Introduction
I seldom take the time to consider many ICO’s these days, but KickCity is different, it caught my attention. Researching this project was a true refreshment, it took me back to the good old days of 2016 when ICO’s were launched with purpose. The startup currently has several innovative products that are already generating revenue. This is not your typical sci-fi “let’s all get rich quick” type of ICO – this is a real investment in a real company with a great idea. I have long warned against the ICO bubble, but let me be perfectly clear, my two largest investments are in cryptocurrency platforms that promote the expansion and development of blockchain technologies with real purpose. If cryptocurrency were ever to become mainstream, existing businesses must begin leveraging blockchain technology in a way that supplements their business models rather than determines them. Tokenization of real businesses is a major trend in cryptocurrency today, one which we are only just beginning to witness. KickCity is an innovator, they are one of the few leading the charge towards real blockchain solutions, intended to enhance their business, not be their business.
About KickCity
The project is fascinating, it serves two unique purposes meshed together into one highly scalable master platform. At first glance it may seem as though it were “only” a blockchain-based ticketing service. However, KickCity is building something so much greater. The immediate market will indeed be in event services but this is only because it serves as a fantastic entry point towards creating “value communities.” This is perhaps the most intriguing concept proposed by KickCity, it is part of a long-term plan to move from being an event services app towards a potentially disruptive social network. KickCity essentially aims to be the first blockchain-based social network in which the exchange of information and value occurs simultaneously. They plan to disrupt the social network space the same way Steemit is disrupting mainstream blogging. In this analysis, we will dsicuss value communities in more detail, but first I will delve into explaining the benefits and advantages of the event-ticketing aspect of the platform as this is the immediate market.
Features of Kickcity
The first aspect of the platform we will discuss regards event services. This aspect of the platform could easily prove to be a powerful market all of its own. The way in which KickCity plans on providing event ticketing services is highly scalable and provides tremendous value to the community as well. To begin, it is important understand the value in a blockchain-based ticketing service in and of itself. Scalping, reselling, and forging of tickets is a serious problem – no one can deny that. This is an industry that stands to benefit a great deal from an immutable ledger which can prevent such unscrupulous activities.
The KickCity platform cuts out the need for costly and unnecessary middlemen involved in the payment processing sector, connecting event organizers directly with attendees in a lossless manner. The cost savings are passed down to end users through promotional campaigns in which consumers are able to earn rewards by helping promote an event. The platform offers incentives to consumers to go through KickCity to purchase their tickets and refer friends. This provides substantial benefits to users, including price reductions, special offers, and loyalty rewards. These features provide a high degree of utility to event organizers who are able to save time, money, and effort in their marketing campaigns.
KickCity’s rewards program is very beneficial to event organizers. Loyalty rewards are one of the great functions of the KCY token which provides value to both the consumer and event organizer. I invested in a project called Incent some time ago because the concept of blockchain-based loyalty rewards is simply brilliant. The issue with Incent was that they tried to go too big, too fast. This was long before cryptocurrency was in any position to take on such mainstream accounts. However, the concept is still valid, it’s just a matter of who makes it work first. Blockchain-based loyalty rewards programs provide several key advantages for merchants and end users. First, the cost of establishing and maintaining reward programs are very high. Building the payment infrastructure and managing these systems are not only costly, they are also challenging administer. Ensuring each user is rewarded appropriately, effectively, and efficiently is a common problem faced by merchants today. This is an area in which the KCY token provides further value to event organizers.
KickCity is going to implement the rewards program in the form of a decentralized P2P promotion network. Essentially, KickCity protocols allow for a reward-based event marketing system in which you earn points, or “kickbacks,” for referring people to an event on the platform. This provides value to the consumer as well as offering incentives for continued use of the platform. Additionally, event organizers interested in leveraging the community power of the platform can do so very easily. The communities power and their ability to interact directly to exchange information establishes the peer-to-peer marketing aspect of the platform. In this regard, the cost of promotional campaigns is greatly reduced, allowing for additional discounts to end users.
It is an ambitious concept, but one that could revolutionize the industry. The system would enable event organizers to use KickCity as a highly efficient, cost-effective promotional tool which passes on savings to consumers. In the long term, it is a potentially self-sustaining business model, thanks to their focus on building “communities of value.” There is certainly competition in the blockchain-based event ticketing space, Aventus is a great example of that. The Aventus platform is equally strong in many regards. However, there is one major factor which separates KickCity from Aventus – KCY is far more scalable.
Platform Scalability
The KCY token provides a highly scalable event planning, creation and ticketing distribution service. Anybody can use KickCity to administer an event but what truly creates value for the platform is its ability to take on mainstream accounts/partnerships. The KCY token is built on Bancor protocols which enables continuous liquidity and price-stability so that third-party platforms interested in using the services can do so without any confusion on price disparities. The model empowers existing businesses interested in leveraging blockchain technology to do so in a way that prevents the current issues associated within the ticketing industry, but with an interesting twist. KCY separates themselves from the competition in this regard.
The KCY token allows for existing event organizational platforms to create their own customizable tokens, meaning that they can create tokens which do not dampen their brand power. In fact, the customized tokens would actually incur more brand power and offer new ways to create loyalty. There is already a great deal of interest in KCY’s value proposition from some major event services/ticketing platforms. The team is grinding every day to add as many new partnerships as possible to grow the adoption of KCY-integrated payment solutions for ticket purchasing.
It is an industry that really does stand to benefit a great deal from blockchain technology. To better explain the platform and its value for existing event organizational services, let’s use a real-world example. Let’s say Eventbrite determines they want to begin using blockchain-based ticketing services as a part of their existing business model. Eventbrite can create their own token, but they need a platform with existing infrastructure to do so, one that will allow them to provide a cost effective and proven solution. KickCity provides that infrastructure. Eventbrite can easily create an “Eventbrite token” backed by KCY, making it incredibly easy to administer rewards policies, loyalty programs, discounts and more. Each individual event organizer has the ability to choose whether or not/how they would like to use it. One of the key reasons that a company such as Eventbrite would be interested in a blockchain-based token like KCY is to ensure they do not fall behind the competition in adapting to new technologies. (This was the fatal flaw that caused the collapse of many big names such as Toys-R-Us, Sears, and Blockbuster). It is of the utmost importance to adapt in order to ensure the ongoing success of any business, blockchain technology is no different. As cryptocurrency gradually enters the mainstream, the big players in the event organizing and ticketing services space will inevitably look for the best methods of leveraging blockchain technology and KickCity is quickly establishing themselves as that solution.
People who go through Eventbrite to organize their events would like to know that they are getting the best services available. If Eventbrite were not to seek out every solution that could help make each organizers’ event as successful and profitable as possible, they will suffer serious issues of customer attrition. Organizers who want to test the possibilities of a blockchain-based service for coordinating their events will do so, it’s a matter of who they do so with. Keep in mind that KickCity is also developing built-in value communities that will offer organizers using blockchain-based solutions additional exposure and provide them with the power of a decentralized P2P market, eliminating costs and maximizing revenues. If the competition opens up blockchain-solutions through KCY which prove to be highly valuable to organizers and consumers alike, the company which does not adapt quickest can and will lose business to the other service. By establishing themselves as the reserve that lays the groundwork for cryptocurrency adoption on mainstream event platforms, KickCity is creating a serious early mover advantage.
Long-term potential
As stated earlier in this article, KickCity has a great deal of long-term potential beyond event services. They have plans to harness the power of the communities they develop to build a decentralized social network. The power of which goes mostly without saying, imagine the possibilities of a social network in which the users benefit from advertisement and can easily monetize their own content with no costly middleman. If Steemit were any indication, the long-term potential of KickCity’s value communities can take everything to the next level. Vloggers could earn more money for their content, influencers could be paid more accurately according to their exact reach, and each individual user stands to benefit through micro-payments and decentralized P2P marketing rewards.
Conclusion
The team behind KickCity epitomizes brilliant, hardworking, dedicated, and highly ambitious entrepreneurs. If there is any group of people who can make this work, it’s them. Sometimes it is hard to look far into the future in an industry such as cryptocurrency, one that fluctuates so rapidly, changing day-to-day. However, in this case there is real potential to look 3, 5, even 10 years into the future. KickCity is a great platform which will become a household name within the next six to seven years. I am proud to be an early investor and I look forward to watching this amazing platform grow.