A web3 startup founder story with very nice pants taking on the US

TD;LR

Challenge the status quo, break down the doors with nice pants, and try to change your startup destiny if you truly believe in what you're building. Otherwise, quit. As simple as that.

?? Chapter 1: Genesis.

I'm a boomer as Gen Zs said, but there are my kids so I can't blame them, right?

In 2020, after having sold my last venture (and didn't make enough money to spend my entire life around the world), I had a blank page syndrome. What do I do next? What am I good at? Long story short, like a lot of people during the lockdown, I tried myself with crypto (won't lie to you by telling you I was a crypto addict since 2017) and I must admit I've been amazed by the power of the communities. It was at the same time as the #GME and #AMC frenzy on #Reddit. It was smashing honestly.

And it was for me the sign I needed for what's next.

?? Chapter 2: Should I go or Should I stay?

I'm an entrepreneur, since ever. My parents were entrepreneurs themselves, so I have a pretty good sight of how hard it is to get what you want. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail, but every day is a succession of problems you have to solve. Some hate it, I love it. Kind of schizophrenia I suppose.

So, when the next business idea comes up to me, I knew 2 or 3 things before launching:

? Don't be selfish. Ask your wife and kids. Without a good work-family balance, it won't work.

? Don't be alone. If you're not able to convince 1 or 2 other co-founders to quit their journey to build with you without being paid (or few) for the next 12 months, that means your idea/business is not life-changing enough to inspire others. And your customers won't stick to your vision also.

? Go global from day 1. Not (only) to build the n°1 global company but to access amazing talents everywhere with different cultures and ways of seeing the world. Like me, no need to speak perfect English. Just need to push your limits (and the boundaries).

In 2021, I finally checked these 3 principles and was proud to have found (and convinced) Fran?ois-Xavier Goemaere , Jean-Vincent Quilichini , and Jonas Adrian Eriksen to join the journey and build together.

?? Chapter 3: Creator x Web3 rabbit hole.

I won't talk too much about numbers but when I read in 2021 that being a 'Content Creator' was in the top 3 daily dream jobs Gen Zs were dreaming of, among being a Doctor (after grey's anatomy), a Lawyer (after Suits) or even an Astronaut, I rapidly knew that a social revolution was coming. And, honestly, having witnessed the GME x Reddit frenzy again, it was obvious to me that Communities will eat the world.

And guess what. Who inspires these communities? Iconic brands of course and...Creators.

But, I also discovered that communities were not truly owned by Creators or even Brands but by the social media and platforms that host the social graph. Does it make any sense to me? Of course yes. How can someone reasonably build their home on rented land? Would you do that yourself in the real world?

Probably not.

This is where #Web3 and ##blockchain technology come in. Long story short, consumers and creators should be owners of their digital assets, not passive users. I don't want my kids to lose their (5hrs/day!) time online but rather build digital assets they can make money with or be involved with.

I'm sure it's the same for you.

?? Chapter 4: Travel x Web3. Empowering Communities, 12 years after Airbnb.

When you have to think about Communities, which market comes straight to your mind?

? Art & Culture

? Music & Entertainment

? Gaming

? Travel

The first 3 markets were already building amazing Web3 solutions to empower Creators, Artists, brands, and users. And frankly speaking, I don't have a clue about these industries.

But, as a Travel entrepreneur for 15 years, the Travel industry and I have a long story in common.

? It's fragmented with a lot of barriers to entry.

? Few powerhouses control the entire market (whatever the brands you search & book with, it's either 谷歌 , Booking.com , or Expedia Group behind).

? Supply is struggling a lot with a +70% dependency on platforms. They basically spend their entire Ads money to acquire new customers from platforms that control their data & content. Schizophrenia again?

? Gen Z travelers are a new kind of travelers that have shifted from search platforms to social networks as 3rd places. They now put their trust in Creators, not ads anymore. So, where do I spend my money now as a #Travel brand?

? Travel Creators are the new advisors but are treated like gigs on social media platforms where they basically struggle to live from their passion and do not OWN their business.

? Communities are eating the world, and in these uncertain times, it has never been more evident to rely on travel communities as safe & trust havens.

In short, a perfect market to reshape 15 years after the last 'Community x Travel' innovations, aka Airbnb and Tripadvisor .

?? Chapter 5: Struggling with nice pants and repeat.

I'll tell (or remind) something that is similar for EVERY single entrepreneur: it's super hard to create trust with people, especially when you come from nowhere. You're basically alone.

Another great example showing the power of communities. In the tech world, let's face the reality: either you come from a great school with alumni or a tech 'mafia', or you've already been a successful entrepreneur. In all these cases, the trust bias is already settled. And telling your story/vision is way much easy to convince you're the right person to execute.

But, let's also be honest again. There is always a first time, for everyone. And either you're passive and do nothing or, you decide to break down the doors...with nice pants.

Again, I repeat, it's hard. Especially if you're shy. So, find what I call your 'anchor contact'. This very first person that will first trust you and help by opening his/her own network.

In our case, we found (??) Vincent MACE and Baptiste HAMEL as our first believers for our first $150k pre-seed round. At that time, it was just an idea but it was enough to hire a great team and find the first customers.

But in November 2022, FTX crashed, and behind the overall financial scandal, it was mainly a trust problem that have taking the industry by storm.

And so, like any #web3 project, we had to start again to create trust.

?? Chapter 6: To be written...in the US?

For the last 3 months, even with the first traction and paid customers that validate our market fit (without even product launch!), it has been hard to find still-believers web3 investors in #France (and especially with the AI noise) or again, 'anchor contact' willing to help us.

And honestly, I'm (a lot) disappointed with social media on this point. We have never been so connected but, even if you make a difference by trying to reach someone on socials, you get 0 chance (or very few) to be considered as a real human but more like a scam bot. And that's also why I do believe in the return of real-human interactions and true/authentic connections (through communities!?)

Long story short, we could have decided to stay passive and do nothing or, to change the rules and challenge the status quo. And that's why we took the decision to change of playing field and set up the company in the US. In a last attempt to convince that we have the vision and product to reshape the #travel industry on #web3, we will again break down the doors...with nice pants.

The 19.02.2023, I took a flight to NYC and SF for 2 weeks to meet investors. On the 20th, I already have the first meetings and the web3 energy is so different here...

The rest is history.

Of course, I will keep you updated on our journey but you can count on us to fight to build a fairer and more diverse internet on Web3, where everyone truly owns and gets rewarded for their loyalty/engagement to a community. #WAGMI