QuestGuard

Payment insurance for game dev gigs – protect against non-payers upfront.

Score: 8.2/10CanadaHard BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Solo game developers face rampant payment delays and non-paying clients in freelance gaming gigs, resulting in severe cash flow disruptions.

Solution

QuestGuard offers affordable insurance on freelance game gigs; pay a small premium to guarantee payment if client flakes, backed by pooled funds. It vets clients via community ratings and advances partial funds on milestones. Devs get peace of mind and faster cash via insurance claims.

Target Audience

Solo freelance game developers working on gaming gigs

Differentiator

Community-funded insurance pool exclusive to verified game devs, with gig-type risk pricing (e.g., cheaper for art vs. full games).

Brand Voice

professional

Features

Gig Insurance Quote

must-have9h

Instant premium quote based on gig details & client score.

Client Vetting

must-have8h

Community ratings & history check before insuring.

Claim Filing

must-have10h

Simple evidence upload for non-payment claims.

Fund Advance

must-have7h

Get 50% upfront after insurance purchase.

Payout Dashboard

must-have6h

Track premiums, claims, and pool status.

Rating System

nice-to-have4h

Rate clients post-gig to build pool data.

Risk Alerts

nice-to-have3h

Pre-gig warnings on high-risk clients.

Bulk Insure

nice-to-have4h

Insure multiple ongoing gigs.

Total Build Time: 51 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
verified_devboolNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • gigs.user_id -> users.id
  • ratings.user_id -> users.id

gigs

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
client_nametextNo
amountintNo
insuredboolNo
premium_paidintYes

Relationships:

  • claims.gig_id -> gigs.id

claims

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
gig_iduuidNo
statustextNo
evidence_urltextYes

clients

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo
rating_avgintYes

Relationships:

  • ratings.client_id -> clients.id

API Endpoints

POST
/api/quote

Get insurance quote

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/gigs/:id/insure

Purchase insurance

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/claims

File claim

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/clients/:name/vet

Vet client score

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/dashboard

Claims & pool status

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind + shadcn/ui
Backend
Next.js API + Supabase
Database
Supabase Postgres
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
Supabase Storage for evidence

Build Timeline

Week 1: Auth & gig quoting

20h
  • User/dev verification
  • Quote engine

Week 2: Insurance purchase & vetting

22h
  • Stripe premiums
  • Client DB

Week 3: Claims & dashboard

23h
  • Claim flows
  • Payout logic

Week 4: Ratings & launch prep

15h
  • Rating system
  • Full testing
Total Timeline: 4 weeks • 80 hours

Pricing Tiers

Starter

$0/mo

No insurance

  • Client vetting only

Pro

$25/mo

3 gigs/mo

  • Insure up to $5k/mo
  • Claims
  • Advances

Enterprise

$99/mo

None

  • Unlimited insurance
  • Priority claims

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 1804%$100$1,200
Month 67007%$1,225$14,700

Unit Economics

$18
CAC
$400
LTV
6%
Churn
90%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 22.2xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Insure Your Game Gigs Against Non-Payers

Low-cost protection with advances and fast claims – built for solo devs.

Feature Highlights

Instant quotes
Client vetting
Quick claims
Fund advances

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Got paid when client ghosted!' – Sound Designer"
"'Worth every penny.' – Solo Dev"

First Three Customers

Target r/INAT devs with insurance beta offers; Join GameDev Discord servers for pain validation & signups; Free month for first claim filers.

Launch Channels

Product Huntr/INATGameDev.net forumsDiscord game dev servers

SEO Keywords

game dev payment insurancefreelance indie game protectionnon paying game clients

Competitive Analysis

Fiverr Protection

fiverr.com
Platform fee
Strength

Built-in for Fiverr

Weakness

Platform-locked, no off-platform gigs

Our Advantage

Any gig, community pool

🏰 Moat Strategy

Insurance pool grows with users, creating barrier via claims history.

⏰ Why Now?

Freelance game market booming but defaults up 20% in 2023 per dev surveys.

Risks & Mitigation

financialhigh severity

Pool insolvency from claims

Mitigation

Reinsurance cap & conservative premiums

executionmedium severity

Low initial pool

Mitigation

Seed fund

Validation Roadmap

pre-build7 days

Validate willingness to pay premium

Success: 50% yes from 20 devs

mvp28 days

Beta with 100 users

Success: 5 claims processed

Pivot Options

  • Client vetting SaaS
  • Game dev escrow hybrid

Quick Stats

Build Time
80h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$1,225
Market Size
$600.0M
Features
8
Database Tables
4
API Endpoints
5