By Richard and Gerard
Today we celebrate our second birthday. Anniversaries in the start-up world are a bit like celebrating dog-years. They say that the first year of a dog’s life is equal to 15 human years, and the second year is equal to about 9 human years. As founders, sometimes it actually feels that way. That said, we are extremely happy about where we are today, very excited about our journey ahead and confident of our destination. As we look back on the last 12-months, let us share a few personal reflections.
Acceleration of tokenisation
We always thought the digital tokenisation of assets would happen. But even so, the accelerated pace of adoption over the last year has surprised us. Industry luminaries such as Larry Fink of Blackrock (“tokenization of every asset”) and power-house consultancy McKinsey (article) point to the enormous opportunity of tokenising not just financial assets but real-world ones too. Instantaneous settlement, reduced fees, reduced costs, enhanced transparency and smarter management of the trading lifecycle are some of the benefits we expect to see as we move forward towards a tokenised world.
Of course, we think Tokenovate is well placed to support and drive this transition, and our unique approach to ledger design and smart contract solutions is gaining market traction. We know we cannot do it alone, which is why we are building and participating in the creation of specific industry cohorts, who together can deliver value for all.
Flexibility in development
One of the many challenges founders face at the early days of a start-up journey is to remain flexible in development yet steady in the direction. Over the last year we have grown the team considerably. We took the decision to keep core competences in-house and augment our delivery capacity with external resources. We are pleased to say that it has worked really well! Not only have we found available and appropriate talent fast, we have also created a community of like-minded companies that when combined result in a sum larger than the individual parts.
The prioritisation of cross-team tasks can be hard, especially if market feedback or regulations for example pulls you in different directions. We’ve invested a lot of time and effort into building an operational model that drives execution excellence. Still, there are times when gut and instinct should influence your decisions, but ideally only if the picture of your context is clear.
An open mindset
Our goal as founders is not only to build a great product, it’s also to build a great company. We’re fortunate enough to be ‘corporate veterans’, who know what ‘good’ looks like. However, it is inevitable that you along the journey will be faced with making hard decisions, and be lured towards settling for short-term solutions. This is not what we want. This is not what we do. We are not afraid of looking beyond the ‘here and now’, into the future. And it’s why we work hard to foster an open mindset within Tokenovate, where curious minds and offbeat ideas can meet and flourish.
Future?
Last year, we wondered where we would be in 12-months time. Well, now we know. But the question remains the same today: where will we be next year? What will the world look like then? Who knows. One thing’s for sure though: our goal and absolute desire to drive Tokenovate forward towards a successful commercial journey, by being collaborative, customer and solutions oriented remains intact. On that journey we also want to stand by our values and people, and create an inspiring and progressive workplace.
Here’s to the next 12-months!
