Thread by @JuliaLipton

1/ 3 projects I’ve invested in all had big announcements this week: @usebraintrust @SyndicateDAO @xmtp_. They touch on 3 of the most important shifts of our time:
- user-owned networks
- the democratization of finance
- and online identity

2/ Each is a case study. First up, @usebraintrust. Braintrust is a freelancer-owned talent marketplace. They match freelancers with Fortune 1000 companies. Each freelancer owns $BTRST tokens. As the marketplace succeeds the talent shares in the upside.

3/ Freelancers set their rates and Braintrust takes 0% revenue from the talent. Cue @cdixon:

https://twitter.com/cdixon/status/1425645842552086532?s=20

4/ Since there’s no take rate, freelancers have no reason to leave the platform. In fact, freelancers are incentivized to stay and grow the network. They’re rewarded with BTRST tokens for projects and referrals.

5/ In traditional labor marketplaces, like Uber, the labor captures no upside. With Braintrust, the talent both creates and captures the upside. They build wealth alongside the company. Many of the next generation of marketplaces will be user-owned.

6/ The next is @SyndicateDAO. As a customer and investor, this is my favorite project right now. They are bringing investing on chain. In Web2, it's very $$$ and complex to pool money to invest with friends. You have to set up SPVs ($8k), deal with entities, accreditation, etc.

7/ @SyndicateDAO's protocol dramatically reduces the cost to invest with friends. It’s all automated by smart contracts. They also accept UCDC, ETH and allow investors to invest in Web3 assets. This is important to capture alpha.

8/ Imagine telling a tier 1 law firm that you need to pool 10 ETH across friends to make a crypto investment. Your legal setup and distribution costs would be greater than your initial investment. Syndicate is making investing more accessible and flexible.

9/ @SyndicateDAO will power the next big Awesome People project and I could not be more excited to work with @ianIDEO, @WillPapper, and the team. Stay tuned for Awesome People Season 1 👀

10/ Last, but def not least, is @xmtp_. XMTP is building the Web3 communication protocol. It will enable communication between crypto wallets. I still can’t believe this hasn’t been built yet and I’m so happy that @ShaneMac and @mg are on it.

11/ Why is this important? Let’s say you organize a @prtyDAO Partybid. Now you all co-own an NFT together. Today, there's no way to communicate with those people or to just saying gm 🤩

https://twitter.com/packyM/status/1432788469215113219?s=20

12/ More seriously, @xmtp_ will enable communication about security issues, customer support, and notices about protocols, dapps, and more. The use cases are endless and it's worth reading this thread.

https://twitter.com/xmtp_/status/1432748102746771465?s=20

13/ We're still in the dark ages of Web3 and allowing wallets to communicate will help take things to the next level. Very excited about @xmtp_ 🙏 Go team go!