A Japanese Startup Aims to Boost Earnings of Social Media Influencers

A Japanese company PATRON is launching a new Blockchain-based platform for supporting the social media influencers. The project aims to create a full ecosystem where Influencers and SNS users around the world will be able to post, discover and book social media sharing economy information on the Internet and mobile tablet, the company’s white paper states.

The company is creating a sharing economy system which works similar to Airbnb. A ‘host’ can purchase one influential post, ‘buy’ an influencer for up to several months or even for a year.

In the influencer marketing industry, up to 40 percent of the fees going to influencers are being taken by the agency that acts as an intermediary. According to PATRON, they have built a Blockchain-based solution to help solve a middlemen problem. The commission fee currently being paid could be replaced by a tokenized market that would have a transparent business “skim.”

New business model

The founder of PATRON, Atsushi Hisatsumi, is an influencer first and entrepreneur second. He is an award-winning singer, DJ and dancer. Much of his background in business is around marketing and working with influencers to create better solutions and reach for them.

By tokenizing the market and making it much easier to build a brand and monetize it, PATRON could open up a whole new tier of influencers who could come to market. Additionally, the initial difficulty most companies have in contacting influencers will be ameliorated by creating a platform for them to operate upon.

Decentralized platforms run based on the power of smart contracts and the automation they enable. PATRON is planning to replace the existing business model with a system that makes way more sense to the customers and creators.

Two economic effects could result from the implementation of a platform like Patron. First, both sponsors and influencers would end up with more money in their pockets. Second, you would see it become cheaper to sponsor influencers, which could make it possible for more influencers to come online.

The business of being an intermediary is under attack as more people realize there are more efficient ways to do things, and PATRON is one example of an innovative technology which could disrupt an old business model.

The ICO stage of development

Right now, PATRON is in the midst of its ICO. They are entering their pre-sale stage soon, and are aiming for a subscription of $10 mln before the public ICO.

ICO’s are necessary when a company reaches a point where they need much more money in order to carry out their plans. The money from the PATRON ICO will be focused towards three different facets of expansion. First, the personnel who develop the applications and infrastructure need to be financed. But this also means that an initial investment for setting up shop in San Francisco will be required. Finally, some money will be required to set up studios and workspaces for influencers.

During the ICO there will be a 30 percent bonus during the premium period in order to encourage participation. The pre-sale will begin on Feb. 14th.

Will Bartlett