Matchmaking Speed Run: Buidl.so Investor Speed Dating #1
The kind of speed dating you actually need as a Founder
Kicking off Buidl.so’s first event of 2024, the Investor Speed Dating series brought 10 investors and 10 startups together and we assure you — there were sparks.✨
Investor Speed Dating is a monthly, online event that brings together deserving founders from across the world together with distinguished VCs and investors explore synergies and capital raising opportunties.
As part of our commitment to supporting startups in their 0→1 journey, the Investor Speed Dating series offers a unique chance for founders to establish meaningful connections with investors, tapping into a wealth of experience and support.
🤝 The Speed Dating Setup
The event was organized on 31st January 2024, bringing together Web3 startups, and VCs and Angel investors worldwide.
The startups got the chance to pitch to 3 investors each in 3 different rounds. They had a 12-minute window to present their ideas in each round.
🌐 VCs and Investor Lineup
For the first Investor Speed Dating event, we brought in a notable investor lineup.
- Simon Chamorro from Alliance DAO
- Maxi Morales from OKX Ventures
- Siddharth Rao from IOSG Ventures
- Caleb Shack from Big Brain Holdings
- Yaoher Peng from NGC Ventures
- Munjal Shah, Angel Investor
- Lionel Pek from The Spartan Group
- Tamar Menteshashvili, Angel Investor
- Shoumik Dabir from Blueyard Capital.
- Moyukh Sen, Angel Investor
🏅The Investor Speed Dating Finalists
Just like the investor lineup, the 10 finalists for the Investor Speed Dating series were nothing short of exceptional. Here’s a quick overview of the finalists:
1. MIZU
MIZU is the first global social payment app aiming to provide the best stable-coin payment experience with robust social features.
Built by ex-WhatsApp and Facebook Libra engineers and supported by Polygon Foundation, MIZU has been designed from the ground up to enable seamless global payments while also offering a deep social experience.
MIZU allows users to be able to chat and send/receive tokens or NFTs with their friends easily. Beyond that, MIZU aims to be the Web3 social platform with its own DEX and LaunchPad, and eventually evolve to be a Web3 social protocol where anyone can build apps on top of.
2. Octra
Octra is a new FHE blockchain with machine learning-based consensus, capable of storing and processing data in an encrypted form.
It is a secure and private network that took over a year of R&D to create with new FHE methods over hypergraphs. Octra is a universal network and allows outsourcing off-chain encrypted computations from any blockchain or contract.
3. ZKON
ZKON is a decentralized protocol designed to serve fintech and web3 integration apps. ZKON provides a trustless and secure MPC service to connect financial, AI, and Social Network off-chain accounts, allowing to share Zero-Knowledge verified data with on-chain dApps, services, or governments.
4. Storm Trade
Storm Trade is a decentralized leveraged trading market based on dynamic AMM and allows you to trade all possible assets — Cryptocurrencies, stocks, Forex, and Commodities (oil, gas and even wheat).
Storm aims to become a powerful decentralized derivatives trading platform with multiple features, different trading modes, a clear interface and no KYC.
With a simple onboarding mechanism combined with the availability of popular assets and integration directly into Telegram, the Storm protocol will be a great driver for attracting new users to the TON ecosystem.
5. The Hyve
Hyve helps founders, investors, and developers discover hidden opportunities by building a knowledge graph to analyze blockchains, transforming complex data into actionable insights.
The Hyve is rapidly expanding with prospective customers in the gaming industry, L2 blockchains, decentralized exchanges, and NFT platforms.
6. Nimble
Nimble is building the first composable AI protocol, enabling decentralized enterprise-grade AI, for social, game, DePIN, intent and marketplace applications.
The Nimble protocol decentralizes machine learning platforms behind big tech’s AI systems, rendering them permissionless and accessible to all.
Big tech spends billions on infrastructure, engineering, and tooling. Nimble enables developers to access the same quality of resources with near-zero marginal cost. Their protocol is fully decentralized, orchestrated through a native token called NIMBLE.
7. DEMOS
DEMOS is a borderless interconnectivity layer, enabling seamless interoperability and advanced functions across all chains and webs.
DEMOS bridges the gap between Web2 and Web3 via an “OmniWeb.” Developers are empowered to build on-chain applications that can access Web2 data and services, enabling the creation of more powerful and user-friendly applications.
By enabling the convergence of strengths across different networks and web technologies, DEMOS establishes an interconnected and adaptable ecosystem that decentralizes chains down to their core abilities.
8. CoChilli
CoChilli is bringing betting on-chain, utilizing groundbreaking Virtual Engine technology to eliminate latency and gas fees, allowing for a truly frictionless user experience. CoChilli ensures that users can engage in an infinite number of operations without wallets, latency and gas (still on-chain).
Cochilli is at the forefront of revolutionizing the gambling industry with the CoChilli Trade app (the first gamified trading protocol) already live and is focused on building 3 verticals that combined will give rise to the most advanced on-chain betting ecosystem: Prediction market, Sportsbook and Casino.
9. vSelf
vSelf makes next-generation community engagement accessible.
It creates a trustworthy interaction channel between brands and their customers, providing them with easy-to-use tools to leverage Web3 data for loyalty programs, customer relationship management, and digital marketing.
Brands can increase customer acquisition and reward their most loyal customers while gaining a deeper understanding of their needs.
10. Krypto Fighters
Kryptofighters is a native NFT-based game with a deep breeding-driven ecosystem, where players can collect, train, and lead a team of fighters into innovative, strategic battles.
They are on a mission to create a gaming experience that rivals Axie Infinity’s deep breeding mechanics while introducing exciting innovations to the P2E community.
🔦Post Dating Highlights
The first investor speed dating was a phenomenal success. From fruitful conversations to actual funding opportunities, startups and investors had a great time!
We also tweeted about it:
The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the startups and investors led to:
1. 13 investors from funds such as The Spartan Group, Solana, and CMT Digital just to mention a few asking for introductions to startups.
🥁And *Drumroll* please! 🥁
2. A POTENTIAL INVESTMENT FOR STORM TRADE
Post the introduction at the #1 Investor Speed Dating and subsequent conversations after the event, Angel Investor Tamar Menteshashvili committed to invest 10,000 USD in Storm Trade.
⏭️What’s next?
Seeing the feedback and engagement of the first edition, we are already accepting applications for the second edition of Investor Speed Dating!
The second edition of Investor Speed Dating is planned for Tuesday, 27th February, 2024.
Get a chance to interact, engage, and pitch your startup to influential VCs and Angel investors!
Don’t forget to apply: https://buidl.so/program/Investor-Speed-Dating-2
P.S. Last date to apply 👉 📆 Saturday, 24th February, 2024.
If you are an early stage startup, visit buidl.so to get ecosystem benefits including Knowledge, Network and Capital.
