July 4, 2022

I believe in the future of web3 and crypto. But not everyone does and here’s what they are saying…

1. It’s a Ponzi Scheme driven by marketing tactics and financial incentive

2. Understanding what it is takes complex technological and financial knowledge, which makes it impossible for people to make a sound judgment with their money

3. It’s terrible for the environment

4. It is accessible only to the early adopters and whales who have disposable income to play with

5. Web3 + NFTs creates artificial scarcity that serves no real purpose and creates a theoretically limitless abundance

6. Big time investors don’t want to be wrong on their bets in web3

https://yesterweb.org/no-to-web3/

Web3 is not decentralization compared to web1. The author of the below article discusses the 20-40 year history of web1 protocols comparing them to web3 making the argument that the only true decentralized protocols lived within web1 . He cited specifically, ARPANET, which was used back in the 80s to send electronic messages, undetectable by the Soviets. He also explains that DAOs, its voting structure, and its tokenomics are dangerous concepts that leave access and opportunity only for the “rich” and promote artificial scarcity. Lastly, he believes that art is an expression of emotion, a labor of love, and that NFTs represent an artists desire to mass produce for a quick buck. He ends with coming back to the point that decentralization is nothing that comes back to a single organization like Reddit’s DAO, Twitter, or Discord. “Nothing” he says “that generates a single profit for its founder is decentralized.”

https://invisibleup.com/articles/38/

Web3 has also received a significant amount of negative media attention from journalists that claim “crypto is dead.” This view has sparked a bit of attention within the Twitter community as cited below.

https://twitter.com/jbrukh/status/1538550798090739713

In contrast, I attended NYC.NFT week in June and came away with a few points highlighted below. No, it wasn’t just a bunch of parties. However, I did get a chance to see Diplo, Disclosure, Miguel, and a few other DJs perform thanks to some incredible friends.

1. NFTs are a business not a project. But unlike traditional businesses, they are not going to have recurring revenue streams and are not necessarily going to be predictable. So the fate of the business relies on building upon the IP and maintaining a high floor price for continuous revenue streams. To be successful, it takes a unique organized language, enabling the right ecosystem of people, collaboration and inclusion through the right mechanisms for funding and distribution.

2. DAOs in terms of governance structure will evolve and create value, however challenges still exist in terms of scaling.

3. The new business models: play to earn… live to earn, How does a business align profit with purpose at the end of the day? Everyone wants to earn tokens and every person that invests is an investor.

4. Celsius…taking user’s money and doing really risky things. The concept isn’t a sound a sound business practice no matter how you want to categorize it.

5. During the Bear Market especially, those that remain in the space are optimistic and will build with purpose.

6. Equity vs. token holders in businesses. How does one accrue value, given SEC constraints? Utility takes the value of a token to a new level, where equity is how one manages assets at stake.

7. Equity tokens and NFTs allow for different types of exposure. With equity tokens, liquidity rises a lot earlier on the upside and on the downside, expect them to be super volatile. NFTs are valuable because of the “no locking” mechanism so they can be bought and sold whenever. There are compelling use cases for tokenization and it is important to remember that when designing new and innovative use cases for tokens there is clear incentive and risk. Take sustainability… one can be rewarded for actions that can help the environment such as walking to earn tokens vs. hoping in an Uber.

I recently attended a book signing and fireside chat with the man, the legend, Mr. Alan Patricof, who recently published the book “No Red Lights.” I finished his book within one flight and noted a few key takeaways below on his guard rails in evaluating investment decisions.

The deals he’s supported have strong foundations in four fundamentals:

1. a large market to serve

2. a product that addresses a clear problem or need

3. sound economics

4. a management team in which he has confidence in

In assessing each round of follow-on financing he asks himself, objectively, the following four questions:

1. Has the market grown as expected?

2. Has the product development progressed as expected?

3. Does one think the company has the right leadership?

4. Are the capital needs appropriate to the earning potential of the business based on empirical data?

What can cause businesses to fail:

1. insufficient market demand

2. poor management

3. poor product concept

4. lack of alignment between the cost to serve the market and what customers are willing to pay

Anyone who reads this reflection, shouldn’t feel swayed in one direction or another. I believe that it’s best to inform my readers with both sides of an opinion so they can make their own conclusions on what they believe and support.

But I will leave you with some final thoughts that I think sums everything together because today we celebrate my favorite holiday of the year, fourth of July. We celebrate today, America. I had the privilege to serve my country for a period of my life and am humbled by the opportunity, perspective, and leadership skills I gained during my service. I am also truly grateful to those individuals still serving and protecting all of us back at home. Spending the past few days with my sister, who is currently still serving, has brought immense nostalgia and reflection of my past experiences. I think, now, even more than ever, it’s important to remember that no matter what our views may be, we are united by the honor, the freedoms, the rights we have as citizens and it is our duty, whether in uniform or not, to protect those privileges. I simply ask that you don’t sit and wait for the world to make a decision, or simply have no opinion. I challenge you to figure out what is it you believe in and what it is that keeps you up at night wanting to solve for because, when you do, you will begin to realize, having that ability to decide, is the beauty of being an American.

Until next time… keep it real.

July 4, 2022

I believe in the future of web3 and crypto. But not everyone does and here’s what they are saying…

1. It’s a Ponzi Scheme driven by marketing tactics and financial incentive

2. Understanding what it is takes complex technological and financial knowledge, which makes it impossible for people to make a sound judgment with their money

3. It’s terrible for the environment

4. It is accessible only to the early adopters and whales who have disposable income to play with

5. Web3 + NFTs creates artificial scarcity that serves no real purpose and creates a theoretically limitless abundance

6. Big time investors don’t want to be wrong on their bets in web3

https://yesterweb.org/no-to-web3/

Web3 is not decentralization compared to web1. The author of the below article discusses the 20-40 year history of web1 protocols comparing them to web3 making the argument that the only true decentralized protocols lived within web1 . He cited specifically, ARPANET, which was used back in the 80s to send electronic messages, undetectable by the Soviets. He also explains that DAOs, its voting structure, and its tokenomics are dangerous concepts that leave access and opportunity only for the “rich” and promote artificial scarcity. Lastly, he believes that art is an expression of emotion, a labor of love, and that NFTs represent an artists desire to mass produce for a quick buck. He ends with coming back to the point that decentralization is nothing that comes back to a single organization like Reddit’s DAO, Twitter, or Discord. “Nothing” he says “that generates a single profit for its founder is decentralized.”

https://invisibleup.com/articles/38/

Web3 has also received a significant amount of negative media attention from journalists that claim “crypto is dead.” This view has sparked a bit of attention within the Twitter community as cited below.

https://twitter.com/jbrukh/status/1538550798090739713

In contrast, I attended NYC.NFT week in June and came away with a few points highlighted below. No, it wasn’t just a bunch of parties. However, I did get a chance to see Diplo, Disclosure, Miguel, and a few other DJs perform thanks to some incredible friends.

1. NFTs are a business not a project. But unlike traditional businesses, they are not going to have recurring revenue streams and are not necessarily going to be predictable. So the fate of the business relies on building upon the IP and maintaining a high floor price for continuous revenue streams. To be successful, it takes a unique organized language, enabling the right ecosystem of people, collaboration and inclusion through the right mechanisms for funding and distribution.

2. DAOs in terms of governance structure will evolve and create value, however challenges still exist in terms of scaling.

3. The new business models: play to earn… live to earn, How does a business align profit with purpose at the end of the day? Everyone wants to earn tokens and every person that invests is an investor.

4. Celsius…taking user’s money and doing really risky things. The concept isn’t a sound a sound business practice no matter how you want to categorize it.

5. During the Bear Market especially, those that remain in the space are optimistic and will build with purpose.

6. Equity vs. token holders in businesses. How does one accrue value, given SEC constraints? Utility takes the value of a token to a new level, where equity is how one manages assets at stake.

7. Equity tokens and NFTs allow for different types of exposure. With equity tokens, liquidity rises a lot earlier on the upside and on the downside, expect them to be super volatile. NFTs are valuable because of the “no locking” mechanism so they can be bought and sold whenever. There are compelling use cases for tokenization and it is important to remember that when designing new and innovative use cases for tokens there is clear incentive and risk. Take sustainability… one can be rewarded for actions that can help the environment such as walking to earn tokens vs. hoping in an Uber.

I recently attended a book signing and fireside chat with the man, the legend, Mr. Alan Patricof, who recently published the book “No Red Lights.” I finished his book within one flight and noted a few key takeaways below on his guard rails in evaluating investment decisions.

The deals he’s supported have strong foundations in four fundamentals:

1. a large market to serve

2. a product that addresses a clear problem or need

3. sound economics

4. a management team in which he has confidence in

In assessing each round of follow-on financing he asks himself, objectively, the following four questions:

1. Has the market grown as expected?

2. Has the product development progressed as expected?

3. Does one think the company has the right leadership?

4. Are the capital needs appropriate to the earning potential of the business based on empirical data?

What can cause businesses to fail:

1. insufficient market demand

2. poor management

3. poor product concept

4. lack of alignment between the cost to serve the market and what customers are willing to pay

Anyone who reads this reflection, shouldn’t feel swayed in one direction or another. I believe that it’s best to inform my readers with both sides of an opinion so they can make their own conclusions on what they believe and support.

But I will leave you with some final thoughts that I think sums everything together because today we celebrate my favorite holiday of the year, fourth of July. We celebrate today, America. I had the privilege to serve my country for a period of my life and am humbled by the opportunity, perspective, and leadership skills I gained during my service. I am also truly grateful to those individuals still serving and protecting all of us back at home. Spending the past few days with my sister, who is currently still serving, has brought immense nostalgia and reflection of my past experiences. I think, now, even more than ever, it’s important to remember that no matter what our views may be, we are united by the honor, the freedoms, the rights we have as citizens and it is our duty, whether in uniform or not, to protect those privileges. I simply ask that you don’t sit and wait for the world to make a decision, or simply have no opinion. I challenge you to figure out what is it you believe in and what it is that keeps you up at night wanting to solve for because, when you do, you will begin to realize, having that ability to decide, is the beauty of being an American.

Until next time… keep it real.