An opportunity for humanity to turn back from the disaster

The system bugs turned into the affiliated ‘gatekeepers’

Data is the connecting link of the 21st century economy. No business is competitive without deep knowledge of customer needs and relevant audience insights. At the same time, we keep track of the way business controls the tremendous volume of user data. They use it to reach a dominant position in the personal data market. And not only that, digital advertising is an excellent example, where Google and Facebook, relying on knowledge about users, have managed to capture the market and dominate it, absorbing 80% of market growth. When they hold so much control of both the data and the advertising markets, they obviously have an unfair advantage. Thus, any market that the triopoly (Facebook, Google, Amazon) decides to enter will be inevitably cornered.

At the same time, the triopoly has become, over the long term, more than tech corporations. They are now the machines that decide which decisions and opinions we should support and which we shouldn't. By combining the power of AI resources with an abundance of data about people, we are coming to a world where decisions made by humans are simply and solely formal. The overriding goal of these algorithms is to generate a profit for a short list of corporations, where an individual takes a passive role via personal consumption.

In the current landscape of the venture capital market, there is not much reason to depend on the emergence of an alternative. All IT operates on the footing of well-defined cyclical algorithms based on venture fundraising rounds. Ultimately, the cash out is the final goal of venture capital firms. Simply put, whatever the positive intentions of the founders are, in the long run, the whole thing distils down to money. You need cash if you really want to move onward and upward. If you favour cash and growth opportunities, you must give some control to the cash providers. The attractiveness of any project to venture capital is mostly based on appropriate User Acquisition Cost vs. LifeTime Value received from the acquired user. The venture capital pyramid acts as a farm for ideas. The same tech giants are at the helm and are buying all the new innovations in the market. It is difficult to expect any independent player to be created in the personal data industry within the venture capital eco-system. Since the main measure of success therein is the number of zeros in the valuation and the acquirer’s eminence, the IT market has been degraded to the level where "Sell oneself to Google" is the peak of an IT entrepreneur’s success.

One must admit that, a living example is Google itself. Once created with a good intention of bringing innovation to search. Google creators signed the 'Do no Evil' as the core corporate philosophy. The company has different objectives nowadays. Fundraisers and IPO put a premium on the cash-centric shareholders’ interest, like financial results, dynamics of expansion, or share price growth. In this configuration, “Do no Evil” isn’t actual anymore.

myGaru vision

Creating myGaru, I regularly receive interest from external investors. I’m grateful for their appreciation of our product and team. However, in no uncertain terms would I even discuss the possibility of investment. Refusing them, I receive sceptical assessments “well, sooner or later there will be an offer where you are not able to hold your ground.” Misinterpreted values perception in society is one of the main problems on the way of its harmonic evolving. I truly believe that myGaru is a unique opportunity for humanity and our mission is to put it into action in the best-performing way.

This unique opportunity is based on the clear understanding by authorities about the critical role of personal data as the leverage for any consumer market advantage. It resulted in the establishment of new Data Protection Legislation. The legislation, like GDPR, clearly defines the Individual as the only owner of personal data. Moreover, the independence of data intermediaries is the basic protection against re-monopolization of the personal data market by the market major players who control the data of their users.

‘New approach proposes a model based on the neutrality and transparency of data intermediaries, which are organisers of data sharing or pooling, to increase trust. To ensure this neutrality, the data-sharing intermediary cannot deal in the data on its own account (e.g. by selling it to another company or using it to develop their own product based on this data)’ European Commission.

From there, the most unique feature of the data administrator model, myGaru is based on, lies in the legal restrictions for the corporations that produce any services and products based on data. Moreover, legal restrictions prevent the opportunity for companies, that already have any control over user data, from creating data intermediary services similar to myGaru. We have already had a chance to observe such attempts and everyone is aware of what came out of it.

Still, the fact that company growth needs should be matched with resources is in order. In myGaru, on the one hand, we create the most decentralised system that opens up opportunities for external businesses to participate in creating value and improving the myGaru platform. On the other hand, we redistribute the upside of future opportunities among those who create the product. This innovative approach allows teams of experts to invest their knowledge and work in return for myGaru shares. Consequently, we attain scalable teams with a hard commitment to their faith in the myGaru mission and goals. Their remuneration includes not only the market value of top-notch work, but also upsides of financial intermediaries excluded from the myGaru growth model. Moreover, the fractal model allows us to avoid the necessity of increasing the inherent bureaucracy found in any hierarchical system, where an army of “controllers who control the controllers” is unavoidable. Our vision is built on a conscious intention to give an outstanding opportunity for independent teams involved in myGaru, instead of the classic cycle "Fundraiser - M&A - Expansion". Thus, we create a balanced model where financial capital impact is limited. At the same time, we are pleased to note the willingness of large businesses not only to participate in the creation of the myGaru’s landscape, but also to financially support the development of an equidistant player in the personal data market and to support a fair platform for reestablishing digital ads. A Win-Win outcome from myGaru independence and success is clear to everyone.

In such a case, executional and operational risks should also be taken into consideration. Hence, at the very beginning of the creation of myGaru, I decided to integrate an independent Public Board into the company’s structure. It is a place where people with a proven track record in the human and privacy rights domain will be able to convert their reputation capital for the benefit of society. People who place values above interests of their own. People whose reputations have continually proven their commitment to human-centric principles. They have repeatedly drawn attention to the key problems of humanity. Notwithstanding the overwhelming support and the opportunity to be widely heard, distinguished opinion shapers often face an impenetrable barrier to corporate financial interests. Besides, this in turn determines most of the processes in the world, despite the clear inconsistencies with the interests of humanity. The irony is that in modern times, these leaders, even with fantastic support from society, are not equipped enough with tools to influence processes. In myGaru, our goal is, on the one hand, to preserve myGaru from the influence of profit-oriented capital and, on the other hand, myGaru invites those who, through their actions, have proven commitment to the highest principles for the greater good of humanity.

At all our meetings, I persistently emphasise that the fundamental measure of success and sufficient weight in the decision-making process in myGaru is the achievement of our clearly-defined mission and goals. Our focus is on absolute transformation of the Internet to a more secure and user-centric environment that will subsequently create a Better world.

A world where financial resources from the booming digital ads market are redistributed competitively among a larger number of players.

A world where society has a number of effective tools to address global challenges.

A world where money is just an instrument, not an ultimate goal.