Title: [SmartFund] - CrowdFunding without an ICO - Announcement Post by: smartfund on August 05, 2017, 05:07:17 AM http://smartfund.info/img/logo.png SmartFund Smart Contract Enabled CrowdFunding http://smartfund.info Check Out Our GitHub (https://github.com/SmartFund) Follow Us (https://twitter.com/SmartFundDevs) Join Our Slack (https://join.slack.com/t/smartfund/shared_invite/MjIxOTMyNjc4NzM2LTE1MDE4OTU4NzMtNmFkNjU2ODM3OA) With the recent release of hundreds if not thousands of ICOs for projects that are either actually trying to raise money or are just looking for a quick buck, we saw the need for a platform like SmartFund. SmartFund is here to help reduce the overwhelming amount of ICOs and help create a platform for developers to reach users without risking violating the recent SEC ruling categorizing tokens as securities. Check out our website to see our vision and the benefits that Smart Contract enabled crowdfunding could provide the community. Our GitHub Repository will include the first version of our Smart Contract enabled crowdfunding and will be utilized to help raise money for this project as well as to prove that Smart Contracts can enable mutually beneficial crowdfunding for both users and creators. SmartFund would start by enabling Smart Contract crowdfunding but its eventual goal would be to be a platform that facilitates Equity CrowdFunding made possible under the JOBS Act. Below is our WhitePaper copied from the website for you to read over. It is also available to download in PDF format on our website. We welcome any criticism, compliments, or comments and hope you can see the potential in this project. Introduction SmartFund is a revolutionary crowdfunding platform with Smart Contract enabled features. SmartFund allows users to create a project to present the community and then create a simple Smart Contract to protect backers. Smart Contracts allow for automated, open source software based protection for donors in the case that the goal is not met within the time limit of the contract. Each project that goes up for funding is required to have at least one smart contract that is generated by SmartFund Contract Creator (or approved) and can be viewed by users to verify it's legitimacy. This sets to reduce the number of “ICOs” that are currently flooding the Cryptocurrency marketplace and that have been defined as securities by the United States Security Exchange Commission as of July 28th 2017. Instead of each project producing it’s own token, SmartFund will replace the need for that and allow for an online platform with the same features that a crowdsale of a token would have without the legal issues that such a token sale would create. This benefits not only those who are looking to fund a promising project but also the entire ecosystem of users by creating a space where these can be proposed and create peace of mind for both developers and users alike who see a future in Blockchain Technology based projects. However, SmartFund does not stop there. Smart Contracts have the power to revolutionize every aspect of crowdfunding today and lower donor risk while effectively lowering the bar for smaller projects to thrive in this automated environment. Mission Statement SmartFund's mission is to create a mutually beneficial platform for developers and users to further the scope of Blockchain Technology and beyond in an ever increasingly complex ecosystem. Goals Disrupt the way we all think about crowdfunding by introducing groundbreaking technology in unique ways to allow for a platform with more transparency, Project Team accountability, and ultimately more opportunities for entrepreneurial, artistic, and technical creation of all forms. Structure SmartFund is a Benefit Corporation and will exist indefinitely with the exception of an event that prohibits SmartFund from staying true to its Mission Statement or unable to realistically continue operating activities. SmartFund intends to start off with a small group of volunteers until more funding is earned and milestones are met. We will expand accordingly to when the milestones are met as outlined in the 2017 Road Map and Goals. Team SmartFund is founded by a small group of students from Missouri University of Science and Technology. The idea came in response as a solution to the risky and now quasi legal “ICOs” that caught the cryptocurrency community by storm the past few months. We aim to create a platform for trusted crowdfunding with transparent oversight, honest and legitimate projects, and the implementation of Ethereum Smart Contracts to protect all parties involved in a campaign. SmartFund is in its infancy but everyone within is incredibly motivated to change and protect the future of Blockchain Technology. We are made up of entrepreneurial spirited engineering students with vast arrays of talent. We are looking for volunteers who would like to get involved in any way they can help. Anything you can bring to the table puts us in a better position to create a successful platform together. At the time of writing this, we have a team consisting of less than four members and we are looking for more! If you would like to be apart of this exciting venture then please contact us and tell us why you want to get involved! Passion is the most important quality to ask for but please also include previous relevant experience (resume if you wish), your motivation for seeking opportunities with us, and a short introduction paragraph telling us about YOU! If interested please contact devteam@smartfund.info and include a relevant subject line to grab our attention! How it works SmartFund’s foundation is based upon Ethereum Smart Contracts and will always be open source. SmartFund is creating an opportunity for a more efficient crowdfunding system that is going to immensely benefit users, donors, and teams in ways that we can only begin to imagine today. This allows for donors to have a guarantee that they are not simply risking their funding to a project that may never get more than a quarter of the proposed goal or simply ditch the project once they receive their goal in a lump sum. If a project does not meet its goal within the set timeframe, all funds will be transferred back to the owners automatically thanks to the use of Smart Contracts. The implementation of Smart Contracts also allows for teams to raise funds much more slowly to allow for much more organic and healthy growth. This option to receive funding as milestones are reached creates limited risk to any donors and can help motivate Project Teams to work towards their idea or proposal. This model of requiring results from projects in order to continue seeing funding creates an ecosystem of higher quality projects and more motivated from teams that are in the progress of receiving funding. This will help deter dishonest teams and motivate legitimate projects to continue working and developing their idea and bring value to the global marketplace. The problem with traditional crowdfunding is after a project is funded, a team may lose motivation to follow through with their promises, leaving donors angry and confused. This creates doubt and risk for potential donors of any project. SmartFund aims to drastically reduce and/or eliminate the frequency of such risks with Smart Contracts. SmartFund will be the trusted location and online platform to display ongoing projects along with each project’s Smart Contract. Each project must display the source to their Smart Contract and an easy to understand explanation for unique features within Contracts. Project teams will develop a proposal or WhitePaper (if necessary), descriptions of the project and need/use of funds, include pictures, videos, and anything else they want to put on display in support of their project. SmartFund will not allow projects to be eligible if they are obvious jokes or trolls. The approval of projects is important to prevent users from being scammed and instill trust in the SmartFund platform. More details can be found in the SmartFund Terms and Conditions and Team Resources. For those interested in the technical details, please see our GitHub. Development SmartFund has all of its source code on GitHub and future projects will be posted there. This includes a basic crowdfund Smart Contract and explanation of how it works. A SmartFund Contract Creator is set to be developed and will be completed according to SmartFund’s RoadMap and Goals. The goal of using milestone based crowdfunding to create a crowdfunding platform is to highlight the benefits of a slower, more organic, and motivational method to push more projects off the ground and into reality and/or the marketplace! SmartFund Road Map and Goals To view our full Road Map in extreme and ever changing detail, please refer to our website. The Road Map and Goals page on our website will outline detail how the platform will undergo development from here on out. Please to learn more, do not hesitate to learn more about this innovative crowdfunding platform. Future Possibilities With the success of SmartFund there will be research into how to further the function of the platform. SmartFund would prefer to become a platform not just for crowdfunding but for Equity CrowdFunding. Equity CrowdFunding would be revolutionary for the platform and help attract users. Equity CrowdFunding was made possible under the JOBS Act which went into effect in May of 2016. Sources of Funding For SmartFund to become a reality with an impact on society and the future development of Blockchain based Technologies and beyond , initial funding will be required. We are asking for donations in Ethereum and Bitcoin at the moment. Soon we will accept donations through PayPal as well for those who prefer to use Debit/Credit Card. We would like to thank those who can contribute. Please see the SmartFund Road Map and Goals page to see progress and milestones. We plan to use Smart Contracts in our own crowdfunding using the framework we have explained here to prove its legitimacy and advantages! The Smart Contracts we used for our funding raising period will be available on GitHub, feel free to review them. Please review our Terms Of Donations on our legal page before contributing as well. Crowdfunding will begin on August 6th, 2017 and will continue until the project is completed. Summary SmartFund is determined to be the best crowdfunding platform available by enabling the use of Smart Contracts to protect users and incentivize developers to continue projects until completion. This has potential to be a rewarding system for every party involved and can only be limited by the human imagination. Contact For more information that is not listed within this document or on our website, please email devteam@smartfund.info |