Lessons from Read, Write, Own: Why Onchain Business Models Actually Work

There are books that give you new information, and then there are books that put words to what you already knew, deep down. But didn’t quite know how to explain. Read, Write, Own did that for me.

Coming from a background in coaching, I’ve always seen the world through systems and people. how roles fit together, how trust is built (or lost), and how momentum can make or break a season. That same lens applies surprisingly well to the Web3 world. Coaching hockey and building on Ethereum aren’t that different. Both are team sports, both are about finding the right incentives, and both reward consistency and culture over hype.

After reading Read, Write, Own, it clicked. The reason onchain business models work is because they’re fundamentally aligned. Aligned with people, with communities, with builders, and with value itself.

Here’s why that matters, and why it’s worth betting your future on.

1. The Ownership Layer Is the Missing Link

Web2 gave us participation. Web3 gives us ownership. That’s the big unlock.

In the old internet, you could build a following, you could go viral, you could even monetize a little. But the house always won. You didn’t own the algorithm, the infrastructure, or the upside. In Web3, protocols like Ethereum let us flip that script. Now, the platforms are open. The code is forkable. The value you create is actually traceable. If you do it right, you and your community can own the rewards.

This isn’t theory. It’s already playing out. Think of something like Farcaster, where early contributors can build apps, attract users, and be rewarded onchain for their impact. It’s the difference between being a player who just shows up to practice and being a player/owner who helps set the team direction.

And if you’ve coached before, you know which one leads to a better locker room.

2. Token Incentives = Culture at Scale

One thing I loved about Read, Write, Own was how clearly it laid out the idea that tokens aren’t just money, they’re culture infrastructure.

Most people outside of Web3 think tokens are a speculative mess. But when done right, they’re actually tools for shaping behavior. Want users to contribute instead of just consume? Reward them. Want your early supporters to stick around long enough to see version 2.0? Let them own a piece of it. Want to experiment fast without losing trust? Put everything onchain and let people verify for themselves.

A token is like a captain’s letter on a jersey. It signals trust, commitment, and contribution. The difference is that onchain systems make that signal legible, and transferable.

3. Composability Is the Ultimate Assist

In coaching, you find some players make the final play. But others create the opportunity that leads to the play. In Web3, those quiet contributors are often the most powerful, because of composability.

Protocols can plug into each other like Lego. Someone builds a tool, someone else builds a layer on top of it, and a third person bundles both into a whole new product. This wouldn’t be possible in a traditional, closed business model. But when you’re building onchain, openness is part of the DNA.

This is why onchain business models don’t need huge marketing budgets to grow. The network becomes your distribution. Your partners become your sales team. And the more you lean into that, the faster the flywheel spins.

4. Trustless Doesn’t Mean Cold, It Means Scalable Trust

The term “trustless” throws a lot of people off. It sounds robotic, impersonal. But it’s not about removing trust, it’s about removing the need to trust blindly.

When everything lives onchain, you get receipts. You get clarity. You don’t have to ask if someone followed through, you check the block explorer. That kind of environment is actually more human, not less. It allows for real accountability, real ownership, and real autonomy.

In sports, you know when a player skips a duty or does something that creates a penalty. On the blockchain, the same thing applies. Everyone’s watching the tape.

5. DAOs Are Just Locker Rooms with Governance

One of the biggest takeaways from Read, Write, Own is that DAOs. (decentralized autonomous organizations) are more than just buzzwords. When you strip away the jargon, they’re just structured groups of people aligned around a shared goal, with some rules and tools to keep them accountable.

Sound familiar? That’s a team.

Of course, not every DAO is perfect. But the ones that work well feel a lot like good teams. Roles are clear, feedback is frequent, decisions are debated (and then owned), and everyone shares in the win. That’s powerful, and it’s possible at global scale because of the blockchain.

6. We're Just Getting Started

Here’s the truth, most people still don’t get Web3. And that’s okay. They didn’t get open source at first either. They didn’t get social media, or streaming, or e-commerce. But once the incentives align and the value becomes clear, the shift happens fast.

If you’ve ever been part of a team where everyone is bought in. Where trust runs deep and everyone knows they’re building toward something real. You know how unstoppable that can be.

Web3 has that energy right now. And thanks to frameworks like the ones laid out in Read, Write, Own, we can build with intention. We can build with alignment. And we can finally build businesses that feel like teams, not extraction machines.

That’s the future I want to be part of.