2023 BCVC Web3 Founder Survey

Introduction

Bloccelerate VC is a leading venture firm investing in category defining companies solving existential problems in the Web3 space since 2018. From day one, we embraced a research and data driven approach to analyzing the space and making investment decisions.

Over the past five years, we had the opportunity to meet with more than 5000 founders building crypto and blockchain products. We invested in over 30 companies and continue to deploy capital, as we speak.

While we found there is an abundance of data related to the general adoption of technology, what is missing is the deep understanding of what founders in the space deem as the most important priority and existential threat.

For that reason, we set out to drill into the minds of founders building products and services in this space. We collected, analyzed, and presented a proprietary set of data, comprising answers to a founder survey we ran from July through November of 2023.

The one question we ultimately wanted an answer to is “What do the founders deem as the most existential challenge facing the Web3 industry today?”

CEO Survey Description

This is the second annual survey Bloccelerate VC conducted. It has targeted founders, innovators, and entrepreneurs actively engaged in Web3 and blockchain-related projects. Thank you to all 100+ of you who participated and spread the word about this year's survey.

Survey Purpose: To gauge what Web3 CEOs deem as the most existential problems in the crypto space this year.

Survey Participants: 100+ Web3 CEOs & founders representing a broad spectrum of Web3 and blockchain projects, across North America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific Regions

Survey Questions: The survey covered 13 questions, meant to elicit both open-ended qualitative responses, as well as structured ranking responses

Survey Method: Responses to the survey reveal factual information (e.g. how many years have you been in the industry?), opinions (e.g. what is THE single most existential problem facing the space), and preferences (e.g. what help do you need most right now?)

Survey Respondents Stats

Survey Analysis By Company Stage

Survey Findings

TLDR

Finding PMF was voted as the most “existential” problem by concentration of votes. It is consistently the most pressing challenge across stages

Product market timing was a challenge for >70% of respondents and a recurring theme in the free-form answers, but not an existential problem for the space (only 6% rated “existential”)

Fundraising was rated as a challenge by 70%+ of respondents, though 50% do not view fundraising as existential

Only 7% of respondents viewed compliance as an “existential” problem despite the year of enforcement / compliance issues that we’ve seen

Tech scalability / performance was NOT a problem for 40% of respondents

Recruiting / talent was the least pressing problem and was infrequently in the “help needed”

Freeform Answers Consistently Reinforce Top Three Priorities*

1. Lack of Clarity and Use Cases (Product-Market Fit - PMF):

Many respondents highlighted challenges related to finding product-market fit (PMF) or clear use cases in the blockchain and Web3 space
Issues related to understanding the problems solved by Web3 applications and their target audience were mentioned
The lack of real-world use cases outside of DeFi (Decentralized Finance) was a common concern

2. Regulatory and Market Conditions:

Regulatory uncertainty and changing environments were cited as significant challenges
Bearish market conditions, shrinking markets, and emerging regulations were mentioned as obstacles to growth and fundraising
The need for institutional adoption, concerns about security exploits, and centralization were prevalent

3. Fundraising and Financial Sustainability:

Fundraising and capital acquisition were recurring themes, particularly in the context of bearish markets and changing regulatory landscapes
Sustainability and delivering on revenue projections were common challenges
Concerns related to liquidity, capital flow, and market size were highlighted by several respondents

Closing Thoughts

2023 has been a tumultuous year for the Web3 industry, wrought with macro headwinds, headlines of controversy, and regulatory crackdown. It is clear from this year’s founder survey that CEOs are persevering through the challenges and focusing on finding PMF.

There is more focus on “real use cases” this year, than before. Most “tourist” who were previously attracted to the hype have gotten out. Only the most committed builders - many of whom have gone through at least one other bear market - have stayed.

Thank you to all 100+ founders who participated in the second annual founder survey.

If you would like to participate in next year’s survey or request raw data, feel free to email survey@bloccelerate.vc and regularly check our website www.bloccelerate.vc