Innovation Without Borders: ICP.Lab Goes Virtual
Last month’s ICP.Lab, held at DFINITY’s headquarters in Zurich, set tongues wagging across the blockchain landscape. And now, DFINITY’s innovative mentorship initiative has taken a virtual form. The new Business Boosters program, created to provide builders with essential knowledge and guidance on non-technical Web3 topics, is an online extension of the ICP.Lab physical workshops. By expanding the scope of ICP.Lab, these boosters seek to empower the blockchain community — including those who have no familiarity with the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) ecosystem — with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in this rapidly evolving space.
On March 9th, the virtual series began with a session titled DAO Tokenomics — Everything You Need to Know. The discussion delved into the fundamental aspects of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and DAO tokenomics, ranging from the launching of a DAO to the distribution of tokens — specifically via the ICP Service Nervous System (SNS).
Notable industry veterans Dustin Becker (Research Scientist, Quantum Economics and Bochsler Consulting) and Björn Assmann (Senior Research Scientist, DFINITY Foundation) shared their knowledge on designing a token model for DAOs that best attracts and retains users over time. They highlighted some common pitfalls that DAOs encounter when creating their token models and offered ways to mitigate these risks to ensure long-term project sustainability. Additionally, the OpenChat team contributed to the discussion by sharing their experience of launching a DAO on ICP, offering practical advice for those looking to follow in their footsteps.
Transforming the Web3 Marketing Game
The most recent Business Booster, Marketing and PR in Web3, educated participants on the most effective techniques for promoting, marketing, and branding their projects.
While decentralized application (dApp) developers are known for their technical prowess, they often lack the marketing skills necessary for driving user engagement and mass adoption. DFINITY’s marketing gurus shared a range of proven Web3 merchandising methods, giving those in attendance (many of them techies) valuable insights into how to craft campaigns that will propel their projects to new heights. The event was a fast-paced and energizing affair, with each speaker delivering focused presentations, while the Q&A portion of the program allowed for a dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives as attendees jumped in with their questions.
Shruti Sutwala, a seasoned marketing pro, took the stage first, articulating the disparities between conventional (Web2) marketing and capturing consumer attention in the world of Web3. In addition to providing the audience with a better understanding of how to market to Web3 audiences, she called out ten dApps built on the Internet Computer Protocol that are poised to disrupt their Web2 counterparts. The days of the (Web2) tech giants’ unchallenged dominance are numbered; we’re excited to see these ICP projects gain traction over the coming years.
Riccardo Coli, Chief of Staff at DFINITY, lectured on the importance of effective marketing for Web3 startups. He highlighted the critical role that marketing plays in creating awareness, generating interest, and driving adoption, emphasizing that no matter how exceptional or innovative a technology may be, it will ultimately hold little significance unless it is skillfully promoted to its intended audience. Coli reminded us: when it comes to marketing Web3 technology, it’s incredibly important to consider that many concepts may be unfamiliar to the general public and/or difficult for them to immediately grasp.
William Laurent presented ICP.Lab viewers with ten principles for crafting impactful written content that will resonate with readers and drive measurable results. With a focus on hooking audiences through powerful language and compelling headlines, he emphasized the importance of leveraging “social proof” and real-world use cases to set up effective calls to action. Laurent made the case that marketers writing Web3 “copy” must consider themselves to be storytellers — resourcefully exploiting the areas of product, place, people, and physical evidence — if they hope to provoke a desired emotional response in their readers.
Emilio Canessa, head of DFINITY Special Projects, offered his take on the power of influencer marketing within the context of the Web3 ecosystem. Mr. Canessa emphasized the need for a complete paradigm shift when transitioning from Web2 marketing to the uncharted wilds of Web3 branding, highlighting the significant differences that must be considered when developing strategies for expanding a project’s customer base.
Public Relations thought leader Aaron Dodd gave us the low down on how to cultivate strong relationships with journalists. According to Dodd, builders in the Web3 arena must actively engage with journalists by familiarizing themselves with their work, interacting with their content, and sharing it across various social media platforms. This includes identifying and reaching out to journalists who may be new to the blockchain space and helping them gain traction and familiarity with the key concepts of Web3 — to offer professional commentary and guidance without the expectation of coverage.
To cap off the session, the Vice President of Growth at DFINITY, Lomesh Dutta, stressed the necessity of Web3 founders rapidly refining their strategies until they discover their optimal path forward. His most memorable remark highlighted the significance of strong-willed agility: “Iterate fast till you find your track.”
The next installment of the Business Booster series, entitled Community Building Success Stories Out of the ICP Ecosystem, is set to take place on March 23rd. Following this, on March 30th, we can look forward to Entrepreneurship for Web3 Builders. These back-to-back seminars are sure to attract a diverse audience looking to gain unique perspectives and strategic guidance on navigating the complex terrain of Web3 community development.
ICP.Lab Continues to Push Boundaries
The on-site version of ICP.Lab is an intensive, customized program run by the DFINITY Foundation at its main base of operations in Zurich, Switzerland, aimed at boosting the most promising teams building on the Internet Computer Protocol blockchain. Participating projects enjoy direct access to DFINITY’s foremost engineers, researchers, cryptographers, developers, and managers, who offer tailored coaching and workshops. In addition to ICP.Lab’s comprehensive technical mentorship, the DFINITY team also delivers guidance on key business development subjects, such as R&D, growth, finance, operations, marketing, and roadmap formation.
Entirely free of charge and open to any team or individual actively developing a project on the ICP blockchain, all ICP.Lab applications are reviewed and evaluated by senior members of the DFINITY Foundation, with feedback provided within 30 days of submission.
The unique technical architecture of the Internet Computer Protocol continues to draw the most skilled and dedicated Web3 developers. ICP.Lab is proud to play a crucial role in nurturing and supporting this diverse community. With its commitment to fostering innovation and driving impactful change in the blockchain space, ICP.Lab is making its way to the forefront of the Web3 revolution.
Under ICP.Lab’s specialized tutelage and visionary mentorship, ICP projects can expect to blaze a more confident trail toward a bold and prosperous Web3 future.
About the Internet Computer Protocol
The Internet Computer, developed by the DFINITY Foundation, is the world’s first truly decentralized and infinitely scalable public blockchain. Operating at web speed, the Internet Computer (ICP) blockchain runs end-to-end on a sovereign network of dedicated machines, hosted by independent node providers around the globe, making ICP the only blockchain that does not rely on centralized cloud nodes. The Internet Computer blockchain is governed by the Network Nervous System, a protocol-integrated DAO where token holders have the power to vote on the future of the network.
Hundreds of dApps now host Web2-style applications (websites, mobile apps, etc.) entirely on chain at web speed, as ICP increasingly becomes a decentralized alternative to the current public internet. Presently, the Internet Computer Protocol processes upwards of a half billion transactions per day — with significantly reduced energy consumption and costs — making ICP the world’s most productive blockchain.
With the Internet Computer Protocol, the promise of a 100% decentralized internet — a trustless “World Computer” upon which the broadest possible range of internet services can exist amongst massively distributed computers — has come to fruition.
About the DFINITY Foundation
The Switzerland-based DFINITY Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing the Internet Computer blockchain, was founded in 2016 by its Chief Scientist Dominic Williams. DFINITY’s Zurich headquarters contains the largest blockchain R&D center in the region and boasts one of the most extensive R&D teams in the industry, with many world-renowned cryptographers, researchers, and engineers. Including its research center in San Francisco, California, DFINITY employs over 200 people globally.
