Design Partners get Athena comped in exchange for a named testimonial, a written case study, and reference calls for future prospects. This is not a paid seat: applications are reviewed by Doug and approvals happen out-of-band. Design Partner slots do not count against the 20 paid founding seats — you're not competing for a checkout button.
We're looking for organizations that will use Athena in earnest, give us honest feedback, and are willing to be publicly named as a customer.