Distribution and tool costs kill pre-revenue apps before the idea gets a fair test.
You can build the thing. Getting it in front of the right people, and paying for the tools that run it before it earns a dollar, is what actually stalls most first apps. WantBorn is built around that one problem — not a general startup community, not a marketplace of everything.
The credits are real. Finding and keeping track of them isn't.
Startup credit programs from PostHog, AWS, Google Cloud, Sentry and a dozen others are genuinely worth applying to — but they're scattered across a dozen company blogs, half the ones you find in a search have quietly closed, and the eligibility fine print changes without notice. We went looking ourselves while building this directory and cut several real programs we found — GitHub for Startups, Vercel for Startups, Linear for Startups, Supabase's partner track — because they only accept applicants through a VC or accelerator referral, not a public link. That's not a hypothetical pain point; it's what happened during our own research pass.
How this actually works
- 1. Browse the directory, free. Every program's name, provider, category, value summary and verification date is public — no account needed to see what exists.
- 2. Sign in free to unlock full depth. One magic-link email — the same account that gets you the rest of WantBorn. No separate lead form, no marketing list. You get full eligibility detail, the real apply links, and a 3-question eligibility matcher.
- 3. List your app on LaunchOS, still free. Post what you're building, work the stages, and open a Try It link: anyone who signs in and tries your app can leave you a real note, not passive browsing.
- 4. Partner perks, as we actually sign them. Separate from this directory (Partner Perks/Anchor Partners) — renders nothing until a real deal exists. We don't list perks we haven't signed.
Nothing here asks you to take our word for it
WantBorn is pre-launch. We don't have paying members or case studies to cite yet, and we'd rather say that plainly than invent one. What you can check instead:
- · The directory itself — 17 live programs, 14 re-read on the provider's own page and 3 corroborated across third-party trackers instead (18 entries total; one is deliberately kept as a closed, expired listing so the "we drop dead programs" rule has something real to show for it). Every card cites how and when it was checked.
- · Public demand-research reports — every finding quotes a real, linked public post; nothing is summarized into an unverifiable number.
- · The GitHub-issues-as-delivery-truth process this whole product is built under: every feature ships as a tracked issue, and nothing is called "done" until it's verified live in production — not just merged. That discipline is what this page itself was built against.
- · Real founder products already live from the same team building WantBorn: ShipMate (shipmate.so, in final pre-launch prep) and Printora (printora.ai, launched). Neither is a WantBorn customer testimonial — they're named so you can go verify they're real, working products, not vaporware from the people building this.
What's free, forever
Per the standing freemium line (nothing free today moves behind a paywall later without an explicit grandfather plan): all of LaunchOS, every stage; posting quests and problems on the Forum; listing your app and entering competitions; teaser research runs and every public report; the full startup-credits directory once you're signed in.
If you want more, membership exists — honestly priced
Founder-priced membership starts at the lowest tier it will ever be and locks your price at signup — it only goes up for people who join later, never for you. It funds the build directly and adds real depth (full research runs, private-by-default reports, member perks once real ones exist). See the live pricing page for the current real tier and count — we won't restate a number here that could drift out of sync with it.
Free means free
No card on file to sign in. No trial clock. No countdown timer on this page, because there isn't a real one. If you decide membership isn't for you, everything you built on LaunchOS, every quest you posted, and your place in this directory stays exactly as free as it was before you looked at pricing.
Straight answers
Do you take a cut of anything?
Not on the credit-programs directory — WantBorn hasn't negotiated any of those and earns nothing when you apply. The only revenue line today is membership, paid directly to WantBorn.
Is this pay-to-rank?
No. Directory order is by program value, not by who paid. Membership doesn't change where your app or listing appears.
What happens to my email?
It signs you in via a magic link — that's the whole mechanism. There's no separate marketing list it feeds into.
See the directory, then decide
One sign-in unlocks the full directory and starts your LaunchOS listing — no separate steps.
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