The Blox
Investment Thesis

Overview

Building and growing Web3 products is considerably different from what we’ve grown accustomed to in the Web2 space. The era of decentralized applications is changing our current technological and economic paradigms.

Current products are still early adaptations from older Web2 solutions. Unlike Web2, tokens offer Web3 users more power by granting them additional property rights i.e the ability to own a piece of the internet.

What is The Blox Accelerator?

The Blox has developed strong expertise in various web3 areas from DeFi to NFTs all the way to the open Metaverse and chains interoperability. The program is designed to support our early-stage startups and pass along this knowledge to our founders through the acceleration period.

Each cohort usually consists of 5 teams building their product for a period of 3 months. The programs are custom based on each cohort’s needs. We provide strategic support to help you and your team get your project off the ground.

Throughout this fast-moving experience, we introduce founders to our network of mentors, VCs, corporate partners, and companies already in our portfolio to identify and create synergies for your project.

During the program, our team also provides its expertise on different levels including, pitching, marketing, go-to-market, token models, legal, and funding.

What is the program about?

Funding and Perks

• Opportunity for your startup to get funding and present your project to a select investment committee and raise up to 150K in exchange for 7% equity (and advisory tokens to-be-determined).
• You get up to $800K perks from our partners such as AWS, Github, Notion etc.

Mentor Network

The knowledge founders receive during the program saves them precious time to focus on other key areas and increases their chances of success. We built a community comprised of world-class experts to connect our founders to successful entrepreneurs, c-level executives, marketers, experienced advisors, and legal professionals, all having a proven track record with a minimum of 5 years in a specific field.

Community & Marketing

We believe communities in Web3 are more important than the product to some extent. We help founders define an appropriate strategy to build a dynamic and engaged community throughout the program. The Blox team also advises on growth, content strategy, design, branding, and effective social media communication.

Strategic advice & feedback

Startups are fully integrated with our team and benefit directly from The Blox’s resources and valuable human capital. Our expert team will advise on your token model, whitepaper, marketing roadmap, go-to-market strategy, business model, and pitch deck. We can also bring technical expertise in conception, PoC/MVP development, user feedback, and alpha/beta testing.

Founders we’re looking for

As opposed to Web2, the idea that underpins your project is not necessarily the most crucial element. The composition of your team and the engagement of your community may often have a greater impact on the potential success of your project than the idea itself.

Tech founders

We believe having tech founders is critical to ensuring the project’s viability and adherence to the roadmap. Even though founders who apply to The Blox acceleration program should have a technical background, they don’t necessarily need a previous experience in Web3. This component is important because it allows us to focus on operations, save money and time, and iterate faster.

Full-time commitment

Founders must be fully invested in the project. The goal of accelerating your startup is to bring your product to market fast. In order to succeed, founders need to focus on every aspect of the program and believe in their project. Also, your enthusiasm and leadership ability should speak volumes.

Flexibility

Our team, mentors, and investors are long-time experts in their space and have the ability to quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of a project. Therefore, we might advise refocusing some parts of your model or strategy during the acceleration process. The only reason we would do that is to increase your chances of success. Founders should always try to reduce risk and pivot when it’s needed. If you can demonstrate flexibility, accept criticism, and reiterate fast, you will more likely create a favorable outcome for your project.

Pragmatism

We’re looking for resourceful founders who always strive to find efficient and cost-effective ways to deliver. This simply shows how much you care about your company’s future by solving early-stage problems and having a long-term vision. Founders with pragmatic thinking and an analytical approach make a big difference in the success of a project.

Ideas we’re looking for

Ambitious projects that fail to deliver on their promises are commonplace in the Web3 ecosystem. We support projects that aim to add real value to the ecosystem. The following criteria should help you determine whether or not your product is compatible with our aspirations.

• Metaverse / Gaming
• NFT projects
• Decentralized identity
• DAOs
• DeFi
• Middlewares
• Oracles
• Protocols

Products that solve a problem

Product-market fit is paramount for sustainable growth. Your product should provide a solution to specific problems users are facing. It wouldn’t make sense to push a product that doesn’t bring sustainable value to customers.

✅ We will strongly consider the following:

• Your product is different from all other projects out there and brings value to its target users
• Your product is an improved version of an existing solution with advanced features that make you stand out and ahead of your competitor
• Your product piggybacks on existing products that already have traction and bring value by solving specific users’ problems

You should understand who your customers are and what makes your value proposition strong and resilient.

Realistic ideas

Few investors will be willing to risk their money on your startup if you plan to revolutionize an industry without a concrete benchmark and market analysis to compare the unique properties of your product to the other players.

When you build a company from the ground up, you need to formulate clearly the different levels of feasibility that might impact your project in one way or another. We love founders who have a coherent vision and set realistic expectations for their products.

Relevant blockchain use case and token utility

Not all ideas require the use of blockchain technology. In some cases, a good old centralized architecture is more efficient. We don’t want founders to feel the urge to use tokens in everything and anything just to blend in. The use of pertinent technology for your product has to prevail. We’ll pay attention to your tokenomics and, if necessary, assist you in conceptualizing the token model or choosing the right technology.