The Problem: Traditional Crowdfunding Is Broken
Kickstarter’s Missing Piece
- You back a project: $50, $100, maybe $500
- You get: A product (if it ships)
- You don’t get: Any ongoing relationship with what you helped create
- The creator: Keeps all the upside
- Result: You funded someone else’s dream, but you don’t share in the success
The Choice Nobody Should Have To Make
Traditional crowdfunding forces you to choose: product without participation, or participation without product.
What If You Could Have Both?
What if backing a project meant getting the product AND becoming a participating member of the cooperative that made it?
The Solution: Liana Banyan’s Cooperative Model
What Makes Us Different
1. The Trust Bridge (Kickstarter Integration)
The Question: “Why should I trust a new platform with my money?”
The Answer: You don’t have to.
- Payment Processing: Kickstarter handles all transactions
- Transparency: Established platform with proven track record
- Buyer Protection: Platform-backed refund policies
- Marketing Reach: Built-in audience of 20M+ backers
2. The Value Proposition
When you back a Liana Banyan project:
1
Back on Kickstarter
→
2
Receive the product
→
3
Earn LB credits
→
4
Participate in the cooperative
Example:
- Back 2ndSecond Medallion for $50 on Kickstarter
- Get: Physical medallion when produced
- Get: 50 LB credits
- Get: Membership participation in the cooperative
- Use: Those 50 credits to back other projects
- Get: Deeper participation across the ecosystem
The Core Mechanism: How It Actually Works
The Credit Economy
Getting Credits
Three Ways In
1. **Buy credits directly** (Stripe checkout) — $1 = 1 Credit
2. **Back a Kickstarter campaign** (receive credits equal to pledge)
3. **Earn credits by providing services** (work on projects)
Using Credits
Credits unlock everything:
- Signal demand for projects (vote on which ideas you want to see)
- Pre-order products (secure your spot before launch)
- Deepen your participation (every credit spent builds your SAA — Service Allocation Authority)
The Circular Economy
1
Backers buy credits
→
2
Projects get funded
→
3
Creators hire service providers
→
4
Providers earn credits
→
5
Providers back other projects
Credits flow in a self-sustaining loop. No one extracts value — everyone circulates it.
The Participation Model
How You Deepen Your Participation
Back a project with credits
- 10 credits = base participation share
- Backing early = multiplier bonuses
- First 100 backers = 3x participation multiplier
Provide services to projects
- Accept participation as payment (instead of cash)
- Participation value = 2x cash value
- Example: $5,000 service = 10,000 credits worth of participation
Join the Guild
- Pay membership stake ($50–$500) to become voting member
- Stake converts to LB platform participation
- Vests over time
What Participation Means
You earn a voice in:
- The specific project you backed (service allocation)
- The Liana Banyan platform itself (Guild membership)
- The entire ecosystem (SAA grows with demonstrated judgment)
Important Notice
This is **not** an investment. This is earned authority to allocate cooperative resources based on demonstrated judgment. Credits are platform service currencies, not securities. There is no cash-out. There is no guaranteed return. You are participating in a cooperative, not purchasing a financial instrument.
When Projects Succeed:
- Products ship and generate sales
- Cooperative members receive platform benefits based on participation
- Your SAA (Service Allocation Authority) grows — meaning the cooperative trusts your judgment with more resources
The Bootstrap Sequence: How We Launch
Phase 1: The Meta-Product (Weeks 1–2)
Launch: 2ndSecond Medallion
What It Is:
- Physical medallion with QR code
- Digital version available immediately
- Physical version ships when funding goal hit
Why It Matters: It’s not just a product — it’s the funding mechanism itself. Every medallion sold provides more resources for future projects. Backers literally participate in building the system.
Cost+20%
The Pricing Formula
The market sets the cost. We add 20%. That's it.
The economics:
- 83.3%: Creator share (production, fulfillment, creator compensation)
- 13.3%: Platform share (infrastructure, operations)
- 3.3%: Gleaner’s Corner (community benefit fund)
Launch: Let’s Make Dinner
What It Is:
- Community meal-sharing platform
- Home cooks make extra portions or double meals
- Meals sold at $5/plate through Liana Banyan
- Revenue funds free meals for those who need them
How It Works
1. **Cooks post meals** they're willing to make
2. **Buyers pre-order** meals (scheduled delivery)
3. **Cooks get paid** through the platform
4. **Extra portions** funded by paid meals
5. **Free meals delivered** with dignity (no one can tell the difference)
Why It Matters:
- Proves the community collaboration model
- Shows real-world impact (people fed tonight)
- Demonstrates platform economics (self-sustaining loop)
Phase 2: The Ecosystem (Weeks 3–6)
Launch: HexIsle Tabletop Campaign
What It Is:
- Modular terrain system (Hexel)
- Water table terrain component
- Character miniatures (3 types)
Why This Sequence:
- Proves the model works for complex, multi-component projects
- Establishes LB as a serious manufacturing platform
- Creates network effects (Hexel owners want more terrain)
Phase 3: Platform Opens (Week 7+)
External Creator Projects
Requirements:
- Must launch own medallion (mini 2ndSecond)
- Medallion sales fund project development
- LB credit holders can back with credits
- All backers deepen their cooperative participation
1
2ndSecond medallion
→
2
Let's Make Dinner
→
3
HexIsle
→
4
External creators
→
5
Ecosystem grows
The Three Member Journeys
Journey 1: The Backer (You Want Products)
Your Path
1. **Discover:** Browse projects on Liana Banyan
2. **Get Credits:** Buy directly, back on Kickstarter, or earn through work
3. **Signal & Back:** Use credits to vote on and back projects
4. **Receive & Participate:** Product ships, your participation grows
5. **Repeat:** Use platform benefits to back more projects, build your SAA
Journey 2: The Creator (You Have An Idea)
Step 1: Register
- Create account on Liana Banyan
- Choose IP tier (how you structure your project’s contribution to the cooperative)
- Post project details
Step 2: Get Help
- List service needs (video, design, legal, etc.)
- Review proposals from service providers
- Use hybrid compensation (part cash, part participation)
Hybrid Compensation Example
- Provider quotes $10,000 for campaign video
- You offer: 50% cash ($5,000) + 50% participation ($5,000 value)
- Provider accepts (gets cooperative membership + some cash)
- Your costs cut in half, provider becomes a stakeholder in the project
Step 3: Launch & Ship
- Campaign goes live on Kickstarter
- LB community backs with credits, external backers fund via Kickstarter
- Use funding to manufacture, fulfill orders, generate revenue
Journey 3: The Service Provider (You Have Skills)
Your Path
1. **Join:** Create service provider profile, list skills
2. **Find Work:** Browse "Help Wanted" listings, submit proposals
3. **Deliver:** Complete milestones, upload deliverables
4. **Get Compensated:** Cash (Stripe payout), participation (recorded), credits (deposited)
5. **Build:** Successful projects increase reputation, participation generates platform benefits
The System Loops: Why This Works
Loop 1: The Flywheel (Network Effect)
1
More backers
→
2
More credits circulate
→
3
More projects funded
→
4
More creators join
→
5
Better projects
Result: Platform value accelerates as the community grows.
Loop 2: The Credit Economy (Monetary System)
Credits flow in a closed loop. User buys credits → backs projects → creators hire providers → providers earn credits → providers back projects → repeat. Self-sustaining.
Loop 3: The Participation Accumulation
Members back projects → earn participation → projects succeed → SAA grows → member directs more cooperative resources → backs more projects → portfolio of participation compounds.
Result: Community stewardship of the ecosystem, not extraction from it.
The Key Differences
| Feature | Kickstarter | Liana Banyan |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Yes | Yes |
| Ongoing Participation | No | Yes |
| Trust | High | High (via Kickstarter bridge) |
| Community Model | Backers | Cooperative Members |
| Creator Share | ~90% after fees | 83.3% (Cost+20%) |
| Circular Economy | No | Yes — credits recirculate |
What Makes This Different
- You don’t choose between product and participation — you get both automatically
- Trust without friction — Kickstarter handles payments until trust is established
- Circular economy — credits circulate (everyone benefits), not one-way extraction
- Aligned incentives — everyone benefits when projects succeed
- Cost+20% forever — constitutional. Cannot be changed. The creator always gets the lion’s share.
The Bottom Line
“Liana Banyan isn’t crowdfunding. It isn’t pre-ordering. It’s crowd-building.”
You’re not buying a thing. You’re joining a cooperative where your demonstrated judgment earns you a voice in resource allocation.
The 2ndSecond Medallion isn’t just a product. It’s a membership token that funds every future project.
Early members literally participate in building the funding mechanism itself.
That’s how Liana Banyan actually works.
Next Steps
For Backers
- Back 2ndSecond Medallion on Kickstarter
- Receive your credits
- Use credits to back Let’s Make Dinner and HexIsle
- Watch your participation grow
- Receive platform benefits as your SAA develops
For Creators
- Review platform and IP tiers
- Post your project idea
- Connect with service providers
- Launch campaign with hybrid compensation
- Ship products, participate in the cooperative
For Service Providers
- Create provider profile
- List your skills and portfolio
- Browse Help Wanted listings
- Submit proposals with participation options
- Build reputation and platform benefits
“The future isn’t funded by venture capital. It’s funded by the people who want to see it exist.”
— Denken, Founder
Legal Notice
Liana Banyan is a cooperative platform. Credits, Marks, and Joules are platform service currencies, not securities. Membership participation is not an investment and carries no guarantee of financial return. "Service Allocation Authority" (SAA) represents earned influence over cooperative resource allocation based on demonstrated judgment, not ownership of assets. All pricing follows Cost+20% — 83.3% Creator / 13.3% Platform / 3.3% Gleaner's Corner.