Throughout the timeline of history, there have always been disruptions which have forever altered the human existence for the best.
With the advent of cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain and non-blockchain based technologies, humanity yet again advanced towards digitization of its many facets.
One of such facets is business.
Business Models Have Changed
In the twenty-first century, business models have significantly evolved. Social media influencers have become the new entrepreneurs who shape the thoughts and opinions of consumers who make purchases based on the extent of the influence such influencers may have on the populace.
Followership has become the new commodity in the business world as cyberspace is assuming new forms and structures.
Popularity has one way, or the other becomes a tool for making money and how well one sells depends on what the cool kids say.
Opinions of a few people have become important driving forces where sales are concerned.
However, follower counts and keywords, while being great tools for search engine optimization are terrible for selection of influencers. Coupled with the difficulty of measurement of return on investment, the wide variance in results and a manual process used in the discovery of influence all serve as big problems which businesses face when engaging the use of influencers in marketing.
Blockchain is the New Kid on the Block
Blockchain technology has also made it possible for all kinds of activities to occur on a decentralized basis. The use of crypto-tokens has enabled digitization to happen on a scale never thought before.
The upsurge in the use of blockchain technologies in recent years has seen the use of tokens in different fields of endeavor. From gambling to tourism, hospitality, artificial intelligence, and even aviation, it is safe to say that blockchain technology has come to stay.
With the creation of a marketplace that directly connects brands (referred to as ASTRA), the
Gemstra : The Future of Influencer & KOL Commerce
Of course, it is a known fact that influencer marketing is the new way to get the word out for products and services, however, what is not known is how these products and services can themselves be introduced into the marketplace.
GEMSTRA is the system which brings to bear the importance of exchange between the influencers and the brands which they wish to promote. GEMSTRA as a system is the forebear of future systems where businesses and influencers are able to interact smoothly with all the required metrics in building a symbiotic relationship.
The infrastructure of the token also referred to as ASTRA is the infrastructure upon which the whole GEMS ecosystem is based.
ASTRA is the only marketplace in the world of its kind that directly connects businesses to influencers and Key Opinion Leaders (KOL).
Gemstra: Features of the Future
Below are the several features of the GEMSTRA ecosystem:
ASTRA
ASTRA is the application programming interface (API) of the system. Based on the core principle of democracy via decentralization, ASTRA is the foundation of the whole GEMSTRA ecosystem.
Based on DEXCON protocol which is one of the easiest to implement and yet most secure blockchain protocols, ASTRA infrastructure leverages the same protocol to:
- Decentralize data,
- Democratize the model,
- Provide governance and an easy-to-use protocol
DASH
The decentralized application (dApp) DASH is the core management module of the system. Since the system primarily allows influencers to sell their services directly to brands and businesses, DASH allows both parties to be able to see their desired expectations in a dashboard format: the commissions for the brand influencer and the performance of campaigns for the business as well.
KNOWY
False reviews have destroyed the real aim for why review systems exist. Too many incentive-based systems have created many false impressions of products by the businesses which use them in the first place.
KNOWY was created to solve this problem by making sure that reviews are granted based on reputation. Having a user system where users must indeed work to get the kind of reputation that they need is indeed a novel way to create some sort of honesty and a review system which works.
KNOWY is the first review system in the world to pay in tokens. As for the importance of each review increases, so does the number of tokens that the user receives.
BOUTIQUES
An interesting method for the influencers to select the brands which they wish to promote is the boutique. All the brands have to do is to include their catalogs. The significant part of having a boutique is that each influencer has his or her own store and gets to choose what they wish to sell.
GEMS
Being a DEXON-20 token with adaptable uses within the ecosystem, GEMS smoothen the process flow of the ASTRA system. GEMS is used for the following:
- Governance: in terms of governance, the GEMS token can be used for rights within the system, voting and for gaining a reputation in KNOWY. The economic aspects of the relationship between the influencers and brands are governed solely through the use of GEMS as a token. Voting for fundamental changes in certain areas of brand management is also performed using GEMS.
- Rewards: GEMS can be used for the rewards of influencers and users for reviews given. All transactions within the ASTRA system can only be performed using GEMS.
- When it comes to fundraising for further expansion of the project via airdrops and other ICO-related methods.
Gemstra Team Members
The people who pilot the vision of the Gemstra project and have been passionate about transforming business.
Jay Cheng – Founder/CEO
As the launcher of two internet companies, Baublebox and Jewelscent, Jay is passionate about making sure that the internet improves lives. Having had a background in his family business (J.Goodin) where he gained the basics in setting up and running an effective business, Jay is an astute businessman who possesses the touch that makes businesses to reach their potential quickly.
Joseph Lau – Co-Founder/Chief Revenue Officer
Mr. Lau has worked with Jay in several capacities in different organizations over the years. With a decade plus (12 years) relationship, they have been able to have a partnership that works. From J.Goodin to Jewelscent and now GEMSRTA, Joseph has shown a tremendous ability to drive sales in organizations to greater heights. Joseph also became the co-founder of GEMSTRA in 2015.
David Odere – Chief Technology Officer
David has also worked with Jay in a different organization. Having been the Chief Technical Officer of Jewel Scent, he has been a driving force on the technical side of things for the GEMSTRA project. Being well versed in many diverse programming languages and possessing a full technical understanding of relational database management systems, his contributions to the team has been phenomenal and owns a broad interest in all aspects of blockchain and blockchain technology.
Gemstra Advisors
“Failure is an orphan, but success has many fathers” so it is said. The current success of the GEMSTRA project will not be complete if the key advisors to the project aren’t mentioned. Their profiles are as follows:
Will Hsu – Co-Founder, Mucker Capital
Being an entrepreneur and also the executive of a Fortune 500 company (AT&T interactive), Will has shown a tremendous ability to understand
From being the founder and EVP for product development for Buildpoint which is the industry leader in management consultancy services for the construction industry to leading product teams at eBay, Greendot and Spot Runner, Will has shown a tremendous ability to be that guy who makes things happen.
Will also possesses a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, Terman School of Engineering and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.
Steve Raack – CEO/ex-COO, Vitablis/Beauty Counter
With expertise in direct selling, Steve is the CEO and co-founder of
Previously, he has also held the position of senior director with Herbalife International. Steve is known to have started his career in college as a sales representative for Amway.
Steve is also a renowned expert in the field of direct selling.
Ivan Ramirez – CTO/Investor, Emoov/Zerimar
Being a venture capital expert, co-founder and director at Zerimar Venures LLC which is a venture capital company whose clear focus is on disruptive technology, Ivan has his core interests in technologies which change the game of the sphere of activity in which they exist (also the co-founder and former chief technical officer of E-Moov proves this point). Ivan was also the director of Global Product Technology for Groupon; which processes over $3.5 billion transactions globally.
Partners and Investors
The partners and investors of the GEMSTRA project are the most worthy of mention as they have been the guys who brought the dream of the founder into a living reality.
DEXON
Using Proof of Participation (PoP) as provision for consensus rather than the traditional Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS),
COBINHOOD
Based on Google cloud technologies, Cobinhood’s straight-through processing capabilities make it one of the best trading exchanges in terms of execution, accuracy, and security.
MUCKER CAPITAL
Mucker Capital is a venture capital firm which is focused on the internet, media and services companies. William Hsu and Erik Rannala founded it in January 2012.
WESTERN TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS (WTI)
Western Technology Investments is a venture capital firm founded in 1980 whose core focus spans across all the investment cycle lifespans of a start-up. The areas of focus of the firm include communications, information services, healthcare, biotechnology, internet service companies, cleantech, internet Fintech, life science to name a few. WTI is located in Portola Valley California USA.
NEW ALCHEMY
New Alchemy is one of the World’s premier advisories to blockchain and blockchain related startups. The services New alchemy offers range from ICO audits, systemic modeling of tokens, tokenized game theory, smart contracts creation and so forth.
CETA NETWORK
The CETA Network is a premier ICO agency which seeks to enable startups to have access to funds in tandem with existing legal and financial frameworks. Visibility and funding are essential; these are the things which CETA Network offers to startups within the blockchain industry.
FISHERBROYLES LLP
FisherBroyles LLP is a Law firm whose key areas of practice include technology-based organizations. With a wide area of practice to cover when dealing with all issues related to tech firms, Fisherbroyles is one of those legal firms which get the job done. It is due to their objectivity and long-term approach to problems.
Final Thoughts
As it stands today, the world is changing at a faster rate than ever. There are so many options available to Generation Z as all they have to do is to make sure that whatever brands they purchase is recommended by those they trust.
This is the era in which science and facts are not as important to sales as which cool and popular guy or gal recommends products and services for use.
The emergence of GEMSTRA as a way to enable the marketplace to find meaning in itself is an enhancement of the influencer approach to making things to sell.
Blockchain technology is here at last. Welcome to the future!
To learn more, visit their official website or download their whitepaper.
Article Creator: cryptomagis
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Nice output. Looking forward for the success of this project.
cool concept and very attractive features… great advantage for both the business and the influencer… nice job!
Yeah, Gemstra is a very cool project. Hoping for their success.