Looking Into The Future Of Business

I have been in the corporate world for about 15+ years. Technology only continues to accelerate, and I often ponder where the puck is moving — especially with innovations like blockchain, which I believe will transform every industry.

Mainstream says private companies — those not on the stock market — are in for a reckoning. That is true in some cases. Public companies, larger and traded, can usually meet consumers cheaper on goods and services by sheer volume. That is their competitive advantage, along with the intellectual property they have built or picked up through mergers and acquisitions.

The market is, and has been, on a downturn. People will most likely move stocks to cash to preserve wealth, even though cash itself is bleeding through inflation. Prices will most likely rise, and service will get worse, because they are doing more with less. The market is fat, and that fat will be trimmed. I also foresee public companies ramping up M&A — to survive, or to gobble competition.

The little guy

Back to private businesses: mom-and-pop shops, the SMB world that supports local communities and cities. They have an opportunity in this grim outlook.

• Capitalize on service. They are in the consumer’s backyard and can meet them quicker as large corporations get squeezed.
• Run lean with fewer resources. Software already exists for this market — automation, engagement, management, and more.
• Blockchain, Bitcoin, web3. Middlemen — parties in every industry’s supply or service chain who take a cut and add cost — are going to be disrupted. Smart contracts are revolutionary, in my opinion, and applications on the blockchain are being developed at a record pace.

That is why large corporations are using every resource they have to hinder the pace. Or, in some cases, joining in when they can control it. Ethereum, moving to proof of stake, is the example: they can now leverage their weight to tweak the chain in their favor.

The ace in the pocket is Stacks. Stacks is building smart contracts — apps, NFTs — on top of Bitcoin, the most decentralized and secure chain there is. That anchor leverages bitcoin’s security, trust, and transparency.

Take away what you will. These are my thoughts. I do not know if I am right or wrong. I am always learning. With what I have learned over the years, and now, this is what I see in the present. People go where there is freedom and trust. Those that innovate survive and grow. Those that stay stagnant may not make it — or it will be extremely rough.

Find a nerd you trust, innovate, and stay ahead of the game.