LONDON (Bywire News) - Last week we asked the question: is EOS about to do an Apple and apparently, quite a few people liked it, so let’s see if we can squeeze any more life out of the analogy. The comparison is a good one. Like Apple, EOS has superior technology and like Apple, it is much misunderstood. However, the same comparison works for other, less fortunate examples. Time and time again in history there have been superior concepts which – for one reason or another – sunk without a trace. Apple, though, had one thing they didn’t have – Steve Jobs.
From the time he re-joined Apple in 1997 to when he stepped down in 2011 Jobs was the human face of Apple – even more so than during his first stint. He oversaw a transformation in its fortunes and a 9,000% increase in share value. Plenty of articles have detailed how Jobs turned things around, but it essentially boils down to a few important things. He empowered the talented people within Apple unlocking groundbreaking innovations such as the iPod and iPhone. He brought belief back into the company and, most importantly of all, communicated that belief to the outside world.
Apple became an organisation forged in his image. From a backward thinking institution, it became one of the most ambitious companies in the tech sector – willing to take big risks and reap big rewards.
He, then, was the difference for Apple – a figurehead who transformed everything about the company from the way it worked to the way it was perceived. The problem for EOS is that until now it hasn’t had that figure. For most of its life, it has been overshadowed by Block.one and they have shaped how it works, develops and how it has been perceived. As a result, the EOS community took a downturn. Development slowed and support was non-existent. To the wider world EOS became inextricably linked to Block.one’s high profile struggles with the SEC.
It was an image of failure, fraud and disappointment which remains difficult to shake off even now.
Finding a champion
What EOS needs, then, is its very own Steve Jobs and there are signs that it has found one in the shape of Yves La Rose. From the moment that he created the EOS Network Foundation, La Rose has done more than anyone else to shape the direction of EOS. He has brought in the support, which was missing, and injected momentum. Most importantly he has injected a passionate belief into the future of EOS which he communicates effectively to anyone he talks to.
To many in the community, he is already being viewed as the de facto head of EOS and for some, that feels worrying. For a decentralised community, having a single figurehead feels a little awkward. There is a risk of swapping out one dominant player in the shape of B1 for another in the form of La Rose and the ENF.
However, such thinking misunderstands the nature of communication and the importance of leaders within an ecosystem. The wider sector is instinctively drawn to individuals and compelling stories. From Elon Musk to Charles Hoskinson, Bill Gates and of course Steve Jobs the tech world has been shaped by charismatic industry leaders who communicate their vision and passion for their respective companies.
For EOS having such a high-profile leader could be critical. Thanks to the work done over the past year EOS already has all the ingredients it needs to do an Apple. It is the world’s first carbon neutral blockchain, offering virtually free transactions and unbeatable speeds. The difficulty so far has been communicating that vision to the rest of the cryptocurrency community and showing that the people in charge of EOS in 2022 are very different to those who led it down a dead end. EOS needs a new story and for that, it needs a new cast of characters.
The choice of that cast will be crucial. In some cases, even if they do not fully understand the business model investors may back those entrepreneurs they believe in. For EOS it is not enough to have the best technology – they need to create a community that investors and developers want to be a part of.
La Rose represents the perfect figurehead – the community’s own version of Steve Jobs – even though some of us at Bywire Towers feel he’s a bit more Jurgen Klopp. He brings all the key elements a good leader has – an ability to unlock the talent within an organisation, a clear passion for EOS and an ability to project that outward to the world beyond. That – as much as anything else – will be crucial to transforming how EOS is perceived and turning it from the best-kept secret in the blockchain to a community everyone wants to be a part of.
(Writing by Tom Cropper, editing by Dan Singjoy and Klaudia Fior)