Finding strong investor communities is the springboard for Web3 startups

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As of mid-2022, venture capitalists like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Binance Labs have invested $4.5 billion and $500 million, respectively. However, bear market conditions are making many VCs nervous, as total investments fell 66% to $4.98 billion in Q3 2022. This presents an opportunity to reclaim the industry's core philosophy of blockchain/cryptocurrency: community-backed decentralized investments and collective ownership.

A bear market is ideal for separating greedy communities from value-driven communities that will help build innovative technology solutions. A strong and tight-knit investor community can support Web3 projects even in volatile market conditions. Initial DEX offerings (IDOs) are just one of many methods to find suitable investors for a Web3 project. IDOs, combined with on-chain analysis tools and investment redemption options, provide a safe investment space for investors and startups.

In 2013, Web3 investing began its evolutionary journey with initial coin offerings (ICOs). And although ICOs raised over $22.4 billion in 2017 and 2018, they were riddled with problems. The most unfortunate problem was that over 80% of them were scams, severely lacking in investor protection. Additionally, ICOs were centralized, with pre-mining unfairly favoring project teams over investors.

To address these shortcomings, the Raven protocol conducted its first IDO in June 2019. IDOs allow Web3 projects to pool funds from retail investors by launching project tokens on a decentralized exchange. As no centralized intermediary is involved, this investment strategy can provide instant access to liquidity and faster trading opportunities. Startups also don't have to pay a fee to an intermediary to facilitate investments.

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Since Web3 projects no longer need permission to list their tokens, there is no unnecessary waiting time. Without centralized approval procedures, the community takes the initiative to verify projects and tokens. Thus, a new project organically expands its reach without the need for formal publicity...