Beginnings can be hard to pinpoint. We founded Astropad in 2013. We met at Apple in 2007 as software engineers. But our true beginning may have been in the 1990s when, though continents apart, we each sat wide-eyed before an original Macintosh, awestruck by the creative potential that Steve Jobs’ “bicycle for your mind” could unlock.

Through these experiences, we found something we believed in: technology’s ability to help people make things. So it didn’t sit right with us when, in the early 21st century, we saw powerful mobile devices being used primarily for time-wasting applications. In response to that app-based junk food, we developed Astropad Studio and Luna Display — technology designed for the creative community. 

At Astropad, we believe that, just as bicycles help people travel faster and more efficiently, so too can products help people imagine new things. Those are the kinds of products that inspire us, and those are the kinds of products we’ll continue to build.

At Astropad, we value creativity. We build products that encourage it, and we seek out team members who do too. Because creativity is like wildfire. When we work in an inspired way, we create products that rouse others to do the same.

1. go against the grain

Don’t do what everyone else is doing. Instead, swim upstream and question what’s out there — because we value the unexpected, and the unexpected is often born of dissent.

2. cross the canyons first

Don’t save the biggest challenges for last; attack the biggest challenges first. Build the bridge over the canyon before the simple road leading up to it. What do you gain by building what you already know you can?

3. experiment confidently

Acquire information through experimentation. Have a lot of ideas, the courage to try the best ones out, and the confidence to move on if they don’t work.

4. listen to customers

We don’t take outside investment. We are funded by our customers. We grow by supporting and listening to them, by identifying the “extra mile” that will enhance their experience — and then by delivering it.

5. under promise, then over deliver

Exaggerated claims and products seem to go hand in hand. But the truth always rises to the top, and the products that speak for themselves when in the hands of users will always win out.