Column 06 · Referrals
Stuff I actually use.
So, these are the products, apps, and subscriptions I pay for and keep coming back to. Where a referral link exists, I'll drop it here; if it saves you a few bucks, even better.
Expert network
So, Ethos is an AI-driven expert network out of London (a16z-backed, if that matters to you). Instead of a human recruiter, an AI voice agent interviews you about your background, then builds a profile from that plus whatever you bring: portfolio, code, papers. From there it auto-matches you to short paid gigs; market research calls, investor due diligence, AI-training work for the big labs. Rates I've seen sit around $100 to $225 an hour. Low effort, real income; that's why it's here.
Transparency: you get Ethos free. I earn 20% on your first paid opportunity (capped at $7,500/month on their side).
Voice dictation
Look, Wispr Flow is the voice-to-text tool I actually keep open all day. You hold a hotkey, talk normally, and it drops clean, punctuated text into whatever app you're in: Slack, Cursor, email, Notion, doesn't matter. Mine is mapped to Control + Option + Command, all three at once; feels great, never fires by accident. It handles Portuguese and English without me switching anything. Way faster than typing for long messages, prompts, and half-formed thoughts I want out of my head.
You get a free month of Pro when you sign up. I get a free month too once you dictate 2,000 words. Fair trade.
Freelance marketplace
So, WeSellTalent is a freelance marketplace where you apply to jobs using credits instead of firing off cover letters into the void. You build a profile, browse gigs, and spend credits to apply to the ones that actually fit. It cuts down on the spray-and-pray dynamic that makes most freelance platforms exhausting.
You join free. When you complete a freelancer application through my link, I get 100 credits; nothing comes out of your pocket.