DHF Investment Idea

killerwot in Rant, Complain, Talk • 14 days ago

Why don't we focus on investing in/ creating real-world businesses?

Hear me out; what if we were to fund users to start up their own businesses and become financially self-sufficient?

I Want To Open A Coffee Shop

I'm currently saving toward it, and have signed up for a start your own business course, so I can get a good idea of the ins and outs of running a shop. I'm also looking into grants that might help with getting a business off the ground.

It will cost somewhere in the ballpark of €20,000 - €30,000 to start it up, and that would be all of the equipment, stock needed and decorating the space. As well as about 6-12 months' rent on the premises.

I would essentially be the only staff member; however, my sister is a barista, and I have some friends who are also baristas, so I would have help if needed from close friends and family.

Having seen the Hive price drop to an all-time low, and having read some posts about the DHF, I'm wondering why we aren't funding people to start businesses that would have a legitimate way of making income and paying back the investment.

The Deal

Let's say the DHF funds a portion of, or all of, the start-up costs associated with starting a business. There could be a contract written up to set a checklist of things that a person needs to do to be eligible for the investment.

Repayments: Nothing in this world is free, so there would be a contract written up before proceeding, which states that 5% or 10% of the profit of the business needs to go back into the DHF to recoup money and reinvest.

Advertise Hive: In the shop, the business owner has to advertise that Hive funded their business, and there could be a QR code for customers to create an account. The staff of the shop could also help customers create an account, if needed.

Use a percentage of their Profits To Power Up Their Account: Because the shop stands as an onboarding platform, the business owner should have an active account with enough HP to delegate to, or upvote/ monitor the people they have onboarded. (Having an active account is also important because they can document the process of starting up their business, and remain transparent with their investors.)

Costumers Could Use Their Hive or HBD: Maybe allow for customers to pay using their earnings on Hive. (I don't know how that would work with tax, but it's something to think about.)

What an idea like this means is that Hive gains recognition for investing in its own user base.

It gains eyeballs and users from members of the public who frequent the particular shop.

It ensures that money is coming in, and Hive is being bought, which would offset sell pressure.

It creates financially self-sufficient individuals who will pay it forward to other Hive users.

If we funded and helped one person set up a semi-successful shop, that's great, and money would come in. But, if after a number of years we had 10 semi-successful businesses, that much money coming back into Hive could completely offset the cost of projects that maybe cannot generate an income.

A shop in Ireland onboarding people would be good. But, a shop here, 2 in England, 3 in America, 4 in Venezuela, etc, would mean that people from across the globe have a chance to discover Hive.

They don't all have to be coffee shops either. I'm using a coffee shop in my example because that's what I want to open.

Secondary Idea: (I just thought of this as I was about to hit publish) Imagine if one of us set up some kind of drink company, and on the bottle or can, we had a QR to create an account for Hive.

I don't know if it would be worth looking into, but it's one way to spread the word.

I actually know a beekeeper, I could set up jars with stickers and get him to bottle and sell it at farmers' markets or something. Hive Honey

...If I set up my coffee shop, I could design the disposable cups to have QR codes on them so that the customer is walking around with an advertisement, and I could sell the honey in my shop, too.

I'm just brainstorming here by myself, but with a few people pitching in ideas, we could be onto something big.

#business #investment #blog #idea #creativecoin #proofofbrain #neoxian #alive #waivio

14 days ago in Rant, Complain, Talk by killerwot

0.00 ALIVE

Sort:

Trending

[-]

alonicus 13 days ago

I like this idea a lot, for three reasons. It promotes Hive and gives it "real world" applications. It can tie in with some of the Hive Dapps which run payments etc (it's a shame Distriator seems to have fallen by the wayside). It is a more useful thing to do with DHF funds.

But now I'm going to play Devil's Advocate. How do we assess the potential businesses ? Hive is notorious for it's user's total blindness to normal business practices, and relying on votes by people who have no idea what a business case is or how to read a P&L is a scary idea. How do we identify and weed out those who just want to rip capital from the DHF and then disappear without trace ? What happens if we fund a business which does it's best but still fails though no fault of their own ? How do we stop the whales from just prioritising their own mates at the expense of ordinary Hivers ?

My first thought was to have smart contracts enabling collateral to be placed in escrow accounts. But if someone has an asset like that, why can't they just liquidate it and use that to fund the business ? For smaller investments, I can see the benefits of a smart contract that enables the DHF to lock in someone's HP or HBD savings so they can't be moved out of HIVE while the debt is still outstanding (but can still use the HP for curation etc).

So overall, I really like this idea, but we'd need to find solutions to ensure it is operated fairly, with low risk to Hive funds and with safeguards against bad actors who'd inevitably see it as a source of free money to take.

0.00 ALIVE

1 vote

[-]

killerwot 13 days ago

I will try and respond to your questions in order,

Assessing a businesses potential would have to be proven by the person who is trying to get it started. They would provide a business plan with data and outlines for the potential profit of their idea.

I'd imagine it would be done similar to Dragons Den, where multiple people listen to the proposal, and decide whether they are satisfied with the persons idea enough to fund it. Really, there should be people in charge of the funding department with a proven track record of running businesses who can mentor and help the person if needed, as a way to ensure the business doesn't go bust.

I would be happily provide personal information of myself, and I think anyone doing this should also have to, if they want to gain funding. Also, so the person doesn't run away, I have an idea. I'm in Ireland, so if I signed a contract with another Hive user from Ireland, who is standing in as a representative of the DHF. Then if I default on the contract, they can take me to court.

Having a stand in from the same country as the business owner, would mean we would have a representative of the DHF in the same country, so it would be easier to take legal action (if ever needed)

If a business goes bust there isn't much fall back, as there wouldn't be in the real world. Because it's in the best interest of Hive to keep the business running, people should be there to help in whatever way they can to stop the business sinking. If it sank, it would just have to be liquidated and any money gained from that would be given directly to the DHF as reimbursement.

There's no way to guarantee whales wouldn't do that, apart from general trust, transparency and responsibility by those with a large stakes.

I was thinking of the money being placed in escrow too, and unlocked as it is required, when it is required, rather than just handing someone a stack of money and wish them luck. In my case, I would need equipment to open, so I could potentially find the things I need, send it to a representative who could then buy and have the items delivered to the shop.

The way I'd personally look at something like this, is, I'd make more money in the long run by running a successful business as opposed to just taking a lump sum and running. I know some people out there could be bad actors though, so funding would have to be granted based on trust and gut feelings. If somebody just shows up on chain with their hand out, it's safe to assume they may be trying to pull a fast one.

The idea of funding startups is thinking outside the box, and is a way to gain a return on investment for our ecosystem here. Crypto sentiment is so low now that it wouldn't be a bad idea to go traditonal, rather than focusing soly on tech alone.

0.00 ALIVE

1 vote

[-]

steevc 13 days ago

The DHF seems to be a bit controversial lately as many people think the money spent is not really helping Hive. Coffee seems to be a common theme as some shops have been persuaded to take crypto via various schemes. The whole marketing thing needs to be re-thought if we want to grow.

Good luck with your business ideas though. It is tough to start out in anything. One of my kids just started a business and is working hard to promote it.

0.00 ALIVE

[-]

killerwot 13 days ago

Yeah, I get where the controversy is coming from as it is extracting a lot and creating a lot of sell pressure, which seems to be lowering the price. We obviously need these projects to get funded, but also need these projects to bring in money and hopefully become self sustaining.

I think funding things like businesses, would be a way to actually bring money into Hive.

At this point, I think marketing Hive isn't a good idea, because if more people come here, there will be more extracting happening, which will lower the price of Hive further.

What we need is a way to monotize what we build, and if we can't we need to fund stuff that can be monotized that can offset the sell pressure and help afford the projects that require funding.

0.00 ALIVE

1 vote

[-]

steevc 13 days ago

So when is a good time to bring people in? There will always be some who just want the money or can't afford to invest.

People have plenty of ideas, but sustaining them is not easy.

0.00 ALIVE

[-]

killerwot 13 days ago

Crypto sentiment is so low now in general, so I don't think any chain is doing particularly well. But, look at the charts, Hive follows every btc dip, but never recovers from it because there is too much selling pressure. Mainly from the DHF, but also from some of our users. If we have 100x the users, there is a larger percentage of people selling their earnings and that just isn't going to help us or the price right now, when we currently have way more sellers than buyers.

With this particular idea, I'm brainstorming ideas to bring money into Hive in the long run. If the frontends and projects being funded could be self suffient and earn money from outside of Hive, it would be great, but since they aren't/ can't we need to think of other ways to bring money in, to offset the cost of projects that cannot be monetized.

0.00 ALIVE

1 vote

[-]

igormuba 12 days ago

Under current market conditions no way. But back then this would have been a much better idea than funding endless on chain projects that lead nowhere. A Hive cafe would have been a million times greater idea than a movie or a race car or most things we have funded in the past.

0.00 ALIVE

[-]

killerwot 12 days ago (edited)

If we can regain composure on chain now, and bring ourselves back from the brink ideas like this can still happen, and would be immensely beneficial for the chain, even just as a way to boost our economy and build on chain to our hearts content.

The best we can do now, is not look back at what could have been different, and look forward to what can be better

0.00 ALIVE

1 vote