The advent of blockchain technology has provided the requisite framework for creating revolutionary projects and platforms designed to strengthen trust and improve business engagements. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are one of the many innovations deployed on the blockchain. A DAO is a community-governed entity where community members are responsible for every decision on managing and running the entity. With DAO, there is no hierarchy where only a few people decide what to do. Since the introduction of DAOs in the blockchain space in 2016, assets under management in DAOs have risen by 6025% in USD value over the past 6 years. This shows that more people are getting involved in DAOs, and the market's future potential is undoubtedly great. Assets held in DAO treasuries are predicted to hit $1 trillion by 2032. New data from Electric Capital showed that the number of DAOs increased from 700 to 6000, an over 8x increase in the past year. DAOs will be a game changer in running business establishments, as it puts the power of decision-making in the hands of the users or customers. It gives people the feeling that they are valued and that they are part of those running the business. It is undoubtedly a disruptive and innovative creation charting a new business organization and management course. Waldemar Schlemmer, the founder of KAIF Holding, has had firsthand experience with the impact of DAOs in business and their crucial role in establishing a community culture in the business environment. In this interview, Mr Waldemar will share his insights on DAOs, their benefits in business, the general web 3 space, and, more specifically, about KAIF Holding. Q1: DAO projects increased by over 8x between last year and now. In your expert opinion, how will the proliferation of these projects impact the DAO space and web 3 in general? Answer: Every technological advancement and innovation comes with an influx of new 'players' who wish to leverage the opportunities presented by such innovation. Therefore, many projects are launching and building on new technological advancements. The good thing about such a proliferation of projects is that it helps create more publicity for the new innovation, thereby increasing the possibility of mainstream adoption. With the proliferation of DAO projects across multiple sectors of the global economy, its application and benefits gain more traction and eventually draw the needed attention to the web 3 space. The more the proliferation of these DAO projects, the greater the likelihood of building successful unicorns. This will undoubtedly attract the attention of global investors and venture capitalists to the industry. With the entrance of more investors, better projects will emerge with real-life applications and solutions that will further bring DAOs and web 3 to the mainstream of the global economy. Q2: According to Grand View Research, the web 3 blockchain market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 45% between 2022-2030. What will be your advice to those building web 3 projects, and how can they utilize the opportunities in the market? Answer: This is a great question. Let me tell you something; there is always the urge to build something, especially when the opportunity presents itself. As an entrepreneur in business for over a decade, I have discovered that many people are always eager to build and launch new products in the market. Unfortunately, a greater percentage of such rushed projects rarely fare well in the market. Therefore, entrepreneurs and developers in the web 3 space must focus on building projects that will solve real-life problems. There are lots of opportunities and uncharted areas in the web 3 space. However, project builders and developers must pay more attention to the needs of the people and where the future is headed. Henry Ford once said, "If I had asked the people what they want, they would have said faster horses." So, people need to think about what will be in the people's best interest and help them solve problems. Any project with such a value proposition will undoubtedly be a great success. Q3: The DAO governing model, where the person with the highest number of tokens has the biggest share of voting power, can lead to a complete hijack of the system. In what ways can DAO projects mitigate against the possibility of such hostile takeovers? Answer: This is undoubtedly one of the major challenges facing the DAO business model. To mitigate such occurrences in DAOs, exploring some of the solutions applied in traditional finance will be good. For example, developers can tweak the smart contract codes to create disincentives for the attacker and will be activated in cases of an attempt of a hostile takeover. Embedding such disincentives in the smart contract or governance will ensure they cannot be removed by voting. When an attacker sees that the risk outweighs the benefits, they will certainly backpedal on their plan to hijack the DAO. Additionally, I am also of the opinion that DAOs should limit the amount of voting power a token holder can have, irrespective of the number of tokens they own within the network. Voting must be fair to all holders, no matter the number of tokens they hold. The KAIF DAO Platform also solves this problem with the issuance of DAO passports to eligible community members. Without the passport, you cannot vote on a proposal irrespective of the number of tokens you have. Q4: DAOs are championing the concept of community-oriented business culture across the world. What do you think about the sustainability of this business model, and do you think it will be generally adopted in the future? Answer: Let me tell you something about human nature that has been obvious since the beginning of time. Every human being enjoys the feeling of being important and having power over something or someone. DAOs' community-oriented business model gives people the avenue to feel important and part of the decision-makers in charge of managing and running business organizations and multinational companies. More importantly, the value proposition of DAOs ensures that community members and companies benefit from the arrangement. Since it's a win-win for all parties, sustainability is guaranteed. By 2032, the assets under management in DAOs will be projected to hit $1 trillion. This further reiterates that more projects and companies will adopt the DAO model. Q5: We are transitioning from web 2 to web 3, and the prospects have been outstanding. So what kinds of projects will be at the forefront of the web 3 race? Answer: This is a great and interesting question. Web 3 has brought about a paradigm shift in how people engage online for social interaction or business purposes. Today, the government controls everything, and people want to have a feeling of control in one way or another. However, people still want to feel they are in charge of their lives and not some group of people in government offices. In the future, projects focused on putting power squarely in the hands of the people will rule web 3. DAOs are the beginning of such quests, and with time, we may have a more advanced form of DAO that will likely cover all aspects of our lives. It will be a time when decisions that will affect the world will no longer lie in the hands of some heads of state, but all the billions of people on the planet will have a say. Q6: Your reputation and experience as an entrepreneur speak volumes, and you have been in the business for about a decade. Over the years, you have overseen the launch of several successful products. What would you say is your inspiration? Answer: All my life, it has always been my desire to build strong, healthy, and lasting relationships. I have always wanted to help people in my immediate environment and those beyond. Proffering solutions to the needs of people has always been my inspiration. I am always searching for new and innovative ways to make people's life comfortable. As an entrepreneur, I launched the first set of products Ancor Distribution and thenKAIF energy drink. When the blockchain wave came, it caught my attention, and I began searching for ways to exploit the opportunities and create a worthy product or service for the people. The search for such solutions birthed the KAIF DAO platform, leveraging blockchain's power to build trustworthy relationships with a global audience. Q7: There are several products under the KAIF Holding brand; examples include energy drinks, sports-like racing, and NFT and DAO solutions. Can you tell us what the KAIF Company is all about? Answer: KAIF Holding is an umbrella company with many business subsidiaries existing within the parent company. Within KAIF Holding, we have n entertainment subsidiary, beverages, sports, leisure, travel, and restaurants. The first business subsidiary we launched under KAIF Holding was the KAIF Energy Drink in 2011. In the same year of its launch, we produced one million testers sold worldwide. Last year, we had 40,000+ outlets selling the energy drink, generating over 10 million sales. A few months to the end of 2022, we sold 20 million cans. By incorporating blockchain technology into our system, our clients will enjoy full transparency and security during transactions. This has helped to democratize the system, giving a new perspective to the KAIF business model. In addition, our new KAIF DAO platform will allow customers to effectively manage their interests in the multiple subsidiary businesses under KAIF Holding. Q8: With the numerous opportunities in the DAO space, how are you repositioning the KAIF DAO platform to ensure you leverage these opportunities? Answer: Our sports business has been a resounding success, and we are building a tool to ensure the active participation of our fans in running the sports club. We created the KAIF DAO platform to harmonize the different groups of sports fans into a single community where members interact in a peer-to-peer manner. The KAIF DAO ensures that fans now have a stake in the club, and they can decide on what to do and what not to do to ensure the success of the sports club. Additionally, the DAO for KAIF Energy Drink gives consumers the opportunity to decide on the new taste they want or what design they would prefer. Q9: The DAOs business model has made it possible for communities to function as a unit to achieve a common goal. In what ways have you incorporated this model into the KAIF DAO platform? Answer: Our sports club presents the perfect avenue where fans can engage and function as a unit to achieve a common goal. The smart contract of the KAIF DAO Platform is encoded with the rules and guidelines that give each eligible member the power to be part of the decision-makers who decide on the running of the sports club. The KAIF DAO passport will give fans the eligibility to become a community member. The fans who hold the passport can participate in voting processes or submission of proposals for the managing and general running of the club. For example, these fans can vote to decide to fire the coach and hire a better one, sign a new player, or even renovate the stadium, as the case may be. As community members vote, they are rewarded with tokens in their digital wallet to purchase match tickets or anything of their choice within the organization. Q10: From your explanations, the KAI DAO Platform is quite a great project. Do you have plans to allow external businesses or companies to build on the platform or will it be strictly for internal use only? Answer: The KAIF DAO Platform is not only designed for internal use. In the near future, companies can build their own DAO at KAIF DAO Platform. We are currently negotiating with several global companies, but we have to conclude all testing before opening the platform to other businesses. The platform will also be its own marketplace in the future, where community members can buy tickets and other physical and digital assets. Q11: Over the years, you have overseen the successful launch of several products that have succeeded in the market. So what is your secret, and would you kindly advise younger entrepreneurs on what to do and not do to ensure a successful business? Answer: Thank you for this question. You see, this is one aspect that many young entrepreneurs get wrong. I will always tell those who care to listen that business success lies greatly in the integrity and trustworthiness of the founders. What is their track record in the business space? You can have a great business idea, but if people don't trust you, the business is as good as dead. As I said at the beginning, I set out as a young man to build healthy and long-lasting relationships that greatly helped and still help me in business. Building strong and healthy relationship is crucial. As much as people want to build a great product, they should pay quality attention to building relationships with clients, customers, fellow entrepreneurs, etc. In business, the importance of having quality relationships cannot be overemphasized. Thank you for your time, Waldemar Schlemmer. It has been a great honour to have you, and your insights certainly have inspired many out there.
