How Day Zero works

Founders turn their early believers into their first paying customers. Buy pre-launch software for a one-time price. You’re charged only once you can use it, and you can cancel until then or resell your deal.

Turn your early believers into your first paying customers. List a prototype, open for a week in a weekly drop, and ship.

paid once
$10–150
charged until you can use it
$0
to cancel until you're charged
Any time
margin per sale
7%
on your own embed
0%
seats, your choice
10–100
of seats to fund
50%

For backers

Buy early, use it when it ships

  1. 01 / 04

    Find a product

    Browse early-stage software from ID-checked founders. Every listing is reviewed by hand.

  2. 02 / 04

    Pledge for a lifetime deal

    Every campaign is all or nothing. You pledge $10–$150, and your card is saved, not charged. If at least half its seats are pledged when the campaign ends, you’re charged once the founder opens access, so you pay when you can use it. Then you get a numbered seat and a license code to redeem on the founder’s site.

  3. 03 / 04

    Follow delivery

    Read founder updates and ask questions in the campaign’s public discussion. Each deal shows whether it’s Building, In progress, or Delivered, and how often the founder has shipped.

  4. 04 / 04

    Own a seat that can grow in value

    Seats are limited, so as a product takes off, yours can be worth more than you paid. Before you redeem it, list it at any price. The buyer pays you on PayPal, and the seat moves to them once PayPal confirms.

See this week's dropBrowse resale seatsHow we protect backers

For founders

Sell before you launch

  1. 01 / 03

    Apply with a prototype

    Send your prototype, a short product video, and your lifetime deal, then verify your identity. We review them before your deal goes live, and seats go on sale once your ID check passes.

  2. 02 / 03

    Sell up to 100 lifetime deals, all or nothing

    You choose how many founding seats to sell, from 10 to 100. Backers pledge for a week. If at least half your seats are pledged when the campaign ends, every backer is charged when you open access; if not, nobody is. Until backers redeem their seats, they can resell them to other backers, and you can’t turn that off.

  3. 03 / 03

    Deliver and get paid

    Add a redeem page to your site and mark access as ready. Backers enter their license code there. We pay you for every sale in the next weekly payout.

Run a campaignSee pricing

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Every campaign is all or nothing. When you back one, you pledge: your card is saved, not charged. The campaign runs for a week. If at least half its seats were pledged by then, the campaign is funded, and every backer is charged when the founder opens access, so you pay once you can use the product. If not, nobody is charged and your card is released. You can cancel a pledge from your account any time until you're charged, except in the campaign's last 24 hours if that would drop it below its goal.
A lifetime deal (LTD) is a one-time payment for a software license. When the founder opens access, you redeem your license code on their site, and you keep access for as long as the product is offered. Each deal is a numbered seat, and anyone can see who holds it.
Founders have up to 90 days after the campaign ends to open access. You're only charged when they do, so if access isn't open by then, the campaign is cancelled and you're never charged. Founders who go silent or commit fraud go on the public ban list.
You don't need one to change your mind: cancel your pledge from your account any time until you're charged, and you never pay. You're only charged once the founder opens access. After that the purchase is final, like on Kickstarter.
On a funded campaign, backers are charged when you open access. Every charge that goes through is in the next weekly payout to your bank account. If access isn't open 90 days after the campaign ends, it's cancelled and nobody is charged. Add your account under Bank account in the dashboard.
Founders submit their listing (prototype, product video, and lifetime deal), and we review everything by hand. They also verify their identity with a government ID and selfie, and no seat goes on sale until that check passes.
Founders pay a 7% margin on each LTD sold, or 0% on sales from their own site's embed widget. Your payout is the price minus card processing fees and that margin. Backers pay no extra fee. Day Zero takes nothing when backers sell listed seats to each other.
It's your public profile page. It shows the products you backed, what you paid, your First Backer badges, and how many shipped. As you back more, your rank rises: Explorer, Regular, Curator, Verified Picker, then Elite. Ranks are for recognition only.
Yes, any time before you redeem it. Add your PayPal email, then list your seat at any price. Founders can't block it. The buyer pays you directly on PayPal, and the seat moves to them once PayPal confirms. Your First Backer badge stays with you. Once you redeem a seat, it's yours for good and can't be listed.
No. Until a seat is redeemed, its backer can list it on the market or pass the code to another verified backer. By listing a campaign, you accept this. Once a seat is redeemed, it stays with that holder.

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