Brinc opens the global callout for its fourth round of Web3 acceleration, confirming its commitment to empower early-stage founders and support transformative innovation in the fast-evolving space of decentralized technologies.
Since the debut of its Web3 vertical in mid-2021, in partnership with Animoca Brands, Brinc has directly witnessed incredible growth in this pioneering landscape. So far, Brinc has onboarded more than 46 portfolio companies in Web3, across the fields of Technology & Infrastructure, DeFi, Gaming, Metaverse, Entertainment, Healthcare, Arts & Culture.
Brinc has embraced this virtual revolution while early-adopting visionary founders are inspired to keep innovating towards a decentralized future. The common goal is to grow this emerging industry and overcome the challenges presented when bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3.
Earlier this year, in a piece titled “Brinc’s Predictions for 2023,” Web3 Program Manager Shirley Feng noted that appealing to the masses through daily usage and real-world interactions were a strategic priority for startups. She said: “People are trying to build products that matter to everyday users, like music and video platforms, and loyalty program tools.”
Today, as blockchain technology, infrastructures, and tools continue to evolve, achieving mass adoption has become the key objective for new Web3 startups. She explains: “There’s a clear trend of users moving towards a Web3 era. We want to support founders who facilitate the onboarding of more and more people to this new way to do things, new experiences, new space of unlimited potential.”
In this post, Feng shares more about Brinc’s Web3 vision, industry opportunities, portfolio reflections, and new callout tips for founders hoping to join the Brinc network.
Mission: What Does Brinc Stand For in Web3?
Web3 represents the next evolution of the internet, characterized by decentralized, secure, transparent technologies that aim to reshape the way we interact, transact, and create value online. This shift will empower individuals, foster personal data ownership, ensure user privacy, create new economic models, and offer exciting opportunities for innovation and collaboration.
For Brinc, embracing Web3 is more than an opportunity. It is a strategic imperative closely tied to our mission to foster and nurture innovation, and reinforces our role as a catalyst for positive change. Web3 introduces a realm of innovative possibilities, spanning from decentralized entertainment and gaming to transparent supply chains and digital-identity solutions. By offering support to startups within the Web3 ecosystem, Brinc contributes to the growth of an emerging industry that will fast-become mainstream, and equips entrepreneurs with the means to disrupt and revolutionize diverse sectors.
Web3 signifies a transformative force that has the capacity to redefine industries and question established norms. Through collaborative efforts with Web3 startups, seeking to partner and connect key innovators, ecosystems, and protocols within the space, Brinc remains at the forefront of shaping the future of entrepreneurship while propelling the adoption of decentralized technologies.
Web3 Startup Acceleration: New Opportunities
At Brinc, we look at startups that solve a real-world problem and shape a more inclusive, transparent, accessible future. In Web3, we want to support those who lower the barrier for mass audiences to enter. Imperatively, we work with industry leaders such as Animoca Brands to explore new verticals within Web3, to experiment fresh ideas and innovative technologies for industry development.
Our accelerator programs provide extensive resources through founder engagement with industry professionals, and introduce strong network connections, especially to those based in Asia and the MENA region. For the Web3 industry to grow and help advance the adoption of blockchain technology, we also encourage the sharing of knowledge and actively participate in global industry events to showcase promising startups.
For our recent Summer 2023 web3 cohort, we focused on unique founders who were building something new in the space and pre-seed-/seed-stage companies that added newness to our partner Animoca Brands’ portfolio. After that, we looked at:
- the team (two full-time founders, experience, past exits, character, personality)
- valuation range and fundraising status
- technology and application (relevant and practical blockchain use case)
- runway (a timeline of at least 6+ months, at least a POC or prototype)
- traction (revenue, community or both).
Web3 Portfolio: Highlights
Brinc has an extensive Web3 network that includes investors, technical experts, ecosystem partners, security providers, and fellow founders, and this ecosystem continues to grow. We leverage this to provide startups with the best-fit resources to overcome initial barriers to entry and reach critical milestones.
Since our first Web3 cohort in Fall 2021, and looking over our 60+ portfolio companies in this vertical, we’ve seen many follow-on successes in this field. Highlights include:
- Aria Health: partnered with Mediclinic International to onboard data from 80 hospitals, coupled with a pilot with Novartis (a global pharmaceutical firm) and Syndena (a data aggregator).
- DanceFight: actively collaborating with top-tier brands such as Animoca Brands, Samsung Smart TV, Snapchat, and Sony Music Entertainment.
- Enklu: Enklu grew 160% in 2022 to a US$1.4M run rate. The company has secured a US$3M pipeline that includes enterprises such as Celebrity Cruises, City Neon, Crayola, Disney, and Rovio.
- Growfitter: has established strong partnerships with 200+ premium brands, including Gillette, P&G, and Puma.
- SuperSight: SuperSight has signed LOIs with 21+ businesses to integrate their internal data on their platform and access to search. The team has also signed a pilot agreement with YGG.
- Top Tier Authentics: has established partnerships with leading industry entities such as Amazon as an approved authenticator, plus eBay, Fenix Games, Pristine Auctions, and XSet.
Looking ahead: Fall 2023 Cohort Callout
For our fourth Web3 cohort, we’re interested in early-stage founders who may fit under three strategic categories: Mass Adoption, Decentralized Infrastucture, and Enterprise Applications. Our goal is to grow the Web3 audience as well as support startups that work “behind the scenes” — such as with innovations in peer-to-peer storage, interoperability protocols, enhanced productivity solutions, and management tools. In fact, the “less obvious” and “more off radar” your Web3 company idea is, the better.
If your Web3 startup ticks off these boxes, we’d love to hear more from you:
☑️ Already has an MVP
☑️ Lowers the barriers for people to enter Web3
☑️ Set up by experienced founders
☑️ At Pre-Seed to Seed stage.
Applications for Brinc’s Web3 accelerator programs are now open. Interested pre-seed-/seed-stage start-ups can apply now.
