Alex Masmej, Founder of Drakula.app | Web3 Galaxy Brain 🌌🧠 ​

Alex Masmej, Founder of Drakula.app | Web3 Galaxy Brain 🌌🧠 ​

April 15, 2024

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SUMMARY

Smart contracts, security, and decentralization are crucial for the future of NFTs and digital content, as well as the potential for AI advancements in travel and the human quest for exploration and discovery.

• 00:00 🌌 Drakula.app founder discusses challenges of fundraising, integrating AI, motivation for hard work, and plans for growth and improvement.

  • Alex Masmej discusses his journey in the crypto space, including the development of Drakula.app and the inspiration behind the creation of various crypto products.

  • The speaker discusses the challenges of fundraising in the crypto space and the importance of aligning the narrative with the actual product being built.

  • The speaker discusses integrating AI into app development, the challenges of AI recommendation algorithms, and the process of recruiting an effective team.

  • The founder of Drakula.app discusses the motivation behind working hard, the coordination and authority given to the engineering team, and the thorough review and testing of smart contracts to ensure a successful and fast development process.

  • Drakula.app integrates various protocols and incentivizes creators and users through token creation and trading, with plans to continue integrating protocols and leveraging the social graph for growth.

  • Drakula.app took longer than usual to build due to technical debt and confusion around the brand, but the team is confident in the product and plans to grow the engineering team to improve quality.

• 14:49 🌌 Drakula.app is future-proofing with a bonding curve, pivoting to video content, addressing security concerns, reworking their blood point system, and aiming to reward creators and capitalize on potential TikTok bans.

  • The speaker discusses the importance of future-proofing their app by using a bonding curve with no standard, the potential for their token to become an NFT, and the challenges and potential improvements for mainstream adoption of crypto wallets.

  • Drakula.app pivoted to video content after music NFTs on L2s failed economically, and they have implemented bot protection and dealt with impersonation and scamming issues.

  • The speaker discusses concerns about security and control in app abstraction and third-party providers for managing user accounts in Drakula.app.

  • Drakula.app's blood point system is being reworked to quantify usage and reward attention, with plans to integrate with other apps and launch an onchain Creator fund.

  • Drakula.app will reward the best video content creators with a focus on original content and on-chain monetization, aiming to make users and creators more money than Tik Tok.

  • The goal is to be ambitious and not settle for being a small app, with the potential to capitalize on the potential ban of TikTok by improving the app and its features.

• 35:18 🌌 Crypto is evolving to capture big adoption, Drakula.app is aligned with Fester as the leading social graph protocol and open to integrating other protocols, potential of FAS protocol, creator tokens, advertising spots, and the importance of persistence and always shipping new content.

  • Crypto is evolving to capture a big adoption moment, with a focus on integrating the best protocols and dominating the crowd, while considering the importance of distribution and the potential for competition within the network.

  • Drakula.app is aligned with Fester as the leading social graph protocol, but also open to integrating other protocols and potentially protocolizing their own features in the future.

  • The speaker discusses the potential of the FAS protocol and the benefits of attaching a wallet to social engagement, as well as the future potential of creator tokens and the transparency of the current product.

  • The speaker discusses potential advertising spots, airdrops, and gated experiences for collectors on Drakula.app, but emphasizes the need to first grow the app before implementing gated perks.

  • The speaker discusses the approach of trying different features without betting the farm on any one, being more data-driven and open to ideas from smart crypto-native people.

  • Drakula.app founder discusses the need for bold moves to stay relevant, the positive aspects of their platform, and the importance of persistence and always shipping new content.

• 50:57 🌌 Drakula.app founder discusses tokenizing Zora collection, importance of crypto builders, app algorithm, VC funding, and challenges in hiring and building a technical team.

  • The speaker discusses the idea of tokenizing a Zora collection as a potential way to make a living on chain, but is unsure if it will be successful.

  • The speaker discusses the importance of hearing from builders in the crypto space, highlighting the expertise of solidity developers and the need for a platform to engage with high-quality listeners.

  • The app will boost users with 100K+ followers and prioritize videos from users with a Dracula profile in the feed algorithm.

  • VC funding was crucial for the success of Dracula.app, as it allowed the company to thrive during tough times and sustain itself for three years, with the last valuation of the company being $50 million.

  • Navigating the hiring challenge for technical staff as a non-technical founder was tough, but the experience led to growth and learning in building a big technical team.

  • The speaker discusses the process of hiring and building a team, as well as the challenges and iterations involved in developing their startup, Drakula.app.

• 01:03:15 🌌 The speaker emphasizes the importance of community in the crypto industry, discusses challenges in startup motivation, and shares experiences with legal and tax issues in creating the Alex token.

  • The speaker discusses the importance of building fully fledged products in the crypto industry, the essential role of community in project success, and the goal of creating a more fun and entertaining culture for their app.

  • The speaker discusses the importance of community building, providing examples of successful cultural touchstones and leaders like Vitalik Buterin in the Ethereum project.

  • The speaker discusses the challenges of maintaining motivation and confidence in the early stages of a startup, emphasizing the importance of long-term vision and perseverance.

  • The speaker discusses the design and functionality of the forecaster platform, including the integration of different blockchains and the use of connected wallets for airdrops.

  • Creating the Alex token in France led to legal and tax issues, including a significant tax bill and difficulties with immigration, but ultimately resulted in obtaining a prestigious exceptional Talent Visa for the US.

  • The speaker discusses the importance of proving success and technical credentials as a founder, and mentions the value of participating in global hackathons and being associated with successful individuals.

• 01:19:37 🧠 Despite technological advancements, human nature and status games will persist, and the speaker views their own mental health struggles as a superpower, not an excuse.

  • As a French person on a TN Visa in the US, the speaker was relieved to learn that even if they struggle financially due to late taxes, it won't result in deportation or visa revocation.

  • The speaker discusses the controversial quote that every founder has mental illnesses, and shares their perspective on their own hyperactivity and mood volatility, viewing it as a superpower rather than an excuse.

  • The idea that technology will create a perfect world is not realistic, as human nature and culture remain unchanged despite advancements in digital technologies.

  • Status games will persist despite advancements in technology, as seen in the growing interest in traditional sports like chess and track running, and there is potential for a parallel Olympics where people can use drugs and potentially implants.

  • In a world of abundance and technological advancements, there will still be status games and challenges for the human species to conquer, as organizing humans has not evolved at the same pace as technological advancements.

  • Human labor is still cheaper for many applications, Elon Musk's vision of roboticizing the Tesla supply chain didn't work out as planned, and AI advancements may lead to robots performing tasks currently done by humans.

• 01:29:42 🌌 In the next 10 years, there will be a shift towards more realistic technology, with potential for growth in fantasy sports NFTs and mainstream adoption of crypto culture, while Drakula.app aims to provide analytics for creators and potential alternate revenue streams.

  • In the next 10 years, there will be a shift towards more realistic technology, but humans will always be drawn to the unknown humanity of real humans, and there may be a divide between those who want to remove biological limitations and those who do not, with interesting developments in the telegram and defi spaces.

  • France has a successful tech company in fantasy sports NFTs, with potential for 10x growth in the industry, and Tron is widely used for USDT in Asia despite being overlooked in the US.

  • Crypto culture will likely become more mainstream in the future, with speculation being a superpower but not the only focus, and microtransactions playing a significant role in the everyday user's experience.

  • Drakula.app aims to provide users with analytics to optimize their performance, similar to how creators use analytics to optimize their content.

  • The speaker discusses the need for full feature parity with TikTok, the importance of analytics and an edit screen, and the focus on converting users from offsite to onsite and then to key purchase.

  • The speaker discusses the potential for a new algorithmic recommendation system and Creator fund on Drakula.app, emphasizing the importance of monetization for creators and the potential for alternate revenue streams to deemphasize the importance of keys.

• 01:47:26 🌌 The speaker discusses the transition to a new mechanism, potential move to Zora, and the goal to beat TikTok in monetizing creators, emphasizing the importance of integrating various protocols for creators in the crypto space.

  • The speaker discusses the transition to a new mechanism, offering incentives for keyh holders to migrate, and the sustainability of a fixed price mechanism compared to bonding curves.

  • The speaker discusses the potential move of videos to Zora, the possibility of rebranding to "sunshine", and the goal to beat TikTok in monetizing creators, while also emphasizing the importance of integrating various protocols for creators in the crypto space.

  • The speaker discusses the potential ban of Tik Tok in the US and the need for a decentralized alternative that allows creators to earn and have a stake in the network.

  • French people are talented at building social apps, but the speaker believes that social apps should bridge over to web 3 instead of focusing on web 2.

  • Decentralization and self-custody are important for increasing economic freedom and fairness, but the focus is on creating a product that allows people to earn more and participate in networks, with the ultimate goal of decentralization and ownership.

  • Alex Masmej discusses potential vampire attacks, integration with Pearl and Poly Market, and the future of prediction markets in the web3 space.

INSIGHTS

Key insights

• 💰 Smart contracts were reviewed and audited by elite firms, ensuring the security and reliability of the Drakula app.

• 🎥 The transition from music NFTs to video content was driven by the economic breakdown of the system on L2s, leading to a pivot towards the most popular content format ever.

• 🎨 The idea of showcasing the biggest collectors of a given artist or creator on Drakula.app could be a unique and engaging advertising strategy.

• 🚀 Even in a world of abundance, the human species still has a quest to conquer other planets and escape the solar system before it explodes.

• 🚀 The potential for AI to make significant advancements in travel, such as supersonic planes and SpaceX rockets, is an exciting prospect for the future.

• 🧠 Humans will always be drawn to the unknowable humanity of a real human, even in the face of advanced AI technology.

• 🌐 The potential for fantasy sports as NFTs in France is huge, with the vision of composable gaming social network on top of sports, aiming to scale the human feeling in sports.

• 📈 Ownership and decentralization are crucial for ensuring that users earn their fair share and for pushing applications to become more decentralized, such as by putting videos on IPFS.