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- 👀 Springtime: You’ll Be Scrolling PeopleTok. Here’s What to Expect.
👀 Springtime: You’ll Be Scrolling PeopleTok. Here’s What to Expect.
Spring is around the corner, and so is the first version of PeopleTok! 🌸 In just a few months, you’ll be scrolling through our MVP — built by passionate, grassroots volunteers working afterhours to bring this vision to life. Here’s what to expect, what’s coming next, and how you can get involved.
Chiara Burns
February 21, 2025
In partnership with
Newsletter #004
Contents:
Hey Peeps,
We’ve got another juicy recap this week and it’s a big one.
We just hosted our FIRST Roundtable, bringing together:
Matt Dearden: Highly sought after business attorney and TikTok creator, adept at breaking down complex legal concepts.
Mike Feerick: Internationally recognized leader in social entrepreneurship; CEO of Alison, a platform that has provided tens of millions of people with free education.
Sam Radocchia: Futurist, speaker, skydiver, blockchain whisperer, 4x tech entrepreneur, Forbes 30 under 30, and best-selling author.
The topic? Where and how we should incorporate. A crucial convo as we lay the foundation for something much bigger.
Why does this matter? Because even though we’re starting small with the MVP (Minimum Viable Product), the choices we make now directly impact the platform’s long-term vision — the one I’ve been yapping about over on TikTok.
The MVP is our first step, but it needs a solid structure to grow into everything we’re envisioning.
MVP Expectations
We’re building something real, and the first version is coming. This is an early MVP — built by a passionate team in just a few months with no funding — but it will be a fully functioning short-form video platform:
A seamless scrolling video feed
A starting point for content recommendations
In-app video creation tools (simple but functional)
Core social features: like, comment, follow, share, repost
What won’t be there? More advanced editing, a shop, user action driven recommendations (i.e., TikTok’s secret sauce algorithm), and live streaming. But this is just the beginning. Our post-MVP roadmap is ambitious, and the starting point is this minimum viable product.
The point of an MVP is showing you this isn’t just an idea. It’s not vaporware. It’s a platform in its infancy.
I mean, let’s face it. Babies are precious, but they kind of look like boiled owls. 🦉
But not our baby! Our baby is cute because we have a design team!
In fact, Mafe (one of our designers, as well as a beam of sunshine incarnate) said it really well in her recent update:
The MVP is just the first step. But it’s a critical one. It’s proof that we can build this, together, from the ground up.
After we get it into your hands, we’ll launch a crowdfunding campaign. That’s when the real magic begins. With funding, we can bring on full-time builders, expand the platform, and start working on the truly epic stuff.
Remember: This is about more than code. It’s about building something that actually serves people. Powered by all of us.
This is a true David vs. Goliath moment. We’re building this platform completely grassroots — no VCs, no equity, no gatekeepers.
Just you, me, and all of our neighbors.
This is the only way real change happens: We have to steward in new systems born of a new paradigm, together.
The old-world paradigm of greed, division, and control is on its way out. And a new era of business is being stewarded in by courageous people with strong morals.
Mike spoke to that eloquently in the last couple minutes of our Roundtable when he said this:
To the 220 of you who click this every week: Thank you! You the real MVPs. (Most valuable players, not minimum viable products.)
And for anyone new here, if you click on the ad below, we get a li’l $ that helps us cover expenses. In fact, this week’s sponsor is offering us a whole $2.40 per click/per unique user.
You 220 with the reliable index fingers have already paid for our Figma subscription (design and prototyping software) and project management software.
…Can we please knock out legal fees next?
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Our “Why” and Deferred Compensation
This week, we gathered another 20+ devs to see who else is down to roll up their sleeves and ship some code. (BTW, if you’re comfy in React Native, hit us up; our bases are pretty much covered, but the more dev help we have, the more features we can add for the MVP!)
I also shared a bit of my “why.” That like everyone else here, I’m strapped for time but still showing up.
Because this platform needs to exist, and no one else is building it.
If not us, who?
We also had a real talk about compensation. We can’t offer the team sweat equity because it is not aligned with the platform’s mission or business structure, but it wouldn’t be right if this platform took off and the people who helped build it didn’t see any upside.
That’s why Kasey introduced a model for deferred compensation — with a hard cap — so everyone contributing has a fair shot at future rewards.
BEST OF REDDIT!
The Reddit has revived after a quiet few days (our subreddit is now in the top 15%) and there have been some AMAZING posts the past week. Your ideas and insights are very valuable, so thank you!
Utopia vs Dystopia by Nathan
What happens if PeopleTok becomes the biggest tech company in the world? 🤯
This wild 30-year thought experiment dives into utopian and dystopian futures shaped by decentralization. From DAOs running entire cities to algorithmic mob rule, this post explores the exciting possibilities—and terrifying risks—of a user-governed, decentralized internet.
My (Chiara’s) thoughts? (Not that you asked.) Technology is neutral. Whether it’s a force for good or evil depends on the paradigm of the people using it. We don’t just need new systems; those systems need to be born out of a new paradigm.
Risks of a Wyoming DAO by Shelley
Shelley went deep into the legal weeds after watching our Roundtable and highlighted key risks with a Wyoming DAO—like ambiguous fiduciary duties, algorithmic loopholes, and shaky legal protections. His takeaway? The same as ours: use a traditional LLC as the legal core for PeopleTok, and run governance through a DAO. It’s the best of both worlds…legal clarity and decentralized collaboration.
🙋Volunteer Opportunities🙋
Name Seeker. We could use another pair of hands to help put all the name suggestions for the app in a spreadsheet (they’re scattered across the Reddit megathread and two TikTok videos).
Reddit Mod. Help keep things organized, add community guidelines, badges, flair, whatever makes this space better. Triage between here and the Discord. Someone who can identify where good ideas may plug in.
DAO & Governance Experts. Are you out there? Or better yet, in here in our email list? Our next series of Roundtables is going to be about this topic and we’re looking to bring more brilliant minds into the mix.
Thrilled to build,
Chiara Scuro
A Steward