Balancing Community Engagement And Strategic VC Partnerships

According to BlockBeats, finding a balance between community engagement and strategic venture capital (VC) partnerships is crucial for founders. Rob Hadick, a general partner at Dragonfly, emphasized that VC will continue to be a primary means for entrepreneurs to innovate, while crowdfunding can add value to this narrative. Michael Bucella, co-founder of Neoclassic Capital and former executive at Goldman Sachs and BlockTower Capital, noted that platforms like Echo can offer large-scale distribution and joint services. However, he pointed out that these platforms currently lack additional functionalities. While Neoclassic does not actively recommend these platforms, Bucella mentioned that as familiarity with them grows, they might be more inclined to include them as co-investors in their lead deals. He stressed that VC advice remains crucial for founders, especially in top-tier projects. Erick Zhang, managing partner at Nomad Capital and founder of the newly launched ICO platform BuidlPad, encouraged projects to combine both models. He advised founders to raise funds from VCs that provide strategic value, such as networks and expertise, while also leveraging platforms like BuidlPad, Echo, and Legion to engage community and angel investors.