A lot of teams ask me about if and when should they launch a token. Four criteria came to mind while I was noodling on this on the plane:

1) The token is inherently a part of the product usage, or at least has solid token mechanics (aka a reason for it existing)

2) you can build a cult-like, high-quality community that is engaged actively and long-term

3) You are on track to make 8 figs of revenue (ideally on-chain revenue), to potentially be able to do token purchases or have the DAO earn fees

4) The product has massive usage/adoption, and you can layer on token incentives/rewards/etc

(This excludes meme coins and tokens launched for fun or testing)

I Feel like teams should should have at LEAST two of these absolutely rock solid before launching a token. Anything missing here?

Reasons that I think are BAD:

1) We are launching the token hoping that it will improve our profile and drive product market fit

2) Our investors told us to

3) We have market makers that can pump the price no matter what

4) The token is bolted-on to the product (e.g. you have to or can pay in the token... which is a pretty lame hook by itself)