Advice For Crypto Startups On How To Stand Out In Their Field With dozens of businesses being created every day, you may be asking how to stand out from the rest. These nine simple tips will help you be unique and launch a startup that distinguishes itself on the market from competitors
By Johnny Lyu
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Ten years ago, the crypto industry started its long journey with the Bitcoin (BTC) launch. BTC sparked the revolution in the finch industry, offering possibilities for many startups to rise since then.
However, with new companies launching every day, there's more competition and higher stakes to prosper than ever before. As a startup company, you're among thousands of others trying to make a name for your own brand.
As a startup launched in 2017, KuCoin has developed into a top 5 crypto exchange. Also, KuCoin Labs, the investment and research arm of KuCoin, has incubated over 50 startups for the market. With years of experience and knowledge collected for more than four years, I would like to share my nine proven success tips for every crypto startup that strives to stand out
Emphasize Your Unique Selling Point
Rule number one for standing out is to be unique. It sounds obvious, but in the world where new businesses emerge daily, your audience should clearly understand your uniqueness. Explain what problems you aim to solve and why specifically your business is the best solution to that problem.
However, keep in mind that you have competition, and probably a large amount. So analyze and find out your competitors' value and offer better products or services.
Here's how KuCoin did it: Currently it is a top cryptocurrency exchange with over 10 million users worldwide, but when the company launched in 2017, many different crypto exchange companies existed. So KuCoin offered an additional way for users and beginners to earn a passive income, by holding the KCS tokens and earning daily rewards.
Have a Clear Message
At the heart of every business should be some kind of message. And when launching a crypto startup, you need to have a clear message that both your audience and the team understand, whether it's the first blockchain-based MMORPG or the first DEX on KCC.
Your message or ethos will help reinforce the identity of your business and, if written properly, will make your startup stand out. As your business grows, marketing will become an essential tool to increase your presence on the market. Good marketing requires an idea, central theme, or message to be effective.
This brings us to my next tip — you need to become a marketing expert.
Become a Marketing Expert
Every startup needs a talented marketing executive. We have seen many promising blockchain projects with solid technology backgrounds but zero marketing sense. Most of them were forgotten quickly.
Once you have such an expert, come up with a creative marketing campaign and use it to your advantage. Make sure you understand the audience of your target market. For instance, our survey shows that Youtube is the top information channel for investors in India and Brazil, while their counterparts in Turkey spend more time on crypto price-tracking websites and crypto news websites. You should also know such user behaviors.
Network with Other Startups
Meeting other people who work in the same field as you is a key aspect of growing your company. You never know where you will need help in the future. As a crypto startup, networking with other crypto businesses will open numerous opportunities for you and help you grow your business organically.
Among the portfolio of KuCoin Labs, one of the best practices for this is Bloktopia, a metaverse built on Polygon. Thanks to its huge network in crypto, it managed to invite top brands like Solana, KuCoin, Avalanche, Coinmarketcap and Cointelegraph to join its Skyscraper, setting up virtual offices. These big partnerships generated lots of media outlets, making it one of the most trending metaverse projects in this quarter.
Don't know how to build the network? Industrial events like BlockShow and Token2049 are perfect places to start.
Attract VCs and Investors
Investors can potentially help boost your startup's growth. They can help fund a new project, re-invest for the company's growth, and increase its workforce. Simple collaboration with a well-respected name can easily help your business stand out and potentially prosper.
You should know each VC may have their own preference on the project to go for. Take KuCoin Labs, our research and investment arm, as an example, we are more prone to work with sustainable startups, environmental wise and business wise. Also, its differentiation from existing players is what we care most about.
Develop a Mobile App
Currently, all crypto traders, investors, or everyday users prefer mobile phones over desktop PCs. In many emerging markets like SEA, over 80% of KuCoin traffic comes from mobile devices. So in order to create and maintain a successful startup, you need to stay ahead of the times and understand trends. The mobile era is currently at its peak, so creating an interactive and UX-friendly mobile application is a must.
However, be sure to fully test the application and ensure it is efficient, fast, and secure before launching it for the public.
Provide Phenomenal Customer Support
Your customers should feel like royalty. Customers expect great customer support no matter what type of service or goods you provide.
Approximately 75% of customers think that customer service is a test of a company's competence. And they are not wrong — all successful and well-known businesses have great customer support. So as a small company that is just beginning its journey, building a loyal audience can be achieved through the power of phenomenal customer support.
Adopt Philanthropy
Customers like businesses that give back to local organizations. It shows consumers that the startup is not only worrying about its own prosperity but also cares about its local community.
Whether it is a big charity fund or a small amount of assistance, it will still be a big step in the right direction of standing out and winning over your community.
Stand Out from the Crowd
Launching a company in the crypto world and beyond is a tough journey; however, there are plenty of ways to make your startup unique and valuable to the customers. Focus on bringing value to your audience, and don't be scared to stand out.
I hope these small tips give you a great place to start with your new business!
Note: Investment in cryptocurrency is subject to risk and readers should do their own due diligence. Entrepreneur Media does not endorse any such investment.