Building a Successful Company in Web3

Building a Successful Company in Web3

Contributed to by Fish, Co-Founder of Trader Joe and Joepegs

Now is arguably one of the most exciting times to start building in Web3. During the bear market, the industry has had a chance to focus on building quality projects rather than focusing on valuation gains. This means that there is an influx of incredible projects that are laser-focused on providing maximum value to users. However, it is vital that what remains a top priority, is ensuring Web3 founders bring the right people on board, as the team is critical in making or breaking a new Web3 project. Here, we will dissect the key elements and considerations for building a successful company in Web3.

Finding your “why”

Building a successful Web3 company requires a deep understanding of blockchain technology and its potential to disrupt traditional business models. It also requires a strong focus on solving real-world problems and providing value to customers. Ensuring that you have really nailed down what your mission and purpose is, will help to attract the right people to join your team. If you all have a goal to work towards that is aligned with your overarching mission, it will help attract people who want to go on the journey of achieving and reaching this goal.

Turning your why turn into a real life use case

A fundamental aspect of building a Web3 business is to have a compelling use case for blockchain technology. There are multiple routes you can take, and whether it be a decentralized marketplace, blockchain gaming, SocialFi, NFTs, or DeFi, it should be rooted in a genuine need and have a clear benefit to users. It can be a challenging task but there are various strategies you can implement to help identify potential opportunities. 

It’s important to source the problems people are facing with the current systems in place, for example data control and how Web3 technologies such as blockchain and decentralized applications can solve this. Engaging with the community is likely your most useful tool to understand the pain points they are trying to solve and what solutions they are looking for. For example, do they want to be empowered to govern their own community, have true ownership of their digital assets, create new revenue streams, or something else? Be sure to join platforms such as Reddit, Discord and Twitter and ensure you communicate with people and listen to what they want and need.

Having the right team can vastly impact your ability to create a compelling use case as they will bring a diverse set of skills to the table, offering different perspectives and identify opportunities that you may have overlooked. Bringing the right people onboard that have experience in Web3 and have a real grasp of what the community looks for in new projects means you will get key insights that will shape your idea and appeal to users. They will also know how to effectively engage with the community and bring a deep understanding of the industry.

Find the right people

Having a strong team can be the key differentiator in what determines the success of any company, and it’s no different in Web3. Building a Web3 project requires a very specific set of skills and expertise in areas such as tailored user experience design, blockchain development, and smart contract engineering. It is crucial to have a team that has a solid understanding of the industry and market you are operating in as well as a mix of both technical and business skills. Key departments and functions that should be prioritized include, technology, engineering, marketing and community builders.

To source team members, a good starting point is to look directly in Web3 communities. For example, if you want a designer who specializes in NFTs, you can join online forums across Telegram, Discord and Twitter that have dedicated channels for people with these skill sets.

Your best hires come directly from your community. They will know your product and the industry you’re in the best. That matters way more than if a candidate is super smart but isn’t very familiar with what you’re building, especially in a space as arcane as crypto. One of the most successful things that Trader Joe did was run fun bounties like a liquidation bot competition. When the competition first started, we weren’t thinking about hiring. We only wanted to run the competition as a fun way to get community members involved but the submissions were so good that we ended up hiring the best ones.

There are also Web3 job boards where talent will look to apply for roles. For example, the BNB Chain Ecosystem Job Board. 

Building and engaging a strong community

Additionally, a priority for Web3 companies should be community building and engagement as this will be a main lever of growth and key for the success of a project. What this looks like is, attracting, engaging and collaborating with the community. Transparency is also key and taking feedback and implementing this in the project is key to boosting engagement within the community. At BNB Chain, there are multiple programs, incentives and grants that equip projects with the skills they need to succeed in Web3 by providing a comprehensive learning experience that covers the technical aspects of development, product design, marketing and tokenomics design. New Web3 companies can also apply to BNB Chain Kickstart where they will get the essential tools and services to kickstart their building journey.

Crypto is unique in that most of your communication is done through Telegram, Discord and Twitter, where your users have a direct line to you, the Founder. This can be a blessing and a curse but definitely use it to your advantage. Users want to know what you are thinking every waking moment of the day and one of the best ways to build a community is to literally just think out loud. Take it one step further by holding regular Twitter Spaces as you’d be surprised how much this is the key ingredient you need to build a strong community in crypto.

A clear use case, a strong community, a solid understanding of the regulatory landscape are all key factors to consider when building a Web3 company but what remains as the number one priority is creating a strong team. With blockchain technology still being in the early stages, there is a huge opportunity for talented teams to come together, disrupt and pave the way for a new era of innovation and drive mainstream adoption of Web3.