Patreon Integration

Are there any plans to include Patreon integration into Jumpstart Pro.

I am considering a SaaS project but I am kind of testing the water and would prefer the patronage model. This is because, at least initially, it would effectively sideline customer demands that might become a headache while I am finding my way.

Anecdotally, I have heard that Patreon integration can be a bit painful, not even sure there is an up to date gem for it. Anyone got any insight?

Rather than embedding Patreon somehow, have you considered recreating Patreon-style subscriptions? 

We don't have any payouts code in Jumpstart yet, but you can use Stripe Connect and basically charge customers on behalf of other Stripe accounts. We're adding some support for that in the Pay gem which powers our payments.

Thanks for responding. I'm not quite sure but it sounds like some form of gifting that you are suggesting.

My reason for preferring a Patreon approach initially is that many people will already understand how Patreon works and will have accounts. They make contributions knowing that it is to support the creator rather than paying for a service. It is a much looser arrangement. This removes a lot of the complexity and pressure when getting started. Can focus on the product and not on customer support or complaints. 

Hi Colin, The Monthly subscription systems in Jumpstart is easy enough to setup.
The videos will show you how to setup the Stripe credentials.

Integrating with Patreon would be doubling up on the reliable code already in Jumpstart.
I have a few site running now with monthly billing through Jumpstart and Stripe and it's been no problem so far for any of my customers. Many would not think of themselves as tech savvy.... but they find it simple.

I would recommend setting up your Stripe Plans in Dollars however so you don't need to modify your currency symbols in Email and PDF receipts.

However, if your customers are already on Patreon and are finding your customers there you could maybe use the Patreon Gem to completely bypass the subscription part of Jumpstart and check users to see if they are patrons when they login. https://github.com/Patreon/patreon-ruby (This sounds messy to me and not a great use of the features already in JSP)

I haven't looked into the Gem much but I think this is what it's intended for.
 

Thanks John. I think Jumpstart looks brilliant. I wish it was around a few years ago when I first had my idea. I was trying to build everything and it was too much. I even did a basic stripe integration but only on a dummy account. I am a proficient coder but I can't say I am a very good one or that I like it that much. 

I looked at that gem but it worries me that is doesn't seem to be very active. I am following the drawabox.com course and that uses Patreon integration and is where I am getting my model from. Also where I read about integration difficulties ( I think Patreon is quite complex and dense behind the scenes ).

On drawabox.com you have your own signed up account but you then link that account to Patreon from where it can pull in your level of patronage etc. So I don't see it overriding the Jumpstart account functionality, it would be complementary to it.

It's not for technical reasons that I am considering the Patreon option as I think Jumpstart makes it very easy to take payment. It is more for perceptual and audience building reasons. I think my initial product may be quite ropey albeit useful so I don't want to deal with managing complaints, billing enquiries, refunds etc. I am just one person doing a build and creating content.

Hence patronage is quite a good model.

Does this make sense?