What Is Backable?
Backable is a fundraising platform built on Solana. It allows teams to raise money for a project or company, while allowing people to back those raises with USDC. With Backable, teams can create a raise without going through a traditional funding process, while backers can support projects they believe in. Funds are held in escrow during the raise until it is settled. Backable is built around the MetaDAO protocol.
How Does Backable Work?
A team creates a raise with a funding goal, details about its product, plans, budget, and risks. People can then commit USDC to support the raise. While the raise is open, committed funds stay in escrow. The team cannot access them before the raise ends. If the raise reaches its goal, the project receives the planned funding, and backers receive their allocation of project tokens. If the raise does not reach its goal, backers can claim their full contribution back by visiting the raise page and submitting a claim transaction.
Committed and Final Raised Capital
Backable separates the amount people commit from the amount a team actually raises. For example, a project with a $100,000 goal may attract $300,000 in commitments. That does not mean the team receives all $500,000. If its goal is capped at $100,000, the project receives $100,000, and backers can claim back the remaining funds. The image below from the “Funded” section displays previously backed projects which raised on Backable.
How Are Tokens Allocated?
Everyone in a raise pays the same token price. However, allocations may be affected by how long funds remain committed during the raise. In general, users who commit earlier and keep their funds in escrow for longer may receive a stronger allocation than users who join near the end. This is intended to reward early conviction and reduce last-minute competition from large contributors. If your full commitment is not used for your token allocation, the unused amount remains claimable after the raise closes.
What Happens After a Raise Succeeds?
If a raise succeeds, the funds move into the project’s treasury. The team does not receive unrestricted access to all of the money at once. Instead, the team operates within a monthly spending budget that was published before the raise opened. Spending above that amount or making major changes may require a governance proposal. These proposals are decided through MetaDAO decision markets, where participants assess whether a proposed action is likely to help the product.
Founder Incentives
Backable also uses a performance package for founders where founder token unlocks are tied to the project’s token price reaching specific milestones. The first performance tranche may only unlock after the token reaches twice the raise entry price, with further unlocks linked to higher milestones. There is also a minimum lock period before founder performance tokens can unlock.
How to Get Started With Backable
Getting started with Backable is straightforward:
- Connect a Solana wallet.
- Browse active raises (and projects raising soon) and review the project information.
- Check the team, product, budget, risks, and use of funds.
- Commit USDC to a raise you want to support.
- Wait for the raise to close.
- Claim tokens, refunds, or any unused portion of your commitment once settlement is available.
For teams reading this, creating a saved raise draft costs $15. Before launching, provide a product link where possible, a clear use-of-funds plan, monthly budget, team details, and risks.
Risks and Things to Consider
Backing a project on Backable is risky. The platform does not guarantee that teams are legitimate, experienced, or able to deliver on their plans. Even if a raise succeeds, token prices can fall, a project may fail to gain traction, and governance rules cannot guarantee that a company will perform well. Always research the team, project, token terms, risks, and funding plan before committing funds on Backable.
What Happens if a Project Fails?
If a company decides to wind down, a governance proposal can be made to liquidate the treasury. If approved, any remaining cash in the treasury is distributed among token holders based on their share. The project’s performance package is burned, while the team may keep the company’s intellectual property.
Conclusion
Backable offers a different way for teams to raise money and for supporters to back early projects on Solana. Its escrow system, claimable refunds, fixed funding goals, and governance structure are designed to give backers more protection than simply sending funds directly to a team.
