Question 1

What is Slingshot?

Accepted Answer

Slingshot is a technology company built by artists and creators, for artists and creators.   We're building a suite of sophisticated products to help creatives with the tedious parts of managing their business, so they can get back to focusing on what they love. Most creators know that running a business is complex, time-consuming, and extremely tricky—it's too easy to miss a deadline or filing, but minor slip-ups can have major consequences. The hassle, combined with the stakes, lead to creative people either limiting their scale, spending massive percentages of their income on professional services and missed deductions, or borrowing infrastructure from predatory companies (like record labels and MCNs) at a massive cost. Our automation technology makes it easy to handle all of this. Paired with our premium services and perks, Slingshot is a comprehensive business management solution for creators and creative businesses of any size.

Question 2

What does Slingshot membership include?

Accepted Answer

While our business and financial products are the core of our offering, Slingshot membership includes many additional services to make life easier. Our goal is to let you focus on your art, not busywork, while helping you still keep total control over your operations. Slingshot Select , our financial platform with banking 1 , cards, invoicing, and managed payroll Slingshot Concierge , a team of experts that can help you with nearly anything Wellness benefits  for yourself and your team, including   group-rate PPO health insurance , free basic healthcare through   One Medical , 401(k) retirement savings accounts, and more 2 Narrative media features , including mini-documentaries and short-form content to help you tell your story and connect with your fans 3 $2m in liability insurance  for your business and events 4 Slingshot is a financial technology company, not a bank. We partner with Stripe for money transmission services. All funds are held with FDIC member banks. Benefits are offered to team members through employment with Slingshot Creative LLC. These benefits are offered at-cost and deducted from your Slingshot Select balance. Media features are not guaranteed, but can be requested if desired. Examples of these features can be found on our   YouTube channel . Insurance coverage is only available within the US. Exclusions & limitations apply.

Question 3

How much does Slingshot membership cost?

Accepted Answer

Slingshot's management fee is 2% of revenue, billed monthly. This allows us to craft a highly customized experience around your needs as you grow. Memberships include unlimited user accounts for your whole team, so everyone can access Slingshot’s benefits. Teams on Slingshot generally save 5 to 10 times their fees in reduced costs thanks to our automation tools.

Question 4

What can Slingshot Concierge do?

Accepted Answer

Our concierge service can help with nearly anything. Here are a few examples: Book flights and hotels for an upcoming trip Make a dinner reservation Purchase gifts or flowers Conduct some research for a video Secure a cover song license Provide tech support, with priority for live streamers Hire freelancers for a project, like merch designers or local photographers Connect you with legal experts and CPAs ...and nearly anything else you can think of. Whenever payments are involved, we'll automatically handle billing and file receipts through your Slingshot account. Once you join Slingshot, we'll give you a dedicated phone number that you can text anytime with requests.

Question 5

How is Slingshot able to handle my business and tax filings?

Accepted Answer

Our standard Fully-managed program combines our advanced automation software with a legal structure that allows us to completely handle most of your legal, tax, and filing obligations, while also minimizing your tax liability. As a Slingshot member, you'll first join Slingshot Creative LLC (a subsidiary of Slingshot) as an employee or contractor. You’ll then provide a limited license for your work to Slingshot Creative, which allows you to conduct business related to your content under Slingshot Creative's legal entity. You keep complete ownership over all copyrights in your work, and 100% of money earned is payable to you, but our accountants and legal team take over all business and tax filings. The terms of this license ensure that Slingshot can't use this license in any way besides as specifically directed by you or your team. We'll then open a financial account for your business where you can deposit funds, create transfers, issue credit cards, and more. Essentially, this whole process forms a department under Slingshot Creative where business, finance, and operations are completely directed by you. Under this setup, you're able to: Conduct business under Slingshot's legal entity, so you don't need to deal with annual filings and franchise taxes Have Slingshot's team handle your accounting, so you don't need to deal with quarterly tax payments or tax filings Hire team members with salaries and benefits in any state while Slingshot handles the dozens of relevant filings and all tax payments This might sound intimidating, but the process is surprisingly simple and can be completed in   as little as 5 minutes  once your membership is approved. We also assign you a dedicated representative on our team as soon as you're approved, and they'll be available to help you with any questions you have.

Question 6

How does Slingshot keep my money safe?

Accepted Answer

Slingshot works closely with some of the largest banks in the world to ensure deposits are as safe as possible. All funds are held at FDIC member banks or highly-liquid government money market funds backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, and we regularly evaluate the financials of every bank we work with to ensure their strength. In our default Fully-managed program (where you conduct business as part of Slingshot Creative LLC), funds are swept across dozens of banks to maximize FDIC insurance eligibility, and minimize risk from any single bank partner. Banks include, but are not limited to: Goldman Sachs Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank Bank of New York Mellon Capital One Bank Evolve Bank & Trust Axos Bank LendingClub Bank In addition to FDIC insurance-eligible accounts, funds are held in a   AAA-rated government money-market fund   administered by BNY Mellon (one of the world's largest banks with over $1.8 trillion in assets under management) and actively regulated by the SEC. This fund is required to hold at least 99.5% of its assets in cash or securities backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Strategies like this are typically used by the largest companies in the world to ensure that   funds are far more protected than a typical business checking account, even one at a big bank . Our accounts are eligible for FDIC insurance up to $145m, with our fund allocation strategy designed to maximized liquidity & security for all funds. For our Self-managed program (where you conduct business through your own separate business entity), you will apply to open a business financial account through Slingshot's platform for an LLC or other business entity that you are authorized to represent. Slingshot partners with   Stripe Payments Company   for money transmission services and account services with funds held at Fifth Third Bank N.A., Member FDIC. Funds are eligible 1 for FDIC insurance up to $250k. Slingshot Select Visa® Commercial Credit cards are issued by Celtic Bank. Accounts are eligible only to the extent FDIC pass-through insurance is permitted by the rules and regulations of the FDIC, and if the requirements for pass-through insurance are satisfied. While Slingshot partners with FDIC member banks, neither Slingshot nor Stripe are FDIC insured institutions, and FDIC’s deposit insurance coverage only protects against the failure of an FDIC insured depository institution.

Question 7

What if I already have an LLC or entity for my business?

Accepted Answer

Our Fully-managed program is compatible with your own external entity. In fact, for artists and creators making over $1 million per year, we will guide you through the process of setting one up if you haven't already. Here's an example of how this setup works. Let's say you’re an artist who owns a business entity. Typically, this would mean the business entity owns all the copyright for your music, and receives all revenue/royalties for related business. Upon joining Slingshot: Your business entity will issue a license for your work to Slingshot Creative You will join Slingshot Creative as an employee managing all business related to that license Team members will join Slingshot Creative as employees to receive salaries and benefits That's all! You will now be able to conduct business through Slingshot, with your entity continuing to retain all ownership over the underlying work. As long as you direct all incoming business revenue to your new Slingshot financial account and spend money through that account, Slingshot will be able to manage filings and taxes for this activity. Keep in mind that you are still responsible for completing filings for your LLC or entity, though these filings will be far simpler if you conduct all business through your Slingshot account. We're happy to pair you with expert accountants and lawyers to assist with these filings. In certain instances, we also offer a Self-managed program upon approval where you can use Slingshot's software while conducting business entirely through your own legal entity. This setup is more complicated and you will remain responsible for most filings. You also will likely see higher overall tax liability with this program.

Question 8

What if I already have a business manager?

Accepted Answer

Many of our members work with business managers, and Slingshot still makes life a lot easier. Our software gives you full transparency into your business at all times, with direct access to all of your banking, cards, payments, and invoicing. You can even choose to receive notifications for every payment, so you can keep an eye on what's happening with your money. Our platform also makes it way easier to deal with the small day-to-day tasks that you're probably still taking care of, like receipts and memos. We're able to automatically retrieve receipts from a number of vendors, and whenever we can't, you can just text us a photo of the receipt and we'll take care of everything from there. We also make your business manager's life much easier by automating a lot of the bookkeeping and accounting tasks they may be handling manually right now.

Question 9

What if I'm not based in the US?

Accepted Answer

Artists & creators outside the US can still take advantage of most of Slingshot's platform and services, as long as you primarily want to conduct business in US dollars. You will likely be eligible for: Slingshot's Fully-managed program, with additional resources to help you manage copyright within the U.S. A USD financial account, with international wire transfers 1  to over 80 countries 2 Most Slingshot Concierge services However, you will not be eligible for certain parts of our program, including but not limited to: Salaried payroll and benefits for individuals are not permitted to work in the United States Liability insurance protection Geographically-related perks, like equipment access Our Self-managed program offering is not available outside of the US at this time. International payments will generally be subject to additional review, including identity verifications, and may be subject to additional processing time. International payments may also be subject to additional fees compared to our typical U.S. domestic transfer options. Supported countries are subject to change at anytime, with or without notice. As of April 18, 2023, supported countries include Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vietnam, and Zambia. EUR accounts in SEPA countries are also supported, including Austria, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. Countries subject to U.S. Government restrictions or sanctions (including but not limited to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria) are never supported, and attempts to conduct business with or transfer any funds to such countries will (1) be immediately reported to the relevant authorities, and (2) lead to immediate closure of your accounts.

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