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Work · February 17, 2011

Launched my side project: Goalfinch

http://goalfinch.com I had the idea for Goalfinch while reading an article here on Hacker News about economic incentives and how effective they are. It got me thinking: What if there were an easy way to set up economic incentives for the goals I have in my own life? A few months later, after working on it off and on in my spare hours, it's ready for prime time. With Goalfinch, you define a goal and make a contribution of cash that acts as an incentive for you to complete the goal. Your Facebook friends confirm whether or not you've accomplished it. If you succeed before your deadline, you…

Launched my side project: Goalfinch launched on February 17, 2011 with 22 votes, #31 of 163 launches that month and more than 75% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 15 years on.

Visit goalfinch.com ↗Alternativestop 19% of February 2011

In plain words

Goalfinch is a goal-tracking platform that uses financial incentives to motivate users. Users set a goal, contribute cash as a stake, and have Facebook friends verify completion. If the goal is achieved by the deadline, the user gets their money back. If not, the contribution goes to a charity of the user's choice. The combination of financial risk and peer accountability is designed to increase motivation for completing personal objectives.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Web site created using create-react-app

In the maker’s words, at launch

http://goalfinch.com I had the idea for Goalfinch while reading an article here on Hacker News about economic incentives and how effective they are. It got me thinking: What if there were an easy way to set up economic incentives for the goals I have in my own life? A few months later, after working on it off and on…

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Source: Show HN post ↗ · launch text quoted in part

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