Introducing the Foundry: DeFi Meets Incubator

Published in

FerrumNetwork

7 min readSep 9, 2020

Dear Ferrum Community,

We are thrilled to announce The Foundry — the huge initiative we have been working on behind the scenes! The Foundry is an incubator we are launching in partnership with Duck DAO — the top decentralized investment community in the crypto space. It is designed to disrupt the old incubator model and bring massive value to projects, our stakeholders and the industry.

The Foundry is the first incubator to combine a decentralized fundraising model with the best influencers, founders, exchanges, plus a suite of valuable DeFi technology to ensure a project’s success from pre-launch through scaling.

By combining Duck DAO’s decentralized fundraising with Ferrum Network’s DeFi technology, plus the strength of two passionate crypto communities and a multi-year advisory structure, The Foundry completely disrupts the old incubator model and drives tremendous value to our projects, our communities, and the entire crypto space.

In this article, we explain why we launched the Foundry and how it benefits the Ferrum ecosystem, and provide a sneak peak at the first incubation project.

Disrupting the Old Incubator Model

The old incubator model is flawed. Too much short term thinking, too centralized, no community engagement and no innovative technology.

Most incubators and VCs have a short term mindset. “Advisory” support usually ends after the raise. Our approach is different. Incubator projects become members of the Ferrum ecosystem, which means they have 24/7 access to our team and ongoing advisory on any and all issues. They also become members of the exclusive Foundry Founders group, which includes all founders in the Foundry ecosystem which provides on going support and the opportunity to explore partnerships and grow together.

The second problem with the old model is that fundraising by most incubators/VCs is extremely centralized, with a few big investors holding most of the pre-sale tokens. Since they generally have no long term interest in the project, their goal is to offload those tokens on retail investors as soon as they can turn a profit and one big holder can cause massive downward pressure. The Foundry’s fundraising model is different. We raise funds using a proven decentralized fundraising method from the DuckDAO and Ferrum communities. This means that at the time of listing, a project will already have thousands of holders who are real supporters of the project and tokens won’t be centralized in the hands of a few big holders.

This leads us to the third problem with incubators: a lack of organic communities. With the Foundry, projects are immediately plugged into two large and passionate communities, which provide Foundry projects with the early organic community support they need to thrive.

Fourth, most incubators offer little to no marketing support after the raise. But because the Foundry is in it for the long term, we have structured a marketing and influencer system that ensures long term support long after the raise.

Finally, most incubators offer no useful technology for their projects. This is a particular issue for early stage projects, which often launch before they have their own technology or token utility. The Foundry solves this problem by offering all projects innovative staking technology, swap technology (well suited for risk-free pre-sale OTC deals), distribution technology (Pool Drops), KYC solutions, and much more!

What Makes the Foundry Special

The Foundry’s unique value comes from the partnership between Ferrum and Duck DAO, our innovative influencer/marketing model, the preferred exchanges in the Foundry ecosystem, and the full suite of valuable technology offered to all Foundry incubator projects.

Duck DAO

Duck DAO are the industry’s top decentralized fundraising community, led by industry veterans who have supported hundreds of projects over the past four years. Their passionate and organic community, their experience with fundraising, their expertise in crafting token metrics, their marketing prowess, and overall professional attitude are just some of the reasons Duck DAO is a true powerhouse in the industry. We could not be happier to be partnering with Duck DAO and its community in order to make the Foundry the #1 incubator in the industry.

Influencers

Most incubators simply pay influencers to market their portfolio projects. But that approach is flawed because the influencers have no stake in those projects and they are not concerned about the project’s long term success.

The Foundry, on the other hand, has set up a group of the industry’s top influencers across Telegram, Twitter and YouTube, with a total combined following of approximately 1.2 million. Rather than asking the projects to pay the influencers, the influencers actually invest in the projects in a fair and transparent manner. They invest and support not because they are forced to, but because they want to. This results in long term marketing support that that continues to add value to projects well after the raise is over.

Exchanges

We are working closely with exchanges across the spectrum, from Kucoin and Bibox, to Serum, ACDX, and more! With these relationships in place, Foundry incubator projects get a wide range of exchange options at launch, providing needed liquidity, volume and traders, but in a strategic manner that fits each project’s needs.

Ferrum’s DeFi Tech

Even the best projects need early tech support. The fact is that the market moves faster than developers can build. Many promising projects end up floundering after launch because their investors and community lose patience while the project is building.

Ferrum Network solves this problem for Foundry projects by offering them customizable and unique technology for staking, swapping, distributing and more.

Our Staking-as-a-Service mechanism locks up early investors and rewards them with high-yields, which provides incubator projects the time they need to build while rewarding their early supporters. We are now working on an even more innovative and valuable staking solution that will be available for all Foundry projects in the coming months.

Second, the market for trading pre-sale tokens is robust, but currently the only option is to resort to shady OTC channels with middlemen and high fees. Our “Swap Drop” technology for risk-free OTC trades allows participants to engage in risk-free pre-sale OTC trades without resorting to risky OTC channels. Investors in Foundry projects will have the option of conducting risk free trades right over Telegram using a shareable link. This reduces risks to projects and investors as it completely eliminates the risky elements of the over-the-counter market.

Third, our Pool Drop technology is the simplest and most secure means of distributing tokens via a whitelisted link that can be emailed to investors, and our native KYC technology allows incubator projects to raise funds in a fully compliant manner without spending tens of thousands of dollars on a third-party KYC service.

Last but not least, we are building groundbreaking AI-driven trading tools that will allow Foundry projects to take advantage of bullish market conditions while minimizing downside risks. We can’t wait to reveal this new technology to you in the coming months.

Taken together, there is no incubator on the market that can match our services from fundraising, advisory, marketing, influencers, exchanges and valuable technology. But at the end of the day the Foundry is not simply about providing an excellent service to projects, it’s about driving value to all Ferrum and Duck DAO stakeholders.

How the Foundry Benefits the Ferrum Ecosystem

Aside from the fact that the Foundry brings top quality projects into our ecosystem, this initiative means that FRM holders will have access to early stage investment opportunities in all Foundry projects.

To determine access to early investment opportunities, the existing tiered benefit structure will not be disturbed:

100,000+ FRM
250,000+ FRM
750,000+ FRM

In addition, we are pleased to announce that we will be adding a 4th tier for those holding 50,000–100,000 FRM in their UniFyre Wallet!

The exact benefits that each tier is entitled to will be revealed in the coming days, but in essence FRM holders will have the opportunity to participate in the early fundraising rounds of all Foundry projects and the amounts they can invest will be determined by their FRM holdings.

What’s Next: The First Incubator Project Will be Announced

We have been working closely with a fantastic team who are building a really incredible project and which will be a perfect addition to our ecosystem….we cannot wait to reveal it to you in the coming days!

Thank You

We want to give a huge thank you to the Duck DAO team and community, and to everyone else working so hard behind the scenes make this incubator a reality!

We can’t wait to reveal the first incubation project and help make it a huge success! Stay tuned for more exciting news to follow.

Very truly yours,

The Ferrum Network Team

About Ferrum Network

Ferrum Network is building a DeFi ecosystem that interoperates across chains and removes barriers to mass adoption with user-friendly products for swapping, staking, and transferring cryptocurrencies. Its cross-chain DAG will enable the transfer of any digital asset in milliseconds for near-zero network fees, unlocking tremendous value for the entire industry. Ferrum’s non-custodial UniFyre Wallet has already revolutionized the way people send crypto with its “Link Drop” technology, and is transforming the OTC market with risk-free OTC swaps embedded in a shareable link. Ferrum’s Staking-as-a-Service is now used by dozens of projects, and our Token Bridge is the fastest, and most secure means of moving assets between Ethereum and Binance Chain. It’s incubator arm “The Foundry” brings the best new projects into the Ferrum ecosystem and allows FRM holders to participate in pre-sales. Look for Ferrum to launch more transformative DeFi technology throughout 2020 and beyond.