The bench behind the library where the wifi dies. Every honest conversation I've had here happened because nobody could check their phone.
Voyage 0 · five seats · applications open
One campus. One Skipper. Could be you.
Ithaka is picking five students to launch it on their campus. You get a numbered cap nobody can buy, your name on your college's tab for good, and a crew of your own. You don't get paid. You get to say you started it.
Closes 8 Nov · Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar first · free, obviously
- Seats
- Five. Total.
- Where
- Ahmedabad + Gandhinagar
- Applications close
- 8 Nov
- Launch Day
- 18 Nov
- Pay
- ₹0. Flex: plenty
So what's a Skipper
Your campus gets its own Ithaka. Somebody has to open it.
Ithaka is an app made only of words. No photos, no reels, nothing to scroll past. Just what people are actually thinking, written down.
Every college gets its own tab inside it: a feed only your campus can post to. It stays locked until 40 students from your college write their first post. Then it opens, and it says who opened it.
A Skipper is the person who fills that boat. You bring the first 40 aboard, you run a crew of three or four, and you host the first Ithaka Home on your campus. Your name stays on the tab for as long as the tab exists.
ITHAKA
Launched bySkipper Aanya
#0340/40 writersTab open
The canteen at 4pm, after the samosas run out and only the honest people are left.
ITHAKA#03
SKIPPER
Aanya MehtaYour college here
Voyage 0 · 20261 of 5
The flex
There will only ever be five of these.
This is the card you post the day you're picked. Numbered, one per campus, and nobody can buy one. Type your name into the form at the bottom and it becomes yours.
- #01 to #05Numbered in the order the boats leave the harbour.
- One per campusTwo Skippers from one college is zero Skippers.
- Never soldNot on a website, not at a Home, not to your friends.
Receipts
No cap. Okay, one cap. Here's everything you get.
We don't pay Skippers, and we're not going to pretend a stipend is coming. What you get is stuff money can't buy, unlocked at milestones the app counts for us. Hit the number, get the thing.
Launch Day, 18 Nov
You're picked
All five Skippers are announced together, the same morning, and every countdown starts at once.
- Your Skipper cardNumbered #01 to #05, made to be posted
- The hat, in the appNext to your name on every post you write
- The Skipper's LogPrivate group with the founder. New features land here first
10 writers from your campus
First ten aboard
Ten students enter your college code and write their first post. That's the hard part done.
- Sticker sheetsFor you and every member of your crew
- Crew badgesYour three or four get their own badge in the app
40 writers from your campus
The boat sets sail
Your college tab opens for everyone at your college. This is the one you'll screenshot.
- The numbered capButter yellow, your number stitched on. Never sold
- "Launched by Skipper you"On your college tab, permanently
15+ people in one room
First Home on campus
You host an Ithaka Home at your college, through a club. We bring the format, the prompts and the chai.
- A tote with your post on itYour best Ithaka post, printed. Nobody else has that one
- Chai and snacks on usFor the whole room, every Home you run
The whole voyage, no ghosting
Back in harbour
You kept the tab alive till the end of term. The voyage ends, and the paperwork that matters begins.
- Skipper certificateSigned, numbered, with your campus on it
- Recommendation letterFrom the founder, written about you, not a template
Top 3 Skippers, end of April
Admiral
After Voyage 1 runs across Gujarat, the three Skippers who built the most get the rank above.
- A trip to a Home in another cityTravel and stay covered
- A say in one featureYou pick it, we build it, your name's in the release notes
- A first-look internship offerBefore the role is posted anywhere
The actual job
A few hours a week. Mostly on your phone.
Transparent both ways: here is exactly what we ask of you, every month of the voyage.
- 01
Fill your boat
Get 40 people from your college writing on Ithaka. Month one is mostly this.
- 02
Host one Home
One meetup a month on campus, through a club you're in. We send the format and pay for the chai.
- 03
Drop a weekly prompt
One question a week in your college tab. The good ones go app-wide.
- 04
Run a crew
Pick three or four people. They help, they get badges, and one of them steps up if you step back.
- 05
Check in
Fifteen minutes with us every two weeks. That's the only meeting.
Vibe check
This is for a specific kind of person.
Green flags
- You already run something: a club, a page, a group chat that actually talks.
- When you say "come", people come.
- You write, or you've always wanted to and needed an excuse.
- You reply to messages the same day.
Probably not for you if
- You want a paid gig. We don't pay, and we said so up top.
- You want a certificate for doing nothing. Three quiet weeks and the hat moves to your crew.
- Your plan is to drop a link in 40 groups and log off.
How you get picked
The application is a post.
Every Skipper starts by writing one. Here's your prompt:
The Skipper prompt“Write about a place on your campus that nobody notices.”
- 1
Write
Post your answer to the prompt on Ithaka. It's the whole application, really. If you won't write one post, you won't fill a boat.
- 2
Fill the form
Five minutes, at the bottom of this page. Tell us who you are and how you'd fill a room.
- 3
Get a call
Shortlisted? Fifteen minutes with the founder, between 9 and 15 Nov. One question: how would you get 20 people into a room on your campus next week?
- 4
Launch Day
18 Nov. Five Skippers, announced together. Everyone else hears "not this voyage", stays first in line, and gets a crew spot if they want one.
Now to 8 NovApplications open
9 to 15 NovCalls and picks
18 NovLaunch Day. Five boats, one morning
18 Nov to 12 DecVoyage 0. Fill the boat, host a Home
Jan to AprVoyage 1. 15 to 20 campuses across Gujarat
End of AprilThe first three Admirals
Fine print, in big print
The rules of the boat.
Your side
- One voyage at a time. Renewal is earned, and it shows: "Skipper, 2nd voyage."
- Three weeks without activity and the hat passes to your crew lead. No hard feelings.
- Posts about Ithaka carry #collab. That's the ASCI rule, and we follow it.
- Never collect classmates' numbers or data. People join through the app, nowhere else.
Our side
- A one-page agreement with every Skipper. Under 18, a parent signs it too.
- Events on campus only through a club, with permission.
- Your college's name or logo goes on nothing without the college saying yes in writing.
- Every number on the leaderboard comes from the app, never from screenshots.
Asked already
Questions you were about to DM us.
Wait, is this paid?
No, and nothing on this page will suddenly turn into money. What you get is the cap, the card, the tote, your name on your college's tab, a certificate, a recommendation letter, and for the top three, a trip and an internship offer. All of it is listed above against the milestone that unlocks it.
Do I need to be a good writer?
You need to be someone people listen to. Writing well helps, but the post we ask for is about one corner of your campus, not a short story. Honest beats polished.
My college isn't in Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar.
Apply anyway. Voyage 0 is five campuses close to us so we can turn up in person. Voyage 1 opens 15 to 20 campuses across Gujarat in January, and everyone who applied now is first in line for it.
I'm still in school. Can I apply?
Yes. If you're under 18, a parent signs the one-page agreement with you. Everything else is the same.
Two of us from one college want it.
Both apply. One becomes Skipper, and the other gets first pick of the crew, plus first shot at the hat if it ever moves.
How much time does it actually take?
A few hours a week, most of it on your phone. Month one is busier because you're filling the boat. After that it's one Home a month, one prompt a week, and a 15-minute call every two weeks.
Can I put this on my CV and LinkedIn?
That's partly the point. You get a numbered certificate and a recommendation letter written about you specifically. "Launched Ithaka at my college and got 40 people writing" is a line most people don't have.
What happens if I'm not picked?
You hear "not this voyage", never silence. You stay first in line for Voyage 1, and the Skipper at your college can bring you on as crew if you'd like.
Apply
Put your name on it.
Two things: your post to the prompt on Ithaka, and this form. We read every single one, and you'll hear back either way.
ITHAKA#0?
SKIPPER
Your nameYour college
Voyage 0 · 20261 of 5
your card, as you type. the number comes on Launch Day