Thanks for the analysis and questions, Dan. I don’t think anyone views the neighborhood accelerator itself as the primary business model for Cabin. Ideally it is break even at scale, but I agree with you that an online course is probably not going to return a lot of cash to the treasury over time. That isn’t the goal of the accelerator.
The goal of the accelerator is to grow the network of neighborhoods. It is by far the most successful way we’ve been able to do that so far. Social networks—whether they are traditional web2 platforms like Facebook and Twitter, or network cities like Cabin—require significant scale before they are useful, and typically require scale before they can operate a financially sustainable business model. The accelerator is about helping us achieve that network scale first and foremost.
Cabin’s mission is to build a network city. No one has ever done that before, so no one knows the playbook for growing a global network of neighborhoods or how to build a business model for it. We have been iterating towards answers to these questions. We now have some clarity on a path to grow the network. Now we need to figure out a business model.
I think some of the most compelling options here include partnerships with local municipalities and/or special economic zones, real estate brokerage, and third spaces. We are experimenting with all of these paths, and now that the neighborhood network is growing, I am spending more time on the business model question. If you or anyone else has thoughts or ideas about how we can more effectively, efficiently, and cheaply grow the network and/or how we can experiment with a business model for it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!