GSF — Global Society of Founders

A Society for Founders. Not Talkers.

GSF is a professional platform connecting student founders with world-class expert mentors via video call and chat, and providing an equity-based venture marketplace where students can list startup ideas and attract investors.

---

📚 Table of Contents

• Live Platform
• Features
• What GSF Does
• Design System
• Project Structure
• Getting Started
• Tech Stack
• Architecture
• Route Inventory
• Environment Variables
• Deployment
• Contributing
• Repository Standards
• Issue Labels
• Contact

---

Live Platform

URL: http://localhost:3000 (development)

---

Features

• 1-on-1 mentorship calls with industry experts
• Equity-based venture marketplace
• Founder and expert role-based dashboards
• Secure authentication with Clerk
• Community-driven founder ecosystem
• Responsive and modern UI
• Venture listing and investor interaction
• Real-time collaboration experience

---

What GSF Does

Feature	Description
GSF Connect	Students book 1-on-1 video calls with expert mentors (VCs, founders, product leaders). Async chat follow-up included.
GSF Ventures	Students list startup ideas with equity terms. Venture creators fund them directly. GSF takes 1–2% platform fee on completed equity deals.
Expert Network	40+ vetted domain experts across fundraising, product, growth, legal, and impact.
Community	Global network of 500+ student founders with cohort calls, Slack, and accountability pods.

Pricing Model

• Free for 30 days — full platform access, no credit card required
• ₹999/month — Builder plan (unlimited Connect calls, list ventures)
• ₹2,499/month — Founder plan (everything + investor intros + dedicated advisor)
• 1–2% fee on equity deals closed via GSF Ventures

---

Design System

Token	Value	Usage
Primary blue	#81A6C6	Buttons, links, active states
Powder blue	#AACDDC	Badges, highlights, borders
Warm cream	#F3E3D0	Section backgrounds, warm cards
Warm taupe	#D2C4B4	Borders, dividers, muted elements
Background	#FDFAF7	Page background
Text primary	#1A2332	Headings, body
Text secondary	#4A5668	Body copy

Fonts:

• Playfair Display — serif headings (premium editorial feel)
• Inter — body, UI elements, labels

---

Project Structure

app/
├── page.tsx              # Homepage
├── connect/page.tsx      # Video call + expert chat platform
├── ventures/page.tsx     # Startup idea marketplace
├── experts/page.tsx      # Expert mentor directory
├── community/page.tsx    # Community hub
├── about/page.tsx        # About GSF
├── apply/page.tsx        # Student application form
├── sign-in/page.tsx      # Authentication - Login
├── sign-up/page.tsx      # Authentication - Register
├── contact/page.tsx      # Contact form
├── careers/page.tsx      # Open roles
├── insights/page.tsx     # Articles + founder resources
├── programs/page.tsx     # Platform overview
├── privacy/page.tsx      # Privacy policy
├── terms/page.tsx        # Terms of service
├── cookies/page.tsx      # Cookies policy
└── globals.css           # Design system tokens + utilities

components/
├── layout/
│   ├── Navbar.tsx        # Navigation with circular GSF logo
│   └── Footer.tsx        # Footer with links and brand tagline
├── landing/
│   └── HeroSection.tsx   # Homepage hero with stats
└── ui/
    └── Button.tsx        # Multi-variant button component

---

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Before running the project locally, ensure you have:

• Node.js 18+
• npm or yarn
• Git installed

---

1. Fork the Repository

Click the Fork button on GitHub to create your own copy.

---

2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/KGFCH2/GSF.git
cd GSF

---

3. Install Dependencies

npm install

---

4. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file in the root directory:

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=your_api_url

---

5. Start Development Server

npm run dev

Open:

http://localhost:3000

---

Available Scripts

npm run dev      # Start development server
npm run build    # Build for production
npm run start    # Start production server
npm run lint     # Run ESLint

---

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Framework	Next.js 16.2.3 (App Router)
Language	TypeScript
Styling	Tailwind CSS v4
UI/UX	Framer Motion, Lucide React
Data/SQL	Drizzle ORM + Postgres
Auth	Clerk
Validation	Zod
Tests	Vitest
Deployment	Vercel (recommended)

---

Architecture: route groups & role areas

This project uses Next.js App Router route groups plus Clerk-based RBAC.

1) Route groups in app/

• app/(marketing)/... and app/(auth)/...: public marketing + auth-related pages (layout/grouper only; does not change URL)
• app/(student)/..., app/(expert)/..., app/(admin)/...: role-focused areas (URL paths still start at /student, /expert, /admin when used)

2) Role-based areas (URLs)

• Founder: /dashboard/* (implemented in app/dashboard/*)
• Expert: /expert-dashboard/* (implemented in app/expert-dashboard/*)

3) How authorization works

Authorization is enforced in middleware.ts using Clerk session claims (JWT metadata):

• public routes pass through without auth
• signed-in, not-yet-onboarded users are redirected to /onboarding
• role checks gate /dashboard/*, /expert-dashboard/*, and any /admin/* routes

Update both: (1) the route inventory in this README, and (2) middleware role rules when adding new protected areas.

---

Route Inventory

Routes are organized into public marketing pages, dashboards by role, and API endpoints under app/api.

Public pages (no role required)

Route	Purpose
/	Homepage
/about	About GSF
/apply	Student application
/careers	Open roles
/community	Community hub
/connect	Expert booking + chat platform
/contact	Contact form
/cookies	Cookie policy
/experts	Expert directory
/insights	Articles/resources
/login	Login portal
/privacy	Privacy policy
/programs	Platform overview
/sign-in	Auth (alternative sign-in entry)
/sign-up	Auth (registration)
/sso-callback	SSO callback handler
/terms	Terms
/ventures	Venture marketplace
/ventures/list	Venture list editor/creator UI
/unauthorized	Unauthorized / access denied

Role-based dashboards

Role area	Route prefix	Description
Founder	/dashboard/*	Founder journey: credits, sessions, venture, progress, chat, profile
Expert	/expert-dashboard/*	Expert portal: students, sessions, profile, credits, ventures, chat, investments

Founder dashboard routes (/dashboard/*)

• /dashboard (app/dashboard/page.tsx) — overview
• /dashboard/chat
• /dashboard/credits
• /dashboard/experts
• /dashboard/profile
• /dashboard/progress
• /dashboard/venture

Expert dashboard routes (/expert-dashboard/*)

• /expert-dashboard (app/expert-dashboard/page.tsx) — overview
• /expert-dashboard/chat
• /expert-dashboard/credits
• /expert-dashboard/investments
• /expert-dashboard/profile
• /expert-dashboard/sessions
• /expert-dashboard/students
• /expert-dashboard/ventures

API endpoints (under app/api)

Endpoint	Method(s)	What it serves
/api/credits	GET	Credit balance + transaction log
/api/expert-profile	GET	Expert extended profile
/api/onboarding-complete	POST	Mark onboarding completion
/api/profile	GET	Clerk user data + app bio/links from metadata
/api/sessions	GET	Sessions for logged-in user
/api/venture	GET, POST	Fetch/update the founder venture
/api/ventures	(see app/api/ventures/**)	Ventures CRUD + interest
/api/ventures/interest	POST	Express interest in a venture
/api/ventures/public	GET	Public venture data
/api/webhooks/clerk	POST	Clerk webhook receiver for sync

---

Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file in the root:

# Add your environment variables here
# Example:
# NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.gsf.community

---

Deployment

Deploy to Vercel (Recommended)

1. Push your changes to GitHub
2. Import the repository at vercel.com/new
3. Set the Root Directory to GSF (the inner folder)
4. Add environment variables if needed
5. Deploy

Manual Build

npm run build
npm run start

---

Contributing

New contributors should be able to:

• run the app locally
• lint/test before opening a PR
• understand which routes belong to which role area

Local setup

npm install
npm run dev

Then open: http://localhost:3000

Lint / Test / Build expectations

npm run lint   # ESLint (required)
npm run test   # Vitest (required if you touched logic)
npm run build  # Optional but recommended before PR

Contribution workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b blackboxai/your-feature
3. Make changes in small, focused commits
4. Run npm run lint (and npm run test if you changed logic)
5. Open a Pull Request

Route & role guidance

• Finder for role-based areas: see Architecture section below.
• When adding a new protected page, ensure role gating is enforced consistently (middleware + UI routing expectations).

Suggested PR checklist

• README updated if routes/APIs changed
• npm run lint passes
• npm run test passes (when applicable)

---

Repository Standards

Branch Protection

• Direct pushes to main are restricted
• All contributions must go through Pull Requests

Code Quality

• Run lint checks before opening PR
• Ensure project builds successfully

Pull Request Expectations

• Keep PRs focused and meaningful
• Link related issues
• Add screenshots for UI changes when applicable

Review Process

• Maintainer approval is required before merge

---

Issue Labels

Label	Description
good first issue	Beginner-friendly issues
bug	Something is broken
enhancement	Feature improvements
documentation	Documentation-related tasks
help wanted	Community contribution requested

---

Contact

Email: hello@gsf.community
Website: gsf.community
GitHub: KGFCH2/GSF

---

© 2026 Global Society of Founders. A Society for Founders — Not Talkers.

---

---

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.