Contents

1. Introduction

2. Why Web3 founders should care about UI/UX

   2.1 Expanding user adoption

   2.2 Standing out from the crowd

   2.3 Building trust and loyalty

3. Challenge #1: Bridging the knowledge gap

   3.1 Solution #1: Simple messaging

   3.2 Solution #2: Gentle learning curve

4. Challenge #2: Designing creatively without sacrificing function

   4.1 Solution #1: Deep research on competitors and end-users

   4.2 Solution #2: Familiar design conventions

5. Challenge #3: Instilling more product trust

   5.1 Solution #1: Educational content

   5.2 Solution #2: Design for transparency and security

6. Conclusion

Introduction

For a newbie, using a Web3 application can be extremely stressful. Unfamiliar terms like "gas fee", the complexity of different chains and exchange rates, and the need to remember wallet addresses and hidden charges complicate matters. Negative media coverage of blockchain failures, scams, hacks, and Bitcoin dips further fuels skepticism about the industry.

While developers are working towards Web3 adoption, complex and non-intuitive product designs further hinder progress. Web3 grants users full ownership of their platforms and content, aligning with the vision for a new internet. However, this also presents new design challenges.

Expanding Web3 ecosystems require user interfaces that address confusion and safety concerns arising from unique Web3 features. Blockchain constraints, such as costly media uploads and limited ability to transfer NFT-based assets between apps, restrict options and discourage participation.

Why should Web3 founders care about UI/UX

Similar to any other digital product, Web3 applications should focus on a well-thought-out UI/UX design. While the underlying blockchain technology is important, user-friendly and engaging interfaces are also key for a project’s success and growth.

Expanding user adoption

While blockchain was once exclusive to techies and developers, attracting a wider audience is now a pivotal focus. Intuitive and user-friendly UI/UX will help minimise the need for users to extensively study blockchain terminologies and concepts just to utilise your product.

Standing out from the crowd

Humans are visual creatures. Eye-catching and on-brand interfaces capture people's attention and leave a positive impression. When executed effectively, UI/UX design can give you a competitive advantage over products that have been catering mostly to tech-savvy users.

Building trust and loyalty

Users may initially be skeptical about blockchain-based products, especially if their money is required. Your primary objective is to instil confidence by assuring users that their data and funds are secure. Achieving this efficiently is where your UI/UX design plays a pivotal role.

Challenge #1: Bridging the knowledge gap

Many Web3 applications often assume user expertise, but designers should prioritise clear explanations of unfamiliar features. Interacting with blockchain-based platforms can be daunting for general users, requiring meticulous approaches to ensure ease and comprehension. Users without a sufficient crypto background can easily get confused by blockchain terminologies like “swap”, “gas”, “consensus mechanism”, and “private key”. Explaining seemingly obvious concepts presents a unique challenge in Web3 design, unlike traditional fintech products that require less explanation for basic tasks in today's age.

Decentralised finance (DeFi) products introduce additional complexity, necessitating predictable user journeys and information on fluctuating gas fees. Designing a highly informative interface without overwhelming new users is crucial.

Solution #1: Simple messaging

Intuitive user experiences for beginners rely on simple and clear prompts and communications. You should address the complexity of Web3 jargon for daily crypto operations, such as swapping tokens and on-chain asset transfers. Direct and concise messaging is essential, especially during transaction stages where users face the potential risk of permanent fund loss.

Take the example of transferring assets. Your product should clearly explain why it is necessary to use the appropriate network, like Ethereum, when moving assets to a different wallet in order to prevent irreversible loss of funds.

Some approaches can help tackle this challenge:

1. Utilise user-friendly prompts, such as pop-ups or on-screen notifications, to guide users effectively

2. Publish user-friendly guidelines and documentation, summarising each step and linking to relevant technical details.

3. Provide interactive glossaries for easy reference to Web3 definitions, slang, and jargon. Infographics and animations can also help these terms stick better to the minds of users.

4. Change blockchain terms to more mainstream version, e.g.:

   • Swap → Trading or Exchanging

   • Consensus Mechanism → Consensus Algorithm

   • Gas Fees → Transactions Fees

   • Private Key → Secure Key

   • Public Key → Wallet Address

   • Cryptocurrency → Digital Currency

   • Confirmation → Transaction Verification

   • Immutable → Unchangeable

   • Permissionless → Open Access

   • Blockchain Explorer → Transaction Tracker

When a user feels confident in navigating through your platform, you are not only bridging the knowledge gap but also building trust in your product.

Solution #2: Gentle learning curve

To ensure a user-friendly Web3 experience from onboarding onwards, adopt an educational approach to design. Treat users as learners and aim to improve their understanding of not just your product but blockchain in general. Some guidelines:

1. Minimise the use of blockchain jargon in the UI

2. Include question mark icons with technical terms that flash the associated definitions

3. Provide a comprehensive onboarding virtual tour and in-app guidance for new users

4. Offer educational materials like tutorials and how-to guides within the application

5. Enhance readability of wallet and transaction hashes using Ethereum Name Service (ENS)

6. Offer a lightweight version of your product for less experienced crypto users

Challenge #2: Designing creatively without sacrificing function

It has become common for many Web3 projects to attract users with creative designs, captivating animations, and dynamic website flows. The decentralised nature of the industry allows for freedom and flexibility in showcasing creativity. Take for example SushiSwap’s brand identity built around a sushi image.

In the Web3 realm where projects and startups spring up like mushrooms, it is crucial to stand out. Your goal is to create an exciting and memorable experience for users while establishing a strong connection with a specific crypto target audience. However, focusing excessively on image without substance risks diluting the intended user segment and losing valuable networks.

Solution #1: Deep research on competitors and end-users

UX/UI research may require a significant investment of time, but it has the power to make a substantial impact on building customer loyalty and connection. Your study should cover two parts:

1. Competitor analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your rivals

2. Customer insights to understand the goals, pain points, and preferences of the target users

Note that tech products cater to diverse customer types. Consider the example of a crypto trading platform. Categorising users based solely on their investment experience as professional traders or newbies is inadequate. Before you build your product’s features, you should segment your potential users according to their trading styles, such as:

• Scalpers: They engage in short-term trading, profiting from small price changes by quickly reselling stocks. Typically, their positions are held for seconds to a few minutes.

• Day traders: Focused on taking advantage of small market movements, they aim to close all positions within the same trading day. Typically, their positions last less than an hour.

• Swing traders: With the aim of capturing short- to medium-term profits, they hold long positions for a period ranging from a few days to several weeks.

• Position traders: Their focus is on macro trends and asset growth potential. They buy assets that increase in value over the long run so they are less worried about short-term price fluctuations.

• Fundamental traders: They generally hold positions for the long term, considering fundamental factors such as individual performance and characteristics of each asset to estimate their value.

The next step is to design user stories that reflect the needs of various end-users. Consider:

• Day traders: I want access to highly liquid assets like futures while viewing portfolio statistics on the dashboard.

• Swing traders: I want to have technical analysis tools to find and evaluate trading opportunities.

• Position traders: I want to have tools for technical and fundamental analysis to identify the preferred exit points for intended positions. I also like to have the appropriate stop-loss orders as well as a variety of indictors to build quote charts.

Beginners may benefit from features that facilitate buying and selling digital currencies, monitoring portfolio statistics, and tracking open interests on a mobile app. In contrast, experienced ones may prefer a comprehensive market analysis terminal using tablets or desktops to better perceive a range of information.

Once you have a clear idea of your user segment and their preferences, the creativity of your UI/UX design should bounce off from there.

Solution #2: Familiar design conventions

Design in a way that has already been designed. Most users subconsciously have firm expectations for button placements, clickstreams, supported gestures, and so on. Note these key principles:

1. Apply Web2 metaphors and workflows: Use familiar elements like progress bars and transaction statuses to create a sense of continuity

2. Follow intuitive UI/UX design credo: Make it easy for users to backtrack, avoid clutter, and adhere to the Law of Locality to enhance usability

3. Use platform-specific design conventions: Incorporate button shapes, icons, fonts, and other elements that align with your brand to bolster identity

As a Web3 UI/UX designer, you should also consider developing a convenient information architecture (IA) and an intuitive user interface (UI).

• Information architecture: Organise content in a way that allows users to navigate effortlessly and find what they need as quickly as possible. This involves conducting competitor analysis, understanding user goals and preferences, designing user personas, and identifying common user scenarios.

• User interface: Simplify complex information found in crypto applications, such as domain terminology and detailed quote charts. Create an intuitive UI with each screen serving specific purposes, avoiding overcrowding with unnecessary graphic elements. Use a concise palette with contrasting colours to highlight important information or call-to-actions without distracting users from functionality and content.

Challenge #3: Instilling more product trust

Vague explanations coupled with the difficulty in rolling back or disputing transactions through customer support can erode trust in Web3 products. As such, UI/UX designers face the challenge of effectively conveying the immutability of user transactions recorded on a public ledger.

Web3 design requires additional security warnings to help users avoid accidental loss of assets or risks due to subpar interface. Anticipating user needs and ensuring their expectations align with transactional outcomes are vital for establishing trust in your product.

Solution #1: Educational content

Cryptocurrencies, being relatively new compared to traditional assets, often cause users to stop using certain applications due to fear of the unknown and perceived issues. Web3 UI/UX designers should give significant consideration to the low awareness of the domain and its opportunities.

Some ways to provide educational content throughout the user journey:

• Onboarding tutorials that explain key concepts

• Readily available instructions for every step

• Informative blog within the app or official website

• Explanatory visual infographics and tutorials for different features or functions

The benefits of not only your product but also blockchain and digital assets should be communicated through various channels, ranging from landing pages to in-app guides. Highlight how your platform’s transactions do not require intermediaries, making them more cost effective. Or emphasise the enhanced security provided by the blockchain technology that you are using. Your goals are to improve user loyalty, increase retention rates, and reduce churn.

Solution #2: Design for transparency and security

Security of blockchain-based apps should be a top priority for Web3 developers and designers. If your product fails to adequately protect customer information and accounts, you risk not only significant financial losses but also the loss of clients and reputation.

Establishing trust requires safeguarding sensitive data and user funds. In terms of UI/UX, it is about creating a sense of security throughout your app. Some essential actions to take:

1. Implement security features, such as two-factor authentication, email verification, data encryption, and biometrics

2. Provide seamless visibility of all network events, such as transaction delays, estimated processing times, fund withdrawals, deposits, and real-time updates of wallet balances

3. Establish IP address monitoring to promptly alert users in case of sign-in attempts from unknown devices, browsers, or geographic locations not previously identified

4. Design an easy and quick process for users to instantly block their accounts and prevent fraud in the case of suspicious authorisation

5. Explain clearly the type of information you collect and the reasons behind it

6. Use visual elements like padlocks, shields, or seals to indicate secure connections, encrypted data transmission, or trusted third-party certifications

7. Offer accessible support channels, such as live chat, email, or community forums, where users can reach out with security concerns or report suspicious activities

The basis for fostering trust also involves accuracy, security, and credibility. All these factors tie to transparency. You will need to explore ways to make blockchain easy to understand while being transparent. In practice, this could mean:

1. Break down all the fees before the user makes a transaction, including gas fees

2. Show every transaction status, along with an estimated (and mostly accurate) waiting time

3. Introduce certain security measures, such as blocking from copy-pasting in certain steps

4. Explain ‘invisible’ security protocols, such as the encryption method

Note that designing for trust and security is an ongoing process that requires collaboration with the design, development, and security teams. Your objective is to make your users feel comfortable and secure while using your product.

Conclusion

As more Web3 projects emerge, having a new standard for UI/UX design is paramount. Blockchain-based apps often introduce new concepts, complex interactions, and unfamiliar user experiences that hamper growth in adoption. While users are attracted to creative product designs, they also need assurance that their assets and personal data are protected. It is impossible to control the trustless, permissionless nature of Web3, but designers can predict what may go wrong and help prevent those occurrences. Getting this fine balancing act done right is an art that still needs to be mastered.

CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Target

   2.1 Value

   2.2 Problem

   2.3 Vision

3. Economics

   3.1 Model

   3.2 Team

   3.3 Incentives

4. Creativity

   4.1 Product

   4.2 Community

   4.3 Pivot

5. Hack

   5.1 Partnerships

   5.2 Data

   5.3 Fundraising

6. Conclusion

1. Introduction

Some tech startup founders see funding as the ultimate solution to all their problems. They believe a term sheet is proof of their idea’s legitimacy. However, real proof lies in understanding the target customer's needs and developing a product that effectively addresses them. From there, proof comes in the form of generating revenues.

Over the past few years, billions of dollars invested in tech startups could have misled some founders to think that investments are the one cure-all. The reality is, annual VC funding has fallen more than 50% in just the first quarter of this year.

Still, funding and investments are down in almost every tech sector. So in this bear market, what is the right strategy founders need to succeed? We have developed a T.E.C.H. framework to help entrepreneurs tackle essential questions that lead to viable success. While non-exhaustive, these tools can guide founders on the right path.

2. Target

💡 Target = Value + Problem + Vision

A successful tech company begins with a clear vision of how their specific tech fields (whether it be AI, blockchain, digital assets, and so on) can help people in a way never seen before.

2.1 Value

When starting with a blank canvas, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by ideas and possibilities. This can put you in a state of limbo. To avoid this, first understand the value of the technology you are interested in. It is essential to keep up with the latest developments and trends to discover products that already exist out there in your field. Evaluate their features, strengths, and limitations to determine their viability. Assess some key aspects:

• market size

• competitors

• price points

• customer segments

• geographies

• product characteristics

Insights for what you should create and why it is important can come from several sources, such as everyday problems, customer insights, and trend analysis. Opportunities can arise from enhancing existing products, introducing new categories, or adopting successful models from elsewhere.

Remember that value goes beyond meeting people’s practical needs; it also includes market viability. Before pursuing a new idea, ensure that the chosen path is worth pursuing.

2.2 Problem

Even if your product turns out to be average, choosing a meaningful problem generally leads to a better and more lasting outcome compared to choosing a terrible problem with a great product.

Assess the existing solutions discovered through your prior research to see if there are any gaps or opportunities. Look for an industry that is broken. Ask lots of questions about your chosen field, like:

• Is an AI-based chatbot really a game changer?

• Are there any tasks or processes that are time-consuming or inefficient for crypto traders?

• Can Web3 concepts, like decentralised identity, actually facilitate innovative experiences for gamers?

• Are there any untapped industries or domains where VR technology can bring significant value?

• Will an open-source data layer make your potential product or service more attractive compared to a commercial database?

From there, you should be able to determine a real-world problem or inefficiency that can be addressed using your chosen technology. Validate your problem by conducting market research, surveys, and engaging with potential users to gather feedback and understand their pain points.

Another important consideration is to understand the feasibility of your solution:

• Do you have the skills, resources, and other advantages to make this work?

• Is your solution efficient, bragworthy, failure-tolerant, and irreversible?

Unless you are confident in identifying a clear pain point and a compelling solution, it will be challenging to attract users and investors to your doorstep.

2.3 Vision

Before starting your company, part of the preparation also includes keeping your mindset in check. To do this, you will need a driving compass - a vision.

A strong vision helps in attracting the right people, unifying the team, appealing to investors, and communicating effectively to the world. If you have a vague vision (or none at all), it would be hard to get others on board. Learning how to articulate your complex ideas concisely is an art in itself. Your vision should consist of:

• Why does your company exist?

• What are your future goals?

• What impact are you aiming for?

Everything you do should align with this vision statement.

Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset also means being open to having your ideas challenged. There is a fine line between perseverance and stubbornness. It is important to measure your progress and determine whether to persist or pursue another venture. By doing so, you increase the likelihood of creating a product that your users actually want - not the one you assume they want.

🚨 Challenges to Target: indecision, solving a problem that nobody cares about

3. Economics

💡 Economics = Model + Team + Incentives

With your solid plans in place, it is time to make tangible progress incrementally. Merely being a technologist is not enough to be called an entrepreneur. Applying technology to an idea without gauging the market is like shooting in the dark. To deserve the title of a startup founder, you must understand unit economics and ecosystem economics, and ensure they are on point.

3.1 Model

Your future users and investors eventually want to actualise significant returns. Users seek greater benefits to justify their investment of time and money in your product or service, while investors want to see positive cash flow quickly. To evaluate the potential of your venture, a robust business model is essential in effectively conveying your vision.

A business model serves as a tool to concentrate your efforts on building a sustainable business. It outlines how your startup generates, delivers, and captures value. Consider factors, such as revenue streams, cost structure, and value proposition.

From subscription-based to pay-as-you-go models, various business models are available to choose from. The optimal choice depends on your vision, unique value proposition, and target market. Some key components to incorporate in your business model:

Whatever form your business model eventually takes, it must answer:

• Revenue generation: What value does your company create?

• Profit generation: How do you capture some of the value you create?

• Runway maximisation: How do you sustain yourself financially until you capture that value?

The value captured should exceed the overall cost incurred. You won’t achieve this until the cash hits your bank. Revenues do not matter if you can’t collect the money.

3.2 Team

The success or failure of your startup depends on the people involved. While pursuing it alone may seem appealing and comfortable, it places significant demands on the founder. You must juggle multiple balls, wear various hats, and balance your future on a unicycle.

To cover essential skill sets, an ideal founding team should include:

• A technical co-founder, if you lack programming skills

• A BD person

• A marketing person

• A designer

Soft-skills wise, your team should consist of hustlers, hackers, and visionaries. Hustlers are the doers - those who get things done. Hackers are the experimenters - those who find creative solutions to problems. Visionaries are the strategists - those who think ahead.

Value and skin in the game are also key features to look for. All team members should share a common vision, be passionate about the company’s tech field, and possess a deep understanding of the tech itself. There should also be alignment in terms of equity shares and role functions. Healthy disagreements should be normal, and even desirable.

3.3 Incentives

For established technologies, effective communication, persuasion, and influencers are necessary to win over users. However, for emerging technologies, where education and awareness are lacking, incentives play a key role.

While communicating with stakeholders and the community remains important, it should be focused on delivering interesting and useful information. This means less talk and more walk - achieving milestones, launching new services and features, upgrading your platform, organising events, and so on.

Take a blockchain-based project as an example. Incentives can come in the form of designing a strong token economy, rewarding users for their participation, creating network effects, and increasing the value of your token. Experiment with governance models that best fit your protocol’s decision-making processes, consensus mechanisms, and community involvement.

Incentives should be integrated into your infrastructure plan. Explore ways to reward early adopters who are willing to take a risk on your product or service. Your company’s plans, goals, and budget should take account everything and everyone in your product’s ecosystem.

🚨 Challenges to Economics: completely free offerings, not having economies of scale

4. Creativity

💡 Creativity = Product + Community + Pivot

Developing a viable product that surpasses existing ones can be daunting. If creativity is lacking, competitors can easily outshine your efforts.

Working with an emerging technology poses even more challenges, as it takes time and effort to create a product that customers cannot fully grasp until they use it. This uphill battle becomes more apparent when the market turns out to be smaller than anticipated, despite signs of a product fit. This is where creativity becomes crucial.

Highly creative founders generate greater value and wealth, not only through their products or services, but also through intangible assets. They range from brand, reputation, and network to intellectual property. In this context, creativity is defined as novelty and utility.

4.1 Product

Whether your startup succeeds or not depends on the speed of execution. Consider:

• How does does your product get off the ground?

• How quickly and frequently can you roll out the product for user reviews?

• How fast can you get feedback from customers?

• How fast can you iterate and improve on your mistakes?

Speed provides the advantage of failing quickly while outpacing competitors. The key principle is to launch swiftly, beginning with the creation of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

Much has already been talked about MVP. It is a version of your product that allows your team to gather the maximum validated learning about target customers with minimal effort. Its purpose is not to generate profits directly, but rather to help develop a process for making money.

While you may be tempted to operate in stealth mode, doing so only hampers your progress by limiting feedback from the most important stakeholders for your success. Others may try to copy your idea, but they cannot steal your drive and creativity. Launch quickly, listen, observe, and get your product ripped apart. Then show up to the office and iterate. Rinse and repeat.

Your MVP should be built within weeks, not months. It can take the form of a single-feature iOS app, a landing page, an email marketing campaign, and so on. It may not be perfect at first. Airbnb’s original prototype was a simple landing page targeting conference attendees. Twitter’s MVP was designed for users at Odeo to send and view messages with other employees. Twitch started as a live streaming site with limited functionality focused on a single streamer. None of these examples were flawless from the start, yet they all became billion-dollar companies. The lesson to take from this: you have to start somewhere.

4.2 Community

Before building your MVP, it could be helpful to engage with potential users. Rather than focusing on a grand product launch, prioritise acquiring customers.

The concern of finding initial test users should be irrelevant. If you are solving a real-world problem, your first set of potential customers should already exist within your network.

Seek feedback and involve potential users and stakeholders in decision-making processes. Reward early adopters to build a loyal user base. Be transparent about your company's goals, progress, and roadmap. Organise forums, online events, and special promotions to encourage more people to test your product.

Establishing and nurturing a strong community is crucial for startup success, particularly in emerging tech fields. A robust community helps with user acquisition, adoption, and growth. Over time, they can organically become ambassadors for your product without incurring additional marketing costs.

4.3 Pivot

Creativity enables startups to adapt and thrive through innovation. Business challenges evolve continuously, requiring solutions to evolve as well. However, fear of failure and attachment to original ideas can hinder founders from making necessary changes. In such cases, pivoting becomes crucial for survival.

A pivot happens when you realise that you dislike your problem or target audience. If a new direction can be treated as an entirely new business, a pivot is likely needed. It is important to distinguish between iteration and pivot:

• Iteration: when you change your product to better solve your target problem

• Pivot: when you change your target audience and/or problem that you are solving

Once you have a solid idea, iteration should occur more frequently than pivoting. Iteration can happen every one to three weeks, while pivoting should occur within one to two years. Avoid abandoning existing customers too quickly, as it takes time to truly understand product fit.

Some actions to take before pivoting:

• Conduct further market research and analysis

• Gather feedback from existing and potential customers

• Develop a clear and comprehensive strategic plan

• Evaluate the potential risks and challenges

• Assess resources, capabilities, and expertise required to execute the pivot successfully

The quality of your innovation directly correlates with the extent of pain induced by your target problem. Even a small incremental change in an existing solution, product, or service can be considered innovation. As long the increment adds new value and customers pay for it, you are on the right track. However, when your customers pay for it but don’t use it, your innovation cannot sustain. Pivoting could help you search for a more scalable model.

🚨 Challenges to Creativity: procrastination, stealth mode, perfectionism, emotional attachment

5. Hack

💡 Hack = Partnerships + Data + Fundraising

Most small startups do not have big funding. That is why growth hacks are so important. Employing diligent customer engagement strategies alongside hard work establishes the foundation for gaining market traction. It may take time for results to materialise, but this is crucial for building a sustainable business.

It is important to note that there is no universally guaranteed startup growth hack. While there are well-known strategies and frameworks, they are not all replicable. Each startup must discover its unique formula consisting of foundational elements, customer-centric approach, favourable timing, and a touch of luck.

5.1 Partnerships

Business alliances and partnerships are powerful growth hacking strategies to generate buzz among potential customers online. You are not finding direct rivals to work with. Instead, focus on finding companies that complement your product or service.

By forming partnerships with companies that have common target markets but are not direct competitors, you can collaborate, share resources, and explore marketing campaigns. Leveraging each side’s audiences through integrated sales opportunities, promotional activities in newsletters and social channels, and bundled offerings can establish a trusted and targeted channel at minimal to no cost.

To collaborate effectively, explore organic strategies to merge your followers, such as social media mentions, product packages that include products from both sides, or cross-posting on each other's platforms.

This approach not only generates attention among your online audience but also drives relevant organic traffic to your website. It enhances global exposure for your product or service, further opening opportunities for media coverage.

5.2 Data

To effectively hack your growth, it is essential to measure and track it. Monitor key metrics, such as visitor count, landing pages, conversion rates, and more. Create a dashboard that integrates all growth channel metrics to present a holistic view of your business. Benchmark these numbers against your competitors. However, avoid spending excessive time piecing together data. Keep it simple to quickly assess your performance while focusing on activities that drive business growth.

You should also shift your focus from summarising monthly metrics and milestones to emphasising the learnings from each month. What insights can be applied for future activities? What additional questions do these numbers raise? This approach helps to trigger more iteration.

5.3 Fundraising

In reality, self-funding is often insufficient to cover the expenses required to make your startup profitable. Once the initial chaos of building your business settles, you should have a compelling proof point to present to potential investors.

While some founders may rely on their brand and reputation, most will need a strong idea, product, and evidence of user adoption or traction to attract investors. Demonstrate how your company can thrive through resilience and growth.

Some tips:

• Align your timeline: Coordinate your growth and fundraising cycles. Keep in mind that fundraising conversations typically span at least a month. As you fundraise, new data will come in. Ideally, this data - whether it be user growth or new partnerships - should be positive and indicate an upward trend. Update your pitch deck to reflect these favourable developments.

• Target the right investors: Invest time in researching potential investors to gain an outsized advantage against top startups. Examine the firm’s portfolio for similar business models and their outcomes. Be aware of competitors within an investor’s portfolio and highlight them. Take the initiative to contact and learn from founders of startups backed by your target investor.

• Generate demand: Capitalise on FOMO in the VC world by creating a sense of demand for your startup. Stack meetings back-to-back to ensure that your startup becomes the hot topic among similar investors simultaneously. Set deadlines for responses and stick to them. This communicates that you have other options and will not wait around forever.

• Craft a winning pitch: Your pitch has failed if an investor is unclear about what your company does after 10 minutes. It is the founder’s responsibility to make a simple and compelling case for the startup. Present the problem in an original way, quickly explaining the user pain point with emotion. Highlight your important data early in your presentation and address your competition throughout your deck, not just on one slide. Anticipate and address any objections.

🚨 Challenges to Hack: indecision, greed, being unprepared, taking a rejection personally

6. Conclusion

While fundraising is an integral part of a startup founder’s journey, it is best to first focus on the basics. Regardless of the framework you follow, avoid getting distracted by the hype. It is unlikely your first product will be perfect, so the process you take should at least be agile and bulletproof.

Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 How to use this guide

1.2 What is Web3 Marketing?

1.3 Existing Misconceptions

Concept: Ansoff Matrix

2. Brand Building

2.1 Web3 Brand Strategy Guidelines

2.2 5 Tips for Building Your Web3 Brand

Case Study: Liquid Death

3. Digital Marketing

3.1 Key Components of Digital Marketing

3.2 The Essential SEO Checklist

3.3 Advertising in the Metaverse

3.4 The Ultimate NFT Marketing Strategy

3.5 Tips for Successful Email Marketing

Concept: Consumer Buying Process

4. Content Marketing

4.1 A Content Marketing Plan in 6 Steps

4.2 5 Content Strategy Frameworks

Concept: PESO Model

5. Social Media Marketing

5.1 Checklist for Twitter, Discord, and Reddit

5.2 Top 20 Discord Bots

Case Study: Reddit

Tools & Resources

Are you ready to take your Web3 business to the next level? In this guide, we will show you how to increase brand awareness, reach new users, and drive growth. From setting up essential processes to engaging with your community, you will learn key marketing strategies and tactics you need to succeed in this exciting new space. 

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1/ How to use this guide

• Use the Content page and click on the relevant section or page that fits your marketing needs

• For more in-depth study, check out the marketing models and case studies interspersed between each section

• Note that this guide curates the most essential tasks, processes, and strategies for each marketing area. Further information can be found on the Tools & Resources section.

1.2/ What is Web3 Marketing?

Selling new and disruptive technology, such as Web3 products, means you are up against a number of largely unknown challenges. You will need a steady focus on your vision, value, and roadmap. Another key thing you must hone down - marketing. There is already plenty of content and resources dealing with marketing in the Web3 world. However, many do not provide you with concrete steps on how to go about promoting your product. This guide cuts through all the noise to deliver you step-by-step approaches and checklists within key marketing verticals. This section gives a you a brief background on how Web3 and blockchain will mark a shift in the paradigms of marketing.

1.3/ Existing Misconceptions

The marketing of Web3 products and services often involves educating customers about the benefits of decentralised technologies and how they can be used in everyday life. This may involve explaining the various differences between traditional centralised systems and decentralised systems, as well as the benefits of using decentralised technologies for things like security, privacy, and transparency.

Unfortunately, there is a prevailing marketing strategy in the Web3 space that has been affecting the onboarding experience. This frequently-used approach includes:

While the above strategies are reasonable starting points, they do not reap long-term benefits. Effective marketing strategies should be backed by some fundamental concepts and consumer psychology. Additionally, as Web3 expands into mainstream discussions, people are becoming more aware of the spammy and hype marketing involved in the industry. Thus, in order to differentiate yourself from the crowd, your marketing strategy needs to be modified accordingly. 

WHAT’S NEXT?

The following sections will take you through various strategies for different marketing aspects and touch points that Web3 brands can use to improve their growth. Marketing models and case studies are interspersed throughout this guide for more in-depth study.

Overall, the goal of Web3 marketing is to increase the long-term awareness and adoption of decentralised technologies. As a Web3 marketer, you will need to help your users, investors, and partners understand the potential benefits and uses of your product in their daily lives.

CONCEPT: ANSOFF MATRIX

Marketing ultimately aims to drive growth of your company. This especially holds true in Web3, where adoption remains a major challenge. Whenever marketers talk about growth, the Ansoff Matrix is usually brought up. 

WHAT IS THE ANSOFF MATRIX?

The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic planning tool used to analyse and plan a company's product and market growth. It is a way to explore the potential risks and rewards of different growth strategies. Companies often use this planning tool to organise marketing strategies that are essential to growth in an effective manner.  

HOW DO YOU START?

The model identifies two ways to approach a growth marketing strategy: adjust the product or adjust the market. Depending on your approach, you will fall into one of the four quadrants: market penetration, product development, market development, or diversification.

HOW DO YOU APPLY THE MODEL TO WEB3?

To apply the Ansoff Matrix to your Web3 business, you will first need to identify the current products and niches that your company is involved in. Then, you can use the matrix to identify potential opportunities for growth. The following are some basic growth strategies to consider:

You would need to consider the potential risks and rewards of each growth strategy, as well as the resources and capabilities of your company. By carefully analysing these factors, you can determine the best course of action for your business.

2. BRAND BUILDING

2.1/ Web3 Brand Strategy Guidelines

Building your Web3 brand is more than simply creating a logo and visual identity. It is not the same as posting ads. You do not need a fully developed brand book in the early part of your journey. Brand building starts with your founder’s purpose and story behind their business idea. It is about communicating how you are creating a difference in the world, in your market niche, and for your customers.

Building a brand for a Web3 project involves many of the same steps as building a brand for any other type of business. Here are some general guidelines to follow:

HOW IS BRANDING DIFFERENT FROM MARKETING?

Branding and marketing are connected, but also separate. In today’s competitive and oversaturated Web3 marketplace, you need to differentiate your business and products from all others. To do this, you need both strong branding and strong marketing. 

2.2/ 5 Tips for Building Your Web3 Brand

1. Create a USER PERSONA for your target audience

   Gather comprehensive data that explains your target audience for reference purposes when you run out of ideas. It helps to ensure the rest of the marketing team maintains the same brand voice and identity

2. Encourage the founding teams to build PERSONAL BRANDS

   More than 58% of companies get more visibility through their founding teams. As a marketer, it is advisable to leverage the popularity of your founders when marketing products. If feasible, hire a personal copywriter for your founding team to build community via their social media. Establish your founders as industry thought leaders before talking about your product.

3. Incentivise your community to create USER-GENERATED CONTENT

   Identify the most active members of your community and incentivise them to produce content (e.g. video tutorials, guides, testimonials) through reward systems. 

4. Having an amazing DOCS PAGE that is regularly updated and maintained

   Documentation is the main entry point to your users. For open-source projects, in particular, having a no-nonsense, concise guide for developers will help them be more successful at using your product. 

5. Create DEDICATED CHANNELS for conversations to take place 

   Launch targeted platforms or spaces (e.g. Twitter Communities, Discord channels) for individuals in the community to gather, asks questions, and form relationships. Build trust by helping those who are not even using your product. Go beyond and create curated community chats with top builders and users in your community to explore potential marketing activities and ambassador campaigns.

CASE STUDY: LIQUID DEATH

WHAT IS IT?

• Hardcore water brand on a mission to end single-use plastic while getting people to drink more water

• Has a targeted marketing strategy with clear branding and positioning. Instead of talking about nature, purity, and taste that are typical of water brands, it evokes darker and edgier motifs - murdering thirst and death to plastic. 

• Gained a cult following in Web3 by playing with people’s perceptions of their brand 

• Runs a successful Web3 loyalty programme called “Country Club”, where hundreds and thousands of fans “sell their souls” for early access to limited-edition merchandise drops, private events and more

WEB3 STRATEGY

• Onboarded on Web3 e-commerce platform, Novel

• Imported their new NFT collection, Murder Head Death Club (MHDC), onto the Novel platform

• Selected items and officially token-gated them

• Holders get exclusive discounts, celebrity experiences, live VIP event access, among others

• Built Web3 community through various activities, such as holders getting to DJ on Liquid Death’s radio station, a screening of horror movie on Discord, and hosting poker nights

• Set long-term plans for more NFT-gated perks, such as private access to CEO, early previews, and access to merchandise drops

RESULTS

• MHDC featured a collection of 6,666 unique NFTs

• NFTs depict severed heads of dead thirsts, created by well-known artist Will Carsola

• MHDC collection sold out in three hours after launch

• With initial minting fee of 0.0666 ETH, MHDC’s launch generated around 445 ETH in sales

KEY POINTS OF SUCCESS

• Consistent brand messaging from Web2 to Web3

• Acted on company brand values of sustainability (e.g. donated 10% of royalties from MHDC collection to charities and offset 110% of carbon emissions from initial mint)

• Maintained brand message and personality in MHDC collection

• Active community-building activities and engagement both online and offline

3. DIGITAL MARKETING

3.1/ Key Components of Digital Marketing

As a Web3 business, you will need to reach and communicate with your potential customers where they are spending more and more of their time: online. This is where digital marketing comes into play. By using digital channels and technologies, Web3 projects can create personal and engaging experiences that can lead to increased customer loyalty and higher sales. There are 8 major components of digital marketing. This guide filters out the noise and runs through the most essential areas for blockchain-based projects.

3.2/ The Essential SEO Checklist

A strong Web3 strategy for search engine optimisation (SEO) is the best approach to raising brand awareness of your project, whether it be a NFT, DeFi app, or stablecoin. SEO can also help build your authority in the industry, increasing trust among the Web3 community. There are three basic categories in an SEO strategy, as shown below. 

3.3/ Advertising in the Metaverse

Advertising in the metaverse involves creating and placing advertisements in virtual worlds or online gaming environments. The ads can take many forms, such as virtual billboards, product placement within the virtual environment, or sponsored in-game events or items. One of the key benefits of advertising in the metaverse is the ability to target a specific audience and track engagement with the ads in real-time. Advertisers can use data from the virtual world to inform and optimise their advertising strategy. However, it is also important for advertisers to be mindful of the context and tone of the virtual world, and to ensure that their ads are appropriate and do not disrupt the user experience.

3.4/ The Ultimate NFT Marketing Strategy

Marketing an NFT project involves a variety of strategies that you can use to raise awareness, generate interest, and ultimately drive sales of the NFTs. It is important to note that the crypto and NFT space is fast-moving, so staying updated on the latest trends and best practices is crucial to the success of your marketing efforts.

TIPS ON TOKEN GATING STRATEGY

NFT token gating refers to a system in which the owner of an NFT is able to control access to certain features or benefits. This can be done by using smart contract technology on a blockchain network to create a digital "gate" that can be opened or closed based on the ownership of a specific NFT. 

NFT token gating allows creators to reward their holders with exclusive access to certain features, which can help drive the demand for their NFTs and increase their value. This strategy opens up both marketing and monetisation opportunities for brands and creators. 

3.5/ Tips for Successful Email Marketing

1. Build your EMAIL LIST

   Include sign-up or subscribe buttons on your blog pages, social network bios, and email signatures. Collect email addresses from website visitors, social media followers, and other sources. 

2. SEGMENT your subscribers

   Divide your emails list into smaller groups based on factors such as interests, behaviour, and engagement with previous emails. Design highly personalised emails for the right segments.

3. Create catchy SUBJECT LINES

   Make your subject lines stand out. Keep it brief. Incorporate humour if appropriate. Use questions to draw people’s attention.

4. Write a compelling PREVIEW TEXT

   Provide an eye-catching sneak peak into the email content. Make it brief while conveying the most important facts.

5. Optimise your CTAs. 

   CTA (Call to Action) buttons help draw people to navigate through your web pages. Consider the content, colour, and location of your buttons. Use trigger action words and make sure your text button accurately describes what the button does. 

6. AUTOMATE and MEASURE your email campaigns

   Use marketing tools, such as MailChimp and HubSpot, to automate repetitive tasks. Track key metrics, such as open rates and click-through rates. 

7. INTEGRATE with your other marketing channels

   Include links to your social media and other marketing platforms in your email campaign to grow your following into other channels.

CONCEPT: CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

Selling disruptive products, such as blockchain-based apps, is practically impossible without understanding the needs and preferences of your potential users. The Consumer Buying Process helps you to figure out this aspect as well as barriers and motivators to purchasing your product. The information can be used to improve your business and marketing strategy, increasing the adoption of your product as a result. 

HOW DO YOU APPLY THE MODEL TO WEB3?

1. Problem/Need Recognition: The consumer recognises a need or problem that they believe can be solved or improved by a blockchain product.

2. Information Search: The consumer searches for information on blockchain products that could potentially solve their problem or meet their need.

3. Evaluation of Alternatives: The consumer evaluates the different blockchain products that they have found during their information search to determine which one is the best fit for their needs.

4. Purchase Decision: The consumer makes a decision to purchase a specific blockchain product.

5. Post-purchase Evaluation: After using the blockchain product, the consumer evaluates their satisfaction with the product and their decision to purchase it. 

4. CONTENT MARKETING

4.1/ A Content Marketing Plan in 6 Steps

Whether the purpose is to inform and educate users and investors or develop credibility and authority, Web3 projects need to have some sort of content marketing plan in place. Having a perspective as well as a commitment to high-quality, transparent content are key to building trust. However, content marketing is more than simply blogging on Medium. It needs to be planned and created with intention so that your content can create real value for your business. The following 6-step plan helps to structure your content marketing towards clear goals.

4.2/ 5 Content Strategy Frameworks

Blog and pray is not a strategy. An effective content strategy outlines how you will use your content to achieve your business goals. It focuses on how you distribute content to grow your audience and hit your performance metrics. The following five content strategy frameworks involve tactics that cover the most common business goals.

1/ LEAD GENERATION

Who is it for

For big project launches that require making more touch points with a prospective customer at every step of the consumer buying journey

How it works

Rather than going from content directly to offer, this framework move people from the awareness stage toward taking action - from stranger to customer.

1. Produce one piece of content for each stage in your sales funnel (awareness, interest, decision, action)

2. Start driving traffic to your “awareness” (i.e. not hard selling) piece using paid and/or organic social

3. Organise and create custom audiences for visitors who read each post

4. Run retargeting or email campaigns with the next article in your series catered each custom audience

For example, target people who have already visited your “interest” content with “decision” content and  so on in a continuous cycle. 

2/ EVERGREEN FOREST

Who is it for

For businesses that want to raise the dominance and visibility of their content on search engines

How it works

This low-cost approach focuses on letting organic search do most of the heavy lifting, meaning that it will take some time to generate results. Your website’s authority will grow gradually over time, meaning your content will slowly make its way up from #100 to #3 in search engines. 

1. Produce evergreen content on your website or blog. Evergreen content are search-engine optimised and stay continuously relevant over a long period of time.

2. Organic search on your evergreen content on its own does not work. You will need to raise the authority of your website’s domain in order to increase the visibility of your content. Use link-building content to grow your domain authority. For an in-depth dive into the link building strategy, go to our Tools & Resources page. 

3. As you create more link-building content, you will begin to see compounding growth as you publish more search optimised evergreen content. Each content piece should ideally grow higher in search ranking. 

3/ COMPETITIVE SEO

Who is it for

For businesses that want to raise the dominance and visibility of their website, aligned with specific searches relevant to their target market. For example, you have a SocialFi platform and you want to rank #1 for searches on “SocialFi”. 

How it works

This approach is similar to the Evergreen Forest framework. However, instead of creating evergreen content, you will need to create content targeting a single, competitive keyword that is relevant to your business or product.

4/ COMMUNITY BUILDING

Who is it for

For projects that are more interested in using content as a way to foster and build community than directly sell a product or service

How it works

The goal of this approach is to drive engagement, return visitors, and conversation between community members. To accomplish this, you will need to engineer content that is specifically designed for people to share through their networks. As a result, your content will be cast out to a wider network within your target market. 

5/ TRIFECTA

Who is it for

For companies with ample resources because while this strategy can meet almost any high-level business goal, it also involves many moving parts

How it works

There are two ways to approach this strategy. Invest more into content marketing to handle all of the various types of content or have a slower build up as each piece starts to generate both long- and short-term results. 

1. Build a library of evergreen content that is closely tied to specific keywords relevant to your target audience. 

2. Use link-building content to elevate the visibility of the evergreen content over time, driving organic traffic.

3. Generate short-term results by using viral social content that drives traffic and engagement through social and traditional distribution channels. Examples include infographics and Twitter thread summaries of your blog articles. 

CONCEPT: PESO MODEL

The Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned (PESO) model is a great tool to categorise the types of communication that a brand has with consumers. It allows you to see the bigger picture when it comes to your marketing activity. You can see where your efforts are being channeled into and where the gaps are in order to create a seamless integrated mix. 

5. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

5.1/ Checklist for Twitter, Discord, and Reddit

By building a strong community of users who are invested in the success of your Web3 product, your project can gain valuable feedback, support, and contributions that can help you improve and grow over time. In order to achieve this, social media is required - practically indispensable. Through social media, community members can get updated on your project's progress, new developments, and answers to questions about your product’s technology and roadmap. This helps to increase transparency and trust in your project, which is crucial in the decentralised and often complex world of Web3.

5.2/ Top 20 Discord Bots

Much has been said about how challenging it can be to navigate around Discord, particularly for first-time users. The following are some tools to help you create more organised and seamless experience for your community members. 

1.  Mee6
Helps automate tasks, like sending welcome messages, assigning roles, and setting up custom commands

2.  Dyno

Offers a wide range of features, including music streaming, server backups, and custom commands

3.  Tatsu

Helps with server engagement, offering features such as custom reaction roles, leaderboards, and server stats

4.  Ticketbot

Allows users to create, manage, and close support tickets directly from Discord. Helps collect user feedback.

5.  ServerStats

Allows you to see statistics of your server, like how many messages have been sent and how many people joined

6.  Xenon

Helps backup, duplicate or clone your Discord server, make archives, and synchronise changes

7.  Dank memer

Offers bot commands for you to share memes or create your own

8.  Invite Tracker

Tracks where your new members are coming from and who is inviting them. Often used to fill whitelisting spots.

9.  Bump Reminder

Offers various features, such as general reminders, a vote tracker, the question of the day, and welcome messages.

10.  Epic-RPG

Offers mini, chat-based role-playing game to keep your server's community members engaged and alive

11.  Quizbot

Create customised quizzes and host trivia nights to reward users and enhance engagement 

12.  Helper.gg

Enables you to reply to user queries by creating support tickets within your Discord server

13.  PollBot

Allows you to construct time-sensitive polls, simple yes-or-no polls, and polls that require custom answers

14.  Apollo

Assists with events management tasks, such as scheduling events and meetings and setting reminders

15.  Zira

Assign server roles depending on user responses. Greets hello and goodbye to new and returning members.  

16.  Statbot

Displays statistics, such as total number of members, server activity, and other customisable options.

17.  GiveawayBot

Allows you to organise and streamline the process of your giveaways

18.  Arcane

Moderates your server using a levelling system to offer members a chance to gain XP and rewards

19.  ProBot

Offers various features, such creating welcome graphics, using social commands, and monitoring rule violations

20.  Captcha.bot

Conducts account verification and anti-phishing to authenticate new users joining your community

CASE STUDY: REDDIT

WHAT IS IT?

• Popular social news and discussion platform that has an active Web3 community 

• Launched new NFT-based digital collectible avatars on the Polygon network

• Reddit Collectible Avatars are limited-editions and based on the social platform’s mascot, Snoo

• Collection was designed by Reddit creators and independent artists

WEB3 STRATEGY

• Avoided using Web3-related lingo, such as NFTs and wallets, in their content marketing based on their prior market research that 35% of Reddit community believe that brands can ruin the future of NFTs

• Created a frictionless onboarding experience through social media platform, with buyers simply needing to create a “Vault” on Reddit that acts as a digital wallet

• Reduced barrier to entry by removing the need for buyers to own cryptocurrency to purchase

• Holders receive perks on their Reddit profiles, such as the ability to customise and switch out gear and accessories

• After a month from launch, top contributors and builders on Reddit received free airdrops to reward their contribution and also have them act as brand ambassadors to promote the collection

RESULT

• Launch of avatars led to the creation of more than 3M crypto wallets, 99% of which are unique users. This figure surpasses OpenSea’s 2.3M active wallets.

KEY POINTS OF SUCCESS

• Avoided technical terms, such as “wallet”, in order to entice largely non-crypto users to turn into this new digital initiative 

• Conducted market research of their potential buyers beforehand

• Provided its community a product that it wanted, packaged aesthetically, and sold with ease using simple interfaces and hassle-free processes

• While blockchain technology powered the product, it was not the star of the show. This helps make a somewhat disruptive product more digestible and appealing. 

TOOLS & RESOURCES

MARKETING ANALYTICS

Mixpanel

Heap Analytics

Google Analytics

Matomo

Cyfe

Klipfolio

CONTENT MARKETING

HubSpot

WordPress

Contentools

Ceros

BuzzSumo

PathFactory

Uberflip

AI TOOLS FOR CONTENT CREATION

ChatGPT

CopyAI

GrowthBar

Scalenut

Beautiful.ai

EMAIL MARKETING

MailChimp

SendX

Postr

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Hootsuite

SocialPilot

Sprout Social

ONLINE GIVEAWAY AND CONTEST

Vyper

Gleam

Woorise

PR DISTRIBUTION

PR Newswire

Chainwire

Luna PR

ReBlonde

ADVERTISING

A-Ads

Adshares

Cointraffic

FURTHER READING

Ansoff Matrix

4 Strategies under Ansoff Matrix 

Bitcoin Case Study

Consumer Buying Process

How to Build a Customer Journey Map

How and why consumers buy crypto assets

Visualising the Buyer Experience

Link Building

Semrush's Beginner Guide to Link Building for SEO

Backlinko’s Definitive Guide to Link Building

PESO Model

Ultimate Guide to Integrated Marketing

Planning Comms Campaigns with the PESO model

Arcane Group's Web3 Marketer Handbook

3.89MB ∙ PDF file

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The word on the (Wall) street is that the time-honoured US system for driving innovation has been dealt a massive blow. Despite regulators stepping in to help SVB depositors, the chaos that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is far from over. The current state of affairs is that affected startups and founders have been given a lifeline - a promise from regulators that their businesses can continue and be “made whole” again. Concerns over a wider run on banks may have largely settled down.

However, SVB’s fall has come at an already challenging time for startups and investors, as well as innovation hubs around the world. In the context of uncertain market conditions, founders are also dealing with the double whammy of slowing venture capital funding and rising interest rates. The tech and Web3 sectors have considerably less cashflow than they once did. In the absence of SVB, the capacity to finance projects will be even more limited. With all these factors combined, the road to growth and innovation for startups could be bleak.

All eyes are now on a more long-term pressure facing the international system for financing innovation. Tech and Web3 startups could be hit the hardest because their industries are intrinsically risky in the first place, vulnerable to market shifts and sentiments. The question now is how can founders navigate through these new realities. Where do we go from here?

What founders - Web3 and Web2 alike - can do now:

1/ Show up to the office and get to work.

2/ Build a risk management team to outline a concrete plan on how to extend cash runway and survive for the next few months.

3/ Hire an experienced CFO or similar expert who understands the ins and outs of economic regulations. They should be able to track the health of your key financial partners.

4/ Send a memo briefing all your employees on the SVB situation and your next action plan.

5/ Contact your current investors. Update them on the latest situation and your current needs.

6/ Contact every potential investor you know. Work on this everyday.

7/ Reorganise your daily cash flow for the next month or so, including exact costs for payrolls, facilities, and equipment. Find ways to cut down in the short term so as to extend your runway.

8/ Open another bank account. From now on, put your money in at least two different banks. Avoid keeping more than 20% of your liquid assets in any one place. For crypto startups that are running out of bank options, check out this list. Or alternatively, work on #4.

9/ If a bank lender wants you to sign exclusivity clauses or covenants that require your company to hold all its money at the bank, negotiate the term. SVB included such clauses for some loans, prohibiting many tech startups to diversify where they kept their money.

10/ Outline how to defer cash for salaried employees, if needed. The founder or CEO should be the first in line to cut their payroll, followed by top executives.

11/ Start a list of every other possible way to get cash in your hands. Run relevant operations or activities on revenue from customers while building your products at the side.

Perhaps SVB’s collapse signals the time to rebuild a new structure for financing an innovation ecosystem. If Silicon Valley is not going to do so, founders will most likely have to look somewhere else. Let’s all be reminded again of a key point Satoshi has been trying to make since 2008: “The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that's required to make it work.”