Open letter to Richard Branson: Revolutionising investment banking, revolutionising financial markets and Economic Development

Dear Sir Branson

I read with interest about your initiative to Change the face of banking. There is also an enormous opportunity in re-casting the equity market, or investment banking industry, by applying social networking concepts to recast service delivery through the internet. An online industry network for the equity market can bring together companies, advisors and investors in an online space where they can collaborate and distribute information to facilitate the growth of small and medium enterprises. This is called Equity Market 3.0.

The purpose of this letter is to introduce the opportunity for Virgin of applying Equity Market 3.0 to fuel the growth of SME’s and the British Virgin Islands financial centre. The venture could be delivered in five days, customised and publicly launched within 60-90 days. This letter will introduce the potential of applying Web 3.0 principles to other social, political and industrial endeavours on the Critical Path to Economic Development 4.0 including Climate Stability 3.0. It will also introduce the possibility of applying a Web 3.0 strategy to the UK financial market.

Fuelling the growth of SME’s around the world

Equity Market 3.0 applies the principles of social networking to create the next generation of financial markets. Equity Market 3.0 distributes information and facilitates collaboration amongst companies, advisers and investors in a peer to peer network.  Equity Market 3.0 fuels the growth of SME’s by delivering the correct skills and capital and increasing the utilisation of advisers and investors worldwide. SME’s in the major financial centres often fall below the radar of a profitable investment banking industry focussed on the larger companies. SME’s would be the primary beneficiary of Equity Market 3.0.

Existing investment banking and equity markets are essentially a cottage industry with asymmetric information flows between potential customers, customers, advisors, brokers and sources of capital. As such they are highly ineffective and deliver bottle-neck returns to some brokers and investment bankers. Importantly, many small and medium-sized companies find it very difficult to access correct skills and capital, while the full universe of experts and potential investors is not fully utilized. This may be an attractive industry to Virgin could enter and with significant benefits to consumers (companies, advisers and investors) and an excellent opportunity to create investment returns.

Equitymarket 3.0 is not a stock exchange. It is a collaborative hub that distributes information, facilitates collaboration and arranges collaborative transactions amongst companies, advisers and investors in a peer to peer network. However, it could incorporate the prices and announcements generated by a stock Exchange to create a “Collaborative Microexchange“ which services SME’s globally with a full spectrum of services delivered by virtual advisers. This business may never employ more than 30 people, but it would facilitate everyday equity market interactions virtually for tens of thousands of companies, advisers and investors around the world.

The following presentation summarises Equity Market 3.0 :

The target market are companies, advisers and investors located all over the world based in any financial centre. Equity Market 3.0 is not restricted to the British Virgin Islands. This online community would fuel the growth of SME’s around the world. A small proportion of these companies, advisers and investors may specialise in the British Virgin Islands.

Fueling the growth of the British Virgin Islands financial centre

The British Virgin Islands is one of the world’s leading financial centres. Its potential is, however, limited by its access to people, companies and investors. Equity Market 3.0 transcends this problem by using a virtual platform to increase the community of companies, advisers and investors in smaller financial centres. This opens up significant possibilities and unanticipated benefits for global economic development of a virtual community to enhance the British Virgin Islands. 

Equity Market 3.0 – An opportunity for Virgin?

EquityMarket would offer companies, advisers and investors the benefits of an Equity Market 3.0 collaborative hub. When combined with the Virgin brand and marketing, EquityMarket would deliver a highly competitive virtual financial centre to companies, advisers and investors worldwide and be a high growth and profitable business for Virgin.

I can deliver the Equity Market 3.0 collaborative hub to you in a 5 day ‘Central Brain’ template (Lightning Strike) Your team could then customise and launch Equity Market within 30-90 days. Equity Market could be the first Equity Market 3.0 collaborative hub to market. Revenue opportunities include the payment of content until expiry dates and subscription fees for members. Unlike typical social networks which have an Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of between US$2-25, an industry network focused on valuable information would have an ARPU of US$500 and higher. Web 3.0 businesses are typically cheap to create, have a low break-even point and high prospects of growth. Consumer adoption is the key risk. The size of the global investment banking industry is dwarfed by online social networks. I know a Virgin strategy and marketing could deliver a critical mass of companies, advisers and investors from all over the world quickly.

Delivery to your team within 5 days

I can provide a 5 day ‘Central Brain’ template (Lightning Strike) to deliver EquityMarket 3.0. Your team could then customise and launch the web application within 30-90 days and pursue a Equity Market 3.0 or Collaborative Macroexchange strategy. I am excited by the potential of Equity Market 3.0.

Financial market UK – a Financial Market 3.0 strategy encompassing multiple asset classes?

There is also the possibility of apply a Web 3.0 strategy to the broader financial market. This is something we would need to discuss. It would be profound and certainly shake up the status quo.

Climate Stability 3.0 – another Web 3.0 network on the Critical Path

I have also applied the principles of social networking and Web 3.0 networks to other industrial, social and political endeavors. Specifically, I have included a screenshot of Climate Stability 3.0 for your convenience below.

Climate Stability 3.0 is a Web 3.0 network which aims to deliver climate stability by providing a costless and immediate means to distribute information, facilitate collaboration, exchange content, manage workflow, deliver transparency amongst the community with a common interest in climate stability. The climate stability online network distributes information facilitates collaboration, shares knowledge and coordinates innovation to contribute to the stability of Earth’s climate. A screenshot of Climate Stability 3.0 is provided below.

Economic Development 4.0

Economic Development 4.0 is the widespread use of web based person to person structures by social, industrial and political endeavours to deliver global transparency, meritocracy, accessibility and productivity. These endeavours include industry, Democracy 3.0, Climate Stability 3.0 and processes of innovation. Economic Development 4.0 focuses the collective effort of a UNITED (International Governance 4.0) community to engineer global transparency, meritocracy, productivity, accessibility and quality of life. It also delivers global community governance to decide values and priorities internationally (with UNITED (International Governance 4.0)) and nationally (using Democracy 3.0). In summary, it makes the world a better place. The strategy would rely on the inspiration of entrepreneurs and philanthropists. I can not think of another entrepreneur that could single handedly implement Economic Development 4.0. I think it would be lots of fun.

There are also parallels between UNITED (International Governance 4.0) which aims to implement Economic Development 4.0 and the Virgin Unite foundation. Both aggregate and focus community effort for a specific purpose.

The following presentation summarises Economic Development 4.0 :

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the development of Equity market 3.0 and its role in fueling the growth of SME’s with you or one of your representatives. I would also welcome the opportunity to discuss other applications of Web 3.0 networks outlined above.