Ecosquared is On The Runway

Here’s the skinny on Eco2 progress:

• High-fidelity mockup complete — https://invis.io/4ZCYPF8DQ#/247822505_Log_In
• Coders have implemented Phase 1 only two days behind schedule.
• Uni Lecturer has produced first model of data analysis, using dummy data of course.
• Trip to Finland was outrageous, more below.
• Two founding investors secured — one more needed!

So here we are, on the runway, powering along, but we will not get off the ground by end of September and we need another angel! So, if you are in a hurry, skip to the end if you want to help. If you’re not in a hurry, put on some stirring music and enjoy the journey.

High-Fidelity Mockup

90% complete with still a few thing to clean up, but all the graphics have been done, ready for the coders. Mark the UX Designer has done a good job, minimal style, bare-bones functionality. It is designed in such a way that it can be extended easily; there’s a lot of modules which are in the pipeline! But, first things first — delivering an operational tool that delivers Gift Mechanism and Gratitude Engine. Do you like it?

Build B

Phase 1 has seen server set up, login, captcha, web-app summary screen, and admin panel. Phase 2 is user bundle which will be completed mid-September. Phase 3 is Product Bundle for mid-October.

We have two coders Denis & Vlad, a Project Manager Kostya, and head-honcho Tim who is in charge of coding commits. They are two days behind their estimate, and are hoping to catch up in the next phase. They are transparent in their work, sharing code repository on BitBucket, Trello project management board, and the experimental web-app itself.

Data-Analysis Model

We have attracted the attention of a bright & young Uni Doc who has seen something in Ecosquared he hasn’t seen elsewhere. He’s built a Java project, created some dummy data of course, and produced a first model of Ecosquared. Here’s what he says:

…people with good connectivity, many thanks across projects, etc., are social and brandable people [sic]. It is ideal for finding brand ambassadors.

We plan to offer our users a graphic view of gift dispersals, as well as a gratitude ‘heat-map’ within a project. Doc Johannes is aiming to provide a second-order analysis of multiple products, as well as begin the journey of relating values between people and products and their dispersal patterns. Buzz me if you want to see.

Finland “Ship Festival”

Ecosquared won a trip to Ship Festival in Finland. It was wild. Think Web Summit, but organised by students — and for all its failings, far better for it. We met the originator, Jouni, who introduced us to several sponsors including Mikko from Google, and his fellow co-founders who are building a university for the next millennium.

Everyone knows that Finland is streaks ahead in the education global ranking, but its not just their aspirations in education that are being pushed forwards — they are all crazy! The sponsor for Finland Co-op Bank outlined how they are investing in crowd-funding, car-sharing, alternative insurance tech, meanwhile offering traditional packages to the mainstream public. Where all most articles we read are about change in tech, they are implementing the change. Why? Because their local government appears to be in over-drive: local solutions with a global perspective. They are doing some remarkable things in Finland.

On the ground, I met with several startups who love Ecosquared eg Kasper who is developing a world-first Xbox-quality-games-delivered-through-your-browser startup. Ecosquared seems like a no-brainer for him. He faces the same problem Ecosquared has met with: ‘received wisdom’ that you have to sell, market your product. Ecosquared reverses the relationship, enabling users to pull products through the market while generating revenue, continuously.

Also met with several high quality players: Olli, Santiago, Habib, Franck, Mounir. Pleasure meeting them all. Olli has been very proactive, suggesting a pivot when faced with financing Build B. He also emphasised a latent business model which a friend Luke has suggested which can revolutionise the recruitment industry. In fact, its a missing piece in the crowd-sourcing problem. Want to know more?

Investors, Runways, and Getting Off the Ground…

We were originally going to run three 2-week sprints with a Cambridge-coder working at £500/day. He went AWOL — thankfully before we paid him a penny — and we’ve gone back to my Ukrainian coding partner who has taken on the job: two coders at $200/day each. Despite being cheaper, the run is longer, and so it is going to exceed budget — which means we need additional £k’s before end of September or else we run out of runway.

We have several soft-launch partners, two paying. One is a Hackathon set up by Perth & Kinross Council in Scotland, a launch event for the Accelerator they are creating. We’ll miss the Hackathon, but they are bringing us in for their first Accelerator cohort. We’ve already started to see the lid being taken off the accelerator racket, lack of returns, etc, so Finlay who is behind the P&KC Accelerator is keen to a system which shows how they actually service needs, providing essential feedback for the council. Ecosquared not only provides valued feedback, but it also provides a feedforward tool in the shape of revenue-generation — for any digital content. From push to pull — that’s front-wheel drive economics!

So, here’s the ask: we are seeking small-scale investors, or soft-launch partners who can commit a portion of their ‘marketing’ budget on our USP ‘marketing tool’? Know anyone?

Wait — why are we doing all this?

While everyone and their dog is on the current fintech wagons — either blockchain bubble, trading apps or internet-only banks — Ecosquared is undercutting the entire economic system. Quietly. In the background.

If we are right, our platform provides users with a completely new set of economic tools; replacing our 3000 year old tech based on transaction with a better mechanic suited for the next three millennia. Tired of the endless cycle of buying and selling, the volatility of markets, and all the fighting for a fair contract? Instead, our users can generate revenue and distribute virally any digital content — without advertising. And track intangibles for a meritocratic redistribution of wealth. In the end, money no longer is a means of transaction and operates more like a vote. Say hello to Ecosquared Credits.

If we are “on the money”, users will convert money into Credits because Credits are more powerful. If our web-app is good enough — our platform will fulfil its potential as a viral engine. With engaged users and proven use-cases (like monetising our favourite articles here on Medium), Ecosquared could well turn out to be the fastest growing company in history, and set the tone for all companies to come: if what you are producing is actually valuable, growth should be measurable in days and weeks not years and decades. Its no longer a game about money and capital, but credit and attention.

If all this comes to pass, our founding investors will receive 100x ROI or more, and we intend to reward our early adopters with similar returns. It’s not a claim, sales pitch, or positive-thinking. Just depends on one thing — the quality of their attention. That is, what is the value of your attention?