From Curiosity to Web3 Company: Steps to Becoming Web3 Ready

Welcome to Wetelo’s debut Web3 founder journey, an interview dedicated to sharing a founding story, and uncovering the secrets of Web3 business development.

Ole Scheie founded such Web3 projects as BYT3WAVE, and OffchainGlobal Norway Chapter, and is a guild leader at Polygon Labs. He believes that cooperating with both users and partners, educating your community, constantly rethinking your business model, and focusing on security and social security can help with the main challenges and thus boost the switching from Web2 to Web3 on a global scale. Here is the list of Ole Sheie’s projects that contribute to promoting and spreading Web3.

Let us elaborate a bit about Ole's projects. BYT3WAVE is a promising Web3 startup that is being built right now; thus, not many details can be revealed. But one thing is sure – it is a platform where the spotlight shines on creators thriving in the digital world. BYT3WAVE catalyzes creators, inspiring digital artistry and enhancing knowledge in a tech-centric world. OffChain Global is a worldwide community uniting Web3 enthusiasts, from blockchain developers to crypto miners and Bitcoin owners. Polygon Labs crafts scaling solutions for Ethereum on Polygon protocols, partnering with developers to build secure and affordable Web3 blockchain infrastructure.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Could you share a bit about your background and what motivated your transition from oil and gas to Web3?

I started my career in sales and later moved into the oil and gas sector, working across the Middle East and Africa. Despite my background and experience, I’ve always been fascinated by business models and scaling companies.

What’s interesting is that my hobbies as snowboarding, surfing, and arts sparked my curiosity in the NFT world. Seeing my friends engage with NFTs in 2021 inspired me to explore Web3. Thus journey revealed the remarkable potential and exciting opportunities that Web3 offers for people like me.

We’re interested in knowing more about your current projects – BYT3WAVE, OffChain Global, and Polygon Labs. Could you share the main ideas and activities behind each of them and further perspectives?

Regarding BYT3WAVE, I can't give away too much due to its early stage and ongoing discussions. That’s why I'm eager to share more details soon.

Additionally, I'm in charge of OffChain Global and Polygon Labs in Norway. I believe Norway is an ideal place for scaling in the Web3 arena. I'm also dedicated to nurturing the local Web3 community here, as enthusiast support is vital for project development. While the Web3 community isn't massive, it's steadily growing, creating numerous opportunities for OffChain Global and Polygon Labs.

It's worth noting that Norway, along with the rest of Scandinavia, presents significant promise and potential for the development of Web3 technologies.

What are the corporate values your startup holds? How do you envision your company’s image in the eyes of customers and competitors?

We're still figuring out our company culture since we're a startup in the early stages. However, I understand the importance of having a clear vision and clear goals and sharing them with our audience. We aim to create a robust Web3 community by involving as many people as we can. I do believe that only being open with our community and letting it have the opportunity to grow and scale together with us is crucial.

In one of your LinkedIn posts, you talked about competitors knowing a lot about your customers. Can you explain what you meant by that and how you're going to handle competition in the market?

Web3 is a competitive world that can’t be underestimated. It's full of new opportunities that attract more players. For example, operating on a public blockchain means that your actions are visible to everyone as well as to your competitors. This makes it tough to stand out, but it also pushes you to get better and reach your best.

What are the major challenges that you, your company, or the Web3 industry are dealing with?

Firstly, security is a big deal in the Web3 world. Developers need to focus on making things safer. Secondly, dealing with regulations can be a hurdle when building a Web3 business. Thirdly, making profits is tricky. Figuring out how to make money from Web3 is still uncertain. Skepticism around Web3 makes it only harder to capture value in terms of profit. Fourthly, collaboration is tough. Working well with your team and clients, and understanding their needs and problems, is vital. Lastly, new technologies can be a challenge. It's not just about using them – you might need to change your whole business approach.

With your experience in business development and launching your startup, how do you envision solutions to the challenges mentioned?

I think one of the most important things is to communicate with others who are also building in the same space to collaborate. You can bring more value to the product if you do it together with others.

Try meeting with the customers as well. For instance, if you're building a Web3 project for farmers, visit farmers' markets to engage with actual people and understand their real problems. The significant mistake many Web3 founders make is that they neglect this step and solely focus on new technology, such as integrating NFTs into existing objects they're already selling. Instead of just focusing on the tech, understand the challenges and see this technology as a solution.

My suggestion is to focus on educating people about their needs. To have more businesses join your network or protocol, you need to educate them about the problems they are facing today and how your technology can solve them.

Consider the current market situation with increased costs, geopolitical instability, and changing consumer behavior. If you are trying to onboard businesses, offer them a competitive advantage through technology. For onboarding users to your project, make it convenient and simple. Nobody needs to understand the underlying protocol, so don't focus solely on the underlying technology.

What would you advise someone interested in getting into Web3? Could LinkedIn be beneficial or there are other effective ways to connect with the right audience?

I think the best learning comes from interaction. Asking questions and getting direct answers is really valuable. Platforms like LinkedIn, and Twitter are helpful in connecting with the right people, although there is still much noise here. Check the blockchain products, as they usually have their own blogs reporting insightful documentaries and describing opportunities and possibilities. Podcasts also provide a solid grasp of the Web3 landscape.

How do you see the future of Web3?

Web3 could disrupt businesses if they ignore decentralization value. But I can say with confidence that Web3 will change business models and open up new ways of collaboration and development. Additionally, Web3 definitely will democratize the internet. Now it’s just the beginning. But in 5 years, we can expect full adoption of Web3.

Interview conducted and written by the Wetelo team.

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