---
title: "How it works"
description: "The life of a fundmysaas campaign, the two ways a backer is charged, and who does what."
canonical_url: "https://fundmysaas.io/docs/how-it-works"
---
# How it works

> The life of a fundmysaas campaign, the two ways a backer is charged, and who does what.

## The short version

1. A founder connects a Stripe account, adds a product and writes a campaign with rewards.
2. fundmysaas checks the campaign and the founder before it goes live.
3. Backers pledge for a reward. Their card is saved with Stripe and nothing is charged.
4. The campaign ends. If the goal is met, the backers are charged. If not, every pledge is released.
5. The money goes to the founder's Stripe account. fundmysaas takes its [fee](https://fundmysaas.io/docs/fees) from each charge.

## Three ways to raise

The founder picks one mode for each campaign. The mode cannot change once the campaign is approved.

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Ship pledge
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Build fund
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Growth
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      When the card is charged
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Once the product is proven live
    </td>
    
    <td>
      When the campaign ends, if the goal is met
    </td>
    
    <td>
      When the campaign ends, if the goal is met
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      When the founder is paid
    </td>
    
    <td>
      At the charge
    </td>
    
    <td>
      At the charge
    </td>
    
    <td>
      At the charge
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      What the founder shows
    </td>
    
    <td>
      A launch deadline, then a proof of launch
    </td>
    
    <td>
      A working prototype, from the start
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The live product, and what the money grows
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      If the goal is missed
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Nobody is charged
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Nobody is charged
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Nobody is charged
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      If the launch deadline is missed
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Pledges are released and nothing is charged
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Not applicable
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Not applicable
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

A **Ship pledge** is the default. It suits a product that is not built yet: backers pay only when it is live. A **Build fund** suits a product that already has a working prototype and needs money to finish it. **Growth** suits a product that is live and selling: the money grows it, through marketing, scale and infrastructure, sales or hiring, and the campaign page says which.

## The life of a campaign

A campaign moves through these statuses.

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Status
    </th>
    
    <th>
      What it means
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Draft
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The founder is writing it.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Submitted
    </td>
    
    <td>
      It is under review. Its terms are locked.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Approved
    </td>
    
    <td>
      An operator accepted it. The founder opens it when ready.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Live
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Backers can pledge.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Failed
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The goal was missed. Every pledge was released.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Succeeded
    </td>
    
    <td>
      A Build fund met its goal and the pledges were charged.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Funded
    </td>
    
    <td>
      A Ship pledge met its goal. The founder now proves the launch.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Launched
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The launch was confirmed and the pledges were charged.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Expired
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The launch deadline passed with no confirmed launch. Pledges were released.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Rejected
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The review refused the campaign.
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Suspended
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The campaign was stopped by an operator.
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The goal is judged on the pledges still standing when the campaign ends: those that were not withdrawn or released.

## Who is who

- **The founder** is the seller. The contract, the invoice and the VAT are theirs, and their legal name and country are shown on the campaign page and at checkout.
- **The backer** buys a reward from the founder.
- **Stripe** verifies the founder's identity, holds the card and moves the money. Stripe Connect is used with direct charges: each charge is created on the founder's own Stripe account, and fundmysaas never holds or moves backers' money.
- **fundmysaas** runs the platform, reviews the campaigns and takes a fee on what is collected.

## What fundmysaas does not do

- It does not sell shares, loans, revenue shares or tokens. A reward is a product or a perk of the founder.
- It does not charge backers by itself, or hold the money of a campaign while it runs.
- It does not accept crypto payments.


## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](https://fundmysaas.io/sitemap.md) for all pages.