How Web3 Might Enable a Fairer Capitalism - Interview with Alistair Rennie

Originally published by Take3 as part of their 'Faces of Web3' interview series, November 1, 2024.

How did you get started in the Web3 space?

It was a conspiracy! Various roles in different industries over two decades, and the problems I saw along the way, colluded and led me to Web3. I discovered a passion for understanding people during my marketing degree, and started out working in the consumer insights industry. It was great, but I thought, there’s got to be a better way of doing data.

I then spent 10 years in financial services working in strategy and innovation. That got me deep into economics and how money works. It was great, but I thought, there’s got to be a better way to do money efficently.

With that in mind, I pitched an idea to Google Wallet, it didn’t work out but I ended up taking a job there doing research and Global thought leadership. It was great, but as Google evolved, I thought, there’s got to be a better way of doing… the internet.

When you add all that up, crypto and Web3 was kind of inevitable. I quit Google, moved to the other side of the world, and went to work for a crypto exchange.

What was your motivator to move to Protocol Theory?

All of the above and a chap called Jonathan Inglis (our Managing Director). Protocol Theory represented a bizarrely good fit with what I had been doing, what I wanted to do and things that I believed were important.

I saw a post from a colleague of mine who had joined Protocol Theory and managed to get a meeting with Jonathan. I pitched him the idea that was born out of those beliefs I’d developed during my career; that there was a better way of doing things. Turns out, he was already planning something very similar – coming at it from a slightly different but wildly complementary perspective.

He shared his broader vision, and I was hooked. I’m excited by my role as Global Head of Innovation & Thought Leadership, where I apply the consumer lens and voice to the daily interactions and builders in Web3. Consumers have always been important to me and that’s my stimulus for innovation and an area of research missing in Web3.

The definition of ‘Web3’ is quite broad and varies depending on the industry backgrounds of the people you speak to. How do you define the term?

I’m almost actively trying not to define it yet, but essentially, a better version of the internet. More equitable and more engaging, with a bunch of exciting new opportunities – including some that we haven’t imagined yet. Potentially a better version of capitalism as we see it today if the decentralised vision plays out.

What do you determine to be the biggest societal opportunities that Web3 brings?

A decentralised internet has the potential to create a more equitable internet.

Given that the internet is so woven into the fabric of our economics, and our lives, a more equitable version of it would inherently contribute to a more equitable society. This would be by creating a more even distribution of the wealth that the internet creates.

And if it isn’t more equitable than web 2, then it is probably less likely to succeed – we’ll just stick with what we’ve got right? That creates a commercial incentive to create a more equitable internet. In theory then, we end up equality as a commercial driver. That’s an exciting prospect, we might even be able to fix capitalism a little bit along the way.

As the population ages, Web3 could also be an important driver of productivity and economic growth. Decentralisation may become a critical element of value creation for our economies, creating new opportunities for folks beyond the conventional retirement age. That would have all kinds of economic and social benefits.

And what do you see as the biggest challenge that the Web3 community faces?

Well, we all know the challenges around utility, adoption, and UI/UX etc. You can pick any one of those I guess!

But I’m starting to wonder if all of those things might be symptoms of a higher order issue; a misalignment of incentives. The incentives got screwed up for web2—harvest data and exploit—which had all sorts of undesirable consequences.

In Web3 we have tokens as an incentive. Being able to reward developers and investors with tokens is a crucial, powerful, and exciting way to drive Web3 innovation. But the flipside is that this incentive, and the short term speculation that accompanies it, means that we can achieve our financial goals without building the kind of utility and UX that the majority of mainstream consumers need and want.

We don’t need to. Developers and investors are successfully making millions of dollars by building utility for the Web3 minority with the kind of UX that we know they will tolerate. You can’t get away with that outside of Web3 and without the token and speculation, the return on investment would be poor.

That’s actually part of what makes Web3 cool, but these kinds of mechanics don’t create much of an incentive to build mass market utility with good UI/UX, given that we can achieve our financial goals without worrying about any of that stuff.

What are some career highlights in your Web3 journey so far?

Quitting big tech to move to the other side of the world and join a start-up crypto exchange was a pretty big one for me! Since then, every project I have the privilege of working on is a highlight. Web3 is great, you can feel a little isolated sometimes where I live, but the nature of Web3 means I get global exposure to cutting edge innovation and amazing people every day.

We work with a broad range of clients from all over the world, pretty much all of whom are, in some way, doing things that haven’t really been done before. That never gets old. And consumer research is relatively new in Web3, so most of the data we collect has never been collected. It’s all new territory and I love engaging clients with these new perspectives. We’re also about to publish a rather comprehensive study into crypto and Web3 adoption which, as you might have guessed, is something I’m quite passionate about, that has been thoroughly engrossing.

Perhaps the biggest highlight, though, is what we’re working on at Protocol Theory in the background. We’re staying tight-lipped on that, but maybe we can talk again next year.

What’s coming up for you and Protocol Theory this year and into 2025?

We’re a new business and currently enjoying the growth that comes with being perhaps the world’s only dedicated Web3 consumer insights company. We’re resourcing up to meet the demand and busy growing our Web3 and crypto-native user panel to support our industry specialism.

What inspires you to stay motivated professionally?

The future, the possibilities and the opportunity to try and contribute solutions to those problems I‘ve encountered throughout my career.

When you’re not working, where would we most likely find you?

With my wife and kids (Xboxing), or surfing or snowboarding, or surfing and snowboarding with my wife and kids, or maybe jumping out of an aeroplane (but not with my wife and kids!). ◼️

Alistair Rennie is Protocol Theory's Head of Global Thought Leadership, where he draws on 25 years of expertise in consumer insight, strategy, and innovation to help clients identify and capture new growth opportunities. A trusted and sought-after industry speaker, Alistair was previously Head of Strategic Insight at Easy Crypto and Research Lead (Thought Leadership, EMEA) at Google, where he developed the highly influential 'Messy Middle' marketing model. You can connect with Alistair on LinkedIn here.