Web3 Entrepreneur Experience Sharing: Don't Blindly Chase Trends, Have a Forward-Looking Plan
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Web3 Entrepreneur Experience Sharing: Don't Blindly Chase Trends, Have a Forward-Looking Plan
If your goal is to make quick money, don't start a business.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy sleepy, founder of WeirdoGhostGang
I’ve been reflecting and adjusting recently. The Web3 startup environment today has changed dramatically compared to when we first began—our understanding of it has evolved significantly through multiple iterations.
Drawing from my entrepreneurial journey, I’d like to share 10 tips that may help those currently building in or considering launching a venture in Web3.
If you want quick money, become a hacker or trade crypto—don’t start a company
If your goal is fast profits, don’t start a startup. From my perspective, this industry carries too much stigma; from yours, there are far more efficient ways to make money than entrepreneurship.
Hacking or trading crypto are the fastest paths to profit—the challenge lies in learning. Hacking goes without saying—you need technical skills. Crypto trading appears low-barrier but actually demands high expertise. If you're randomly making trades and profiting, that's luck. But if you’re serious about treating it as an investment strategy, you’ll need financial literacy, knowledge of secondary markets, and the ability to deeply analyze projects—whether for value investing or sentiment-based plays.
Starting a company is far more complex—you must handle compliance, team-building, strategic planning, capital allocation, and more. Crucially, you should know that startup success rates are below 1%—it’s inherently a rare outcome.
Of course, if your intention isn’t to build something lasting but rather to quickly rug-pull, then this article won’t convince you otherwise—just know that most people in the space are broke now; there’s nothing left to harvest.
The era of bottom-up project growth is over
In our early days, there was a popular belief: Web3 projects should grow organically from the ground up—start with a community, then let the community decide the future direction.
Let me be clear: today, anyone still using this argument likely means their team hasn’t figured out their roadmap.
I believe this idea emerged from conflating Web3 startups with DAOs. For years, there's been fierce debate over whether Web3 ventures should operate as traditional companies or as DAOs. Not incorporating hurts operational efficiency; avoiding DAO structures risks losing community support. But many debates raging in Web3 have already been settled in Web2—we can look at early Xiaomi as a perfect reference point.
Don’t chase trends—be forward-thinking
This applies to choosing your startup’s direction—not marketing tactics.
Web3 trend cycles move faster than any other industry—during bull markets, new narratives emerge daily; during bear markets, there’s often nothing to talk about. In such a purely narrative-driven space, unless you have an exceptionally strong technical team capable of identifying and acting on emerging trends at inception, you cannot realistically ride the wave. Even if you do launch on time, the hype may fade quickly, rendering your efforts inefficient.
Therefore, develop your own deep understanding of the industry and macro landscape. Don’t be a trend-follower—stick firmly to the vision you believe in, and wait for the market to catch up to you.
The industry’s DNA makes consumer businesses nearly impossible here
Let’s acknowledge this together: if you want to build in consumer sectors, don’t define yourself as a Web3 project, nor spend excessive energy within the crypto bubble.
This conclusion stems directly from what we’re building—it’s precisely our work that led me to this insight.
Recently, a consumer-focused project shut down. We reached out to learn why—their feedback? “Low willingness to pay.” This also debunks another widely circulated myth in the space.
Why is consumer so hard here? During university, I interned at a new-consumer brand—I’ll briefly share some insights (may not be perfectly accurate, but you’ll get the point).
The typical product purchase funnel: user sees → gets interested → clicks into product page → purchases. At each step, most users drop off. A conversion rate of 0.05% from impression to purchase indicates a highly successful product—one excelling in quality, design, and pricing.
Web3 users are human too—they follow the same laws. But while Web2 funnels draw from billions, how many truly active users does Web3 have? Rather than blaming “low payment intent,” I’d argue the real issue is simply “too few active users.”
You might ask: “But doesn’t Web3 make it easier to build loyal fans?” Let’s examine where this belief comes from.
Originally, this meant NFT drops could rapidly gather communities. Ideally, holders would organically contribute content, promote the project, and engage in CX—all to drive up NFT prices. Some mistook this for “loyal fandom.” But this is a misapplication of Web2 terms in a Web3 context.
“Consumption” means selling products fans genuinely like or need—the foundation being “liking” or “needing.” Once financial incentives enter Web3, teams easily misread motivations. You think they love your product—but really, they just want someone else to buy it later. If you can’t grasp your users’ true intentions, that becomes a fatal flaw.
So instead, lean into Web3’s strength as a financial instrument. After generating profits, reward your community—through legal dividends or token buybacks.
By now, I hope we agree: monetize via Web3, but earn revenue from Web2. Then the path becomes clear—follow the money. Build markets where the revenue is, adapt locally. Just as you wouldn’t use Japan’s strategy for Europe, if you’re earning from Web2, spending all day in Crypto Twitter Spaces or attending Web3 meetups becomes pointless.
Never blindly trust KOLs, projects, or investors
As a project founder, minor KOL, and former investor, this advice comes from personal experience—and is sincerely meant.
Too many push projects solely to dump their bags—no need to elaborate further.
Even seemingly “positive” opinions from KOLs, projects, or VCs shouldn’t be taken at face value. As founders, you must form your own clear judgment about market realities and future directions. Use external views as input, but internalize them—turn them into your own insights. Raise your awareness constantly. You’re building for yourself, not working for influencers, projects, or capital.
Don’t treat Web3 native status as sufficient or even necessary—it often isn’t
I once wrote: “Are we Web3 folks too full of ourselves?”
How important is being Web3-native today? From a startup and hiring standpoint, not at all.
Earlier, emphasizing “Web3 native” was more about self-labeling—claiming uniqueness, signaling early adoption, showcasing distinction.
This artificial barrier often keeps newcomers out and isolates insiders from the broader world.
I’ve seen teams claim “Web3 native” as their biggest advantage yet fail to explain what concrete benefits it brings. I’ve heard communities boast hundreds of active users—while the hotpot restaurant downstairs seats over ten times that. Recently, during hiring, after interviewing dozens, I clearly noticed candidates from Web2 backgrounds had higher average capabilities.
Crypto natives used to mock “big tech alumni,” but those who’ve survived Web2 pressure usually have solid work methodologies. Between proven processes and Web3 familiarity—which matters more? I’d ideally want both, but if forced to choose, I’d pick methodology. Frankly, I don’t believe there’s anything in today’s Web3 that only “natives” can understand.
Marketing matters more
Someone once compared this industry to entertainment—and I think that’s spot-on.
Marketing is crucial in every industry, but our field makes it especially difficult—24/7 trading, nonstop trend shifts, cross-cultural memes. Startups must work harder than ever to sustain attention. And remember: generating metrics isn’t the same as doing marketing.
Choose whether to exit the ‘Web3 echo chamber’ or ride Web3 sentiment based on your business model
Web3 loves its echo chambers—this needs no proof.
How should you navigate this? It depends on where your revenue comes from. Choosing one path doesn’t mean disrespecting the other—business isn’t charity. Pick the more suitable starting point. Web3’s unique appeal lies in its frequent divergence from macro sentiment (which is essentially what “echo chamber” means). Founders must decide: break free from the bubble, or surf the waves of market emotion to profit from sentiment itself.
Both paths come with major challenges. The first means entering a more competitive arena—you’ll need to leverage Web3 tools strategically to differentiate. The second requires repeatedly spotting, timing, and shaping market sentiment—not merely reacting to it.
Reduce meaningless networking
This is something I’ve actively practiced lately. As a founder, daily responsibilities are heavy and fragmented—unlike employees focused on specific tasks, or freelancers (KOLs, full-time traders) with large blocks of free time.
You need to ensure operations run smoothly, keep your company moving forward, and continuously upgrade your thinking to stay ahead. With all this, little time remains for socializing. So until your company scales, remember: every action should serve a purpose. While I advocate balancing work and rest for sustainability, if you’re founding a startup, prepare to live like a workaholic.
Set aside time daily or weekly to escape the information bubble
I used to live entirely inside Web3—constantly scrolling Twitter, listening to Spaces—afraid of missing anything.
But over time, I didn’t gain much—instead, I got trapped in a Web3-only information bubble. I’d learn about major Web2 developments weeks late, falling behind friends. I realized this was dangerous. As an entrepreneur, you can’t afford to miss memes, news, economic shifts, trends, or business models. “Echo chambers” are fine—“out-of-touch echo chambers” are terrifying. I’ve had moments where our team brainstormed what we thought were brilliant ideas, only to discover later they were old concepts from Web2 companies—or things data showed general audiences simply didn’t care about.
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@sleepy0x13
