The Five-Part Series to Talent Protocol’s Private Beta: Part 1 — Talent Seasons
gm friends 👋,
Talent Protocol is currently under construction in Private Beta, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give you an extensive tour of what is happening behind closed doors.
In this five-part explainer we’ll cover all the different components that make up the Talent Protocol Private Beta phase:
- The Talent Season model: the framework in which Talent Protocol will iterate in the future.
- The application process: how talent can participate.
- Talent Tokens: the protocol’s key component in Season 1.
- Perks: what kind of value a talent can offer their supporters.
- Rewards: why you should participate and how they work.
We’ll explain each component in a separate blog post, so let’s dive into Talent Seasons first.
What is the Talent Season model?
Talent Protocol will work in seasons, just like your favorite Netflix show. From October 2021 to January 2022, we are launching Season 1, which is not open to the public (a test screening, so to speak). In this season, Talent Protocol is onboarding ambitious knowledge workers and digital builders to join as talent and crypto natives to join as supporters.
Ok, but why do we need Talent Seasons in the first place?
Talent Seasons allow us to test different mechanics of the platform with different target groups and identify what works and what doesn’t. Before each season, we formulate hypotheses that we can put to the test. Seasons also allow different segments of talent to launch and be discovered. And last but not least, the season model lays the foundation for a future decentralized talent approval and work process by improving through iteration in clearly defined periods.
How does Talent Season 1 work?
Season 1 has three clearly defined goals:
- Get real feedback, from real users, using real money to support talent.
- Build a community committed to the long-term success of the project.
- Raise awareness for Talent Protocol as a web3 talent launchpad and a “web3 for good” brand.
Before Season 2, we will assess to what degree the first season achieved these goals.
Of course, jumping with your money into an early-stage network that is still in development is risky (this might be completely normal in crypto, but it’s still risky). However, users that join the protocol as talent at this early stage benefit in several ways:
- They get access to a safe environment to experiment with social tokens.
- They can earn a high amount of $TAL rewards.
- They get the $TAL token at a discounted and fixed price.
These users (talent) are individuals with a growth mindset looking for support to achieve their goals, who launch their own token to do so. They are complemented by supporters, who are people looking to back a talent early on and become an active part of their journey. A talent can also simultaneously be a supporter.
What are product features in Season 1?
In Season 1, the functionality of Talent Protocol is still somewhat limited. Talent can launch tokens, buy tokens and earn rewards. Supporters can browse talent profiles, send talent DMs and buy Talent Tokens.
Each talent receives 200 cUSD worth of their own Talent Tokens to launch as an incentive to test the platform throughout Season 1. Talent Protocol also covers the (small) gas fees on Celo this season, so talent can launch their own token and invest in other talent as well. We highly recommend to talent and supporters to buy as many different talent tokens as possible throughout this first season, as rewards just for holding Talent Tokens are very attractive.
Season 1 Tokenomics
Talent Protocol aims to incentivize investments into long-term relationships and strong network effects.
In Season 1, we created a safe environment for talent to launch their token, which is why the platform is invite-only for now. The current staking model is almost like a private sale, where everyone is able to buy talent tokens at the same fixed (and discounted) price. Buying at this stage acts more like vouching for a talent than investing.
The incentives to buy come from the rewards in $TAL distributed by Talent Protocol and the possibility of making a profit when the token starts trading in the future.
How do I ape?
Season 1 started in October 2021 and will be invite-only until December 2021/January 2022. This season we will launch 100 Talent Tokens and onboard 300 supporters.
We are distributing invites very gradually to investors, early supporters and people in the waitlist, which you can join here.
The outlook
Future seasons will incorporate lessons learned and improvements from the previous seasons. For now, there is now fixed start and end date for future seasons, although this will most likely change as the protocol matures. We plan to incorporate multiple tracks in future seasons, where each track addresses a specific niche/use case with specific features and a custom token model. For instance, Season 2 can have a track for Founders, a track for Digital Artists, and a track sponsored by a partner organization.
Read Part 2: The Application Process
