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The.com 🧑🏾💻
launching into the web3
a note from us
the web3 is a hot topic that has broken into mainstream news
web3 is the next evolution of the internet where our digital footprint belongs to us rather than the Googles and Amazons of the world running the web
a quick overview of the evolution of the web:
web1: beginning days of the web; an intro to browsing but no clear organized structure
web2: platforms emerged to create more order to the internet through social interactions and transactions
web3: decentralization and widespread ownership of the web
before we dive into this week’s company, The.com, can we acknowledge how incredible their domain name is? and it was given to them; let’s see if they can live up to it
in a sentence
The.com is a low-code website building platform that simplifies the process of creating, remixing, and launching websites and allows creators to earn credit for their work
create: make atomic units (website samples) called cells and blocks that can be reused on any future website made on the platform
remix: combine and/or edit multiple blocks from different creators to make a unique product of your own (in lego terms: one can use an overlap of pieces to build that spaceship and skyscraper)
launch: release fast and custom websites while giving credit to block creators at the bottom of the page
bulleted version: just like how Timmy Thomas gets a royalty every time we hear his song sampled in Drake’s Hotline Bling, developers make a royalty every time their work is reused for another website
speaking of royalties, check out the most sampled tracks of all time
the basics
industry: internet, software
year founded: 2019
company size: 9 employees
price: member - $199/month; high volume - $1,499/month
user base: web designers & anybody in need of a website
investors: Chad McDaniel, Bill Mushkin, Darren Kelly
amount raised: $1.2m
due diligence
what we like
focus on the individual creator: allows creators to earn credit and monetary reward; there is a clear focus on widespread ownership in website building
reduce, reuse & recycle: our future will have fewer single-use plastics…and websites; every block created can be easily remixed between users of various skillsets for specific needs; no longer necessary to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of hours on a website from scratch!
blocks are in, templates are out: templates undermine creativity; with user-created cells and blocks, websites builders can build truly custom websites by combining blocks
potential risks
target audience: while the target audience is broad (anyone between full-time engineers to those with no coding experience), it may be difficult to market and cater to every potential customer
pricey: the free/freemium platforms may win low- to no- code website builders
crowded market: just about everyone has used a website builder before; The.com will have to market their strong points in order to draw creators to the platform
Wix and Squarespace own 60% of the market; can a newcomer compete? (though, the market is expected to grow ~8% every year)
founder profiles
Clarke McKinnon (OnDeck Fellow, prev. @AFJ (website development agency))
Jeff McKinnon (OnDeck Fellow, prev. @AFJ, Producer of Cryptos, the TV Show)
are these brothers the next sibling dynamic business duo?
comps
why The.com: The.com is trailblazing the low-code revolution as the first website builder to substantiate themselves in the web3