October 1st was the date I’d picked to launch my first platform. For almost four months, I’ve been building this alongside my 9-to-5: a platform where creators (YouTubers only for the MVP) share video ideas they’re planning to make, and fans can tip them on the ones they’d like to see. Getting to the point where I could finally let people use it felt like a huge achievement. I’d never built and launched something entirely on my own before. Then last week, one week before launch, Stripe closed our account. I was using Stripe Connect so creators could receive payments through their own connected accounts, while I took a small commission on each tip. That setup also narrowed down the alternatives. Stripe classified the business under their restricted categories, but the email wasn’t clear about whether the issue was content creation platforms or crowdfunding. I contacted human support, explained the model, and shared our terms of service. I clarified that we don’t host any content and don’t allow adult content or harmful suggestions. I asked whether they could explain the issue or whether there was anything I could change to comply with their terms. The human support agent didn’t help much he clarified that my business was classified as "Content Creation Plattforms" which is one of their restricted businesses. And that their review was final and there was nothing I could do. Obviously it was very surprising for me since i know Kofi, BuymeaCoffe and other Content Creation plattforms also use Stripe Connect and are very similair in their offerings. So today, instead of sharing a success story about our launch, I’m waiting on another payment provider and slowly losing hope. My mistake was leaving the business-model approval too late. I’d been worrying about VAT registration through EU OSS (which I successfully completed), working on SEO to get some traffic before launch, and sending personalized outreach emails to 200 content creators. Ten had joined the waitlist. But I should have confirmed that Stripe would support exactly how the platform works before building around it. If your product depends on a third-party service, get that fit checked early. Explain who pays whom, what they’re paying for, and which countries you need supported. Ask for written confirmation. We’ve applied to PayPal now too, and I’m hopeful they’ll accept us. Still waiting for an answer. Pretty gutted about missing today, honestly. Hoping I’ll get to write the actual launch post soon. Anyone else had a third party provider derail their launch?   submitted by   /u/movalancheTechnology [link]   [comments]