VCs are not investing in ideas or MVPs anymore (thank God)
new path is: build an mvp → acquire 100-1000 users → iterate till there is retention (no hiring, no raise, nothing) → closed loop validation → angel investments / community rounds / accelerators for audit + basics → deploy on mainnet → growth experiments with little money. focused TG, one channel, clear pmf → raise VC
hopefully, the days of raising $2mn without any validation are behind us
There are only two buyers from here on out: (1) Institutions, and (2) Protocols themselves.
These points extend the growth loop I first documented in early December 2025, reinforcing the shift from “raise‑to‑build” to a disciplined “build‑to‑raise” playbook.
In early December 2025 I posted a series of X replies that emphasized that we’re in the business of outliers and announced a shift from the “raise‑to‑build” model to a “build‑to‑raise” playbook. I laid out a concrete growth loop: build an MVP, acquire 100‑1000 users, prove retention, run a closed‑loop validation, secure angel or community funding, deploy on mainnet, conduct low‑budget single‑channel growth experiments, then approach VCs. I also argued that only a large‑context LLM (e.g. GPT) can reliably capture personality, and noted that Polymarket took 7 years to reach product‑market fit.
we’re in the business of outliers
The ‘raise to build’ model is dead. The ‘build to raise’ model is back.
- Build MVP
only possible with the LLM that has max context about us. which means specialised apps will do worse than gpt, always
Polymarket took 7 years to PMF.
100x
a few btcs
there needs to be a coder in the founding team
- Acquire 100‑1000 users
- Demonstrate retention
- Closed‑loop validation
- Angel/community or accelerator funding
- Deploy on mainnet
- Low‑budget growth experiments
- VC raise