Question 1

What is Torches?

Accepted Answer

A discovery, verification, and messaging layer connecting people building patents, apps, and software (Innovators) with investors who want to fund early-stage ideas. Torches never holds or moves investment funds; it's not a broker.

Question 2

How do I submit a project?

Accepted Answer

Click "+ Submit a project" in the header (Innovator accounts only). You'll walk through Basics, Details, The Ask, Verify, Review, and an optional Promote step, then your project goes live.

Question 3

What does MVP mean?

Accepted Answer

Minimum Viable Product: a first working version of your product, not fully polished, but real enough to show and use. It's one of the stage options (alongside Idea, Revenue, and Scaling) when submitting a project.

Question 4

What are sparks?

Accepted Answer

Torches' points currency. Spend them to promote a project in search, feature it on the homepage, book the hero slideshow, or request a Verified Project review. Earn 1 free spark per day just by visiting while signed in.

Question 5

How do I buy more sparks?

Accepted Answer

From the Sparks page (click the spark balance in the header), pick a quantity with the +/− stepper, and continue to checkout.

Question 6

Are sparks refundable?

Accepted Answer

No, sparks are non-refundable once purchased or spent, including on a rejected Verified Project request.

Question 7

Do I have to verify a domain to submit a project?

Accepted Answer

No, domain verification is optional. Skip it and your project just won't show a domain link. You can always come back and verify one later. Patent-type projects need a patent number instead.

Question 8

What's the difference between account verification and Verified Project?

Accepted Answer

Account-level Verified (in Settings) is about you as an Innovator or Investor (business docs or domain). Verified Project is a separate, per-project badge: 100 sparks, manually reviewed, permanent once approved.

Question 9

Does Torches handle the actual investment money?

Accepted Answer

No. Investments happen directly between Investor and Innovator. Torches is a discovery, verification, and messaging layer; confirming an investment on the platform is a public, dual-confirmed record, not a money transfer.

Question 10

What happens when a project is marked completed?

Accepted Answer

The owner adds a short note about how it wrapped up. Completed projects stay visible but always sort last in Browse. There's a "Completed only" filter to find them on purpose.

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