Wouldn't it be great to have been able to buy into Microsoft or Apple when they were founded? I have never invested into a startup but, I have worked with a few over the years at different points of their cycle, from friends in their early conceptions to those struggling to go international. But, when people see the success and hear of the angel investors who made a bundle, do they realise the reality?
For the most part, startups are not overnight successes, they take time and effort and a whole lot of development in between having the concept and having a product. There are two risks for the investor here, firstly, will it succeed which is something only time will tell and secondly, do I need this capital anytime soon?
What many people do not realise is that when investing into a start up, the capital seed could be locked up for years, maybe even a decade before a return starts to roll in, if one comes at all. It is not like buying shares where there are dividends paid as there is nothing yet to divide. It is quite a risky venture to lock capital into a project yet to create an income.
This is where the concept of Steem is light years ahead in my opinion as if one were to invest into Steem, it can immediately start providing a return through curation. The return on curation alone is better than most traditional portfolios as it compounds and buys continually into a (hopefully) appreciating currency. But, an investor who invests themselves into creating some decent content and being a part of the community, and those returns become astronomically better.
With every day of curation and posting earnings through being a part of the community, the risk of the investment goes down. Yes, it goes down because the return effectively lessens the investment costs but, being an active part of the community who is interested in the future success of your investment, means that the risk of failure decreases, potential for success goes up. Lessening risk by both reducing investment and raising the chances to succeed, very cool.
Steem is still in the early stages of development and although interest is building, it is a long way from being truly mainstream. This makes buying into Steem a lot like startup investing but, there is another added benefit. The purchase buys more than a claim on future earnings, it buys the ability to direct how the platform grows.
As said, the curation return is good but, what the curation is earned upon is important and should be vitally important to an investor looking for their investment to mature into something much, much larger. Having the ability to vote on and help other people looking to develop the platform is like insurance for success. It is the supporting investor who not only provides capital but the encouragement required for the team to work and grow.
But, those earning also have a chance to invest further and rather than taking all the SBD out to market, they could pick up a little Steem here or there also. Not only will this strengthen their curation and self-voting, it will be a hold coin for the future and the more who are truly interested and supportive, the brighter that future looks.
This may not be possible for all but, it is definitely possible for some. However, even those who need the income from Steemit should remember, this is NOT a viable job for most and shouldn't be seen as such. This doesn't mean one shouldn't spend time trying to make it so though.
I know one millionaire startup entrepreneur who during his first start up, was working a full-time job at a grocery store stacking shelves to make ends meet. It is not uncommon. Even those in the direst of circumstances should remember that not too long ago, Steemit didn't exist yet they survived. Was it pleasant, probably not.
If they consider that and instead of taking all they can, use some to improve their immediate situation, reinvest some of their earnings, spend a little effort producing quality content, comments and interaction and be part of the community, there is a chance that in the not too distant future, Steem can be a viable and more reliable revenue stream and, one where they can help others in their real world communities too.
For those that take all earnings out, when Steem increases significantly in price, not only will your account look similar to it does now but, you will still be in the same situation of struggle. Depending where you live, even fractions of Steem reinvested will likely have a significant impact on you standards of living in the future.
In cases like these, it is possible to be both investor and entrepreneur by using the earnings to invest into a startup environment and working at producing for the same startup. Decent content has a chance to provide both an easing of struggles and the capital to invest a little deeper, as does good comments and worthy engagement activities. Developing an approach and investment philosophy can go a long way to understanding how the platform operates and where it could lead and building the community is of course vital, but I will look at some of that in another post later.
At the end of the day, Steem has the world in front of it and it looks bright, the only thing that is stopping it from really becoming a super power in not only the cryptosphere, but as a full social media contender and financial operator, is our own short-sightedness and unwillingness to invest ourselves into it.
We want all the upside of being in a startup, with none of the down. Those that do not help pull may get some short-term gains but will pay long-term prices as instead of owners, they will be consumers.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
Perhaps someone like @fknmayhem can write a post or give some views on startup investing and how some people here could approach this concept from a more technical standpoint to apply to Steemit.
I agree.
For me it is about being active. It isn't just about dollars, but being sure to engage. I may not see it on a tech level, but I see it on a people level. I believe if you want to make something happen you need to show up. It looks like the growth potential for 2018 looks good and could be life changing for a lot of people....if they keep at it.
You speak about a millionaire that was stocking shelves to get by and then refer to Steemit earning potential. Do you believe it is possible for people on Steemit to become millionaires or just developers?
I hope so. Well, if I look at myself as an example with my current wallet, for it to be worth a million dollars it will need to be around 65 dollars for Steem. I consider myself a person and have nothing to do with the development side but, that price doesn't seem unreachable in the next 2 years through SMTs and onboarding. So yes, I think it is possible.
There are many more similar to me who have kept all in site and will get even bigger results, there are also many like me who have powered everything down to near zero. Everyone has a responsibility over their own actions so if it all collapses, I will pay a price but, for me it worth the risk and, I really love writing here :)
Even if all collapses to STEEM $1, you will make a multiple of what most self-published authors make selling on Kindle and other platforms.
Even for published authors, a $10k pay isn’t always a guarantee either anymore nowadays.
Nice! I'm glad you trust in the platform! I have big hopes foe this year, and it is reassuring to hear others talk so positive.
Steem will become extremely valuable and people who can see this now, at the beginning will become the leaders of a new social networking era. It is a gold mine that has yet to shine. In my short life (27 years) I have never seen a better oportunity than steem. And Steemit as a platform is such a marvelous idea that it can't fail. Community here is astonishing, people from all over the world, no corporate rats as in facebook, instagram, etc. It has to succeed. We will watch it rise from the first row my friend. Great post! We need to inform all the people that didn't partake in the community yet.
almost 40 and for me I have the same experience. It takes a lot of work but I am willing and wish I could always do a little more.
That is correct. Me too, it is not like I don't try. I have high ambitions and I wish I could do a little more too. We will succeed, trust me!
The downside is that you're not investing into steemit, you're investing into steem. Steem being something that could in theory become worthless while steemit maintaining its value. That scenario is highly unlikely, but it is still an important consideration. However, with steem your time is actually a more worthwhile investment than your money. Since by putting your time into it, you provide volume to the currency, not in the form of trading but in the form of attention. Attention then will transform into something, or won't. Personally I hope it will transform steemit into something that isn't quite so unpredictable. There is some form of culture, but is hard to grasp.
I think you mean that steem can maintain its value while Steemit may collapse but yes. The time that goes into Steemit is worthwhile for building the platform but, it is the mining aspect that creates the value. Lots of exciting (potentially nerve wracking) times ahead :)
Actually what I mean is that either way can happen. Like I said, it is very unlikely that steemit would maintain its value when steem collapses (steemit is a business). Also steem could survive the fall of steemit.
I honestly feel that the SMT's can bring a a sizable addition to the demand for Steem. So much Steem is tied up in SteemPower that there is actually very little liquid tradable Steem compared to the total Steem.
This makes Steem unique in that nearly 200 million Steem is locked up in SteemPower of the 265 million total Steem (rounded numbers).
That is about 75% of Steem that can't be sold tomorrow if the price jumps to $100.
That is also 75% of Steem that can't be purchased for SMT's if they take off which means any increase in demand will have a magnified effect on the price of Steem.
My SBD earned on Steemit will be reinvested into the plateform to grow my account, but I also own liquid Steem to make sure I'm in a position to capitalize on any spikes in price.
Everyone just needs to remember Steem is not Steemit.
Exactly :)
Thanks for your article, I found it super interesting! :)
When I saw Steemit for the first time I immediately understood the huge potential of this platform. Rewarding good content changes the game.
I just wrote an article on 2017 Unicorns and maybe you can add something useful thanks to your long experience! @tarazkp
You are right we are at very early stages of steem, it is best time to invest in steem. There is risk in startup but i'm pretty sure steem is far away from any risk.
The devs have done a great job with the technology.
In my opinion the biggest risk for Steem is the mindset of the crowd. The crowd decided who get's the biggest portion of the reward pool.
So the future of Steem is in the hands of the community (Or the people who hold the most Steem).
yes steem is great. i love it
Steemit will be big. Just keep investing volks!
I agree with you till the end. The writing is long and very descriptive.
Although Steem is a very new platform, it is growing and growing very fast. I hope that it will be a populer platform like Facebook, İnstagram in the future. Steem and SBD can see very high levels in the future :)
@tarazkp
yes actually and i thing steem will have a bright future that why we shoud invest into steem
great information and talking in crypto-news.
Useful and informative post thank you dear friend @tarazkp
thank for sharing infrmation bro...
great post...
very interisting... good job my friend..
I had always a doubt about investing in steemit because i am afraid that who knows if my country would ban crypto currency some day. Can anyone help me clear this doubt ?
nope. same in all countries really.
yeah !! I understand.
The banks and the countries are afraid of losing their control = fiat, but it´s probably too late, too many people have already invested in the crithographic currencies, if they got banned now, the population would be very angry, what is probably going to happen is, just like the dotcom bubble, sooner or later will burst, and only a few coins will survive, the ones that survive will be the next "amazon", "google", "ebay", etc ...
Great information thks..
i like your content. your writing hand is good.
awesome photography.
its a uncommon and mindbloing post....you think best word for this post.... carry on... i waiting for your next post...
Steem is the future of social platforms. Its still a puppy, and I'm happy for discovering it this early
Really interesting. I´m still not sure if I should invest or not.
How much do you think one should invest to start compounding?
Never more than you are willing to lose. check the top comment for some different views though.