Has Web3 hit rock bottom? Listen to what they have to say

Is Web3 at its lowest point? Hear their perspectives.

In 1971, a 19-year-old Japanese boy was attracted by a photography collection of Alaska in an old bookstore on the streets of Tokyo. Filled with youthful enthusiasm, he sent a letter to a village in Alaska called Shishmaref, expressing his desire to see this distant and vast world with his own eyes. Six months later, he received an invitation letter in response. The following summer, in his early twenties, he set foot on this land for the first time. Five years later, after graduating from a prestigious economics school in Japan, he quit his job as a photographer and returned to Alaska, embarking on a lifelong pursuit of the polar region.

This boy is one of Japan’s greatest photographers – Michio Hoshino.

People are always attracted to wonderful and unknown things, whether it’s a mysterious place or an idea. Web3 is such a concept that attracts people. It’s like Alaska, distant, vast, unknown, outside the mainstream of society, but fascinating to some people.

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Photographer: Michio Hoshino

“A person’s life is always about pursuing the light in their lives, walking on a long journey.” – Michio Hoshino

I want to build a world

Mike, the founder of the data security project GoPlus Security, remembers being truly attracted to cryptocurrency technology in 2016. Before that, he had just sold his Web2 browser project and was looking for the next interesting direction for technological innovation. At that time, he stayed up late studying the Bitcoin and Ethereum whitepapers. The decentralization concept mentioned in the whitepapers opened a new world for him. In his past experiences, Mike deeply felt the decision-making power and user resource monopolies caused by centralization. And now, these problems can be solved through encryption technology.

Just thinking about this, Mike couldn’t sleep and got excited. In the early hours of 3 or 4 o’clock, unable to resist, he went downstairs and walked around the flower bed, thinking that he had to do something.

It’s not just Mike who was attracted. Qi has always been interested in mathematics and cryptographic computations. He was previously responsible for infrastructure-related work at FaceBook and later ventured into the Web3 infrastructure field, founding QuarkChain and EthStorage.

Qi also became involved with cryptocurrency technology in 2016. At that time, he discovered that the Bitcoin whitepaper had reached a citation rate of thousands. It’s important to note that excellent academic papers usually only have a citation rate in the hundreds. And this whitepaper might not even meet the publishing standards of academic papers. Out of curiosity, he opened the whitepaper. As a result, he fell into the rabbit hole.

Qi felt like a screw in a factory during his time working in Web2. Most of the infrastructure development served internal frontend applications, making it difficult to directly interact with clients. But in Web3, Qi discovered a broad field in the infrastructure sector, with potential in scalability, privacy, and compliance. Developers are not just silently contributing code from the background, they can also transition to the frontend, directly exploring user needs and truly changing their daily lives. This is something Qi has always wanted to do, ever since visiting Google and seeing how storage and server devices were used to build popular suites like YouTube and Gmail. “This made me feel like I could have a greater impact, actively participating in building a new internet world,” he said.

“Like the Three-Body people, storing energy in harsh environments”

The grand narrative of encryption technology is certainly fascinating, but reaching the ideal new continent is not easy. Especially in a market downturn, when the tide recedes, some people choose to leave, some turn to embrace new opportunities, but there’s a small group of people who see this as the best time to build.

UNC belongs to the latter group. In March this year, he and his friends founded LFDAO. Since falling down the rabbit hole, UNC has been waiting for the right opportunity to create his own project. In his vision, Web3 should truly contribute to revolutionizing the financial system and unleash individual freedom and creativity. Earlier this year, when discussing the Bitcoin halving market situation with friends at a dinner party, he felt that the time had come.

“Like the Three-Body people who store their energy when facing extreme environments, we can also store our energy like them when the market conditions are not favorable, and wait for the next bright period to come,” UNC said. In the science fiction novel “The Three-Body Problem,” the Three-Body star experiences two eras, the “Stable Era” and the “Chaotic Era.” During the Stable Era, the environment is stable and technological civilization advances rapidly. In the Chaotic Era, the environment is turbulent and harsh, and the Three-Body people store their energy, waiting for the arrival of the next “Stable Era.” UNC believes that starting a Web3 venture now is preparing for the next cycle.

Some people are launching projects at this time, while others are building and sowing seeds in the ecosystem. Beneath the surface of a depressed market, potential changes are quietly brewing. It’s like the warm currents quietly flowing beneath the frozen ice in Alaska during winter, preparing for the arrival of spring.

In May last year, Niels initiated BuidlerDAO. At that time, LUNA plummeted and the industry turned bearish, but a “call for recruitment” still attracted more than 500 participants, quickly making the community stand out in the Chinese-speaking community. As more and more projects joined the community, seeking support in terms of talent, resources, and users, Niels realized that Web3 projects had similar needs, whether it’s in infrastructure or dApps, all requiring community building, economic model design, PMF, and other aspects of support. And as Chinese entrepreneurs, they all face common challenges such as policy regulation and internationalization.

This industry is developing fast and is highly innovative, but there are few experiences that can be borrowed. A16Z mentioned in the first session of Crypto Startup School: “There is no specific program tailored to the needs of Web3 founders. They need a set of novel tools and resources to scale up.” The Web3 Chinese community lacks such a deep network of talents and projects that can provide tools and resources for entrepreneurs. With this idea in mind, Niels talked to several investors and project founders and found that everyone was “in tune” with each other. Hence, 14 project founders and 3 investors came together to create SpringX accelerator. Instead of waiting for the bear market to pass, they decided to make a difference.

The collective wisdom in Web3

—Founders help founders

In Niels’ vision, a Web3 accelerator should not just be a one-way relationship between projects and accelerators. Projects should be able to connect with each other in terms of business, and founders should form a closely connected network.

As an entrepreneur, Niels deeply understands the importance of help and understanding among founders. Many times, only founders truly understand other founders. Niels was a member of the BuidlerDAO, an accelerator affiliated with Sequoia. There, Niels built strong connections with 11 other founders. He said, “I gained 11 friends who I can call anytime for help, no matter what problem arises.” This real alumni network helped Niels overcome many difficulties in entrepreneurship.

Whether it’s worrying about business progress, feeling anxious before closing a funding round, or dealing with team changes, other founders can provide the greatest support both rationally and emotionally. The mutual assistance in the founder network makes any problem encountered easier to solve. Having more than ten smart minds coming together to solve a problem is always faster and better than one person pondering alone.

Qi, the founder of EthStorage, can relate to this. He used a term to summarize the value of this precious network – collective wisdom.

When Qi came out of Facebook and started his first project, QuarkChain, he still followed the mindset of big companies and tried to learn and figure out everything on his own. This took a lot of time and effort. Later, he discovered that in Web3, there is a lot of open-source information and excellent developers who are willing to help each other and learn together. For some problems, other projects may have already gone through them, and other founders may have already gained solving experience. At this time, asking a few people will immediately get some feedback, which is much faster than spending a lot of time learning by oneself.

This collective wisdom is like a spider weaving a web. When each person weaves a bit of the network, it will attract more people to come together and weave a larger network. Qi said, “If I am willing to showcase and contribute what I can do first, slowly, there will be some people, various high-quality developers, who are willing to learn and build together.” In Qi’s view, there may not be a centralized leadership here, nor any mandatory contracts, but everyone is based on the idea that I can learn something from you and I am willing to share what I have learned with you, and we can build together. This is also one of the reasons why Qi co-founded SpringX. He hopes to contribute a bit of his power and let more people participate, so that this industry can truly achieve explosive growth.

“Web3 is a place full of collective wisdom.” Qi exclaimed, “When more and more people who want to share and learn sit around us, there is never a need to worry about not keeping up with industry developments. I believe that Vitalik also has many such people sitting around him.”

In the network of collective wisdom, everyone is a torchbearer. Pioneers inspire others with their experiences, and later generations pass on the power they have obtained from their predecessors to even more people.

LianGuaiul believes that the path taken by entrepreneurs will become a map, giving directions and hints to people who come after. LianGuaiul has been deeply involved in the growth process of Web2 products with billions of users. After entering full-time into Web3, he created a social product called Nextme. Unlike some mainstream voices and popular trends in Web3, LianGuaiul is not superstitious about Crypto Native storytelling and rarely attends various conferences. In his view, whether it’s Web2, Web3, or WebN, human nature remains the same. Starting from the bottom-line needs and use cases of people and providing services, connecting with real users, LianGuaiul and his team have gradually discovered a unique growth path that spans Web2 and Web3. He wants to share the accumulated experience and faith with more people. In the early stages of entrepreneurship, when it is most difficult to endure, faith and intentions are sometimes more precious than gold – knowing that the path is possible, there is always a solution. But at the same time, in the stages from 1 to 10, he also hopes to gain more acceleration and support from the experiences of those who have come before, in order to commercialize faster.

Web3 is still a very early world, and there are many things to explore. Everyone gathering together, opening a door, and opening a new world for more people, while treading a path so that the people who come later can avoid some pitfalls.

Photographer: Michio Hoshino A group of people chasing whales in the Arctic’s polar day

Difficult, so what?

– “Helping more Chinese projects break into the overseas world”

For Chinese entrepreneurs, exploring overseas markets is not an easy task.

“For a project primarily led by two Chinese men like ours, it may not be so eye-catching in the investment sector and some social circles in North America,” Mike candidly expressed. During the last round of financing for GoPlus Security, when some investors heard that the team was primarily led by Chinese founders, their interest in getting in touch clearly decreased. However, Mike remains optimistic. He believes that investors from different regions will have their own preferences regarding geographical backgrounds, and this is a normal phenomenon. “We strive to do our best, improve the image of Chinese entrepreneurs, and leverage our strengths,” Mike said.

The difference in language and culture is another difficult challenge that Chinese projects face.

Qi has been in Silicon Valley for many years and has also embarked on a long journey. Finally, with the support of the Ethereum Foundation’s funding, he has successfully collaborated deeply with Ethereum and integrated into the mainstream circle. According to Qi, the hardships in between are like “being exposed to the sun.”

In his opinion, the technical level and work efficiency of Chinese projects are no less than those overseas. However, how to narrate one’s own project vividly and naturally in English, especially to deliver it infectiously to the audience like Jobs or Zuckerberg, is a prominent weakness for Chinese entrepreneurs.

During his time at Zuzalu in Montenegro, someone asked Qi how to overcome the lack of confidence in speaking English in front of so many people. Qi said that when presenting the same topic in English hundreds of times, gaining a clear understanding of the value created by one’s own project and being able to talk about it as fluently as in one’s native language, and even being able to expand and extend it spontaneously, one will naturally no longer feel afraid. Qi said that’s how he trained himself.

In addition to wanting to represent Chinese projects in Web3 and open up a blood path, Qi also hopes to help more Chinese projects break into a world overseas. He said, “Just like Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, not only did he make his own company very successful, but he also led more companies to success. This is a great spiritual return.” If SpringX is a bridge that brings the most advanced narrative and technology from the West to the East and brings outstanding performers from the East to the West, Qi hopes to be one of the people building that bridge.

Starlight does not disappoint the traveler

It took Hoshino Michio half a lifetime to pursue the light in his heart and capture countless moments that touch the soul, amidst the vast expanse of the world and all its living beings. Similarly, entrepreneurs in the Web3 space embark on their own journey in search of the light within their own lives.

LianGuaiul recalls the experience of capturing the Northern Lights with friends. They were determined to witness the aurora at a specific location. So, they avoided crowded places and drove together towards it. LianGuaiul said they all witnessed the most beautiful Northern Lights and starry sky, creating unforgettable memories.

Perhaps for entrepreneurs, choosing who to walk this path with and experiencing the ups and downs of entrepreneurship alongside them is an integral part of the journey’s scenery.

Things that cannot be said to family and friends can be easily shared with other founders, for they truly understand. Niels remembers many moments when he and fellow founders would spend nights at a barbecue restaurant, drinking and chatting, or playing games together offline. He will never forget arriving in a strange city in the early hours of the morning, only to have a local founder immediately rush over to meet him upon hearing the news. It’s like gathering of knights, where a sip of wine reveals a thousand words, and they set forth together to conquer the world. Niels refers to this connection as a bond, where each founder becomes a living and breathing individual, rather than just someone associated with a project. Together, they choose to experience, create, and make dreams come true. This is the essence of the founder network.

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