NOTE: The information below is for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. This site is currently raising the SEED MONEY needed to go live. The information below is provided so that potential investor/donors to Taproots or future Creators or Users can understand the business model.
Who can become a creator/project owner on Taproots?
The creativity of the human race is unbounded, so Taproots does not try to imagine all the different ways that people might want to make use of the Taproots fund-raising model. Artists, authors, software designers, influencers, small businesses, big corporations, inventors, etc, may want to use this platform, but others might gravitate towards it too.
We do not want to preclude anyone, but what we do want to do is make sure that the people and organizations making use of our platform are real, have a real project, and intend to make a good faith effort to follow through on commitments made to donors.
Donors understand that they are making a donation; if they get something out of it, that is bonus. However, one of the core purposes of the Taproots platform is the facilitation of those ‘bonuses.’ To that end, Taproots requires that project owners be vetted. To ensure that project owners are in earnest, they must pay for their own vetting. To put it bluntly, donors will be more encouraged to participate in a campaign if the project owner has demonstrated they have skin in the game.
The degree to which they allow themselves to be vetted will increase the confidence that donors have in buying ‘seeds‘ for a creator’s project. The level of vetting that a project owner has paid for, and Taproot’s assessment of the project based on that vetting, is publicly available to donors, and posted to the project’s page.
A grading system indicates which level of vetting a project has undergone. Two grades are given: 1. the vetting level and 2., how well the project has lived up to its pledges (if any were made). Taproots reserves the right to let its vetting level grade stand in for its assessment.
All fees below are non-refundable one time fees which must be paid in full before the vetting process begins. Participation in our platform also requires that Project Owners provide to Taproots a ‘stake’ in their project. For example, if the Project Owner issues 1,000 seeds, Taproots would be allocated a % of these to sell on the marketplace. The amount Taproots is allocated is dependent on the level of vetting purchased.
50% of this fee is potentially refundable; if Taproots is able to sell enough of its allocation to cover 100% of the fee, then 50% of it will be refunded. [Applies to Basic Level and above only.]
The Funds Withdrawal Fee covers the payment processing fees. Subtract 5% if you request to receive your funds via a check.
ENTRY LEVEL
$100
30% allocation — Grade: B
Includes:
Project owners provide a description and basic information about their campaign. Campaigns are rejected only in cases of serious red flags. A page is provided on Taproots which provides minimal information about the project; 1 offsite link is permitted.
Funds Withdrawal Fee: 20% or…. 15% and a 40% allocation to Taproots. [ – 5% if receiving a check]
BASIC LEVEL
$650
20% allocation — GRADE: B+
Project owners provide a description and basic information about their campaign. Taproots will offer a simple assessment of the information provided which will be relayed on the project page. Campaigns are rejected only in cases of serious red flags.
A page is provided on Taproots which posts the assessment but allows the Project to provide up to 500 words of its own content, besides. Project Owners are allowed to post 2 offsite links.
Funds Withdrawal Fee: 15% or… 12% and a 30% allocation to Taproots. [ – 5% if receiving a check]
STANDARD LEVEL
$1,100
15% allocation — GRADE: A-
Along with the requirements of the BASIC LEVEL, project owners are required to have a phone call or virtual conference call with a Taproots representative. Along with assessing the ‘good faith’ intent of the Project Owner, Taproots will also give advice about how to launch a successful campaign. Project Owners are required to give to Taproots their home address and a means to verify that the address is legitimate (this information is not made publicly available; it is only used to authenticate the Project Owner.)
A page is provided on Taproots which has more detailed information about the project. Project Owners are permitted to have a video embedded and 2-3 pictures posted. They can also submit their own text amounting to up to 1,000 words which will be posted to the page. Offsite linking is permitted and encouraged.
Project Owners are permitted to use basic Taproots Tools to manage their rewards program for those who own seeds in their project.
Funds Withdrawal Fee: 12% or… 9% and a 20% allocation to Taproots. [ – 5% if receiving a check]
PLUS LEVEL
$2,100
10% allocation — GRADE: A
Along with the requirements listed in the previous levels, Project Owners describe in detail their use of the campaign, provide more information to demonstrate the ‘good faith’ intent behind the campaign, lay out in detail the rewards and bonuses that will be offered, and submit to a cursory background check conducted by a third party. Taproots will provide to the Project Owner counsel regarding the campaign.
A page is provided on Taproots which has more detailed information about the project. Project Owners are permitted to manually edit the page to make the campaign shine per their preferences.
Project Owners are permitted to use more Taproots Tools to manage their rewards program for those who own seeds in their project, including the ability to message seeds owners.
Funds Withdrawal Fee: 9% or… 7% and a 15% allocation to Taproots. [ – 5% if receiving a check]
PLATINUM LEVEL
$5,000
5% allocation — GRADE: A+
All of the above, but with a deeper background check conducted and the lowest allocation to Taproots of seeds of all the plans. Project Owners must be willing to provide the information necessary to conduct that background check.
Project Owners are permitted to use the full Taproots Toolset to manage their rewards program for those who own seeds in their project and can download the contact information of seed owners to use independently of the Taproots platform.
Funds Withdrawal Fee: 6% [ – 5% if receiving a check]
Note: No private details of any of the background investigations will be posted on the website. Donors can assume that if the project is on the site at all, it means that the Project Owners have satisfied Taproot’s desire to have real projects managed by creators who will attempt in good faith to follow through on their commitments made to donors.
The ‘grade’ indicates at a glance what degree of vetting a Project owner has submitted to. Next to the vetting ‘grade,’ will be an additional grade, which begins for all of them with an A. If good faith by Project Owners is shown continually, the ‘A’ grade will continue to be shown. If deadlines are missed, etc, after several months, Taproots, at its sole discretion, will lower the grade to a ‘B.’ If the commitments made appear to fall through after 9-12 months, the ‘grade’ will drop to a ‘C.’
Donors should understand that caveat emptor applies, and that in the final analysis, their contribution is a donation. Project owners are permitted to use their funds however they see fit to advance their project. A Project Owner could, if s/he wanted, to make NO commitments at all, and this would be permitted on the Taproots platform. As long as Project Owners are honest and transparent and make a good faith effort to fulfill their commitments made (if they made them at all)… even if they FAIL to meet their commitments, Taproots will not lower the ‘grade.’
Why?
Because the market price of the Project Owner’s seeds ultimately reflects the community’s assessment about the Project Owner and is considered by Taproots to be the primary means by which donors can judge the value of a Project.