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ICO Alert Quick Facts
- Online peer-to-peer learning platform to develop skills in future technologies
- Pre-ICO currently live; 1 Ether = 3300 EDU
- ICO: January 15, 2018 to February 10, 2018
- 20% of annual revenue used to purchase tokens back from the market
- Existing Beta, with native mobile apps coming in 2018
What is LiveEdu?
LiveEdu is a decentralized peer-to-peer project learning platform for people to improve their job skills in future technologies. LiveEdu is building the YouTube for online education. We are taking one category out of YouTube and building it out into a bigger category of its own. Just as Twitch took the category gaming out of YouTube and built it into its own large vertical, LiveEdu is taking the category online education out of YouTube. Content on LiveEdu is organized around projects. Each project contains a live streaming channel, video project playlist, and live chat window. Each live stream is archived automatically as a video.
There is no online project learning platform that teaches college students and professionals who have passed the beginner’s stage on how to build complete products.
LiveEdu does not target beginners, but those who have more than basic introductory knowledge of their field.
We are an existing business, with team members from Amazon and Y-combinator. LiveEdu is building the world’s largest project learning network starting with seven topics: programming, game development, data analytics, design, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrencies. In 2019, LiveEdu will be opening for all topics. We are targeting the huge $46 billion global online education market. Our network will cover projects in Chinese, Russian, and Portuguese.
— Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO
Q&A
ICO Alert: How does the LiveEdu token (EDU) function within the platform and why is it needed?
Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO: The LiveEdu ecosystem consists of two networks, namely the internal ecosystem and the external ecosystem. The internal ecosystem participants are project creators (content creators), viewers (learners), community moderators, project quality moderators, and LiveEdu API application developers. The external ecosystem participants are businesses, schools, libraries, colleges and other online education companies. LiveEdu is using similar blockchain smart contract mechanics to Steemit. We use EDU blockchain smart contracts in our network for payments and rewards.
EDU coins will replace fiat as the main payment method by users for subscriptions and donations. Subscription prices on LiveEdu will be denominated in USD and not EDU units.
Project creators will be rewarded EDU coins as partial compensation for their work. 13% of all coins, minted for the purpose of this ICO, are reserved for them and will be distributed over a 3-year period until all project creator coins are allocated.
Learners on LiveEdu will be rewarded for each positive learning activity they complete.
LiveEdu users will be allocated tokens for each quality assurance activity. Quality assurance is important as it improves user experience for all learners and content creators.
EDU coins will be allocated to developers for each application developed on top of the LiveEdu API, once it is deployed and used by at least 1000 end users. The best apps and bots will be endorsed by LiveEdu and shared to all LiveEdu users
ICO Alert: How are the token incentives used to solve what you call the “chicken-and-egg” problem (achieve network effect)? What other methods are being used to achieve network effect?
Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO: Streamers represent the most valuable element in the LiveEdu product value-generation chain. Our product is a peer-to-peer, decentralized network that connects streamers with viewers. The streamers represent the supply side. Since the content program is a new product, LiveEdu does not currently have a large content library for the seven topics.
LiveEdu will ultimately succeed or fail based on the content quality of the projects created by streamers. If the projects are educational, structured, and of high quality, viewers will buy them. We want to attract the best content creators. As with building any marketplace business, the supply side (content) needs to be built first. Thus, LiveEdu needs to build a huge initial content library quickly by incentivizing content creators generously. There are three possible ways LiveEdu can cover the initial content creator acquisition cost: (i) cash, (ii) EDU tokens, or (iii) a mix of cash and EDU tokens. The first option requires LiveEdu to raise a huge amount of cash just for content generation. This option is not ideal because it does not intrinsically enforce content creator loyalty. The second option will not be very attractive to content creators because, at launch, there will be neither a huge organic demand for tokens nor trading on exchanges. Similar to other marketplace ICOs like Civic and Musiconimi, option three is the best approach for LiveEdu to incentivize content creators to create exclusive quality content.
ICO Alert: What are the details of the existing business behind LiveEdu (views, streamers, etc.) and why does the company need to run an ICO?
Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO: Over 1,000,000 people from 194 countries have used our product since we launched our alpha version at the end of 2015, with a focus on software development projects. More than 13,000 streamers (project creators) created over 200,000 pieces of video content. In 2017, we launched premium projects and expanded the number of topics by adding the six new topics: game development, data analytics, design, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrencies.
There are two types of blockchain companies, protocol and app blockchain companies. LiveEdu is like 99% of companies running an ICO, an app blockchain company. We are building our blockchain smart contract technology on top of an existing blockchain, namely Ethereum, using ERC-20 tokenization mechanics. The LiveEdu network is a classic model that is highly suitable for blockchain smart contract tokenization. The blockchain will decentralize key product development decisions that are made on both the supply and demand side. Tokenization will help LiveEdu build its network faster on both the demand and supply side:
Supply side:
1. LiveEdu does not create content itself, but provides a peer-to-peer project network that connects streamers to viewers from the whole world.
2. We plan to use tokenization as a key approach to solve our chicken-and-egg marketplace problem by incentivizing early project creators with a mix of EDU tokens and cash.
3. Tokenization will enable LiveEdu to bind content creators because they will have a shared interest in the long-term value appreciation of EDU tokens.
4. We plan to use investors in the ICO who have subject matter domain expertise to create projects. Therefore we see the ICO as a way to build deep relationships with potential project creators.
Demand side:
1. The success of LiveEdu will depend on creating content that viewers want to watch. So far, streamers have decided which projects to create, frequently deviating from what viewers want to watch. Tokenization will empower viewers as token holders to submit projects or vote on projects. This will transform LiveEdu from a supply-side-driven marketplace to a demand one.
2. Tokenization will enable LiveEdu to launch a native payment currency that is deeply embedded into the product and used for all payment transactions.
3. Tokenization will enable LiveEdu to reward site supporters, moderators, and API ecosystem developers, using EDU tokens without spending any fiat upfront, which reduces business risk.
EDU token holders benefit from:
1. 20% of annual revenue used to repurchase tokens back from market.
2. 10% of received subscription EDU tokens being burnt.
3. Investors’ ability to use EDU tokens for voting on key decisions in the network.
4. Growth of the EDU network through addition of Chinese, Russian, and Portuguese projects.
5. Growth of the EDU network by opening up to all topics in 2019.
ICO Alert: What is the difference between non-premium and premium projects? Why are only premium projects tokenized?
Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO: There are two main types of projects on LiveEdu, namely premium and non-premium projects. Non-premium projects are not monetizable and also have low viewer engagement. For the purpose of our ICO, only premium projects will be tokenized. Unlike non-premium projects, premium projects are educational, narrative, well structured and created with the sole intention of teaching. It is the main project type LiveEdu has moved to focus on.
ICO Alert: How does LiveEdu compete with a company like YouTube who already has such a network effect and can pay users based on the amount of views received? What are the advantages to LiveEdu for a streamer and viewer?
Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO: We don’t compete with YouTube one-on-one, as online education is a side show on YouTube. YouTube has some courses and content for beginners. Most of that content is neither complete nor structured. LiveEdu is not focused on beginners, but intermediate to experts.
LiveEdu is all about real practical projects that viewers can watch and download resources to practice with. YouTube is not focused on project based learning and project creators will not create projects there because they don’t get paid by YouTube for educational content. LiveEdu is running a purely paid subscription model and project creators are paid when their projects are watched or project resources accessed.
Our users join LiveEdu because they have the intent to learn. YouTube is not the place for serious structured learning.
ICO Alert: Is there any concern that as the LiveEdu platform grows, the Ethereum network will no longer be able to handle such a large amount of transactions?
Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO: Yes, this is something we keep discussing in the team, but we expect the high gas cost on the Ethereum network to drop with the next releases. In about three years, after we have fully built out our external ecosystem, we will build our own protocol blockchain and migrate from the ethereum protocol.
ICO Alert: What are some of the things LiveEdu wants to accomplish when it comes to educating the masses on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology?
Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO: One of the core aspects of LiveEdu is people learning how to build a product. We apply the same philosophy and thinking to the crypto space. We are not targeting to train people on basics. Our main goal here is to give college students and professionals access to a ton of practical cryptocurrency projects so they can learn how to build decentralized applications, bots, tools, smart contracts and blockchains. If normal college students and professionals start building cryptocurrency applications, the size of the cryptocurrency market will grow exponentially than what we know of today. Imagine what the App Store would have been without developers developing apps for it.
ICO Alert: How far along is the project today and when can contributors expect to use the platform? What does the full roadmap look like for the rest of 2018 and 2019?
Dr. Michael Garbade, CEO: We already have an existing beta product which is accessible at www.liveedu.tv. Our new native mobile apps will be released in 2018. We are going to do a new release in each quarter in 2018 and 2019. The two years will be focused on building out our internal ecosystem. The main task will be coordinating with project creators on the creation of 700–1,000 projects per quarter.
Pre-ICO Information
The pre-ICO is currently live and ends on December 31, 2017. For the pre-ICO stage, investors can purchase EDU tokens directly with fiat, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether and selected ERC-20 tokens (Storj, Qtum, EOS, Decentraland, and Civic). There is a minimum contribution amount of $200 during the pre-ICO, a soft cap of $1,000,000 and a hard cap of $8,000,000. It’s important to note that the soft and hard cap are only reached with the Ether that is contributed. Any non-Ether investments do not count toward the hard cap, so it’s possible that the pre-ICO raises more than $8,000,000. If the hard cap is reached with Ether investments, the pre-ICO will close immediately. All non-Ether investments will still be converted to Ether, but they will not count toward the hard cap. The pre-ICO price is as follows, with bonuses depending on the amount contributed:
1 Ether = 3,300 EDU
1 Bitcoin = 67,000 EDU
1 Litecoin = 1,800 EDU
$200 — $10,000 USD = 25% bonus
$10,000 — $29,999 = 30% bonus
$ 30,000 — $49,999 = 35% bonus
$50,000 — $99,999 = 40% bonus
$100,000 or more = 50% bonus
For more information on how to join the pre-ICO please visit this site page. Any questions regarding the pre-ICO can be emailed to tokensale@liveedu.tv.
ICO Information
The ICO begins on January 15, 2018 and ends February 10, 2018. The pre-ICO prices above are also the prices for the ICO in order to prevent pre-ICO buyers from arbitraging a favorable pre-ICO price:
1 Ether = 3,300 EDU
1 Bitcoin = 67,000 EDU
1 Litecoin = 1,800 EDU
There is a minimum contribution amount of $3 and the sale will be closed within 48 hours if at any point $4,000,000 has been raised. And the following bonuses are available for early contributors to the ICO:
First tranche: 20% bonus
Second tranche: 10% bonus
For more information please visit the LiveEdu website.
Token Distribution Information
There are a total of 250,000,000 EDU tokens being created, with 125,000,000 EDU available across the pre-ICO and ICO. EDU tokens will be distributed to contributors one week after the close of the ICO. No further tokens will be created after the ICO and 20% of revenues are used to purchase tokens back from the market in an effort to decrease the supply of the tokens.
The EDU token is an ERC-20 token and the smart contract for contribution was setup by New Alchemy, a blockchain/ICO consulting company. The ERC-20 token has slight deviations from the normal ERC-20 token and is designed to mimic the Bancor, Filecoin and Civic ERC-20 token. In order to receive your EDU tokens, you must use an ERC-20 compatible Ethereum wallet to contribute Ether, or provide an ERC-20 compatible Ethereum wallet when contributing non-Ether investments.
The allocation of all tokens is as follows:
50% (125,000,000 EDU): Pre-ICO and ICO
13% (32,500,000 EDU): Content creators/streamers
13% (32,500,000 EDU): Team
9% (22,500,000 EDU): Subscription pool (user token purchases)
8% (20,000,000 EDU): Legal and technical advisory, bounty programs, and marketing
4% (10,000,000 EDU): API ecosystem developers
2% (5,000,000 EDU): Supporters (quality assurance and site moderation)
1% (2,500,000 EDU): Learners (viewers)
Use of ICO Proceeds
35%: Team member expansion
25%: Platform development and server costs
15%: Building premium projects
15%: Marketing
10%: Overhead
Team
Source: ICO Alert
