The $6,999 lid auction
Put your brand on the MacBook I use to build in public.
Ten brands can win ten fixed placements on the Space Black MacBook Pro I carry through cafés, coworking spaces, conferences, photos, and build-in-public videos. Every spot is its own contest. Highest bid at close wins the year.
- 20% deposit at checkout
- Fully refunded if outbid
- Every accepted bid stays public
10 placements are open.Set the first public price from $12.
on the physical MacBook lid
after a hand logo review
cafés, events, photos, and videos
Three steps
Win a place on the lid
- 01Pick a position
Choose one of ten fixed zones around the Apple mark.
- 02Take the lead
Beat the exact live minimum. Checkout collects only a 20% deposit.
- 03Own it for a year
Win at close, pass a hand review, and your sticker stays for 12 months.
Pick the real estate
Choose the spot your competitors have to beat.
These are the ten fixed placements on the back cover. Tap any open tile to see its exact live minimum, or switch to 3D to inspect the full machine.
Dashed boxes are printable areas. Tap a spot to bid.
Transparent campaign math
The bids buy one exact machine.
The campaign target is the listed one-time price—no tax buffer and no unrelated costs added.
Progress uses current leading bids—not refundable deposits. If a brand is outbid, its deposit returns in full and only the new leader counts here.
Exact configuration
16-inch MacBook Pro
Space Black · $6,999 USD
- Compute
- Apple M5 Max · 18-core CPU · 40-core GPU · 16-core Neural Engine
- Memory
- 128 GB unified memory
- Storage
- 2 TB SSD
- Display
- Standard display
- AI
- Apple Intelligence and Siri
- Keyboard
- U.S. English Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- Power
- 140W USB-C Power Adapter
- Ports
- 3× Thunderbolt 5, MagSafe 3, 3.5 mm headphone jack, HDMI, SDXC
- Displays
- Up to four external displays
- Delivery
- Free shipping · ships in 3–4 weeks
Ten separate contests
Live spot auction
Choose the placement that fits your logo. Every row shows the current leader and the exact bid needed to move ahead.
| Placement | Size | Leader | Current bid | Take the lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Apple Halo Left
Top-left, near Apple logo
|
Large 9.5 × 5.5 cm ★ | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Apple Halo Right
Top-right, near Apple logo
|
Large 9.5 × 5.5 cm ★ | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Lid Top Center
Top center
|
Large 9.5 × 5.5 cm ★ | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Left Panel Upper
Left side, upper
|
Medium 9.5 × 4 cm | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Left Panel Lower
Left side, lower
|
Medium 9.5 × 4 cm | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Right Panel Upper
Right side, upper
|
Medium 9.5 × 4 cm | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Right Panel Lower
Right side, lower
|
Medium 9.5 × 4 cm | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Bottom Left Corner
Bottom-left corner
|
Small 4.5 × 4.5 cm | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Bottom Center
Bottom center
|
Small 4.5 × 4.5 cm | No leader yet | Open | |
|
Bottom Right Corner
Bottom-right corner
|
Small 4.5 × 4.5 cm | No leader yet | Open |
The competition
The brands to beat
0 accepted bids from 0 advertisers. Every accepted bid stays in the public history, even after it is outbid.
The board is wide open. Put your brand in first and set the price every challenger has to beat.
After the auction
The brands that make the lid
No brands have reached the lid yet. Win a spot, pass a hand review, and your approved logo becomes a die-cut vinyl sticker plus a linked sponsor placement here.
About the owner
Slava (Alpha) Kurilyak
Solopreneur · indie hacker · shipping products in public
For years I traveled the world as a fractional CTO, meeting clients face to face for services. This MacBook is the transition: I'm shifting to solopreneur, indie hacker, and solo founder work — shipping my own products in public.
The lid still comes with me through cafés, coworking spaces, and conferences. Brands that win a spot ride along while I build in the open.
Frequently asked questions
How does the live auction work? +
Ten fixed sticker spots sit on the MacBook Pro lid across three size tiers. Brands place live bids in USD; the highest bid at close wins each zone. Payment collection is not enabled in this build; when it opens, a 20% deposit is collected and refunded in full if you are later outbid.
How is my sticker placed and approved? +
After the auction closes, the owner reviews every logo by hand before it goes on the lid. Approved sponsors are printed as die-cut vinyl and affixed to the MacBook; only approved sponsors appear on the laptop and on the public page.
How long does my sponsorship last? +
Each sponsorship term is a fixed 12 months, aligned to a single annual campaign. The MacBook Pro is the first gadget; next year the campaign re-runs with new gear (cell phone, headphones, DSLR camera, and DSLR gear).
What happens if I'm outbid or vetoed? +
If another brand outbids you, a paid 20% deposit is refunded in full automatically and the challenger becomes the new leader. You can return with the newly displayed minimum. The owner may also veto any brand, returning the deposit and releasing the spot.
Where does the funded MacBook travel? +
The owner carries the stickered laptop while shipping products in public — through cafés, coworking spaces, and conferences, and in posted photos and vlogs across the countries shown in the itinerary map below.
Is my bid and reach data shared publicly? +
Accepted bid amounts, public brand names, spot context, status, and safe public links remain in the public leaderboard—even after a bid is outbid. The owner's underlying reach analytics are pitch material and are never exposed to sponsors as an ongoing dashboard during the term.
Where the MacBook travels
Used to travel to meet clients. Now the funded MacBook travels while products ship in public — sponsor stickers ride along across these countries.
- Ukraine — Kharkiv
- Canada — Vancouver
- Mexico — Playa del Carmen, Cancún, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres
- Costa Rica — San José, Puerto Viejo, La Fortuna
- Colombia — Medellín
- Brazil — Rio de Janeiro
- Argentina — Buenos Aires
- Montenegro — Bečići
- Serbia — Belgrade (current)
- United Kingdom — London (upcoming)
- France — Paris (upcoming)