Quick Answer:
Entrepreneurs can use blockchain technology to solve core business problems like building trust with new customers, streamlining expensive verification processes, and creating new, direct revenue models. It’s not about the buzzword; it’s about applying a tool for transparency and efficiency to the foundational challenges of starting and running a business, as outlined in “Entrepreneurship Secrets for Beginners.”
I was talking to a founder last week who was overwhelmed. She had built a beautiful platform for selling handmade crafts, but her biggest cost wasn’t marketing or materials—it was the endless back-and-forth to verify the authenticity and ethical sourcing of her suppliers. Her customers wanted proof, and providing it was eating her margins and her time. She asked me, “Is blockchain just for crypto, or can it actually help my real business?”
This is the exact moment where technology meets entrepreneurship. You have a painful, expensive friction point in your business. The question isn’t “How do I use blockchain?” It’s “How do I solve this problem?” One thing I wrote about in Entrepreneurship Secrets for Beginners that keeps proving true is that the best technology for your business is the one that makes a core process invisible, cheaper, or more trusted. For many founders today, that tool can be blockchain, if you look past the hype and see its practical engine.
Start With the Problem, Not the Tech
In the book, the first secret is always to identify the real pain point you’re solving. Applying blockchain because it’s trendy is a sure way to burn cash. Instead, look for problems where you need an immutable record, decentralized trust, or automated verification. Are you spending too much on middlemen for payments or contracts? Is product provenance a selling point you can’t easily prove? That’s your entry point. The tech should serve the business plan, not the other way around.
Funding and Resource Constraints
A major section of the book deals with bootstrapping and smart funding. The beauty of modern blockchain platforms is that you don’t need to build your own chain. Using existing, secure networks like Ethereum or Polygon for specific functions (like smart contracts or tokens) is like renting a sophisticated factory instead of building one. It turns a capital-intensive tech project into an operational cost, aligning perfectly with the beginner’s mindset of leveraging what exists to build what you need.
Building Trust on a Budget
For a new business, establishing trust is your most expensive marketing challenge. The chapter on marketing on a budget talks about creating undeniable value. A blockchain-based system that transparently tracks a product’s journey from source to sale, or that automatically executes agreements, isn’t just a feature—it’s a trust machine. It does the work of convincing for you, 24/7. It answers the customer’s “Why should I believe you?” before they even ask.
The chapter on team building came from a painful lesson I learned early on. I had a handshake agreement with a brilliant developer for a equity-and-cash deal. As the project grew, our memories of that agreement diverged. The resulting conflict nearly sank the venture before it started. We spent more time and money on lawyers than on product for months. It taught me that clarity in agreements is the bedrock of any team. Years later, when I first understood smart contracts—self-executing code that only triggers when conditions are met—I immediately thought of that disaster. A simple, transparent smart contract could have encoded our agreement, held the funds in escrow, and released them automatically upon milestone completion. It would have removed doubt, preserved our relationship, and kept us focused on building. That experience directly shaped how I advise founders to structure clear, automatic systems.
Step 1: Audit Your Business for “Trust Friction”
Go through your key operations. Where are you or your customers paying a premium for verification, escrow, or authentication? This could be in supply chain logging, document notarization, royalty distributions, or customer loyalty programs. List these points. They are your potential blockchain use cases.
Step 2: Map it to a Simple Blockchain Primitive
Don’t think “build a blockchain.” Think “use a ledger,” “use a smart contract,” or “issue a token.” Need proof of ownership? A digital ledger can do that. Need to automate a recurring payment? A smart contract can do that. Need to incentivize community engagement? A token might work. Match your friction point to the simplest available tool.
Step 3: Prototype with Low-Code/No-Code Tools
You don’t need a full development team to test the concept. Platforms exist that allow you to create simple smart contracts or token systems with drag-and-drop interfaces or minimal code. Use these to build a bare-bones prototype. Can it solve the problem in a way that feels simpler and cheaper? This is your validation step before any serious investment.
“The most powerful tool in your startup arsenal is not a technology, but a question: ‘What is the simplest, most automatic way to create trust between me and my customer?’ Answer that, and the right tools reveal themselves.”
— From “Entrepreneurship Secrets for Beginners” by Abdul Vasi
- Blockchain is a tool for automation and transparency, not a magic bullet. Apply it only where you have a clear problem with verification or trust.
- You can leverage existing blockchain networks. You almost certainly do not need to build your own, especially as a beginner.
- A smart contract is simply business logic that executes itself. Think of it as the most reliable, tireless employee for handling predefined agreements.
- The goal is to make a costly process invisible. If implementing blockchain adds more complexity than it removes, it’s the wrong solution.
- Start with a tiny, non-critical pilot. Test the concept and the user experience before betting your core business on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to understand cryptocurrency to use blockchain in my business?
Not really. Cryptocurrency is one application of blockchain. Think of blockchain as the underlying database technology—a secure, shared ledger. You can use this ledger to track products, contracts, or records without ever touching a cryptocurrency token, though sometimes tokens are used as a mechanism within the system for incentives or payments.
Isn’t blockchain technology too expensive and slow for a small business?
This was true of early blockchains, but not anymore. Many modern “Layer 2” networks are built for speed and low cost. For context, executing a simple smart contract on certain networks can cost less than a penny and take seconds. The key is choosing the right platform for your specific use case.
What’s a real-world example of a small business using blockchain?
A small coffee roaster could use a QR code on their bags linked to a blockchain record. A customer scans it and sees the coffee’s journey from a specific farm in Colombia, through fair-trade certification logs, to the roasting date. This verifies the premium story, builds trust, and differentiates the brand without a massive marketing budget.
How do I find developers who can build this?
Look for “smart contract developers” or “Web3 developers.” Be clear that you are solving a specific business problem, not launching a crypto coin. Your job is to articulate the business logic clearly (e.g., “When the shipment is marked ‘received’ in this system, the supplier gets paid 50% automatically”). Their job is to code that logic into a reliable contract.
Is the data on a blockchain truly private?
It depends on the blockchain. Public blockchains are transparent; everyone can see the data (though often in encrypted form). Private or permissioned blockchains restrict who can see and write data. For most business applications involving sensitive data, a private blockchain or a hybrid model where only hashes (digital fingerprints) of documents are stored on-chain is the appropriate choice.
The journey of an entrepreneur is about finding leverage—ways to do more with less, to build trust faster, to automate the tedious. Blockchain technology, stripped of its financial hype, is just another form of leverage. It won’t replace a solid business model, a great team, or genuine customer love. But when applied thoughtfully to the right problem, it can act as a powerful accelerator, taking a structural weakness in your operation and turning it into a visible strength. Start with the pain point, explore the tool, and always, always let the needs of your real business lead the way.
