From Controversial to Favored: In-Depth Analysis of the Rise of Alliance DAO

Alliance DAO, as a leader in the Web3 space, has successfully incubated projects with a total market value of 11 billion dollars since its establishment in 2020. This article features an in-depth conversation with Will Robinson, a core contributor of Alliance DAO, exploring its unique project selection methodology and entrepreneurial acceleration philosophy.

From Academic Research to Web3 Pioneer

Will initially researched game mechanics design in academia, and later entered the crypto field influenced by his cousin Dan. He started with auditing work and gradually became an industry expert, eventually joining Alliance as the first employee. Will stated that his academic experience cultivated his ability to handle ambiguity, which is extremely important when facing unknown issues in the Web3 field.

Alliance DAO's Project Selection Criteria

Will believes that an excellent team is more important than outstanding ideas. Alliance seeks extreme drive rather than merely valuing academic qualifications or work experience. They dig into the founder's intrinsic motivations through in-depth interviews.

The screening process typically includes two rounds of interviews, lasting 15-20 minutes and 30-45 minutes respectively. Will indicates that they can quickly assess whether the applicants have "heat". From the applications received, about 20% will proceed to interviews, of which another 20% will be selected for the second round of interviews, and ultimately only 20% will be chosen.

Unique Advantages of the Accelerator

Compared to traditional venture capital, Alliance focuses on providing comprehensive support to early-stage startup teams. Will believes that operating a complete accelerator goes beyond the scope of most venture capital firms and requires significant resource investment and focus. The advantages of Alliance are:

1. A large alumni network provides the first customers and feedback for new projects.
2. The exposure and credibility brought by brand effect
3. An experienced mentor team that can truly help entrepreneurs find product-market fit.

Founder Evaluation Criteria

Alliance mainly focuses on the following points when evaluating founders:

1. Is the cooperation relationship between the founders strong?
2. Do you have a strong desire for success?
3. Prefer smaller teams for easier and faster transformation.
4. Have a strong motivation, solid cooperative relationships, and a streamlined team structure.

It will be particularly emphasized that they value whether the founders can iterate quickly and adapt to the market, rather than pursuing a perfect product from the very beginning.

Future Outlook

Will will show a strong interest in AI-related projects, especially innovations around tokenized AI. He believes that providing financial solutions for "AI that cannot access banking services" is an exciting direction.

Overall, Alliance DAO is continually nurturing star projects leading the development of Web3 through its unique selection criteria and acceleration methods. Their successful experiences provide valuable insights for the entire industry.