Building Better Founders: From Buildspace to Solana Economic Zones

In this insightful episode of Midcurve, host Justin sits down with Faraj, co-founder of Forma and former founding team member of Buildspace, to explore the intricacies of community building and founder development in the Web3 space. From creating viral growth mechanisms to designing engaging educational programs, Faraj shares invaluable insights gained from scaling Buildspace to over 200,000 participants and his current work developing Solana Economic Zones.

Faraj's Background in Web3 Education

Faraj's journey in the Web3 space began with his involvement in Buildspace, which he describes as "the world's largest tuition preschool for entrepreneurs." His experience at Buildspace provided him with a deep understanding of how to nurture and develop talent in the rapidly evolving blockchain ecosystem. Currently, as the co-founder of Forma, Faraj is working on developing Solana Economic Zones, collaborating with countries to create progressive regulations that make it easier for crypto startups and founders to succeed.

The Evolution of Buildspace

Buildspace's origin story is a testament to the power of adaptability in the tech world. Initially focused on developer education, the platform pivoted when its founders realized that traditional coding tutorials weren't gaining traction. Faraj explains:

"Alec and Farsa, the founders, were like 'developer education is boring as hell.' They were like, you know, Alec loves metal music and Farsa likes to skateboard and play League of Legends. He was like a competitive Super Smash Bros player."

This realization led to a more personality-driven approach to teaching coding, which resonated strongly with their audience. The turning point came when they created a tutorial for deploying an Ethereum smart contract, which went viral in college Web3 groups. Within two months, they had 30,000 people building smart contracts through their platform.

Curriculum Design and Learning Structure

Buildspace's educational model was designed to be engaging and accessible. Faraj outlines the structure:

"It was a six-week program. I think how the curriculum was designed is we had like three points of interaction every week. So we'd have one lecture, one lab, and then one sort of like fun fireside or office hours with a cool builder that they usually wouldn't get to personally interact with."

This format allowed for a balance between structured learning and inspirational content. Each week had a theme, starting with motivation and progressing through practical skills like building prototypes, setting up analytics, and creating demos.

The Importance of Soft Skills in Web3

One of the key insights Faraj shares is the importance of soft skills in the Web3 space. He emphasizes that while technical skills are crucial, what many builders lack are the soft skills necessary to make their products successful:

"What they're missing is the soft skills to make people aware of their products and kind of build like a really good community around it, you know, kind of design it in a minimum viable aesthetic way – all of these things that kind of make a difference and add a level of polish to some of these people."

This observation highlights the need for a more holistic approach to founder education in the Web3 space, one that balances technical knowledge with marketing, community building, and product design skills.

Growth Hacking Strategies

Faraj shares several innovative growth strategies that contributed to Buildspace's success. One particularly effective method was the "buddy pass" system:

"We noticed that a bunch of people just procrastinate on applying to the program and then wait till literally the last moment to submit their application. So we gave everyone who got accepted a buddy pass where they can just send a form with like one line, which is email, to people and then they would get auto-accepted into Buildspace."

This simple mechanism leveraged the excitement of accepted participants, encouraging them to bring friends into the program and creating a viral growth loop.

The Final 32 Competition

Another successful initiative was the "Final 32" competition, which Faraj describes as a mix of "America's Got Talent meets Street Fighter meets live voting." This competition showcased the diverse range of projects coming out of Buildspace:

"It was crazy because you'd have like a musician going against an AI app and then like a crypto founder going against someone building like a sustainable wedding business or something like that."

This competition not only provided motivation for participants but also created engaging content that attracted more people to the Buildspace community.

Community Building Through Gamification

Buildspace took community building to the next level by incorporating elements of gamification. They created four "houses" similar to those in Harry Potter, each with its own lore, color scheme, and curated Spotify playlist. This approach fostered a sense of belonging and friendly competition among participants:

"We had four houses, right? Specter, Seagull, Truckgod, Mire, and Air of All, and each house had its own lore. They had their own curated Spotify playlist where we curate songs that give like the vibe of people."

This level of detail in community design shows the thought and effort that went into creating a truly immersive experience for Buildspace participants.

The Power of Building in Public

Throughout the conversation, Faraj emphasizes the importance of building in public and sharing progress openly. This approach not only helps founders get feedback and improve their products but also contributes to the overall growth of the ecosystem:

"Solana definitely has the best like San Francisco-esque like hacker culture where people build it, iterate in public very quickly. But they're learning all in real time by observing other people."

This culture of openness and rapid iteration is seen as a key strength of the Solana ecosystem, fostering innovation and collaboration.

Applying Buildspace Lessons to Solana

Faraj sees great potential in applying the lessons learned from Buildspace to the Solana ecosystem. He suggests that a similar program focused on Solana could be highly effective:

"I think a fork of Buildspace that actually worked really well on Solana and people honestly what they're not what I don't think what they're missing is technical skills to build products. It's what they're missing is the soft skills to make people aware of their products and kind of build like a really good community around it."

This observation points to a significant opportunity for educational initiatives within the Solana ecosystem, focusing on the non-technical aspects of building successful projects.

The Importance of Storytelling and Branding

The conversation shifts to the importance of storytelling and branding in the crypto space. Faraj emphasizes that while these elements are often overlooked in crypto, they play a crucial role in a project's success:

"Branding is incredibly important unfortunately and crypto like we don't place a huge emphasis on it. It is just like a short attention span."

He suggests that more attention should be paid to creating compelling narratives and visual identities for crypto projects, drawing inspiration from successful brands in other industries.

Future Plans for Community Building

The podcast concludes with a discussion about future plans for community building in the Solana ecosystem. Justin expresses interest in creating a program similar to Buildspace, but tailored specifically for Solana:

"I think we need a partnership between like mid curve and Forma and we team up with like some of them like you know fitness app moonwalk and golfing and we just like create this cabal of like let's build a community."

This idea of creating a multi-faceted community that encompasses various interests within the Solana ecosystem shows a forward-thinking approach to ecosystem growth.

The Role of In-Person Events

Both Faraj and Justin emphasize the importance of in-person events in building strong communities. Justin shares his experience at the first Breakpoint conference:

"What had me here was like or what kept me so I guess what looked to me into it not just be a user was going to that first Breakpoint meeting people hanging out just like all the cool people."

This highlights the value of face-to-face interactions in fostering a sense of community and loyalty within the ecosystem.

Challenges in Implementation

While the ideas discussed are exciting, the conversation also touches on the challenges of implementing such comprehensive community-building initiatives. Justin notes:

"That's a lot of work. I mean like all of this it sounds amazing and it's awesome if it's like your main focus, you know? But like for like someone else to do it is like man, you need a team to like do all of this like run all of this stuff."

This observation underscores the need for dedicated resources and teams to successfully execute these community-building strategies.

The Potential of Solana Economic Zones

Faraj's current work on Solana Economic Zones represents an exciting development for the ecosystem. These zones aim to create favorable regulatory environments for crypto startups:

"We're developing Solana economic zones. Basically where we work with countries to create progressive regulations to make it easier for crypto startups and founders to succeed."

This initiative has the potential to significantly accelerate the growth of the Solana ecosystem by providing a supportive environment for new projects and founders.

The Importance of Iteration in Branding

The conversation touches on the importance of allowing branding and identity to evolve organically over time. Faraj notes:

"When you go back and look at brands they evolve over time, right? So it's like it's better in my opinion to not get hung up on the perfection at the beginning. It's just like like it's like the Solana mindset, right? Ship then iterate and eventually your brand will kind of form into what it's supposed to be."

This approach aligns well with the fast-paced, iterative nature of the crypto space and encourages founders to focus on building and shipping rather than getting bogged down in perfecting their brand from the outset.

The Role of Creativity in Brand Development

Faraj shares an interesting perspective on the role of creativity in brand development:

"I think creativity comes from like the outside like and I think that it has an idea of what it needs to be so like with videos and stuff I was like an idea. But I hold it with a loose fist because like when you're making the story like when you film in or whatever, you have you like really want it to be a certain way and you have a certain message you want to get across but when you start shooting it and when you start putting together and editing it, it becomes like sometimes it tells you the story right?"

This insight encourages founders to remain open to unexpected directions their brand might take, allowing for organic growth and authenticity.

The Value of Diverse Culinary Experiences

In an interesting tangent, the conversation touches on the importance of diverse culinary experiences. Faraj expresses a passion for introducing people to a wide range of cuisines:

"We should do that and we should just film it. We should film an action bra and stuff thing we should talk about like starting businesses and bringing bringing founders into crypto and we should eat amazing food."

This idea of combining business discussions with culinary exploration highlights the potential for creating unique, engaging content that goes beyond traditional tech discussions.

The Potential of Solana's Ecosystem

Throughout the conversation, both Faraj and Justin express enthusiasm for the potential of the Solana ecosystem. Justin shares his personal experience:

"I think I might be the first person one of the first people in the honestly, so I heard about before it evolved from a VC that I was working with in Asia they were they were one of the they were the first check written to Solana."

This early adoption story underscores the rapid growth and increasing prominence of Solana in the blockchain space.

The Importance of Community in Retention

Justin emphasizes that while the technical aspects of Solana initially attracted him, it was the community that kept him engaged:

"What had me here was like or what kept me so I guess what looked to me into it not just be a user was going to that first Breakpoint meeting people hanging out just like all the cool people."

This highlights the crucial role that community plays in not just attracting but retaining talent and users within an ecosystem.

Future Collaborations and Initiatives

The podcast concludes with excitement about potential future collaborations between Midcurve, Forma, and other projects in the Solana ecosystem:

"So that's what we need to build here. I think that I think we need a partnership between like mid curve and Forma and we team up with like some of them like you know fitness app moonwalk and golfing and we just like create this cabal of like let's build a community."

This vision of a multi-faceted, collaborative approach to community building suggests an exciting future for the Solana ecosystem, one that goes beyond just technical development to create a rich, engaging environment for founders and users alike.

In conclusion, this episode of Midcurve provides valuable insights into the art and science of community building in the Web3 space. From the success stories of Buildspace to the potential of Solana Economic Zones, the conversation offers a wealth of ideas and strategies for founders and community builders in the blockchain world. As the Solana ecosystem continues to grow and evolve, the lessons and approaches discussed in this podcast could play a crucial role in shaping its future development and success.

Facts + Figures

• Buildspace scaled to over 200,000 participants in its educational programs
• Buildspace's first viral tutorial on deploying Ethereum smart contracts attracted 30,000 people in two months
• The Buildspace program was structured as a six-week course with three points of interaction each week
• The "buddy pass" system was a key growth hacking strategy for Buildspace
• The "Final 32" competition showcased diverse projects and incorporated live voting
• Buildspace created four "houses" similar to Harry Potter to foster community engagement
• Solana Economic Zones aim to create progressive regulations for crypto startups
• Justin was one of the first adopters of Solana, hearing about it from an early investor
• The first Breakpoint conference played a crucial role in building the Solana community
• Faraj suggests that soft skills are more crucial for success in Web3 than technical skills

Questions Answered

What is Buildspace and how did it evolve?

Buildspace started as a developer education platform but quickly evolved into what Faraj describes as "the world's largest tuition preschool for entrepreneurs." Initially focusing on coding tutorials, the platform found success when it pivoted to a more personality-driven approach to teaching Web3 development. This led to rapid growth, with their first viral tutorial on Ethereum smart contracts attracting 30,000 participants in just two months.

How was the Buildspace curriculum structured?

The Buildspace curriculum was designed as a six-week program with three points of interaction each week. These included a lecture, a lab, and a fireside chat or office hours with an experienced builder. Each week had a specific theme, starting with motivation and progressing through practical skills like building prototypes, setting up analytics, and creating demos. This structure allowed for a balance between structured learning and inspirational content.

What growth hacking strategies did Buildspace use?

Buildspace employed several innovative growth strategies, with the "buddy pass" system being particularly effective. This system allowed accepted participants to automatically invite friends to join the program, leveraging the excitement of new members to create a viral growth loop. They also created engaging competitions like the "Final 32," which combined elements of talent shows and gaming tournaments to showcase diverse projects and attract more participants.

What are Solana Economic Zones?

Solana Economic Zones are an initiative that Faraj is currently working on as co-founder of Forma. These zones involve collaborating with countries to create progressive regulations that make it easier for crypto startups and founders to succeed. The aim is to provide a supportive regulatory environment that can accelerate the growth of the Solana ecosystem by reducing barriers for new projects and founders.

Why is community building important in the Web3 space?

Community building is crucial in the Web3 space because it goes beyond just attracting users – it helps retain talent and fosters innovation. Both Faraj and Justin emphasize that while technical aspects might initially attract people to a platform like Solana, it's the sense of community and personal connections that keep them engaged long-term. Strong communities also facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration, which are essential for the rapid iteration and innovation characteristic of the Web3 space.

What soft skills are important for success in Web3?

According to Faraj, while technical skills are important, many builders in the Web3 space lack crucial soft skills. These include the ability to make people aware of their products, build strong communities around their projects, and design products with a "minimum viable aesthetic." He suggests that these soft skills often make the difference between a technically sound product and a successful one that gains traction in the market.

How can storytelling and branding be improved in crypto projects?

Faraj emphasizes the importance of storytelling and branding in crypto projects, noting that these elements are often overlooked due to the fast-paced nature of the industry. He suggests that crypto projects could benefit from putting more effort into creating compelling narratives and visual identities, drawing inspiration from successful brands in other industries. However, he also advises founders to allow their brand to evolve organically over time, aligning with the iterative nature of the crypto space.

What role do in-person events play in building Web3 communities?

In-person events play a crucial role in building strong Web3 communities. Justin shares his experience at the first Breakpoint conference, highlighting how face-to-face interactions helped foster a sense of community and loyalty within the Solana ecosystem. These events provide opportunities for personal connections that can't be replicated online, helping to strengthen the bonds within the community and attract new members through word-of-mouth.