Our story
Some conversations matter more later.
NoteHand began with a simple habit a friend of ours kept, and a detail that turned out to matter long after the conversation ended.
Project review · recorded on an iPhone · 41 min
Where it began
A simple habit. An ordinary tool.
Rose recorded her professional meetings with the Notes app on her iPhone.
Over time, those recordings became something she could return to when the details mattered. They helped her revisit conversations during personal and professional disputes, when what had actually been said was important.
That is where the inspiration for NoteHand began.
What happens to a conversation
We leave the room believing we'll remember it.
Right after the call
The important parts seem obvious. We know what was agreed, what we promised, what comes next.
Then the week fills up
By the time we need a detail, we're piecing it together from memory, a few hurried notes, perhaps a message sent afterward.
Two versions of one room
Two people can leave the same conversation with different understandings of what was said.
The idea
A recording made today could become useful for reasons you wouldn't discover until later.
Rose's experience gave a very ordinary habit a much greater significance. It was an idea worth building around.
What we built
Making it easier to return to the conversation.
At BITSUMMIT, much of our work happens in conversations: client calls, project reviews, decisions about what to do next. We know how much can depend on a detail that takes only a few seconds to say.
We wanted to make those details easier to find and use. NoteHand brings the pieces together on your Mac, and with Coach it carries the same idea into the conversation itself.
Who needs to approve the budget before we start?
The pieces
- A recordingSomewhere to return to when what was actually said matters.
- A transcriptHelps you find the passage without replaying the whole meeting.
- Clear notesShow what was decided and who agreed to do what.
- CoachHelps you notice a question while there's still someone there to answer it.
Kept close to the person having the conversation
- Transcription runs on your MacAudio is processed on the device you recorded with.
- You choose where the AI runsA local model on your Mac, or your own account with a provider you trust.
- Your notes are files of your ownEditable Markdown in a folder you choose, to keep, share and back up.
The purpose is practical
Be present with the person in front of you. Have something useful to return to afterward.
Sometimes it's a deadline
The date you agreed to, found again the moment you need it.
Sometimes it's a promise
What you said you would send, and to whom, so you can follow through.
Sometimes it matters more than you expected
As Rose's experience showed, the reason to return to a conversation can arrive much later.
A note of thanks
Books make room for a dedication. So does this.
Dear Rose,
Books often make room for a dedication to someone who helped bring them into the world. We wanted this product to have one, too.
Your way of keeping a record gave us an idea worth pursuing. What stayed with us was how something so simple could prove so valuable when you needed it.
Thank you for that inspiration. It deserves a place here, beside the work it helped inspire.
Whatever NoteHand becomes, we want this page to remember where the idea began.
With gratitude,
The NoteHand team
Rose's name has been changed for privacy.