Building a New Brand

GM GM everyone and welcome to this special edition of the 🎣w3.catch-of-the-week.

In the past few weeks, we’ve welcomed two new companies in our w3 ecosystem:

• w3.wave, our liquid token fund (managed by Julius & Philipp)

• w3.labs, our in-house Web3 infrastructure company

But what we haven’t introduced to you yet is w3.vision.

“Didn’t w3.vision take place last September in Cologne? As the Web3 component of one of Europe’s largest marketing expos, DMEXCO. That’s w3.vision, right? Or is it?”

Well, we have some news for you - w3.vision has evolved beyond that. As of this week, we’ve launched our new concept: a community-owned media network.

So, what does that mean? And why should you care?

Before we dive into the story - if you represent a Web3 community, work for a brand, or are part of a corporate department dealing with digital assets, seeking access to the scene, want to report on Web3, or simply want to position yourself as a key player in the space - this announcement is for you.

Ready for some storytelling?

On Tuesday, I spoke at the Web3 Summit about how organizations like Solana, Filecoin, and our own company view and build communities.

While talking, I realized how interesting it is that we have evolved from being purely perceived as a VC fund (which we obviously were back in the day—us being w3.fund). Now, however, the community has become one of the most important things we have kept consistent, regardless of any market phase.

In early 2022, we decided to host our first “community” event, w3.pizza (the OGs know what’s up). It was just 40 people in our old office, with some pizza and content provided by us. Our goal was to offer something valuable: inspiration, knowledge, and insights.

Our guests included our investors, tech enthusiasts from our network, and, of course, the Web3 community members who we have met by then.

The concept was well received. People had a great evening, with plenty to discuss (and some really good pizza).

This led to a series of further events, culminating in over 300 people attending our first event at the w3.hub in late 2022.

Along the way, we often collaborated with others because it was clear to us: We’re good at what we do, we understand a lot… but there are so many experts out there who know way more - and especially - different things out of their experience.

So, at Web3 Summit, I pitched us as a kind of enabler—a network we’ve built over the years and made accessible to our Web3 peeps.

I’ve been inspired by so many people along the way, like:

• Superteam Germany, the Solana community arm.

• The TUM Blockchain Conference, a student-led initiative that aims to make blockchain accessible to their students and, in turn, open up an interesting talent pool.

• SAP, which, as a corporate giant, continues to wave the Web3 flag. Internally, they work on exciting solutions like the SAP NFT Management, which enables companies to easily create, manage, and distribute blockchain-based assets like NFTs through a no-code Web3 platform.

• Celestia Labs, especially Viet, Head of DevRel. I’ve met few developers who are so dedicated to stepping out of their bubble and focusing on applications and collaboration with Web2 companies.

• Jägermeister, a brand that has played a significant role in our w3.hub since the early days and is interested in trends in this space.

• KPMG places a high priority on digital assets, recognizing the transformative potential of Distributed-Ledger Technology (DLT) and blockchain in the financial sector.

• Bitpanda, who we’ve literally watched scale up. Did you see that I was on the official Bitcoin halving livestream?

  

  The Bitpanda Pre-Halving Live Show on Yotube

• Christoph Jentzsch from Tokenize.it, a true Ethereum OG, has made it his mission to help Web3 projects tokenize their companies, making it much easier to raise funds, for example.

• Circle, as part of their European tour, will be stopping by our w3.hub in Berlin to host workshops for and with developer communities.

• Also, I got to know the initiators of events or other co working spaces, such as DMEXCO, Merge Madrid or Werk1 in Munich.

These are also companies, who are kicking off w3.vision Season One with us - more on that later, back to the story.

Through our approach and vision for opportunities, we’ve taken on many projects that are atypical for a traditional VC.

• Many community events around the world,

• Building a co-working and community space for the Web3 scene (yes, a physical space that we built from scratch. No, we did not have any Co-Working Experience yet),

• Hosting large conferences (DMEXCO 2022 & 2023—who among the 40k attendees was there?),

• Full focus on memeable content (I mean, our intern has full control over the w3.hub Twitter account),

• Education on various platforms (newsletters, podcasts, stage-appearances, podcast-features, online conferences & industry calls),

• We created the “viral” Web3 Ecosystem Map w3.guide,

• Co-Hosted Hackathons in our Space,

• Hold Industry Calls,

• Or were on stages ourselves.

Maybe that’s just it. We’re a little different. But people seem to love that about us. We learned that at the latest by Berlin Blockchain Week 2025, where so many key players (from Solana Foundation, Consensys, BASE, Ledger, Wormhole, Kraken and many more) co-hosted their events in our venue.

Let me tell you - during our first w3.vision x DMEXCO Conference in 2022, it was much harder to get confirmations from other players. Of course, no one knew us yet. We didn’t have a track record to show. Trust had to be built first. But we were good at clearly communicating our vision and the opportunities for the entire community.

That’s why so many players trusted us so early on.

The second conference was much easier to execute. Suddenly, bigger brands were taking the stage (such as Lufthansa or H&M), and we were able to record live podcasts with them onsite (Shoutout to Blockstories, our Media Partner to broaden native Formats together with us).

Our podcasts reached all-time highs, and our two newsletters are now read weekly by over 10,000 people.

When we moved into the w3.hub in early 2023 with almost nothing, we didn’t even do any marketing—a few teams (especially from the Cosmos ecosystem or our portfolio companies) understood early on what we were planning and moved in directly.

Then, the first (out of 4 yet) Solana build station was the proof of concept that got the ball rolling. Shoutout to Superteam Germany, which didn’t even exist in that form back then.

And by the time Blockchain Week (May 2024) came around, even the core scene was convinced—there’s something here, and we need to be part of it. Watch the video. Its a Vibe.

All these events have a common thread. We don’t do it alone. We’re not better than others. We combine the skills of all these communities and make something stronger out of it. We give a platform to those who solve problems or need support to realize their projects.

Introducing: w3.vison in 2024

“So, Vicky, now that all this has been said, what is w3.vision?”

We are an open Community-Owned Media Network, envisioning the 3rd evolution of digital businesses.

We use 9 media formats (from Newsletter Deep Dives, events and stage presence), enabling the exchange and collaboration of Web3 Builders & People at Brands around industry use cases. It’s basically the inflection point of technology changes for businesses, people & society and culture.

“Wait, before you continue: Where does it fit in the w3 ecosystem?”

w3.vision is part of w3.group. We believe that Web3 is transforming the digital & physical world as we know it. And with that offer a diverse range of opportunities for the Web3 community, including investment funds (w3.ventures and w3.wave), a dynamic co-working and community space (w3.hub), token infrastructure platform (w3.labs), and an extensive media and event ecosystem (✨w3.vision✨).

“Wasn’t w3.vision a conference before? What happened to that?”

We are still doing conferences. Just more of them. In different places. And not always organized by ourselves - there are plenty of relevant events around the world. And we are going on those stages.

The DMEXCO conference is one format of the w3.vision.

Other formats are: Our Newsletters (this one and our Community Newsletter), Podcasts (w3.talk - aka rebranding incoming as well 😏), me being a KOL (sounds cringe, but facts though), our co-working opportunity, events, industry calls, deep dives and a huge database of people we met along our way.

“Ok guys, but who needs this?”

If you belong to the mentioned groups before, you’re probably already aware of a handful of pain points you might be facing, such as:

• How do I really get access to brands?

• How can I present myself as a corporate entity in the Web3 scene?

• How do I, as a brand or corporate, even manage to navigate the technology? And how do I distinguish between hype and disruptive tech?

• How do I even build communities (we all know this is one of the most important things)?

• How do I get into the good events?

• How can I present my problem or solution approach?

• How do I reach the right people with what I do?

“Come on, Vicky, tell me: What does w3.vision have to offer me?”

Again, if you represent a Web3 community, startup, Web2 lifestyle brand, corporate entity, institution, or educational organization, then you’re in the right place with us.

“Ok, Vicky, you got me. How can I get involved? And what exactly can I do?”

Reach out to us directly through our website.

No fuss, because we’re keeping it simple: You’ll get a menu from us, and you choose what suits you best (aka, what you find most ✨appetizing✨).

“When does all of it start?”

Finally. Let me introduce you to Season One.

Over the next 2 months, we’re hitting the road with our community, network and media partners.

We’ll be joining forces with our friends at numerous events AND releasing content together during this time—whether on LinkedIn, X, through our newsletters, youtube or in joint podcast episodes. The goal is to learn from each other, bring the right people together, build new communities, or support existing ones in their growth.

To capture these experiences, we’ve partnered with POAP. This means you’ll be able to collect digital badges throughout each season, accompanying the experience.

Details and how to already sign up for Season Two (focusing on Digital Assets) will be revealed in the coming days on LinkedIn (on my account and the w3.vision account) and at the latest in the next edition of the 🎣w3.catch-of-the-week.

Little spoiler: We’ll be teaming up with our friends from KPMG, SAP, Celestia, Bitpanda, Mastercard, and Circle at DMEXCO, and we’ll be on the Tech Stage on 18.09. Plus, you can look forward to an on-site activation from SAP and our portfolio company Voya Games.

Final Words

Each season will be different and will have a new focus. So there’s something for everyone.

Before I officially send you off into the weekend:

Whether you have questions or suggestions—without any strings attached—reach out to us. We’re looking forward to feedback or initial conversations with you.

As mentioned, feel free to contact us through our website, our TG community, or Marvin, who will help you find the right fit within w3.vision.

Vicky & Marvin are Web3-obsessed. That's why they host a weekly podcast featuring updates and cool stuff.

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