I’d like some process where someone can “pitch” an app or custom component, and anvil provides native support for this process. All results from this kind of work will be open sourced.
It could look something like this:
A new forum category is created called “Pitches”
When creating a pitch, the user writes a general overview of what they are envisioning, and then storyboards the app in some way. They also set a dollar amount of how much they need to complete it. There’s also some set time limit for funding, so if funding is not reached, all money is returned to supporters of the project. The creators of the pitch can also select from the Anvil community a group of interested escrow arbiters who decide if they completed the task, and vote on releasing the money.
When viewing pitches, users can select a certain dollar amount they wish to contribute to the pitch. They can also opt in to be part of the escrow arbitration pool. They can be selected for this, but won’t necessarily be selected.
If the project is funded, Anvil holds the money in escrow. If the implementing party indicates that the project is finished, all funders and escrow members will be notified to start the review process.
There’s a whole lot more that needs to be fleshed out, but you can have a review system of “Pitchers” and “Arbiters”
Another feature I think would be neat would be “forking” pitches. If someone likes 50% of one idea, but wants to change the rest, they can “fork” the exact pitch post, change it, and seek their own funding.
The financial incentive for Anvil is that regardless of if something is funded or not, Anvil would get a fee for hosting + whatever.
The upside for founders of companies is that, as long as they can match people who can implement the contract work (Through Upwork, Toptal, etc…) and people who want to fund the project, they can micro-bootstrap all the individual components and potentially entire apps, while contributing more useful and demanded code to the community!
By taking micro chunks of risk, this will allow a wider base of people to experiment with their abilities and also raise capital, bit bit bit, to fund all the individual parts for their company, while simultaneously providing value to everyone.