As a flood of applications came in for Codebase over the holiday, I was asked by a team member: what makes for a good Codebase submission? So, for transparency, here are the most important criteria for applicants to the program to have 🧵
Excited today to announce Codebase to the world!
I joined
@AvaLabs
this past summer to help
@luigidemeo
and team envision a program that helps early-stage builders grow their ideas into the next category-defining web3 companies, powered by
@avax
.
Great ideas need more than great tech. Success requires founders to master operations, marketing, user experience and more.
Introducing Codebase by Avalanche, an accelerator supporting early-stage web3 projects!
Applications are open today, let's dig into the details 👇
With just about one week left till Codebase apps close for our first cohort, I decided to dive deep into the data to learn more about who our applicants are - some interesting insights emerged 🧵
It's been such a treat to learn about the intricacies of the
@avax
ecosystem from
@hn_avax
and
@born2hodl
. When I joined the team here to start building Codebase, I knew how to build an accelerator but was fairly green when it came to the finer-grained details of web3.
Through
Our space Last Friday with Codebase director
@mmartinxyz
provided a lot of valuable insight on how early-stage Founders should navigate challenging situations, and one thing was very clear:
The
#Avalanche
ecosystem is continually enabling builders to thrive and succeed,
Next week we’re bringing insights on building on
@avax
from
@MeagFitzgerald
and I’ll be interviewing
@noah_pravecek
from
@nodekitorg
about what it’s like being an early-stage founder in web3 in 2024. Should be a great convo - join us!
🏔️ Prepare to scale new heights with the
@avax
Avalanche Codebase accelerator – where every builder's journey becomes a thrilling ascent.
This thread is an expedition that introduces the potential of Avalanche Subnets, and their new Codebase accelerator program.
Plus, join
I’ll be at ETHDenver next week hanging out with the folks at
@JoinEdgeCity
. Codebase is still accepting select applications (the bar is very high this late in the process!) so if you’re building:
1. an early-stage company
2. have some traction and maybe even some funding
3.
@maggielove_
continues to build something special that is inclusive, curious, fun, and incisive.
We at
@avax
are thrilled to be able to support the
@She__Fi
vision, especially through facilitating applicants to our Codebase accelerator.
Women+ comprise nearly 50% of the
Yesterday, I manifested a dream into reality. A dream that women-centric spaces can exist & be powerful in Web3.
No other space exists like SheFi Summit. Women, we can do this. Let’s keep growing this dream until billions of women & non-binaries are in SheFi & at conferences.
Excited to join this chat with
@swissborg
later this week to share all things Codebase. The $50k stipend and $400k prize pool of investment is the right amount for you to dive in deep with your idea, up-level your existing company, and/or take a sabbatical and BUILD
On Jan 8: Fireside with
@mmartinxyz
, Codebase Director,
@stvngts
,
@GoGoPool_
Founder, and
@vikbharati
, founder, Draper Startup House on raising capital & getting to PMF in a recovering market
Great spending time with
@nyueeg
,
@nyubnf
, and
@burnt_xion
today chatting about the trends in building a startup on-chain, on
@avax
, and in this current moment.
Turns out The Kids Are Alright ✊🏼
(Not pictured: the sheer amount of dumplings that were available after the panel)
Thrilled to be sponsoring
@She__Fi
Summit at
@EthereumDenver
.
@MeagFitzgerald
will be speaking on behalf of
@avax
and Codebase about what's on the map for the ecosystem this year.
We're committed to ensuring that our cohorts are as diverse as possible and the best way to do that
⭐ BIG ANNOUNCEMENT ⭐
SheFi Summit kicks off its world tour this year in Denver on February 28th.
And we’re bringing the best sponsors in all of crypto.
SheFi Summit Denver is presented by
@LineaBuild
, where dapps thrive! Joining them are leading names in crypto 👇
Couldn't agree more. That's why Codebase provides a $50k non-dilutive upfront stipend to every participating company to allow full-time work during the cohort —and only upon completion of the program at Demo Day will we discuss term sheets and equity 🧵
@MeagFitzgerald
from the
@avax
DevRel team repping Codebase
@She__Fi
Summit. 👏🏼👏🏼
Why is a DevRel eng sharing her POV about an accelerator? Because we believe in an operator-led model of investing. We want folks who have been in the trenches (and/or in the code) as our founders
So who are we looking for? Founders who know and are obsessed with the market & customers they are building for, who can operate in ambiguity, and who are building companies that leverage blockchain for real-world use-cases (think: supply chain, insurance, climate), RWAs, & more
1. A Big Idea: right now, web3 VCs are focused on "picks-and-shovels" investments. They make sense and I can see the POV given potential for IRR. That said, Codebase isn't focused on IRR alone, we want a grand vision that puts web3 - and
@avax
- in the hands of the next 1B people
🔺 Avalanche University Tour Colombia 🇨🇴
70+ computer science students from the National University of Colombia learning about Avalanche while being onboarded to the Avalanche Academy &
@coreapp
.
4 more universities this week & then an Avalanche hackathon coming up in March.
If you think you're up to challenge, apply for early access today. We'll be opening up longer-form registration later this month so, drop your name in here for a chance to be one of 15 companies selected for our inaugural cohort
The idea that you need to be in the Bay Area to build a successful startup is patently absurd.
Even moreso if you’re building in web3.
Not only is this industry remote and global but it is obvious that the utility of crypto will find its biggest PMF in emerging markets where
While these aren't the only qualities we're evaluating applications against, these are the high-level lens. If you think you have all three, don't wait to apply: only 6.5 weeks left until apps are closed...and we're already starting interviews
My vision — informed by my work supporting founders from the VC-side for the past 5 years — is that good tech is necessary but its not enough to make great companies. So we're assembling a killer set of workshops, a great team of mentors, and the best partners from web 2.0 & web3
All to support founders as they deep-dive on customer discovery, iterate on product, & begin convos with investors. And to help make that possible, we're providing a $50k stipend to the 15 co's we select to participate - and the opp to pitch for $400k prize pool at Demo Day
CODEBASE Cohort
#1
Onboarding week in Lisbon 🇵🇹 has been fantastic. I am very excited for all the new teams and looking forward to Pitch Day at Consensus 2024!
Huge news from
@avax
today. Love seeing our institutional partners join us like this. If you’re an early-stage company that fits into this broader OnFi narrative, make sure to apply for Codebase
1/ This week at the Singapore Fintech Festival, several of our institutional partners presented the results behind nearly a year of hard work, dedication & collaboration in driving the future of finance while leveraging Avalanche via Evergreen Subnets.
2. Become an avatar for
@avax
: our team + the ecosystem has a vision of how
@avax
can deliver value in the world. Codebase projects should consider how their brand/success complements the
@avax
mission and fits into the broader ecosystem narrative
Now, on to the numbers: as of Jan. 31, 2024, we have:
235 early access applications
141 long-form applications
44 shortlisted (30%)
40 Countries
Anticipated acceptance rate: ~10%
Additionally, out of 15 available slots for Cohort 1, we only have 12 remaining - we are doing
3. Founder-Market-Fit: Ideas are in high supply, but experience and the ability to execute are in demand. We want to know that a founder has a track record of operating in ambiguity, has access to their target customers' channels at-scale, and can ruthlessly prioritize & ship.
We just opened up Codebase longform applications and I'm really hoping to see early-stage companies building in
#DeSci
#ReFi
, the general
@gitcoin
-ethos universe, and from the global south. Tag in your fave founders & builders in the thread
A note on the data: I separated the collection into two separate groups - all applicants and shortlisted applicants. Shortlisted apps are those that are the best fit for the program and, while most will not be accepted in the first cohort, we find them promising nonetheless
@avax
Dev Rel + BD on our way to Lisbon for the inaugural Codebase cohort Welcome Week. Participant announcements coming soon but: we’re psyched for the products they’re building and the story each of these founders tell about the future of crypto. Stay tuned 💥
The biggest takeaway from all of this data is the (perhaps obvious) realization that whatever input we exercise in the recruitment efforts (1:1 convos, events, social, etc) inherently drives the output of apps. No matter how much I want an objective process, subjectivity is a
Feeling fortunate to work with these sharp folks are are precision-giring the future of web3. You’ll meet them when you get into Codebase so, that alone is worth your time to complete the app
Major props and huge congrats to two of the smartest, hardest working, best humans in all of crypto (or any other business for that matter),
@AvaLabs
’ bd kings
@JohnNahas84
and
@luigidemeo
for their recent promotions. More than well deserved and long time coming! 🫡🔺
I love this debate because both Chomsky and Foucault represent the two different sides of my intellectual posture toward blockchain.
On one hand: the possibilities of a decentralized restructuring of society along egalitarian lines are real and infinitely enabled with scalable
I love this clip from the Chomsky–Foucault debate in 1971. Very relevant to our work today.
"A federated, decentralized system of free associations, incorporating economic as well as social institutions ... seems to me the appropriate form of social organization for an advanced
Top Three Countries - All Applicants:
USA - 43 apps
Turkey/India - 7 apps each
UK & Singapore - 6 apps each
Top Three Countries - Shortlist
USA - 13 apps
Singapore & Argentina - 5 apps each
Portugal - 3 apps
@Evsolomon5
Great thread and this is why
@martin_eckardt
has been leading the charge on building out the Avalanche Academy () and why we’re so excited to partner with
@collegedao_hub
on more in 2024.
So many ways into this space but if you’re young and hungry, this
Hey Ma, look, I got into MIT (they didn’t toss me out upon entering the building).
Thanks for having me
@hannah_h2s
and
@MITSloan
Blockchain Club; really great questions from the students about the future of what’s possible on
@avax
and what we’re building with Codebase.
And
Not sure if it’s the coffee or that it’s Friday but feeling particularly bullish on what we have planned for Codebase cohort members - from a week 1 onsite to intensive workshops on developing your story & GTM to Demo Day at one of the top web3 conferences? 🚀🔥
Having spent time in VC, one thing I try and warn early-stage companies is that a term sheet is like a marriage but where your spouse is your boss. Typically, VCs promise "value-add" ("how can I help you?") and you have to determine whether to believe them — all while giving up
The problem with this is that the VC-backed founder funnel is primarily filled with white men from the global north’s elite univierties.
That means that the non-obvious personal problems in this cohort more often than not disregard fundamental problems experienced by the
Grateful to
@memoiafrica
for having
@martin_eckardt
and I on to share more about
@avax
next week. I firmly believe the future of blockchain — and its most valuable usecases — will be found in the developing world and what better way to learn what's new than to meet local builders
We are back and this time we are exploring Avalanche's 2024 Horizon🚀🚀
Introducing Codebase by Avalanche in our upcoming space with
@martin_eckardt
, DevRel
@AvaLabs
and
@mmartinxyz
, director of codebase
@AvaLabs
.
Agenda:
HyperSDK Release
Teleporter
Subnet Optimization
2024
Couldnt agree more: our cohort is hungry and I know from the outpouring of applications that others are as well. The way we’ll onboard the next billion is thru paying it forward and having some steady hands in the room while the next-gen of founders uncover entirely new things
Really enjoyed a full week of whiteboarding, learning & collaborating with the 1st CODEBASE cohort.
Feels good to be home and back in the saddle but I will say one thing was clear to me after the initial onboarding week:
There is definitely a need for those who can guide
However, despite Enterprise's commanding presence, most Enterprise apps were not the right fit for Codebase. Instead, we see DeFi & RWAs represented well on the shortlist, having a much higher "fit-rate"
...that percentage is nearly halved, dropping to ~16% for the shortlist. This one is interesting because we explicitly checked that "no solo founders" bias (based on this research ). These numbers, however, might reflect the nature of "projects" vs.
If you considered applying to Codebase but were maybe a lil too early - and you have a great niche idea with the ability to execute - go see
@maggielove_
at
@She__Fi
Summit and chat with
@MeagFitzgerald
to help you get up and running on
@avax
.
There isn't a better storyteller in all of crypto than
@jonwu_
. I'm incredibly proud of what he's done at
@aztecnetwork
.
And knowing what he's up to next, I'm beyond excited for the next phase.
We're both actively angel investing. Find us at ETHDenver!
...shows that companies who have raised a maximum of a pre-seed were more likely to be selected. As mentioned, we had envisioned Codebase as a place for both "projects" and companies, and while we are not selecting based on Stage, Stage does perhaps indicate the level of
Lastly, we are extremely geographically dispersed while still having a significant majority of applications from the United States. This isn't surprising given the native English we speak and the location of the loudest amplifiers in our network, but, it's been great to see
Love seeing the rapid success of the Avalanche Academy to date - it's a great entry point for anyone new to the ecosystem and even those who may be first time crypto devs.
5000+ enrolments for Academy courses! 🎉
Our Developer Relations team set out to empower anyone with a computer to understand and utilize Avalanche, even with zero coding experience.
I wanted to take this moment to highlight some of the things we're doing at the Academy
So, I'm quickly realizing that in order to achieve my ideal solar punk future, I'm going to need to find, befriend, and support as many
#DePIN
builders as possible. Who out there is early, working in the space, and wants to chat? If you're working on microgrids - to the top!
Pick your accelerator/fighter — or, just consider who has the opportunity to capture a larger market because they don’t alienate 2/3 of the world’s population?
Some of the keys to widespread web3 adoption - as
@winnyeth
points out - are it being ubiquitous, nearly invisible, and that it elicits joy in the user
it’s not about the nail itself, on a surface level. it’s about creating none threatening products your mum or sister would use. it’s about making it fun. it’s about real world use cases on an everyday level. redefine utility i love you
UX that abstracts away the onerous process of entering into web3 is going to be essential for mass adoption. Join this space with
@zkPass
,
@martin_eckardt
, and I to hear more about instances of UX done right and thoughts on the path to scale elegant products
🎙️X Space: Redefining UX for Web3
A chat about the brink of a new frontier: crafting a Web3 experience that's more secure, private, and scalable.
▸ Speakers:
@martin_eckardt
from
@AvaLabs
@avax
,
@ay_toast
from
@zkPass
.
▸ When: 1pm UTC, Jan 24
▸ Link:
@winnyeth
Sorry to be such a reply guy but thank you. Read this thread and was 🤯😩 How sad to optimize one’s life around building ad-tech (as opposed to croissants)
And, while we didn't correlate Stage data with the solo/co-founders data, the it does bear out that a significant number of All Applicants are bootstrapped. The shortlist, however...
Through our program you're going to receive deep technical/product/GTM support — and a $50k stipend — without giving up equity. We're not asking you to "just trust us," we'll show you instead
I’m currently reading “Rising Tide: the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America” and seeing this map…the way this river (and nature in general) has this rhizomatic connectivity that enables (and sometimes disables) life for millions of us + ecosystems…
Closing the convo, we’ll share our 2024 web3 gaming predictions, featuring insights from
@EdC
- Head of Gaming at
@avax
!
Set your reminder now and don’t miss out!
Going to be a fun one. Excited to hear from the
@SpaceandTimeDB
and
@truflation
teams on how the market is and what they’re seeing on the horizon for the rest of the year
It’s true. Market validation relative to your stage is going to be a key metric to include in any pitch. The numbers don’t need to be huge if you’re early-stage, but they should show that there are people out there who are willing to pay for what you’re selling
During the Twitter Space, the Director of Codebase
@mmartinxyz
said that market validation is key for any startup.
So, we decided to launch a waitlist for the first stablecoin yield-bearing stablecoin on
@avax
We are considering an exciting surprise for the waitlist applicants
Couldn’t agree more with this perspective. Build for the users you want, not just the users you can get. Your twitter followers using your product does not, alone, equal product market fit.
People in crypto misinterpret
@paulg
’s advice about starting with a small niche. They build for degens only.
The problem is that the implicit message is “and later expand to a larger userbase”.
But the UX in crypto is so bad it literally cannot expand beyond the degens.
The
@collegedao_hub
team is such a great entry point into the university web3 ecosystem - excited to have spoken with them last week and to deepen our partnership this year - stay tuned for more!
Set a reminder.⏰
BENQI Co-Founders
@hn_avax
and
@born2hodl
are joined by Codebase Director
@mmartinxyz
Friday January 26th at 9am EST:
We'll discuss how to support early-stage Founders including what to consider when making tech stack decisions, what to
Hell of a week for 🔺First
@MorganKrupetsky
announces JPM and Citi (who also brought along WisdomTree, T. Rowe Price, and Fidelity) and now
@RepublicCrypto
is launching a subnet to tokenize a a new investment security. The future is RWAs
Larry says the next step is the tokenisation of all financial assets, on a platform that enables customisation and KYC with instant settlements.
If you only showed me the transcript of this clip, I'd immediately guess it was by
@el33th4xor
or
@John1wu
from 2020 about Avalanche.
February is the month for
#buidlers
at MIT! We are hosting a lunch and learn with
@avax
's new accelerator this Wednesday with
@mmartinxyz
Come jam ideas with us! (yes we know it's Valentine's Day)
…
Can't underestimate this as one of the core sub-skills of a founding team - be current, be relevant, and balance that effectively (or integrate it) into your building process
It's extremely important that your project has a person who is recognized as a leader in your niche.
Someone that is constantly visible and a part of the conversation every day.
It doesn't have to be the founder but it does make sense for founders to make it a priority, if that
Following along here on fuel/car hot takes:
EVs don’t solve any problem except for allowing those drivers to opt out of buying expensive gasoline.
Tires, not fuel, are the primary contributor to vehicle emissions; the grid is still mostly fossil fuel-powered so even the
Today's Hot Take:
Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology is Big Combustion attempting to force transportation to continue to run on industrially extracted energy sources that they own rather than the abundantly cheap energy of nuclear that would eliminate their industry outright.
Thrilled to welcome
@stvngts
as a mentor for Codebase. He is one of the many venture-backed founders in the
@avax
ecosystem who will help advise selected companies refine their GTM and get to PMF. Sign-up today:
The Codebase accelerator is anchored by an experienced group of mentors from both Web2 and Web3 backgrounds, with a focus on bringing in support and guidance from successful Avalanche builders 🤝
@mmartinxyz
shares why
@stvngts
from
@GoGoPool_
was chosen as one of those mentors,
The art of the intro email cannot be overstated. So much early-stage BD is driven through your personal network & it’s in your interest to make it as frictionless as possible for whomever you’re asking for the connect. Thanks for this guide
@kirbywinfield
@keccers
I duno, preppers are typically pretty rich! I would also just chalk it up to getting high on their own supply- they actually believe the term sheet valuations mean something
As a utility maximalist: yes, and memecoins play a not-insignificant role in maintaining consciousness of the on-chain world.
Much like public policy, utility is downstream of culture (for better and worse)
speculating on memecoins isn’t adoption.
adoption happens when categories of apps like gaming, social, and communication become actually better because some decentralized component improved the overall ux or utility of what existed in the past.
Filmmaking may be driven “forward” with technical tools (sound, technicolor, the SteadyCam, CGI changed film for sure) but the thing that makes it compelling and interesting is storytelling: plot, character development, rising- and falling-action, and pathos.
I’ve yet to use
These takes are everywhere right now and they just completely overestimate:
1. How fucking boring and uncreative the average person is
2. How hard it is to create great art
“The question is not how to add norms or social agendas to the crypto ‘space,’ but how to join crypto with a broader institutional ecology.”
While I agree it’s desireable to join the “separateness” of crypto with a suitable “institutional ecology,” it’s unclear what
Recommended reading from last weeks
@NewYorker
. Outlines the competing technical-vis-a-vie-geopolitical visions of a future internet.
While only briefly mentioning blockchain, it’s clear that democratic consensus-driven networks are the only feasible way to avoid private or
Cool but also: no way the training data for Sora is not copyrighted. For better or worse, I think that the thing that’s going to slow down genAI is…laywers.