It’s been about six months since we launched Build the Dream, and it’s been a wild ride.
We went from zero subscribers, to a couple dozen (thanks mom), to around 80,000 across all our platforms. Views keep climbing. Somebody recognized me at a conference recently, which was both really cool and really bizarre.
I’m proud of the long-form work, especially the mini documentary on accessory dwelling units with Dave Lewis and the episode with Alex Horowitz from Pew.
I’ve got room to improve. There’s awkward phrasing here and there, and cutting shorts the way the algorithms want them has been a challenge.
But the short-form is working. The video on churches being blocked from building housing was our first real viral hit. A lot of people learned for the first time that a government will happily shut down a church trying to serve its own community. Red-pilling people is the best part of this gig.
What’s coming
We spoke at FreedomFest to a room full of libertarians and conservatives, with some light heckling, the kind I relish.
I’ve been invited to speak at YIMBY Town, the largest gathering of pro-building advocates in the country. I went to Miami to speak at two colleges. And I’m getting invitations onto bigger podcasts.
Those are signals of success. They’re also incomplete ones. Getting out there isn’t the mission. The mission is returning property rights to the American people.
Why this one is different
Content is a strange business, and Build the Dream sits in an odd spot, because I’m not selling anything. I’m selling a beautiful idea.
I’m trying to convince people they don’t have to doom scroll Zillow into oblivion. That there’s hope, and not the kind that depends on more of the same approaches that got us here. Something uniquely American. Solutions that lean into our own heritage.
We don’t have to wait for DC. We don’t have to wait for November to see who takes the reins. We just have to start speaking up, get educated, and find the motivation to do something.
That’s why I keep saying the American Dream isn’t dead. Because it isn’t. Anything dead is gone, and short of a miracle it isn’t coming back. This isn’t a miracle. It’s a practical set of solutions that would unblock the thing that only looks dead.
The ask
We started with seed funding from generous donors who wanted to see whether we could build something. We did. Now I need help taking it further.
The content engine is running. We’re reaching thousands of people a day organically. There are some genuinely interesting mini docs coming, more on that soon.
If you can give $5 a month, we can keep this going and find out how far it goes. A fancy cup of coffee or a cheap hamburger.
If you want to support us here, click upgrade to paid at the top of the page. If you’d rather make a tax deductible donation to the Land Liberty Movement, you can do that here: https://donorbox.org/build-the-dream
This has been the most meaningful work I’ve done in my life. I can’t wait to see how far you and I can take it.
