Himanshu Raj

if I have to manage BD/growth at the early stage DeFi product, this is everything I'd focus on in the first 3-6 months [checklist] 1) Start testing my and competitor products daily. Figure out the basic PMF, pitch, and understand product differentiations 2) Understand the business model, and write down as many questions as possible. Annoy the founders with these questions to the point that I relentlessly believe in what I sell (remember, my major goal will be to convince people to put money onchain through my app) 3) If competent - participate in planning incentives model, tokenomics, and risk modelling. Understand the treasury setup and token utility (ies); the more tokens a project plans to have, the more important to study the math 4) Learn about the economics and source of the yield (if any), the structure of fees (onchain, platform, partner, etc.), and hedging. Figure out revenue-generating streams for these first months unless the product is in the testnet. Compare the fees with competitors and understand the golden balance between making money and not ripping off the end user 5) Draft initial KPIs for active users, TVL, revenue, and liquidity depth; refer to grant or investment KPIs if there are any 6) Study the chain(s) where you're launching. Identify the largest partners and competitors, and research the userbase. Start BD discoveries and onboarding the beta testers (if haven't done before) 7) Start onboarding LPs; do a thorough due diligence 8) Start doing discovery or onboarding exchange partners (don't concede paying CEX fees) 9) Figure out a few bridge/swap partners -- ideally, talk to more and consider a variety of options (don't concede paying for the swap API) 10) In case of a DeFi aggregator - onboard relevant perps/lending/staking providers/wallet connectors; avoid launching too many features simultaneously 11) If you plan a points program or token incentives, onboard a relevant intermediary 12) Evaluate the token sale options and understand the major pads' requirements, or prepare to host on your own 13) Onboard key security and data partners. At least make sure you have access to the admin panel and reports on daily/weekly volume 14) Design an affiliate model and incentives; try to keep early adopters engaged 15) If you have an API or SDK, treat it like a different product offering, and design a separate sales process 16) Work on the brand awareness through social selling and user acquisition through relevant communities (*here, many will just opt for having a title partner like a chain or major exchange/bridge, but don't be naive - build independent growth strategies) 17) Work on the monthly internal/investor reports 18) Understand the timeline of feature releases and potential delays or risk factors. Progress with your partnerships accordingly, don't oversubscribe the limited dev resource with integrations (almost impossible) 19) Compile FAQs and onboarding articles for early users. Record demos or walkthrough videos 20) Stay aware of the specific liquidity and markets you'd try to cover with your product This is super generic and will vary heavily by the DeFi or CeDeFi (neofinance?) apps. I think the major questions I ask BD when engaging with their new product are more or less the same: - how do I make money? - how do I redeem and bridge? - which chains do you support? - prove me it's safe