The Founders Lifetime is the highest-conviction tier we ship. Pay once, hold Pro Everything across all 20 apps for the lifetime of your account. The cap is 1,000 seats — and the cap is real, because the unit economics close only with it.
The canonical inclusion list locked 2026-04-27. Every line below is contractual for the lifetime of the account.
messageBodyDeclined postureMost apps that say "lifetime" eventually have to break the promise because the unit economics don't close. We priced for the math to close so we don't have to break the promise. At $599.99, the unit economics converge to greater than 90% gross margin against Anthropic token pass-through across the long tail. That's the floor for honesty.
The cap is the commitment. We owe the first 1,000 users a tier that converges toward roughly 100% gross margin in the long tail by amortizing those lifetime accounts into the rest of the SKU ladder. A forcing function keeps us honest. Once we hit 1,000, that's it.
A SaaS user paying $29.99/mo for Pro Everything pays back the Founders Lifetime in roughly 20 months. The Founders Lifetime exists for users who plan to be on Cognielo for greater than 20 months. The cap keeps the deal scarce. The math keeps it sustainable.
The math closes at this price without ad revenue. We can be permanently ad-free at this price. That's the no-ads-ever posture you keep reading us repeat. It's a math claim, not a vibe.
| Refund window | 30 days from purchase. Full refund via direct founder email request. After 30 days, no refund. |
| Transfer | Non-transferable. Tied to the Apple ID that purchased. |
| Account closure | If user closes account, the seat returns to the pool. We do not re-sell publicly; reserved for waitlist conversions. |
| Family Sharing | Founders Lifetime is single-user. Family Pro Everything ($59.99/mo, 6 seats) is the family-tier purchase. Both stack. |
| Pivot protection | Founders Lifetime is contractual. We cannot pivot away from honoring it. The math says the SKU pays for itself in the long tail (~100% GM convergence after year 5). No business reason to walk. |
| If Cognielo shuts down | .elo portable export. Your data leaves with you, encrypted under your keys. Patent claim 8. |
Most apps that say "lifetime" eventually have to break the promise because the unit economics don't close. We priced for the math to close so we don't have to break the promise. $599.99 is the floor for that math.
A user paying $29.99/mo for Pro Everything pays back the Founders Lifetime in ~20 months. The Founders Lifetime exists for users who plan to be on Cognielo greater than 20 months. The cap keeps it scarce — only 1,000 users get the deal.
Founders Lifetime is contractual. We cannot pivot away from honoring it. The math says the SKU pays for itself in the long tail.
.elo portable export. Your data leaves with you, encrypted under your keys. Patent claim 8.