Media Pitches on Cephas - Liana Banyan Knowledge Center

Pitch: Ars Technica

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: Ars Technica Editorial Subject: Platform Uses Blockchain for Ownership Verification, Not Speculation — Technical Deep-Dive Available

The Hook:

A cooperative platform is using blockchain the way it was probably meant to be used: immutable ownership records, not speculation mechanics. The technical architecture is documented and open to scrutiny.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform with some interesting technical decisions:

Blockchain for verification only — Medallions track ownership like stock certificates
No tradeable tokens — Can’t buy medallions to flip them
Economics locked in operating agreement — Cost + 20% margin, structurally unchangeable
Star Chamber verification — AI-assisted transaction verification with human oversight

Why Ars Technica Readers Would Care:

Pitch: Investopedia

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: Investopedia Editorial Subject: How “Medallion” Ownership Works in a Cooperative Platform

The Hook:

A new platform is using blockchain-tracked “medallions” to give every user fractional ownership—without the speculation mechanics that have plagued other token projects. Here’s how the economics work.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform with a novel ownership structure:

Medallions = Fractional ownership stakes tracked on blockchain
Not tradeable tokens — Ownership receipts, not speculation vehicles
Earned through participation — Not purchased for speculation
Tied to locked economics — Platform margin fixed at Cost + 20%

Why Investopedia Readers Would Care:

Pitch: Kaiser Health News

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: Kaiser Health News Editorial Subject: Cooperative Platform Tackles Prescription Access with Locked Economics

The Hook:

While policy debates continue over prescription pricing, a cooperative platform has launched with a different approach: lock the economics so they can’t extract, and let volume purchasing do the rest.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform with LifeLine Medications as one of fourteen initiatives:

Cost + 20% margin locked in operating agreement
83.3% retained by pharmacies/providers
$5/year membership
Volume purchasing power for individuals
No PBM-style middleman extraction

Why KHN Readers Would Care:

Pitch: MIT Media Lab

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: MIT Media Lab Subject: Platform Cooperative with Locked Economics — Research Collaboration Inquiry

Summary:

I’ve spent 15 years building a platform cooperative where the economics are architecturally locked—Cost + 20% margin, fixed in the operating agreement, structurally unchangeable. I’m seeking academic partners to rigorously examine whether the model does what I think it does.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform:

83.3% creator retention on every transaction
Cost + 20% margin locked in operating agreement
Three commercial portals fund fourteen charitable initiatives
Fractional ownership via blockchain-tracked medallions
$5 annual membership

Why MIT Media Lab:

Pitch: NerdWallet

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: NerdWallet Editorial Subject: Platform Offers $5/Year Access to Prescription Savings & Medical Cost Tools

The Hook:

A new platform lets users access prescription cost comparisons, medical savings accounts, and volume purchasing for healthcare supplies—all for $5 per year.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform with fourteen initiatives, including:

LifeLine Medications — Prescription price comparisons and access programs
LB MSA — Medical Savings Accounts with cooperative purchasing power
Volume purchasing — Group buying for medical supplies and healthcare needs

Why NerdWallet Readers Would Care:

Pitch: Podcast Template

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

THE ONE-LINE PITCH

15 years building a platform where workers keep 83.3% — and the margin is locked so it can’t change.

THE 30-SECOND PITCH

Jonathan Jones is a 53-year-old ARNG veteran who’s spent 15 years building Liana Banyan, a cooperative platform where creators keep 83.3% of every transaction. Unlike every other platform, the margin is locked in the legal structure — it literally cannot be raised. Three commercial divisions fund fourteen charitable initiatives across food, healthcare, manufacturing, and creative work. With 150+ patents filed and a flagship hardware product (HexIsle, a hydraulic gaming table) launching on Kickstarter, Liana Banyan is attempting to prove that platforms don’t have to enshittify.

Pitch: Shareable

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: Shareable Editorial Subject: Platform Cooperative with Locked Economics — 15 Years to Cost+20%

The Hook:

What if a platform’s economics couldn’t drift toward extraction—not because of promises, but because of architecture? A 53-year-old ARNG veteran spent 15 years building exactly that.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform where:

Platform margin is Cost + 20% — locked in operating agreement
Creators keep 83.3% of every transaction
Three commercial portals permanently fund fourteen charitable initiatives
Every member earns fractional ownership
Entry: $5/year

Why Shareable Readers Would Care:

Pitch: Stanford Social Innovation Review

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: Stanford Social Innovation Review Editorial Subject: Platform Cooperativism Case Study — 15 Years to Cost+20%

Proposed Article:

“Locking the Economics: How One Platform Made Enshittification Structurally Impossible”

The Pitch:

A 53-year-old ARNG veteran has spent 15 years building a platform cooperative where the economics literally cannot change. The platform margin is locked at Cost + 20% in the operating agreement—not as policy, but as architecture.

This isn’t theoretical. The platform exists. The math is published. And the founder is inviting scrutiny.

Pitch: STAT News

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: STAT News Editorial Subject: Platform Offers Prescription Access Through Cooperative Model — No Middleman Markup

The Hook:

A new cooperative platform is tackling prescription access differently: no middleman markup, transparent economics, and a founder who’s personally navigated healthcare without coverage.

The Initiative:

LifeLine Medications is one of fourteen initiatives within Liana Banyan, a cooperative commerce platform:

Cost + 20% margin (locked in operating agreement)
83.3% retained by providers/pharmacies
$5/year membership
Volume purchasing power for individuals
Transparent pricing — all math published

Why STAT Readers Would Care:

Pitch: TechCrunch

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: TechCrunch Editorial Subject: 15-Year Platform Cooperative Launches with Enshittification-Proof Economics

The Hook:

A 53-year-old ARNG veteran has spent 15 years building a platform cooperative with economics that can’t be changed—and the math is published for anyone to verify.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform where:

Creators keep 83.3% of every transaction (vs. ~50-70% on typical platforms)
Platform margin is locked at Cost + 20% in the operating agreement—structurally unchangeable
Three commercial portals permanently fund fourteen charitable initiatives
Every user earns fractional ownership via blockchain-tracked medallions
Entry cost: $5 annual membership

Why This Matters Now:

Pitch: The Penny Hoarder

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: The Penny Hoarder Editorial Subject: New Platform Lets Creators Keep 83.3% — Here’s How the Math Works

The Hook:

Most platforms take 30-50% of creator earnings. A new cooperative platform locks its margin at Cost + 20%, meaning creators keep 83.3% of every transaction. And membership costs $5 per year.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform where:

Creators keep 83.3% of every transaction
Platform margin is locked at Cost + 20% (cannot be changed)
Membership costs $5/year
Every member earns fractional ownership

Why Penny Hoarder Readers Would Care:

Pitch: The Verge

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: The Verge Editorial Subject: A Platform That Literally Can’t Enshittify — The Economics Are Locked

The Hook:

What if a platform couldn’t enshittify because the economics were locked in the operating agreement? A 53-year-old ARNG veteran spent 15 years building exactly that.

The Platform:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform where:

Creators keep 83.3% of every transaction
Platform margin is Cost + 20% — locked in the operating agreement
Changing it would require dissolving the corporation
Entry cost: $5/year

Why The Verge Readers Would Care:

Pitch: Wall Street Journal Feature

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: WSJ Features / Future of Everything From: Jonathan Jones, Founder, Liana Banyan Corporation Date: January 26, 2026 Re: Feature Pitch — “611 Patents at Midnight”

THE STORY

At 11:52 PM on January 23, 2026, a 53-year-old ARNG veteran hit “submit” on his 15th patent application of the night. Combined with earlier filings, the total: 611 claims across inventions ranging from water-powered children’s games to a three-currency economic system the IMF has been trying to solve since Bretton Woods.

Pitch: Wall Street Journal Op-Ed

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: WSJ Op-Ed Submissions From: Jonathan Jones, Founder, Liana Banyan Corporation Date: January 26, 2026 Re: Op-Ed Submission — “The Risk Premium Is a Tax on Inefficiency”

PITCH SUMMARY

I’d like to submit an op-ed arguing that the high margins charged by modern businesses aren’t primarily about value creation—they’re risk premiums for inefficient business models. And those premiums can be structurally eliminated.

The thesis: When businesses fix their key variables by design rather than estimate them by forecast, ROI variance drops from plus/minus 50-200% to plus/minus 5%. The math is straightforward. The implications for cooperative economics, platform capitalism, and impact investing are significant.

Pitch: Yes! Magazine

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To: Yes! Magazine Editorial Subject: Platform Cooperative Locks Economics to Prevent Extraction — 15 Years in the Making

The Hook:

A cooperative platform has done something unusual: locked its economics in the operating agreement so they can’t drift toward extraction. Creators keep 83.3%. The margin is fixed. And it took 15 years to build.

Why Yes! Magazine:

Your readers want solutions, not just problems. This is an attempt to solve platform extraction structurally—not with promises, but with architecture.

Post: Hacker News

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Title: Show HN: I spent 15 years building a platform cooperative with locked economics. Tear it apart.

Post:

I’m a 53-year-old ARNG veteran who’s spent 15 years building a platform cooperative where the economics literally can’t change. The margin is locked at Cost + 20% in the operating agreement. Creators keep 83.3%.

I’m posting here because I want technical scrutiny. If there’s a flaw in this architecture, HN will find it.

Post: Product Hunt

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Product Name: Liana Banyan

Tagline: The platform that can’t enshittify. Creators keep 83.3%. Economics locked.

Description:

Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform where the economics are locked in the operating agreement—not changeable by executives, not erodable by investor pressure.

Why we’re different:

Margin locked at Cost + 20% — It’s in the operating agreement. Changing it would require dissolving the company.

Creators keep 83.3% — On a $500 transaction, creators get $416.67.