Investor update. September '22.
We are packaging up TIKI's unique data ownership, consent, and monetization technologies into a suite of tools for companies to deliver to consumers.
A lot of you are probably thinking, WTF is this?
We used to run an invite-only Substack for TIKI shareholders and interested parties. Whereas CEO, I would post an update roughly once a month about various business-oriented topics such as traction, market feedback, hiring, etc.
Two things occurred to me when preparing for this update:
Those following our investor substack would find a lot of the content Shane posts on our public Substack helpful/interesting.
We're all about transparency; why are our investor updates private? Answer: lawyers. You have to be more careful when talking publicly about topics like $$$ (👀 SEC).
I can be a bit more careful, and ya'll are adults. Trust-tree. There will be forward-looking statements, things we get wrong, things we change, blah, blah, blah.
I've already ported over many of the blogs from the other Substack; feel free to take a look. It's a fun time capsule. If you want to subscribe/unsubscribe to our Investor specific updates, you can do so in your Substack settings.
Now the good stuff!
My last post was on Aug 4, talking about the results of our blockchain pilot program. 3.5M data NFTs at an astounding 0.00000425 USD average gas fee. I teased that we "cracked" the productization. Specifically, the chicken and egg problem —the classic marketplace dilemma, you need supply (users w/ data) for demand (businesses willing to buy data) to show up, but without demand, you can't get supply.
🥁🥁🥁
SDK. B2B2C. Stripe for the new data economy. It's still new; the exact 1-word answer isn't important. What I mean is, we are packaging up TIKI's unique data ownership, consent, and monetization technologies into a suite of tools for companies to deliver to consumers.
Why? Well, it started with a simple reflection. Data ownership and, more specifically, the lack of a free market for data plagues five billion people. Five billion people are not going to install the TIKI app; five billion people don't want an app.
What they do want is more transparency, control, and compensation for their data. Said another way, people want peace of mind. Or, as I tend to say, they want to stop gettin fucked.
The numbers back it up. When surveyed, 84% of people say they care about data privacy and want more control. Yet, only 32% have ever done anything about it. Tech companies have known this for years; when presented with privacy or convenience, people pick convenience.
So, where does that leave us? Oddly enough, I think it's now a far more "pure play." We always stated the internet is missing a key infrastructure layer, but we were a B2C app company... well now we're a data infrastructure company. Harmony. Focus.
What does this mean for our 125,000 users? Sounds scary, but it's exciting. It means real compensation for your data, very, very soon.
Let me paint a picture of what's to come. One day soon(ish), when you sign up for, say, Netflix, there will be a check box that says "get a 10% discount in exchange for the use and licensing of your watch data." That's the product five billion people want. We're building (have built) the tech to make it possible.
No, we are not getting rid of our app entirely. It becomes a destination for people who want more transparency, more control, more compensation —a place to actively participate in the creation and governance of this new market. It's headed for a complete redesign and will relaunch in a few months.
Right now, we're locked in on launching version 1.0 of the TIKI SDK, which stands for "software development kit." It enables app and web developers to add data ownership, legal consent (on-chain), and data rewards to their existing applications 👨💻🤯.
Companies can build trust with their consumers, access better, cleaner data, and launch cool new features like data discounts, loyalty programs, and NFT-gated features. Users finally get meaningful transparency, control, and compensation without having to change their online behavior.
When I said oddly enough, it's more in line with the initial premise of TIKI, a decentralized free market for data. Well, what's more decentralized and free market than a way for millions of products to offer a bid-ask model for data?
So when does it launch? October 18th is the target.
To help put it in perspective, the first user journey we've built is for IDFA consent. You know those new popups on iPhones that say "ask app not to track." They have an abysmal opt-in rate; estimates are under 20%. Facebook even attributed its $230B loss to the change.
It makes sense; why would anyone opt-in to tracking when they get nothing in return? Soon, in under 30 minutes, any app developer can offer users value in exchange for data.
Read more about IDFA and TIKI's upcoming release:
So ya. Holy shit. Hold on, folks; it's gonna get crazy in the best kind of way.
- mike
A couple of housekeeping items:
How can you help? We're hiring! We have a bunch of open positions; TIKI is scaling fast. So much data. Tell your friends who love data to join us in Nashville! https://angel.co/company/mytiki/jobs
Investment update, we can't announce anything yet (lawyers), but very soon. Big things are in the works; it's going to be so fun to share the news with you all.
StartEngine investors, the first batch of swag/rewards is officially ordered and on its way. If you did not respond to Shane's email about sizing, address, etc. Please do. We apologize for it taking so long! We've been so busy building and increasing the value of your investment —hopefully, why you invested, not just for the T-shirt 😉 (tho they are pretty sweet).
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