Joey DeBruin
@joey_debruin
Followers
5,055
Following
1,525
Media
468
Statuses
5,911
Ex-neuroscientist, ex-chef, ex-plorer. Founder @withBackdrop . Writing about how builders create great products @ ✍️
Santa Monica, California
Joined March 2015
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Eurovision
• 258302 Tweets
Stormy
• 209706 Tweets
Caramelo
• 178976 Tweets
Lover
• 136351 Tweets
wonwoo
• 111473 Tweets
#ParisTSTheErasTour
• 107429 Tweets
mingyu
• 106587 Tweets
WHAT IS HAPPENING
• 81085 Tweets
The Bear
• 75129 Tweets
Nego
• 54177 Tweets
Long Live
• 50738 Tweets
vernon
• 47732 Tweets
Mother's Day
• 45402 Tweets
Janja
• 38857 Tweets
#النصر_الاخدود
• 35492 Tweets
The Archer
• 31221 Tweets
Fearless
• 31094 Tweets
Rick Scott
• 30994 Tweets
twenty one pilots
• 27589 Tweets
メイドの日
• 20170 Tweets
Gollum
• 20045 Tweets
Paramore
• 18610 Tweets
Sheldon
• 15652 Tweets
NEW BODYSUIT
• 11516 Tweets
#ÖğretmenTekYürek
• 10403 Tweets
Successfully building a consumer product in web3 after many years in web2 requires consciously undoing some fairly deep habits.
The fun part is that web3 work is less about tricks to unlock user motivation, so the undoing feels great.
Here are the big ones I've learned so far:
44
96
656
If I was a web3 VC the key question I’d ask any company is “how fast are your iteration cycles” and then I’d ask them to describe the last one in detail.
The ground is moving under everyone’s feet - speed of learning is a KPI that will matter to any project.
10
29
356
@packyM
My brother has it set so you need a code to unlock it, and his girlfriend has to enter the code after he tells her why be needs it. That seems to work a bit better.
3
0
158
Interoperability is the gravity that pulls Web3 to the tipping point. It’s an old term worth a fresh look.
A thread from my latest article on
@forefront_
about interoperability, building legos over sculptures, and how looking into the
@viamirror
can help us see the future. 👇
3
15
110
@sariazout
and I are launching a podcast! "Tokens, But How?" is about the messy details of building token-based products. Produced by
@every
and
@seedclubhq
, each episode is a live exploration with an expert as we navigate the early days of
@startupyworld
and
@withBackdrop
11
15
108
Product launch alert 🚨🚨🚨
Crypto has enabled high-trust transactions in previously difficult places, but hasn't yet done the same for people connections. We need the etherscan for on-chain work.
World, hello
@withBackdrop
alpha. We're sharing early, and excited for feedback.
9
10
91
I wrote a short piece on why digital networks pull us towards inauthenticity, and how that inhibits what we actually want — opportunities and connection.
This is of course a huge topic, but I'm thinking about whether community owned networks will actually change things.
7
10
91
We don’t get through market cycles and scandals by doomscrolling — our ecosystem grows stronger as we build together. So…
I’m giving away 5k USDC between 5 people that have an idea for a novel way to foster collaboration between other builders 💰🤝
Here’s how it works 👇
11
24
79
We're hiring a head of community design, which I'm incredibly stoked about - who are the best community designers out there I should talk to (even just for advice on hiring the right person/setting them up for success)?
13
9
79
Ultimately, I find web3 product work much easier from a growth perspective and much harder from a design perspective. Personally, that challenge makes me enjoy the work more because you have to spend a lot more time focusing on how to really solve people's problems.
2
9
76
In addition to adding motivation, we spent a ton of time in web2 removing friction: the other inhibitor of engagement.
This is absolutely needed right now in web3, but it will reach a point of diminishing returns. Intentional friction to build strong community will be key.
4
2
74
Just published what I hope will be the most important piece of writing in my career, not because it’s so amazing but because it kicks off our own rich and non-traditional path to building something great.
Would love your help getting there 🤝
5
9
76
I'm truly pinching myself as I announce that
@kianamoods
will be joining Backdrop as our Head of Growth & Community! 🎉🏔️
Kiana has helped bring inspiring communities and brands to life for over a decade. She's been at the very leading edge of web3 and the future of work.
19
1
77
Creator collectives are the future. So excited to officially announce that we launched our own, Creative Kitchen, a team of writers exploring modern creative work.
🚀🎉🚀🎉🚀🎉
A thread on how we got here, and what's coming next 👇
4
9
73
In web2, data is the moat. Over the last decade 'growth' as a practice ate other product work in a lot of companies: everyone thinking quantitatively about how to get MORE.
In web3, the bigger unlock is being very intentional about all of the open data that already exists.
2
6
70
V stoked to announce that once again we're hosting events during
@withBackdrop
Build with people that I can’t believe we’re getting in one room🤯, starting this Thursday with:
-
@mhdempsey
, MP
@compoundvc
,
-
@aaronmcdnz
, founder
@futureverse
-
@WillPapper
, founder
@Syndicateio
4
18
70
The
@forefront__
weekly newsletter on web3 is still one of the few newsletters I read cover to cover every week. If there's a better curation of content in the space, I haven't found it.
4
4
68
If I could invest in
@multicoincap
after listening to
@KyleSamani
’s conversation with
@eriktorenberg
, I would without hesitation. So many clean and compelling insights and mental models packed into one hour. Must listen for anyone in the space
4
7
66
In web2, so much of what we learned was how to leverage user psychology to drive more engagement.
We still do that in web3, but tokens unlock a much more powerful source of motivation: ownership.
@fractalwagmi
is a great recent example of the new "drop your ENS" growth channel.
3
5
62
100 Builders is not your typical accelerator or hackathon, so we're going to do demo day a bit differently as well. We want it to be interactive.
If you like playing around with products at the edges, you're invited...
Next week we'll have somewhere around 50 demos from…
32
15
64
If I help you move and you bake me my favorite cookies, I feel warm and fuzzy🤗
If I help you move and you give me 8 dollars (the cost of those cookies), I never help you again😡
New article on why unlocking web3 social means delayed gratification
5
4
65
I’ve interviewed hundreds of founders, written a dozen articles, and recorded a full season of a podcast about the topic of community ownership.
Given the latest SEC lawsuits, it felt like a good time to reflect on what I got wrong: the true cost of implementing ownership.
4
13
57
Curry fish tacos w/ pickled radish, ginger guac, fried shallots. Starting to find my voice in the kitchen
4
32
50
Last one is network connections. In web2 we were trained to get more follows, more connections, more content, more richness in the graph.
In web3 the richness of the open graph means that sense-making and contextualizing it to open opportunities is the more important skill.
3
4
56
We’re on track to help launch ~150 new products in crypto and AI next week 🤯🤯
I need help building a panel to review and give away $90k in grants.
We have a great crew so far but if you or someone you know loves reviewing new products, DM me or comment below 👇
22
8
55
(1/7) We love to collect the things we value. That’s one reason tokenized digital ownership has exploded — from NFTs for media to social tokens for digital communities.
The next big wave of tokenization will be products, but how?
A 🧵 from my latest article on
@forefront__
3
13
56
It's crazy how much the financial aspect of web3 has made people forget about the power of emotion to drive behavior, specifically around the feeling of ownership.
If you think someone acts the same after receiving a non-speculative 'token of appreciation,' you're missing a lot
2
3
53
Pretty damn proud of this program. We hustled hard together and quite honestly the results are beyond my expectations.
Virtual hackathons and similar programs usually get 7-20% of projects through. We got 50 and they are pretty awesome. Go check them out for yourself.
It's finally here 🚢
BIG. 100. BUILDERS. LAUNCH. DAY. ENERGY.
Today we're launching 50 🤯 projects building open tech in AI and crypto.
The best part? You can test them out for yourself, join the alpha squad, even check out the code.
Come explore the frontier 🚀
6
21
67
8
4
51
To most people, the sides NFT debate feel like one of two options:
- It's snake oil. They have no intrinsic value.
- The future is here! We can finally own and monetize digital content.
It's neither. It's a step towards better attribution.
A thread from my latest article 👇
4
6
48
Too many people are looking at web3 like it's a whole new cuisine, when in reality it's parmesan cheese — an ingredient so good that after a while it will be hard to imagine the dishes it goes on without it 🍝
5
7
46
These examples are just a few skills I've found retraining on challenging, but there are many more.
Bringing more experienced builders over from web2 will help us cross the UX chasm and build web3 products that can truly compete with web2. I hope these reflections can help!
3
1
44
The % of opportunities that come to me based on recent experience only is sad.
I am:
- A trained neuroscientist
- A recovering academic
- A product leader
- A semi-retired chef
- A writer + podcaster
- A web3 founder
We need better systems for the world of polywork.
5
3
46
We're starting to open up Horizon to more builders — who should I connect with?
Looking for ~5 people that are actively building community powered projects, and want to connect and get support from others doing the same.
Comment them here, or DM me.
15
9
44
Stoked to announce a project I’ve been working on for months with
@adam__xyz
:
The Unlock — decoding how cool products actually get built
Because contrary to the stories we tell afterwards, building is never a clean linear process. It’s messy, and defined by a few key unlocks 🗝️
8
5
44
Just ran into a builder who joined Build v3 “to finally launch something that has been in his head for 3 years and see what happens.” Ended up getting a $50k grant from Hedgey that “totally changed his life.”
Build is amazing.
4
6
44
@bbalfour
UX researcher. Maybe not just emerging, but one where demand will grow exponentially. As many technical problems get easier, qualitative research will grow in proportional leverage.
2
3
42
7
52
30
I like to think I've earned a little karma in connecting and supporting hundreds of founders over the past year, and I really need some help🙏
Are there any founders building in frontier spaces (crypto, climate, AI, biotech) that I could interview for 30 mins in the next week?
18
13
41
Spent too much time today digging through this and all of the bashing of Packy and web3.
First off, I would just tip my hat to
@packyM
. Crystal ball of the future aside, seeing web3 leaders take the high ground gives me a lot of confidence.
On the arguments themselves...
2
2
39
For years I’ve struggled to put words on why I’m confident in the future of our networks.
If the digital world has been cold and lonely, will that define us as we move online?
I finally published a piece on why we can, and must aim a lot higher for how we build connections.
2
4
40
@sariazout
This doesn't happen often, but I definitely disagree.
This is a spectrum not a binary, and great products come from the messy middle — a clear vision of the future you want to create and relentless iteration to find the path to it.
The pushback on the lean MVP approach is…
4
1
39
One reason people fail when trying to build deeper value into Discord is because they mistakenly think of it as the starting point for DAOs.
Imagine if instead of first round interviews or guided onboarding, companies just told prospects and new hires to "go hangout in Slack."
7
4
39
Next podcast episode is out! This time
@sariazout
and I talk with
@TirmanTom
of
@parsiq_net
(“the Zapier of blockchains”) about how to build clear value into tokens post-launch, including how to connect ownership to real revenue streams.
1
11
37
Some news: we’re launching a podcast — highlighting the conversations we have with builders at the edge of frontier tech.
E1 was recorded in 100 Builders. I sat down with
@jessepollak
and
@connerruhl
to talk about why open tech matters, and why now's the time for "idea guys"💡
3
5
38
Category of lessons I’ve learned the hard way:
- Never serve the first pancake
- Never pitch your favorite investor first
- Never onboard your most promising customer into a new product first
Aim to be first, except for pancake-type things.
4
1
39
My newest post is up on
@Reforge
! Yes we look to science in how we run experiments, but what about what to do when those experiments fail, when growth horizons emerge, or when the model itself needs disruption?
0
10
38
Backdrop team offsite in the Dolomites!
If you like building permissionless protocols, a great team, and meeting up all over the world every few months — we’re hiring 🗻
P.s. can’t wait to share the result of all this deep work together. Big things coming!
1
3
38
Farcon, like all other crypto conferences, is a reminder of how much of the fun i've had in crypto has come from being in the broader
@seedclubhq
orbit from day 1🌱
can't find a better group of builders, homies, or enjoooyers of exploring the edges
3
1
39
A good example of this is
@FWBtweets
. On the one hand, many (myself included) have argued that anchoring the amount of tokens needed to access to dollars would help them grow, but growth also makes delivering community value harder, so increasing friction makes sense.
1
1
35
The community ownership paradox:
- Launching a token before having a healthy community is a route to chaos, risk
- Building a healthy community without being clear on how you see community ownership is hard
This is why the high % of "aspirational DAOs" is a feature, not a bug.
1
1
37
E3 of the Backdrop Podcast is live — ”Exploring Where to Build Next in Crypto”
Too many great moments from this convo with
@patrickxrivera
of
@worldslargest_
,
@thattallguy
of
@seedclubhq
, and
@dhadrien_
of
@Sismo_eth
.
This from Jess is a good summary: now is the time to build.
5
11
33
Startups are weird.
In the last 4 months of 2023 Backdrop helped launch >200 projects, and get >$140k in grants to builders to help them continue to ship.
I admit, I find that cool. But our plans — and of course, our remit — is so much bigger that you almost forget to notice.…
3
4
34
Over the past few days we've had an application to 100 Builders every ~ 20 minutes 🤯🤯
There is so much energy to build open tech at the frontier ⚡️⚡️⚡️
5
1
35
If you're on the fence about applying to the
@seedclubhq
cohort, let me know and I'll write you a personal note about whether I think your project is a good fit and why it might be worth it.
Dooooo it, I can guarantee you won't regret diving in with this community.
I've enjoyed looking at the Seed Club applications, but I wish there was more weird stuff coming through for SC05.
If you have a crazy, weird, out-there idea for a tokenized community, apply now and let me know so I can boost your application.
22
10
141
2
6
35
The vision for web3 as a fairer internet is an opportunity, not an inevitability - it’s complicated, and messy.
@sariazout
and I got into the weeds with
@ljin18
on her theory of justice for the internet, and how builders can take concrete steps towards that place.
1
1
34
gm to anyone in web3 who is in it for the right reasons, period✨
6
3
33
We need more cool side projects/experiments in crypto.
If there's one in the back of your mind you'd do if you could find the right co-conspirators, I'm happy to try and facilitate at least one good connection for you.
Comment, DM me, send a carrier pidgeon or smoke signal...
2
4
32
I wrote a while ago that community ownership is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's complex to get right from so many angles, but I firmly believe that if you are clear with your community about your intentions the rest will take care of itself.
So excited for this - our next step!
After a lot of work and an insane amount of feedback from our community (thank you!!) we’re excited to unveil the start of something big….
💎💎💎 gm Gems 💎💎💎
Gems are how we plan to track and reward contributions from people and communities that build with us 🤝💪
1
8
42
3
7
34
There are many years of research on the kinds of work that decentralized communities (Wikipedia, etc) do more effectively than centralized ones, and a big issue rn is that many DAOs simply aren't doing that kind of work:
- highly modular
- fairly objective measures of success
4
7
33
@packyM
Since you're already an expert on web3, explore the other trend that will entirely rebuild our lives in the next decade: biology as a platform.
Read about Jennifer Doudna and why the revolution via computer code is about to happen via genetic code
3
2
33
Our north star isn't getting projects funded — it's builder energy, period ⚡️⚡️⚡️
That said, a lot of builders that come through our doors end up looking for ways to raise money and go full time.
So for Build V2, we'll be rolling out a number of ways to help builders keep…
8
2
32
Starting to build out better info on why we think what we're doing matters, and why the timing is right.
This is very much "build in public" vibes - while it reflects lots of conversations with our team, it hasn't been through rounds of feedback or fine tuning.
1
5
31
We're hiring a Program Manager to help us run Build V4 ⚡️
Build is our 4 week program where we work alongside dozens of the best companies in tech to support thousands of builders launching something new.
DMs open. Referrals and RTs appreciated to help find someone great 🙏
4
13
31
I'm sure FWB and many others will continue iterating o the design of that friction over time - for example adding smart friction to the referral process but holding price constant to make access more financially equitable.
To be clear, this will be really hard to do well!
1
0
28
Reading about crypto to understand crypto increasingly feels like diminishing returns.
What one book/article/podcast that's NOT about crypto has most influenced your thinking about crypto?
11
0
31
It's hard to imagine how different things might be if I hadn't met
@thattallguy
and the
@seedclubvc
team as a result. They were the first to really see what we were trying to build, and we haven't looked back since.
Builders, you won't find better support.
Today, we are excited to come out of ’stealth’ and officially announce ourselves.
Hello world, we are Seed Club Ventures, a $25M venture DAO investing in a world of internet-native organizations 🌱
What are we up to? Read on ↓
56
102
736
3
1
30
Over the past 6 months,
@sarizout
and I interviewed some of the most inspiring people in web3.
After every episode, I wrote a thread of what stuck with me. As this season comes to a close, I thought I’d share them all and ask for your help shaping what comes next.
2
1
29
So incredibly pumped and excited to finally share this. Putting Backdrop v1 on pause to cook up a new experiment with
@seedclubhq
was not an easy decisions, but absolutely the right one.
Below are some of my favorite self deprecating memes on our confusing brand changes...🫠
Hey there - we have some *BIG* news for you: we're rebranding Horizon to become the new Backdrop (and sunsetting our original flagship product)
Read on for that and more juicy updates :)
1
8
35
4
1
30
Over the past week I've interviewed 34 early-stage founders in crypto, AI, biotech, and climate — it's a crazy, exciting, lonely, and confusing time out there for everyone right now.
Take care of yourself, and better yet do that by connecting with someone else going through it.
3
3
30
Yeah I'm biased but ngl the
@withBackdrop
notifications are sneakily already super useful to get a sense for what's going on in web3
4
2
29
There has been a lot published, recorded, and said about
@BuildOnBase
recently. I've consumed a bunch of it in prep for a upcoming chat with Jesse.
This episode between
@sinahab
and
@jessepollak
is not only hands down the best thing I've consumed about Base, it is one of the…
2
3
30
Building in web3 at the moment is equal parts:
“How tf did I get here and why would anyone build in a space with so many big unanswered questions.”
“Holy F how did I get so lucky that these are the big unanswered questions I have to dig into to do my job well.”
3
1
28
Getting high quality edits/feedback on your writing via
@0xFoster
for less than 50 bucks and in less than 48hrs feels like stealing it's so good
1
4
30
If anyone has a referral to an amazing Head of Community & Growth we end up hiring, I will happily pay a $1k referral bonus and/or cook you and your friends my famous turmeric chicken + coconut rice bowls
PS if you’re thinking “wow wouldn’t it be fun to experiment at the edges of community ownership, the future of work, and open source protocols”....
…it is fun, and we’re hiring a Head of Growth & Community
2
0
14
10
3
29
I'm not sure I've read a book that better describes what it feels like to build something new than "The Making of Prince of Persia" by
@jmechner
.
Not the clean reductionist history — the raw, daily rollercoaster.
4
3
28
Yes, people are changing their PFPs back from NFTs because of the crypto winter, but it's also because digital collectibles need to make it at least one level deeper in people's online identity
8
0
29
Goodreads comments are possibly the closest thing we have to how we actually want online discourse to work - people have shared context and argue specific points.
I want to build a fun DAO experiment that leverages a community to curate and reward post-content debates. Help?
9
0
29
@ljin18
needs no into, but what I most admire is that she is one of the few people that innovates at every altitude of the topics she cares about.
She writes theory for HBR, invests that theory in companies, and implements that theory on the ground floor as a creator herself.
4
4
26
So f'ing proud of all the work that went into this, and excited to finally share it with the world.
The first post I ever wrote about web3 was "Why the YC of crypto will be better than the original." That was two years ago, now partnering with
@seedclubhq
feels so right.
2
2
28
Tuna ceviche w/ blood orange and tiger sauce from the new
@hartwoodtulum
cookbook!
#xmaspresent
3
21
23
I experienced the magic of
@Globalcoinrsrch
as a founder raising money for
@withBackdrop
, but it was after recording this episode with
@JoyceInNYC
and
@ArthurZubkoff
that I decided I had to invest.
The $GCR mediated flywheel may truly help them outcompete mega firms like a16z.
5
6
24
"AI will be web3’s ultimate best use case. People will need a way to own, permission, and benefit from their data as it feeds increasingly powerful models" -
@packyM
's recent essay.
The most powerful visual way to understand this is the 'jaws' graph of income vs GDP growth
3
2
27
6 months ago we launched Build v1 with 100 builders, and it was awesome. So we did it again, and again.
Today we wrapped v3 with 1300 builders in 88 countries + launched hundreds of projects including 40 awesome finalists.
I need to sleep for like 48 hours, but then it's back…
1
1
28
Work is multiplayer, and the future of professional networks is an open graph that developers can trust.
Excited to build that future with this squad 💪
@coordinape
@seedclubhq
@seedclubvc
@paragraph_xyz
@bellosights
@CollabWORK_co
@Radarxyz
@QUESTS__
@avenueplace
@Upsidecoop
To start, we’ve partnered with 10 pilot teams. Each team has a Backdrop profile page, including what they’re building & the connections they’re looking for– ranging from finding product testers to consumer crypto founders to like-minded builders.
👋Meet the first Backdrop Teams:
1
0
9
3
5
28
Been thinking a lot about the chicken and egg of tokens after talking to dozens of founders of web3 projects that are working towards a major token launch.
I now believe very strongly that non-speculative tokens are the missing bridge to launching many more successful projects.
3
1
28
hardly slept last night reviewing all of these projects - we had to expand the number of finalists we were planning to take just because there were so many awesome projects. can't wait to unveil them.
totally nuts that i get to support builders like this as my job 🥹
170 projects launched in Build V2 🥹
on Sunday we'll announce the finalists — which are AWESOME — but the real prize is shipping that idea you couldn't get out of your head 🚀
massive congrats to build V2. you all brought so much energy and crushed these past 4 weeks 💪
4
4
33
3
2
27
I think the secret on this one may be out already, but having
@JuliaLipton
in your camp is not only incredibly valuable given her intelligence and vision but just generally delightful and fun.
1
0
27
160 projects launched in Build V2 🥹
the backdrop team may not sleep for the next 24 hours reviewing them all and selecting finalists, and we couldn't be happier about it. so many gems in there 🤩
3
0
26
We need more writing that ends with web3 rather than starts with it.
- Start with a clear user problem
- Lay out various solutions (with + w/o crypto)
- Clearly articulate which one best solves the problem
People don't want crypto, they want better solutions.
2
3
24
I truly can't think of anything that gives me more confidence in and motivation for what we're doing than how many people from our own community have applied to our Head of Growth & Community role 💞 🥲
3
0
26
I started a company over a year ago and since then I've spent some long nights and weekends working, dealing with difficult vendors, and creating complex financial models ... in order to plan my wedding.
1
0
25
One of the insights we have from interviewing 50+ founders recently is that a cozy conversation with peers often comes up as the unlock for support networks that end up doing amazing things.
So, we're of course getting meta and cultivating conversations about that topic.
4
8
25
@0xJim
Yeah I know the feeling. I would say I'm bearish on truly decentralized DAOs solving 95% of problems, but bullish on the outsized impact of the 5% they can solve. Also bullish on DAOs that look like traditional orgs but with tokens as equity (once that's legal). Give it time.
4
0
24