Gary Coover: Designing a Sustainable Token Economy - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.79]

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Gary Coover. Gary spent 8 years building Samsung’s innovation arm, Samsung Next, before he was drawn into the Web3 world. Today, he is the Chief Operating Officer of Superlayer, a venture studio focused on building Crypto startups. We start this conversation by analyzing what went wrong in the industry over the past 2 years, and why Gary advocates “Burying the Rails”. We then talk about Superlayer’s attempt to build an economically sustainable and inflation-resistant token model within their products, Hotline and Trophy. Please enjoy my conversation with Gary Coover.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

(00:01:35) - (First question) - Things he got wrong while trying to launch his new business

(00:03:27) - His view on NBATopShots as an inflation failure versus a crypto failure

(00:05:48) - How his businesses differ from previously attempted token based companies 

(00:09:50) - Determining whether a founders business in capable of tokenization

(00:11:54) - He tells us why a token is necessary for these businesses to be successful

(00:13:52) - Examples of returning value to the wrong group of people

(00:18:32) - He explains how users pay for content on the platform

(00:19:33) - Using tokens for in platform purchases instead of centralized currency

(00:21:18) - How the inflation economics work behind the token model

(00:22:58) - Handling content on the platform that is deemed illegal or unethical 

(00:24:40) - Developing trust with creators that feel jaded from the past 

(00:27:00) - How he sees the business developing from a tokenless model to one with tokens

(00:28:46) - How he approaches building the right tokenized economic structure

(00:30:41) - The ability to charge by preference in either tokens or dollars

(00:32:58) - Pros and cons of not having control over market volatility 

(00:34:49) - Which of his companies are currently using token based currency

(00:37:48) - A look back at things he is proud he got right and still believes in

(00:40:28) - What he sees in the space today that gets him excited

(00:42:11) - What he is most excited to build over the next six months and six years

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