Announcing Our First Funding Findr Microgrant Winner: Patchwork Labs
When we launched the Funding Findr Microgrant, we weren’t looking for the loudest project or the most optimized pitch deck.
We were looking for builders who are thinking carefully about what it means to create right now.
Our first recipient does exactly that.
We’re excited to announce Patchwork Labs, founded by Jasper Mayone, Kieran Klukas and Dominic Petrarca, as the inaugural winner of the Funding Findr Microgrant. (Follow them on social! threads; instagram; bluesky)
(And yes, the February microgrant is also open for applications!)
A project born inside the shift
Jasper is a college student majoring in computer science at a time when the field is undergoing significant change.
Curricula are changing in real time. Professors are reworking assignments, as tools like Anthropic’s Claude Code reshape how students write, code, and think. His school recently announced a new Applied AI major, a signal of how quickly the field is reorganizing.
Rather than reacting with panic or nostalgia, Jasper is doing something more interesting: they’re asking what human creativity looks like inside this shift, not outside of it.
Patchwork is the result of that question.
From hackathons to something more human
Jasper’s first CS-adjacent work came through hackathons and maker communities. They became deeply involved with Hack Club, working on the community resource team and helping welcome new members into the ecosystem. That role gave them a front-row seat to how large creative communities actually function, where they succeed, and where they don’t.
Patchwork was conceived in this same spirit.
Creativity in the age of AI, not against it
Patchwork’s mission is simple: to inspire human creativity in the age of artificial intelligence.
Jasper is clear-eyed about AI’s power: students are using AI to write essays, and builders are shipping projects faster than ever. But everything looks and sounds the same. In the tech world, entire product stacks now look eerily similar - everything looks like Tailwind and shadcn.
You can feel when something is purely vibe-coded, and Jasper + team want to encourage still keeping that human element, that human spirit, as a part of the project.
Swimming with the current of change rather than fighting it, while still insisting that the most meaningful ideas come from human curiosity, taste, and judgment.
That tension is the heart of the project.
How Patchwork works
Patchwork lives primarily on Slack, which acts as a shared studio rather than a feed.
Members participate in themed creative cycles where they propose ideas, share progress, and post finished work. The emphasis is not on perfection but on momentum and follow-through.
Why we funded Patchwork
Funding Findr exists because 1) access to capital for early, 0-to-1 founders is scarce, and 2) the existing options for discovering funding are painful to use.
Patchwork stood out for being grounded, reflective, and structurally thoughtful. It understands its moment. It doesn’t posture as a solution to everything. And it takes the idea that creativity needs environments designed to protect it seriously.
We’re proud to support Patchwork as our first microgrant recipient.
How to get involved
Patchwork is still building its public-facing foundations, including its website. For now, the best ways to support the work are:
People can email team@patchworklabs.org to learn how to get involved, and email me directly at jasper@patchworklabs.org with funding/sponsorship inquiries.
Patchwork is actively open to conversations.
February microgrant now open
The February Funding Findr Microgrant is open to member applications.
Each month, we award funding to a project doing thoughtful, values-aligned work. If you’re building something and could use a small but meaningful boost, this is exactly what the microgrant is for.
We’ll continue sharing winners and the thinking behind their work as the program grows.
Real creativity deserves real support.
