3 people your blockchain product needs to address
By: Nicholas Ng
Tags: Blockchain, Product Management, Technology, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency

So who are the real blockchain/crypto users and how are they different from the early users of the Internet? We see 3 distinct categories:

Enthusiasts

Who are they: These are your blockchain academics, non-FUD/FOMO-Redditors, really early adopters, ETH/EOS-chain gamers, folks who were mining Bitcoin in their school dorms even before we’ve heard of it.

What are their needs: Show me the coolest and latest blockchain tech so that I can build cool stuff with it and change the world.

Successful product examples: Ethereum, Cryptokitties, epic whitepapers, Dai and people who actually use BTC for daily transactions.

They were there during the .com bubble too. Schools were trying to expose kids to the Internet and computer productivity (I recall using Novell Netware, Netscape, Encarta and Corel), some of these enthusiasts went on to become entrepreneurs (Marc Andreessen and Elon Musk) and emerged from .com bubble to become the thought leaders and investors of the modern Internet.

Speculators

Who are they: These are your FUD/FOMO guys on Telegram groups, crypto-trading bot creators, pump-and-dump group organisers, dude with over 50 trading accounts, and that friend who told you to get into that Tron ICO.

What are their needs: Show me how I can make the most money in the shortest time.

Successful product examples: Crypto-exchanges, easy fiat-to-crypto onramps, ICO/IEO platforms, leveraged crypto products and tools like TradingView and Cryptohopper.

An obvious difference between Internet and crypto startups is just how easy it is to back them this time. Because tokenisation is the very nature of crypto, crypto startups are designed for fundraising from the ground up, readily accessible to anyone with the tiniest bit of crypto to make a return – a contrast to the .com era where this was exclusive to VCs.

The Bobs

Who are they: Bob has probably heard of Bitcoin from mainstream media or his tech friends, or maybe he hasn’t heard of it at all. Either way, he doesn't own any crypto because he doesn't understand it and/or doesn’t see how it’s relevant to his daily life.

What are their needs: Bob is pretty used to his life is without crypto or blockchain. But Bob may be living in hyperinflated Venezuela where Bitcoin could be a more stable value store. Bob could also be from Bangladesh working abroad where he is paying exorbitant remittance fees to wire money back home. Or Bob could be a humanitarian donor who wants to give more but is concerned if his money would actually reach intended recipients. In all these cases, the product has to do 2 things. First, demonstrate itself to be a useful and relevant solution to each of these problems. Second, identify, reach and communicate to the people facing these issues.

Successful product examples: This is the real challenge for everyone in the blockchain space. There is only one real winner here: Bitcoin. This single word is the answer to a stable value store, frictionless remittance and transparent donations. While I’m confident there are more to come, my gut feel is that for more of these to really take off, we are going to need some form of government or institution involvement, which is what we are seeing now with regulations and more financial institutions jumping on board – all encouraging signs of a maturing space.