As the bear market of 2023 unfolds, the market is filled with tokens and projects on life support fighting to survive or retain value. Many of these projects, products and platforms differ from Web2 companies. They do not have focused teams to drive product-market fit (PMF). They use levers like incentives, tokens and a movement-centered approach to branding.
Web3 platforms can begin their product-market fit journey with the distribution of utility tokens via airdrops or bounties creating a community-operated workforce. Permissionless product innovation, leaderless movements (e.g., Bitcoin) and faceless branding are more nuanced than Web2 traditionalists would care to understand.
Six phases to PMF
There are six broad and overlapping phases to achieve product-market fit, with key outcomes being the desirability, viability and economic feasibility of the product. These six phases must be well-understood, executed, measured and incentivized correctly.
aşamalı ademi merkeziyetçilik
Bu bir dönem Andreessen Horowitz tarafından icat edildi ve üç aşamadan bahsediyor: ürünün kurucu ekip tarafından kontrol edildiği sırada bile doğru ilk kullanıcıları çekerek ürün-pazar uyumu, onları bir topluluğa dönüştürerek daha fazla kullanıcıyı teşvik etme ve sonunda operasyonel kontrol ve karar verme topluma yapmak.
This is the first stage of the PMF. Attract the right community and scale slowly to decentralize as you continue to bring in more of the right folks. This is the antithesis of the community built via ICOs where a bunch of speculators bought into a project and community that could be several degrees off a real fit. A compelling idea must be translated into a compelling vision and execution in the open market to have the right folks rallying behind it.
Utility establishment
Discovering and establishing utility takes time, experimentation and an iterative process. Early community members prototype use cases and dApps and engineer some utility into the tokens, driving initial growth. When platforms, products or protocols emerge from the early stages, foundational elements of utility must prove themselves (e.g., locking resources, capital and throughput into the token ecosystem). This is a critical step to make sure the PMF is underway.
These can be measured through various KPIs such as total value locked, developer activity, etc. The liquidity and reliability of the base platform are determined through some of these key metrics. Then, more users are attracted to the narrative, liquidity, reliability, growth and robustness of the base platform, establishing multiple utilities and ensuring a common goal to enhance it. The utility establishment phase also cements community participation — a critical step without which the token will not gain momentum.
Geleceği dönüştürebileceğiniz topluluğa katılın. Cointelegraph Innovation Circle, blockchain teknoloji liderlerini bağlantı kurmak, işbirliği yapmak ve yayınlamak için bir araya getiriyor. Bugün başvur
Utility momentum
Once the utility is established, it needs to be accelerated. For example, expanded uses cases such as collateralization, flash loans, burning, etc., through adding vectors of token programmability. Many protocols and platforms do not cross into this momentum phase of the PMF. Some have activated a variety of momentum vectors (e.g., DeFi, gaming, DAOs, etc.), attracting different types of developers who can add multifaceted programmability and utilities for adding momentum.
DeFi and dApp building has shown the ability to drive momentum in growing stablecoins, automated market makers, lending protocols, etc. A more composable infrastructure and platform layer must drive momentum. Raw protocols seldom get here and Ethereum is a notable exception.
Network effect alpha (Metcalfe’s Law)
Network effects are the moat of any platform or protocol; they güçlendirmek and accelerate functionalities around the thesis and narratives. Network effects (Metcalfe’s Law) such as more users and more usage — and more usage results in more users requiring a lot of work. For users and usage to thrive, one needs additional tools such as exchanges, wallets, media and projects built on the base platform or protocol. This enriches the established token momentum and provides value for it.
Network effect beta (Reed’s Law)
A strong foundational narrative and functionality will create a thriving ecosystem to manifest Metcalfe’s Law, but if the ecosystem’s value is compelling, they spawn their own ecosystems — unfolding Reed’s Law. Once Reed’s Law has reached a critical mass, it is a formidable competitive strength and difficult for competing protocols to dislodge.
Ethereum produced the base Metcalfe’s Law but its ecosystem players like Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, etc., have spawned their own compelling ecosystems and created Reed’s Law. As these ecosystems scale further, we could see exponential value accrue to the base protocol. As more ecosystems lock themselves on the base platform, the beta network effect adds unshakable stickiness — the epitome of PMF in Web3.
The economic flywheel
Metcalfe ve Reed yasalarının gücü bir kez bir araya geldiğinde, platform veya protokol için katlanarak büyüme sağlayabilen ekonomik çarkı harekete geçirir. Topluluk ve ekosistemler (dApp geliştirme, pazarlama, çekirdek geliştirme vb.)
All prior steps must be executed well, and the incentives of all participants must be aligned. Use cases like trading cards can go viral once a platform has achieved this level of PMF. They become powerful mechanisms to attract and retain capital within ecosystems while creating more venues to trade and expand user bases on top of people who can already play with each other. Launching use cases like these on platforms even at the Network Alpha or Network Beta phase of the PMF is left to chance. You’re likely to encounter much less risk when launching at the flywheel stage.
Sonuç düşünceleri
The concept of Web3 product-market fit is crucial for the success of decentralized applications and platforms in the Web3 ecosystem. Achieving a strong product-market fit means understanding the needs and desires of the target market and delivering a product that satisfies those needs effectively. This requires an in-depth understanding of platforms, network effects, participants, their needs and the right incentives.
Nitin Kumar is a growth CEO and co-founder at z blokları. He is a recognized leader, author, former consulting partner and VC investor.
Bu makale, bağlantıların, işbirliğinin ve düşünce liderliğinin gücüyle geleceği inşa eden blockchain teknolojisi endüstrisindeki üst düzey yöneticiler ve uzmanların incelenmiş bir organizasyonu olan Cointelegraph Innovation Circle aracılığıyla yayınlandı. İfade edilen görüşler mutlaka Cointelegraph'ın görüşlerini yansıtmaz.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/innovation-circle/the-six-phases-to-product-market-fit-in-web3