Chain Venturer: Jakub Rusiecki of Social Graph Ventures

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Happy Weekend 🙋🏻‍♂️,

Welcome to Chain Venturer, a series of intriguing conversations with crypto investors. This week, we have Jakub Rusiecki from Social Graph Ventures.

Jakub Rusiecki is the founder of Social Graph Ventures, an investment DAO with a community-first approach dedicated to allocating capital to web3 social projects.

If you want to learn about all things web3 social, this is the issue for you.

If you would like to participate in a future episode, DM me here.

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Jakub Rusiecki, Founder of Social Graph Ventures

Jakub Rusiecki is the founder of Social Graph Ventures, an investment DAO with a community-first approach dedicated to allocating capital to web3 social projects.

• Jakub is also the co-founder of The Symmetrical, a DAO of 60 Gen Z members that invest and consult web3 projects, with a particular focus on consumer applications.

• He is also a member of Hydra Ventures, the world’s first DAO that operates like a fund of funds — it invests in web3 projects and incubates other investment DAOs.

Prior to crypto, Jakub worked in the health tech sector at HomeDoctor, a Polish startup, from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, he fully committed to crypto by co-founding The Symmetrical and joining Hydra Ventures.

Jakub studied at Imperial College London and earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry in 2020.

Here’s my conversation with Jakub Rusiecki.

Quick takeaways:

• Joining and contributing to a DAO is a great way to build networks and seek opportunities.

• SGV is an investment DAO with a community-first approach dedicated to channeling capital into the application and middleware layers of web3 Social

• SGV is interested in dynamic NFTs and pro-social gaming experiences, exploring use cases opened by new technological developments like ERC-6551.

• Jakub acknowledges that the NFT boom, accompanied by numerous scammy projects, has contributed to the branding challenges in web3 social and crypto.

• Finding a balance where the financial aspect is exciting enough to engage users in a manner akin to casual gambling or small-scale investing, but not so high-stakes that it leads to devastating financial consequences is a key challenge to solve in web3 social.

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What was the defining moment that drew you into the world of crypto?

Jakub first encountered crypto during his school days in the UK when he was 14. At the time, Jakub’s older Russian housemate started mining Bitcoin. Despite being intrigued by it, the negative sentiment around Bitcoin at that time deterred Jakub from delving deeper.

It wasn’t until the peak of the crypto market in 2017-2018 that Jakub started dabbling in the space, investing modest amounts. However, he retreated after the subsequent market crash, feeling more like an observer than a participant. This experience, during his university years, cemented his resolve not to miss out on future crypto opportunities.

After university and while at a health tech startup, Jakub reignited his crypto interest, focusing on NFTs and the metaverse. He was significantly influenced by Andrew Steinwold.

• His ideas about land scarcity and the potential of creating new jobs in the metaverse resonated with Jakub. This interest led Jakub to invest in Decentraland and even pitch a Polish gallery to create a virtual space alongside renowned names like Sotheby's and Christie's.

One defining moment: Jakub realized in 2021 that his true passion lay more in the realm of crypto than in his health tech career. Particularly intrigued by the concept of the metaverse, he delved deeply into NFTs and began trading land in Decentraland. Embracing his passion, Jakub left his health tech job and co-founded The Symmetrical, focusing on Gen Z investment and consulting in the crypto sphere.

The Story Behind The Symmetrical

Jakub first learned about the importance of joining and contributing to a DAO as a means to build networks and seek opportunities. This led him to discover a Gen Z DAO being formed (The Symmetrical), which he joined, aligning with advice from various articles about sustaining a career in crypto.

Initially, he joined The Symmetrical to stay active and secure employment in crypto, but quickly, it became a full-time endeavor. Eventually, Jakub became the co-founder of The Symmetrical alongside Erica Echaniz. Erica’s vision was to gather a diverse group of young crypto enthusiasts, including builders and young VCs, to pool capital and invest in on-chain assets. 

• A key turning point for The Symmetrical was when they received an investment opportunity from Evin McMullen of Disco.xyz. This investment highlighted the attractiveness of their demographic to founders, showcasing their potential to provide organic growth support and practical use of platforms.

Subsequently, Jakub realized The Symmetrical's unique position in gaining access to such investment opportunities, prompting the idea to raise a Gen Z-focused fund. Despite being relatively new to the space and lacking an extensive network, Jakub's persistence in reaching out to admired figures in the crypto world led to fruitful connections.

• One notable interaction was with @pet3rpan_ from 1KX, who advised against raising a fund prematurely. Instead, he recommended adopting an equity-free grants model, similar to MetaCartel's approach. This strategy involved persuading sponsors to fund grants without expecting direct financial returns. The Symmetrical succeeded in this endeavor, even establishing co-granting relationships to extend their financial runway.

Understanding Gen Z's edge in consumer applications, The Symmetrical directed its grants program towards such projects. The grants, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, led to several funded projects advancing through accelerator programs and receiving term sheets, showcasing The Symmetrical's early support for promising ventures.

To generate revenue, The Symmetrical ventured into content production, launching series like "Where is the Money in the Creator Economy?" and hosting product roasts. Their foray into media NFTs culminated in the creation of Collectible DAO, a venture focused on media NFTs as digital collectibles with historical significance. This initiative leveraged insights gained from their grants program and content creation efforts.

What is Social Graph Ventures?

A key moment for Social Graph Ventures (SGV) happened when @pet3rpan_ introduced Jakub to Hydra Ventures. SGV's involvement with Hydra aligned with their belief that investment DAOs complement traditional venture capital, offering diverse perspectives vital for deal evaluations.

Hydra Ventures, boasting $10M in AUM, invests in a variety of investment DAOs, including those focused on zero knowledge, AI, and sectors beyond crypto like biotech. SGV was among the first to be incubated by Hydra.

SGV is currently raising a $3M fund (*as of November 2, 2023). Although still in the fundraising stage, they have sufficient capital for significant operations. SGV's investment strategy focuses on apps and middleware, with check sizes between $25K and $100K.

• Their thesis is based on the idea that while major players invest in social protocols, the app and middleware layer crucial for these protocols' success is often overlooked.

Areas that SGV is interested in: SGV’s investment scope is broad and constantly evolving. They look into various categories, including consumer-friendly mobile apps, novel web3 social experiences, and platforms that integrate financial incentives with social interactions. Their investments reflect a keen interest in platforms that offer new, convenient experiences beyond the typical ideals of decentralization and censorship resistance.

Moreover, SGV is excited about the potential of dynamic content consumption and creator tooling, focusing on monetization, subscription, and content production. They are particularly interested in dynamic NFTs and pro-social gaming experiences, exploring use cases opened by new technological developments like ERC-6551.

Jakub also sees potential in reshaping online dating through blockchain, aligning platform incentives with users' desires for long-term relationships, a concept they term "Datify." This approach aims to realign the business models of dating platforms with the genuine needs of their users.

• On the middleware side, SGV is particularly interested in innovative marketing tools that reimagine the relationship between advertisers and their audience.

• Another area of interest for SGV is algorithms. They foresee a marketplace where DAOs and on-chain communities could sell algorithms tailored to highlight content relevant to their members or community interests. This approach not only supports the open, censorship-resistant nature of social graphs but also offers a means to filter content, an essential factor for attracting traditional brands to web3 platforms.

• Additionally, SGV is keen on exploring the realm of analytics within web3 Social, recognizing its potential to provide valuable insights. 

Jakub invites anyone developing in these areas or related fields to reach out to him. 

Here is the link to Jakub’s Twitter account. 

Web3 social is deeply intertwined with NFTs and crypto branding amongst influencers and consumers has been severely damaged. How can we address this branding issue?

Jakub acknowledges that the NFT boom, accompanied by numerous scammy projects, has contributed to the branding challenges in web3 social and crypto.

He believes there needs to be a delicate balance, especially when considering SocialFi and other social-related aspects. While small monetary involvements can be fun, the situation becomes problematic when significant sums, like a child's college fund, are risked on high-stake investments. This kind of behavior has led to severe financial repercussions for many, contributing to the negative backlash against NFTs.

Jakub suggests that the solution lies in finding a balance where the financial aspect is exciting enough to engage users in a manner akin to casual gambling or small-scale investing, but not so high-stakes that it leads to devastating financial consequences. He believes that addressing the branding issue might involve rethinking how NFTs are named or presented, while also acknowledging the remarkable potential of the technology.

Jakub emphasizes the significance of digital asset ownership, a concept that became tangible around 2017. He highlights our extensive interaction with the digital world and the human desire to collect and own things. Until the advent of technologies enabling digital ownership, there wasn’t a viable way to prove ownership of digital items. Jakub views this development as a crucial step forward in the digital era, despite the current challenges in branding and perception.

Rapid Fire Questions

1. What's one piece of content every aspiring investment professional should read/watch

   • 1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly.

2. What’s your biggest investment mistake?

   • BitClout.

3. What’s the most underrated use case of crypto?

   • Digital Collectibles and NFTs.

4. What’s your most contrarian view in crypto right now?

   • Successfully monetizing as a web3 content creator is currently a fairytale too many people believe in and web2 social is catching up with fairer revenue share from ads. We need a lot more people and liquidity for this to work out. What can really drive this is realizing the cultural significance of collecting (by the mainstream) content and ways content creators can engage with fans in unique ways.

5. What’s the biggest risk that the crypto space is facing?

   • (When the bull run is here) there's going to be a bunch of grifters coming back into the space and just trying to extract value and then we're going to go through the same problem perhaps with a different niche.

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