FairSoftware

Q: Why should I start a Fair business instead of creating my own corporation?

A: Designing software that sells or a blog that stands out takes a strong team with many talents. FairSoftware allows you to find people that will contribute to the success of your project and get them on board by offering them a piece of the pie, without having to spend any money upfront. Designed by one of the top law firms in Silicon Valley, the Software Bill Of Rights offers a safe and robust legal framework for both sides: you the project founder, and the contributors. Because contributors' compensation is tied to the long-term success of your project, you build a community that will stick with you and ensure that your project succeeds. FairSoftware also acts as a distribution channel, so we help you package, promote and sell your software once it's ready for prime-time.

Q: What is the difference with outsourcing?

A: There are plenty of online marketplaces that offer outsourcing. If the task you need accomplished is simple enough that it can be done in one shot, for less than $500, by a distant programmer, go for it. The limitation of such services is that contributors have no long-term motivation to see your project succeed. Once they get paid, they will move on to their next gig and couldn't care less. You won't be able to build a team around your projects. Many tasks such as ongoing support, can't be outsourced.

Q: I have a handshake agreement to work together with some friends, what's the point of FairSoftware?

A: Handshake agreements are great as long as everything goes fine. And then something happens: maybe a misunderstanding between founders, an issue about money or expectations. FairSoftware is as painless to setup as a handshake, but the Software Bill Of Rights has everyone covered in case something bad happens. We don't want you to spend time thinking about what could go wrong. Instead, we give you the same standard agreement used by hundreds of other projects, so you have peace of mind.

Q: I'm not a software developer. Can I contribute anyway?

A: Yes! Successful software projects need more than good code: cool graphics, clear user documentation, not to mention quality testing, project management and active promotion. Actually, it's typical for a project to devote half of its resources to non-development tasks.

Q: What kind of business can I start with FairSoftware?

A: Currently, it makes sense to create businesses on FairSoftware that sell products online such as software, sell services through web applications, or that make money using online advertising, such as blogs, news or review sites. Because dividends are paid to shareholders based on gross sales, our model currently is not recommended for businesses with high fixed costs.

Q: Once I listed my project with FairSoftware, can I take it back?

A: You own the copyright to your work and you never lose the right to do whatever you want with the software you wrote. However, all the contributions you received via FairSoftware are still the property of the original contributors, and you can use them in your software only by following the terms of the Software Bill Of Rights. If you have not used any contribution from anyone, you can simply close your project on FairSoftware. If you received a few contributions and want out, we recommend you contact the contributors and work out a deal with them directly. A super-majority of the project members can also decide to transfer all the project assets to a corporation. That is especially useful when you outgrow FairSoftware's features and want to raise venture capital for instance, or sell your business.

Q: Can I buy shares of a project?

A: No. Our virtual shares can only be obtained in exchange for contributing to a project. Shares also cannot be traded, sold or exchanged. They are not securities, or stock.

Q: Can the project founder arbitrarily decide to change how many shares I have?

A: No. First of all, shares you received can never be taken from you. The project founder has no special powers in FairSoftware, he is a shareholder like all others. If he happens to have a majority of the shares, then it's true that he can make many decisions without the consent of the project members. But even in that case, each project has a pre-defined growth rate which protects existing shareholders, by limiting how many shares can be assigned in the future. So your ownership is always protected.

Q: Can I contribute to multiple projects at the same time?

A: Of course. It's actually a great way to get started with FairSoftware. By making small contributions to multiple projects, you get to know different teams. You build confidence and trust with your teammates. As an added bonus, it's a way to hedge your investment: if one project doesn't succeed, others you also contribute to will.

Q: Can I promote my software on my own website or do all sales of my software go through FairSoftware's website?

A: You can promote your software any way you want, especially by having your own web site with screenshots and more. The only requirement is that you use our payment button generator to let customers buy your product.

Q: How do I get paid? Do I receive a paycheck?

A: You are considered as an independent contractor of FairSoftware. Whenever you earn money with us, it gets transferred to your personal PayPal account. We follow US tax regulations which means that typically, we will issue a 1099-MISC for you at the end of the year. Then it's up to you to pay your income taxes. That's it. You are not considered an employee of either the project you contributed to, or of FairSoftware.

Q: Does FairSoftware charge for its services?

Q: How does sharing Google AdSense ad revenue work?

A: Each contributor must have their own Google AdSense account. On your common website, you place a small script that will automatically rotate the ads between all the members of the project. FairSoftware guarantees that each contributor's ads are displayed in proportion to their share. If visitors to your site click on ads, Google pays a commission to the owner of the ads that were clicked on. On average, the revenue should equalize among all the project members.
FairSoftware doesn't currently charge for this service.