Business Models Study Session

Key Takeaways from the Meeting Here 🙂 👇 

​@Harold D​ ​@Wilson B​ ​@Jason S​ ​@Cameron D​ 
  • Beyond Markets? Tangible paths to structurally unique network building 👇
  • Ethical Network(data) Monetization→ Love Cameron’s Barter mention!→Micro application of Commons→Utility chains for systems & networks design/dev > singular product design/dev = Access in DeFi via generators of value having proof of hodl→PoAccess 🙂 
  • How can we define things so that others can take action, i.e. “spin up a business model” to test it out

Key Readings


Other Readings

Notes

What makes crypto business models special?
  • Traditional business models are about identifying customers and what they’re willing to pay for
  • Not just how much they value a product
  • But also includes the cost they’re willing to absorb NOT to have to switch over to a different platform or product (convenience, user experience)
  • (These points still stand for crypto business models)
  • Old models seem more one-sided (strictly supply and demand)
  • Consumers dictate features to a certain extent but big companies can make us want things by offering them “for free”, i.e. in exchange for data used for ad revenue
  • Crypto business models on the other hand are now distinctly characterized by their ability to create “network effects” & enable users to share in (profit off of) the value they create
  • Users can create and define markets for themselves because they own their assets
  • Currently, some are willing to pay for digital asset (data) ownership, but this is still a novelty for most
  • There’s a difference between these consumers: “I would pay for easy login vs. I would pay to not have my personal info shared with others”

Decentralized governance and management of businesses
  • App stacking = promising example of decentralized governance and business coming together
  • Case study: COMP tokens for protocol maintenance by Compound
  • Demonstrates that those who share in the success/profit of a product should be the ones who create value for the product
  • DeFi products for Stacking: How can product developers implement self-custody?

Miscellaneous Thoughts
  • Blockstack specific: What real alternatives to Blockstack actually exist?
  • In order to answer this question, need to agree on what the Blockstack product offering is
  • Need to evolve in our thinking that Blockstack is a product. It is an ecosystem that enables people to build user-owned products and services.
  • Comparisons to big tech hold us back from unlocking the value in crypto network effects.
  • Model of big tech = one-sided, predatory/exploitative/EXTRACTIVE (extreme power asymmetry)
  • There are opportunities to generate just as much wealth in crypto networks BUT that wealth would be shared, equitable, and would not be produced at the expense of users
  • Many crypto businesses grow via shilling to a certain extent…which begs the question, do crypto users actually want some of these products/services or dare they just betting on them for the sake of their own future payout?
  • Answer to this^: Create defensability through user-ownership instead of user lock-in
  • Ownership obligates users to care about the product they’re contributing to (Lockean theory of private ownership, stewardship)