Financial discipline, managing market cycles, and running lean. According to Gwin Scott, these are some of the strategies and attention points founders need to keep in mind in order to succeed in the crypto and Web3 environment.

Gwin is my guest in this week’s episode of The Blockchain Startup Show. He is the co-founder of Vendible Labs, a decentralized identity project built on Algorand. With a long and successful track record in business leadership pre-crypto, and some humbling experiences post-crypto, I was excited to get Gwin’s take on the trials and tribulations of Web3 entrepreneurship.

Watch the full conversation here:

[EMBEDDED INTERVIEW]

Gwin is a veteran entrepreneur who bravely took the plunge into crypto, co-founding Vendible Labs..

Having worked with businesses in many different sectors and coming from a traditional corporate background, Gwin has a special eye for early-stage business development, sustainable business models, and strategies that can help founders reach success.

Here are the highlights from the interview:

Gwin discusses his background in corporate roles, such as with Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting, his transition into venture capital and blockchain.

We discuss how Web3 differs from other industries in terms of success conditions, business execution, and the unique challenges posed by decentralization.

Gwin offers insights into whether traditional business development practices can be applied in crypto, debating the industry’s differences and similarities.

We explore how trends like community-led sales and inbound marketing in traditional sectors are aligning with practices that are already prevalent in crypto.

We discuss projects that raised excessive funds but failed to deliver, leading to bloated operations with little innovation or product-market fit.

Gwin highlights essential lessons crypto founders can learn from traditional industries, such as the importance of constraints in driving innovation and maintaining focus.

He also discusses the need for founders, especially in technical roles, to have a comprehensive understanding of the business context and how their work contributes to the broader goals.

Gwin reflects on the journey of building Vendible Labs, sharing both successes and failures, and the lessons learned throughout the process.

Gwin offers practical advice on how to approach fundraising, including calculating runway needs, managing burn rate, and planning for both bull and bear market cycles.

We talk about how founders need to be proactive rather than reactive during different market cycles, with strategies to maintain consistency and avoid pitfalls.

We explore the importance of lean operations and avoiding unnecessary expenses, especially during early stages when resources are limited...