Business Model
FreedomCore is infrastructure, not a startup. No VC. No exit pressure. No enshittification timeline. Build something useful, keep it running, stay small.
Why Not Free
The public understands: free means you are the product. FreedomCore flips this.
| Approach | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Paid app ($4.99) | No ads. No tracking. Ever. |
| Sustainable | You pay us. We work for you. Not advertisers. |
The App Store price is a spam filter, not a revenue model. $4.99 means “I’m not a bot,” Apple verified my payment method, and I have skin in the game.
BYOK — Bring Your Own Key
FreedomCore does not pay for APIs. Users bring their own.
Login with Gmail → Google Meet, Drive, Maps, Calendar (your quota)
Login with GitHub → Code collaboration, developer identity signal“You already pay for Google Workspace. We help you use it securely.”
No new accounts. No new subscriptions. Unlock what you already have. BYOK makes abuse more expensive (attackers need multiple platform accounts) while giving users more value from services they already pay for.
P2P Economics
Why servers are not the answer:
| With Servers | With P2P |
|---|---|
| TURN relay: $5-50K/month | Only for NAT failures (~14%) |
| Signaling: $500-2K/month | Direct TCP over mesh |
| Database: $1-5K/month | On user devices |
| Total: $7-60K/month | Near zero |
FreedomCore cannot afford servers for a million users. It does not need to. Each group runs their own lighthouse. The web is the gateway. P2P is the core.
Four Revenue Streams
| Stream | Who Pays | What They Get |
|---|---|---|
| App Store purchase ($4.99) | End users | FreedomDesktop + FreedomMesh |
| Directory listing (premium) | Professionals | Enhanced profile, analytics, priority matching |
| Facilitation fee | Clients | Coordinated team, managed transaction |
| Infrastructure services | Lighthouse operators | CA backup, relay failover, cross-group intros |
What FreedomCore Does Not Do
- Ads — never
- Data sales — structurally impossible (data lives on user devices)
- Subscription treadmill — one-time purchase plus optional premium
- Investor-driven growth — no investors
The Facilitation Model
The real estate industry has a problem: the solo agent is expected to be negotiator, marketer, photographer, stager, legal interpreter, mortgage advisor, neighbourhood expert, and therapist. Nobody is great at all of these.
Facilitation Over Agency
Replace the solo agent with a facilitated team of specialists:
| Solo Agent Model | Facilitation Model |
|---|---|
| One person does everything | Team of specialists per transaction |
| Client talks to one person | Client sees the whole team and progress |
| Commission split is opaque | Fees are transparent per service |
| Trust flows through a gatekeeper | Trust is peer-to-peer |
What It Looks Like
- Client needs to buy property in Cranbrook
- Goes to the professional directory — sees all local specialists
- Landmax facilitates: assembles appraiser, notary, mortgage broker, inspector
- Team gets a transaction group on FreedomMesh — encrypted, peer-to-peer
- Deal closes — connections recorded, team reputation grows, network dissolves
This model works beyond real estate: legal teams, accounting engagements, immigration applications, construction projects. The directory, the mesh, and the orchestration layer are generic. Only the recipes and workflows are vertical-specific.
Launch Strategy
Trust products cannot be spammed into existence.
- Directory first — Build it, let professionals find and claim listings via SEO
- Cranbrook as test market — Small enough to know people, big enough to have all verticals
- Seed via transaction cluster — Onboard one realtor, they pull in mortgage broker, notary, lawyer, appraiser on the same deal
- Grow organically — Each successful transaction creates connections that seed the next one
Vetted Source
The code is readable by anyone. Contributing requires verified identity. Not open source (anyone can fork and compete), not closed source (no visibility). The contribution model reflects the trust model. See Contributing for details.
Deep Dives
- The Facilitation Model — JOATMON problem, team assembly, and how it scales beyond real estate