internet capital markets are cracking fundraising wide open
it’s very exciting
but they’re also making it very easy to make even more long term mistakes early on in your start up
for a lot of OG crypto founders it used to be more simple:
pitch VCs
launch a token
now the stack has become much larger:
- grants for runway
- accelerators for signal
- community rounds for distribution
- auctions and futarchy for allocation
- stablecoins for settlement
lots of options, also very easy to get in over your head
each tool can solves a different job
a grant can buy runway but it doesn’t prove demand
an accelerator can lend credibility but it doesn’t always replace diligence
and launching a token really deserves extra caution..
a start up can suddenly have a public price, a crowd of holders, governance expectations and big compliance questions - all before the product or business model has settled and they've found PMF
private structures can sometimes be amended around a table
a traded token comes with a crowd of unsophisticated investors asking you what’s up every 5 mins, and a chart/market price that you can never get away from that’s constantly being jeeted by people with the attention of a gold fish
you want to raise capital in the future ? you want to sell your Co or potentially IPO? good luck ...
capital formation is becoming part of product design
i’m not saying no one should launch a token
but choose the wrong structure too early and you may spend years building around it or it may just ruin you all together
goodluck out there frends and stay curios..