What do you do if your Web3 business is falling behind the industry's rapid evolution?

In Web3.0, every year you see an emergence of a new trend. For example: DeFi: 2020 Metaverse, NFT boom: 2021 Layer-2s: 2022 BRC-20 / Inscription: 2023 AI / DePin: 2024? There are always a handful of companies that will lead the new wave and late comers or companies copying others and may find themselves in a difficult situation as they fail to differentiate themselves. If you feel the business is going nowhere, i.e low traction or lacking direction, you either need to fail fast, find a solution or pivot to something else. A Web3.0 business or any startup is only as strong as its people. So identifying areas where it will play to the strength of the team is extremely important as well.

First of all, we need to define what we mean by "falling behind the industry's rapid evolution". What I understand from the above is the situation where you are losing your target audience and hence, market share. If your target audience are Degens, then unfortunately, yes your project has to stick to the latest Tech Narratives, the recent ones would be Depin, DN404 and etc. (believe it or not, even AI is a past trend already!) Some would suggest pivoting, like suddenly including a line or two on your website to say you are here to take advantage of the latest tech. But in my view, that seldom works. Ultimately Degens want new fresh projects to go into, to try out the platform or speculate.

Remain composed and refrain from pursuing every new trend and technology. By now, you should have established a solid foundation for your business. This entails having a clear vision and mission statement, a distinct set of core values, a well-defined brand essence, and an understanding of how your solution addresses your users’ needs. This strong foundation is key to assessing whether your business is genuinely falling behind or if you simply perceive it as such due to the rapid industry advancements. Conversely, if your foundation is weak, you’re more likely to find yourself chasing industry trends and new technologies.

Evaluate what “falling behind” signifies for your business. Is this perception due to the rapid pace of the industry, or have you genuinely missed out on crucial technological advancements? Assessing these scenarios requires a robust strategy. A well-defined and focused strategy can address this question.

From a business and marketing perspective, I believe is very important to understand the market and your users. What do they want? Which direction do they see the project going? Many times business decisions are being made based on hype and not real user interaction and I believe this is where most founders fail to deliver.

To stay on top of rapid evolution in the industry, conduct market audits to find who your new competitors are. In one of our real asset tokenization businesses, we wanted to fractionalize a long list of assets. Our market analysis found that certain asset classes like real estate had several players emerging. We updated our strategy to look for a smaller, uncontested niche within real estate fractionalization. Secondly, connect to the community you're trying to address to learn how their needs are evolving. We attended events, followed channels on Telegram, looked at Discord servers, to keep a pulse on what relevant consumers were expressing as unmet needs. Then we combined competitive analysis and consumer insights to update our strategy.

Start by revisiting your business strategy to ensure it aligns with the current landscape and future trends in Web3. Analyze market dynamics, customer preferences, and emerging technologies to identify opportunities for innovation and growth. Consider factors such as product-market fit, competitive positioning, and value proposition to refine your strategy and differentiate your business in the crowded marketplace.

Adapting your Web3 strategy in a fast-paced environment requires continuous realignment and refinement. Reassess your value proposition to understand whether your product/program aligns with market demands and core Web3 principles (decentralization, ownership, trustless interactions). Seek user feedback on how your product/program can improve. Pivot, if necessary, focusing on experimentation and adaptability. Engage actively with your community to build trust and loyalty. Staying informed and investing in continuous education will help keep your brand's strategy current with trends and developments. Remaining aligned with your brand's core principles should guide every update, ensuring cohesive long-term growth.

One often overlooked yet critical aspect is the market category in which your business or product is positioned. Is your business situated in a niche category, or does it compete in a highly competitive field where it doesn’t hold a leading position? Have you cultivated an ecosystem that allows your business to distinguish itself? It’s crucial to fully understand where in the market category your business is positioned to evaluate a potential update of your strategy.

Besides the marketing analysis, which is very important, is to understand if you can grow and grow your community by either setting up marketing partnerships and/ or integrating with other chains as well, create an affiliate program, etc. If you do it right, these can be several tactics that can save your business

Stay informed about the latest developments and best practices in the Web3 industry by learning from experts and networking with peers. Attend industry conferences, workshops, and webinars to gain insights, exchange ideas, and build connections with other professionals. Engage with online communities, forums, and social media groups dedicated to Web3 to stay updated on trends, share knowledge, and collaborate with like-minded individuals.

Staying ahead of the rapidly shifting Web3 landscape requires a multifaceted approach. I rely on a combination of active sources, such as following key community figures on social media, reading Web3-related articles and studies, listening to various technology-focused podcasts, and attending webinars/conferences. Additionally, I tap into communities on platforms like LinkedIn or Telegram for insights and networking. Staying up-to-date on new AI applications, decentralized protocols and reward systems, IoT devices, and trending projects can help your brand identify potential integrations or ways to improve its Web3 product offerings.

Staying informed is crucial, but don’t get sidetracked by too much information. It’s vital to discern what to disregard and what is crucial for your business’s future. I believe everyone needs to find their own way on how much time to invest in educating oneself within a busy schedule. A practical approach would be to share the responsibility among several people in your team and meet regularly for a trend update.

To keep up with Web3 revolution, we prioritise continuous learning - and meeting experts . Some formats working well for us: Group sharing sessions: We meet to discuss new business models and competitors. Did this to understand real estate asset fractionalisation sector. - We also attend relevant networking events - We even sign up for hackathons where we can do demos; + learn from others - These are helping to keep us up-to-date and connecting me to a diverse network of experts across various fields. So now we can augment internal skills with great collaborations with specialists to help our clients get the best

Experiment with new products, features, or business models to test hypotheses and gather feedback from customers. Use tools like A/B testing, user surveys, and analytics platforms to measure the effectiveness of your experiments and iterate based on insights gained. Be open to failure as part of the learning process and iterate quickly to refine your offerings and strategies.

Heard many years ago that the first version of our solution will be the worst performing one :) So experimenting and iterating has always been critical for us. 2 specific examples from one of the web3 projects I am involved with: 1. Cut jargon: In the first version of our tokenisation platform, we had inadvertently used a lot of jargon. When we tested the user journey with clients, we id-ed those friction points and used much simpler, non-technical labels 2. Iterate with relevant plug-ins and integrations: When new web3 tools came up that allowed users to create a on-chain wallet using just their email ids, we quickly added that to our offering. And when a new fiat-to-crypto payment option became available, we added that in too.

Brands delving into Web3 should embrace a mindset of focused experimentation and rapid iteration. This mindset means developing and starting small-scale projects with clearly defined goals to test new product opportunities. Prioritize continuous user feedback through surveys, community discussions and on-chain data analysis. Use this feedback to refine existing features or incorporate new ones. Agile development methodologies are crucial, allowing quick pivots based on lessons learned. Consider tools like community forums, social media sentiment trackers, and blockchain analytics platforms for tracking user sentiment and engagement.

Once you've validated your business model and achieved product-market fit, focus on scaling your operations to capitalize on opportunities and maximize impact. Invest in scalable infrastructure, automation tools, and talent development to support growth and efficiency. Explore strategic partnerships, acquisitions, or expansion into new markets to accelerate growth and diversify revenue streams. Continuously monitor performance metrics, customer feedback, and market trends to adapt your strategy and stay ahead of the competition.

Brands scaling their Web3 initiatives should focus on community-centric strategies, prioritize user experience, and leverage the right tools for growth. A strong value proposition with clear benefits for users is essential. To build a robust community, consider tools like LinkedIn or Telegram for engagement, Guild.xyz for community management, and Collab.land for token-gated access. For analytics and insights, Dune Analytics is well suited for analyzing on-chain data. These tools and a user-first mindset will lay a solid foundation for scaling products/programs within the Web3 space.

Chase insights, not technology If you feel your business is falling behind, pause and consider the following: Do you have to follow every tech evolution? If you do that, you are bound to feel daunted. Our experience in guiding over 15,000 senior executives across 50+ MNCS in their digital transformation journey has reinforced the following - numerous technology waves have triggered disruptions. On each occasion, we have counselled clients to chase customer insights, not technology, given that insights are more permanent compared to the next glossy new invention.

There's no falling behind (unless you are very behind tech wise) unless you don't have a strong product and community. Many founders build products that nobody or very few people will use. Getting this right from the start, testing hypothesis, would be something that can save your business when times will get hard and others will struggle with their business models.