Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Financing-Development
💡 In simple words: This page tells how WikiDeal pays for building new things.
⚠️ Not yet approved. This page describes a proposal that is still under community review. It is documented here so it can be discussed, improved and endorsed.
Financing Development
WikiDeal's development is financed without venture capital, without debt, and without shareholder equity. Instead, it uses a self-financing model built on early supporter rewards (bonding curve) and recurring subscription revenue. This page explains how development is funded, what the money covers, and how early supporters are compensated once the platform reaches scale.
WikiDeal finances development through community support (bonding curve ×100 → ×30) + subscriptions (10 CHF/year) — no VC, no debt, no equity dilution
Development Financing
| Target raise | 1M CHF (initial) |
| Reward issued | 50M années (×100 → ×30 curve) |
| Early supporters | 50M années |
| Total pool | 100M crédits |
| Recurring revenue | 10 CHF/user/year |
| At 2M users | 20M CHF/year |
| Distribution | 50/50 after costs |
Self-Financing Model
WikiDeal rejects the traditional startup financing model (raise VC → grow at all costs → exit). Instead, it uses two complementary mechanisms:
- Early-phase: Bonding Curve (×100 → ×30 reward range) → generates initial capital from community supporters
- Operating phase: Subscription revenue (10 CHF/year × users) → self-sustaining operations + development budget
This model means WikiDeal's fate is tied to genuine user adoption, not funder appetite. If users don't pay, development stops. If users do pay, development accelerates proportionally. This creates a healthy alignment between product quality and financial health.
Bonding Curve: 1M CHF → 100M Credits
The initial development phase is funded through the Bonding Curve. The target is to raise 1 million CHF from early supporters:
1M CHF raised → 50M années de cotisation issued (×100 → ×30 bonding curve) to funders + 50M années reserved for early supporters (dev contributors, community builders) = 100M crédits total = 10M années de cotisation
Face value: 100M crédits × 10 CHF/année = 1 billion CHF in potential platform access
The 1 billion CHF face value is not a cash liability — it represents the total platform access value that would be generated if all 10M subscription years are eventually used. In practice, credits are redeemed progressively as the platform grows.
Subscription Revenue as Development Fund
Ongoing development is funded through platform subscription revenue (10 CHF/user/year). This creates a direct link between user growth and development capacity:
| Users | Annual Revenue | Development Budget (50% after costs) |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000 | 1M CHF | ~500K CHF |
| 500,000 | 5M CHF | ~2.5M CHF |
| 2,000,000 | 20M CHF | ~10M CHF |
| 10,000,000 | 100M CHF | ~50M CHF |
Amortization Logic
The initial 1M CHF raised through the bonding curve must be "amortized" over time — meaning early supporters must eventually be compensated. This happens through the revenue distribution mechanism, not through direct repayment:
- Early supporters hold années de cotisation (from the 100M credit pool)
- As platform revenues grow, 50% of surplus is distributed proportionally to credit holders
- The more années you hold, the more you receive from each distribution
- Over time, credit holders recoup their funding multiple times over (via the ×100 → ×30 bonding curve)
ℹ️ There is no fixed repayment schedule. Compensation depends on platform growth. Early supporters accept this risk explicitly — the ×100 → ×30 bonding curve is the reward for accepting early-stage uncertainty.
50/50 Distribution When Revenue Flows
Once operating costs are covered from revenue, the surplus is split 50/50:
- 50% → Common Fund: redistributed proportionally to the number of années held by early funders (rewards patience and loyalty)
- 50% → Credit Holders: distributed sequentially — crédit #1 gets half first, then crédit #1 + all funders, then crédit #2, etc.
This mechanism is not discretionary — it is a structural rule built into the WikiDeal operating model, published transparently and auditable by the community.
Development Roadmap Funding
Development priorities are funded from operating surplus (after costs and distributions). The model does not promise specific features at specific dates — instead, it promises that:
- All surplus beyond operating costs is reinvested in development or distributed to the community
- Development priorities are determined through democratic governance (Open Call process)
- No development budget is "reserved" for private interests or locked away from community oversight
- Financial reports are published quarterly, including development spending breakdown
See also: Bonding Curve Subscription Model Revenue Structure Rewards Explained Reward Simulation