5 top Web 3 startup funding opportunities (and how to get started)

If you’re looking for Web 3 startup funding, you may be:

• Struggling to understand the funding landscape for early stage Web 3 companies, including finding investors to help launch and run your startup.
• Finding it difficult to grow your business and create a loyal following, so you need funds to extend your runway to stay afloat

At Tenity, we have experience in helping Web 3 startups navigate the funding space and finding the resources they need to survive and thrive. 

I’m the accelerator program manager at Tenity. I lead Web 3 programs in Singapore and help Web 3 startups grow both in their ideation phase and scaling stage. Based on my Web 3 expertise, I share the common challenges Web 3 startups face, how to get funding, and what the top funding opportunities are. I cover:

• 2 major challenges you may face as a Web 3 startup
• 5 common ways to get funding as a Web 3 startup
• Top 5 Web 3 startup funding opportunities
• How Tenity helps Web 3 ventures 
• Why join Tenity?
• How a Tenity Web 3 accelerator graduate scaled their business to run their own program

Are you a Web 3 startup looking for funding? Discover our startup programs to find the right one for you and join today!

2 major challenges you may face as a Web 3 startup

As early-stage investors in Web 3, we’ve seen many entrepreneurs run into obstacles in the first stages of their growth journey. Here are two of the most common hurdles that, if not addressed quickly, can risk growth. 

1. Product-market fit

Finding product-market fit for a Web 3 product or service is especially hard—you’re not just finding product-market fit for your own startup, but for the industry.

Your biggest risk as a Web 3 startup is having an audience that is too niche, which makes it harder to find a market for your product, service or use case.

The same applies if your tech is too new. Since it’s unfamiliar, potential customers may be more hesitant to test it and start using it. This can make it harder to gain audience traction. 

2. A lack of user adoption

Even if you find product-market fit, your biggest hurdle will likely be low user adoption of your Web 3 solution. 

Few people own crypto, and many of those who do are not active users. This means they don't know how to interact with protocols, DAOs or blockchains and are uncomfortable with the heightened responsibility involved (the fear of losing a crypto key and ownership of the connected assets is real). Rampant crypto scams only add more fuel to user wariness, making this a particularly challenging obstacle, no matter how lucrative or innovative your Web3 project may be. 

While funding can give you the resources needed to attract users, you’ll want to invest this capital wisely to find your tribe. We see many founders burning through their funds by hosting splashy events to find their first followers. But buying attention isn’t a way to prove your worth or guarantee an increase in user adoption. 

Funding alone may not be enough to hedge these challenges. Consider the following funding options, some of which provide additional resources and expertise to help you overcome the hurdles. 

5 common ways to get funding as a Web 3 startup (and what to consider):

1. Initial Coin Offering (ICO). ICOs enable you to access funds through a crowdfunding approach. However, this form of funding is losing popularity because of the lack of regulation, which creates fertile ground for frequent scams. 
2. Initial Dex Offering (IDO). Regulated options like IDOs have replaced ICOs. They enforce strict requirements (e.g., three-month platform interaction time and minimum trade volumes), which makes the barrier of entry higher and ensures a more serious funding environment for investors and startups alike.
3. Launchpads. These crypto funding platforms allocate a certain amount of tokens to startup founders who meet specific requirements. Launchpads can operate in a centralised exchange (which requires KYC and AML) or a decentralised exchange (where requirements include audits, user time limits, etc).
4. Accelerators. These programs offer Web 3 startups funding in the form of grants, capital, mentoring, coaching or a mix of all in exchange for equity, tokens, or collaborations. If you’re in pre-seed, an accelerator can provide the additional resources you need (i.e., experience and expertise via mentoring) to help you find product-market fit and increase user adoption.
5. Web 3 Venture Capitalist (VC). Get capital from traditional venture capital firms, angel investors, or venture funds to help shape and grow your company. Venture Capitalists may ask for tokens, equity, or a mix of both.

Study the requirements of each VC, accelerator, launchpad or IDO before applying. Certain criteria may limit the options available to you:  

• Your business model. Some Web3 VCs or accelerators may only invest in certain industries or models. For example, they may only consider startups in the wealth management sector or with a B2C model.
• Your growth stage. Some accelerators may consider only pre-seed or seed round stage startups. Make sure you apply to those that can fund your current stage. 
• The protocols you use. While VCs may not care about protocols, some accelerators require you to be on their particular chain and prove transaction volume to apply. This assures them you'll produce value on that chain.
• The VC itself. Some VCs will only invest in tokens. 

Top 5 Web 3 funding opportunities

Here are the top 5 IDOs, VCs and accelerators that offer programs, funding or both:

1. Tenity 

We’ll start with ourselves as we’re the ones writing this article. 

With Tenity, you can become part of a global innovation ecosystem that promotes Web 3 business development. As early stage investors, we work closely with startups, mentors and corporate partners through accelerators. Our programs help kick start Web 3 startup growth by enabling collaboration between Web 3 founders and corporates, which are looking to share their know-how in exchange for innovation in the Web 3 space. 

We started our corporate accelerator and incubator programs in 2016. Since then, we’ve enabled 100+ successful startup-corporate collaborations and have over 250 accelerator alumni. You can apply whether you are in pre-revenue or ideation stage, or have a prototype or MVP. You don’t need to be incorporated when you apply.

With our Web 3 programs, you’ll get:

• Access to an extensive network of corporate partners, investors, mentors and Web 3 founders.
• Programs in major Web 3 centres, like Switzerland and Singapore. 
• Masterclasses to help you overcome common Web 3 challenges, like fundraising, product-market fit, pitching and marketing.
• One-to-one mentorship to help you grow your Web 3 startup while seeing your business from new angles. 
• Entry to conferences and events, like Token2049. 
• Up to $50,000 in grants or investments between €50k - €100k.

Discover our current programs:

• Singapore Pre-Seed Incubator Batch 8. August to December 2024
• Zurich Pre-Seed Incubator Batch 13. August to December 2024
• Nordics Pre-Seed Incubator Batch 4. August to December 2024

Get access here: Tenity

2. Blockchain Founders Fund 

As a VC, Blockchain Founders Fund invests in pre-seed and early stage Web 3, blockchain, and emerging tech startups. While they don’t provide accelerators, they do offer venture building to help you grow your startup. 

Get access here: Blockchain Founders Fund

3. Blockchain Founders Group 

Web 3 startups in pre-revenue or even with an MVP can participate in accelerators at Blockchain Founders Group (BFG). Having helped grow 50+ companies to date, the BFG is a VC that offers collaborative programs, uniting founders, experts and advisors to help you take an idea or MVP and make it a reality. Successful startups can receive up to €120k in support. 

Get access here: Blockchain Founders Group

4. Outlier Ventures

Outlier Ventures offers a three-month remote program where Web 3 startups can join and receive funding in exchange for 6% equity. Their program is known as “Base camp accelerator” and they accept startups from verticals including DeFi, NFTs, infrastructure and gaming. Their program specialises in helping founders with fundraising, selecting the right tech stack and token design.  

Get access here: Outlier Ventures

5. Alliance

With Alliance, Web 3 startups can access accelerator programs and receive up to S$250k in funding with flexible terms. Their accelerator programs include mentoring and live lectures from crypto and Web 3 experts. Successful accelerator graduates can become part of Alliance’s growing founder community to continue to receive support from other accelerator graduates. 

Get access here: Alliance

How Tenity helps Web 3 ventures

As fast-moving fintech and Web 3 experts dedicated to building an innovative ecosystem where everyone wins, we know that community is key. Here is how we can help Web 3 startups achieve their funding round goals and more. 

You’ll receive grants and funding as a Web 3 startup

We offer different funding programs based on your growth stage. This enables us to give you the right tools and resources needed to create a solid foundation or grow your business.

We provide intensive programs for pre-seed co-founders looking to launch and find further funding. You can get up to S$70k in exchange for 2.5% of equity.

For startups that have already launched, have enterprise-ready solutions, and are looking for growth, we offer equity-free programs. These range from accelerators to collaborative programs and allow you access to renown fintechs and consultancies. These programs enable you to speed up collaboration and form innovative partnerships with enterprise-level firms looking to partner with or invest in Web 3 startups.

Curious to know more? Read how our funding works.

You’ll get access to corporate experience and expertise through our accelerators  

We offer accelerator programs in Singapore, Zurich, Tallinn, Madrid, Istanbul, and London to speed up business growth. We co-lead and co-sponsor these programs together with corporate partners. For example, we’ve run programs together with XRPL and Keyrock.

Our accelerators facilitate knowledge exchange and mutual innovation. Both you and the corporates collaborate and leverage each other’s strengths. You receive industry insights and business-growth expertise from seasoned professionals, while you share your disruptive Web 3 thinking with corporates to help them innovate. A prime example is our Julius Baer Web3 accelerator to promote collaboration between Web 3.0 companies and the wealth management industry. 

Through our corporate accelerators, you’ll also get access to masterclasses we organise specifically for Web 3 startup needs. For example, advisors and experts will lead masterclasses and workshops on product-market fit, user adoption, sales and more.

You can learn from large crypto companies like Ripple through our accelerators

Networking is central to our accelerator programs. With Tenity, you’ll get access to large crypto firms like Ripple so you can learn from a successful Web 3 enterprise’s mistakes to identify and avoid pitfalls. You’ll also get Web 3 specific strategy help and insights on how to pitch investors (and know what they’re looking for). 

We’ll also introduce you to potential blockchain mentors, who are experts helping to grow Web 3. Our specific mentoring programs can help you find product-market fit quickly so you can go to market with a viable product and increase your chance of user adoption. 

For example, our XRPL accelerator focused on startups building on the XRP Ledger. The mentoring included masterclasses, pitch coaching and strategy sprints to help pre-seed blockchain technology startups with tech integration and with understanding the ABCs of building a business.

Why join Tenity?

We live and breathe fintech and Web 3 and operate in two key Web 3 hubs: Singapore and Switzerland. With Tenity, you’ll receive our guidance on how to use our accelerators, funding and networking events to help you grow. Here are four key reasons to join our funding and accelerator programs: 

1. You can scale with security. We focus on helping you find product-market quickly while providing legal and compliance consultancy. This guidance enables you to know how to create a solid foundation for long-term, compliant growth that protects client funds and assets. 
2. You get to build the right infrastructure to attract the right audience. To increase adoption, you need to ensure your infrastructure can operate on a multi-chain. We help you find resources to enable your tech to work on Ethereum, IOTA, and more. 
3. You create a community. We help you find your first fans and prove your worth through networking and community-building. For example, you’ll find a tight-knit Web 3 community in Singapore, where we base our 2-week accelerators. You’ll also get a demo day at the end of each accelerator where you can pitch your product to investors. Some of these are open to the public, which is a great way to get a community excited about your product. Read more about how our demo days work. 
4. You can cultivate long-term collaborations. We help you form an international comradery during our programs. You’ll get access to an extensive global cohort to form fruitful collaborations. For example, one Tenity accelerator graduate partnered with three cohorts to spin off a new project together. Joining the accelerator increases your chances of finding your tribe to make launching and scaling easier.

How a Tenity Web 3 accelerator graduate scaled their business to run their own program

After participating in one of our accelerator programs, Keyrock, a digital assets platform, has enjoyed rapid growth. After completing Tenity’s accelerator, they went on to access US$72m in series B funding. Today, Keyrock reaches 550k+ in daily trades, integrates with 85+ exchanges, trades in 1,300+ markets and is live in 36 countries.

Their speedy rise in the cryptocurrency market led them to invest in co-sponsoring a Tenity accelerator to help Web 3 and fintech startups access the resources they need to grow and innovate. 

They received 198 applications from 36 countries and selected 8 startups. This four-month program concluded with a Demo Day with fija finance receiving €100k in investment.

Keyrock’s success story, from pre-seed startup to enterprise to corporate sponsor, highlights not just the importance of funding, but the impact corporate collaboration can have on the success of Web 3 startups. 

Access Web 3 startup funding and connect with investors through Tenity

Web 3 startups looking for funding can benefit from networking, mentoring, professional collaborations and access to capital at Tenity. Our accelerators help you navigate the funding landscape more easily while you build relationships and products that will resonate with investors and your target audience. Access the resources you need to extend your runway and build your Web 3 business with Tenity. 

Reach out to us to learn how we can help your Web 3 startup. 

‍

Sources:

• ‍https://blockchainff.com/
• ‍https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/268668-10#overview
• ‍https://blockchain-founders.io/
• ‍https://tribex.co/accelerator/
• ‍https://alliance.xyz/
• ‍https://keyrock.com/keyrock-accelerator-program-web3-startups-selected/
• ‍https://keyrock.com/keyrock-accelerator-program/
• ‍https://keyrock.com/keyrock-accelerator-program-Web 3-startups-selected/