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Raiinmaker

raiinmaker

**SANTA MONICA, CA, April 4th, 2024/Chainwire/--**Raiinmaker, a Web3 and AI Technology Company, is announcing the closing of a $7.5M seed round ahead of its Mainnet launch and native token $Coiin TGE. Notable investors in this funding round: Jump Crypto and Cypher Capital along with GDA Capital, Gate.io Labs, London Real Ventures, MEXC Global, Krypital Group, Alphabit, Launchpool, New Tribe Capital, Coach K, Axia 8 Ventures, Sheesha Finance, Andromeda Capital, Arcanum Capital, Bella Capital and Alpha Sigma Capital. The Raiinmaker Network boasts innovative features including a scalable and modular blockchain architecture, decentralized AI tools, and AI powered smart contracts. The company’s core focus lies in the scalable implementation of Decentralized AI and Web3 infrastructure to power Mass Adoption solutions in Sports, Gaming and Entertainment. Raiinmaker Super App users train AI right from their iOS or Android phones and earn fractional rewards based on the value of their contributions to decentralized AI models and infrastructure. Now everyone has the ability to train AI models and run a DePIN enabled validator node using just their smartphone from anywhere in the world. On the application, users are training the same stable diffusion models the community is using to generate AI art through fine tuning and data labeling. “The transformative power of AI and Web3 technology has the potential to empower the human race to an unprecedented degree and we are excited to be at the forefront of the decentralized AI Technology Revolution,” said J.D. Seraphine, Founder and CEO of Raiinmaker. Raiinmaker’s investor cap table includes other notable companies such as DCI Capital, Seed Thrift Ventures, Titans Ventures, WeeHodl, Kopman Capital, 7 O'Clock Capital Fund, Spicy Capital, NxGen.xyz, Absoluta Digital, Candaq, Mainchain Ventures, Panda Capital, Stealth Capital, Taisu, K300, Tulpar Capital, Acacia Digital, Simurg Labs, Gemhead, Alpha Capital, Green Arrow Ventures, Basics Capital, Legion Ventures, Coinvestor Ventures, Simplicity Blockchain, Aza Ventures, Transform Capital, Khan's DeFi Kitchen, HC Capital, Crypto Roundtable, Gemhead Capital, and Metazero Capital. With 70,000+ app downloads, over 150,000 nodes, 18 million transactions processed and an engaged community of over 200,000 worldwide, Raiinmaker empowers people all over the planet to contribute to decentralized AI infrastructure while earning crypto, no special technical knowledge required. About Raiinmaker Raiinmaker is an innovative Web3 and AI technology company that has successfully developed the Raiinmaker Mobile Application and Raiinmaker Network. The Raiinmaker App is a cutting-edge Web3 and decentralized AI platform that revolutionizes the monetization of users’ contribution to AI infrastructure. The Raiinmaker Network combines scalable Web3 and AI infrastructure that redefines value creation tied to digital identity, behavior, and reputation. The Raiinmaker AI Super App is powered by the Raiinmaker Network, providing seamless integration with native Protocol Web3 features. These features include Identity, NFT Minting, Token Creation, and AI Powered Smart Contracts. | | | Website x Telegram Discord Contact Head of Marketing Kris Seraphine kris@raiinmaker.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here.

Raiinmaker Closes $7.5M Funding To Advance Decentralized AI

SHERMAN OAKS, United States, October 11th, 2023/FinanceWire/--**Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, is thrilled to announce its strategic acquisition of Lightstream, Rainmaker, and API.stream from Videndum, the parent company. These innovative sets of tools are designed to revolutionize the landscape of content creation and distribution. This acquisition underscores Xsolla's recognition of the tremendous value creators bring to the gaming ecosystem and is dedicated to building and strengthening relationships with talent agencies, creators, and their audiences. Xsolla Partner Network already serves as a one-stop solution for engaging developers and publishers and exploring new revenue and rewards opportunities. With the acquisition of Lightstream, Rainmaker, and API.stream, Xsolla will allow creators to go live within seconds via cloud streaming services, request free keys from game developers, participate in referral programs, create their branded web shops, and sell digital goods for games in Xsolla's portfolio. Lightstream is a cloud-based streaming studio that allows creators to produce and share live content effortlessly. By integrating Lightstream's technology, Xsolla will enable creators to easily initiate live streams with minimal technical requirements, facilitating an efficient and user-friendly streaming experience. The Rainmaker platform empowers creators to manage and grow their audience while maximizing revenue opportunities. Integrating Rainmaker's tools into the Xsolla Partner Network will provide creators with a comprehensive suite of features designed to optimize audience engagement, monetization, and distribution of free keys. API.stream stands as a remarkable team of talented engineers who have dedicated themselves to advancing the future of live-streaming production. With years of experience tackling the challenges and possibilities of live cloud-native output, API.stream has unlocked new avenues for creative expression in live streaming. "Xsolla is committed to supporting creators and providing them with the tools they need to succeed," said Chris Hewish, CEO of Xsolla. "The acquisition of Lightstream, Rainmaker, and API.stream reinforces our dedication to delivering extra value to the gaming community and making the Xsolla Partner Network an all-encompassing solution for developers, publishers, creators, and their audiences." Xsolla assures current Lightstream users that the platform will continue to operate smoothly with ongoing partnerships with Microsoft, Xbox, Twitch, and Steelseries. The acquisition is aimed at enhancing the user experience and providing additional resources and features. For additional information and to learn more, please visit: xsolla.pro/lightstream-acquisition About Xsolla Xsolla is a global video game commerce company with a robust and powerful set of tools and services designed specifically for the video game industry. Since its founding in 2005, Xsolla has helped thousands of game developers and publishers of all sizes fund, market, launch, and monetize their games globally and across multiple platforms. As an innovative leader in game commerce, Xsolla’s mission is to solve the inherent complexities of global distribution, marketing, and monetization to help our partners reach more geographies, generate more revenue, and create relationships with gamers worldwide. Headquartered and incorporated in Los Angeles, California, with offices in Berlin, Seoul, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, and cities around the world, Xsolla supports major gaming titles like Valve, Twitch, Roblox, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Take-Two, KRAFTON, Nexters, NetEase, Playstudios, Playrix, miHoYo, and more. For additional information and to learn more, please visit: xsolla.com About Videndum Videndum is a leading global provider of premium branded hardware products and software solutions to the growing content creation market. Our customers include broadcasters, film studios, production and rental companies, photographers, independent content creators ("ICCs"), vloggers, influencers, gamers, professional sound crews, and enterprises. We design, manufacture, and distribute high-performance products and solutions, including camera supports and stabilizers, video transmission systems and monitors, live streaming solutions, smartphone accessories, robotic camera systems, prompters, LED lighting, mobile power, carrying solutions, backgrounds, audio capture, and noise reduction equipment. We employ around 1,800 people in 11 different countries and are organized into three Divisions: Media Solutions, Production Solutions, and Creative Solutions. For additional information and to learn more, please visit: videndum.com Contact Global PR Director Derrick Stembridge Xsolla d.stembridge@xsolla.com 919-971-7855 This story was distributed as a release by FinanceWire under HackerNoon’s Brand As An Author Program. Learn more about the program . here

Xsolla Announces Acquisition Of Lightstream Rainmaker And Api.Stream

Xsolla Lightstream Rainmaker এবং Api.Stream অধিগ্রহণের ঘোষণা করেছে

Xsolla gibt Übernahme von Lightstream Rainmaker und Api.Stream bekannt

Xsolla anuncia la adquisición de Lightstream Rainmaker y Api.Stream

Xsolla annonce l'acquisition de Lightstream Rainmaker et d'Api.Stream

एक्ससोल्ला ने लाइटस्ट्रीम रेनमेकर और एपीआई.स्ट्रीम के अधिग्रहण की घोषणा की

エクソラがLightstream RainmakerとApi.Streamの買収を発表

Xsolla, Lightstream Rainmaker 및 Api.Stream 인수 발표

Xsolla anuncia aquisição da Lightstream Rainmaker e Api.Stream

«Иксолла» объявляет о приобретении Lightstream Rainmaker и Api.Stream

Xsolla, Lightstream Rainmaker ve Api.Stream'i Satın Aldığını Duyurdu

Xsolla thông báo mua lại Lightstream Rainmaker và Api.Stream

Xsolla 宣布收购 Lightstream Rainmaker 和 Api.Stream

The Fed, the US’s central bank, will soon meet to decide what to do about interest rates. While nobody expects a rate hike, the Fed says people still have too many jobs and make too much money. It needs to “drain liquidity” and “weaken the labor market.” Higher for longer, as it says. All in pursuit of two goals: maximum employment and stable prices. A lot of people place a lot of faith in the Fed’s capacity to accomplish these goals. The crypto market obsesses over the Fed’s decisions. Financial media watch it like hawks (or doves, depending on where you want interest rates to go). Huge investors plan major financial decisions around the Fed’s actions. The economic health and vitality of the US economy hinge on its every move. As such, you’d expect that the Fed hits its benchmarks more often than not, right? What else could validate such faith in the significance of the Fed’s actions? Its track record must justify this belief, right? Nobody knows. SMART goals, SHMART goals , the Fed says maximum employment is “not directly measurable and changes over time,” therefore it’s not appropriate to define a goal. In its Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy For stable prices, it sets an average of 2% inflation over time, with no standard for how to calculate that average. Does that mean 2% in a year? 2% annualized for ten years? A median of 2% over a rolling five-year period? With no standards or benchmarks, you can’t measure the Fed’s success. But I can! Let’s set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals, like the management and self-improvement gurus suggest. Here goes: Maximum employment: an unemployment rate of 4% or less at any time. This was the layperson’s definition when I studied economics. Stable prices: an inflation rate of 2% or less year-over-year. This is the Fed’s stated target in its simplest form, without averages or medians. How often does the Fed meet those goals? Not often. The US economy almost never reaches full employment. Look at all the “full employment” years shaded black in this image: The unemployment rate dropped below 4% in only 162 out of 908 quarters since records started in 1948. What about the other part of its mandate, inflation? Chairman Powell said inflation is more important than employment. Economists claim inflation and unemployment have a negative, inverse relationship. In other words, they always move in different directions. If that's correct, and employment numbers rarely hit the mark, you’d expect inflation to win most of the time, right? Isn't that the trade-off? I guess not. Inflation stayed above 2% in 46 out of the last 63 years. The Fed whiffed on employment 82% of the time and missed on inflation 73% of the time. Just you, me, and the markets Does that mean the US economy is doomed because the Fed almost never hits its targets? Nope. The US economy has grown in 286 of the past 306 quarters. More than 93% of the time, the US economy is growing. Asset prices generally go up, too. The US stock market finishes positive three out of every four years. Real estate has an even better success rate. The price of “stuff” keeps going up, too, regardless of what the Fed does. The money supply shrinks and grows. Rates rise and fall. Markets persist. If you don’t like the results, change them We may not need to think too hard about this. Central bankers admit they don't always know the consequences of their decisions. The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Jay Powell, said as much. They're just trying their best. Usually, that’s good enough. If not, the government can simply change its benchmarks. In 2020, the US changed its definition of recession. This year, it changed the way it calibrates CPI, the so-called “headline inflation.” Next year, it could pick a new definition of full employment or change the inflation target. Maybe it should! If you move inflation to a 3% target, the Fed hits its mark 31 out of 64 years—a near 50% success rate. If you bump up the definition of full employment to 5%, then the US economy is at full employment 38% of the time (341 out of 908 quarters). This is how you solve problems in the legacy system: find a new definition of success or make up your own. Sadly, my college ECON professors never gave me the same leeway. New economy, new economics When I studied economics, we were taught that recessions happen when aggregate production exceeds aggregate demand. In other words, they come when economies create more things than people can afford to buy, not because the central bank replaced $1 trillion in bank lending with $1 trillion in direct payments to bondholders. Now, recessions come and go at the will of the Fed. They are no longer a symptom of markets rebalancing and eliminating natural excesses, but rather a product of financial engineering or policy decisions. The Fed uses many programs to support the US financial system. Open market operations, repo, reverse repo, the discount window, swap lines, and a bunch of pandemic-era lending facilities (most of those are now closed). Some of these programs are beyond my comprehension, but they are all part of an elaborate system that’s developed over decades. “Plumbing,” as the experts call it. I’m not a plumber or an expert, but if I had to guess, all these programs conspire to make interest rates less important. When money is a meme and the system is manipulated at will, the federal funds rate might not have as much importance as we used to think. Rainmakers Imagine you and I went outside on a warm, sunny day. After extensive discussion and research, we reckoned that if we jumped up and down and chanted songs, we could bring the rain. We did it and got no rain. Undeterred, we did it again the next day. Again, we got no rain. On the third day, we did it again—and it rained. Validation! From that moment on, whenever we wanted rain, we danced and shouted. Sometimes, it rained that very day. Other times, it would take a good week or more before we got any rain. We figured that’s normal—rain dances have a long and variable lag. To get more precise in our rain-making ability, we charted weather patterns and constructed some meteorological theories. It turned out our dancing was more effective on cloudy days. If we started immediately after hearing thunder, we had an almost perfect success rate. We also discovered some seasonal correlations from one year to the next. For planning purposes, we put together dot plots and projections based on a Dance Productivity Index, or DPI, as well as surveys and other metrics. People tweeted these things out and started planning picnics around our dances. As long as we danced every day, we eventually got rain. They will use data to deceive you Why do people think our dot plots were nonsense but the Fed’s dot plots are vital data? Why do the CPI charts matter more than our DPI charts? I can tell you why. Because centuries of empirical meteorological study proved that dancing does not cause rain. Economics has no such certainty. As a result, you have to take a leap of faith. That faith is vital. Without it, the Fed is simply a backstop for the US banking system and a mechanism for incentivizing or disincentivizing debt—not an entity that can achieve maximum employment and stable prices. Like rain from the heavens Rain is a natural phenomenon that we can anticipate with some certainty when experts see a confluence of factors but with not enough precision to account for changes in circumstances and the vagaries of climate, wind, and geography. We can plan for rain. We can make umbrellas, huts, shelter, water-resistant clothes, and all sorts of other things that protect us from the rain. We can find productive uses for rain and change our behaviors to make the most of the times when it rains. We can’t make it rain, no matter how much we dance. Is it so much different with the Fed and the US economy? Maybe when the Fed members say “long and variable lag,” they mean “we don’t know when or how our actions will change anything.” After centuries of economic research, our financial elites can't run monetary systems with enough precision to give us the results they expect. The Fed’s own chairman admits this plainly, openly, and nobody seems to believe him. But I believe him. Maybe it’s time you should, too? This post is also available as a collectible NFT on . Mirror https://mirror.xyz/0x9a6600c7B40801dda9A0Fa4E8DE7b1B99FE524a7/aQCflFyIkPcF0sUfcrpCZPd7MvY2JBpN212nn2Rb9bk?embedable=true Mark Helfman publishes the newsletter. He is also the author of three books and a top Bitcoin writer on and . Learn more about him in his and connect with him on or . Crypto is Easy Medium Hacker Noon bio Superpeer Tealfeed

Today’s Federal Reserve: A Faith-Based Organization

There is no denying that the reality of Web3 is the future of the internet. However, only a fraction of the developer and founder population are building in it. Importantly, many of these builders are facing the same problems that the early builders of Web2 faced. In the early days of Web2, companies like Facebook and Myspace faced a few important challenges. The first was that not many people . While that first hurdle was sociological and could easily change with the presentation of compelling evidence and hype, one big hurdle that they had to cross was technological. The Web still ran on 2G internet, which was remarkably slow. saw the vast potential of what they were building It meant roughly two things for these pioneers of Web2. The first was that it made internet browsing a highly unrewarding venture if one did not live in areas with blazing internet speed. It also meant that there was a limit to how expansive they could make the experience for their customers. Think of it this way — people who make great games are limited by the capacity and consoles of their time. So even if Rockstar games could create an open world of a hundred cities with a million interactive NPCs, they would only be able to release the game once there is a console that can handle the level of programming and complexity it requires. That was, roughly speaking, the position the pioneers of Web2 found themselves in. They had so much to do, but they had to wait for the world to catch up. Incidentally, that's where the pioneers of Web3 are today too. The Barriers Of Web3 Today We are in those early stages of Web3 development where there are still hurdles. Of course, many of these hurdles are surmountable in due course, but it's also vital that we are clear about what they are. User Experience What the first Web2 founders quickly discovered is that everyone wants to work with interfaces that are intuitive and not difficult to use. Today, it's easy to take for granted how intuitive user interfaces are without realizing the back-breaking work it took to get there. The computer — or a programming machine, in itself, isn't a very intuitive device. There are thousands of possible commands, in thousands of possible combinations, and there is no naturally occurring way to arrange these commands in an intuitive way for most people. To solve the problem of user experience, the builders of Web2 and dedicated time and willpower to understanding the best way to make computers intuitive for human use. invested thoroughly in design research Web3 is at that point right now. If you've ever tried to work on anything on the blockchain or tried to execute a smart contract, you'd know that the blockchain has possibly the worst user experience one can think of. If one doesn't know what one is doing, it can take a lot of time and effort to even figure out how to execute a basic chain of commands. You can't even use your web browser to directly work with many of these core Web3  elements. You'd have to purchase plugins, extensions, and all manner of things to even start working on Web3 today. Right now, you even need a to interact with the Eth blockchain. Metamask wallet The truth is, lots of people will not leave the comfort and ease of their Web2 experiences to deal with that. For us to be truly ready for Web3, we must be willing to fund and build a streamlined customer service experience that makes it easy for everyone to onboard and use web3 for everyday stuff. The Hardware Gap Just like we had at the beginning of Web2, we are also facing some hardware problems with Web3. Transactions in Web3 can get really slow since the entire transaction has to be pushed through the whole network for it to be approved. To speed up these transactions, we will need to increase the computational power that each computer chip carries. For people who want instantaneous processing of their transactions, this translates to higher gas fees. Of course, most people will not be willing to pay extra money for their transactions to be confirmed. In fact, the idea of paying to confirm transactions will probably discourage many from joining Web3 at all. The good news is that every day our capacity to produce high-capacity chips that can reduce the programming burden of these transactions is growing. While we may not be there yet, the signs that it is possible to create chips that can significantly speed up this process are there. For example, we know that the by microchips is one petahertz or one million gigahertz. That's about a hundred thousand times faster than chips today. So we still have a long way to go in chip production. fastest signal transmission theoretically possible Another hardware problem that we have to solve is the issue of web servers and endpoint devices, like smartphones, not having the capacity to work on the blockchain. For example, a blockchain mobile app will rapidly that a modern tablet or smartphone has to offer. The app would also have huge energy demands. This means that we have to create smartphones that are extremely fast, with a lot of storage, and with bigger batteries. swallow all the free space Of course, this hardware gap will one day be filled. In 2004, more than half the world ran on 2G internet speed, and almost two decades later we have 5G. The hardware can always get better — but it's important to realize that it needs to get better before Web3 can truly take off. Are We Ready? These are huge barriers to the global adoption of Web3, and they must be solved before Web3 can succeed Web2. Here are some of the ways that these barriers can be - and are being surmounted. Utility Today If the Web3 apps that exist today can solve an important problem, the people who need that problem solved will adopt it. This means that people will be willing to brave these barriers to get access to solutions to problems that would have gone unsolved without Web3. For example, gamers who need a platform to access and play all kinds of Play-2-Earn games will make use of imperfect solutions to access Web3 as it is. Platforms that provide that service, like __ __games, are meeting the demand for that service in the Web3 space. Rainmaker By meeting this demand, they are giving players who are in the space already more incentive to work with these imperfect Web3 tools, and also giving the uninitiated a reason to join. And that's just one example. The film industry has been plagued with the problems of piracy for years, and solutions in Web3 that solve this problem — like token, will incentivize more entertainers and creators to join Web3. In fact, one of the stated goals of the token is to facilitate the transition of film and television to cryptocurrencies. TheFilmcoin Get Involved The thing about these advancements in tech we need for the blockchain is that they are achievable. We already know that we can make our chips at least than they are now. We also know that with these better chips, we'll be able to build better hardware. 10 times faster This means that we need to be able to accelerate these needed technological improvements. The one sure way to do that is by creating a demand for it. And that's what getting involved in Web3 is all about. Today, the user experience may be clumsy and complicated, but as more people populate these spaces, more resources will be dedicated to the advancements that will make Web3 a reality faster than expected. Already, are putting serious resources towards the development of blockchain technology. The higher that percentage goes, the quicker the technological advancements we need to happen will happen. 50% of companies An Open Playground For You Right now, Web3 is a shiny new space where there are relatively few players. This means that the room for innovation is vast. Some solutions are being ideated now that will change how we do many things forever. In essence, there is still room for so many firsts. Remember how groundbreaking Google, Facebook, YouTube, and even Instagram were — that's literally how big many of the fledgling Web3 companies are going to be in the future. If you missed investing in those companies, well here is your second chance. You're witnessing the rise of trillion-dollar companies, and it's only wise that you get on the bandwagon before it actually becomes a bandwagon. That's why you need to take time to study the pioneers in the ecosystem today. What problems are they solving? Who are they building for? How rapidly are they moving towards solving that problem? On the flip side, you could also become one of those who eventually solve these problems. And the good thing is that it's now easier than ever to innovate in the blockchain. All you need is a great idea, a great team, and an excellent technical partner on your side. Companies like , for example, have helped hundreds of Web3 innovators to scale in different ways. It doesn't matter whether you're trying to build a Dapp on a blockchain, or need full nodes for your chain — Ankr has got your back. Since the company is probably the most distributed web3 infrastructure company in the world, there's probably no better company to have your back on your journey to innovate. Ankr

It's Web3 Time, But Are We Ready?

In the first ten years of the expansion of blockchain technology, it was utterly dominated by developed (or more precisely western) nations. Almost all the Bitcoin Miners were located in America and Europe, and only rising mining costs moved those operations abroad. Asides from that, many of the earliest Bitcoin/blockchain innovators were either westerners or living in western countries. For example, , while being Russian-born himself, had been in Canada for the better part of two decades before creating Ethereum. Vitalik Buterin However, as blockchain technology is moving into the next phase of its development, it appears that emerging markets like Africa are adopting crypto faster than their global counterparts. While no one knows the reason for this, it's very difficult to deny that it's happening. The numbers are simply undeniable. Regardless of whether this was brought on by the financial uncertainty of the pandemic or other clusters of reasons, the effect of this growth can hardly be ignored. For example, cryptocurrency adoption grew in Africa by 1200% between the 12 months between July 2020 and June 2021. This growth in blockchain adoption has been concentrated in countries Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania, which are some of the most densely populated nations on the continent. Peer-to-peer trading, which is a huge part of blockchain technology, is so big in Kenya that the country led the world in P2P transactions in 2022. All this points to an exciting future for blockchain technology in these markets. This growth is even more impressive when one considers that there has been very little institutional support for blockchain technology in these nations. Despite that, the rate of adoption is still incredible. Many of the regulators in these countries have banned crypto trading, which has slowed down adoption. All this points to one thing; blockchain technology adoption might already have plateaued in the West, but this is just the beginning in emerging markets like Africa. The Opportunities are Limitless The blockchain ecosystem of emerging markets might not be as huge as that of developed nations, but it's rather apparent that blockchain technology solves more structural problems in these markets than elsewhere. For example, in nations where inflation is rampant — like — citizens can safeguard their wealth with stablecoins. Interestingly, I addressed the structural problems of P2E economies and recommended the need for a dedicated stablecoin to fix these structural problems. Zimbabwe here Blockchain technology also gives a level of autonomy to citizens in nations with oppressive and dictatorial governments. In countries where governments can digital stores of value like cryptocurrency can be a real vehicle of social change. unilaterally freeze bank accounts of dissidents, This is indeed already happening. In 2020, there was at least one case of a Bitcoin was rather useful for the protest because of the anonymity and decentralization built into the coin's infrastructure on the blockchain. popular protest funded in part by Bitcoin. Asides from the monetary use of blockchain, it also has administrative uses as well. By applying blockchain technology to supply chain management, countries can greatly improve asset recording, tracking, assigning, linking and sharing; developing nations can build resilient supply chains without using an overinflated bureaucracy. This can be especially useful for developing nations that are battling supply chain issues. Blockchain can be useful in the entertainment industry as well. It can be used to prevent privacy in the industry, protect digital content, and facilitate the distribution of digital collectibles. There are opportunities in gaming too. While Play-to-Earn games with NFT characters have gotten a bad rep because of how expensive it is to purchase a character, companies like Rainmaker Games are solving this problem. , for example,  is one of the most exciting companies revolutionizing games for the future. Within just a few months, Rainmaker Games has found a way to vet the identity of players who are joining guilds, figure out a way players can play hundreds of P2E games for free, and also incorporate an NFT marketplace on all of that. Rainmaker Games With startups like Rainmaker Games lowering the barrier of entry for P2E gamers from emerging markets, it's only a matter of time before these players stand toe to toe with the rest of the world. Asides from the structural shakeup a startup like Rainmaker Games can cause with its technology; there's also the matter of the financial freedom these P2E games can give to players from emerging markets. The NFT Goldmine Despite the opportunities on the blockchain, it's obvious that the same enthusiasm for crypto in emerging markets has been missing. One reason that has been brought up is the unfriendly technical nature of NFTs. And that could be a good point. After all, the more technical using a technology is, the fewer people use it. Perhaps that's why players in Web3 are already working on the important infrastructure that will help builders scale technical barriers to entry and build products faster and cheaper in the ecosystem. is one of those stakeholders, and the company provides fast, reliable infrastructure at community first pricing. It isn't just infrastructure either — the company does everything from helping enterprises integrate with Web3 to allowing DeFi users to stake their coins and earn higher yields. Ankr Right now, NFTs have taken on a lot of different forms, but there's one that remains elusive; representation from emerging markets. While developing nations seem quite capable of holding their own and accelerating their development when it comes to crypto, the markedly lukewarm attitude toward NFTs has continued unabated. We know that the reason isn't because of lack of utility. NFTs have proven that they can solve the problem of and solve the monetization for content creators problem of piracy for artists. This means that NFTs have a huge future in these emerging markets — even if adoption isn't on the up and up as it is with crypto. The problem, it seems, is with the complexities of releasing a token and a much higher tech barrier to entry. Cryptocurrency has largely avoided these problems due to a friendlier technical environment. For example, there are centralized exchanges for crypto where people with limited technical knowledge can just open an account and buy their cryptocurrency. While there is also something like that for NFTs — Opensea is a great example — it isn't targeted at or built for content creators in emerging markets. Thankfully, some NFT companies are also already solving the problem of higher technical barriers to entry. , for example, is building an NFT platform where artists and content creators from these emerging markets can release their social tokens, and essentially monetize their content efficiently. This platform not only monetizes content for creators but also rewards fans and users in general with its native token for use. In a way, it's like a play-to-earn game but without the gaming aspect. Ayoken Labs It's clear that there are limitless opportunities in the blockchain space in emerging markets. It's almost inevitable that more startups will come into the space and create solutions that are tailor-made for these markets. It is now a matter of when — not if. Today, the developed world is the capital of blockchain innovation. But it might not be for long.

Emerging Markets and The Future Of Blockchain

Since the dawn of the internet, people have found groups they can connect and share similar interests. In many ways, this the defining descriptor of the initial spread of the web: people debating, arguing, sharing outrageous stories, and spreading ideas, whether under their real name or a username personification, underneath lengthy blog posts or bizarre forums hidden in the digital corners of the internet. was Today you can find Facebook groups for everything from community yard sales to political affiliations, and Discords or subreddits for any video game, sports team, meme page, or hobby you could conceive of. What powers these online communities (besides the cables plugged into the servers) are the people who passionately participate and breathe digital life into the worlds created from wires and screens. Through comments and messages that trade ideas from finance tips to hidden bosses of a favorite video game, these communities form into unique entities. The people who actively engage here are doing so almost entirely because they want to, seeking and receiving nothing in return beyond the right to participate in their interests. Web3 changes that. Worlds That Reward The backbone of Web3 is decentralized networks that verify transactions on the blockchain. Every day, it seems like more and more cryptocurrencies are being created, for even more specific applications. And that’s the beauty of communities built using Web3 architecture: these new currencies are a specialized and tangible means to provide value for participating in the community. By minting, using, and trading unique NFTs that are stored as a unique coin on the blockchain, community members now feel as if they are getting something back beyond the joy of participation. Rather than replace what’s so great about these online communities, Web3 applications enhance them and add to the possibilities. For example, imagine an online forum that gives a user a small amount of unique digital currency (call it “ForumCoin”) each time they make a comment. Not only would that user feel like they are gaining something beyond the discussion, but they could then use some accumulated amount of ForumCoin to buy a cool, one-of-a-kind animation NFT for their username to dance across the screen above their comments. All for just participating in something they enjoy! Adding these unique varieties of NFTs and digital currencies could help members of an online community to feel as though they are getting rewarded for participating in the digital spaces we all spend so much of our lives in. There are already a number of real-life online spaces utilizing these tools. Players Build and Earn in Web3 Gaming A rapidly rising branch of Web3 and digital currencies is the idea of Play To Earn(P2E) gaming. Particularly in the developing world and global south, where opportunities to make a worthwhile wage are harder to come by than in the West, P2E gaming has taken off as a way for people to make a living while playing video games. Gaming is typically thought of as a leisure activity, a way to relax. But that didn’t stop hordes of people from dedicating countless hours of their time to playing and discussing every aspect of games they love. Enter Web3 and gaming on the blockchain. Similar to the forum example above, players can now be rewarded simply for playing a game they love and have access to unique NFTs in the form of usable in-game items or cosmetics. These NFTs are digital assets and can be traded on an online market for real fiat or digital currency (which can often then be converted into national currencies). Players can earn these crypto rewards for progressing, and even be treated with a stake in the future direction of the game (in the form of a vote on proposed changes for parts of the community). The biggest example of P2E gaming today is a Pokemon-esque game called Axie Infinity, which has a current player base of nearly 3 million. Many players hail from the Philippines and Indonesia, supplementing income by playing and trading digital assets used within Axie Infinity. One big problem that some P2e games have is a barrier to entry for many new players, as they require the purchase of an NFT character to begin playing. The cost of these can run into thousands of dollars. Platforms are sprouting up to change this. Whole P2E gaming libraries like contain tons of exciting P2E games that have already been rated and reviewed by a team of analysts for players to try out by borrowing or buying the NFTs required to play. Rainmaker Games These companies can personalize the recommendations and libraries for players, lend out the NFTs needed to join the “guilds” that dictate who can play certain P2E games, and reward players with their unique cryptocurrencies that give them a voice in community decisions, just for active participation. These types of marketplaces are also a platform for game makers to easily host their games. In essence, a gaming community that works for you! Making Friends in the Metaverse In light of the pandemic, many of us were forced to isolate away from our usual activities and move online instead. Places like the Metaverse are novel spaces invented for the purpose of bringing people together regardless of physical distance. Connections in the digital world have never been more personal and realized. Even as the pandemic eventually subsides, the need for cool new digital worlds has already been created. Can’t go to the club because you’re sick, or tickets to a show were sold out? VR creations will be there for you to explore, hang out with friends, and meet new people. One such exclusive new digital avenue is , a unique and limited social venture in the metaverse with an emphasis on “Party-to-earn”. Metaclub Acting like a real social club in a VR world, members of the Metaclub can link up with one another in exclusive networking events, purchase and sell NFT outfits and avatars to express themselves in a digital club, and have access to real live entertainment like concerts in the metaverse. And just like P2E gaming, members of these types of communities are paid in crypto just to be there and participate. Anyone Can Create a Web3 Space So how are these new digital communities founded? While one might assume these are built by coding wizards (and that often is the case), many companies like are popping up to assist the less tech-savvy with development on the blockchain. Ankr By allowing anyone to easily stake nodes onto the blockchains they want to develop on, these companies are providing solutions to build any kind of Web3 environment that can be dreamed up. Simple deployment of these applications can go much smoother when third-party professionals help to put things into place. By taking advantage of these new tools and deployment companies, just about anyone can start to build a community around the things they are passionate about.

Explore What it Means to Build Online Communities in the Age of Web3 

( Image Courtesy of Hello Lightbulb) From 2018 to 2022, the number of digital nomads in America has more than doubled – rising from in four years.  At the same time, show that younger Americans are starting to place a higher value on fulfillment than salary when picking their careers. 4.8 million to over 11 million data from polls Facts like these show us that the nature of work is clearly evolving. Can they also tell us where it’s going? Do they hide a clue to how blockchain’s growing play-to-earn (P2E) business model will fit into this shifting landscape? What will work look like in the future? Since COVID-19, there’s been a away from working in the office and toward working online. clear trend Companies have learned that this works and they’re likely to continue doing it. Remote workers save money and improve performance by allowing businesses to rent less office space and maintain a more geographically diverse and talent-rich pool of employees. This suggests that we’re headed for a world in which most work is done remotely and employees have the freedom to live wherever they want. The Growth of Freelancing The shift towards online work is just one-half of the equation. indicates that freelancers will make up the majority of the U.S. workforce by 2027. Data from Statista That fits with the idea of young workers wanting more fulfillment out of their careers. Freelancers generally have more scheduling freedom and, therefore, more time to pursue their passions. Given all of this, we can look at the future of work and conclude that it will be one in which freelancers, spread across the globe, form temporary relationships with companies who pay them on an ad-hoc basis. Pros and Cons There are some clear benefits and drawbacks to this version of the future. On the plus side, people should have newfound freedom to focus on what truly matters to them and live wherever they feel at home. On the downside, online freelancing can be a hit-or-miss business – especially when starting out. It takes time to build a stable list of clients who can provide consistent pay. This is one of the main hurdles that workers will need to overcome as they seek to transition from full-time employment to freelancing. Further complicating things, the average total account balance for Americans under 35 is . just $11,250 That’s a cushion, but it’s not likely enough to cover the average person’s expenses for as long as it will take them to find steady work as a freelancer. Put another way, as we shift to an online and freelance work economy, it would be very helpful for the average person to have a stop-gap solution for income that they can rely on as they make the transition. Enter P2E Play-to-Earn could be the key to unlocking the future of work for more people. It may not be a way to make a full-time living at this stage in its evolution. However, it could be the best secondary source of income that’s available for the many people who are starting the transition to freelance work. If you’re not familiar, P2E is a blockchain business model through which people earn cryptocurrency for playing games. It was popularized by Axie Infinity and is now ubiquitous in crypto gaming. Much of that growth has been fueled by platforms that enable traditional developers to easily create web 3.0 versions of their games. For example, products like let developers of all budgets and sizes launch their own P2E games with a ready-made set of tools. This type of infrastructure already exists and should help the play-to-earn model gain even more steam moving forward. Ankr’s SDK How might this actually work? Imagine that you’re a digital marketer who has just quit your job to begin freelancing. You don’t have enough clients to equal your old income right away, so you start looking at other online opportunities to fill the gap. You’ve heard about play-to-earn games, so you visit a platform like__ __ to look at your options. You use the site’s rankings to see the highest-earning blockchain games and decide to try one that looks interesting. Rainmaker Games You enjoy playing the game and eventually even get pretty good at it. Thanks to the unique P2E economy, you turn that skill into an income. As quickly as that, you’ve taken something that you enjoyed doing and made money from it. What about non-gamers? If you’re not a gamer, don’t worry. There will still be opportunities for you to create a secondary income for yourself in this ecosystem. There are lots of innovative earning models out there that take what play-to-earn started and expand upon it. For example, is pioneering the first party-to-earn system, which pays players for attending social gatherings in the metaverse and offline. Meta Club Society Gaming isn’t everything that the P2E model has to offer. It’s evolving rapidly and there’s no telling what opportunities will be available even a year from now. Putting it all together The play-to-earn model isn’t perfect. It can be difficult for developers to create sustainable ecosystems while preventing the steady decline of their native crypto tokens. That being said, popularizing a new technology is always difficult. The internet wasn’t the all-encompassing resource it is today when it was invented in 1983. Similarly, it took Amazon years to reach a trillion-dollar valuation. What’s clear is that play-to-earn products fit the current zeitgeist incredibly well. They sit at the intersection of blockchain, online independence, and the push for personal fulfillment. As crypto grows and more people become their own bosses, keep an eye on the pay-to-earn ecosystem. It could just be the missing link to the future of online work.

P2E and The Future of Remote Work: A Fun Way to Supplement Your Income

P2E y el futuro del trabajo remoto: una forma divertida de complementar sus ingresos

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P2E とリモート ワークの未来: 収入を補う楽しい方法

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P2E 和远程工作的未来：增加收入的有趣方式

There has been a considerable amount of traction recently in relation to Web3 gaming. Web3 gaming denotes a paradigm in terms of the relationship between creators and players, with middlemen often removed from the ecosystem (or, at least, playing a minimal role). Built on a blockchain architecture, these games reward participants for their time and are looked upon as investment mechanisms by many. There is a multitude of rewards models, including , play-and-earn, share-to-earn, watch-to-earn, free-to-earn, etc. play-to-earn But what they all have in common, regardless of their respective acronyms, is that the people who take part get rewarded. A New Paradigm in Online Gaming Axie Infinity represented a completely new paradigm in terms of online gaming. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it offered a means for residents of the Philippines who lost their jobs to earn an income. They earned enough that the Philippines government stated that revenue earned was subject to Not capital gains tax, but income tax, the tax levied on regular jobs. income tax . With Axie Infinity, participants invest in “Axies”, a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) that the game is played with. There are a lot of mechanics and strategies involved but, suffice to say, the Axies can appreciate in value and be “flipped”. An upfront investment is required so it is in many ways more of an investment than a game, but it has elements of both and is fun to play. Gaming is a legitimate way to earn an income, thanks to distributed ledgers. It takes a step further because the entire game has been built around a particular revenue generation model, with rewards incorporated into the gaming architecture. The eSports industry, in contrast, has historically been reserved for a small number of elite gamers of Web2 games. A kind of side-industry that grew into its own distinct industry. eSports These Web2 games were released and developed using a centralized model. This meant that a lot of the rewards went to publishers and marketers as opposed to developers and players. This is all changing thanks to Web3 gaming. Web2 gaming is being replaced with Web3 gaming, and participants are going to be fairly rewarded for their time spent on a given platform. Further Web3 Integration Is Coming to Gaming While great inroads have been made in Web3 gaming, we are still only at the beginning. When virtual reality headsets become a normal feature of Web3 games involving in-game NFT wearables, it’s going to create quite a buzz. Imagine playing in a first-person VR shooter where the NFTs you purchased is your actual suit and firearm. Losing could be quite expensive. But it will be entertaining. This is all still in its infancy, but it may well be where we are headed, and not all that far in the future. A more immediate concern for understanding Web3 gaming relates to interoperability between blockchains and NFT tracking. There are many NFTs created but often no way to directly transfer one NFT for another in different gaming ecosystems. So the assets created in one game cannot be used or exchanged in another. From a financial perspective, it makes far more sense to play games where your time is not completely wasted due to a lack of interoperability between chains, and this information should be at hand before you get involved in a given ecosystem. There are gamers who have spent thousands of hours on games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, DOTA, and League of Ancients (all classical Web2 games). Players on Web3 games will be able to redeem their time in some manner, so they can take their experiences with them. In the near future, you will be able to convert your time spent into the form of rewards, meaning that no experience is wasted. Making a Living with Web3 Gaming We are witnessing a definite merging between work and leisure when it comes to Web3 gaming, which is now a realistic way to earn a living. But to do this, analytics are needed to make informed decisions. There needs to be a mechanism whereby players can assess which is the best game to play. Remember, it can take hundreds and even thousands of hours to become profitable at a given game - you really want to waste your time. don’t This is where online discovery platforms come into play. They pull in information from multiple blockchains and data sources. All games are rated and reviewed on the platform by at least 50 players and analysts. Games can be filtered on distinctions such as top-rated, most popular, free-to-play, highest yield, blockchain protocol, and more. Though this is only a recent beta launch, it offers a perfect mechanism to find the right games, for those looking to seriously earn an income through gaming. It intends to be a robust search engine for all Web3 games. The also integrates social media such as Twitch, Reddit, and Twitter. Web3 gaming is much more interconnected with a distinctly social element, which is a large part of the appeal. It’s possible to purchase a headset and work with a team of your friends to earn income as a group, on a popular game. But this can only be done with a tool that allows people to make educated decisions before they embark on a new “campaign”, real-world or virtual. Rainmaker Games Discovery Platform The highest-earning Web3 games according to Rainmaker at the current time include: - $117 in daily revenue  - 4.4 Stars - $2,300 upfront cost. The Sandbox - $65 in daily revenue - 4.4 Stars - $1,375 upfront cost. Decentraland - $53 in daily revenue - 4.3 Stars - $200 upfront cost. Decentral Games Other discovery platforms are likely to come online, though we are still in the early stages and Rainmaker has the early lead. Analytics is certainly needed to track NFTs cross-chain and to provide further information for the gaming experience. Time is money, and so is data. Analytical toolkits are needed for those serious about making an income through Web3 gaming. Web3 Gaming Is Here to Stay While there have been some question marks about the viability of newer revenue generation models, these modern paradigms are here to stay. If anything, they are only going to get bigger as more people take part in building a brand new, self-sustaining ecosystem. A better question might be where all these rewards were going in the , with third parties taking the lion’s share of profits. So far, there has been more than enough to go around in the realm of Web3 gaming. With much more to follow. older model Just make sure you do some research and learn the basics of crypto security, and you’ll be good to go in an inclusive era of Web3 gaming.

How to Earn Revenue with Web3 Gaming

While researching for my articles, I came across John Grisham‘s fascinating debut as a writer. Grisham became the master of legal thriller books, with many of his works adapted as movies: The Client, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Pelican Brief, A Time To Kill, The Firm, etc. Grisham never developed an interest in writing until he was practicing as a lawyer. One day in the courthouse, he heard a tormenting testimony of a twelve-year-old girl. I seriously doubt I would ever have written the first story had I not been a lawyer. I never dreamed of being a writer. I wrote only after witnessing a trial. John Grisham’s biography page I had a story. It was a courtroom drama. I was doing a lot of courtroom work. I was a very young lawyer. I was sort of consumed with this story. And one night, I just said, ‘Okay. I’m going to try to capture it, see what I can do with words.’ And that’s what happened.  - Achievement interview The story that sparked an inspiration was a young girl’s testimony against a man who had raped her and left her for dead. For three years, Grisham woke up at 5 am, get to his office, and write his first book, . A Time To Kill I would wake up at 5:00, and I’d be at my office by 5:30. That was the only quiet time of the day. Because Renee and I were having babies and life — I was in the legislature in Mississippi. I was, you know, my law office was busy. It was never profitable, but you know, it was still busy. A lot of clients who couldn’t pay. From 5:00 until 8:30, or 9:00, that was the only quiet time of the day. And I’d go to the office and make some strong coffee and sit down and start writing. And there were times I would put it down for a month. And I didn’t really want to go pick it up again. And I would say- I’m tired. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to sleep. Just why am I doing this? I used to walk in a bookstore and see all those tens of thousands of beautiful books, and I would say, “Who wants to hear from me?” you know, what have I got to say? How can I add to that? And, you know, I just– I finished it. After three years. And lucky enough to get it published. - Interview with Bill Moyers before a small, unknown publisher agreed to publish the book in 1988 in 5000 copies. As the publisher didn’t have financial resources to promote the novel, Grisham bought 1000 copies of his book and advertised it to friends and booksellers. Twenty-eight publishers rejected his manuscript This humble beginning would have stopped other aspiring writers. Not Grisham. The day after he finished A Time To Kill, he started writing another novel about a young attorney who got a seemingly perfect law firm job. , his second book, became a bestseller and a movie adaptation. Since then, Grisham has dedicated full-time to writing, and he writes . The Firm about a book per year There are so many nuances that strike me in this life story. First, the . Knowing that what happened to that girl could happen to anyone, your mother, your wife, your daughter. To rage against the law of justice and to feel so helpless, so small against evil. So Grisham escaped in fantasy, where he could control the punishment, asking himself what if…? As writer Olga Tokarczuk remarks, “When one can’t speak, one should write.” immense darkness coming out of that innocent young girl’s report Second, (Grisham mentions that he didn’t write for a month at times). It is so comfortable to procrastinate and postpone to never-coming tomorrow. But writing a page today, another page tomorrow will compound eventually into a book. the kaizen or making marginal gains repeatedly Then, . Unfazed by dozens of publishers' rejections, Grisham worked on his second novel. Practicing non-attachment is not giving up on dreams, aspirations, or desires but merely realizing that it would be wise to drop the attachment to our thoughts on the outcome. the Buddhist nonattachment or the Stoic dichotomy of control Sure, we all may want success in our aspirations, but it is wisdom in accepting that some things are in our control while others are not. We would gain more if we focused our time, attention, and efforts on variables we can control. Could Grisham influence the publishers’ decision to accept to reject to publish his manuscript? No. He could only control his attitude regarding writing, and so, he wrote another book. My name became a brand, and I’d love to say that was the plan from the start. But the only plan was to keep writing books. - Guardian interview Lastly, : an idea that I touched on in another article we do not stumble upon a passion but we actively develop a passion instead. The equation of career success is a spiral as we learn to enjoy the process of getting better and better. We start with the belief that what we are doing is worthwhile and achievable. The more we learn, the better we become. The better we become, the more we enjoy the process and the increased recognition of peers. The more we enjoy the process, the more we learn and get confident in our new skills. When did you know you were going to be a writer? I never made the decision; it wasn’t a childhood dream. It started as a secret hobby – then, halfway through A Time to Kill, I remember thinking it would be nice to publish it: I could make a few bucks and take the pressure off. It was the success of The Firm that allowed me to start writing full time. A little hobby turned into a vocation. - Financial Times interview According to , Grisham’s writing routine looks like this: this interview He starts a new book every January 1, writing five days per week between 7 am, and 10 am. Grisham aims to have a rough manuscript by March and a complete manuscript by July. It might look that Grisham spends merely fifteen hours writing, but, in another interview, he mentioned that he does an immense amount of research for his book, with almost no time spent reading fiction books. This routine allows Grisham to take half a year off, with time to recharge, find new ideas and outline his next books. That is how Grisham manages to stay creative decades after his first bestselling novel. He works in a separate building with no phones, faxes, or internet access. In his words: “I don’t want the distraction. I don’t work online. I keep it offline.” Grisham has a strict writing ritual: he starts each day at the same time, works on the same computer, drinks the same type of coffee out of the same cup. Again, the exponential art of kaizen or how compounding small gains translates into a body of works. “Write a page every day. That’s about 200 words, or 1,000 words a week. Do that for two years, and you’ll have a novel that’s long enough.” There is no guarantee of success. We might become blinded by survivorship bias and see only the tales of those who had a breakthrough. Nevertheless, adopting a stoic mindset, employing consistent habits, learning to enjoy improving in our craft could bring meaningful insights into our efforts. In the words of great Virginia: So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say. -Virginia Woolf Naturally, in Woolf’s quote, replace “write” with any verb(s) of the endeavor(s) you might pursue. Previously published at https://www.roxanamurariu.com/life-lessons-from-john-grishams-writing-habits/

3 Life Lessons From John Grisham’s Writing Habits

Top 20 Growth Hacking Agencies A list including the Locations, Core Services and Top Clients for 20 Growth Hacking Agencies. During the early , growth hacking began to spread its wings. At that time, the number of startups was on the rise and growth hacking was their spell of success. Unlike traditional marketing companies, growth hacking agencies don’t believe in guessing game. The writer of puts it as: 2010s Growth Hacker Marketing, Ryan Holiday “A growth hacker is someone who has thrown out the playbook of traditional marketing and replaced it with only what is testable, trackable, and scalable.” Many companies have now started to use such agencies to increase their key business metrics. Today all sizes of businesses from startup to enterprises need fast growth to stay in the competition. Here, growth hacking agencies could play a significant role. Growth hacking agencies work on goal and performance metrics. Here are a few companies that you should explore if you are looking to grow your business quickly. The list below is compiled based on the factors: Core Team, Experience, Clients, Cost, Services and Case Studies: Voxturr : is one of the fastest growing Growth Hacking Agencies. The team and advisory board have over 150+ years of combined experience in Growth Marketing, B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Paid Advertising, and Media Buying. Voxturr specializes in services like Marketplace Marketing, Product Launches, E-Commerce Marketing, B2B Lead Generation, App Download Campaigns, Marketing Automation, and several other new-age marketing services. About the company Voxturr Voxturr’s clientele ranges from early-age startups to large enterprise. Some of their clients include IBM, Dell, NTT, America’s Best Value Inn, Bookingace.com, Sodexo and more. : Marketplace Marketing, Digital Product Launch, App Launch, App Download Campaigns, B2B Campaigns, UI/UX and Convert Rate Optimization, Marketing Automation, Investor Campaigns, Social Media Automation, SEO, Content Marketing, Advance Analytics, Email Marketing, Performance Marketing, UX for Growth, Inbound Marketing, Engineering as Marketing, Social Media Strategy, Marketing Consultation, Social Media Strategy and Placement, Website DesignLocation: San Francisco,USA and Gurgaon,India Core Services : IBM, Dell, NTT, Sodexo, America’s Best Value Inn, Silicon Valley Insurance Accelerator, Workly, Bookingace.com, SpeakingHerbs Top Clients GrowthRocks : GrowthRocks is a growth hacking marketing agency that helps startups and well-established companies to achieve rapid and sustainable growth. GrowthRocks has expanded its market into 16 countries, with having offices in Athens and London. Their team has developed a VC-backed startup called Viral Loops which is a SaaS platform for referral marketing with a 40% growth rate. About Company : Convert Rate Optimization, SEO Strategy, Content Marketing and Strategy, Actionable Analytics, Email Marketing, Performance Marketing, UX for Growth, Inbound Marketing, Engineering as Marketing, Outreaching Strategy, Referral, and Viral Marketing, Social Media Strategy, Social Selling, GDPR Compliance Services : Athens, Greece and London, England Location : Avocarrot, Ismood, Hammam, Viral Loops, Vision Mobile, Sophia Suites, Ticketing Hub, Nannuka, GE Healthcare, Parenting Hugs, Concentric, Nestle, Live True, Nokia, Congress Rental Network, Get Qurious Top Clients NoGood - NoGood is a team of growth hackers, engineers, and creatives who were tired of the “no-good” marketing fluff. About Company They specialize in B2B, SaaS, and eCommerce growth marketing and data analytics and have worked with clients such as IBM, P&G, American Express, Heineken, Southern Marsh, Harver, Ford, and Workzone. - SEO, Facebook Advertising, PPC, Content Marketing, Conversion Rate Optimization, Video Marketing Services - Brooklyn, USA Location - Facebook Ads, Hubspot, Google Ads, Hotjar, Shopify, Salesforce Clients Cro Metrics - Cro Metrics help companies grow through strategic and data-driven experimentation. They run A/B testing to help gain a competitive business advantage. Cro Metrics works with their clients on developing their overall growth strategy, while providing marketing, product, design, and engineering expertise to both growing startups and enterprise businesses. About Company - Website Optimization, Research & Analytics Services - Facebook, 99 Designs, Stella & Dot, Trulia, Metromile, Tory Burch, Doordash, Zendesk, Outdoor Voices, Viking, Unicef USA, Hired, Weight Watchers, Hint, Taulia, Mail Chimp, Earnest, General Assembly, Ad Council, Ultra Mobile, Goodbed, Tuft & Needle, Box, Bio Lite, New Pig, ExecRank, Giving Assistant, Seavees, Sierra Club, Smartling, Rickshaw Bagworks, Vector, GreenSky, Pebble, The Met, Imperva Incapsula, Freshdirect, Tintri, Brooklinen, Healthy Paws, Appboy, Leankit, LendUp, AliMed, Fuzebox, Coldwell Banker, Greats, Regent, Infusionsoft, The Penny Hoarder, Alexis Bittar, Borrowell, Tree Hut, Proxibid, Zwift, Crexi, Alteryx, Jewish National Fund, Blurb, Freedom, Puppy Spot, Pgerduty, Udemy, Uship, Aritzia, RightNow Media, Lending Club, Good Eggs, Airbnb for Work, Honeylove, Best Egg, Pantheon, National Bankcard Clients - San Francisco, USA Location BAMF Media : BAMF Media helps young startups, SMBs and Fortune 500 companies to achieve their growth goals. They extensively use various time marketing strategies to provide the best ROI to their clients. About Company Their client roster includes TEDx and Mindvalley to name a couple. In addition, they manage a community of marketer and founders that has over 23,000 members. : Growth Strategy, B2B Hacking, Campaign Management, Email Marketing, Instagram Growth Hacking, LinkedIn Influencing, Social Media Marketing, Web Development Services : Venice, USA Location : Forbes, Mashable, HuffPost, Entrepreneur, BuzzFeed Clients The Growth Agency : The Growth Agency consists of a senior team of marketers with 10 years of experience. They are a data-driven company who work on the principle of a lean startup. They conduct experiments, analyze data, and scale up the work. About Company They create growth plans based on their client’s business KPIs and consider themselves an extension of their clients’ marketing teams. Some even consider them their CMO’s right hand. : Marketing Automation, Lead Generation, Growth Hacking, Growth Strategy, and Inbound Marketing. Services : Antwerp,Belgium and Birkirkara,Malta Location : SipWell, WDP Clients Rockboost : Rockboost’s specialty is helping companies in rapid growth by using a data-driven approach. Their secret sauce is using their framework and growth hacking education and software. About Company They have helped in building an award-winning app called HAVI Connect. : Growth Hacking Education, Consulting and Software Services : Rotterdam, Netherlands Location : Jumbo, 24kitchen, Hello print, Middlepoint, Duravermeer Clients Woodridge Growth : Woodridge Growth is New York City’s most prominent growth marketing agency. They drive results for billion-dollar companies and Fortune 500 companies and various startups. They develop and execute different strategies to provide ever-improving and more comprehensive services to their clients. About Company They differentiate itself from traditional marketing agencies. They are relentlessly focused on solving their client’s most pressing marketing challenges, and they maintain a fast-paced culture of experimentation that allows discovering new ways. : Customer Acquisition, Growth Strategies, A/B Testing, Social Media Advertising, App Store Optimization, Audience Targeting, Copywriting, Multi-Channel Acquisition, Funnel Optimization Services : New York City, USA Location : Goldman Sachs, FanDuel, Jet.com, NYU Clients Bammboo : This firm combines creativity with data and strategy with practice. They believe that only real innovation can help the world progress. So, they help organizations in validating new propositions and scale their business. About Company : Growth hacking for SME, Corporates, and ScaleUps Services : Amsterdam, Netherlands Location : Swivle Cloud Solutions, ABN AMRO, Flora Holland, Rabobank, Heppee Clients Growth Media - This firm reviews the existing marketing or advertising campaigns of various firms and provides valuable suggestions. They have successfully helped different TV print businesses and digital marketing strategies. They also offer individual advertising plans for multiple startups. About Company : Digital Marketing, TV, Print, Creative Solutions Services : Ottawa, Ontario Location : FastCompany, Bloomberg, Quora, Github, Lifehacker Clients Deviate Labs : Deviate Labs is a growth hacking consulting agency that has worked with companies ranging from bootstrapped startups to billion-dollar enterprises across every conceivable industry. Their clients include venture-backed startups like Dollar Shave Club, a half dozen companies featured on ABC’s reality TV show Shark Tank, a multi-billion dollar Korean conglomerate, and a world-renowned tattoo artist. About Company Deviate Labs is known for creatively cross-pollinating marketing tactics across industries and swiping emerging growth tactics from small startups and deploying them across large enterprises. They take help of a widely-adopted growth hacking framework, the Sales Flywheel. The Sales Flywheel was first introduced in the book, “Growth Hacking: Silicon Valley’s Best Kept Secret,”. The book was co-authored by Deviate Labs’ co-founders Raymond Fong and Chad Riddersen. : Go-to-market Strategies, Product Launch Plans, On-site Growth Hacking Presentations, Private Growth Hacking Training Sessions, Growth Financing use-of-proceeds Preparation, Marketing Allocation Analysis,Advertising Tactic Audits, Creative Growth Hacking Campaign Ideation, Marketing org Chart Optimizations /Retargeting, Celebrity Endorsements, Pay-per-Click Advertising (on a variety of exchanges), On-site Search Engine Optimization, Off-site Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Display Advertising, PPV Advertising, Direct ad buys, Co-marketing, App Store Optimization, A/B Split Testing, Advertising Analytics, Grassroots Digitally-focused PR, Facebook Advertising, Social Media Strategy, Investor Marketing, Conversion focused Design, Grey-hat SEO, Direct Mail, Sponsorship Strategies, Pre-roll Video Services : Los Angeles, USA Location : Talkroute, Tipping Development, Alexander Marine USA, Lollaland, FollowUpThen, ABC Roofing Co., J. Harrington Construction Clients TrueUp : TrueUp provides extensive research in various social media opportunities like Google AdWords, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn, Bing, and App Store Ads. Their paid acquisition, conversion optimization, and data experts have delivered the lowest customer acquisition costs and highest conversion rates. About Company They transform the performance marketing strategy into a growth engine and provide the lowest CPAs simultaneously. TrueUp combines the collective power of data, psychology, and UX to quickly identify and validate the best conversion opportunities. They offer full agency service which includes Account Management, Graphic Design, Copywriting, and Data Analytics in addition to Front and Backend Programming. : Paid Customer Acquisition, Conversion Rate Optimization, Full Agency Service Services : London, England Location : Telefonica, Three Mobile, MoonPig Clients Ladder : Ladder believes in the iterative way of thinking, building experiments, and validation by testing..They think that a scientific approach to advertising allows us to make better decisions. They use strategy and combine it with analytics to provide creative marketing solutions. About Company : Growth Strategist, Data Science and Automated Audits, SEO, Conversion Optimization Services — New York, USA Location : Fitjoy, Los Angeles Times, facebook, Charitybuzz, Gotenna Clients Bell Curve : Bell Curve is a growth agency that offers hands-on training for Growth Hacking. They have worked with various companies with revenues from zero to millions. They’re well known for the most popular guide on growth. In addition, they’ve given talks at Google and Y Combinator. About Company : Growth Hacking Agency, Training and School for Practical Implementation. Services : San Francisco, USA Location : Envoy, Streak, Perfect Keto, Clearbit, Outschool, Lamda Labs Clients Rainmakers : Rainmakers helps various enterprise companies create ethical and compliant workplaces. They develop interactive training modules to change the monotonous experience into a learning one. About Company WorkSafe, their flagship solution helps these companies comply with the PoSH law. They have completely transformed the compliance training industry in India’s leading corporates and MNCs. They help corporates in building a safer workplace for women and a corruption-free environment. They sometimes use ‘short-films’ to create a more exceptional experience. They believe that the transformative nature of online learning can provide quality education to the society. : PoSH Online Training, PoSH Compliance, ​PoSH Audit, ​​Policy Vetting, ​IC Orientation, Awareness Workshop Services : Juhu Tara Road, Juhu, India Location : HP, IOCL, COWI, Fluke, L&T, Tektronix Clients Kickass Growth : Kickass Growth is a creative growth marketing agency that works extensively with both small and large businesses. No two projects or budgets are the same, so they offer different price packages. About Company : SEO, Content and Social Media Marketing, Advertising, Email Marketing Services : Belgrade, Serbia Location : Platformax, SupremeTracks, Zeqr, ucraft Clients The Growth Revolution : The Growth Revolution is a growth hacking agency that provides the services of Experiential Marketing, Venture Validation, and Provision of a Growth Head, if required. They have helped various corporate giants like ING & Colruyt to reinvent their marketing departments and realize their growth potential. About Company : Interactive Marketing Plan, New Venture Validation, Evidence-based Marketing, Experimentation for new ways of Marketing. Services : Antwerp, Belgium Location : Playmobil, Wolters Kluwer, Total, Bpost, Sony music, ING bank Clients We Are Off The Record : We Are Off The Record is a digital growth agency working out of Amsterdam. They help in shaping value propositions, kickstarting products, validating early user adoption, and build scalable businesses using historically robust frameworks and tools. They try to work in conjunction with founders and management teams to provide faster results and help them in adopting a growth mindset from the start. About Company : Branding & Positioning, Customer Development, Acquisition & Lead Generation, Onboarding & Activation, Funnel Optimization, Metrics and Analytics, Growth Process. Services : Amsterdam, Netherlands Location : Recruitz.io, Fixico, Temper, InnerCircle Clients Rebelhack : Rebelhack was founded in 2015 by three friends to help nurture great ideas by using data analysis and modeling. They believe in becoming a valuable component to the growth and success of businesses from the beginning, so they use agile Growth Marketing strategies and tactics to help in growing startups. About Company :Acquisition, SEO, Product optimisation, Funnel automation, Data intelligence Services : London, England Location : Geniac, MindCandy, SuperCarers, Hubble, Claudi and Fin, Bubble Clients Growth Masters : Growth Masters help their clients work smarter than their competitors. and to achieve this goal they help their clients in establishing web services like Backend Development, Social Media Marketing, and Reputation Management. About Company : Web Services, Web Design, Press Releases, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Consultant Financing, Reputation Management Services : Sunnyvale, California Location : BotList, Nomad App, Hoverpin Clients These companies are among top growth hacking agencies. If you have any additions, feel free to comment! <a href="https://medium.com/media/3c851dac986ab6dbb2d1aaa91205a8eb/href">https://medium.com/media/3c851dac986ab6dbb2d1aaa91205a8eb/href</a>

Top 20 Growth Hacking Agencies — 2019

There’s an ugly myth about startups. The myth is that for your software startup to succeed the founders need to have a solid technical background in fields like coding or IT. But, the truth is running a successful business takes much more than just having a technical background. You can create a powerful and successful software startup, even if you do not have a technical background. The key is making sure you get everything else right and that you know how to finds the technical talent you need. Create the Right Team The first step in creating a successful software company is putting together the right team. Startups are team sports. You need the right mix of personalities, skills, and experience to get your idea off the ground and successfully launch your app. You want to make sure that your team knows that you are the leader. You need people who will speak their mind, tell you that you are wrong, but that are willing to support whatever decision you ultimately make. According to entrepreneurship expert , every startup team needs someone to fill these four roles: Salim Ismail Visionary and Dreamer Customer Champion Innovation Architect Rainmaker Getting the Legal and Business Foundation Right Once your team is onboard, you need to take care of some housekeeping details. You need to get your legal and business foundation setup. Even though things like choosing the right legal entity for your business, creating operating agreements, and setting up accounting systems are not sexy, they are essential to the success of a business. Ig want to take your idea and turn it into a viable product that earns a profit, you have to get the legal and business details right as soon as possible. If you have a strong legal and business foundation, you will be able to scale faster without risking everything falling apart. You will need the help of an experienced business lawyers and accountants at the start of your business before you have started major development and before you are ready to launch. Focus on Solving Customer’s Pain Points The next thing your software business needs is to make sure that you are going to create a product that people actually want to buy. Your great idea may have started this process, but you need more than an idea to have a successful software company. Make sure that the software you are developing solves one of more major pain points for your target market. It easy to get distracted from solving your customer’s pain points when you start to try and make an app that works. Every decision you make with the business and with the development of the product must come back to this question: “Will this make the customer’s life easier?” If the answer is no, you need to reevaluate what you are doing. Use the Right Tools and Vendors The most successful startups are lean startups. You need a small, capable team. But, you don’t want to be weighted down with too many employees. However, that doesn’t mean you should do everything yourself. Since you lack a technical background, you already know you will need help with the software development. But, you will also need help with marketing, testing, and countless other things your team lacks the skills or experience to pull off. All of those things can be managed if you are using the right tools and you are outsourcing the work to the right vendors. Waydev is designed to help non-technical entrepreneurs understand and manage the work of your developers. The tool is cost effective and simple to use. You can access the detailed reports on your tablet or smartphone. At a glance you can see how much progress is being made and where the major roadblocks remain. Because it is designed for non-technical entrepreneurs, you can still keep your project on track, even if you don’t know the details behind the specific lines of code. Waydev Fiverr Fiverr is a freelance marketplace. You can find freelancers with a variety of different skills to work on short projects for your company. You are able to message individual freelancers, view their portfolios, and see their reviews. It is the perfect place to get much of your marketing work done. You can get everything from website designs, content marketing, and social media marketing. When you use Fiverr, you can cake your budget tight, but still have access to world-class talent. UpWork You are going to need coders. Before you are ready to hire employees, you can find some incredibly talented coders on UpWork. Like Fiverr, it is a freelancer platform. But, on UpWork you set the project budget and invite freelancers to bid for the job. It is a cost-effective way to get specific portions of the coding done without having to hire a full team of developers. Each freelancer will have a bio and a set of reviews, so you can pick the ones that are the best fit your specific project. LinkedIn LinkedIn is the most powerful networking platform in the world. If you are looking to add more permanent members to your team or trying to find outside advisors, LinkedIn is the place to start your search. You will not only be able to see the qualifications and experience of individuals, you will also be able to see how connected they are. Building a business is all about making connections and LinkedIn is the easiest way to get connected. Test, Analyze, and Iterate No startup gets everything perfect the first time. You will need to spend a lot of time testing your product. There will be a lot of mistakes and a lot of failures. But, as long as you are willing to continue testing, analyzing, and iterating, no failure will be permanent. Each iteration will bring you closer to your vision. If you are like most successful startups, you will launch with a software product that is short of your initial expectations. But, you can continue the process of testing, analyzing, and iterating after the initial launch. As long as you are shipping something that makes your customer’s lives a little better each time, you will have a prosperous software company.

How to Start a Software Company as a Non-Technical Entrepreneur

One of my heroes is Gary Vaneychuck. His book blew my mind and I just finished reading . This guy is a legend and I am glad he is coming to my hometown of Atlanta for the in March. I’m stoked to finally meet him and see some raw passion. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook Crush It Rainmaker conference hosted by Salesloft For those who are not familiar with Gary, and here are his top 5 quotes that will get your blood pumping and out of your seats. Say these quotes out loud and you will know what I mean. These are truly powerful words which he says with so much passion that you gotta feel it. watch this video Get off your ass and get noticed. Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, what do I want to do every day for the rest of my life? Do that. You didn’t grow up driving. You figured it out. You can market your ass off, but if your product sucks, you’re dead. It’s easy to dream about it, but much harder to execute it. Work! I love the enthusiasm that Gary projects and the #HustleMuscle he has to do big things. As I finished reading something big happened. My company, , an account-based marketing firm based in Atlanta, hit $1 million in ARR, and we did it in just nine months! We are now in the works to make a 3x run (as they say in the world) to triple our revenue in 2016. Crush It , Terminus startup Here’s how we did it and the story of our #HustleMuscle. In any startup, it’s a given that you will work crazy hours pouring your life and soul into your company. You’ll wear more hats than you even knew you could wear. You love it and hate it at the same time. But no matter what, you have the greatest influence on the success or failure of your company, and that’s what keeps you going. Because you want to succeed, you’re thinking about your startup while you are drinking, eating, and even sleeping. This lifestyle now seems perfectly normal, but after the past year, it begged a question… Are you crushing it or crushing yourself building a startup? As I reflect on 2015, it was a year some great teamwork and lots of hustle. Heck, we helped build an , , and probably the most important accomplishment is hiring 24 new rockstars on the which really feels like a real family. ABM category with G2Crowd did three massive #FlipMyFunnel conferences with over 1,000 attendees Terminus team So, I tried my best to look at each and every team member of Terminus and came up with 10 reasons why I feel that we are simply #CrushingIt and thankfully not crushing ourselves in the process. 10 Ways to Know You ’re #CrushingIt Building a Startup , employee #3 at Terminus, ran events for the state government and wanted to switch careers. worked in financial accounting before coming to Terminus. They are now rocking our sales development team setting a record number of demos every week with big smiles on their faces as if they have been doing this for years. It’s about doing something you’ve never done before. Amanda Faillo Brad Wilkerson and on our Customer Success team won’t go home until they have done everything to make sure each and every customer is happy. These ladies rock. We call them “Team Kydney” because we can’t live without them. It’s about giving 2,000%. Sydney Smith Karen Topham , who left Salesforce Pardot to head up our sales development team, comes in before anyone else gets in the office to set an example, especially for our new hires and . It’s about coming in early. Lucas Ulloque Kirby Oscar Geoffrey Hanan on our marketing team is all about building a to help innovative B2B sales and marketing professionals learn everything they can about account-based marketing. I joke that her title should be Director of Funnel Flipping. It’s about building a community. Nikki Nixon #FlipMyFunnel community , our sales leader, is so focused on building a kickass team to grow revenue. She took a step back and realized she needed help managing both the sales account executives and SDRs, which is why Lucas came on board. Now, her awesome team of AEs including , , and are laser-focused on driving the company forward to hit our 3X revenue goal. It’s about taking a step back to take 10 steps forward. Tonni Bennett Stuart Maron Chris Reene Zach Patterson is helping me write the . We’re so excited will be out on April 18, and she’s already getting a plan together for building our content library for sales enablement in Q2. It’s about getting to the finish line then running another lap. Lauren Patrick first-ever book about ABM Account-Based Marketing for Dummies , our recruiter and culture evangelist, is finding new ways to make the onboarding process for new “Terminators” smoother and giving every employee an amazing first week and beyond. It’s about dedicating time to do the right things. Kipp Ramsey and on the engineering team started a club for our company! We have several people in our company who are reading the book, along with their spouses, and getting together each month. Talk about a #WorkFamily. It’s about building a great culture. Stevie Vines Brandon Cummings book Our interns — , , and — are so far beyond the stereotypical interns who just print pages and pickup lunch. They are doing real work helping our company grow and solving real problems at a fast-paced startup while shaping their futures forever. It’s about helping build careers. Josh Fowler Adam Perlow Jeff Ronpirin Terminus CEO and co-founder, , always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. Our CTO and co-founder, , knew he wanted to build an amazing product. And that’s just what we’re doing while challenge the status quo of the B2B marketing and sales industry. It’s about doing something you always wanted to do. Eric Spett Eric Vass I’m curious to know what other startup founders think about building a business from the ground up. In my next post, I’d love to share more about how to not crush yourself and focus having a great time working and living your dream at a startup. How’s your startup experience? What does #Crushingit mean to you? Originally posted on LinkedIn Pulse

Are You #CrushingIt or Crushing Yourself Building a Startup? A Story of Raw Passion

Since the inception of The Naked Collector in 2021, I’ve been one of the leading voices in Web3 consumer and specifically Web3 fashion research. My , has attracted a loyal following from industry giants, including  H&M, Harvard Business School, Adidas, JP Morgan and Coinbase. private newsletter Today, I'm thrilled to unveil the enigmatic world of Web3 fashion and corporate (Web2) NFTs to a wider audience. As a recognized authority in this niche, I've had the unique privilege of observing and shaping emerging trends, which positions me ideally to present these awards. The awards represent the innovative spirit and transformative potential of Web3. They serve to acknowledge remarkable contributions and groundbreaking advancements in this rapidly evolving field. Best Web3 Success Story: Pudgy Penguins In April 2022, Pudgy Penguins was considered a dead project. However, under the new leadership of Luca Netz, the brand has undergone remarkable innovation and growth. This resurgence is best exemplified by the introduction of Pudgy Penguin Toys, now shelved in 2000 Walmart stores. These toys not only offer physical enjoyment but also unlock unique NFT traits, including clothing, which users can interact with and trade online. A key to their success is the strategic use of NFTs as Intellectual Property (IP) to generate revenue. Pudgy Penguins from May to the end of the year, demonstrating a lucrative intersection between physical products and digital assets. What sets them apart is their approach to community engagement; Pudgy Toys are licensed directly from the community, marking a pioneering move in the market. anticipates toy sales to reach approximately $10 million In 2023, the brand expanded its portfolio by launching Pudgy Toys and the IGLOO fashion line. Looking ahead to 2024, Pudgy Penguins is set to join the ranks of BAYC, Azuki, and RTFKT by launching its own metaverse, "Pudgy World." Best Web2* (Fashion) Success Story: PUMA Puma NFT collections went largely under the radar but amassed 4th largest volume among Web2 brand NFTs (after DraftKings, Nike and Porsche). Notably, while PUMA's revenue in the traditional sportswear market reached only 35% of Adidas' revenue, its 2023 NFT sales volume impressively exceeded that of Adidas by 450%. Furthermore, PUMA's Web3 royalties achieved 73% of Adidas' figures. A notable aspect of PUMA's NFT success is its ability to attract new participants in the digital asset space. Approximately 33% of its NFT buyers were beginners (wallets with less than 10 transactions), compared to the average of 18% across both Web3 fashion and other Web2 brand NFT collections. This statistic underscores PUMA's role in expanding the reach and appeal of NFTs beyond the traditional market. Best Web2 (Non-Fashion) Success Story: DraftKings DraftKings has emerged as a leader in the non-fashion Web2 space, thanks to its NFT-enabled fantasy games, including Reignmakers Football, UFC, & PGA Tour. The NFTs are minted on the Polygon blockchain and DraftKings games have amassed the largest NFT volume in 2023 among all Web2 brands. According to CryptoSlam data, the collections accumulated a total volume of $251,409,713 since February (as of December 2023). This achievement ranks them as the 25th most traded NFT collection of all time in less than a year, with over 120,000 holders. Notably, the collection also secured the highest royalties among Web2 brands, totaling $25 million. A key strategy of DraftKings has been targeting regular users, especially those not native to the Web3 space. By trading on the Polygon blockchain and simplifying the process – such as allowing payment for NFTs with credit cards and minimizing Web3 complexities like gas fees and cryptocurrencies – they have made their platform more accessible. Additionally, DraftKings' ownmarketplace facilitates these trades, from which the company garners a 10% marketplace fee. Given the projected growth of the U.S. online sports betting market – estimated to reach an annual $12.5 billion by 2025, up from $6.8 billion in 2022 (Stifel Research) – and the inherent suitability of NFTs for fantasy sports, DraftKings' volume is expected to continue its upward trajectory. Web2 Brand With Most Holders (Users): Reddit As of December 2023, Reddit had the most NFT holders with 24.9M, according to Polygon Analytics). For comparison, below is the holder situation in October 2023, from . The Naked Collector Fashion in Web3 Industry Report Biggest Disappointment: RTFKT Despite being at the forefront of merging Web3 with fashion technology and gaining publicity through endorsements from celebrities, RTFKT emerges as the year's biggest disappointment, primarily due to the lofty expectations placed upon it. While Nike’s own native dotSWOOSH ID collection saw 376,000 holders mint the ID, RTFKT saw its performance numbers decline. While RTFKT continued to dominate the fashion volume charts for the second consecutive year, the market witnessed a significant decline in the value of its collections. The Clone X floor price, for instance, plummeted from $8.5K in February 2023 (and an all-time high of $67K in April 2022) to just over $3K by December 2023. The most affected were holders of secondary collections such as CryptoKicks, EVO X Vials, MNLTHs, Trillium Lace Engines and Loot Pods, primarily due to their redeemable nature — a development that caught many by surprise. some of which lost nearly all value RTFKT’s downturn can be partly attributed to delays in production processes. However, a larger factor was the misalignment between holder expectations and project delivery, exacerbated by insufficient communication (from many holders’ point of view). The floor price, a reflection of current and projected sentiment, suggests that if RTFKT successfully advances its Wear to Earn technology and metaverse ecosystem, it could positively influence both the floor prices and the overall sentiment around the project. There have also been glimpses of RTFKT’s potential for mainstream adoption, evidenced by LeBron James wearing theRTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 - Genesis sneakers and DJ Khaled sporting the Nike x RTFKT AR Hoodie. Whether the same holders who supported RTFKT from the beginning will still be here, is another question. Most Surprising Web2 Brand Entry: Maison Margiela Maison Margiela marked its entry into the Web3 space with a unique and surprising move, launching its first gamified minting experience on October 24. Participants were given the chance to collect 24 distinctly numbered digital tokens, numbered from 0 to 23. This innovative endeavor utilized "Polygon Soul-Bound Tokens," which are non-transferable and allowed each participant to mint only one of each type. The experience was gas-free, emphasizing user accessibility and ease. The competition, designed to be fast-paced and equitable, was set to conclude once all 100 numbers were minted. Despite its intriguing approach to gamifying FOMO (fear of missing out), the minting experience garnered some negative feedback, particularly concerning its perceived difficulty. Biggest Fashion Trend: Phygitals one of the most significant trends in fashion NFTs this year has been the rise of 'phygitals' – physical fashion items linked to NFTs through embedded NFC or RFID chips. This trend aligns with the growing narrative around RWAs (real-world assets) within the broader crypto space, indicating a continuing expansion in the future. As predicted in 2022, In 2023, underscoring their rising popularity. The next evolution of this trend is expected to involve the integration of real-world data, such as ESG and sports data, through oracles. Other anticipated developments include the collateralization of high-value items, like luxury watches, and the introduction of physical-to-digital perks, exempli ed by concepts like 'wear to earn.' phygitals emerged as the most popular product release category among Web2 fashion brands, (From The Naked Collector Fashion in Web3 Industry Report) Largest Avg. Profit in 2023 (Web2 fashion collection):Nike/RTFKT CloneX Mintvial ($1,751) Largest Avg. ROI in 2023 (Web3 fashion collection): A Kid Called Beast ($684) The "A Kid Called Beast" (AKCB) collection has emerged as a standout in the 2023 Web3 fashion sector. This collection features 9,999 unique, 3D characters that are ready for augmented reality, hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. Each character belongs to one of 20 distinct "beasthoods," symbolizing various personality traits and emphasizing the collection's focus on fashion and cultural representation. Gaining traction on platforms like OpenSea, AKCB's innovative approach to distribution and its strong identity as a Web3 brand have been pivotal in fostering a robust community around these digital collectibles. Secondary Volume in 2023 (Web2 vs. Web3 Fashion) We can see that Web2 brands dominated the fashion NFT volume in 2023. This dominance was evident not only in the absolute volume of transactions but also in the average volume per collection. The data analyzed included 46 Web2 and 31 Web3 NFT collections, representing an 11% difference in the number of collections. However, the disparity in volume was far more significant, with a 106% higher volume for Web2 brands compared to their Web3 counterparts. This substantial difference underscores the prevailing influence of Web2 entities in the fashion NFT space. Secondary Volume in 2023 (All Web2 brands) When it comes to Web2 brand volume in 2023 (including non-fashion NFTs), DraftKings and Nike/RTFKT have established a clear lead over their competitors. Their performance notably overshadowed even the highly publicized Starbucks collection. It's important to acknowledge that both DraftKings and Nike/RTFKT bene ted from having a substantial supply of collections, a factor that likely contributed to their dominant positions in the market. Brand Primary Volume (Web2 Fashion) Nike is not only leading in secondary volume but primary (or mint) volume as well. Phygital Fashion Secondary Volume in 2023 (Web2 & Web3 Fashion) Nike/RTFKT is also the leader in phygital NFT secondary volume having three of their collections in the top 5. The most noteworthy is their Clone X Forging SZN 1, which saw 45.4K items forged, making it the largest phygital collection to date in terms of both volume and size. Additionally, their collaboration with RIMOWA for a phygital luggage collection ranked third in volume. The innovative cIRL sneakers, equipped with Wear to Earn functionality, placed fourth. 10KTF, a Web3 native brand, also made its mark in the top 5 with their Kagami phygital digital displays linked to their parent PFP collection. Meanwhile, PUMA's Materializer, an NFT representing a physical pair of shoes claimable in 2023, topped off the list. Highest Royalties in 2023 (All Web2 Brands): DraftKings ($25.1M) DraftKings had the highest Web2 royalties despite having the second largest volume, mainly due to their 10% marketplace fee. Highest Royalties in 2023 (Web3 Fashion): A Kid Called Beast ($1.8M) Want to Read More? Go to , to read how you can access the full report including Web3 user insights. https://thenakedcollector.substack.com/p/2023-recap-2023-2024-data-based-web3 Disclaimer The data in this report was generated directly by me through SQL queries on the Flipside Crypto platform This report is for informational purposes only. The information is as of its publication date and may change without notice. The publisher accepts no liability for any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. You are encouraged to share this report with others! The only request is to attribute the work to the author, The Naked Collector, in any sharing or reproduction of this material. When sharing digitally, please tag The Naked Collector or reference this work by citing the author properly. This report promotes the respectful exchange of information and acknowledges the hard work and expertise that went into creating this report. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Also published . here

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