There has been enough buzz all around for us to understand one basic fact about Blockchain – it is going to revolutionize the way businesses work. Further, it can be considered a global use case for Loyalty and Rewards System, where conversion factors play a big role, as every company has a different mechanism to convert the points with little or no transparency where the customer is concerned.

Blockchain may be relatively nascent in the Indian markets and industries ecosystem, but there is no denying that its adoption and fan following is growing as we speak. As far back as in 2015, entrepreneurs started swimming in the new ocean and founding start-ups based entirely on the benefits that Blockchain has to offer. As we see more number of entrepreneurs and business folks embrace this so-called disruptive technology, it is intriguing to explore exactly what they find so essential in Blockchain so that we can answer the question:

How can entrepreneurs derive the full potential of their companies through blockchain?

Sometime in 2016, Deloitte ran an online survey to help the world understand why Blockchain was gaining such widespread acceptance in organizations. The maximum vote went to the factors of innate security and fraud prevention as well as its ability to improve system operations by reducing costs and increasing speed. The survey helped come to the conclusion that Blockchain was a sure shot for exploring new revenue streams with a minimal downside. To reiterate, Blockchain is a decentralized and encrypted electronic ledger with a timestamp that helps store and securely share digital data across users in different networks without the need of an administrator, as the users can manage the data themselves.

First and foremost, it negates the need for record-keeping. The concept of Smart contracts is a peer-to-peer database that captures all the terms and conditions, policy data and documentation agreed upon in a business transaction. It also goes a step further and keeps tabs to determine if and when the terms have been adhered to and if the requisite payments have changed hands and keeps a record of that as well.

Now because it is based on Blockchain, it can record all events pertaining to the initial contract that occur across the users/networks and display them transparently and in a calibrated manner, across the related users and networks, with a timestamp, preventing any scope of fraud. Time stamping, in layman’s terms is the wrapping of data on a block within an entire Blockchain, thus creating an unchangeable record that can be digitally stored for any future purpose including legal and compliance needs. It also prevents any modification of the original documentation without the consensus of all the users involved. Additionally, it can automatically execute payments without any manual intervention.

The additional good news here for smaller businesses and start-ups is that the concept of the intermediaries and their transaction fees, hitherto levied for each payment, has just been erased from their list of costs, enabling a level playing field in the market. Having established the main advantages of Blockchain, the question waiting to be asked is this:

How can entrepreneurs and small businesses leverage Blockchain?

The simplest way to answer this question is to list out the applications of Blockchain in a business setup –





- Proof of identity – The blocks of data that cannot be tampered with are a great way of storing your identity. Not only can this negate the possibility of identity theft, it can also help companies conduct easy employee and company verifications

- Protection of intellectual property – Again, as data written on the Blockchain cannot be stolen or copied, it is a fool proof way of protecting not just the intellectual property of your product/solution, you can also prevent any counterfeiting of the product as well

- Simplification/streamlining and verification of supply chains – Bringing in a transparency into your supply chains automatically means that you know exactly who your suppliers are and what their systems are like

- Raising easy capital – Most lenders and VCs often overlook small ideas and growing businesses. Traditional loans can be an expensive proposition. Finance can become a massive entry barrier for most business founders. Instead, you can simply go online and raise millions by creating digital tokens or Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) which works rather like an IPO. If you are negotiating with a venture firm, using Blockchain, they can also transfer funds in a safe and secure environment within minutes to help you get started

Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize several aspects of your business be it your accounting side, management and operations, HR, advertising and marketing, IT, cybersecurity or even just the way you raise money to get started.

As an entrepreneur if you want to know what is next from Blockchain, my answer would be that Blockchain is as indicative of massive change as it is of limitless imagination. They are both yours to explore and unlock the potential.

What do you think Blockers ?