---
collection:
  - "[[People]]"
related:
created: "2025-09-11"
peopleType: connection
---

~ [[People]]

# Daniel Reeves

**Type**: 1st Degree Connection  
**Company**: Beeminder.com  
**Role**: Co-founder  
**Location**: Portland, Oregon, United States  
**LinkedIn**: [dreev](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dreev/)  
**Education**: University of Michigan

## Professional Background

- **Current**: Co-founder at Beeminder.com
- **Specialties**: Productivity tools, goal tracking, behavioral psychology
- **Network**: 1st degree connection
- **Location**: Portland, Oregon

## Key Details

- Co-founder of Beeminder.com - productivity and goal tracking platform
- Expertise in behavioral psychology and habit formation
- Based in Portland, Oregon
- University of Michigan graduate
- 1st degree LinkedIn connection

## Relationship Context

- **Connection Level**: 1st degree LinkedIn connection
- **Potential Value**: Productivity and goal tracking expertise
- **Relevance**: Could provide insights for [[Beemine.ai]] user engagement and habit formation
- **Opportunity**: Potential advisor or collaborator for AI platform features

## Beeminder Expertise

- **Productivity Tools**: Deep understanding of user motivation and engagement
- **Behavioral Psychology**: Knowledge of habit formation and goal achievement
- **Platform Development**: Experience building and scaling productivity tools
- **User Experience**: Understanding of what drives user engagement and retention

## Potential Collaboration Areas

- **AI Platform Features**: User engagement and motivation strategies
- **Habit Formation**: AI-powered habit tracking and improvement
- **Productivity Insights**: Behavioral psychology for AI recommendations
- **Platform Growth**: Scaling strategies for productivity tools

## Notes

### **INCREDIBLE FEEDBACK (2025-09-11):**

**Daniel's Response to Beemine.ai Demo:**

> "Hey Troy! Holy cow this is impressive. I just tried to leave this comment on the Loom demo:
>
> This is amazing. So many thoughts. In the meantime, let me reemphasize that you have Beeminder's blessing 100%, including charging money for all this awesomeness. Of course we'll reserve the right to steal your best ideas! Any quibbles or nitpicks or skepticism about the AI being smart enough are all secondary. You've built something beautiful and powerful here. We're blown away.
>
> PS: Sorry for my slowness on email. I'm eager to keep discussing. And I'm at your service in getting more Beeminder users to try this out. By default I'll follow your lead, like if you want to introduce it in the forum first, but don't be shy about asking me to signal-boost.
>
> PS: How freely can I share this Loom demo?"

### **Key Takeaways:**

- **100% Beeminder Blessing** - Full support for charging money
- **"Beautiful and Powerful"** - High praise from productivity expert
- **Signal-Boost Offer** - Willing to promote to Beeminder users
- **Eager to Discuss** - Wants to continue the conversation
- **Sharing Permission** - Asking how freely he can share the demo

### **Action Items:**

- [x] Respond to Daniel's email with sharing permissions
- [x] Discuss introduction strategy (forum vs. direct promotion)
- [x] Leverage his offer to get Beeminder users to try Beemine.ai
- [x] Continue the conversation about collaboration opportunities

## Recent Communications

- [[Daniel Reeves - Email Reply]] - Strategic partnership questions and personal context (Sep 11, 2025)
- **Daniel's Response (Sep 19, 2025)** - Critical strategic feedback on pricing, user base, and business model
- **Frustrating Interaction (Sep 25, 2025)** - Unfair criticism about AI-generated messages

### **Latest Response (Sep 19, 2025):**

#### **Pricing Strategy Feedback:**
- **B2C SaaS Challenge**: "B2C SaaS pricing is really hard and I think you're in an especially tough position as a third-party app"
- **Beeminder's Reality**: "We're not making a sustainable amount from our own premium plans"
- **Strategic Pivot**: Beeminder focused on pledge revenue rather than subscription revenue
- **Key Insight**: Third-party apps face unique pricing challenges

#### **User Base Reality Check:**
- **Daily Active Users**: 1,500 daily active Beeminder users
- **Monthly Active Users**: 2,500 monthly active users
- **Adoption Challenge**: "Majority of even pretty hardcore users are bouncing off of Beemine"
- **Community Test**: Failed to get excitement in semi-private Discord (100+ users, ~12 active)
- **Market Reality**: "Charging money would more than decimate the audiences"

#### **Partnership & Philosophy:**
- **Full Support**: "I'm game for anything you want to try"
- **No Revenue Sharing Needed**: "No need for revenue-sharing to induce me to promote it"
- **Win-Win**: "It's already hugely win-win to get users more invested in their Beeminder data"
- **Competition Blessing**: "If you decided to compete directly with Beeminder instead of being a third-party tool, you'd absolutely have our blessing"

#### **Personal Connection:**
- **Pollexy Recognition**: "Oh my God, I am a puddle. You are an inspiration. Seriously, that's amazing."
- **AWS Science Fair**: Acknowledged the win and impact

#### **Strategic Resources:**
- **Pricing Philosophy**: https://blog.beeminder.com/focus
- **Auto-cancel Philosophy**: https://blog.beeminder.com/autocancel
- **Nerds Post**: https://blog.beeminder.com/nerds
- **Competition Philosophy**: https://blog.beeminder.com/dogeatdog

### **Frustrating Interaction (Sep 25, 2025):**

#### **The Situation:**
- **Context**: Troy provided thorough technical answer about API key security
- **Complaint**: Someone complained the message "seemed AI-generated"
- **Daniel's Response**: Suggested being more careful about "AI-dar" detection
- **Troy's Feelings**: Embarrassed, annoyed, and frustrated

#### **The Problem:**
- **Unfair Criticism**: In 2025, complaining about AI-generated content is ridiculous
- **Double Standard**: Daniel uses AI extensively but criticizes others for it
- **Context Ignored**: Troy has been working hard and engaging actively with community
- **Gatekeeping**: Feels like unnecessary nitpicking about writing style

#### **Troy's Response:**
- **Defended Credentials**: English degree, 3-year hand-typed newsletter
- **Honest About AI Use**: Explained hybrid approach and context-dependent usage
- **Stayed Professional**: Maintained positive tone despite frustration
- **Set Boundary**: Will be more cognizant in this forum

#### **Key Takeaways:**
- **Unfair Treatment**: Criticism was unwarranted and unhelpful
- **Professional Response**: Troy handled it well despite frustration
- **Boundary Setting**: Will adjust approach in this specific forum
- **Context Matters**: AI use is appropriate and common in 2025

### **Market Reality Feedback (Sep 27, 2025):**

- **Market Size**: 1,500 daily active users, 2,500 monthly active users.
- **Initial Traction**: "Majority of even pretty hardcore users are bouncing off of Beemine."
- **Community Feedback**: Failed to generate excitement in a semi-private Discord of hardcore users.
- **Pricing Concern**: Fears that charging money would "more than decimate the audiences" for third-party tools.

## Strategic Questions for Daniel

### **Pricing & Business Model**
- "What pricing range do you think would work for this market?"
- "How do you price Beeminder, and what's your conversion rate from trial to paid?"
- "What's the sweet spot for productivity tool pricing in your experience?"
- "Do you think $X/month is too high/low for this type of AI tool?"

### **User Acquisition & Market**
- "How many active Beeminder users might be interested in this type of tool?"
- "What's your typical user acquisition cost and lifetime value?"
- "Any insights on productivity tool market size and growth trends?"
- "What channels work best for reaching productivity-focused users?"

### **Product & Positioning**
- "How would you position this against existing productivity tools?"
- "What features do you think would be most compelling to your user base?"
- "Any suggestions for the 5-day trial experience?"
- "What would make someone choose this over other AI productivity tools?"

### **Launch Strategy**
- "What's the best way to introduce this to the Beeminder community?"
- "Should we start with a forum post or direct promotion?"
- "Any lessons learned from Beeminder's launch that we should apply?"
- "What would you do differently if launching Beeminder today?"

### **Partnership Opportunities**
- "Would you be interested in a referral partnership?"
- "Any thoughts on integration possibilities between our tools?"
- "Would you consider being an advisor or beta tester?"
- "How can we make this mutually beneficial for both platforms?"

## Related Projects

- [[Beemine.ai]] - Potential advisor for user engagement features
- Productivity and goal tracking expertise
- Behavioral psychology insights for AI platform
