Original author: Jack Kubinec
Translated by: Lawrence, Mars Finance
Lightspeed initiated an anonymous survey and distributed it to Solana's founders, heavy users, etc., aiming to understand their true opinions on other ecosystems, venture capital firms, startups, and more.
The survey questions covered various options and provided spaces for written responses, edited for grammar and clarity.
Here are the results of our survey of 42 founders:
1. Which blockchain would you choose besides Solana?
Some founders also stated: 'If it weren't for Solana, I wouldn't be involved in cryptocurrency.'
2. What is your favorite political party in the United States?
3. Which crypto VC do you rate the highest?
The founders also stated: 'Choosing one is unfair.'
4. Which crypto VC do you have the least faith in?
The founders also stated: 'Blindly following based on who the lead investor is is not okay for Asian venture capital firms either.'
5. I've heard that the internal circles of Solana are quite deep, and in order to promote the development of internal projects, it often comes at the expense of non-internal projects?
The founders also stated:
'I don't know; anyway, it's all the same, not much difference.'
'I don't like this question; it feels like it's provoking controversy rather than providing information.'
'It does exist, and I am part of it, but not 'at the expense of non-internal projects.' Because I have also invested a lot of time and money in 'non-internal projects.' It is reciprocal—you give, and you will also receive.'
'It doesn't exist, yet I am a part of it.'
'In the early days and during the bear market, some personal relationships were formed. Those who valued collaboration and helped Solana naturally built tighter relationships over the years. Some individuals (including those from the OG Solana Labs team) later became influential figures with large followings. This is natural. Almost all surviving teams also received funding from venture capital and Solana Ventures. These are facts, but in my opinion, they are not malicious. The Solana Foundation is actively working to decentralize this influence and support people who are doing great work in the ecosystem (e.g., Superteam, etc.). In my view, Toly is particularly good at supporting builders impartially, not based on personal preferences, but based on 1) the coolness of the projects they are building and 2) their sincerity.'
6. What is currently Solana's biggest problem?
The founders also stated: 'There is an urgent need for more block space. An increase in demand by 5 times + a price increase of 2 times = to keep the costs for application developers constant, the block size needs to be increased by 10 times!'
7. What do you think is the significance of memecoins for Solana?
8. Solana has many startups that are not created by you; which one do you most want to join?
9. Which one do you least want to join?
The founders also stated: 'Companies that have not shown progress also do not want to join.'
10. What is the most overrated Solana sector?
The founders also stated: 'SocialFi, DeSci, and gaming all still have potential.'
11. The most underrated Solana sector?
12. Which of the following has the greatest negative impact on Solana's reputation?
The founders also stated: 'FTX was both the best and the worst in the early days, haha.'
There are many aspects worth exploring, but I found a few points particularly noteworthy: other founders have a low opinion of pump.fun, but they generally believe that memecoins are beneficial to the ecosystem. Base and Sui seem to be the most attractive competitors to Solana at the moment.
As a journalist, it's not easy to get founders to speak candidly in public. This survey helped me better understand the true thoughts of Solana's founders—at least from an overall perspective, it seems fairly genuine.
