Strategy Leads (Travis, Benjamin Life) - Refines information sharing, architecture, improvements
Technical Lead (Cristina) - Develops Allo.Expert enhancements, builds visualizations, ensures data integration
Design Lead (Octavian) - Implements UI enhancements aligned with refreshed brand assets from L+R
As-needed resources
Timeline (3 Months)
Phase 1: Initialization & Prototype (Month 1)
Weeks 1-2: Kick-off, role definition, inventory assessment, initial design collaboration
Week 3-4: Prototype interactive platform with basic mechanism mapping visualization
Phase 2: Development & Reports (Month 2)
Weeks 5-6: Develop interactive visualizations, integrate with OSO database
Weeks 7-8: Draft strategic reports, midpoint review with stakeholders
Phase 3: Refinement & Handoff (Month 3)
Weeks 9-10: Testing, refinement, finalization of platform features and reports
Weeks 11-12: Production integration, internal walkthrough, formal retrospective
Category Creation Raid Objectives
The Category Creation Raid is a focused 3-month initiative to strengthen Allo.Capital’s category leadership. This directly supports our path to PMF and revenue generation.
For a full view of category creation strategy checkout this post.
10 steps to category creation (category creation raid supports the ones in bold):
Spot an Untapped Need – Identify unmet problems or gaps.
Define the Category – Create and name the space.
Educate the Market – Teach why the category matters.
Own the Narrative – Be the voice and leader of the category.
Deliver Excellence – Provide a product that defines the category.
Build an Ecosystem – Foster partnerships and communities.
Leverage Network Effects – Make adoption valuable as more people join.
Capture First-Mover Advantage – Move fast to dominate early.
Create Barriers to Entry – Build defensibility with IP, scale, or loyalty.
Evolve Constantly – Stay relevant through innovation.
Key Deliverables:
Strategic Intelligence Reports - Develop 3-5 focused deliverables on funding mechanism trends and revenue opportunities
Knowledge-Sharing System - Establish community processes for continuous intelligence updates and dissemination
Resources Development:
Curated books list (including Fountains book)
Podcast series focusing on capital allocation innovation
Case Studies
Pattern Language Integration:
Leverage Benjamin Life’s Pattern Language for Capital Allocation (March 2025)
Visualize the three core components framework:
Allocators (Who allocates capital?)
Allocations (How is capital distributed?)
Signals (How are allocation decisions made?)
Implement decision trees for common funding pain points
Allo.Expert Enhancement:
Create interactive taxonomy diagram of capital allocation mechanisms
Integrate pattern language concepts into platform’s information architecture
Operational Alignment
All deliverables explicitly support Allo.Capital’s focus on revenue generation, market positioning, and PMF clarity. The Project Lead will maintain continuous oversight to prevent scope drift.
Hey @owocki,
Thanks for kicking this off! I spent some time ruminating on the details before our kick off call tomorrow. All of this is offered simply as food for thought that we can address as a group. TL;DR = I wonder if this proposal might be refined a bit. Here are my thoughts:
Category Creation Initiative - Notes and Analysis
Category Creation as a Marketing Initiative
I see category creation as fundamentally a marketing initiative. It involves:
Identifying the Invisible: Recognizing and articulating a new concept or category that is not yet widely recognized by the market or relevant audience.
Summoning into Existence: The process aims to bring this new category into focus and make it visible to the intended audience.
Building a Community: Gathering allies who understand and embrace this new category, fostering a sense of shared understanding and purpose.
Therefore, this is primarily an intelligence pillar initiative, focused on:
Context Identification: Identifying adjacent categories and the space from which the new category is emerging, specifically the interstice or niche that it occupies.
Research Reports: Publishing research reports that validate the hypothesis of the new category, providing a strong foundation for its existence and relevance. This includes balancing existing products and services with speculation on future ideas that may contribute to the category’s development.
Audience and Storytelling
Consideration should be given to the recipients of this category creation effort.
Stratified Storytelling: Different personas will perceive the category differently, necessitating tailored communication strategies.
Avoid a single, generic story: We should avoid creating a single, generic narrative about the category, because it will not resonate with all the intended personas.
Focus on telling unique stories to each persona: Instead, we should concentrate on crafting and delivering unique stories that are specifically designed to resonate with each individual persona.
Research should focus on understanding the comprehension threshold of each persona (researchers, builders, and funders): Category creation begins at these thresholds.
The story should describe how things could and will be, in an actionable way, tailored to each user: We are speculating the future.
HMW Exercise Caution Regarding Lore Craft?
Jargon and Memes: We must exercise caution regarding the use of exclusionary jargon and cultural memes as they can be distracting and instill confusion.
Literal Descriptions: Scaffold first, and then elaborate from there.
Incremental Lore Craft: Allowing for careful adjustment of the “vibes” and overall tone.
Universal Coherence: Ensuring that the new category is understandable to everyone within Web3, as well as potential funders, builders, and researchers.
Is There a Tension Between Vibes and Rigor?
There may be a tension between:
Creating marketing materials that optimize for “vibes.”
Maintaining concrete and rigorous scaffolding.
A suggested approach:
White Paper: Develop a detailed technical and business document that is specifically geared towards funders.
Manifesto: Create a document outlining the ideological vision and values that will underpin community building efforts.
Marketing Strategy: Derive a comprehensive marketing strategy from the white paper and manifesto, detailing:
Persona identification: Clearly define the target personas.
Comprehension threshold analysis: Analyze the comprehension threshold of each persona.
Communication strategies: Develop effective communication strategies.
Psychological metrics: including the impact of design, colors, images, and emotional responses.
Specialized marketing campaigns: Design and implement specialized marketing deliverables tailored to each persona.
Questions and Concerns Regarding Deliverables
The proposal includes specific deliverables, but raises some questions:
Category Map: What specific value does a map bring to the process of concretizing the category?
Book: How will a book about a concept that is not yet fully realized effectively define the category and attract participation from relevant stakeholders?
Request: There is a need to understand the underlying motivation for publishing another book in this context.
Request: It would be beneficial to provide key performance indicators (KPIs) from previous book publications to inform future strategies.
Current content generation seems to be driven by meme-driven development, which may lack a strategic foundation and may not be effective in achieving the overall goals. I suggest considering a more data-driven approach.
The purpose of the category creation raid should be to create a firm foundation that provides data-driven metrics for future iteration and refinement.
Separate accelerated artifact creation from strategy.
The map, the book, and the Allo podcast should be treated as separate initiatives with their own distinct objectives and strategies.