a creative startup powered by web3
based in los angeles

Great Ideas Are Born in Bear Markets, Challenge Accepted.  

Hello OUATO Earthlings,

Welcome to our first Mirror.xyz post! Moving forward, we will publish our official statements + project updates on this platform. (Sorry, Medium) Learn more about Mirror.xyz [HERE](https://dev.mirror.xyz/)

This post will be a long one because we have new exciting updates and developments that we're announcing, so I hope you have a cup of coffee with you.

Today's discussion will consist of the following topics:

* **I.** The Platform Dilemma **ϟ**
* **II.** What’s Next? DAO?
* **III.** NFTs Coming Soon… Burn Baby Burn!
* **IV.** Announcing Our First Record Release
* **V.** OUATO.net Music Royalty Protocol


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![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/HnXtXzLN529x0PuhcHREP.png?height=1500&width=3000&&&&size=medium)

### I. The Platform Dilemma ϟ

The last two months went by fast, it feels like only yesterday the team and I were worried about not meeting our presale soft-cap. Since then, not only did we reach the hard cap, but we have fostered this community during one of the worst times in crypto. It is now **July 2022**, many of our presale investors have exited and the overall volume in crypto has dried up.

They say that the bear market is the best time to build and those who can weather the storm will come out stronger than ever. I see our current situation as an opportunity to truly focus on what will help us grow in the long run. Due to the nature of our token economy, the lack of volume results in limited development/marketing funds. The fear of a looming recession has also affected all of us whether we like to admit it. Especially with our project being on the BSC network, our target demographic has shrunk dramatically in the past couple of weeks.

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/saeU_mG_AnUqvjZGf71cl.png?height=368&width=3000&&&&size=large)

This creates a complex puzzle for us to solve since our platform requires users to engage and post content. Our main concern is releasing the beta at a time when crypto adaption is at its lowest. This would result in low traffic, therefore limiting our marketing funds which would threaten the longevity of the project. This does not mean that we are holding off on the beta launch but rather explaining the reason why we are extra cautious with the announcement of any concrete plans. We want to hear your thoughts on this, but we'll talk more about that later.

Our company and most importantly the leadership team have not made a single penny from the work we've done so far. The team's supply is still locked in Unicrypt's token vesting lockers and most if not all our private investors have held their supply. I have stated this before but [OUATO.net](http://OUATO.net) is my life's work. So far, I have spent every day of this year developing and strategizing my vision for the project, so don't expect us to throw in the towel any time soon.

Again, we are early, and this is just the beginning of a long journey.


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![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/aw_2Sse2zg2UHKYeH20K6.png?height=1500&width=3000&&&&size=medium)

### II. What’s Next? DAO?

In theory, our identity as a web3-based startup gives us a technical/financial advantage over traditional indie labels. It's in all our best interests that we continuously explore new tools and methods to better our systems and strategies. We've most recently deployed the staking contracts through Unicrypt to reward our long-term patrons, but the current market forces us to search for other ways to strengthen the community.

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/FuTGTavBRZ0ob8lRDGQN7.png?height=568&width=3000&&&&size=large)

Telegram and Discord are great for daily communication and announcements, but it falls short when needing to delegate. I've always dwelled on the idea of deploying [OUATO.net](http://OUATO.net) as a DAO but the risk of losing creative control as a creative agency was ultimately why I chose not. However, this doesn't mean we can't