Original title: Mistakes to avoid while building in consumer crypto
Written by: @rishotics
Compiled by: Peggy, BlockBeats
Editor's Note: In the crypto industry, the debate about "whether or not to build infrastructure" and "whether technical complexity equals a competitive barrier" has never ceased. But this article provides a reverse example from a frontline entrepreneur: from repeatedly failing to bet on infrastructure to turning to consumer-grade products that people are willing to use and pay for, the author uses his personal experience to review the real difficulty of "building products" in the crypto industry.
Compared to technical complexity and grand narratives, the article focuses more on the details of users, distribution, and execution. In the field of consumer-grade encryption, value is not "proven" but "used".
The following is the original text:
As a first-time entrepreneur, I spent several years working on three infrastructure protocols, all of which ultimately failed. By 2025, I began to focus on building a consumer product that people would actually want to use. This article shares my experiences from the pitfalls I encountered in user growth and fundraising.
I have been in this industry for about four years.
In 2023, I started my own business in the EVM ecosystem, when "account abstraction" was the hottest concept. Almost everyone was developing SDKs around account abstraction wallets. At the same time, the Rollup ecosystem was rapidly gaining momentum. Optimism, Arbitrum, and various RaaS projects were taking center stage.
As someone who loves mathematics, I was deeply attracted to ZK and believed it would change the world (and I still believe it will).
One of my biggest mistakes was equating "complexity" with "credibility".
When venture capitalists ask me about application scenarios, I confidently list zkML, zk identity, zk voting, and so on—but in reality, to this day, these things are almost never actually used. I mistakenly took "the technology looks impressive" for "this is a useful product."
As time went on, I even began to believe that the more complex the idea, the higher the probability of entrepreneurial success.
Many investors also told me that in the crypto industry, only those who build infrastructure have a chance of success. It wasn't until nearly two years later, after being rejected more than 500 times, that I realized: this path wasn't for me.
So, I entered the Solana ecosystem.
This is a completely new world for me. People here care about real-world use cases. Even memes matter, but revenue matters. Speed matters. Distribution matters. (Special thanks to @superteamin for his help throughout the process.)
We've been developing consumer-grade applications within this ecosystem for almost seven months now. During the private beta phase, we've processed over $12 million in transactions. Here are some lessons learned:
1. Built for young users who are willing to try new things
Try to design products for a group that is naturally more willing to accept new products.
In consumer-grade crypto products, this usually means "trenchers" or younger users, many of whom are concentrated in the 13–21 age range.
A 2024 study by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) on Generation Z (11–26 years old) showed that 86% of Generation Z considered technology an indispensable part of their lives, a higher percentage than any older group. They adopted new technologies earlier, own an average of 13 devices per household, and use about 6 of them daily for nearly 12 hours.
Generation Z is also more likely to own emerging technology products, such as encrypted applications (for example, 58% own game consoles, a significantly higher percentage than older groups). They have a stronger willingness to spend on new technologies, subscribe to more services, and change habits and try new things much faster than Millennials, Generation X, or Baby Boomers.
They are more willing to try new applications, experiment, and quickly change their usage habits.
In contrast, older users (often 25 and over) are generally less willing to change existing processes unless the incentive is very strong. Note: This conclusion may not apply if you are developing an institutional product.
Multiple studies have also revealed significant behavioral differences: younger users engage in more social communication with others daily, meaning they are more likely to share "interesting products they've discovered" with friends. Social messaging activity typically peaks around the age of 20–21, which is closely related to university or school years.
Related research also provides further evidence to support this point. For example, the article "Age-related differences in social media use, online social support, and depressive symptoms in adolescents and emerging adults" points out that individuals' frequency of interaction on social media gradually decreases after entering early adolescence.
This trend offers a very direct insight: products designed for younger users naturally have a stronger ability to spread.
2. Make the product itself shareable to reduce marketing costs.
If you don't have a sufficient marketing or advertising budget, then your product itself must serve as a "distribution channel".
In other words, the product is the marketing, the product is the communication.
A product with strong shareability can significantly reduce marketing costs.
This is especially important in the crypto industry because:
KOL marketing costs are high.
User trust is generally low.
Most users expect rewards or incentives before participating.
In such an environment, relying on traditional marketing methods is often inefficient, while natural dissemination driven by the product itself is more sustainable.
User private messages (DM)
If your product can give users a reason to share it spontaneously, whether it's with friends, groups, or communities, you can achieve distribution results without spending a lot of money.
This is not easy to do in the crypto industry, but optimizing for it from day one is well worth it in the long run.
3. Respond to user feedback as soon as possible.
When users report problems with the user experience or encounter poor interaction, it is essential to fix them as soon as possible, especially those issues that directly disrupt the user experience.
My previous practice was to leave bug fixes until the end of the day. But one time, a user messaged me saying, "Your app doesn't have this feature yet, I'll use Y for now."
I expressed my understanding at the time, but the result was that the other person continued to use product Y. I tried to get him back through private messages many times afterward, but it was very difficult—he had already formed a habit of using Y.
Ultimately, once users have established usage habits on other products, the cost of getting them to switch back becomes extremely high.
Therefore, we should strive to fix bugs within 2–5 hours.
If multiple users repeatedly request a new feature that is very important to them and technically feasible:
• Complete development and launch within 2–3 days
· Clearly tell them that this was launched based on their feedback.
• You could even offer some financial incentives (which could turn them into your product's most active promoters).
I recently received a private message from a user who made an important feature request.
Delivering features based on user needs will bring three benefits: directly improve the product itself, increase user engagement, and build deeper trust relationships.
When users see their feedback taken seriously and actually translated into product features, they begin to feel that they have a part in the product.
This emotional sense of "ownership" was extremely important and powerful in early consumer products.
4. The name of the app is very important.
This may sound basic, but many people—including myself—have made serious mistakes at this step.
Your app's name must be highly memorable and easy to repeat and share. Otherwise, you'll frequently receive messages like, "Users want to recommend it, but can't remember your name."
And that's certainly true—the name "encifher" is inherently difficult to remember, and I really can't blame users for that.
There were even many group chats created by investors or partners where the product names were misspelled; now, thinking back on it, I can only laugh bitterly.
That's why we later changed the name to encrypt.trade.
There are actually many ready-made methods and information online for reference on how to choose a name that is "easy to remember and easy to share".
5. Communicating with users is difficult, but not something to be compromised on.
Finding users and truly engaging with them is inherently difficult, especially when your direction is outside the current mainstream narrative.
When I first started working on privacy-related products, it wasn't a popular field. Although many individual users had genuine needs for privacy, they were scattered and difficult to find.
So I did something that most people would deliberately avoid: during the idea verification phase, I proactively sent private messages to nearly 1,000 people.
If you're lucky, you'll get about 10 replies out of 100 people; and of those replies, only 3-4 will actually give you useful feedback.
A very bad example of a cold private message.
In practice, as long as someone shows even the slightest interest, I will engage in in-depth conversations with them, and iterate the product while communicating with users.
In fact, cold messaging itself is a process that requires continuous iteration. There are several key points to keep in mind when writing and sending cold direct mail: start with a relatively "gentle" opening; put the most substantial information first (such as funding details, transaction volume handled, etc.); explain where you saw or learned about the other party; maintain a friendly, non-intrusive call to action (CTA); and always follow up—don't just send one message and call it a day.
There is no such thing as a "perfect cold message". You need to continuously A/B test different versions to find out which methods are truly effective for your target users.
Below is a high-quality template for cold private messages (thanks to @realsimon, from @alliance), which you can use as a reference:
However, it is important to understand that this process is slow and psychologically exhausting.
In the crypto industry, very few people are actually willing to reply to cold private messages because scams are everywhere. A low response rate is the norm (it's certainly discouraging).
But even so, you still have to do it.
At this stage, your goal isn't to acquire 1000 users. Your goal is 10-20 early adopters who possess the following characteristics: genuinely care about the problem you're solving, are willing to try your product, and can provide honest, direct feedback.
These early users will gradually become your support system. Early products will almost certainly encounter frequent problems, and it is these users who will help you through the most vulnerable phase.
6. Rapid iteration
The crypto industry moves at an extremely fast pace. Narratives change rapidly, and users' attention spans are even shorter.
If your product lacks real value, it will be difficult to gain attention; even if you briefly gain attention without any value, that attention will not last.
It can only generate a short-term buzz, but the product itself cannot survive in the long run.
This is Toly's advice to developers at Breakpoint 2025.
The core message boils down to three points: deliver quickly, iterate frequently, and be bold in making radical adjustments.
I also learned something very important: users don't always tell you directly what to do next.
You need to observe their behavior to determine: What are they repeatedly doing? What expedients or detours are they using? What are they willing to pay for?
Many ideas sound reasonable, but most users may not be willing to pay for them.
7. Make your website so that even a complete novice can use it.
I don't know why this needs to be emphasized repeatedly, but I still have to say it: "Don't make any assumptions about users."
If you think users should be able to understand, you're wrong. Things that are obvious to us developers who have spent hundreds of hours building the product are completely foreign to users who are encountering the product for the first time.
Do not introduce any new concepts or operating procedures. Use only things that are simple, familiar, and truly make users' lives easier. Click paths should be as streamlined as possible, and users should be able to see, understand, or perceive the value of the product within 5 seconds of entering the application (we are still continuously optimizing this aspect).
I can't attach screenshots, but I've received many private messages from users who completely misunderstand the purpose of a certain feature.
Conclusion
Creating consumer-grade encrypted products is both fun and challenging.
Speed, extreme focus on users, and distribution capabilities are often more important than "perfect technology".
This is very different from B2B products, but I still believe it was the right choice we made.
This post is already quite long; I'll discuss my experience with fundraising in the next one. Finally, just use encrypt.trade directly :)
If this content resonates with you, or if you're also working on consumer-grade encryption products and would like to discuss GTM, distribution, or the product itself, feel free to message me.
I've always been happy to communicate with other founders and developers.
