https://www.discovery-studios.com/

Takeaways:

Creators are often locked out of ownership.

“We just need to completely reconfigure how ownership works in order for other people to be able to participate in the first place.”

While teaching a course on angel investing, Li was disappointed to hear that creators are rarely in a position to invest. And if they can’t invest, they don’t reap the rewards of their creative output. They end up missing out on the value that they themselves created. It’s essential to give creators more ownership and wider investment access to the platforms that are growing as a result of the work they’re publishing there.

Investors need to be human.

“I believe the new currency of leadership is authenticity and vulnerability.”

When seeking capital, founders are looking for authentic investors. Empathy and passion are becoming more attractive than dominance and power. Not only do founders want to see their mission resonate with funders, they want to see funders with their own mission.

Venture capital won’t always be the answer.

“I think the future of VC is like a world in which venture capital doesn’t exist.”

Bold words coming from a fund manager, at first glance. But Li Jin’s primary motivation is to give individuals the same investment power as venture capitalists. She believes anyone with knowledge or insight should be able to have skin in the game. Emerging technology will play a key role.

NFTs are shaking up VC.

“A lot of founders building projects right now in the NFT space… They don’t raise capital from VCs.”

Minting and selling NFTs is quickly becoming the new way to fund projects. Now someone with a vision just needs a supportive community. But unlike the Kickstarter model, the NFT (or individual investment) can become more valuable if the project succeeds. This flips the fundraising game on its head.

Crypto is the future of community.

“…beyond just straight up monetization, like selling one thing to another person, you’re seeing them as the building blocks of new internet communities.”

Li firmly believes that blockchain-based assets will be responsible for forming the future of social networks. NFTs are creating new communities based on proven interests and assets — a much stronger connection than just hitting a like or subscribe button.

To get the full story from Li Jin, listen to her episode of The Creator Economy Podcast here:

LISTEN

https://www.discovery-studios.com/