Got a Genius Web3 Idea? Don’t have what it takes to build it yourself? Consider a “Blockchain Concierge” service

Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section contains insights from crypto industry players and is not part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com.

Our society has a number of phrases that paint a clear picture of an individual. “Great at all trades, no master.” “It takes a village.” “No man is an island.” It’s not necessarily a pretty picture.

The fact is that a business – even a small one – needs many different skill sets to function well. This is further illustrated by the fact that you can get full degrees for these various skills: marketing, finance, accounting, project management, etc. And these skills are only for administrative overhead. If you’re actually building something, especially a digital platform, the skills needed are even greater. Front-end and back-end developers, database specialists, cyber security, cloud architecture, UI/UX engineer, web designer, app designer, graphic designer and more. If your platform is blockchain-based, add even more developers, along with a tokenomics expert.

Another interesting fact is that no one who has started a platform took the time to adequately master each of these skills before starting their business. Many have decided that they want to learn as they go. This is partly why so many businesses fail. Others have built teams based on their networks, getting team members who are skilled (but not likely experts) in the various skill sets needed. Using their network is fine in that you have already built up relationships and trust. However, it also limits the skill level you have to choose from.

So what should sole proprietors, and even small teams, do to give their big idea the best chance for success? Fortunately, there are some alternatives. Let’s touch on some of the ones you may already recognize, and then dive into a new architecture called “concierge” services. We’ll look at what they do, how they’re similar (but different) to a few other business models, and we’ll look at a vendor called AllianceBlock which serves as a comprehensive example.

The Blockchain Platform’s Journey

For many blockchain platforms, the journey to a full launch takes a similar path. The founder or founders start with an idea, usually a pain point or an opportunity for something new (and presumably desired by the community). Founders are often technically inclined, with experience as developers, employed by TradFi/TradTech companies, or are simply serial entrepreneurs. The founding team is almost always driven more by relationships than skills, with a team of trusted people each participating. Sometimes they are well qualified, sometimes less so. If the team can make it through the next stage of growth – typically developing and refining the idea, hopefully building a proof of concept prototype – they begin the journey for funding. For those teams that are initially self-funded, they may be able to develop enough to create an ICO. With the market for tokens fairly saturated, the team would need to have built a strong following before this to be able to sell and keep the price where they want it.

For other teams, the road to the ICO is too long, and funding is required earlier. For these teams, options include self-funding (and asking people they know to invest); for the lucky teams, they may be able to catch the attention of a startup incubator/accelerator, which provides help in the form of experts, as well as an introduction to VC (venture capital) companies. This is where a very large fundraising can be done, although the price (in terms of a percentage of the platform) can be high. Still, if the money is raised and the platform is successful, owning part of a thriving platform is much better than owning 100% of a dead one.

New trend: The concierge service

This is quite a journey, with many things that need to go right. You have to know the right people, sell your idea to the right people, hope they don’t already have similar investments, hope the market is where it needs to be, and hope the technical development actually happens. Entrepreneurs above all others want to be masters of their own destiny, but frankly there is a lot of luck involved in this process. This fact is not lost on entrepreneurs and founding teams, especially in the crypto space. Based on this pain point, a new type of business model is emerging. It is called a “concierge” service, because it can provide you with what you need. The services are of course not free, but the nice thing is that you can pick and choose which services you need. Do you have a strong development team but lack the smart contract experience you need? They can help with that. Do you need to link the platform to a bridge? Yep, they can. Need to raise money? They can even help with that. In a sense, this business model is not just like a concierge, it is an “X-as-a-service” à la carte menu. Use your team’s strengths and ask the concierge what you’re missing.

In a sense, this type of model is not new. “Blockchain-as-a-service” and its many niches have been around for several years. What makes concierge services unique is that they accommodate all the services you may wish to use and help coordinate their interaction to ensure the process is efficient. Kind of like a concierge.

Take AllianceBlock, one of the larger dedicated blockchain concierge service platforms. They provide their own options for financing, DeFi development, smart contract creation, bridging, data protection and even DEX services. While other players offer some of these services, AllianceBlock may be the only platform that offers them all. Especially theirs Found the service is particularly unique, as it moves the funding process away from VCs, and instead opens up funding to the larger community. Think of it as a Kickstarter for blockchain, except the concierge also manages the other business services a platform needs. For Fundrs, platforms can apply for funding by showing their plans and posting options for investors. Those members who have staked on the platform can look at these investment opportunities and take part if they wish. To ensure that the selected projects progress as promised, the milestone funding process ensures that there is a strong accountability aspect to the project, protects investors and motivates the project team. This also helps with community awareness, as the many investors become vocal advocates for the project, encouraging others to invest so that the project will be successful and their returns will be profitable.

Look forward to

The entrepreneurial spirit will always be a core part of our society. It is what drives innovation, and is a great opportunity for those with big ideas, lots of energy and who are willing to put in the work. With concierge services, it’s promising to see how development teams get more and more ways to help grow their platform, shore up any weaknesses, build a community of investors, and focus on their core innovation above all else.