Original text: ehwangah; Compiler: Yuliya, PANews

Let me talk about a reality first. In the field of encryption, market capitalization is the core indicator of success. Technological innovation, core value capture, product market fit (PMF), etc. are all important, but the real sign that can prove that you have brought multiple returns to the team, investors, and holders is whether your market value can soar. How to achieve that?

Launch now and show it publicly as you build> Don’t get hung up on launch details or put it off again and again.

Don’t be too nervous, startup only accounts for 10%-20% of your long-term success. Don't make it complicated. Here’s a quick summary:

Overhype in the early stages of launch, but lack of substance: skyrocketing and plummeting

Low-key launch, but lack of substance: a dead end

Overhype in the early stages of launch , and there is substantial support: take off and rush to the top

Start low-key, and have substantial support: grow steadily

Can you see the pattern? The key is to create substance (we will discuss how to create substance in detail later, in short it is team, product, community). A simple test criterion is: whether your friends are willing to buy, hold and believe in your project. If they don't trust it, others won't either.

1. Validate your idea before investing more than $100,000 in development fees

Rather than spending 3 months or more and investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to polish the product, starting as early as possible can help you validate the concept. Similar to the lean startup approach, first propose a proposal to stimulate the interest of target users, verify it, and then build it iteratively. You may think this method is unconventional, but it can help you cultivate the first 1,000 true believers. This group of people will become the catalyst for the growth of the project, whether in terms of network, resources or price.

The key point is: verify the idea first, don’t wait until it takes a lot of time and cost to verify it.

2. Establish the top position and take advantage of the Lindy Effect

Do you know why the top 50 projects can still maintain their leading position in the cycle? Not just quality, but time and location advantages, the Lindy Effect. If you start early, you will have a stronger community base of currency holders, which can gradually weed out unsteady users and attract loyal fans. Time is your ally.

Wait too long and inferior projects may take your place. Once someone else takes your narrative, funding, or focus, it's very difficult to take it back. In the PVP competition on X (Twitter), it is difficult to get people who have already "entered" to switch to other projects.

In the current AI agent craze, being the first to start is not only a bonus, but also a decisive factor. Everyone is rushing to launch AI agents and join the track as early as possible, giving you an advantage in the ecosystem, while others can only catch up with you.

Whether we like it or not, launching a project in the crypto market involves “note"Attention Game". Product-driven growth is important, but that is a later matter. It is crucial to attract attention first and build a community, and tokens are the best distribution and interest-binding tool.

Choose in Projects launched in the Virtuals ecosystem usually gain competitive advantages. The overall culture of the ecosystem is marked by high quality, and in the long run, capital tends to flow to high-quality projects.

3. Immediate community and distribution effect

Launching the project will generate buzz, and people on X (Twitter) will start discussing your project, summarizing the "3 reasons to buy/hold" discussion. Invaluable—not just because of the price increase, but because of the community it brings together. This group of people can help you iterate on your product, test new features, and even contribute development resources. You will have a group of loyal users on day one.

4. You can get ahead of the flood of VC-backed token projects in 2025

Many projects delayed their launches during the bear market in 2024, believing that low market sentiment caused by low liquidity and risk aversion would not be suitable for launch by 2025. In 2018, you will see more projects launched, following the typical route:

Financing large sums of money from VC;

Polishing the product, and then launching marketing activities (points, tasks, KOL cooperation, etc.); p>

Token Generation Event (TGE) follows.

What are your advantages? Fair launch, decentralized ethos, and natural community growth. The market dynamics have shifted and are now more favorable to you. .

A solid product can indeed bring competitive advantages, but this is not the only determining factor. As an early project, the encryption market itself is also in its early stages. Continuously creating value is critical. , if the encryption market is completely oriented towards practicality and products, then "Air Coin" will not attract a large number of buyers.

This is not to advocate the launch of "Air Project", but to say that launching it as early as possible can promote the community. The construction and narrative shaping aspects give you a competitive advantage.

Product launches are never perfect. There will always be bugs, high server loads, concurrency issues, etc. Don’t overemphasize these issues as updates are made. The product will eventually prove itself.

People like to see how a team creates value from scratch. Stories are important, and people are more willing to support flesh-and-blood founders rather than cold brands. Building publicly makes the project more approachable and human.

You don’t need to have a perfect brand image on day one, start early and start from an initial draft. It is recommended to study the success of the top 20 projects in the Virtuals ecosystem. >