the short version
underway is a founder video diary app that works by interview.
you open it whenever suits you. it asks out loud, one question at a time. you answer for about three minutes. a few minutes later there is a numbered episode.
you never open an editor. you never write a script. the archive is yours whether you post it or not.
that is the whole app. the rest of this page is what happens at each step.
what a founder video diary app should do
most people who try a video diary stop in week two.
the app is not usually the reason. the reasons are on the page. you have nothing to say to a blank camera. the edit takes an hour. you would have to write something first. you would film it three times.
so a founder video diary app has to remove those, not decorate them. underway removes them like this.
step one: it reads your day
you connect what you already use. the live list is your calendar, GitHub, your meeting recorder (fathom, fireflies, zoom), stripe, whop, linear, vercel, your analytics and your newsletter (kit, beehiiv). all of it is read-only.
you can also add a voice note or a screenshot yourself.
then it gathers what happened and proposes what the episode could be about. you pick one, or write your own.
the point is that you never start from nothing. a blank camera asks nothing. an app that already knows you shipped a fix and had a call that ran long can ask about those.
other people's voices from meetings never go in an episode.
step two: you answer
it asks out loud, one question at a time. it follows up on what you said. it stops about three minutes in.
the interview card on the site shows "about 3:00, never past 5:00". it stops while you still have something to say.
there is no script. you answer a voice, not a screen, so nobody is squinting at a prompt.
you pick how you answer, every time:
- just your voice. an audio episode, questions kept in, numbered like the rest.
- on camera.
- sharing your screen, so you can talk it through.
the interview is the same either way, and the episode number carries on.
it never records without you pressing the button.
step three: the episode is ready
a few minutes later, your answers are in the order you said them. pauses are tidied. the card, captions and your number are on the front.
there is no timeline to drag. the card, captions, transitions and clean audio are set once and applied to every episode alike. it cuts on full sentences and keeps your words as you said them.
the site puts it in one line: you never edit a video. answer the questions, tap done, get back to work.
if you want to add something after the cut, you can drop a line. you do not have to.
what you need to set it up
nothing to set up. open the laptop, or prop the phone where it was yesterday.
no lights. no camera rig. no ring light in the corner that becomes the reason you don't film.
your footage lives on your phone or computer first, backed up to your account if you sign in. you can download everything, or delete everything, any time. the raw footage is always yours to download, on every plan, free included.
how it keeps you going
it is built for the second week.
- a prompt at the same time each day, and a streak on your terms. weekdays by default, or every day, or a number a week.
- one tap pauses the streak. no reason asked, no limit.
- episodes count, not days. episode 45 follows 44 whenever it was filmed.
it learns when you usually film, which days run long, and when you pick voice over camera. it uses that to set up the episode and time the reminder. it never uses it to keep score.
it remembers the last one
underway keeps a private memory of your series. what you said you'd do by friday. who a name in your notes is. that cash has come up three weeks running.
so each interview picks up where the last one stopped. the live site shows a real example from the founder's own series: the question that opens episode 1 comes from something said at the end of episode 0.
you can read, fix or delete anything it remembers.
private until you send it
recording and posting are two separate choices.
every episode stays private until you send it, and most people start that way. when you post, the words for each network are written for you.
if you are not ready to tell anyone, you can document in private and publish the whole story on launch day, in order.
what this is not
it is not a screen recorder running in the background. it does not record without you pressing the button.
it is not an editor with the difficulty turned down. there is no timeline at all.
it is not a promise that you will have something profound to say. it asks about the day you actually had. some days that is small.
faqs
is this a video diary app or a podcast app?
both, if you want. every episode is also an audio episode, questions kept in. or skip the camera and make the whole episode a podcast.
do i have to be on camera?
no. answer by voice and it is an audio episode. or share your screen and talk it through. or go on camera. pick each time.
how long does a session take?
about three minutes of talking, whenever suits you. the episode is ready a few minutes later.
what if i miss a day?
nothing bad happens. episodes count, not days, so there is no gap. your streak counts against the days you chose, and one tap pauses it.
do i have to post publicly?
no. every episode stays private until you send it.
what does it connect to?
your calendar, GitHub, your meeting recorder, stripe, whop, linear, vercel, your analytics and your newsletter, all read-only, plus an address you can forward any email to.
does it cost anything to try?
three episodes are free, no card.
where to go next
why it is a diary you never edit: /founder-diary-without-editing.
when it listens and when it doesn't: /founder-diary-only-records-when-you-press.
what a first episode looks like: /first-episode.
the founder video diary idea, without the app: /founder-video-diary.
one line for the series
a founder video diary app that asks the questions. about three minutes, whenever suits you, and nothing to edit.