Good evening from leaf-littered and tepid NY.
First of all, if you have any expertise in anything please react below in any form. I need to know what existing business models and options for web platforms can help me get to a MVP. I'm sincerely grateful for any thoughts... particularly scathing, brutally honest ones.
The business:
Many niche-specific artists generate personal income by advertising one-time services on social media or online marketplaces for those who would like to order original creations by request. These orders are known as "commissions." These bespoke creators (and their fans) have a problem: all too frequently they are inundated by fraud, communication breakdowns, payment woes, and reputation-assassination skirmishes that spill out onto social media in attempts to "cancel" one another. The artists who continue on this model with any success do so by means of fame, consistency and/or quality. Still, as they attract clients with higher price tags, so too are both parties increasingly vulnerable to fraud/defamation. Think Slowlane: some are one unpaid project from going belly-up, and the rest do go belly-up.
My solution:
I would like to protect both the buyer and seller by collecting payment from the buyer upon confirmation of a commission and delivering it to the artist upon delivery & inspection. This marketplace would serve as a targeted lead generator, a credibility booster, and an insurance for artists. The customer gets purchasing power by comparing new and compelling offers, buyer's protection if the artist doesn't deliver, and extra insurance the artist understands the request and is meeting the standards they demand. Features include requesting extensions and rating/tipping post-purchase.
Thanks to lock-out horror stories over at PayPal, I know the opportunity for SUCS is huge. Huge SUCS. Here's my problem. How do I do it? I need to design a functional transactional and technical model... and for the life of me I can't find a direct competitor or comparable model. Forgive me for the following...
What if I could bring the high-profile waitlist to the bone-grinding, experienced artist who needs a lucky break?
I've come at this from several angles on how to execute it now, on the basest level, but what I need is expertise. Can someone who's gone before me please enlighten me, how do I establish these systems and am I getting into muddy waters? For example, once I connect customers, I have to compel them to use my service to complete payment and also give me my cut. Alternatively, I could sell the connection itself and remove myself from the remainder of the transaction... simultaneously removing the credibility. Or I could take customers at too low a profit margin, and the prevalence of fraud itself puts me out of business.
I know exactly how to provide value despite these concerns and if I capture the marketplace, the potential is huge. Ideally I'd love to see new artists getting in the game just like how they do on Redbubble. They'd take custom requests for $5 on the premise that they're still an artist-in-training and the customer gets a one-of-a-kind creation for a steal.
Ask me anything. If it's great, steal my idea, or kill it with a critical blow and show me the flaw. I imagine the best first steps I could take would be to refine my API knowledge and look into my financial questions about acting as intermediary. Resource recommendations will not be passed over... I'll commit myself to any proper read you can think of!
Thanks!!!! : )
- cc
First of all, if you have any expertise in anything please react below in any form. I need to know what existing business models and options for web platforms can help me get to a MVP. I'm sincerely grateful for any thoughts... particularly scathing, brutally honest ones.
The business:
Many niche-specific artists generate personal income by advertising one-time services on social media or online marketplaces for those who would like to order original creations by request. These orders are known as "commissions." These bespoke creators (and their fans) have a problem: all too frequently they are inundated by fraud, communication breakdowns, payment woes, and reputation-assassination skirmishes that spill out onto social media in attempts to "cancel" one another. The artists who continue on this model with any success do so by means of fame, consistency and/or quality. Still, as they attract clients with higher price tags, so too are both parties increasingly vulnerable to fraud/defamation. Think Slowlane: some are one unpaid project from going belly-up, and the rest do go belly-up.
My solution:
I would like to protect both the buyer and seller by collecting payment from the buyer upon confirmation of a commission and delivering it to the artist upon delivery & inspection. This marketplace would serve as a targeted lead generator, a credibility booster, and an insurance for artists. The customer gets purchasing power by comparing new and compelling offers, buyer's protection if the artist doesn't deliver, and extra insurance the artist understands the request and is meeting the standards they demand. Features include requesting extensions and rating/tipping post-purchase.
Thanks to lock-out horror stories over at PayPal, I know the opportunity for SUCS is huge. Huge SUCS. Here's my problem. How do I do it? I need to design a functional transactional and technical model... and for the life of me I can't find a direct competitor or comparable model. Forgive me for the following...
- How do I take payments... send payments... build a web platform...
What if I could bring the high-profile waitlist to the bone-grinding, experienced artist who needs a lucky break?
I've come at this from several angles on how to execute it now, on the basest level, but what I need is expertise. Can someone who's gone before me please enlighten me, how do I establish these systems and am I getting into muddy waters? For example, once I connect customers, I have to compel them to use my service to complete payment and also give me my cut. Alternatively, I could sell the connection itself and remove myself from the remainder of the transaction... simultaneously removing the credibility. Or I could take customers at too low a profit margin, and the prevalence of fraud itself puts me out of business.
I know exactly how to provide value despite these concerns and if I capture the marketplace, the potential is huge. Ideally I'd love to see new artists getting in the game just like how they do on Redbubble. They'd take custom requests for $5 on the premise that they're still an artist-in-training and the customer gets a one-of-a-kind creation for a steal.
Ask me anything. If it's great, steal my idea, or kill it with a critical blow and show me the flaw. I imagine the best first steps I could take would be to refine my API knowledge and look into my financial questions about acting as intermediary. Resource recommendations will not be passed over... I'll commit myself to any proper read you can think of!
Thanks!!!! : )
- cc
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