Founding Sellers · First 25

Six months free, if you'll tell us the truth.

TrueCottage is new. The tools work, and I use them for my own bake days, but I need home food makers who will use this for real and tell me where it falls short. If that is you, your plan is on me.

The deal, in plain terms

You get

I get

Why I am doing this

Most software for home bakers gets built by people who have never printed an ingredient label at 11pm the night before a market. I would rather hand the tools to twenty-five people who actually do that, listen hard for six months, and fix what they tell me is broken.

There is no catch buried in this. No card on file, nothing that starts charging you at the end, no cut of your sales ever. When your six months are up, your account drops to the free plan unless you decide TrueCottage is worth $10 a month. If it is not worth it by then, that is my failure, not yours.

How it works

Apply below. Five questions. It takes about two minutes, and it goes straight to my inbox.
I write back within a couple of days, either way. If it is a yes, I will ask you to set up a free account (about ten minutes).
I switch your plan on from my end. Nothing to enter, no card, no trial countdown. You will get an email when it is live.
Use it for real, and tell me when it annoys you. Reply to any of my emails. One sentence is fine. Bad news is more useful to me than good news.

Apply to be a founding seller

Already have a TrueCottage account? Apply with the same email you signed up with and I will match them up.

Your name *

State *

Email *

City

What do you make? Sourdough, decorated cookies, tamales, jam. Whatever it is.

How do you sell today? Farmers market, Instagram DMs, a Facebook group, word of mouth, or not started yet. "Not started yet" is a perfectly good answer.

Where do you post? Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Nextdoor. Handles or links are fine. Optional, and not a requirement to get in.

What is the most annoying part of running your kitchen right now? This is the question I care most about. Be specific and be blunt.

No card, no obligation. I use your email to reply to you and to run your account. Nothing else, and nobody else. See our privacy policy.

Got it. Thank you.

Your application is in my inbox and I will write back within a couple of days, either way.

Want a head start? Set up your free account now so your kitchen is ready the moment I switch the plan on.

Set up my free account

Straight answers

Do I have to post about TrueCottage?

No. If you like it and want to tell people, that is wonderful and it is how a small thing like this grows. But it is not a condition, and I will never ask you to post something I wrote.

What happens after the six months?

Your account drops to the free plan: one listing and a storefront, no charge. Paid plans are $10 or $20 a month if you want the label maker and the rest back. Nothing renews automatically because there is no card on file to renew against.

Do I need to already be selling?

No. Some of the most useful feedback comes from people setting up for the first time, because you notice everything a person who has been here six months has stopped seeing.

Which states can apply?

All of them. TrueCottage generates labels for your state's rules, and following your state's cottage food law is your call as the producer. See the resources if you are still figuring yours out.

Is my recipe data private?

Yes. Ingredient amounts never leave your account. Buyers only ever see the ingredient names on your label and listing.

What if I hate it?

Tell me why, and we part as friends. That is a successful outcome for me too, as long as I learn what went wrong. There is nothing to cancel.