Original text: ehwangah
Translated by: Yuliya, PANews
Let’s face a reality: in the crypto field, market capitalization is the core metric of success. Technical innovation, capturing core value, product-market fit (PMF), etc., are all important, but the real indicator that proves you have brought multiple returns to your team, investors, and holders is whether your market cap can soar. So how to achieve that?
Launch immediately, build and show publicly > Don’t get overly caught up in launch details or keep postponing.
Don't be too nervous; the launch only accounts for 10%-20% of your long-term success. Don’t complicate it. Here’s a brief summary:
Overhyped early-stage launch, but lacking substance: extreme volatility
Low-key launch, but lacking substance: direct failure
Overhyped early-stage launch, and with substantial support: soaring to the peak
Low-key launch, and with substantial support: steady growth
Do you see the pattern? The key is to create substantive content (we will discuss how to create substantive content in detail later, in short, it’s about the team, product, and community). A simple test is: are your friends willing to buy, hold, and believe in your project? If they don’t trust it, others won’t either.
Why is starting early the best choice?
1. Validate your ideas before investing over $100,000 in development costs
Instead of spending 3 months or even longer and tens of thousands of dollars polishing the product, launching early can help you validate your concept. Similar to lean startup practices, first propose an idea, spark interest from target users, and then iterate and build after validation. You might think this approach is unconventional, but it helps you cultivate the initial 1,000 true believers—this group will become a catalyst for project growth, whether in networking, resources, or price.
The key is: validate your ideas first, don't wait until you've wasted a lot of time and costs to validate.
2. Establish a leading position and leverage the Lindy effect
Do you know why the top 50 projects maintain their leading positions through cycle changes? It’s not just about quality, but also the advantages of time and positioning, known as the Lindy effect. Start early, your community of holders is stronger, gradually eliminating wavering users and attracting loyal followers. Time is your ally.
Waiting too long may allow inferior projects to take your place. Once others capture your narrative, funding, or attention, it will be very difficult to reclaim it. In the PVP competition on X (Twitter), it is hard to get those who are already 'involved' to switch to other projects.
In the current AI agent craze, being the first to launch is not just a bonus, but a decisive factor. Everyone is rushing to launch AI agents; getting in early gives you an advantage in the ecosystem, while others can only chase after you.
Whether we like it or not, launching projects in the crypto market involves a 'game of attention'. Product-driven growth is certainly important, but that’s secondary. Attracting attention first and building a community is crucial, and tokens are the best tools for distribution and interest binding.
Choosing projects that go live in the Virtuals ecosystem often provides a competitive advantage. The overall culture of this ecosystem is characterized by high quality, and in the long run, capital tends to flow towards high-quality projects.
3. Immediately form a community and distribution effect
Launching a project sparks discussions; people on X (Twitter) will start discussing your project and summarizing '3 reasons to buy/hold'. This discussion is very valuable—not just because of the price increase, but because it consolidates the community. This group can help you iterate on the product, test new features, and even contribute development resources. On the first day of launching, you will have a batch of loyal users.
4. You can get ahead of token projects heavily supported by VCs in 2025
Many projects postponed their launches during the bear market of 2024, thinking that low liquidity and risk aversion leading to low market sentiment were not suitable for launching. By 2025, you will see more projects launching, following the typical trajectory:
Raise substantial funds from VCs;
Polish the product, then carry out marketing activities (points, tasks, KOL collaborations, etc.);
Then conduct the Token Generation Event (TGE).
What is your advantage? Fair launch, decentralized spirit, community grows naturally. Market dynamics have shifted, it is now more favorable for you.
What if we build the product first?
A solid product can indeed bring a competitive advantage, but it is not the only determining factor. As an early-stage project, the crypto market itself is also in its early stages, and whether the team can continue to create value is crucial. Honestly, if the crypto market were entirely utility and product-driven, 'aircoins' would not attract a large buying interest.
It's not about advocating for launching 'air projects', but rather saying that starting early can give you a competitive advantage in community building and narrative shaping.
Product launches are never perfect; there will always be bugs, server overload, concurrency issues, etc. Don’t overemphasize these problems; with updates and iterations, the product will eventually prove itself.
Build publicly, document the journey
People like to see how a team creates value from scratch. The story matters, and people are more willing to support flesh-and-blood founders rather than cold brands. Building publicly makes the project more relatable and humanized.
There’s no need to have a perfect brand image on the first day; start early and build from the initial drafts. Grow through public building. It is advised to study the successful experiences of the top 20 projects in the Virtuals ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
About snipers: they exist across all chains, the key is maintaining user stickiness and ecosystem strength.
Token economics design and agent launch structure: experience based on over 100 launch cases can provide insights.
G.A.M.E framework: provides open-source SDK to support customization needs.
Business model: can integrate existing business models.
Integration of existing tokens: there are corresponding solutions.
Trust issues of no product launch: akin to Kickstarter projects, early feedback is the most valuable.