Web3 community / token community
Build a token-backed community (DAO, NFT, or social token) monetized via token sale, treasury, and fees.
The idea, in plain language
Build a token-backed community (DAO, NFT project, or social token) monetised via token sale, treasury, and ongoing fees. Videos cite Friends With Benefits as the canonical token-backed community; ConstitutionDAO's crowdfunded Constitution bid as a treasury play; Sam's Hampton executive community (the $8-month build, now a Soho-House-style paid virtual office); VeeFriends / VeeCon tiered NFT access; Soho House going public as a non-Web3 community-business benchmark; Gary Vee's 'buy and grow existing brands' thesis; AppLovin's $20B rise and DeFi borrowing as adjacent context; BitClout/Deso's creator-coin model; Alexis Ohanian's 'minimum viable community' pitch and DAO framework; Karat's creator banking; Arkive's museum-on-chain earning-vs-buying model; and the X-Games-DAO brainstorm. Customers are members buying access, speculators buying tokens, and brands buying sponsorships. Startup cost is community seeding and a token contract; the wedge is the first 100 members and a clear thesis.
Where the sources agree
- Community business is the moat; the token (if any) is a coordination layer, not the product.
- Membership economics beat token economics for steady revenue — Hampton, Soho House, VeeFriends and Bored Ape all monetise access first.
- Web3 framing is now 'abstract the wallet' — most successful communities hide onramps and emphasise utility, not speculation.
- Operator credibility drives sign-ups: founders who already have audience or thesis convert community sign-ups far faster than pure-token launches.
Where they differ
- My First Million dominates (7 of 14): Dharmesh Shah on Hampton + vector-embedding SaaS, Friends With Benefits + Soho House public community thesis, Sam's 8-month Hampton build, VeeFriends NFT-as-community-asset model, the 2022 crypto business brainstorm, Nader Al-Naji on Deso/BitClout and anonymous founder launching, and AppLovin's $20B backstory as adjacent context.
- Greg Isenberg carries 7: Disruptive Innovation + Karat (creator banking) and the StockTwits/Robinhood angle, Nikita Bier on Meta + decentralised mobile networks, Alexis Ohanian on minimum-viable-community + DAO, Danny Trinh on Eventbrite/Partiful vs Web2/Web3, the X-Games-DAO brainstorm, and Sahil Bloom + Tom McLeod on Arkive's earning-vs-buying museum model.
- Starter Story and Koerner Office absent — this is a My First Million + Greg Isenberg only idea.
- Token vs fiat: most MFM pitches lean fiat-friendly (Hampton, Soho House), while Greg's pieces lean Web3-positive (DAO, Karat, creator coins).
- Use-case mode: MFM leans paid professional communities; Greg leans cultural/consumer communities (X-Games DAO, NFT museum).
What each source says
MFMBrainstorming ChatGPT Business Ideas With A Billionaire | ft. Dharmesh Shah (#438)
Dharmesh Shah's vector-embeddings thesis shows how chat-to-code, embeddings and domain-specific retrieval can become a SaaS layer for specialized communities or expert archives.
Watch on YouTubeMFMHow to Build a Community | My First Million #213
The community-business breakdown shows how a lightweight paid community can combine reciprocity, member resources, private discussion and potentially token-backed access into a durable business.
Watch on YouTubeMFMSam Reveals The Company He's Worked On For The Last 8 Month
Sam Parr's Hampton playbook can be applied by building a Hampton-style vertical for one regional market's faith-community professionals — a paid Notion plus Circle community, monthly in-person dinner, and weekly email digest — built on an in-house AI video tool for content.
Watch on YouTubeMFMHow Gary Vee Thinks about NFTs | My First Million #209 with Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk's VeeFriends tiered-access model can be applied by adding a paid community tier inside one existing product — a builder-software platform or faith-themed print-on-demand store.
Watch on YouTubeMFMSharing Our Best Crypto Business Ideas To Start In 2022
Video covers Sharing Our Best Crypto Business Ideas To Start In 2022.
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergDisruptive Innovation & Unbundling The S&P 500 With Howard Lindzon | Where It Happens
Video covers Disruptive Innovation & Unbundling The S&P 500 With Howard Lindzon | Where It Happens.
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergWill Meta Bounce Back? (with Nikita Bier) | Where It Happens | Bonus Episode
Video covers Will Meta Bounce Back? (with Nikita Bier) | Where It Happens | Bonus Episode.
Watch on YouTubeMFMThe Next Big Social Media Network Will Be On the Blockchain. Nader Al-Naji Tells Us Why.
Video covers The Next Big Social Media Network Will Be On the Blockchain. Nader Al-Naji Tells Us Why..
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergHow to Become a Super Ball with Anthony Scaramucci | Where It Happens
Video covers How to Become a Super Ball with Anthony Scaramucci | Where It Happens.
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergWinning at Startups and the Future of Culture
Video covers Winning at Startups and the Future of Culture.
Watch on YouTubeindie-hackers#203 – What You Need to Know About Bitclout with Mubashar Iqbal
Mubashar Iqbal and Courtland walk through BitClout's creator-coin token model and debate whether it is a legitimate social token play or a pyramid scheme.
Listen on Indie Hackersindie-hackers#239 – A New Golden Age for Creatives and Founders with Li Jin of Variant
Li Jin of Variant discusses DAOs and the passion economy, exploring new ways creators and founders can build token-backed communities.
Listen on Indie HackersMFMFurqan Rydhan on What It's Like Co-founding a $20B Company | My First Million #180
Video covers Furqan Rydhan on What It's Like Co-founding a $20B Company | My First Million #180.
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergThe Unlimited Potential of Web3 with Alexis Ohanian | Where It Happens
Video covers The Unlimited Potential of Web3 with Alexis Ohanian | Where It Happens.
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergKeeping it Real with Danny Trinh
Video covers Keeping it Real with Danny Trinh.
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergBuying the X Games with Olympic Icon Apolo Ohno | Where It Happens
Video covers Buying the X Games with Olympic Icon Apolo Ohno | Where It Happens.
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergState of the Union: DAOing the X Games | Where It Happens
No take is available for this episode.
Watch on YouTubeIsenbergGary Vaynerchuk’s “Oh Sh!t” Web3 Moment | Where It Happens Podcast
No take is available for this episode.
Watch on YouTubeTools people use for this
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