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5 Themes from Seed Club Demo Day 🌱

Editors Note: I’ve been away for a while, I apologize if this newsletter is long. Read here if Gmail clips this edition.

Seed Club's Demo Day last week featured nine incredible startups. As one of the best-known accelerators in the consumer crypto space, Seed Club is a leading indicator of what’s next. In this piece, I discuss the common trends and highlight my main takeaways from this batch.

Blurring the Lines Between IRL and URL

This Demo Day cohort had several products bridging the online and offline worlds. Sidequest takes IRL to URL in its most literal sense by utilizing AR/VR technology to gamify real-life actions; you can earn experience points (XP) by doing everyday activities like petting a dog or walking. LISA Foundation utilizes blockchain technology to democratize the ownership and stewardship of physical artworks. Chipped Social brings social media to reality through profiles that are only accessible through their NFC-embedded press on nails - creating a hybrid social club. Members can identify each other in the wild through Chipped’s unique styles, creating offline camaraderie for those in the know.

The consensus around social media has skewed negatively post-pandemic, with social products focusing on smaller networks, less screen time, and greater authenticity. These products, particularly Sidequest and Chipped, diverge from this trend by viewing the online and offline worlds as collaborative entities that can improve each other. Unlike their off-chain counterparts like BeReal, 222, and others, these products seek not to encourage users to separate themselves from online life but to blur the lines between both worlds.

The (Friendly) Trojan Horses of Blockchain

The best way to onboard the public onto blockchain products has been a topic of conversation for a while, and Bracket and Chipped Social are leveraging familiar and well-loved products like sports betting and press-on nails to bring non-crypto natives into the fold.

For obvious reasons, crypto still has an image problem. Embedding blockchain into well-loved products allows people to get comfortable and experience how the technology can improve their online experience, helping them look beyond the headlines and develop their own opinions.

Press-on nails and sports betting are ideal for crypto adoption for different reasons. Press-on nails have existed for a long time, making them easy for the general public to understand. Neither the nails nor the network they connect to don’t require token speculation, making it a low-risk use case. On the other hand, sports betting abstracts the risks of holding and using crypto because you’re already gambling, and there is a built-in expectation of losing money, softening the blow of any losses.

What sports betting and press-on nails do have in common is that they are bothpopular and growing categories. Last year, Americans made about $120 billion in sports bets, and the industry is estimated to grow by 11.2% each year. Press-on nails made an estimated $160 million in sales in 2023, and the market value of the category is expected to reach $2.23 billion by 2030. Both categories are strong entry points for the crypto-curious and skeptical alike.

Building a Better TL

Another trend I noticed during the Demo Day is products improving the social content experience. Ponder is a Farcaster add-on that enables you to curate the best content. You’re given a points allowance to allocate to helpful posts across topics like venture capital and Base, which increases with earlier and more frequent usage. Unofficial uses your social graph, interest graph, and machine learning to place you in communities that best reflect your interests and serve relevant content.

The shortcomings of centralized algorithms have been apparent. I wrote about them last week as they apply to streaming. Offchain social media faces similar issues—algorithms prioritizing engagement above all else incentivize rage bait, misinformation, and other low-quality content. Ponder gives users a voice to select content helpful to them directly, making builders better able to bring higher-quality content to your TL. Unofficial creates niche communities based on your existing online relationships and topics you’re interested in, increasing content quality by bringing together people with similar interests.

Reinventing Consumer Launches

Integrated networks and marketplaces made an interesting showing at Seed Club Demo Day. Enjoy, the first tradable token on Zora Network, is evolving into a full-blown creator network compatible with multiple chains. Fora is a Discord-based platform that simplifies the process for communities to launch headless marketplaces.

Integrated networks and headless marketplaces represent a shift in how B2C products are launched. Rather than constructing networks from the ground up, these products leverage existing networks to build their initial user base, effectively overcoming the cold start problem. This approach focuses on meeting customers where they already are and rewarding them for their existing activity, eliminating the need to convince them to migrate elsewhere.

Going forward, consumer founders will launch on existing platforms rather than broadly targeting individual users. The new questions that consumer founders must ask will be “What platform do my users frequent?” rather than “How do I get people to use my app?” 

Generative AI as Muse

This isn’t technically a trend - since Xhibit is one of a kind in this batch. The creative platform uses generative AI to usher in the next phase of the digital mood board. Unlike similar tools like Pinterest or Cosmos, Xhibit enables users to create their own digital twin and virtually try on clothes from various labels, influencers, and digital creators. This approach empowers individuals to experiment with their style with minimal risk and arrive at their perfect style quickly and efficiently. By incorporating generative AI, Xhibit adds new functionality to the digital mood board, transforming it from a simple collage tool into a dynamic platform.

This aligns with a broader trend of AI as a visioning tool in creative industries. I made a similar prediction about AI-generated music. Rather than replacing human-made creative output, AI will be used as a brainstorming tool for creatives to work out their ideas before executing a project, giving creatives a clearer idea of what they want and saving money and resources.

Congratulations to all the founders who presented last Thursday! I look forward to observing how they disrupt traditional paradigms and bring new possibilities to the digital and physical worlds.

Song of the Week

News

Big news for BeReal! Instagram’s authentic younger sister has been acquired by Voodoo, a French mobile apps and games publisher.

Speaking of partnerships, Discord and TuneIn are teaming up to bring live radio to the platform. FWB radio show when?

Rolling Stone published the findings of its six-month investigation into disgraced music mogul Diddy, and it’s pretty dark. (Massive trigger warning if you decide to read) 

Telegram might not be as secure as you think. ***frantically checks settings***

Newsrooms are striking deals with AI companies. And, naturally, journalists are skeptical.

Orb Club announced its Treasury Boost program last week - they are dropping up to 10k in $BONSAI to active club treasuries on the platform.

Twitch DJs will now have to pay to use copyrighted music in their streams. Luckily, Twitch is helping the DJs out through various financial support initiatives.

Bigots are using AI music generators to make hate songs. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Issa Rae announced a collab with Así Studios to connect Hispanic creators with brands and resources.

Deals

MoviePass, a subscription-based movie ticket service, raised $6 million in Series A funding from Forecast Labs, an incubator affiliated with Comcast. This strategic investment aims to revitalize and expand MoviePass's operations, leveraging Comcast's extensive media and technology resources. Read more at LA Times. (Sidenote: the MoviePass documentary is out)

Unite.io, a web3 mobile gaming infrastructure platform, secured a $3 million Seed extension from Superlayer. Initial backing came from Coinbase Ventures, OKX Ventures, and Solana Ventures. Read more at PRNewswire.

Hana Kuna, a production company founded by Naomi Osaka, secured an undisclosed amount of early-stage funding from The Players Fund. Read more at Funderlyst.

LightLink, an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain platform, raised $6.2 million in Seed funding led by T&B Media Global and Magnolia Quality Development Corporation. Additional investors include The Red Village, Carbon Ventures, Aweh Ventures, MH Ventures, NxGen Ventures, Blue7, JellyC, Block 3 Ventures, and Gandel Invest. Read more at VentureBeat.

Slay, a social gaming platform by Pengu creator, raised $5 million in early-stage funding led by Accel. Additional investors include Laton Ventures and Scooter Braun. Read more at VentureBeat.

OpenSocial Protocol, a decentralized social network platform, raised $5 million in Seed funding. Portal Ventures and SNZ Holding led the round. Additional investors include KX Ventures, Animoca Brands, Arche Fund, SBI Decima Fund, Moonrock Capital, Awesome People Ventures, Orange DAO, Summer Ventures, and PANONY. Read more at Finsmes.

Stanly, a social platform for fan clubs, raised $8 million in early-stage funding led by C Captial with additional participation from Palm Drive Capital, Goodwater Capital, AppWorks, and other undisclosed investors. Read more at Citybiz.

Sloyd, an AI-driven design platform for 3D assets, secured $3 million in early-stage funding from Antler, Andreessen Horowitz, Acequia Capital, Hartmann Capital, and other investors. Read more at Tech.eu.

Wevr, a VR content company, raised $3.5 million in later-stage funding led by HTC and Epic Games. Read more at Citybiz.

Astrocade, an AI-driven gaming platform, raised $12 million in Seed funding. The NVentures, AME Cloud Ventures, and The Venture Reality Fund participated in the round. Read more at Citybiz.

Cartwheel, an AI-driven text-to-animation platform, raised $5.6 million in Seed funding led by Accel. Additional investors include Human Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Correlation Ventures, MVP Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, and Heretic. Read more at Citybiz.

Cookie3, a metaverse and web3 analytics platform, secured $5.5 million in funding led by Spartan Group with additional participation from Animoca Brands and Mapleblock Capital. Read more at Chainwire.

Elixir Games, a blockchain gaming platform, received an undisclosed amount of later-stage funding from Wemix. Read more at Finsmes.

Xociety, a game developer for the third-person shooter game Xociety, raised $7.5 million in early-stage funding led by Sui Foundation and Hashed with additional participation from Spartan Group, Krafton, Big Brain Holdings, and Neoclassic. Read more at VentureBeat.

Farworld Labs, a web3 mobile gaming ecosystem, raised $1.75 million in funding. The round was led by Variant and Lemniscap; additional investors include Base Ecosystem and Coinbase Ventures. Read more at VentureBeat.

Gracia AI, a startup creating photorealistic volumetric spatial videos, raised $1.2 million in Seed funding. Investors include Triptyq Capital, Future-Fund.ai, The Venture Reality Fund, and LVL1. Read more at VentureBeat.

Hypersonic Laboratories, a sandbox UGC gaming platform, raised $7 million in Series A funding led by Play Ventures; additional investors include WTIC, KB Investment, and AppWorks. Read more at VentureBeat.

Juicy Button, a mobile gaming platform, launched with $3 million in Seed funding led by The Games Fund. Read more at VentureBeat.

Mint Blockchain, a blockchain network for NFTs, completed a $5 million Seed round and launched on the developer mainnet. Jsquare led the round, and additional investors include Antalpha Ventures, Mask Network, and GoPlus. Read more at Chainwire.

Optopia AI, an L2 blockchain network designed to simplify Web3 operations through artificial intelligence agents, raised Seed funding from Kucoin Ventures, JRR Capital, GTA Ventures, MrBlock, and other investors. Read more at Funderlyst.

Play AI, a hyper-personalized gaming AI company, raised $4.3 million in early-stage funding from Zentry, Perridon Ventures, Tykhe Block Ventures, and other investors. Read more at VentureBeat.

Submix, a live music collaboration platform, raised $1 million in pre-seed funding from Vesna Capital, Angel Invest, and Tiny.VC. Read more at Citybiz.

Supervillain Labs, a gaming studio focused on socially interactive games, raised a $4.5 million Seed round from Aptos Labs and Neowiz’s Intella X. Read more at VentureBeat.

The Logic, a digital news platform focused on technology and the innovation economy, raised $4 million in later-stage funding led by FT Ventures. Read more at Funderlyst.

Trala, a web3 platform designed for the gaming ecosystem, raised a $5 million Seed round from Matter Labs, Animoca Brands, and Gate Labs. Read more at Chainwire.

Vosyn, an AI voice platform offering real-time translations, adaptive learning, and personal experiences, announced an $8 million Seed round from undisclosed investors. Read more at PRNewswire.

Jobs

Metalabel is looking for a Product Engineer (Remote)

Nylon is looking for a Nightlife and Entertainment Editor (NYC)

Turnkey is hiring for Head of Business Development (NYC)

swsh is hiring for a Marketing Intern (NYC)

Metalabel is looking for a Creator Liason (NYC)

Party Favors

Make something nice for IYK and FWB

Marine Snow is turning music discovery into part game and part social network. There’s a lot of good stuff on there - use this link to get on the waitlist. Then, use these links to get off. Thank me later 😊.

Shout out to Carlos for launching Farterminal - check it out and launch some tokens!

Music protocol, Oscillator, recently launched. Check them out; they are looking for contributors.

Do you know what’s real and what’s AI?

The greatest musical falloffs of the 2010s

The internet found Mike Faist’s ex

Disco Ball of the Week

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