Oct 6, 2022
On the Importance of Mentorship in Web3
Building something from scratch has long been a challenging and difficult experience.
When one enters into the path of poiesis, or creation, the nature of the process requires great attention, due diligence, planning, and execution capabilities — which are difficult to achieve. A sad but true fact is that; about 90% of startups fail. 10% of startups fail within the first year. Across all industries, startup failure rates seem to be close to the same. One of the most important steps toward achieving success is building the right task force with members that complement each other. It’s important to create an effective and efficient building environment derived from the unique complementary capabilities of its task force.
Internal teams play an important role when building products/projects from scratch. The synergy between the team members, the ability to help them focus on their strengths, and a good communication flow are some of the most important factors that lead a team to success.
However, sometimes circumstances and situations may arise where the core team’s know-how and creativity are not sufficient to take the project to its desired outcome. In these circumstances, projects that end up being successful, embrace the virtue of accepting that sometimes one’s own capabilities are not enough to accomplish an objective, and they pursue guidance from outside sources. Human nature makes it difficult to accept one’s own shortcomings, but once that ego-centric barrier has been overcome, one becomes open to the different perspectives and guidance needed in order to find the missing pieces of the puzzle.
Getting guidance or mentorship from others not only creates room for fresh points of view to enter the equation but also enables the parties to join forces and complement each other in ways they didn’t know they needed. It enables a healthy exchange environment where the mentors willingly share their take on a certain topic based on their lifetime of experiences and values. And since they are not directly involved in the project itself, they can offer guidance in a much more objective way, free from any biased opinion. Mentors can see the project from the point of view of the end user more clearly since they don’t get vulnerable upon receiving criticism. Internal teams, as well as the project owners, might not want to accept failure at a glance due to all the hard work they put in; however, a mentor can tell the blunt truth without hesitation.
And sometimes this is all one needs in order to change course.
Let’s look at some of the historical examples of mentorship:
Socrates mentoring Plato — Plato mentoring Aristotle
This trio of relationships shaped human history. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Alexander all understood the power of giving and receiving guidance. The knowledge transfer channels and discourse were so open amongst these four students of life that they all went on to form legacies of their own.
Socrates mentored Plato. Plato spread Socrates’ teachings and philosophy as far and wide as he could. Plato mentored Aristotle in philosophy and, in the Macedonian village of Mieza, Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great. The teachings spanning back to Socrates had trickled through great minds through mentorship down to Alexander. This chain of leaders sparked by Socrates demonstrates the importance of passing on knowledge and keeping the tradition of mentoring alive.
Freddie Laker mentoring Richard Branson
Branson once said, ‘If you ask any successful business person, they will always have had a great mentor at some point along the road.’ — And he was right! Branson went to Laker during his struggles to get Virgin Atlantic up and running. ‘It’s always good to have a helping hand at the start. I wouldn’t have got anywhere in the airline industry without the mentorship of Sir Freddie Laker.’
Professor Dumbledore mentoring Harry Potter
Although completely fictional, we couldn’t not add it in! The relationship between the two of them is strong. There is respect for Dumbledore, which is shared amongst all students, all understanding how much there is to learn. Harry’s development can be attributed to Dumbledore, far more than magic. Ta da!
As seen from the examples; since mankind has walked on the earth there have been mentors. Without mentors, we would have to learn everything from scratch every time we started something new. Having someone to glean years of hard-won information in a matter of days is invaluable.
When it comes to building and learning in web3, things get even more challenging due to the evolving and raw nature of the ecosystem.
Even though there are lots of successful examples in the web3 space there isn’t a standard formula that leads to success — just like in any other successful example. Lots of methods are being experimented and new tactics that work are being discovered every day (even every hour). It’s fast-paced, community-oriented, receptive, and dynamic. And all these elements make it even more difficult for projects to build and grow in the web3 space without a proper roadmap, a good squad, and an effective execution plan. One must be open to trying out new methods and experimenting together with the rest of the space to build a better future.
While doing so; one thing that would have immense benefits to the projects is undoubtedly having good mentors (or even a single good one). Successful mentors in the web3 space know how to turn theories into reality and hold significant information with themselves ready to be shared with others. They have already gone through the process of planning, executing, growing, and succeeding in web3 and therefore carry an incredible amount of know-how… None of the mentors would claim that they know everything about web3; however, they would definitely know how to steer the project in the right direction when builders come to them for guidance.
During the founding days of PrimeDAO, many mentors have guided its founders and stewards in different areas. Patrick Rawson — an expert mechanism designer and ecosystem builder — has taught us a lot about the product development process and how to establish a successful organization. Daniel Bar — venture builder based out of Asia — has taught the founders a lot about community building and fundraising. Wilhelm Roth — CEO of Icoinic Capital with great leadership skills — shared his knowledge on investment management and organization development. And there have been (and still continue to be) many others who helped PrimeDAO achieve its goals with their valuable input, to whom we are extremely thankful.
At PrimeDAO, we firmly believe that collective intelligence and knowledge sharing are key components for developing the ecosystem as a whole. PrimeDAO has the chance to be at the center of an ecosystem made of the brightest minds in web3 while supporting the most exciting ReFi projects. In our constant quest to improve coordination in the space, it seems natural to connect the next generation of founders with those who will truly empower them. That’s why we wanted to create a program where we connect mentors with projects that seek guidance and support.
We’ve done the groundwork to find extraordinary builders tackling challenging missions, and mentors who will scale their impact and improve their chances of success. And we are very excited to be launching our apprenticeship program very soon. More details will be coming your way soon but in the meantime, if you would like to learn more about Prime Launch’s apprenticeship program send in your request through the following e-mail address: marketing@prime.xyz
If you are up for a casual chat join our Discord!
And not to forget our dearest Twitter full of useful and inspirational content:
wagmi🤍
