Tech founder successfully finances his MacBook by selling ad space on the back
Apple's MacBook has become the go-to device for tech founders these days, yet one budding founder took an intriguing path to fund his own purchase, selling literal ad space on the laptop's case in a now-successful crowdfunding attempt.
You need all the money you can get to run a startup these days and oftentimes it can be the gadgets supporting the work that eats the most into your budget, causing French tech founder 'Vincent' to take such an unorthodox approach.
While you can technically go for any old MacBook, you'll want the best that you can afford in order to save time and achieve top-level performance, but what happens when you quite literally can't afford that?
That's where 'Brand My Mac' could come in clutch – so long as you're willing to sacrifice the aesthetics of your Apple device – and it's surprising to see how much some companies are willing to pay to secure a spot.
Tech founder funds MacBook by selling ad space
Announcing the bold project on X, Vincent took inspiration from similar projects by Jonathan Wilke and Bülent DMK and funded the purchase of his own laptop by auctioning off ad space.
Advert
There were 10 sticker spots on the device's lid, with a live auction seeing companies fight it out for exposure. While Vincent himself appeared to be skeptical whether it would work, the 14-day time limit has been smashed with the funds over doubled in just a single day.
At the time of writing his project has raised $6,431 of the $3,744 target, earning himself not just a MacBook Pro but significant funds that "supports my indie journey and the future trips the laptop and I will go on!"
Leading the way in terms of contributions is See.io, who has forked up $2,007 for the 'Marquee' spot above the signature Apple logo, with Gojiberry currently paying a cumulative fee of $943 for two of the bottom three large sticker spots.
Explaining why he opted for this unconventional way of buying a laptop, Vincent noted: "In short: I need a new laptop + I'm building for iOS = MacBook. I've been indie hacking for a year and a half now, pretty limited by my old dying laptop whenever I wanted to go somewhere."
There's no promise that the companies funding this purchase will receive anything back from their ad space, yet considering the fact that Vincent's site already has over 47,000 visitors, that's bound to draw plenty of attention.
You could fund your tech with this method soon
If you've been left feeling jealous after reading Vincent's success then you might want to pay attention to what he has next, as he's planning to offer the same service out to others in the near future, letting you fund purchases with ad space too.
Responding to a question asking if others could do this too, Vincent noted: "That is the most asked question in the replies, so yes — I'm building it. You set your machine and your prices; the sticker spots, the auction, and everything else is handled for you."
It's not launched quite yet, but you can sign up to a waitlist to be notified when it does eventually go live, and it wouldn't be surprising to suddenly see social media flooded with people looking to deck out their tech with ads.