By Jack and Jean-luc, co-founders.

We are excited to announce the launch of Vending Machine, a token design studio that focuses solely on ideating, designing and implementing token systems for pre-token projects.

Our design process considers how the network value of crypto-based projects is created, accrued, exchanged and deployed within its own network and others around it. We architect digitally native token systems to help determine what value a token represents, what purpose it serves and how it interacts within a network.

We started Vending Machine because:

1. The global economy is in the midst of transitioning from physical first to digital first verification and authentication.
2. Digital tokens facilitate how we interact and own the digital environment.
3. Tokens are highly programmable objects that influence user behaviour and network outcomes, depending on how they are designed.
4. The most impactful stage for thoughtful token design is during the pre-token period, which is typically when builders are most resource-constrained.
5. More attention is needed to support the builders who are at the frontline of this design space.

Unlike other industries, crypto uniquely demands builders to find product-market fit and design a functional token system to match their network. Coupled with the resource constraints that pre-token teams face, most builders focus primarily on product design over token design.

Paradoxically, the pre-token period is when builders are most likely to discount the value of token design, while also being the period when thoughtful token design is most impactful. This is because there is no pre-existing design overhead, no pre-existing network expectations, and iteration can happen most rapidly.

We left early-stage venture to focus solely on Vending Machine. Our backgrounds allowed us to be in the weeds supporting some of the most successful DeFi and NFT projects to date, such as Maple, Spearbit, Space and Time, Tribute Labs (The LAO and FlamingoDAO) and many more. While working with pre-token projects, the most common service that builders wanted our support with was token design. Although we helped as much as possible, it became clear that the VC business model is incompatible with the service that teams need. Simply, VCs do not have the bandwidth to spend months ideating, designing and implementing token models with each team. The intensive token design support that pre-token builders were looking for was absent.

Vending Machine is a service solely dedicated to supporting those builders.

If you are a pre-token builder looking for token design support, reach out. We are eager to help.

Also a special thanks to Eboy for our design.

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