Andrew Wang’s Uber: Arriving at Web3

by Brungus

Over Memorial Day weekend, Andrew Wang onboarded his Uber driver after the two ended up bonding. Andrew has spoken in the past about how NFTs quickly helped him find his audience as a writer and how Clon’s story encouraged him not to give up on himself. Now Andrew is able to use the success he gained through NFTs to help someone else who, as he puts it, “lived the same life in so many ways, [had] been through the same struggles” but just hadn’t been lucky enough to be in Web3.

So Andrew invited him to a bar, iamdos gave him a CryptoRayRay, and another one of Andrew’s friends gave Kevin a new job.

No, not that Kevin. That Kevin probably has an upcoming job modeling for kevintown.wtf.

But What If Kevin Gets Eaten by a Bear?

Healthy skepticism might lead anyone to wonder if Andrew is doing more harm than good by bringing Kevin into NFTs during a particularly difficult time. At the time of writing, we’re in a market filled with goblins, rektguys, and rapidly declining blue chips. What if Andrew’s new friend enters Web3 just to lose every dollar from his new job on some crumbling NFTs?

We’re not going to say it isn’t possible; that would be reckless. Anyone entering NFTs needs to be very careful with their initial funds, but the same holds true when you’re trading in any market. Unless you’re hoping to get incredibly lucky, winning takes more work than losing.

With that said, Kevin certainly wouldn’t be buying the top of most projects if he chose to make his first NFT purchase tomorrow. In fact, if the next bull market for NFTs is anything like previous, it will be full of people like Kevin who entered while things were bearish, and those who FOMO into the next top will be wondering what might have been if they were more like Kevin.

But You’re Not Kevin

Finally! The part about you. Or about the friend you’ve been considering onboarding. If either of you aren’t in Web3 yet, there are probably some distinct differences between you and Kevin.

Rather than being defeated by these differences though, let’s look at each one as a goal. Anyone who is starting out should try to eliminate each of these differences as soon as possible, and a bear market is a great time to do it. If you were checking off items on this list during a bull, you’d be too busy to take full advantage of the bull. Instead, work on these now and you’ll be ready when the market turns.

1. Kevin knows Andrew Wang. You don’t need to know Andrew Wang or any other influencer. You just need a community of people you enjoy who are trustworthy and knowledgeable. This will help accelerate you through the learning curve.
2. Kevin must be really good at networking. Kevin wasn’t just driving Andrew around. He started a conversation and kept it going. He made such a connection that they exchanged information. He made such an impression that Andrew remembered to contact him later. Not everyone needs to be good at networking, but Kevin (and the people around him) may already have an idea of where Kevin’s skills will be useful in Web3. Unless you’re a developer or an artist, it may not be immediately obvious to you what your skillset is or how that skillset would be valuable. This is something you want to start exploring for #3.
3. Kevin has a job. Sure, you have your McDonald’s hat ready, but Kevin had been in Web3 zero days before he started “building.” One of the best ways to make connections, spot opportunities early, and protect your capital is to find some work in Web3. This almost definitely requires you to finish the previous items first, but you should still have this on your list.

Can’t afford to be the CEO of being unemployed in a bear market.

Should You Buy in or Not?

No one can or really should answer that question except you. If you’ve been here for a while and you’re considering onboarding a friend, then no one can really decide if now is the time other than them. Now certainly seems to be a better time than a few weeks ago, but none of us know if there will be an even better entry a few weeks from now.

Here’s the good news: you can buy your first NFT before or after you’ve knocked out those three big differences between you and Kevin. Take some time. It doesn’t cost money to find a project you like and engage with their community to see if you like the people there.

If you’re considering onboarding yourself or a friend, we’ll be publishing some upcoming articles that will help beginners navigate their entry into Web3. We already have some previous articles on cyber security to help you keep your assets safe. Some of our future articles will help people research projects, fund their first wallet, or buy and mint NFTs. Others will discuss ways to catch up to Kevin. Keep an eye out for these in the near future.

However, there’s no need to wait on these before you get started. If you have enough interest in Web3 that you’re reading this article, then “should I buy?” is not the right question.

The right question is “Should I start learning?”

And the answer is yes.