PRESENT started in 2016 as a solo project. Ten years, three print issues, countless collaborations and one app later, it’s still the Thing I care about most. So let me tell you where I want to take it.
Over the next ten years, I want PRESENT to become a home for Modern Makers: a magazine you keep on your shelf, a tool you open every morning, and people who actually show up for each other. Issue 4, “Becoming,” is in the works. Do The Thing, my book, turns ten years of this into one framework: Find, Start, Focus, Cultivate, Ship. presentOS will keep growing into the companion I wish I’d had when I started. And the community will spill off the screen and into real rooms.
I’d love for PRESENT to be the place someone finds on a bad day and leaves with a plan, a practice and a few new friends.
Three weeks ago, alongside presentOS v2, I opened Present Pro. I didn’t say much about it then. This letter is the why.
A membership is something I’ve dreamed about for a long, long time. Pro is how PRESENT stays independent: one offer, everything I make in one place, and the most direct way to keep this going.
I’ve been investing in PRESENT for ten years, and I will for the next ten. But I need support.
⊹ Monthly servers, hosting, domain and bandwidth costs: ~145€
⊹ Monthly tools, platform costs and third-party services: ~275€
⊹ Daily time I put into PRESENT: ~6 hours
Thirty Pros cover most of those running costs. Everything beyond that buys me time to build.
To be completely honest: making a paid offer scares me. As a creative, selling something still feels icky. So I over-perfected my offer. It took me years.
One Offer. Everything included.
Becoming Present Pro.
What you get:
A daily practice. The full presentOS, unlimited: deep focus sessions, survival kits for the hard days, reset practices, and Sensei, a creative guide built on 20+ years of shipping Things. Plus everything I’ve learned collected in one place, the whole print archive (every essay, interview and dojo), and soon the Do The Thing Framework to start, finish and present your Favorite Unrealized Project.
People who show up. Full access to the Present Space, our global community: bi-weekly Consistency Club Calls with all recaps, a Pro profile to show your Things to the world, your membercard, and exclusive Pro perks and updates.
The book, and me. The printed Do The Thing, shipping by the end of 2026, plus lifetime digital access. And a one-hour private Zoom call with me about your Thing (first 10 slots). Both only in the yearly plan. (Already ordered the book? You legend! You get a refund on your prior purchase.)
And you keep an independent project alive. Every Pro who wants it gets a place in our Supporter Hall of Fame, digital and in print.
One of my highlights this year: Pablo, Gabriella and Nick met on our Consistency Club Calls, then sent me photos of them meeting up in real life in NYC. They became friends. That was the most beautiful thing! That’s what I’m doing this for.
If my work ever helped you in some way, please consider becoming Pro <3
This is my offer:
12€/month (144€ billed yearly) or 18€/month (billed monthly)
My first goal: 30 Pros.
For legends: pay once, never think about it again. 30 Founding seats at 399€ for lifetime Pro, available on the Present Pro website. Thirty founders would carry PRESENT’s running costs for about two years.
You work on your Thing alone. → A whole support system behind you.
Overthinking. Postponing. Doubting. → Starting. Focusing. Shipping.
Resistance usually wins. → Tools that beat Resistance, daily.
Motivation comes and goes. → A practice that carries you.
Nobody sees your progress. → A tribe that celebrates every step.
Someday, maybe, eventually. → Today. You do the Thing.
Writing this scared me. Hitting send scares me a little more. So thank you for reading this far, and for being here, Pro or not.
If there’s something you’d want from Pro that isn’t there yet, hit reply and tell me.
Hugo
<3
I’d like to cheer you on, Hugo! Love your project, and the love and dedication you put into this. No need to feel icky to ask for money as a creative. It should be the norm! Especially for something so thought-through and valuable. I can’t support financially right now, but will follow along. I know how hard it is to monetize the thing you love, and really hope you’ll find lots of Pros.