Community-First Company Building with Cuy Sheffield & Micah Johnson | Free Podcast Summary

In a riveting discussion, NFX Partner Morgan Beller, Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, and Micah Johnson, artist and creator of Aku, explore the future of company building.

They delve into the shift towards a community-first approach, the transformative role of NFTs, and the potential of play-to-earn projects.

Play-to-earn gaming offers a method of distributing content that allows consumers to participate in the narrative while benefiting from the value generated by the platform.

This model is seen as a potential game-changer in various industries.

Unlike web 2.0, where the focus was on the number of eyeballs, followers, or views a creator could attract, web 3.0 is more about commerce.

The real metrics are how many people purchase an NFT or a social token that gives them membership into a community, and how many of them participate in that community.

We’re democratizing access to have agency over our future financially. It’s more broadly this concept of giving the people what they want and letting people tell you what they want. – Micah Johnson

With the digitization of the supply chain for creators, they can now mint an NFT instead of producing a physical item.

This enables participation in commerce and the ability to build global commerce businesses at a massive scale, where the only real barrier is creativity and ideas.

Web 3.0 is expanding into other industries like education.

For example, a study group called Crypto Culture in Society crowdfunded their course and gave an NFT for participating in the study group.

This shows how new community-based models are being used across different industries and sectors.

If any individual can build a commerce business and sell to consumers across the world, we think that that’s just an enormous opportunity to grow economies and to help people earn livings from their creativity. – Cuy Sheffield

Web 3.0 introduces the concept of creative ownership, where consumers are no longer passive recipients of content but have a say in its creation.

This shift can lead to increased loyalty and excitement among consumers, as they feel empowered by their ability to influence the content.

Web 2.0 models are being replaced by web 3.0 models.

For instance, the Stonercats series was funded by rallying the community together and giving them value back for being capital providers.

Similarly, the Board Apes brand funded themselves to be a massive brand and have the resources and capital to do whatever they want without needing to license or get into deals where they’re getting splits on their revenue.

Web 3.0 is about giving people what they want and letting them tell you what they want.

It’s about asking people directly and letting them fund what they want to learn or see.

This concept is seen as a more powerful, meaningful, and authentic relationship between creators and their audience.

NFTs and play-to-earn projects hold immense potential for artists and creators.

They offer a new way for artists to monetize their work and reach a larger audience.

The principles of ownership, collaboration, and community, which are central to NFTs, can be applied to other sectors, leading to a more democratized and inclusive economy.