How it works · Version One

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Three short videos, about a minute each. The words are on screen, so sound is optional.

What Version One is0:58
Read what's said
South Africa is full of people building things. Apps, tools, side projects made after work. Most of them launch… and hardly anyone notices.
Version One is where those first releases get seen.
Every builder gets one ring, in a flag colour. It's dashed while the project is still taking shape, and solid once it's live. And every project says honestly where it's at: Working, Beta or Idea.
You can try what they shipped. You can answer when they ask for help: first users, pricing, design, a second pair of eyes on the code.
And every Friday, the new launches go out in a thread on X.
There are no prizes here, and no promises. Just a place to be seen, and people who want to help.
Version One. versionone.co.za
For builders1:08
Read what's said
You built something. Maybe it works, maybe it's still an idea. Either way, it counts.
Meet Sipho. He's building Lift Club, so people in Pretoria can share rides to work.
Sharing it on Version One takes a few minutes. A name. One line on what it does. A link, and a screenshot. Then he says honestly where it's at: Beta.
A person checks it, and then it's up. His ring stays dashed for now. When Lift Club goes live, it turns solid.
Then he asks for one specific thing. "I need ten people in Pretoria to try booking a lift."
People read it. A few try it. One tells him the sign-up takes too long. When the help lands, Sipho taps "I got help", and the person who helped gets the credit.
We won't promise you users, or press. What you get is a place to be seen, and people who want to help.
Share your version one. versionone.co.za
For supporters1:00
Read what's said
You don't have to build something to belong here.
Meet Kagiso. She doesn't write code. She just loves being first to try new things.
On Version One, Kagiso follows builders she believes in, like Sipho and Lift Club. When he ships something new, she hears about it.
She tries Lift Club early. When Sipho confirms her as an early user, a dot in his colour lands on her ring. Back more builders, and her ring gathers their colours.
When Sipho asks for help and Kagiso answers, his listing says it plainly: Helped by Kagiso.
People who join before we open the doors carry a Founding supporter stamp.
For now, joining is by invite. Every member gets ten invites, so bring the people who'd help.
Try things first. Help builders make them better. versionone.co.za

Joining

Joining is by invite for now. You sign in with a link we email you, so there's no password.

Invites. Every member gets 10 invite links to share, on your invites page. Each link works once. No invite? Request one.
Builders and supporters. Join to share what you're building, or to try things and help. Supporters don't need a project, and can switch to a builder profile later.
Live or work in South Africa. Version One is for people building and backing work here. Any nationality is welcome. You tick a box to say so, and we don't ask for ID.
Under 18? You're welcome. When you set up your profile we ask for a parent's or guardian's email and send them a link to agree. Nothing of yours shows on the site until they do. While you're under 18, your story, links and Get in touch stay off your page, and nobody can message you through Version One. More on this.

Tell us what it is, where it's at and what would help. We take a quick look, then it goes live on your page.

Where it's at. Pick Working (people can use it today), Beta (usable, still rough) or Idea (not ready to try yet). Ideas don't need a link.
Review. We check each listing is real and kind before it goes public, and email you when it's live or if something needs changing. Some new launches are picked for Friday's thread on X.
New versions. When you ship an update, tap Ship v0.2 (or whatever comes next) on your page. Say what's new in a line, and it goes live straight away. If you add a new screenshot, the listing is hidden until we've had a quick look.
More than one project. Add as many as you're building. They sit together on your page, under one ring. Up to 3 can wait for review at once.
Pausing. Taking a break from one? Pause it. It shows greyed out and its help ask is hidden until you resume.

Share a launch

Rings and dots

Everyone on Version One is a ring. Builders pick one colour from the flag, and it stays theirs on every page.

Dashed until your first launch is live
Solid once it's live, with your latest version
Supporters earn a dot from each builder they help

Your photo. Optional. We check it before it shows in your ring, and your initials show until then.
Earned dots. Tried something early? Tap I tried it early on its page. When the builder confirms it, your ring shows on their project and you get a dot in their colour.
Founding. People who join while Version One is invite-only carry a Founding stamp. What that means.
See everyone who has shipped on the ring wall.

Being a founder

Everyone who joins while Version One is invite-only is a founder. That's now, so if you're here, it's you.

Being a founder0:58

Read what's said

Right now, Version One is invite-only. Everyone who joins in this time is a founder.

If your first launch goes live now, your page says Founding builder. If you join to try things and help, it says Founding supporter.

Founding stories sit on the home page, so the first people here are the first people you meet.

Founders also get a room of their own: the Founders' Room.

We put what could come next on the table. You get three votes, and you can move them any time.

There's a question of the week, and an idea box for anything we haven't thought of. Only the Version One team sees what you send.

We can't promise to build every idea. But founders help decide what Version One becomes, and you'll see it when something ships.

Be here early. Ask for an invite at versionone.co.za

The stamp. Supporters who join in this time get Founding supporter on their page. Builders get Founding builder when their first launch goes live in this time. It stays on your page for good.
Founding stories. The first stories on the home page are about founders: the people who shipped and backed things before anyone else was here.
The Founders' Room. A private page at /me/founders where founders vote on what gets built next, answer a question of the week and drop ideas in the idea box. Nothing there is public.
You help shape it. Version One is still at version one. What founders tell us is how we decide what changes next. We read all of it.

What a founding builder needs

Joining takes an invite link and your email, with no password. Then there are four things to add, in any order. You can look around before any of them.

Your profile and ring colourYour name, city and ring colour, and the "I live or work in South Africa" tick.
A clear photo of youIt shows in your ring once we've checked it. Founding stories need one.
Your first launch or idea, liveShare what you've shipped, or an early idea. It goes live after a quick look.
Your story, in your own wordsWhy you build and what you're on now. It's how people get to know you.

Under 18? One more: a parent or guardian agrees. We email them a link. Nothing of yours is public until they agree.

Screenshots, a demo, a help ask and your links are optional.

Following

Follow a builder to get an email when they ship a new version.

It's private. Builders see how many people follow them, not who.
Waiting for the next version. On Idea and Beta projects you can tap Tell me when the next version is out. We email you once, then forget you asked.
Your week. Builders with a live project can get a Thursday email with their views, Try it taps and new followers. Turn it on from your page.
Every email has a link to stop.

Help asks

Each project can ask for one kind of help: first users, pricing, design, technical blocker, something else.

Be specific. "20 commuters in Centurion to try it for a week" gets better answers than "feedback".
Offering help. Pick an ask on Help wanted and use Offer help on the listing. Your name, email and message go to the builder by email, never in public. Builders under 18 can't be messaged, so their asks don't take offers.
Credit. When an ask is sorted, the builder can close it and credit who helped. If you're a member, your ring shows under Helped by.

See who needs help

Stories

Stories are short pieces about builders and how they got their first version out.

Version One writes them. A story only goes up with a photo the builder has agreed to.
On your own page you can add a story of your own, what you're working on, your links and what you're open to collaborate on. It's all optional.

Builder of the week

Each week Lee picks one builder to put at the top of the home page.

It's picked by hand, from builders with a live project. It isn't a score or a ranking, and anyone who has shipped can be picked.
For seven days the builder is on the home page, gets a Builder of the week label on their page, and is in Friday's thread on X. We email them when they're picked.
It's a spotlight, nothing more. It doesn't promise views, followers or users.
Builders under 18 aren't picked, so nothing about them goes on the home page.

Communities

Communities lists South Africa's AI and tech meetups, groups and chats, so builders can find each other off the site too.

Run one? Ask to list it. It's free, and you don't need an account or an invite.
We show its name, where it meets, one line about it and its link. We check each one before it goes up.
A community has a black double ring. Flag colours belong to builders.

Checked links

Every link people add is checked before it shows, and again every day.

What we check. The site's address is looked up on Cloudflare's lists of known malware and phishing sites. Links must start with https://, and short links like bit.ly aren't allowed, since they hide where they go.
Link checked. This mark means the address wasn't on those lists in the last two days. It lowers the risk, but no check can promise a site is safe, so take the same care you would anywhere.
If a link turns bad. It's hidden at the next daily check, and an admin looks at it. Spot something wrong first? Use Report this listing.

Feedback and reports

Version One is still at version one. Tell us what's confusing, broken or missing.

Feedback. Use Feedback and reports at the bottom of any page and pick what it's about: something broken, something confusing, an idea, or something else. Only the Version One team sees it. Add your email if you'd like a reply, and on an idea you can tick to hear if it gets built.
Reports. Something on a listing that shouldn't be there? Use Report this listing at the bottom of it. Someone's profile is fake, offensive or unsafe? Use Report this profile on their page. Reports are private, and nobody is told who sent them.
Your data or a security problem. Email privacy@versionone.co.za.

Your privacy

We keep as little about you as we can, use it only to run the site, and delete it when you ask.

No ads, no tracking cookies, and we don't sell your information.
From your page you can edit your details, download your data or delete your account.
The privacy notice lists everything we store and why, under South Africa's POPIA. The PAIA manual explains how to ask for records.
Questions? Email privacy@versionone.co.za.

Your AI assistant

If you use an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT, you can connect Version One to it, then ask it to look things up or post for you.

Your AI assistant0:32