Metamorphosis Commenced, vol2: Crecimiento Aleph Review & Q4 in Lisbon and Thailand

Lisbon, Sept. 15th, 2024.

This is a second part to my first article on Pop-up Cities found here. Read this to have additional context.

I returned from Argentina last week and Crecimiento was an incredible, but sometimes harsh, experience. In this article I break down what happened in Buenos Aires, and what the last few months of 2024 will look like for the Zuzalu Pop-up Cities ecosystem.

But First, what are Pop-up Cities?

Pop-up Cities are gatherings of digital communities, primarily techno-nomads and often with a clear mission. These people take over local regions and neighborhoods, rent a central point of contact, and then co-live and co-work on their desired fields and themes. To this extent, one of the best examples is Vitalia - a pop-up city with a highly specific theme, placed in a highly relevant jurisdiction (Prospera) that is solving a very specific and potentially hugely lucrative problem - drug development and HealthTech focused on Longevity. Another good example is Crecimiento Aleph, which is the main focus of this article.

These pop-up cities are hyper focused innovation centers that provide the local jurisdiction with a temporary boost of talent, capital and knowhow. In brief, these are gatherings of the world’s top 2% of startup talent and their relevant VCs, friends and families, and, if done right, can produce a significant boost to the local economy and community that might develop into very real and very permanent impact hubs that bolster their host locations in ways that no conference or government ever could. In a world where talent and capital is as fluid as it can be, Pop-up Cities are becoming the tech industry’s best practice when it comes to attracting interesting people to a single place on earth. You can deep dive on this through Vitalik’s article on Zuzalu here.

So how was August in Buenos Aires, and what is Crecimiento all about?

Crecimiento Aleph - The Start of a Movement:

Earlier in the year, during the MuBuenosAires (another crypto-asset and web3 developer focused pop-up city) the Crecimiento movement was born. During the Mu, the Protocol Labs team committed to helping Argentina in the next half decade. Their mission was to tackle a number of extremely important aspects of the economy that, due to decades of political instability and mismanagement, simply didn’t exist throughout the nation.

These verticals are:

1. Stablecoins, specifically as a tool for Financial Stability:
   
   The Argentine Pesos has famously failed numerous times. This is priority number one. Bad money = bad everything.
   

   
   

2. Establishment of Credit and Financial Institutions:
   
   In Argentina, credit and financial services are practically non-existent. Interest rates must follow projected inflation, which is often in the three digits, and thus Finance is practically a dead industry. Even attaining a mortgage is a gordian knot.
   

   
   

3. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications for SMEs:
   
   Following the above sentiment, the adoption of onc-chain, trustless and automated finance can help create a better financial environment for SMEs, a user-base that has simply not adopted the killer application of Blockchain thus far.
   

   
   

4. Automated LegalTech:
   
   Another issue with Argentina is the red-tape. AI and Automated Digital Legal Tech platforms can automate and alleviate this pain for both Argentinian entrepreneurs and regular citizens.
   

5. Digital Identity and Security:
   
   For the creation of proper utilization of the above platforms, identity is a key prerequisite. Without a clear identity, loans don’t work, business trust is cemented, and, well, you get a bunch of gash rich scammers trying to abuse these digital tools. No bueno.
   

   
   

6. Education and Digital Upskilling:
   
   To compete in a global market, you need a global talent base. Argentina possesses this when it comes to technical talent, but upskilling is a constant effort that must be supported. I’d add, the world’s language is English, so Crecimineto startups must be able to cultivate an English-first culture. They won’t like it, but it worked for Singapore.
   

   
   

7. Governance and Public Goods Best Practises:
   
   Many of the companies that will emerge from Creciminto will be open networks. Permissionless by their nature, proper governance of these platforms is a must. You don’t want our platform to be abducted by speculative third parties, and you want users to have ownership for these platform; transforming them into Public Goods.
   

   
   

8. Tokenization and Finalization of Real World Assets:
   
   Pretty self-explanatory. There is no SEC in Argentina. There is no MiCA or MiFID. If the country nails this vertical, it has the potential of unlocking a new wave of asset digitization that can act as collateral to all of the above verticals. A must have that will turn on a number of investors globally.

To think that a movement can help facilitate the development of solutions for all of the above verticals within a few years may sound crazy, but it isn’t. In reality, all it takes is 1000 startups, 120 or so per vertical where three or four succeed massively. This is enough to transform Argentina forever. Besides, this is what Protocol Labs does - they build scalable, successful businesses.

Their motivation and belief that this was possible was supported by the fact that Argentina, which is one of the largest crypto adopters in the world, was at a turning point. The new government, which is arguably the most business-friendly administration in the world, provided the Protocol Labs team with the perfect playing ground to set up Crecimiento and to start doing what they do best.

To that extent, Crecimiento isn’t just a one–time Pop-up City, but a movement with recurring events and a permanent team that seeks to seed and support an ecosystem. Aleph, the first Pop-up city that took place in August, is the starting point of the movement. In December, we are likely going to see yet another pop-up city, likely more focused and private, which will focus on one-or-two of the key verticals listed above. March will see yet another Pop-up City. Not sure of its focus, but I’ll likely be there.

In short, do I believe that Crecimiento’s goals are attainable? Yes. Was Aleph a success? Also yes. Was Aleph a Pop-up City like Zuzalu? Uhh actually, I’m not so sure about that…

Aleph for Xenofon - Personal Experiences:

To achieve the mission of Crecimiento, Aleph felt like more of a month-long Accelerator, with an open Conference arm, than a Pop-up City. Access was fragmented and segmented. My experience, being part of the startup track, was substantially better compared to if I weren’t in this track. Conferences were scarcely attended, and so were cultural track events, which I think were heavily overshadowed by other programming. The community’s focal points were Asados, which happened again and again and again, and, to be frank, I don’t think these worked well enough to cultivate a tight community.

I doubt that more than 20% of all Aleph attendees know who I am, or what I do, and I definitely don’t know anything about most of them. That isn’t due to the lack of effort on my part. I’ve been actively pushing to be as social as I can be in these gatherings because I want to know my fellow citizens, yet the structure and overall spirit did not allow for legitimate coalescence. Examples of this come from Vitalia, where the friends I made at the Pop-up City are currently staying with me at the same apartment in Lisbon. Besides a few dozens of people I met at Aleph, I don’t think I’ll have the same connection with the majority of the Aleph citizens.

The most frustrating parts of the city were two things; first, when talks and events were held in Spanish only, without any labeling, warning or subtitling, and second, when it felt that I, as well as many others, were simply not included in the “in-crew”; the cool kids of Crecimiento that seemingly got more access, better treatment, and more attention that myself and most others.

To give you a better and more personal context, my startup applied to join the Startup track but got initially rejected, with no appeal process. This was very frustrating, since I had invested time and money to help the movement and to book my flights and accommodations in the anticipation that I’d be part of the startup track. With hesitation, I attended anyway and hoped to find a resolution in Buenos Aires, which I did. I was added to the startup track the second day I was there - thank you to those that helped me with this. But as a process, this felt wrong.

Once I joined the startup track, I asked the main track lead to dedicate 30 minutes to myself and my startup. He outright declined, stating that he has already exhausted his dedicated time slots for startup one-on-ones. His stance didn’t change throughout Aleph. In fact he didn’t hear me pitch until the final days of Crecimiento and Demo Day. This didn’t bother me much, since other members of the team did take the time to help and very much did support me and ZuForever, but it was disheartening at times. This is also likely why I was never invited to their private investor dinners; special curated gatherings that allowed founders to rub shoulders with potential investors and other influential people.

To be fair, my startup isn’t focused on the verticals highlighted by Crecimiento, and there are limited resources to fill unlimited needs, so, again, this didn’t bother me too much. Nevertheless, other founders should be aware of these realities and must plan accordingly to make the best out of the opportunities that will be given to them if they chose to attend another Crecimiento Pop-up City. I also expect these processes to be hushed out and improved in the next few months; these “things” are still extremely new institutions with no best practices and trusted, tested frameworks.

But this tiered access didn’t end with me. It was a general theme of the Pop-Up city. Even access to the co-working space was gated. Aleph had two co-working spaces, one that was open to everyone and both empty and often freezing, and one that was gated behind passes that cost roughly 200 USD per week. Everyone that mattered was at the gated co-working space. Co-living was not offered to anyone besides the originally accepted startup track participants, something that was desperately missing from the Pop-up City experience originally developed at Zuzalu.

In all honesty, I don’t know if these hurdles were because of Aleph’s organization or simply because this is how life is in Argentina. Seems more so the second than the first. And perhaps the most important reason why some of these experiences left a sour taste in my mouth is because of the expectations that come alongside the Pop-up City brand. To this, perhaps we should divide the term into two sub-sections; one, being Pop-up Cities like Aleph, that have a goal, a recurring location and more permanent infrastructure that focuses resources on startup and career development, and Pop-up Villages that include co-living, a warmer community focus and a safe-harbor for web3 nomads that seek their tribe and home away from home. This, to me, is closer to the Zuzalu experience than what I saw at Aleph.

But, let’s be clear here, Aleph wasn’t all good, but it was extremely valuable to myself, to Argentina and to its attendees. Aleph has a clear goal, and to that, it was a clear success. Would I attend it again? Yes, absolutely. And I am planning to in 2025. If you have a startup in the above highlighted verticals, so should you!

Why? Because within one month, Aleph was able to produce 68 startups and their associated pitches. It also connected startups to the Protocol Labs team and to a myriad of industry OGs that have real ability to help young companies succeed in their mission. You’ve never really seen proper startup and community management until you spend time working with Juan Benet, Molly Mackinlay and James Tunningley of Protocol Labs, and the core team of Argentinians that lead the Crecimiento movement, like Emi, Mili, Santi, Pato, Lain, Dolo, Chango and others, as well as their international counterparts like Manon, Sun and Vee, are great people that are both very passionate and very well suited to push the goals of Crecimiento forward.

To get a better understanding of the goals and specifics of Aleph and Crecimiento, you can see the interview I did with Juan Benet, founder of Protocol Labs, here and Emi Velazquez, leader of the Crecimiento movement, here. Quick plug; make sure to follow our YouTube channel!

So, what is next for Crecimineto? To my knowledge, at least two more pop-up cities (December and March) and at least a Regulatory Sandbox and a Digital Special Economic Zone (DSEZ). These frameworks are extremely important for the goals of the movement, since they provide a regulatory protective bubble over the operations of both Crecimineto and the Aleph startups that emerge from this moment. A DSEZ also provides a nimble framework of regulatory action that can help avoid the tons of red tape that Argentina is known for - at least until the Milei Government chops them down with a chainsaw…

And to that extent, concrete support from the Argentinian government is still missing. The process to create a full-on, physical Special Economic Zone, like Vitalia’s Prospera, is still far, far away unless Milei and his people can perceive a clear and substantial benefit behind this movement. Besides, the SEZ (but not the DSEZ) must pass through a slow and painful political process that will likely both bastardize the mission of Crecimineto and delay its impact. No one said this was going to be easy, and it won’t. Until then, however, I know that the Crecimiento team will be working tirelessly to push the SEZ forward, and to improve upon the hurdles I listed above, like communications, community, co-living, etc.

Until next year, which is when I plan to attend another Crecimineto Pop-up City, I wish them the best of success, and I hope to help them hone in on their SEZ go-to-market strategy as much as I possibly can.

¡VIVA LA LIBERTAD CARAJO! ¡VIVA ARGENTINA Y CRECIMIENTO!

Quick shout out to Solana Economic Zone, a Solana-led Pop-up City that happened at the same time as Crecimiento Aleph. The guys there were always super welcoming and nice!

So here are my unofficial ratings, which follow the ones on my previous article:

Total Score: 23

Some final words on the ratings above; I am hesitant to put 6 on the curation of attendees simply because I didn’t meet enough people at Aleph, which is a shame. This could easily have been way higher if “community” was done right. Similarly, although I loved the coworking spot, it did get overcrowded sometimes, with not enough spaces to meet in small groups, and with no co-living. 3 out of 10 is too harsh, but it is what it is.

Lastly, if I could, I would put 11 out of 10 for the power and alignment of the Crecimiento mission. 23/40 is a harsh score, but an accurate one. At least for me.

What’s next in the world of Pop-up Cities?

Lisbon and Chiang Mai - The Peak of Pop-Up Cities?:

I will do my best to explain how excited I am for September and Q4 of 2024. Honestly, I don’t think words can do the upcoming months justice!

For September and early October, I am in Lisbon. In fact, as I write this article from within the first official ZuForever house populated by friends and fellow attendees of Arc Lisboa, a private Pop-up City dedicated to personal and professional growth. Following Lisbon, I will be in Thailand, first Chiang Mai, then Bangkok and then Pattaya, before heading to Mexico and Tulum for Tulum Crypto Fest, which I am helping to organize.

The reason I am planning for these incredible trips is because Lisbon and Chiang Mai are becoming Web3’s most active urban centers. Currently, in Lisbon and Portugal-only, there is not one, not two, but three Pop-up City gatherings taking place. Besides Arc, a few minutes outside Lisbon, Builder Monastery is taking place, lead by Petra, an Argentinian web3 developer and extremely valuable stakeholder within the Zuzalu ecosystem. I will be primarily in Lisbon, but I am extremely excited to visit Petra and the Monastery while I am here.

And that is not the only related event either. In the north of Portugal, close to Porto, the Gathering of Tribes is taking place. This Gathering, organized by Victor (interview coming soon) and his team, aims to invite all of the Pop-Up City stakeholder into one place, to reach common ground. These attendees are organizers from around the world that have been active in the broader commune space for decades. In personal conversations with him, Victor states that there is a tremendous energy within this movement, seemingly a turning point where people from all niches and areas of the world are coming together to build new communities and new bonds.

I tend to agree with him, since the concurrency of these Pop-up Cities is not a new phenomenon, and arguably not a dwindling one either. In fact, having three Pop-up City-focused events in Lisbon is not even the highest number of concurrent Pop-up Cities in the same pace this year.

That would be Q4, 2024 and Thailand. In Bangkok, between the 9th and 17th of November, the crypto-world is meeting in Bangkok. Everyone who is someone will be there, and this provides the Pop-up City movement with the perfect opportunity to host a number of cities across the country. Chaing Mai, in Northern Thailand, seems especially interesting. Between mid-October and Nov. 10th, not one, not two, not even three, but four Pop-up Cities will be taking place at the same time and in the same city! Oh boy! This will be magical!

My plan is to be there from the 20th of October until DevCon, and I plan to visit Edge City Lanna before DevCon, and ZuThailand after DevCon, although these plans might be altered slightly.

In addition to the above Pop-up Cities, here are the other gatherings taking place throughout the country at the same time. These are:

• Invisible Garden
• ShanghaiWu
• MegaZu
• Honorary Mention: IslandDAO, a Solana-focused pop-up City that aims to be the beach-side alternative to MntDAO, one of the earliest Pop-Ups in Web3.

This will be the first time that this many pop-up cities are taking place at the same place, and at the same time. The potency and proximity of this many gatherings at the same time will likely see a tremendous amount of serendipity coming out of Chiang Mai in Q4. This will be a paramount time for the whole movement, which will either make or break the post-Zuzalu Pop-up Ecosystem.

And by breaking, I don’t think that pop-up cities are going anywhere. Instead I see them becoming more specialized, and perhaps a bit more boring. I am unsure if we’ll see a schism in the industry, where we differentiate two different terms for Pop-Ups, with Cities being more work focused, and Villages being more co-living focused, which I state above. But differences are emerging. The future is unknown, yet still bright; and I’ll be there for it!

To Conclude:

Overall, I am extremely excited for the rest of the year, and I look forward to seeing friends and colleagues in the months to come. Until then, I will be posting more and more interviews in my YouTube channel and I’ll be focusing on ZuForever, a startup that enhances pop-up city experiences by providing co-living options. If you want to learn more, message me on Telegram directly @xenofon. (Add a note please!)

I will continue to write these periodic reports, especially on all the pop-up cities that I attend. Until then, cheers!