Nikolas Sargeant
Cronos, which has recently achieved a Top 10 position for L1 blockchains, is working to build out a rich, varied ecosystem that has a wide range of products and services for its members. While many other chains have used accelerator programs to help attract top talent, the sheer size and scope of Cronos’ program is unprecedented. Securing a staggering $100 million investment for the program, the mentors include industry leaders such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, CertiK, and others.
But why is an accelerator program so critical to ecosystem growth, and why are blockchains spending so much time, money, and effort on them? After all, $100 million could create a lot of impressive R&D projects. Charlotte Kapoor, Head of Innovation at Cronos Labs, weighs in on why the chain is putting so much into the program, who they hope to attract, and what value they hope to get out of their investment.
Accelerator ROI
Why do you believe investing in an accelerator program has a better return on investment than other R&D efforts?
Kapoor: The economics of accelerator programs is dependent on 1) the ability of the program to attract high-quality teams 2) the selection process and 3) the ability of the program to set founders up for long-term growth.
Our accelerator program, currently recruiting for Cohort 3, has attracted nearly 500 applications for this cohort alone, from which we will select approximately 6 participants, which is less than a 1.5% selection rate. This stringent selection process enables us to be highly discerning in our investments, with the aim to deliver substantial returns.
Our program is also centered on developing practical use cases to drive the increased adoption of dApps that genuinely attract users and contribute to real-world usage. We seek teams that contribute to market growth by building upon existing primitives. We consider original concepts showcasing applied uses for AI, blockchain, and decentralized technology as strong candidates for a favorable return on investment. This conviction is reinforced by the synergy of these use cases with the Cronos network, meticulously designed to seamlessly integrate billions of everyday users into the Web3 world through multiple public chains.
Our confidence in investing in the accelerator program is further rooted in our belief in supporting founders. Our program provides startups with comprehensive support across all facets of growth, encompassing personalized mentorship, master classes, and tailored marketing and fundraising strategies. An extensive network of experts, including product leads, token designers, and legal and marketing professionals, guides startups through the challenges of operating in the crypto space. Teams gain access to the vibrant #CROfam ecosystem, enhancing visibility and fostering collaboration for collective growth. This foundational support positions teams for long-term success, enhancing the robust nature of our investments.
Value On Both Sides
Blockchains are uniquely suited for the accelerator model. With a more traditional business, the value added is provided for the business and sold to customers. When creating the infrastructure for an entire ecosystem, however, the challenge is far more complex. Cronos must first focus on creating a strong, secure, scalable, and accessible foundation for other platforms to build on. This core value must be excellent in order to attract the best developers and ideas; after all, there are no shortages of L1 chains to build on.
However, blockchain is also somewhat unique in that anyone can have a brilliant idea, and can learn to program in a Web3 environment to create a basic dApp. However, not many people possess the skills to fully develop a scalable, secure, and user-friendly dApp. And certainly not in a way that creates a healthy business model. There are a few rare geniuses who can do it all, but many more geniuses with the start of a great platform. Accelerator programs are specifically designed to find these great ideas and nurture the teams who have them. Instead of a grant program, which just provides funding, accelerator programs (and in particular the Cronos program) provide top-level mentorship, business and marketing support, and yes, also the necessary funding to make it happen.
As mentioned above, the accelerator program allows an ecosystem like Cronos to first attract many talented teams and allows them to get a solid understanding of the ideas out in the community that are ripe for development. However, chains like Cronos are building an ecosystem, they aren’t populating it themselves. Yes, many chains will have a handful of key dApps on their chain, but the heavy lifting must come from the community. Further, the problem that many chains find as they are in the growth phase is the imbalance of project types being built on the chain. An ecosystem only works when there is a rich variety of platforms, offering many products/services that often complement one another. Key gaps in an ecosystem can leave critical needs unmet, and that creates a risk of platforms leaving the chain and building elsewhere. Ms. Kapoor has a firm idea of how to use the accelerator program to fill in these gaps for Cronos.
Cultivating The Ecosystem
Why do you believe investing in an accelerator program has a better return on investment than other R&D efforts?
Kapoor: By the end of the recruitment cycle for our third cohort, we will have evaluated almost 1000 startups. So far, we have witnessed innovation from AI and blockchain technology in nearly every area of industry.
We would like to see more high-quality consumer-grade dApps apply to the program. Many of the primitives for these projects are built, blockchain protocols are maturing and reaching consumer readiness. L2 ecosystems offer abundant block space, and long-speculated zkRollups are coming to mainnet. Despite this progress in infrastructure protocols, there is still a clear gap in consumer-grade dApps to run on this infrastructure and a huge opportunity for these dApps to bring a new wave of users to the decentralized web.
Cronos was designed for consumer Web3 applications. Built on the Cosmos SDK while being Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible, Cronos is uniquely positioned to connect the EVM chains and Cosmos ecosystem to enable seamless crypto assets and dApps interoperability in the multichain world. Building on the Cronos chain also offers a significant advantage: providing access to Crypto.com's 80 million active user ecosystem. We also view the confluence of crypto with artificial intelligence as a powerful accelerant. As blockchain technology matures AI brings unparalleled speed and efficiency to take products to market. The accelerator collaborates with numerous businesses at this intersection, including Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS and Google Cloud offer AI-related workshops and mentorship sessions to the participating projects. It is the founders looking to leverage this opportunity that we are keen to work within the accelerator.
What’s Next?
The Cronos Accelerator program will continue to build out the larger ecosystem, and the current cohort deadline is approaching. The winners will be developed with industry-leading mentors, funding, and full support to turn their ideas into fully-fledged platforms. For those startups interested in joining, you can apply at the Cronos Labs Request for Startups Page.
