Founders Must Be the Signal Amid Web 3.0 Noise

HodlX Guest Post  Submit Your Post

Recycled buzzwords and hashtags are not enough in the modern Web 3.0 market.

If you want to break through in today’s Web 3.0 space, the only way to do that is by creating a monopoly in something consumers want. Very few times has this been done in blockchain.

Bitcoin stands as a new asset class, while Ethereum has proven viable for creating mainly NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

There is a class of blockchain firms serving traditional financial markets as well as experimenting with stablecoins, RWAs (real-world assets) and more.

And while these innovations may make a global impact, they will be dominated by a few players. That is becoming clearer, especially as Web 3.0 takes a backseat to AI.

At this point in Web 3.0’s evolution, nobody cares about your whitepaper, roadmap, tokenomics or governance model. It’s no longer 2016.

You’re not going to build the next unicorn through hashtags and recycled ideas. Your minute on-chain metrics are meaningless in the grand scheme of all things crypto.

All it shows is a lack of adoption and a lack of product market fit, or in other words, value.

As a Web 3.0 founder, your survival depends on the uniqueness of your project. You must understand and clearly explain what makes both you and your project not just special but truly one-of-a-kind.

Your individuality, as well as that of your company, is your biggest strength. Remember this important truth.

The best way to make your project unique entails carving out a monopoly in a niche that solves a big problem.

If you find yourself leaning into jargon, perhaps your idea serves no purpose. Perhaps not even you know what it is you are attempting to do. It could be merely that the timing is wrong.

Either way, your project must have tangible benefits for consumers and deliver it at least 10 times better than the next best.

Ask yourself this question: Is your company story just a rehash of the same old buzzwords Web 3.0 has been throwing around now for more than a decade?

If so, you might find resistance gaining traction as you share your story on X and LinkedIn. People have heard it all before.

Are you highlighting the correct parts of your expertise and real-world experience?

Are your product launches and milestones solving problems for consumers, or are they announcements for the sake of announcements? Avoid those.

If your consumer can’t experience an announcement for themselves, don’t bother with the public relations aspect. Save that for when you have something that can improve people’s lives.

While you are free to publish insights and case studies on your project, they should be hyper-focused on the unique aspects of your project.

Don’t write whitepapers that are not focused on your core strengths and your mission.

What does your team do better than any other team in the Web 3.0 space? All of your team’s energy should go towards this strength.

Generally speaking, avoid side quests in business. Many founders grow bored with their initial vision, start a side quest, get spread too thin and run out of business.

Stay focused on building a monopoly within Web 3.0.

Many Web 3.0 companies put too much energy into incestuous partnerships with other Web 3.0 companies, with minimal innovation.

Instead, you must look towards large corporations for partnerships that will impact your business in the way you want.

Instead of focusing on partnerships with Web 3.0 companies, focus on partnerships with companies outside the space, like from the red-hot AI industry.

These are the partnerships you should be announcing on social media, not partnerships with other early-stage Web 3.0 companies.

This doesn’t mean you should not attend hackathons and Web 3.0 conferences, but perhaps the purpose there will be to tap into consumers, not partners.

When you do speak at conferences, do you offer a unique perspective compared with the rest of the speakers and panelists, or are you repeating views of the industry that have been flogged to death already?

Again, you must consider what makes your view or work in the industry unique and lean into that and only that.

When you speak before an audience, take risks. Make your wildest claims, assuming they’re backed by logic and reason.

Instead of posting into the void on social media – or cross-promoting projects for joint marketing campaigns, AMAs (ask me anything) and more – reach out to the largest technology journals in the world, including Reuters, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch and others.

Reach out to the largest publications in your region. You may not hear back, but these are the publications with the readers you want to know your name.

Offer them your insights on timely technology news stories.

Don’t chase every opportunity. Focus on the big pieces of your empire – that is, big product shipments, behemoth partnerships and mainstream press.

One deal with a high-impact venture capital firm, technology company or protocol can be worth 10,000 small ones. It’s similar for constant exposure in the mainstream compared to industry publications.

Building a monopoly is not about testing pitches – it’s about providing value. If the market accepts you, the venture capitalists will surely follow.

Web 3.0 projects have to move beyond partnering with other niche Web 3.0 projects. Hype-driven companies are no longer making a splash in Web 3.0.

Founders must be unique, and so too must their projects. Crypto bubbles are not creating viable startups anymore.

The Web 3.0 projects of today are those solving real problems and showing tangible results. Most past the buzzwords and tiny wins.

Build what matters – only then will the Web 3.0 market and beyond take notice.

Archer Wolfe is the CEO and founder of 1stimpression.com, a premium personal branding agency based out of Hong Kong. He is also the co-founder of MohrWolfe, a serial entrepreneur, professional poly-athlete and international rescue operator. By age 28, he built the largest BTM company in the world and successfully exited two companies in fintech.

Generated Image: DALLE3