The regulated perimeter
What the platform builds at once, what goes Live only after a Credential or licensed upstream, and the money activities the platform never performs.
The regulated perimeter is the line between what StartupBuilder builds and what only a licensed party may do. Money moves only through Stripe connected accounts, and the platform never performs a regulated financial activity itself.
What the platform never does
The platform performs none of these activities, for any Startup.
| Activity | What it means | What a Startup does instead |
|---|---|---|
| Money transmission | Holding or moving money for others | Money moves through Stripe connected accounts, from the Customer to the seller's bank |
| Stored value | Balances spendable across sellers | Prepaid credit spent only on the Startup's own Offers is deferred revenue |
| Lending | Advancing money to be repaid | It connects a licensed lender as its upstream |
| Insurance pools | Pooling premiums to pay claims | A licensed carrier or agency binds every policy |
| Securities vehicles | Selling investment interests | A registered intermediary runs the offering |
| Escheat | Holding unclaimed property for its owners | Each Company reports its own under Unclaimed property |
The money path traces every dollar from checkout to payout.
Admission
Admission reads what a Startup sells and what its Offers move, and gives one of three answers.
| Answer | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Admitted | No regulated activity | A data API selling commercial building permit records |
| Admitted, Live gated | An Offer needs a Credential or a licensed upstream | A marketplace of licensed tax preparers, where each preparer's Credential is checked before their first Order |
| Refused | A regulated activity with no licensed upstream | A pay-advance app that lends against wages from its own balance |
A gated Startup builds and tests in full. It goes Live once the Credential or the upstream Agreement is on record, and Licensing keeps it current.
A refused Startup gets the refused error with the activity named. The same Startup with a licensed upstream connected passes.
The line holds after launch
Admission runs again on every Change that adds an Offer, a market or a way of moving money. A Startup cannot drift across the line one feature at a time.
A Live Startup found across the line is suspended. A brake stops new Orders and money movement. Existing Customers keep access to their data and receive refunds on the terms they accepted.
The owner of record appeals through a Task. A person at the platform decides, and the Decision records the reason.
Next
- Acceptable use: what no Startup builds, regulated or not.
- Legal floor: the obligations that wake inside the line.
- Getting paid: payouts on a connected account.