GZV #37: Tik Tok Famous Fintech Startup + Bitclout
Buy my coin.
Welcome to all of our new subscribers! If you ever want my opinion or thoughts on something associated with Gen Z, just shoot me an email.
Let me introduce you to Grifin…
Website:
https://www.grifin.com
Famous Tik-tok with 14.4 million views (is that good?)
Problem:
I’ve found getting the average Gen Z’er to invest is difficult. Some figure it out and open up a Robinhood account, but most are too intimidated by the process.
Solution:
“Grifin connects to your bank, credit and debit card and turns your transactions into investments. The app allows users to automatically start investing through their everyday purchases $1 of stock at a time.”
Gen Z View:
Personally, I am a big advocate for the investing strategy of “buy what you know”, it makes investing simple and beginner investors can understand what they are investing in.
This product does the investing for it’s users, this helps remove the intimidation factor of getting started in the market.
$1 isn’t a lot to Gen Z, that is a number we can swallow when we make purchases.
Some more:
After the viral Tik Tok there were too many signs ups on the app for the servers to handle, which is never a bad thing!
They also skyrocketed to #11 in all of the App Store.
Fundraising?
Do not believe so. There most recent round was a seed in 2019.
Want to buy my coin? Bitclout.
Today, the password for Bitclout.com was a removed and anyone was able to access the platform. Bitclout deems itself as the Crypto social network where everyone has their own coin (My coin is worth $0.82!!!). The more people that buy your coin, the more the coin goes up in value. On top of this, there is a twitter-like social platform where users can post.
There are several high-caliber investors backing this project including, “Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Winklevoss Capital and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian” (Crunchbase Article).
Homerun
In my mind, this has a big chance to be a home run if executed properly. Social media networks for years now have been getting scrutiny for their data selling and ad revenue ways. Bitclout finally opens the door for what the future could look like in a blockchain centered world.
The main concern I would have right now is adoption by the masses and the product. The product right now, is low caliber and not ready for the masses yet. With that said, it goes without saying that the team and the capital behind the company will have the power to make this into a kick-ass product that can lure in the masses.
The Product
What did you think I was going to say it was a low caliber product and not explain why? Give me a break. At first glance, the website looks a little sketchy and I was questioning sending bitcoin to the platform. The UI/UX is only inviting for early adopters and innovators, the early majority is likely to get deferred by this tech-centric approach to social media. (I am referring to the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. Check it out here)
The Algos
After you build a kick-ass product with a great UI/UX, I think it is vital to have some great social algorithms. In my mind, imagine if Twitter had a baby with Tik Tok’s algorithm. Tik Tok has 83% of its users create content. This is an astounding number, and its the result of an algorithm that allows anyone to get famous if they make great content. Same principle can apply here, make it so everyone can have their “market cap” explode. This will allow for more user generated content and engagement.
It is a very interesting company overall and I am excited to see where it goes!
Cheers!
- Tom