late September last year - I got kidnapped & extorted $3k+ by the NPF.
went all in on the MegaETH ICO & during the refund period, an acquaintance steals near $7k from me.
couldn’t keep up at makina due to how everything weighed on me - entire thing landed me in “incredible debt” - a terrible cycle where everything you earn goes into paying people off.
but I was certain I would recover due to expectations from MegaETH’s TGE timing -
unfortunately, things happened & decisions were made in the interest of the eco
got a new job sometime in January, & just when I thought I might just survive & finally become debt free - I lost the job (around 1 week+ ago)
the day I got the news, I felt my legs get incredibly lighter on the ground.
now this is someone who pays people‘s school fees, gives ALOT & I’m basically the one who helps people
I got a dm from some guy I helped in 2024 checking in on me & that just broke me.
I haven’t been living from September till now - I’ve just been going through humiliation rituals to survive
grateful for people like @basit_@0x_trophy@oxtochi@zayn4pf@gvofeyii@thegreatola@0x_scientist@0xcreel@vicsclarissa & many more.
in all of this, I’ve still managed to give value to people & just help them improve where I can (the screenshot below is a message that really made me smile)
I understand it’s just bad timing & things will get better. there’s no other conclusion I can arrive at so for now, I’ll try to survive.
@LionessAtEase This is why most projects lose users once the incentives stop, because you are paying them to stay, not because they found value in the product.
Your first mistake was coding a product without researching if there was market need for it.
You set yourself up, bro, and I’ll tell you why. I will also show you how not to, especially as a crypto founder from Africa.
2025 was the worst year on record according to CB insights. 42% of startups failed because they built something nobody wants.
Not that nobody knew about it. They knew. They just didn’t NEED it.
In that same 2025, 11.6 Million projects died - with marketing/distribution failures being a major cause
Crypto startups on their own were busy burning massive budgets on campaigns that bring temporary visibility. 2 weeks after TGE Discord is a ghostland.
Also, we seldom target crypto-natives, communicating in jargon. All our marketing is targeted at the smallest possible market. Ignoring mainstream users.
So even if you accidentally build what people need, your 2nd mistake will be not having an effective marketing and distribution system.
These failures happen because most founders are devs. They spend YEARS learning to code but ZERO time learning customer psychology.
Whereas it's only on code that you can use units for A/B. Your marketing A/B test is betting your company's survival.
This is why you can't skip market research before writing code
If you had actually done that, you’d have already discovered hints to your marketing strategy. Because there you’d learn;
📍 What people actually need
📍 How they talk about the problem
📍 Where they hang out
📍 What messaging resonates
📍 Which channels to use
However, I'll give you this cheat code to launch your product. I hope marketers don’t sue me kek.
Phase 1 (Pre-launch):
📍 Tweet your building journey
📍 Share problems you're solving
📍 Build waitlist of 500-1000 people WHO CARE
Phase 2 (Launch):
📍 Don't launch to everyone. Launch to 50 power users
📍 Get feedback, iterate fast
📍 Let THEM spread the word
Phase 3 (Scale):
📍 Double down on what's working
📍 Cut what's not
📍 Most projects die because they spread too thin
Bonus Read: Let me break down what works across different crypto niches...
DEFI/INFRA:
Aave's playbook:
📍Started as ETHLend (failed)
📍Rebranded, focused on ONE thing: "Lend crypto, earn interest"
Simple message. Clear value.
Your play if you're building infra/DeFi:
📍Write solid docs
📍Build SDKs/APIs that work out the box
📍Get familiar with the leads of protocols and communities across diff continents
📍 Support devs and dev companies publicly (Twitter posts, Discord, etc)
They will build on you = organic distribution.
GAMING:
Players don't care about being decentralized. They care if it's FUN.
Axie Infinity (at peak):
📍Didn't lead with "blockchain game"
📍Led with "Earn while playing cute creatures"
📍Built community FIRST (100K+ Discord before mainstream launch)
📍Guilds formed organically……viral growth.
The mistake they made: Great marketing, broke product (economy collapsed, players left for good)
Your Play: Copy Axie Infinity
CONSUMER APPS (PAYMENTS, SOCIAL, FINTECH):
Your competition isn't other crypto apps. It's Venmo, Instagram, WhatsApp.
Your Play: Hire me. Thank you very much😊
DESCI (DECENTRALIZED SCIENCE):
Get 1 credible expert to vouch = 1,000 users. Not vice versa.
Your Play:
📍Partner with universities/labs
📍Publish papers (even if just on arXiv)
📍Speak at academic conferences
📍Let credentials do the marketing
ECOSYSTEM/PROTOCOLS:
The mistake: Marketing to users when you should market to BUILDERS.
Your Play: Hire me. Thank you very much😌
AI AGENTS& TOOLS
What works: Hire me. Thank you very much☺️
For all OTHER NICHES:
Your Play: Hire me. Thank you very much😇
BOTTOM LINE
For devs reading this: Partner with a marketer early. Not "when we're ready to launch." NOW.
For marketers: You're not support staff. You're the difference between 10 users and 10,000.
Distribution > Product. Always has been. Always will be.
I have compiled all the amazing AI guys here into a list
now, you can never miss a post they make
or their replies
because I found out that they always talk about the next big thing there, before it becomes public knowledge
with this list, your dreams becomes closer
https://t.co/fP5IbPJe5N
Google Cybersecurity Scholarship…..
Here’s the link to apply: https://t.co/mP7OqRnLt8
It’s completely FREE
The application will expire in March.
Apply Now now before it expires.