Founding VIP · 100 places
Play the method, then decide.
A $10 reservation holds one of only 100 founding places, opens the last two gated lessons of the demo, and gets you a price on 7 October that nobody else on Kickstarter can see.
A separate $10 reservation fee, not credited against your pledge · Refundable within 14 days
The offer
What $10 buys you today
We email you a link to the demo. Click it and the last two gated lessons open, ready to play.
What it buys you on 7 October
On launch morning we send you a private link. Open it — signed in to Kickstarter — and a reward tier appears that nobody else can see:
And your subscription doesn’t start until we ship, so those eighteen months begin in 2027. Everything before that is on us.
What’s in it
- 18 months of Speech Genie, English or Mandarin. Starts at full launch, not at pledge.
- Alpha and beta access from day one, free, on top of your eighteen months.
- Two Rhythmic courses — Rhythmic Mandarin, plus one more of your choice from the other four. Three volumes each, 950-plus words and phrases, native-speaker recordings, and printable phrase books to download and keep. We’ve been selling these for years at $47 apiece. Rhythmic Mandarin lands in your account in the week after the campaign closes; your chosen course follows as it comes online. Both are yours to keep using, with no expiry.
- Founding VIP status — your badge in the app and your name in the credits. There will only ever be a hundred.
- First access to everything we add. Every new capability reaches you a month before anyone else, for as long as you’re with us.
Learning English rather than Mandarin? The Rhythmic courses are built for English speakers. You get the English course itself when the campaign closes — the current state of it, with content already tested for years in the Chinese market. Playable in your browser, rough around the edges, months before anyone else sees it.
Want something bigger?
Back any tier you like and we add the Founding Bundle to your account on top.
- Lifetime, $349 — extra months mean nothing against forever, so they become another Rhythmic course instead. With the two already in the tier, that’s three in all, plus founding status and early access.
- Polyglot, $699 — you already have every language and all five Rhythmic courses. What the bundle adds here is the founding status itself: the badge, your name in the credits, and every new capability a month before anyone else.
Around $147 of value at the subscription tiers — six months at the $199 annual rate is about $100, and a Rhythmic course is $47.
Two dates
Three days before launch, so we can get your private link to you and fix anything that goes wrong before the campaign opens. After that there’s no link.
One week into the campaign, not at the end of it. It’s set to close itself, and it doesn’t come back: not in late pledges, not in the pledge manager, not by asking.
We’re doing it that way deliberately. The first week is when a campaign is decided, and we’d rather our founding backers were there for it.
Kickstarter opens in
Opens 7am Sydney / 4pm New York, 6 October. Reserve your place by 4 October.
Straight answers
Straight answers.
What do I actually do on 7 October?
Back Speech Genie on Kickstarter using your private link — we'll email it that morning. Sign in to Kickstarter first, or the tier won't be there. The moment the campaign hits its goal we confirm everything, and it lands in your account in the week after the campaign closes. You never have to ask for it.
Do I need a Kickstarter account?
Yes, and it's free. We'll ask you to set one up well before launch, so you're not doing it in a hurry on the morning. Signed out, the private link shows an ordinary project page with no tier on it.
Which tier should I back?
The Founding VIP tier is the one we made for you, and for most people it's the answer. If you want lifetime access instead, back that and we'll add the Founding Bundle on top.
Is the $10 part of what I pay on Kickstarter?
No. It's a separate reservation fee that holds your founding place and opens your last two demo lessons — we email you a link that opens them in the demo. Refundable in full within 14 days of reserving, no questions.
When does my subscription start?
When Speech Genie ships, in 2027 — not when you back. But something real lands in the week after the campaign closes on 4 November, whichever language you're learning, and it costs you nothing off your subscription. Alpha and beta access come free on top and don't count against your time either.
What if the campaign doesn't reach its goal?
Your Kickstarter pledge is never charged — Kickstarter only takes payment if a campaign funds. The $10 is separate and isn't riding on the outcome: it bought your demo lessons and your founding place the day you paid it. If you change your mind within 14 days of reserving, it comes back, no questions.
Reserve with confidence
Built by the person who started this.
Speech Genie is built on Chris Lonsdale's method — the most-watched TEDx talk ever given on language learning, 37 million views on YouTube alone, and validated with over 10,000 paying English learners in China.
100%
Refund guarantee
Cancel your reservation within 14 days for a full refund. No questions.
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Transparent build
We share real progress throughout the campaign — you see what your support builds.
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Secure payment
Processed through a secure network. Your card details are never stored.
Reserve your founding place
$10 holds your place — one of only 100.
Refundable within 14 days · The $10 is a separate reservation fee, not part of your subscription.