It's actually a pretty good choice to get involved in building the KITE ecosystem when it's still new.

This involves a concept that Taleb mentioned—asymmetric risk. Simply put, the downside you face is relatively limited, but the potential upside can be significant. KITE is at such a stage right now.

**The cost you need to pay isn't actually high**

For developers, it might just be a few weeks to a month of spare time writing code. Node operators? Mainly utilizing idle computer hardware and paying some electricity costs. Content creators just spend time researching, organizing ideas, and writing articles. These costs are all within your control.

Financially, early participation in incentive programs or running nodes might require buying some $KITE or staking a portion. But in the early stage of the ecosystem, this investment usually isn't too extravagant. The worst case? The money goes down the drain. But you know exactly how much that is, so you're not caught off guard by losses.

What about reputation? Trying out a new project and sometimes failing generally won't harm your main career image. Instead, it might even be seen as having foresight—an early explorer.

**And the story on the upside is different**

In the early stages of an ecosystem, to attract participation, generous rewards are usually offered—large grants, airdrops, node incentives—all piled up. Once the ecosystem takes off, how much could the value of these rewarded tokens multiply? It’s not linear growth; it’s often exponential.

Tokens you acquire when the price is $0.001 could be worth several dollars or even more once the ecosystem matures. This upside potential hasn't been priced in yet.

And it’s not just about the tokens themselves. Through this process, you're also gaining a deep understanding of the ecosystem and building your influence. These long-term assets are also quite hard to value.

**The core issue is: timing**

This positive asymmetric opportunity window won't stay open forever. When the ecosystem really takes off, early incentives will be gone, and competition will become fierce. Participating now versus a few months later could lead to completely different results.

So if you have the time, skills, and a bit of a tinkering spirit, early involvement in ecosystems like KITE is worth serious consideration. You can't lose much, but the potential gains are substantial—this is the most beautiful form of asymmetric risk.