Talk is cheap on web2 platforms. Trolls, baseless opinions, and unsolicited recommendations thrive because there is little social cost for being annoying, or just plain wrong. But what would social platforms look like if everyone’s actual reputations were on the line? Nir Kabessa is exploring this question through his company Yup—a tokenized social network where users can earn money and clout for their taste. Through tokens, Yup incentivizes content curation across the web. It is a social platform where everyone has reputational skin in the game. Nir’s insights are extremely valuable because he has already built a product that has integrated tokens in the user experience. He also happens to be one of our favorite thinkers when it comes to building sustainable tokenized businesses. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!

If you work in the music industry you’ve probably heard of Water & Music. Founded by writer and researcher Cherie Hu, it is considered one of the most influential independent voices in music business journalism. Today, Water and Music is structured as a research DAO. But just 9 months ago, it was a paid newsletter and community—a web2 subscription business. How did Cherie transform it into a thriving research DAO? In this episode of TBH, we chatted with her to find out! We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

Nowadays, it seems like everyone is launching a token. Creators and companies think of a token-launch as a quick way to generate some buzz and monetize their existing community. As founders ourselves, we’d be lying if we said we haven’t considered it too. However, this approach is shortsighted. Just launching a token may generate short-term hype and revenue, but almost never (by itself) leads to long-term commercial success. Building a sustainable token-based business means exploring monetization models that go beyond the token launch itself. But what does that look like? In this episode, we spoke to someone who has been exploring this question for quite some time: Tom Tirman, the co-founder of PARSIQ—which is often referred to as the “Zapier for blockchains." Tom is also the co-founder of IQ Protocol—a DeFi framework for renting wrapped expirable versions of digital assets. His experience building these web3 products along with his experience in the traditional finance world give him an insightful perspective on token-based business models. If you’re a founder or creator who wants to understand how you can build a sustainable business through tokens, this episode is for you. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!

Building and operating communities is hard. Building and operating tokenized communities is even harder. How do you know when to launch your token? How hard is it? What drives its value? Should it be a financial asset or should it have utility? Maybe both? For our first ever episode, we are joined by a guest who helps us answer all these questions. We spoke to Coinvise Founder Jennil Thakker, who has been thinking very deeply about how to build and operate valuable tokenized communities. Jenil has a front-row seat to the exciting potential of collective value creation for creators and communities. He also walks the talk. He has created a personal token designed to reward people that add value to his life. For example: if you give Coinvise a shoutout on Twitter, you can earn 500 $JENIL—which can then be redeemed for a book of your choice. Jennil was the perfect guest to help us understand what makes tokenized communities click, and what makes them flop. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!