Using the Fund Start Builder

Step-by-step walkthrough of the BlockReel Fund Start Builder, from project basics to launch.

Using the Fund Start Builder

The step-by-step walkthrough of /fund/start.

The Fund Start Builder is the campaign creation interface. It is a multi-step form that produces a draft campaign you can preview, edit, and submit for review before launch.

Jump To

1. Before you start 2. Step 1: Project basics 3. Step 2: Payment rails and country 4. Step 3: Funding goal and duration 5. Step 4: Story and media 6. Step 5: Reward tiers 7. Step 6: Team and credits 8. Step 7: Preview and submit for review 9. What happens after submission 10. Editing after launch

Before you start

Have ready:

• Your campaign title and 140-character tagline
• Your pitch video uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo (URL ready)
• Campaign story text (800-1,500 words, written and edited)
• A poster image (1920x1080 minimum, JPEG or PNG under 5MB)
• A gallery of 5-10 supporting images (production stills, concept art, location photos)
• Funding goal and campaign duration decided
• Reward tier list (prices, titles, descriptions, fulfillment dates)
• Team member names, roles, headshots, and BlockReel profile URLs
• Stripe account info (US/CA only) or Solana wallet connected
• Your country of residence and tax registration country (if different)

If any of these are missing, save a draft and come back. Drafts are unlimited.

Step 1: Project basics

Enter:

• Title. The name of your project. Will appear in the URL slug (auto-generated, editable).
• Tagline. A 140-character one-liner. Appears in the page header and shareable preview cards.
• Category. Feature, Short, Series, Documentary, Music Video, Experimental, Animation, Other.
• Stage. Development, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production, Distribution.

The slug becomes part of the URL: /fund/your-project-slug. You can edit it before launch but not after.

Step 2: Payment rails and country

This is the eligibility gate. You select:

• Your country of residence. Determines which payment rails are available. US or Canada unlocks both Stripe and Solana. Anywhere else unlocks Solana only. OFAC sanctioned countries (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia) are blocked.
• OFAC attestation checkbox. You confirm under penalty of perjury that you, your team, and your payout accounts are not located in or controlled by sanctioned parties. This is a legal requirement, not a formality.
• Which rails to enable. Stripe, Solana, or both (where eligible). See Choosing Your Payment Rail for the decision framework.

If you enable Stripe, you will be prompted to connect a Stripe Express account. This launches a hosted Stripe onboarding flow that takes 5-15 minutes (bank account, tax info, identity verification). If you already have a connected Stripe account from another part of BlockReel (mentorship, marketplace), it is automatically reused.

If you enable Solana, you connect a wallet (Phantom, Solflare, or any compatible) and designate it as the payout wallet. This wallet receives funds at campaign close. Choose carefully; the payout wallet cannot be changed mid-campaign.

Step 3: Funding goal and duration

Enter:

• Funding goal. In USD for Solana rail and primary Stripe display. Range: $500 minimum to $250,000 (higher caps available for Verified Filmmakers; contact admin).
• Funding model. Campaigns succeed at 80% of the goal. See Setting a Realistic Funding Goal for guidance.
• Campaign duration. 15, 30, 45, or 60 days. See Campaign Duration Strategy.
• Launch date and time. When you want the campaign to go live. Set in Pacific Time. Can be edited before launch.

The builder shows a live projection: "At your goal and average pledge size, you need approximately X backers."

Step 4: Story and media

The story editor is a markdown-supported rich text field. Paste in the story you wrote and edited offline. Inline images, headers, bullet lists, and links all render natively.

Media uploads:

• Pitch video URL. Paste your YouTube or Vimeo URL. The builder auto-fetches the thumbnail.
• Poster image. Drag and drop. Becomes the primary card image for sharing.
• Gallery. Up to 10 images, drag to reorder, captions optional but recommended.
• Press kit URL. Optional. A link to a Google Drive, Dropbox, or external press kit page.

All uploads go to BlockReel storage. Images are auto-optimized (resized, compressed, served through CDN).

Step 5: Reward tiers

Add up to 12 reward tiers. For each tier:

• Title (e.g. "Producer")
• Price in USD
• Description (1-3 sentences)
• Detailed reward list (markdown supported)
• Estimated delivery date (month/year)
• Shipping required toggle (and per-region shipping rates if yes)
• Quantity limit (optional)

See Designing Reward Tiers for the framework.

The builder previews each tier as it will appear on the campaign sidebar. Reorder by drag.

Step 6: Team and credits

Add team members:

• Search by BlockReel display name or email
• For each: assign a role (Director, Producer, DP, etc.) and a short bio line
• Team members are notified and asked to accept the credit (they can decline)
• Accepted credits show their avatar on the campaign page

For external collaborators without BlockReel accounts, you can add a "credit only" entry: name, role, and optional external link. They will not get backer messaging access but they will be credited publicly.

Step 7: Preview and submit for review

Preview shows the live campaign page as backers will see it. Test:

• Video plays
• All images load
• Reward tiers render correctly
• Mobile layout works (toggle the device frame)
• Internal links go to the right places

When ready, click "Submit for Review." The campaign moves to pending status and is sent to the BlockReel admin team for compliance and quality review.

What happens after submission

• Review window: 1-3 business days. Faster for Verified Filmmakers, longer if review surfaces issues.
• Possible outcomes:

- Approved. You receive a notification and the campaign is scheduled to launch on the date you set. - Revisions requested. Admin sends specific notes. Fix the issues, resubmit, faster second review (usually 1 business day). - Rejected. Rare. Only happens if the project clearly violates Terms of Service or is fraudulent. We provide a written reason and refund any prep work fees.

The review is for compliance and basic quality (working video, complete story, sensible budget, no obvious red flags). It is not editorial; we are not gatekeeping the content of your film.

Editing after launch

Once live, you can edit:

• The story text (additions and clarifications)
• Updates posted to the updates feed
• Reply to backer messages
• Add new reward tiers (cannot remove or modify existing tiers that have backers)
• Add stretch goals
• Upload more gallery images

You cannot edit:

• Funding goal (frozen at launch)
• Campaign duration (frozen at launch)
• Payment rails (cannot disable a rail with backers; can add a rail mid-campaign)
• Country and OFAC attestation (frozen at launch)
• Existing reward tiers with backers attached

For non-editable changes, contact admin. Some changes are possible with backer consent (e.g. extending the deadline if requested by majority of backers); most are not.

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Next: Country Selection and OFAC Attestation goes deep on the legal compliance step.