Why Be First on a Marketplace with No History?
It is the fairest question anyone can ask us, and the site would be dishonest without an answer. Here is what each side gets for going first, and what we owe you if we do not deliver.
Pursuing DFSA Innovation Testing Licence · DIFC, Dubai
The Cold Start
The Chicken and Egg Problem, Stated Plainly.
A two-sided marketplace is worth nothing on day one. Rather than pretend otherwise, we have written down why each side might still go first.
There are no scored companies yet. Why would an investor look?
They would not, on volume. The first investors are not here for deal flow, they are here to shape the rubric and the escrow terms before either is fixed. Founding investors sit on the review of the rubric itself and get their fee waived on their first two funded deals.
There are no reviews yet. Why would an expert calibrate?
Because calibration is the scarce asset, not the volume. Founding experts set their own rate, keep one hundred percent of it, and are listed as founding reviewers permanently. They also help write the evidence standards for their own sector.
There are no investors yet. Why would a founder get scored?
Because the review has standalone value: two independent domain experts, eight dimensions, written reasoning, at a price far below a diligence engagement. The score is portable and works in conversations that never touch this platform.
What if the cohort does not fill?
Then we do not launch the marketplace and we say so. Founding cohort fees are refundable in full until the cohort closes. We would rather return money than run a marketplace with one side of it empty.
Priority
Programme Partners Come First.
One grant programme or accelerator brings its whole cohort at once, pays for the assessments itself, and pre-selects the teams. That solves the cold start, inverts the conflict and removes adverse selection in a single agreement, so it is the first thing we are trying to sign.
What a First Programme Partner Receives
- Verification of one full cohort at the expert cost, with our service fee waived for the pilot term
- The programme console, verification queue and disbursement controls at no platform fee for the first year
- A public transparency page carrying your programme's name, live for your community from day one
- Direct input into the verification standard and the tranche model before either is fixed
- A written comparison of independent findings against the self-reported updates for the same milestones
Tracks
Three Tracks, Three Different Bargains.
Each side is asked for something different and gets something different back. Nothing here is a discount for its own sake.
First Fifty Founders
Review at cost
- The blind double-expert review at cost for the first cohort, itemised before you commit
- Success fee waived on the first funded round completed on the platform
- Direct line into rubric revisions: your review is annotated and your objections are recorded
- Founding cohort marker on your published score, permanently
- Full refund at any point until the cohort closes
Founding Experts
You set your rate
- Set your own rate and keep one hundred percent of it. Our service fee is charged to the founder on top
- Help write the evidence standards for your sector before the rubric is fixed
- Founding reviewer badge and priority placement in the directory at launch
- Blind pool and Direct Engagement are separate: your directory presence never touches your blind assignments
- Publish a limited profile by default, because most reviewers are employed elsewhere
Founding Investors
First two deals fee free
- Investor fee waived on your first two funded deals
- A seat in the review of the escrow terms and the milestone standard before launch
- Early access to scored companies ahead of general investor onboarding
- No public listing of your name or your firm, ever, unless you opt in
- Access is restricted to accredited or professional investors in your jurisdiction
We Would Rather Refund Than Launch Half Empty.
Founding cohort fees are refundable in full until the cohort closes. If both sides of the marketplace are not ready, we will say so and return the money.
Read the Trust MechanicsWaitlist
Positions Are Sequential, Not Auctioned.
Places cannot be bought forward. Your position is the order you joined your track, and it is the order we open access in.
- One queue per track: founder, expert, investor
- No charge and no commitment when you join
- You are emailed when your track opens and before it closes
- Leaving the queue is one click in the email