The problem OnlyPens solves

For Creators (from my perspective as a technical founder):
I’m a builder. I ship code almost every day. But when it comes to content, I just don’t have the time or headspace to be consistent.

I know that growing my personal brand helps me market my products. I’ve seen how valuable it is for founders. But the reality is, I’d rather spend my time building and talking to users than writing threads or planning out LinkedIn posts.

So I tried looking for ghostwriters. And what I found was frustrating. I’d go on freelance platforms or job boards, scroll through dozens of profiles… but none of them really got me. They didn’t sound like me. Some were overpriced. Others were cheap, but clearly not a fit. And even when I did find someone decent, it took weeks to test the waters.

It just shouldn’t be this hard.

For Ghostwriters (based on real conversations):
I talked to a few ghostwriters to understand what their experience is like—and honestly, it’s rough on their side too.

A lot of them told me the same things:
“Clients ghost me after the first draft because, I guess, it didn't fit their style.”
“They say they want my writing, but end up rewriting everything.”
“I accept a gig, then realize later on it’s not even my style or tone.”
“I have no clue if I’ll actually get paid after sending my deliverables.”

They want to work with great clients. They want creative freedom. And most of all, they want to be matched with people who actually fit them, not just handed random gigs.

That’s why I’m building OnlyPens.xyz.
It’s an AI-powered matchmaking platform that understands both the writer and the creator. It matches based on tone, niche, and content types—so you’re not just guessing anymore. And it’s onchain, so funds are escrowed, and everyone’s protected.

This isn’t about replacing writers with AI. Because we believe that platforms that augments human creativity will thrive in the future, not those fully replaced by AI. It’s about giving both sides, creators and ghostwriters, better tools, more trust, and less guesswork.

We’re building trust in the identity and attention economy. So creators can hire the voice behind the fame.

Challenges we ran into

It’s been a while since I last built on an EVM-compatible chain, in 2022, to be exact. The tools I used back then are now outdated so the things that's supposed to work, aren't working. Coming back into Solidity smart contracts, and newer stacks like viem, wagmi, and the whole DevEx meant unlearning old patterns and relearning how things work today. That ramp-up alone was a challenge.

But honestly, the biggest hurdle was time. I only had 3 weeks to bring OnlyPens to life. From ideation, wireframing, design, and coding, all the way to branding, pitch decks, and socials. And this isn’t a simple app. There’s onboarding, listings, dashboards, smart contract flows, AI matchmaking, payments, invites... the list goes on. It was a full-stack sprint in every sense—technical, creative, and strategic.

But I still did tests on smart contract and the subgraph, to help me verify that I built it correctly.

Still, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. These past 3 weeks were the most intense and fun I’ve had building in a while. Tiring? Absolutely. But worth it? 100%.