The first version of Mad Max Labs
What shipped on April 30, what the first map got wrong, and what the studio became after real products arrived.
Archive note, August 12, 2026: the original launch post described a site that no longer exists exactly as it did. The publication date stays April 30 because that is when version one shipped.
On April 30, 2026, Mad Max Labs finally had a home. The studio already existed in spirit across Android apps, Unity experiments, and the web project Falcon built for his dad. What it did not have was a public place where those threads belonged together.
What actually shipped
The first release ran on Next.js 16, Tailwind v4, and the App Router. It included a three-tier homepage hero with WebGL, canvas, and static fallbacks; a Ledgerly case study; CookwithPops; the Lab; MDX dispatches with an RSS feed; a guestbook; an email signup; the manifesto; a now page; and the first version of the Build Log.
The homepage hero was a fragment shader with deliberately imprecise gravity. The idea was simple: the cursor should have weight without becoming a leash. It belonged to version one and changed when the homepage did.
The first map
The original navigation split the work into Android, Web, Agentic, Lab, and Blog. It described what existed on launch day. It was less useful once the studio had to account for more than experiments and one flagship app.
By August, Orbit was live on Google Play, SEO Evidence Lab was live in the Chrome Web Store, and Mix & Match Bundles was in listing review. Ledgerly remained in development, and CookwithPops was live again after its production domain was repaired.
What shipped after version one.
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04What changed
The launch post called the site a showcase, not a sales page, and said there was nothing to buy. That stopped being true. Mad Max Labs now runs two tracks: products we own and a small client practice for SEO, paid search, social systems, and web and AI builds.
The site changed with the work. Services, Products, Library, and Studio became a clearer front door than the original platform map. Signals now keeps the high-value posts that still matter after the feed moves on. The Build Log keeps the dated receipts. The now page lists the work still in progress.
What stayed
The studio is still small on purpose. Ledgerly still keeps its financial work on-device. We still prefer useful software to feature theatre, and we still write down what the work teaches us.
The first launch ended with “More to come.” The pages linked above show what came next.