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