MERCATO

Mercato guide

How to Create Your First Deal on Mercato

Creating a deal is how you turn a supplier purchase order into investor-funded working capital. Here is the full flow, screen by screen.

6 min read

A “deal” on Mercato is simply a structured request for working capital: you describe what you need to buy, who your supplier is, and how you will repay. Investors fund it, the money sits in escrow, and your supplier gets paid as delivery milestones are approved. This guide walks you through creating your first one.

Step 1 — Open the deal form

From your dashboard, go to Create Deal (or open /create-deal directly). The form is split into clear stages so you never face a wall of fields: deal basics, supplier and terms, milestones, then review and deploy.

Step 2 — Deal basics and supplier terms

  1. Describe the product or inventory you are financing and the total purchase price.
  2. Add your supplier’s name and their Stellar address so milestone payments reach them directly.
  3. Set the repayment term (for example 30, 60, or 90 days) and the return you are offering investors.

Step 3 — Split payment into milestones

Milestones protect everyone. Instead of paying the supplier 100% upfront, you split payment into stages tied to proof of progress — for example 50% on shipment and 50% on delivery. Funds for each milestone only release once the milestone is approved.

Step 4 — Review, sign, and deploy escrow

Review the summary, then connect and sign with your wallet. Signing deploys a Trustless Work escrow contract on Stellar. From that moment your deal is live: investors can fund it, and capital stays locked in the contract until milestones justify release.

Do I pay anything to create a deal?

Creating a deal does not move your own capital — investors fund the escrow. You will sign a wallet transaction to deploy the contract, which carries only the small Stellar network fee.

What if no investor funds my deal?

The escrow simply stays unfunded and no money moves. You can adjust your terms (amount, return, or milestones) to make the deal more attractive and try again.

Can I edit a deal after deploying it?

Core terms are locked on-chain once deployed, which is what makes them trustworthy to investors. If terms need to change materially, create a new deal with the updated structure.

Next step

Ready to fund your next purchase order?

Create a deal and let investors fund your inventory — repaid after your sales cycle.

Create a deal
Browse deals

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