Vol. III · Functory Quarterly№ 001 · Edition 2026
I
Categories

What can you build?

From SaaS products to full marketplace platforms.

4 common shapes, 10 live demos, and examples for each kind of organization we work with. Treat them as a starting point, not a menu. Most of what we build is not on any list.

fig. i·a6 capabilities

SaaS Applications

Build subscription-based software products with user management, billing, and team features out of the box.

Pre-built capabilities

  • Multi-tenancy with every customer's data isolated by default
  • User management with subscriptions and entitlements
  • Usage metering and billing with Stripe
  • Team/organization features with hierarchies
  • Webhook integrations for third-party tools
  • Referral programs with credit rewards

For example

B2B SaaS with per-seat pricing and usage-based billing.

fig. i·b5 capabilities

Marketplaces

Launch two-sided marketplaces like Airbnb, Etsy, or Upwork with buyer/seller management and transactions.

Pre-built capabilities

  • Buyer/seller entity management
  • Listing and discovery with search
  • Transaction lifecycle with saga-backed multi-tender checkout
  • Ratings and reviews with moderation
  • Offers, counteroffers, and dispute resolution

For example

Service marketplace connecting freelancers with clients.

fig. i·c6 capabilities

Booking Platforms

Create reservation and scheduling systems for hospitality, services, or equipment rental.

Pre-built capabilities

  • Multi-tenancy so each property, venue, or location keeps its own data
  • 6 booking types: seats, accommodations, classes, rentals, appointments, facilities
  • Real-time availability and conflict detection
  • Calendar management with inventory
  • Automated payment and notification flows
  • Cancellation and modification handling

For example

Vacation rental platform with real-time availability.

fig. i·d5 capabilities

Content Platforms

Build media, learning, or community platforms with rich content management and discovery.

Pre-built capabilities

  • Asset management with S3 integration
  • Collections, playlists, and bookmarks
  • User-generated content workflows
  • Full-text and faceted search
  • Recommendation engine support

For example

Online learning platform with courses and progress tracking.

Not on the list?

Most of what we build is not.

These shapes cover common ground. If yours combines several of them, or looks like none of them, the same capabilities still apply.

Tell us what you are building
II
Live demos

Built on Functory.

From idea to production in weeks.

See what teams are building with our platform. Click any demo to explore it live.

fig. ii·aHospitality

Hotels

Hotel groups stitching together a PMS, a booking engine, a CRM, and a payment processor for every new property.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

Cloudbeds + SiteMinder + Mailchimp

Services leveraged

ReservationsPaymentsNotificationsSearch

Normally takes

6–9 months + $4–8k/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • One codebase to audit for PCI compliance
  • Guest data stays in the operator's AWS account
  • One vendor relationship instead of four
fig. ii·bAudio/Visual Marketplace

Aperture

A one-stop shop for the audio/visual media community to buy, sell, rent gear, book space, and hire freelance talent, without bouncing between four different marketplaces and losing trust at every hop.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

Reverb + Peerspace + Backstage

Services leveraged

EntitiesReservationsPaymentsSearchAuth

Normally takes

12+ months + $1–3k/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • One identity, payments, and reputation across buy / sell / rent / hire
  • Search across gear, spaces, and talent in a single index
  • Operator owns the community data and the network effects
fig. ii·cClubs & Associations

Convene

Every club drowns in the same chores: a treasurer chasing dues over WhatsApp, a roster rotting in a spreadsheet, a meetup run through email threads and a separate ticketing tool. Convene gives an organizer one warm home for members, roles, recurring dues, events, and announcements.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

Wild Apricot + Spond + Meetup

Services leveraged

MembershipsSubscriptionsPaymentsReservationsNotifications

Normally takes

3–5 months + $200–1,500/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • Two front doors (organizer invites and self-service join requests) on one roster
  • Recurring dues with a gentle, recoverable failed-payment path, not a hard lockout
  • Re-skins from a soccer club to an alumni chapter with seed and copy, no backend change
fig. ii·dOnline Learning

Academy

A course marketplace where instructors publish, students enroll and progress through lessons, earn certificates, and the platform handles subscriptions, engagement scoring, and content moderation. A Udemy/Coursera backend from configuration.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

Teachable + Thinkific + Kajabi

Services leveraged

SubscriptionsEntitlementsScoringSearchNotifications

Normally takes

4–6 months + $1–3k/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • Course access gated by subscription entitlements out of the box
  • XP, streaks, tiers, and certificates drive engagement without custom code
  • Ratings, reviews, and content moderation built in, not bolted on
fig. ii·eEmployee Onboarding

Atlas

New hires ramp slowly because the SOPs they need are scattered across stale Google Docs, a Notion page, and a spreadsheet tracking who finished which compliance module. Atlas is a Corp University: a 30/60/90 onboarding journey, versioned SOPs, compliance training, and an AI assistant grounded in the org's own documents.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

Notion + Trainual + spreadsheets

Services leveraged

LifecycleSearchNotificationsAI ChatAudit

Normally takes

6–9 months + $3–8k/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • Versioned, searchable SOPs with acknowledgement tracking as one source of truth
  • Compliance training auto-assigns, reminds, and produces an exportable audit trail
  • An AI assistant that cites the org's own documents and refuses to answer when it can't
fig. ii·fHiring & Applicant Tracking

Themis

Hiring teams run a careers page, an applicant tracker, an interview scheduler, and a spreadsheet standing in for EEO reporting. Themis is one pipeline from a public careers board through screening, panels, and offer, with voluntary EEO answers kept out of reach of the people making the hiring decisions.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

Greenhouse + Lever + Workable

Services leveraged

LifecycleAuthDocumentsAuditNotifications

Normally takes

6–9 months + $1–4k/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • EEO self-identification is visible to compliance and invisible to recruiters, on the same record
  • A requisition closes itself when the last seat is filled and reopens when one is released
  • Every stage change is recorded, so an applicant-flow audit is a report, not an archaeology project
fig. ii·gExpense & Invoicing

Hans

Companies run two money workflows that never live in one tool: employees file expenses and managers approve them, and the business invoices its own customers and chases payment. Hans is a digital CFO that does both over a real double-entry ledger. Drop in a receipt photo and the line fills itself in.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

SAP Concur + QuickBooks + Bill.com

Services leveraged

LedgerInvoicingPaymentsDunningReceipt OCR

Normally takes

9–12 months + $1–4k/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • Receipt OCR reads vendor, date, and amount; the employee just confirms
  • Every approved reimbursement and paid invoice posts to a balanced ledger
  • Expense management and accounts receivable in one surface, not two tools reconciled by hand
fig. ii·hCoworking & Flex Space

Atrium

Coworking operators run a booking tool for rooms, a separate billing system for memberships, and a spreadsheet for equipment. Atrium puts desks, private offices, meeting rooms, equipment, workshops, and event spaces behind one membership, with plan entitlements deciding who can book what.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

OfficeRnD + Skedda + Nexudus

Services leveraged

ReservationsMembershipsSubscriptionsEntitlementsPayments

Normally takes

6–9 months + $500–2,000/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • All six reservation types (desks, offices, rooms, equipment, appointments, event spaces) on one calendar
  • Plan entitlements gate bookings automatically, no manual policing of desk-day limits
  • Membership billing and space operations in one system, not reconciled by hand
fig. ii·iCommunities & Memberships

Circles

Community operators paying per-seat fees to Circle, Memberstack, and Discord Premium while losing customer data ownership.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

Circle.so + Memberstack + Mighty Networks

Services leveraged

AuthSubscriptionsNotificationsEvent-Driven

Normally takes

3–5 months + $500–2,000/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • Member data stays yours, not the vendor's
  • No per-seat pricing tax on growth
  • Native integration with the rest of your stack
fig. ii·jRecording Studio Marketplace

Panels

An Airbnb for recording studios. A two-sided marketplace where artists discover and book rooms globally, and studio operators manage offers, pricing, availability, and confirmations from the same stack.

First version built in

1 day

Replaces

Studiotime + Peerspace + spreadsheets

Services leveraged

ReservationsPaymentsAuthSearchNotifications

Normally takes

9–12 months + $500–2,000/month SaaS stack

Operational pain eliminated

  • Customer-facing marketplace and back-office ops on one platform
  • Studios own their customer relationships, not the marketplace
  • Two-sided trust, payments, and scheduling out of the box
III
Who it’s for

By profile.

Examples for each kind of organization we work with.

Find the profile closest to yours. The examples show the pattern; they are not the edge of what fits.

01Direct

Startup founders

From prototype to a product customers trust

For example

  • A vertical SaaS product with team accounts, plans, and usage-based billing
  • A two-sided marketplace where buyers and sellers transact and review each other
  • A booking product for a niche the big platforms serve badly

Closest live demos

For startup founders
02Direct

Enterprises & SMBs

Productionize prototypes, modernize old systems

For example

  • An approval chain a finance team built in a spreadsheet, rebuilt with real permissions and an audit trail
  • Onboarding, hiring, or expense workflows that replace several disconnected tools
  • An ageing scheduling or case system, moved across one workflow at a time

Closest live demos

For enterprises and SMBs
03Direct

Multi-entity organizations

One platform for roll-ups, districts, counties, universities

For example

  • Franchise booking and loyalty, with each location setting its own hours and prices
  • District enrollment and family notifications, with each school keeping its own programs
  • Membership and dues for a federation, with each chapter running its own events

Closest live demos

For multi-entity organizations
04Partner

Development agencies

Deliver client work on one production foundation

For example

  • A client's member portal, delivered on a production foundation instead of a fresh codebase
  • One proven app, rebranded for a second client through configuration rather than a rebuild
  • A booking or marketplace flow the agency designs and Functory runs after launch

Closest live demos

For development agencies
05Partner

Professional service firms

Turn your expertise into a digital service

For example

  • An accounting advisory portal for month-end close: documents, questions, approvals, and reports
  • Client intake that checks for completeness and routes exceptions to the right professional
  • A recurring advisory service, billed by subscription alongside the work itself

Closest live demos

For professional service firms
06Partner

VCs & accelerators

Help your founders get past the demo

For example

  • A seed-stage marketplace taken from demo to paying customers
  • A vertical SaaS product ready for its first enterprise security review
  • The same route repeated across a cohort, each company in its own AWS account

Closest live demos

For VCs and accelerators
IV
The comparison

vs. building from scratch.

The same ground covered, six lines at a time.

01Time to production
12–18 months
4–8 weeks
02Payments / Subscriptions
Build it
Built-in
03Reservations
Build it
Built-in
04Multi-database search
Complex
Built-in
05Event sourcing
Build it
Built-in
06Infrastructure ownership
Yes
Yes

Coda

Ready to start building?

We have built systems like these before.

Thirty minutes with the engineers who would do the work, and an honest read on what yours takes to build.