TechFlow news, Pantera Capital investor Ryan Barney shared startup insights at EthCC, advising early-stage founders to focus on whales/VIPs or concentrate on selling to exclusive, affluent clients rather than attempting mass scaling from the outset. Additionally, Barney cited Blur's airdrop as a successful example, emphasizing that a well-designed, marketing-driven airdrop can optimize user engagement within a protocol and significantly boost project visibility.
Barney also highlighted two largely ineffective strategies: initial coin offerings (ICOs) and influencer marketing. Regarding ICOs, Barney noted that recent regulatory pressures have essentially prevented institutional participation. As for influencer marketing, he pointed out that recent cases of influencers promoting projects without disclosing conflicts of interest—or even front-running their followers—have made it difficult for users to trust them.
