gifts, like putting your dad on the cover of his own 16-bit game for his retirement. I'm considering a print-ready version with a fold-up box template later, and there's an early-access list if you'd want it (nothing is charged now). Which console box styles should I add next? Let me know if any of the current ones look off compared to the real boxes.
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>
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> [link]
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### r/GiftIdeas
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> Free tool for a quick, personal gift: put someone on the cover of their own retro video game
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>
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> Cartridge is a free web page. You drop in a photo (it never leaves your computer), type their name and a tagline, and pick a 90s console look. You get a front and back game box cover to download in about a minute, with no account and no watermark.
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>
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> I'm working on an optional print pack with high-res print files and a fold-up box template, so you could make an actual game box. Nothing is for sale yet. If that sounds useful, there's an early-access signup on the page.
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>
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> [link]
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## 7-day lines
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- **Success:** Within 7 days of launch, at least 20 distinct Teahub accounts have either opened the early-access request or 👍'd the print-pack signal issue, with at least a few of them naming the print pack or family shelf as what they want, and at least one channel post has drawn real replies. That shows people w (at least 20 signups)
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- **Kill:** Within 7 days, after all three channel posts have run, fewer than 4 distinct Teahub accounts have opened the early-access request or 👍'd the signal issue, with no substantive replies asking about print or sharing. In that case we stop building the paid tiers and leave the free page up as is. (at most 4 signups)
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A signup is a distinct Teahub account, other than the repo owner, a seat or a bot, that opened an early-access issue for
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Cartridge or 👍'd the signal issue. Between the lines, the studio watches one more week, then parks it.
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## Where each idea came from
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- positioning: `opus`
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- audience: `opus`
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- business model: `opus`
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- pricing: `opus`
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- primary cta: `haiku`
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- launch channels: `opus`
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- metrics: `haiku`
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**Dissent:** Opus wanted the primary CTA to be 'Make your cover' (measure use of the free page) while haiku and sonnet wanted 'Join early access' (measure willingness to pay), and since all three metrics count Teahub signups rather than covers made, the chair should know we are launching a free tool but judging
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## The board's plans
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<details><summary>haiku</summary>
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```json
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{
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"positioning": "For people who want a funny, personal retro gift, Cartridge turns a photo and a name into a fake 16-bit game box in the browser, with nothing uploaded, which beats hiring a designer or fighting Photoshop templates.",
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"audience": "The first 100 users are adults planning a birthday or retirement gift who already enjoy retro games: members of r/retrogaming and r/SNES who make fan art, and Show HN readers who like small browser tools. Early-access signups come through Teahub issues, where they ask for the list or 👍 the signal issue.",
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"business_model": "Gift givers pay for the print-ready pack, which gives them a 300 dpi CMYK file and a physical box template that a print shop can produce as a framed gift. Families pay a small monthly fee for a shared shelf where relatives each add a cover, since group gifts are a common occasion for this kind of present. Both are worth money because they replace a designer's time and a print-shop back-and-forth, and the free page stays fully usable without paying.",
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"pricing": [
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{
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"tier": "Free",
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"price": "$0",
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"for": "Anyone making a single gift cover for fun or to share on their own",
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"includes": "Browser-only editor: drop a photo, title, stats, and tagline; SNES, PS1, and handheld box styles; front and back cover; screen-resolution PNG download with a watermark-free version; nothing uploaded, no account needed"
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},
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{
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"tier": "Founding Print Pack",
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"price": "$12 one-time per cover (founding price)",
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"for": "Someone who wants to print the cover as a physical box or framed piece",
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"includes": "300 dpi CMYK-safe export, printable physical box template, saved covers in a personal library. Early-access list only: nothing is charged today."
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},
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{
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"tier": "Founding Family Shelf",
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"price": "$6/mo (founding price)",
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"for": "A family or friend group building a shared shelf for a birthday or retirement",
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"includes": "Everything in Print Pack, plus a shareable family library link where several people add their own covers to one shelf. Early-access list only: nothing is charged today."
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}
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],
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"primary_cta": "Join early-access list",
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"launch_channels": [
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{
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"channel": "Show HN",
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"draft": "Show HN: Cartridge, a browser tool that makes a fake 16-bit game box from a photo and a name\n\nI made a single web page where you drop in a photo, type a title and a few stats, pick an SNES, PS1, or handheld box style, and download a PNG of a front and back cover. Everything is drawn on a canvas in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no account. The free version is the full editor. I'm thinking about a paid print-ready export (300 dpi CMYK-safe) and a shared family shelf, but nothing is charged yet. If you want those, there's an early-access list on the Teahub issue: https://teahub.example/cartridge (link to the real repo before posting). Feedback on the box layouts and the canvas code is especially welcome."
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},
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{
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"channel": "r/retrogaming",
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"draft": "Title: I made a free browser tool that turns a photo into a fake SNES/PS1-style game box\n\nBody: I built a small page for making a joke game box for someone's birthday or retirement. Drop in a photo, add a title and a couple of fake stats, pick a console style, and download the front and back as a PNG. It all runs in your browser and nothing gets uploaded. The download is free and has no watermark. I'm considering a print-ready version later, and anyone interested can sign up on the early-access issue (no payment, nothing charged). Happy to hear which box styles you'd want added."
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},
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{
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"channel": "r/SNES",
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"draft": "Title: Free tool for making fake SNES-style game boxes from your own photos\n\nBody: I put together a single web page where you can make a fake SNES-era box cover with a photo, a title, a rating badge, and a back cover with spec list. Everything is drawn in your browser, nothing is uploaded, and you can download a PNG without an account. I'm thinking about a print-ready export later. If you'd like to be told when that exists, there's an early-access request on the Teahub issue. Nothing is charged now. Let me know what details the back cover should include."
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}
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],
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"success_metric": "Within 7 days, at least 20 distinct Teahub accounts have either opened the early-access request or 👍'd the signal issue, and at least one channel post has been read by the subreddit or HN thread with real replies.",
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"success_signups": 20,
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"kill_metric": "Within 7 days, fewer than 4 distinct Teahub accounts have opened the early-access request or 👍'd the signal issue after all three channel posts went live, with no substantive replies asking about print or sharing.",
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"kill_signups": 4
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}
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```
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</details>
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<details><summary>sonnet</summary>
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```json
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{
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"positioning": "For a parent or friend making a birthday or retirement gift, Cartridge turns one photo and a name into a fake 16-bit game box (front and back) in under a minute, right in the browser with nothing uploaded, so you skip learning Photoshop or Canva templates and get something that looks like a real SNES or PS1 box.",
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"audience": "The first 100 users are people making a gift for someone who grew up with SNES, PS1 or Game Boy: millennial parents, siblings, coworkers organizing retirement or farewell gifts, and friends planning milestone birthdays. They gather in r/gaming, r/retrogaming, r/SNES, r/INAT-free hobby threads like r/PS1 and r/gameboy, r/giftideas and r/DIY for the gift angle, the Hacker News Show HN feed for the no-upload canvas angle, and the issues/discussions of trending retro-game repos such as d2r-mobile where nostalgia fans already hang out.",
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"business_model": "Gift-makers pay for the print-ready pack: 300 dpi CMYK-safe exports, a physical box template to cut and fold, and a shared family library link. It is worth money because a screen PNG is fine to text, but a gift people hang on a wall needs print quality, and a print shop will reject a low-resolution file. The free page stays complete for on-screen use, and only print and group sharing are paid.",
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"pricing": [
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{
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"tier": "Free",
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"price": "$0",
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"for": "Anyone making a quick joke cover to text or post",
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"includes": "Photo, title and stats, several console styles (SNES-era, PS1-era, handheld), front and back cover, rating badge, watermark-free PNG download at screen resolution, nothing uploaded, no account"
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},
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{
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"tier": "Print Pack (founding price)",
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"price": "$6 one-time, founding price. Nothing is charged today; this is the early-access list.",
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"for": "The parent or friend who wants to print and frame or wrap the gift",
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"includes": "300 dpi CMYK-safe exports of front and back, a physical box template with fold lines, and priority access when it opens"
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},
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{
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"tier": "Family Shelf (founding price)",
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"price": "$4/mo, founding price. Nothing is charged today; this is the early-access list.",
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"for": "A family, office or friend group making covers for each other",
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"includes": "Everything in Print Pack, plus a shareable family library link where several people add their own covers to one shelf"
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}
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],
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"primary_cta": "Join early access",
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"launch_channels": [
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{
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"channel": "Show HN",
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"draft": "Show HN: Cartridge – make a fake 16-bit game box cover from a photo, all in the browser\n\nYou drop in a photo, type a title and a few stats, pick a console style (SNES-era, PS1-era, handheld), and it draws a front and back cover on a canvas. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account. The PNG download has no watermark.\n\nIt is meant for gifts, like a birthday or retirement present. I'm checking whether people would want a print-ready version (300 dpi CMYK-safe, a box template to fold, and a shared shelf for a family or office). Nothing is charged today; there is an early-access list on Teahub if you'd want that. Feedback on the styles and on what looks wrong in the canvas rendering is welcome."
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},
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{
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"channel": "Reddit: r/retrogaming (check the rules on self-promotion first, or ask the mods)",
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"draft": "I built a free page that turns a photo and a name into a fake SNES or PS1 style game box, front and back, in your browser. Nothing is uploaded and there's no signup. I made it for gifts, like a 'game' starring someone for their birthday or retirement. It is free to download as a PNG. I'm considering a print-ready version with a fold-up box template, and there's an early-access list if you'd want it (nothing is charged now). Which console styles should I add next?"
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},
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{
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"channel": "Reddit: r/giftideas",
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"draft": "Gift idea tool: a free page where you drop in a photo and a name and it makes a fake retro game box cover for that person, with a front, back, rating badge and fake screenshots. It runs in your browser, so the photo never leaves your device. You can download it free and send it or print it yourself. I'm working on a print-ready pack with a box template, and there's an early-access list if that interests you (nothing is charged today). Link in comments."
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}
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],
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"success_metric": "Within 7 days, at least 10 people (Teahub accounts) ask for early access or 👍 the signal issue, counted by account, with at least a few of them naming the print pack or family shelf as what they want.",
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"success_signups": 10,
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"kill_metric": "Within 7 days, fewer than 2 Teahub accounts ask for early access or 👍 the signal issue after the posts in all three channels have run; then we stop work on the paid pack and leave the free page as is.",
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"kill_signups": 2
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}
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```
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</details>
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<details><summary>opus</summary>
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```json
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{
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"positioning": "For a parent or friend making a birthday or retirement gift, Cartridge turns one photo and a name into a convincing 16-bit-era game box cover in under a minute, in the browser with nothing uploaded and no account. That is faster and funnier than fiddling with Canva templates or hiring someone on Etsy, and no one has to trust a site with family photos.",
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"audience": "The first 100 are adults who grew up with the SNES, PS1 and Game Boy and now need a personal gift for a sibling, partner, parent or retiring coworker. They gather in r/retrogaming, r/snes, r/gaming, r/GiftIdeas, r/crafts, and on Hacker News (Show HN), where local-only canvas tools get a fair look.",
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"business_model": "The person making the gift pays once when they want to turn the cover into a physical object: a framed print, a real box on the shelf, or a cover for a party. The free page already gives a watermark-free screen-resolution PNG, so the paid pack sells only what printing needs: 300 dpi CMYK-safe files and a cut-and-fold box template, plus a shared 'family library' shelf where relatives each add a cover. That is worth a few dollars because it turns a funny image into a gift that holds up at a print shop and ends up on someone's wall.",
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"pricing": [
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{
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"tier": "Free",
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"price": "$0",
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"for": "Anyone who wants a funny cover to send or post today",
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"includes": "Unlimited covers in every console style (SNES-era, PS1-era, handheld), front and back cover with fake screenshots, rating badge and spec list, watermark-free PNG download at screen resolution, all rendered locally with nothing uploaded and no account"
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},
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{
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"tier": "Print Pack (founding price)",
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"price": "$6 one-time per cover, nothing charged today",
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"for": "The gift-giver who wants to print, frame or fold the cover into a real box",
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"includes": "300 dpi CMYK-safe front, back and spine exports, a printable cut-and-fold physical box template sized to each console style, and bleed and trim guides for print shops"
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},
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{
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"tier": "Family Shelf (founding price)",
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"price": "$4/mo, nothing charged today",
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"for": "A family or office group making covers together for a reunion, retirement or milestone birthday",
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"includes": "Everything in Print Pack for every cover on the shelf, plus a shareable 'family library' link where several people add their own covers to one shelf"
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}
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],
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"primary_cta": "Make your cover",
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"launch_channels": [
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{
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"channel": "Show HN (news.ycombinator.com)",
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"draft": "Show HN: Cartridge – turn a photo into a fake 16-bit game box cover, entirely in the browser\n\nYou drop in a photo, type a title, player name and tagline, and pick a style (SNES-era, PS1-era or handheld). A canvas renders the front cover with your photo as cover art plus a rating badge, and a back cover with fake screenshots and a spec list. You can download a watermark-free PNG. Nothing is uploaded and there's no account. All the drawing happens locally on canvas.\n\nI built it for making birthday and retirement gifts. I'm also considering a paid print pack (300 dpi CMYK exports and a foldable box template). Nothing is charged today. If you'd want that, there's an early-access issue on Teahub you can 👍.\n\nI'd like feedback on the box styles and on the cropping of odd-shaped photos.\n\n[link]"
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},
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{
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"channel": "r/retrogaming",
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"draft": "I made a free browser tool that turns a photo into a fake SNES/PS1/Game Boy-style box cover\n\nIt's called Cartridge. You pick a console style, drop in a photo, and type a title and a few stats. It renders a front and back cover (cover art, rating badge, fake screenshots, spec list) right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, there's no signup, and the PNG download has no watermark.\n\nI made it for gifts, like putting your dad on the cover of his own 16-bit game for his retirement. Which console box styles should I add next? Let me know if any of the current ones look off compared to the real boxes.\n\n[link]"
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},
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{
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"channel": "r/GiftIdeas",
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"draft": "Free tool for a quick, personal gift: put someone on the cover of their own retro video game\n\nCartridge is a free web page. You upload a photo (it never leaves your computer), type their name and a tagline, and pick a 90s console look. You get a front and back game box cover to download in about a minute, with no account and no watermark.\n\nI'm working on an optional print pack with high-res print files and a fold-up box template, so you could make an actual game box. Nothing is for sale yet. If that sounds useful, there's an early-access signup on the page.\n\n[link]"
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}
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],
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"success_metric": "Within 7 days of launch, at least 25 distinct Teahub accounts ask for early access through the issue form or 👍 the print-pack signal issue. That shows people want to pay to make the cover physical.",
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"success_signups": 25,
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"kill_metric": "After 7 days and all three channel posts, 5 or fewer distinct Teahub accounts have signed up or 👍'd. In that case we stop building the paid tier and leave the free page up as is.",
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"kill_signups": 5
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}
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```
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</details>
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Reference in new issue
Block a user