Ask for Investment and Back the Businesses You Know
A storefront asks for money against a clear goal with its real record; people who know it read, ask and decide for themselves.
These images are illustrations of the concept, not screenshots of the actual product.
Overview
This concept imagines the two sides of community backing for small and informal businesses. On one side, any storefront — a cart, a stall or a fixed shop — asks for money against a clear goal: a second cart, a new stove, festival stock. On the other, the people who know that business best, often its own regular customers, read its real record, ask the owner questions and decide for themselves whether to back it.
The problem is familiar to any small operator. A popular stall that could buy a second cart has no way to show its numbers, write a plan and find backers, and the regulars who would gladly help have no way to do so. The design answers that with structure and plain talk. Every request carries the goal and amount, the use of funds, milestones, a documents checklist and the terms the owner proposes, and every figure is labelled either Recorded in Kadaikodi, because it came from the business's own activity, or Reported by the owner.
The illustrated flow starts in the vendor's console, where a raise-money form collects the goal, the amount sought, the use of funds, milestones and documents, with a risk note and a preview of how backers will see it before it is submitted for review. It moves to the backer side: a page of businesses you know, with each card showing the goal, the amount sought and progress; a detail page with the plan, the track record, documents, public questions for the owner and a decide-for-yourself panel; and finally a holdings page with what was put in, what was received under the agreed terms and the owners' updates.
Investing in a small business carries real risk, including losing some or all of the money put in; Kadaikodi never promises returns, is not a stock exchange and does not give investment advice, so every backer decides for themselves. Funding requests and backing are offered where local rules allow, with eligibility checks, and every request is reviewed before it is published. Holdings are a record between the backer and the business and are not traded on a market.
What this concept shows
- A raise-money form covering the goal, the amount sought, use of funds, milestones and a documents checklist
- A risk note on the form itself and a preview card showing how backers will see the request
- Every figure labelled Recorded in Kadaikodi or Reported by the owner
- A businesses-you-know page that puts the stalls and shops a person already buys from first
- A detail page with the plan, the track record, documents and public questions answered by the owner
- A decide-for-yourself panel with the proposed terms, a plain risk statement and an explicit acknowledgement before committing
- A holdings page listing what was put in, what was received under the agreed terms, and owners' updates
How it works
- A vendor opens Raise money and reads a plain explanation of how funding requests work and what the risks are.
- They set the goal, the amount, the use of funds and milestones, attach the documents on the checklist and submit the request for review.
- A backer sees the request among businesses they know and opens it to read the plan, the record and the documents.
- They ask the owner a question in public and read the answer.
- They read the proposed terms and the risk statement, decide for themselves and commit an amount they are comfortable with.
- Afterwards they follow the owner's updates and a ledger of what they put in and anything received under the agreed terms.
Who it's for
- Cart, stall and shop owners raising money for a clear goal
- Regular customers who want to back a business they know
- Hometown backers living elsewhere
- Programme operators supporting many vendors
Illustrations
4 illustrations of this concept. Select one to view it full size.
Raise Money for My Business
This illustration shows a raise-money page in the vendor console inside a desktop browser frame. The left sidebar lists today, orders, stock, daybook and staff above a highlighted raise-money item. The main column is headed 'Raise money for my business' with the sample business name, a pani puri cart, beneath it. A form card holds the goal, a second cart for the evening market, the amount sought in rupees, three bullet points for use of funds — the cart, a stove and cooking equipment, and the first month of stock — three milestones counted in months, and a documents checklist with ID proof, a bank statement and a trade licence ticked and a rent agreement still open. An amber note says that investing in a small business carries real risk and that backers decide for themselves. Save-draft and submit-for-review buttons close the card. On the right, a preview card shows how backers will see the request, with the goal, the amount, an empty progress bar and two labels: Recorded in Kadaikodi and Reported by the owner. All names and figures are sample data.
Businesses You Know
This illustration shows the backer page in a desktop browser. A thin banner across the top states that investing in a small business carries real risk, including losing some or all of the money put in. A left sidebar offers businesses you know, near me, following, my holdings and settings. The page is titled 'Businesses you know' with a subtitle inviting the reader to read the record, ask the owner and decide for themselves, followed by filter chips for ones I've bought from, near me, food, services and retail. Six cards fill a three-by-two grid, each with a photograph of a small Indian business — a pani puri stall, a tailor at his machine, a sweet shop counter, a vegetable stall, a mobile repair counter and a flower stall — the business name, its goal in one line, the amount sought, a progress bar with a percentage of the goal raised, a Recorded in Kadaikodi label and a read-the-record button. Businesses, figures and photographs are invented sample data.
Read the Record, Ask the Owner, Decide for Yourself
This illustration shows a single funding request in a desktop browser. The left column names the sample business, a pani puri cart, states the goal — a second cart for the evening market — and explains the plan in a short paragraph. A track record section shows four tiles: average daily takings and orders last month, each labelled Recorded in Kadaikodi, years of trading labelled Reported by the owner, and a customer rating. A documents row lists three ticked items, and a questions-for-the-owner section shows one public question and the owner's answer. A progress bar shows the amount raised against the amount sought. On the right, a panel headed 'Decide for yourself' states the proposed terms — a share of profits as the business reports them, reviewed every quarter — above an amber risk box saying that investing in a small business carries real risk and that Kadaikodi does not give investment advice. An amount field, a checkbox confirming the reader has read the risks and decides for themselves, and a commit button complete the panel. Every figure is sample data.
What You Have Backed
This illustration shows the backer's holdings page as a desktop layout. A left sidebar lists businesses you know, near me, following, my holdings, which is active, and statements. The page is titled 'What you've backed'. Three summary cards show the number of businesses backed, the total put in and the amount received under the agreed terms. A holdings table lists three sample businesses — a pani puri cart, a tailor and a tea stall — with columns for what was put in, what was received and when the owner last posted an update. On the right, an owner-updates feed shows three short posts, including one about buying the second cart and one about a quiet month because of rain. A footer line explains that holdings are a record between the backer and the business and are not traded on a market. All names and figures are invented sample data.
Topics
- small business funding request
- back a local business
- community backing for street vendors
- raise money for a second cart
- recorded vs reported figures
- invest in a business you know
- unorganised sector small business
- owner updates for backers
- funding request with documents
- decide for yourself investing
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