Glim — Launch kit

1. Positioning (settled)

One-liner

Glim helps AI product builders give software a presence people trust — without shipping another looping spinner.

Alternatives if Glim did not exist

CSS / Lottie spinners and “thinking…” text
Custom Three.js / Rive face (weeks of craft)
Nothing — leave the UI dead while the model runs

Unique capabilities

One four-state mind (idle / thinking / talking / listening) across 43 bodies
Proximity attention, idle life, acknowledgment pulse — not a loop
Offline starter + glim.js download today; npm @axaylabs/glim; MIT free tier is real

ICP

Primary: Solo or small-team builders shipping AI assistants, copilots, voice UIs, or agent products.
Trigger: They demo the product and someone asks “why does it feel dead while it thinks?”
Where they gather: X/Twitter AI builders, HN Show HN, Indie Hackers, Discord/Slack for AI founders, Product Hunt makers.

Category frame

Ambient companion library for AI UIs — not “avatar SDK,” not “chat widget.” Strengths become obvious against spinners and custom 3D faces.

Objections

“Is the AI demo real?” — Status line says local vs live. Wire say() to your model in production.
“Can I use it commercially for free?” — Yes for the 8 MIT creatures + API.
“Where do I pay?” — Checkout is waitlisted; leave an email. No fake buy button.

2. Wedge & channels

Wedge: “Replace your AI thinking spinner with a living corner companion — free offline starter in under a minute.”

Primary channel: Product-led — the page itself (talk → configure → download). Self-serve price point demands a self-serve first experience.
Secondary channel: Show HN / Indie Hackers launch post with the offline starter attached or linked.
Rejected: Paid ads (no activation data yet); LinkedIn thought-leadership (slow for this ICP); SEO content engine before 50 feedback taps (Council kill criteria first).

3. Launch tiers

Tier 0 · Quiet

Send the page to 10–20 friendly builders. Ask only: “Would you put this in your app?” Goal: 20 feedback taps, 10 starter downloads.

Tier 1 · Beta

Open waitlist for Pro. Publish Show HN. Goal: 50 feedback taps (Council kill check), 100 starter downloads, 25 Pro notify emails.

Tier 2 · Public

Product Hunt + X thread the day checkout is real. Until then, public moment = “free starter is live; paid is waitlist.” Do not PH a fake buy button.

4. Success metrics (pre-declared)

North star: Starter or glim.js downloads (activation)
Inputs: Feedback yes-rate; Pro notify emails; demo asks that reach “local/live” status
Kill: After 50 honest feedback taps, if yes < 20% → stop creature polish, rethink the job
Check-in: 30 days after Tier 0 starts — compare downloads, yes-rate, intents

Vanity (impressions, followers) = context only.

5. Demo script ≤ 90 seconds

[0:00] “Most AI products think in silence. The UI just spins.” [0:08] Open Glim. Cursor near the companion — it leans in. [0:18] Type one line. Watch listening → thinking → talking. [0:35] “That’s one mind: four states. Forty-three bodies share it.” [0:48] Jump to Configure. Pick a free creature. Download starter. [1:05] Open the file offline. “No account. No server. It’s yours.” [1:20] “If you’d put this in your app, tell me on the page. I’m listening.”

6. Platform posts (native)

X / Twitter

Your model thinks. Your UI still shrugs with a spinner. Glim is a tiny library of living companions for AI products — idle / thinking / talking / listening — free offline starter in under a minute. No fake checkout. Eight MIT creatures. Download and open the file. [link]

Hacker News (Show HN)

Title: Show HN: Glim – living companions for AI UIs (free offline starter) Body: I got tired of shipping AI products that feel dead while the model works. Glim is a single-file library: one four-state mind (idle, thinking, talking, listening), 43 hand-built creatures, proximity attention, and a say() hook you wire to your model. Free: 8 MIT creatures + full API + offline HTML starter + glim.js. Paid tiers are waitlisted on purpose — no fake buy button. Curious whether builders would actually put this in a product. Feedback on the page is the experiment. [link]

Indie Hackers

Title: Replacing the AI “thinking…” spinner with a presence people trust I built Glim for people shipping copilots and agents. The pitch is narrow: don’t decorate waiting — give the user a companion that shares state with the model. Activation is a download, not a signup. If you’ve felt the dead-UI problem, I’d love a yes/no on the page.

7. Announcement email

Subject

Your AI UI doesn’t have to feel dead while it thinks

Body

Hi {{name}}, Quick one. I made Glim — a small library of living companions for AI products. One mind (idle / thinking / talking / listening), forty-three bodies, drop-in. You can download a free offline starter today. No account. Paid checkout isn’t live yet; if you want Pro, you can leave an email on the page and I’ll send it when it is. If you build agents or copilots, try talking to the demo, then grab the starter: {{link}} — {{sender}}

8. Product Hunt / directory kit

Name: Glim

Tagline (≤60): Living companions for AI products

Description: Glim replaces dead thinking states with a corner companion people can read. One four-state API, 43 creatures, free offline starter. Checkout waitlisted — free path is real.

Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Developer Tools, Design Tools

First comment: Maker here. Activation is downloading the free starter and opening it offline. Tell me if you’d put it in your app — that’s the only metric I’m optimizing for this week.

Gallery proof (real captures):

Glim wisp cycling idle, thinking, talking, listening

Glim product page

Assets in repo: proof-states.gif, og.png, example.html + glim.js.

9. Brand voice (lock)

Personality: attentive, spare, warm, precise, unshowy
Do: short sentences, verbs, outcomes, honest limits
Don’t: “revolutionary,” fake social proof, purple-glow SaaS clichés, buy buttons that don’t buy