Hi, I'm Steve.  Even though I spent 30 years in tech at Apple (where Steve Jobs personally rehired me in '97), Cisco, Salesforce, and Alarm.com, I never wrote production code. Now, thanks to Claude, I just shipped my first Mac app. 3 days, 2.4MB Apple-notarized DMG.

It's called [**Tellie**](https://tellieapp.com/?via=reddit-sideproject)**. A Mac teleprompter that follows your voice, word by word. Not just "scrolls when it hears sound."** *It tracks the actual words you're saying, highlights where you are, and stays with you even if you skip ahead, go back, or improvise.* All on-device, in about 50 languages.

I designed it to feel the way great Mac software should: invisible until you need it, magical when you do. Invisible to Zoom and screen recorders. Lives in the MacBook notch or detach and float it anywhere. No account. No registration. No tracking.

Though I built it for my own use (don't like to read my notes yet sometimes need a prompt), I decided to give it away so others could enjoy Tellie too.  Then something unexpected: professional actors started using it. Sprague Theobald (Law & Order, Only Murders in the Building, FBI, Poker Face) used Tellie for audition prep. He's also dyslexic, and Tellie's OpenDyslexic font makes it easier for him to read scripts on screen. He told a couple of friends, and it's quietly spread from there, including a dozen other countries.

The Free version is a full working teleprompter with some cool hidden tools for developers, so go download it today. Tellie Pro (**$19 right now, going to $29 soon)** adds my magical voice-follow feature, live pace reports, playlists, section navigation, and a bunch more customization. It's a simple, one-time purchase, no subscription, just like the good old days!

[https://tellieapp.com/?via=reddit-sideproject](https://tellieapp.com/?via=reddit-sideproject)

True story: At one point Claude pushed back on perfecting the killer voice-follow feature. Its actual words: "Maybe we should ship what we have and call it a day." I pushed it hard to keep going thinking, what would Steve Jobs want? We got it working and I'm very proud of it.

Can I get any feedback?  Happy to add new features or fixes for you.

Thanks! 

Steve

My origin story: [https://stevechazin.com/i-built-a-mac-app-in-3-days-and-you-can-too/](https://stevechazin.com/i-built-a-mac-app-in-3-days-and-you-can-too/)

Loom demo of me going ad libbing off script while Tellie waits patiently and picks up where I left off: [https://www.loom.com/share/132abe6345a543449d42f3f4eaf02309](https://www.loom.com/share/132abe6345a543449d42f3f4eaf02309)

Ex-Apple exec, never wrote code. Just shipped a Mac teleprompter in 3 days using AI. Free + Pro