Blockchain isn’t market ready yet.
That’s why you should start innovating with it now.
The VC business is about identifying brilliant people to translate disruptive technology into products that impact the world. This occurs in three phases:
- approaching-science-fiction
- applied science
- business utility
Every few years a novel, disruptive technology or invention presents incredible potential to deliver 100X value to customers. Some examples over the last 30 years include: microprocessor, gene sequencing, the Internet and wireless data transmission. These inventions are disruptive in the sense that they completely change the competitive landscape and crush barriers to competition erected by large, established corporations. The new products enabled by these technologies deliver features and value so vastly different from the status quo that products assembled before the tech aren’t even valid competition. Literally, the world is not the same once these technologies are commercialized and brought to market
However, these new technologies require new ways of thinking and new vocabulary to describe them. Entrepreneurs must understand the technology and envision how it can be used to deliver value to customers. If the tech doesn’t make your head hurt while scaring and thrilling you… it probably isn’t a truly disruptive technology.
Blockchain, scary and thrilling at the same time, is a truly disruptive technology.
Five years from now, our society will look back on 2018 as the year blockchain technology “broke out” and began to change the world. Of course, there are challenges in translating blockchain technology into valuable products, but do not think for a moment that will stop the disruption. All novel disruptive technology is clunky, slow and fraught with challenges while it is translated from almost-science-fiction to applied science and ultimately into business utility. If you are as old as I am, you remember your first internet modem… 14.4 bps over the existing phone lines. Hard to imagine today. Still it was vastly better to look up information on the old baud modem than driving down to your local library and using a card catalog to find the necessary book.
Jump in now:
Blockchain is in this emerging, translation process – it’s not yet fully commercialized. So, if you are looking for market-ready products – sorry. You’ll have to wait 12-18 months at least. BUT, if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, now is the time. Jump in and help the rest of us create the future. Yes, there are others in the space, but this is the opportunity of our times. There are plenty of established industries to massively disrupt.
Learn about smart contracts, hashing, and DAOs and DAPPs. It will stretch your brain, but that isn’t a bad thing. In fact, brain-stretching is the first step. Then, the second step is to allow customer needs to inspire you. Envision how you can combine this new technology to deliver 100X better products and services to customers. Slightly better products are not worth the effort – Blockchain should be harnessed to deliver incredible benefit to whatever market you choose to delight.
Photo by William Bout on Unsplash
Our focus – Health:
The Healthcare industry is sick. We all know it. Incentives are misaligned. Care decisions are made far away from the actual patient. Chronic disease is bringing pain and suffering to over 100 Million Americans daily. Cost is out of control and the US is losing ground in terms of health outcomes. Forty-eight other countries across the globe have longer life expectancy and higher health quality scores than we do.
Americans want to be #1 in everything… well in healthcare we spend the most money to barely squeeze into the top 50. The establishment doesn’t seem to have any answers. Large, inefficient bureaucracies are trying to solve the issue by merging and creating bigger, more dysfunctional corporations. This may be profitable for Wall Street and the executives, but it won’t help any real people, or our economy.
Four years ago, Jumpstart “jumped in” to tackle these issues. We believe health is a human right. Furthermore, we are optimistic that innovation will dramatically improve outcomes AND reduce costs for everyone. We believe we can Make Something Better. We are the most active venture fund in health innovation in the US. We have made 48 health investments from across the country. We also collect more data and catalog more inventors, entrepreneurs and start-ups than anyone, and we plan to make 18-25 additional early-stage investments next year.
What we’re doing and how you can join:
Jumpstart has been actively investing in blockchain healthcare entrepreneurs. We understand the power of the ICO market know just how hugely beneficial non-dilutive capital can be. However, we also believe that USD can be valuable in the early phases of launching a new business. We look for “all of the above” solutions in health. From this point of view, Jumpstart made one blockchain investment in 2016. This grew to two investments in 2017. We plan to make 4-8 new investments in 2018. It will be fun (and profitable) to be a part of blockchain emerging into the mainstream.
Jumpstart is focused on translating innovation to the health market to drive better outcomes at lower prices. Join us. Bring blockchain to the masses to improve health for our society. Or find another market that inspires you. Either way, wake up and learn about the power of blockchain technology. It will change your worldview and help you make a positive impact on society.
By Vic Gatto, CEO and Co-founder of Jumpstart Foundry
