It was another Sunday evening where a few members of the team were catching up for a few drinks, sitting around a table and playing card games.
Our newest intern was going to turn 21 in a few hours and cake (which turned out to be unexpectedly awesome) was on the way.
As it has now become habit, one member from the gathering picked up their phone to open the Buidl.so website, and there it was –
Over 1000 Web3 startups, organized and coordinated with 300+ contributors on one platform.
It felt nice in the moment, but it collectively got us thinking – is this important?
The answer is not that straightforward.
Why is it important?
It would be hard to fathom more than 6000-7000 seed investible Web3 startups all over the world at any given time. From testnet(s) and hackathon data, it is safe to assume that less than 5% of projects across all chains are actually building towards something more than a hackathon or side project.
To have eyes on 1/6th or 1/7th of the current TAM (ugh) of the investable Web3 startup market is exciting.
Furthermore, close to 250 of the startups on our platform showcase progress on a weekly basis. This proof of progress method has given us proximity to startups like Shield and 0VIX, at a time where no one was looking at them.
As basic funnel mechanics would lead you to think, would there be more startups on the platform, showing us more of these gems? Possibly.
Why it probably doesn’t matter as much
Our proof of progress mechanism is a great filter to identify which startups are worth helping. All the benefits of Buidl.so are tied to the progress that startups show on the platform; it’s our proxy to see if a founding team is perseverant.
The rest, either don’t find value in the platform or can’t find the time to post updates on a weekly basis. Mea culpa – the product is constantly changing and we still don’t have the confidence to remove the “Alpha” moniker from the Buidl.so logo.
It is also very likely that a lot of the startups no longer exist. Startups in general have a very high mortality rate, and that’s probably many orders of magnitude greater for Web3.
So at any given number of startups on Buidl.so, only 20-25% of that number is actually relevant from a support and investment standpoint.
Maybe the number to celebrate is 5000 startups on the platform? (We can already hear a collective mental groan from the team)
So where do we go?
1000+ startups on the platform is a nice feeling. When we launched Buidl.so, we estimated around 200 startups on the platform by the end of year 1.
To outperform that by five times is a testament to our team’s grit and hard work to find startups from the furthest reaches of the planet and meaningfully support them.
But this is not the number we work towards.
The 20-30 odd startups that found an investor on the platform is what we live for.
Our purpose is served when millions of dollars go into startups that pitch at our demo days.
Yeah, 1000 startups feels nice, but have you ever felt the joy of being able to put your heads down with 1 startup and help them solve a critical problem?
Better still, finding the startup a core tribe that is aligned with their success and who will always pick up the founder’s call?
These are the stories we live for.
Buidl.so helps us scale this impact.
And so in that context, 1000 startups is a milestone. But it’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Now back to work.