Tethered — Wake Up or Pay Up
The alarm that charges you money if you snooze
7 followers
The alarm that charges you money if you snooze
7 followers
When oversleeping costs you actual cash, your brain stops treating the alarm as a suggestion. For chronic oversleepers who've tried everything, this is the fix that works. Every alarm app assumes a louder sound or harder puzzle will override your half-asleep brain. They won't. You'll solve the math with your eyes closed and crawl back into bed. The problem was never the alarm—it's that there's no real consequence for ignoring it. Tethered is the only app that puts your money on the line.
Hi PH 👋,
I’m a remote worker with few meetings, and I kept oversleeping, because I had zero accountability and could always get away with sleeping in. I tried every alarm app: loud sounds, puzzles, “smart” alarms, etc. They all had a gaping hole because if I really wanted to snooze, I could just turn it off (even the "uncheatable" ones can easily be turned off).
So, I built something extreme.
The first version wasn’t even an app. It was a script on my laptop that ran overnight and would send some of my money to a random person unless I physically got out of bed and killed the process by 9am.
It worked immediately, and that's when I realized if I could deliver results for myself this way, I could do the same for others.
I’ve since turned this idea into Tethered. You set an alarm, put real money on the line, and prove you’re awake by completing a challenge (math or steps). If you fail, you’re actually charged.
I understand this is an aggressive strategy. That's who my target audience is, people who need an aggressive intervention to start waking up on time. It's taken me much longer to build this than I initially anticipated (2 years) and it has been more complex and difficult than initially imagined. However, I'm proud to say I've finally launched! Would love feedback from other builders :)
@mhadjri Love this concept! This might be what I need as a chronic oversleeper