Recap of AMA with tehMoonwalkeR’s High Table
On the 29th of April 2021 @ 6PM UTC , An AMA session with Avalaunch Directors Mark Stanwyck and Dave Donnenfeld was held in the tehMoonwalkeR’s High Table Official Telegram channel . Below we present to you an excerpt from AMA with questions and answers. It was wonderful and very informative, Enjoy reading :)
Mark | Avalaunch:
Hey everyone. Ready to go!
Dave Donnenfeld:
At your leisure my liege, we are good to go.
Blaze™️:
Welcome fellas, super excited to have you here with us this evening, well keen to hear what you have to share.
Mark | Avalaunch:
Pleasure to be here and thanks for having us.
Dave Donnenfeld:
Appreciated, thanks for having us.
Blaze™️:
In the famous words of tonight’s sponsor, Nature Boy, let’s get this AMA cracking.
Blaze™️:
Let’s start off with an intro. Please tell us more about your backgrounds and your roles at Avalaunch?
Dave Donnenfeld:
Well to introduce myself — I’ve got pretty a varied business background both entrepreneurial and more traditional, having founded a behavioral health company back in the day that transitioned to private equity. I’m a published writer from mainstream magazines to prescriptive non-fiction so I ended up working with investment memorandum which often fuses marketing, legal and accounting into one. There’s never been a loser on paper so sousing out the contenders is something I became competent at. When I got into blockchain a few years ago, it kind of stumped me as to how people are going to learn their way into this because it’s not as intuitive as it should be so anything that can attract people to something captures my attention. Early-stage companies as tradable assets is a scary proposition in reality. When it came to Avalaunch, this seemed like a no brainer — here’s an opportunity to impose some standards and have a chance to filter projects from a fundamental standpoint, offer some guidance hopefully and lead them into proverbial battle.
Mark | Avalaunch:
I’m Mark, one of the directors at Avalaunch and I have been building in crypto since 2017. My background is communications, technology, and marketing. I am largely responsible for the day to day operations and making sure that Avalaunch is best serving the growing Avalanche community. Speaking with projects looking to raise fairly and spreading the good word.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
Love the background and I was once a publisher in a former life, so we share a similar history.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
Nice, man bringing some top-notch communications to the team.
Blaze™️:
So, we are all fairly learned regarding launchpads. What sets Avalaunch apart from the many other options out there currently?
Dave Donnenfeld
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Let me count the ways. Quips aside, and Mark and company have heard this from me ad nauseum. There are simply no fundamental considerations for new project. What’s a project’s burn rate, use of proceeds etc. Is there some pathway to profitability or tangible adoption metric that we’re capitalizing here or is this a fund and see kind of thing? The reality is that as the space matures, these considerations will really matter.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
So true, these are missing in a very big way. I agree these will come to the fore in the near future.
Mark | Avalaunch:
Mainly our approach to community and fairness. Avalaunch is a community-oriented project, so we try and distribute the sale tokens as far and wide as possible, allowing anyone that wants to participate. No whitelist, confusing sale mechanics, and 30 second FOMO-driven rounds. We offer teams and communities an awesome experience, without all the nonsense. We also have special rounds for the Avalaunch community and are very committed to getting everyone involved.
Dave Donnenfeld:
The saying that it’s “99% vapor ware” gets bandied about a lot but in crypto, we have a tendency to see things fail and get quickly forgotten. As volatility lessens and things consolidate, we’re going to look around and see a flight to quality. Crowdfunding is not going away but we won’t have launchpads sprouting up like weeds.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
Have you implemented mechanisms to check these criteria?
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
Love the simplicity of it all.
Mark | Avalaunch:
Thanks, it’s a nice departure from what is currently available.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
Can you break down your core features and how they are different to your competitors right now?
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Good question. As a decentralized project that will eventually move to governance contracts, we are trying to think about the best way to implement some “rules of engagement” early on that can live in the contracts. So, we are working to find a balance between staying true to the decentralized ethos while instituting some level of standards. Give them something govern while being a community led project. To come full circle and answer, yes. This is being done internally.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
Will be game changing once you have accomplished it.
Mark | Avalaunch:
There are many, but the primary ones are 1. Fair, guaranteed allocations. 2. A full-featured platform for team, including admin backend and contract deployment 3. And awesome incentives to participate in sales, without needing to a hold a fortune worth of tokens.
Blaze™️:
Don’t think I could invest in another project that doesn’t adhere to something like this once it comes along.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
So, when you say fair. What do you mean, everybody gets a slice of the pie?
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Well, I think fundamental considerations are a point of departure. Two, every launchpad has a screening process and having been on the inside of a few, it’s not exactly an airtight process. Like everything, Avalaunch is an execution play so simply streamlining the process and being better, matters. I think we have the personnel to improve upon things considerably.
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
If you want allocation, you’ll get it. It may be smaller, but it’s better than a large chunk going to an unknown few.
Blaze™️:
Must admit, has become monstrous the collateral requirements for some launchpads to gain access.
Blaze™️:
Decent access at least
Mark | Avalaunch:
It’s a different type of approach that more inclusive.
Dave Donnenfeld:
There are no tiers, and you will not be required to hold our token, if you don’t want to. We will have a full post about this soon, but we will be offering a guaranteed allocation for XAVA token holders, an allocation for those that help secure the Avalanche network (validators are people too) and then a general public allocation. We want everyone to be represented.
Blaze™️:
Well, I suppose the next thing for a top notch launchpad, is being able to get the best quality projects to launch on there. Have you got some great ones lined up already for soon after launch?
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
I’m pretty much quoting Mark here by the way. He lifts my material a lot and never credits me and I don’t want to fall into this pattern 😂
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
Wow don’t even have to hold the token to get access.
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Absolutely, we are in touch with a number of strong projects that will bring a ton of value to the ecosystem. We are very selective. We want to Avalaunch to, in some ways, represent the best and brightest of the ecosystem.
Blaze™️:
Although I love the inclusivity, won’t this run the risk of making the allocations received always miniscule?
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
Top notch, bring the best and the rest will follow.
Dave Donnenfeld
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Well, we are going to be moving away from the traditional seed/private/public ratios. Yes, definitely if the public round is 1/100th of a private round that took place a week earlier. As we near parity, this won’t be as much of an issue.
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
When you see our platform after it goes live, there are some mechanics in place to make sure that only the truly motivated participate. This will help. But at the end of the day, smaller and broader is better than a large amount to the unknown few.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
In a way it is great to avoid dumps from mega holders too, so nice stable launches I would imagine allowing for organic growth.
Blaze™️:
Let’s talk about the token. Why hold XAVA and what can I do with it?
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Blaze, what you’re saying is sensible and I don’t disagree but crypto is crypto. We’re not here to lord over the volatility, rather, we can institute equitable practices and quality control. What happens thereafter is dictated by market forces.
Dave Donnenfeld:
and I’d imagine some of the customary shenanigans will ensue.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
Ofc, the market will always be the market and a force completely to its own.
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Holding the token is what you stake on the platform, the time and weight determining the allocation size. However, there are subsequent rounds which DON’T require the token, allowing for broader participation.
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
I have to say excellent CAPS usage. It’s an art.
Blaze™️:
hahaha, emphasis on point
Blaze™️:
Chain wise, you are the first launchpad on Avalanche.
Blaze™️:
What sort of fees are we looking at and speeds etc?
Blaze™️:
I also read if I am not mistaken that all projects launched through you will be listed on the Pangolin AMM exclusively?
Mark | Avalaunch:
The fees on Avalanche are minimal, think 30–40 cents, not 30–40 dollars.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
Jeeez, $30–40 is a good day these days.
Blaze™️:
wahahaha
Blaze™️:
That's cheap as chips
Mark | Avalaunch:
The speed, as a user, is near instant. Anyone interested so play on uniswap, and then play on pangolin, and the difference is startling.
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Yes, our initial listing will take place on Pangolin, where we will be providing our initial liquidity.
Blaze™️:
Partnership wise, who have you currently got onboard?
Mark | Avalaunch:
As far as projects listing that come through us, it’s up to them regarding listing.
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
We have a ton in the pipeline that we can’t speak about yet, but we are well aligned with the broader Avalanche community. Stay tuned 🙂
Blaze™️:
Well, I was going to ask as one of my standard questions, how do you plan to get users, but I don’t think you guys will have that problem.
Blaze™️:
Revenue wise, how does Avalaunch derive income to sustain itself?
Mark | Avalaunch:
Haha, well, we hope that’s not an issue, but we plan to KEEP them by serving our community first.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
I got a little Wayne's World on you there.
Blaze™️:
If you build it, they will come
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Party on, Garth.
Blaze™️:
While Dave is answering, Mark, when is your launch and can you share all the specifics with us?
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Ha. A fundamental question. The reality is, to be candid, we have more than enough resources internally to sustain this for time immemorial and intend on doing so. Practically speaking, as a decentralized, our aim is to make it self-sustaining, and this requires the token to be fully distributed and governance to be enacted. We believe that the token’s eventual demonstrated value will create a self-sustainable ecosystem. As they go into the wild and into the hands of the people that want them, this is ultimately what sustains any decentralized project.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
Great answer, well-articulated
Blaze™️:
When is your launch and can you share all the specifics with us?
Blaze™️:
I asked about partners earlier, but I just wanted to make our members aware that you have partnered with Orion, one of our most beloved projects in here.
Blaze™️:
I expect our community to reciprocate the love for you too.
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Thanks Blaze. Our launch is going to be in May, and we are narrowing down the dates. I’d call it mid-May but to the 18k members, don’t quote me.
Blaze™️:
Especially with the Ali brothers on the team too
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
We will be listing in the coming weeks, with an announcement about that coming soon. Our platform launch is scheduled for the end of May/Start of June.
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Yes, absolutely. The brothers Ali are part and parcel with this project. It is our collective brainchild, and they are our fellow directors.
Dave Donnenfeld:
Orion is a partner and to be forward looking, it could one day act as a vehicle for us to have dex liquidity to connect directly to our platform. Again, something like this would be a way out.
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
It helps when your co-founders built a liquidity aggregator 🙂
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
Damn straight, a beautiful partnership and collaboration indeed
Blaze™️:
Well, I think I asked all I wanted to, is there anything we might have missed that you’d like to add?
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Actually, credit to you all. You’re far more comprehensive than the typical AMA host. Notably better in fact. I always have something to add but I’ll defer to your members so they can be engaged. Thanks for being a top-notch host.
Blaze™️:
Anytime my man, an absolute pleasure as always
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
I would simply state that we are trying to do launchpads different, to support a truly innovate technology. Please everyone, take the time to explore Avalanche and learn about how it’s different, and what it offers. This is a special community and platform.
Blaze™️:
Channel is unmuted.
Blaze™️:
Feel free to ask questions if you have any.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
What I have seen it truly looks that way, well keen to see you launch and start banging out those tier 1 projects
Blaze™️:
Seems we were too thorough.
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Hahaha. A victim of your own success.
Blaze™️:
Perhaps Dave you can add something more.
Tutter:
I have a question, can you give us a short summary why we as investors should invest in Avalaunch, instead of paid for example.
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Tutter]
Primarily because we are Avalanche native, and support Avalanche projects. At this point PAID doesn’t although we think they are a good project.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Mark | Avalaunch]
Yeah, I like that attitude. There is room for all good projects in this space. Let’s Collab more than compete.
Mark | Avalaunch:
100%
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Tutter]
Thanks, Tutter. Well, there are no shortage of launchpads to place a bet on. I don’t know what your investment parameters are, or time horizons so it’s hard to answer this. I would say if you’re bullish on Avalanche and what they’re bringing to the table, then the next step would be to look into us. If you like what we’re doing in approach and practice, then you may determine that we’re the best thing out there.
Mark | Avalaunch:
We are all just trying to grow great things.
Blaze™️:
Seems that is it guys, last calls community, the barman calls last round before lock in
Tutter:
@dubpluris @David_Donnenfeld, thank you very much. How are you as a project going to deal with the bear market? potential low demand?
Mark | Avalaunch:
[In reply to Tutter]
We actually think this gives us an opportunity to work more closely, and more long-term with projects, as the bear is when things tend to really get built. We will be there to help, making sure that value is returned to token holders.
Hilo:
Oh, sorry not a good time now
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Tutter]
Good question and something we’ve discussed. The reality is that I feel we are setting this up with a bearish or less bullish markets in mind. Ideas get funded in all markets so it’s not going to disappear. There will be less of it and the standards we impose, fundamentally are going to matter more. As I mentioned earlier, the flight to quality will happen resultant from a maturing market and of course a cooler trading environment.
Blaze™️:
For our members that couldn’t make it tonight or would like to dive deeper at their own leisure, please feel free to drop all the essential links etc.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
Or if you are as bullish as me, we are on a super cycle so bullish for ages ahahha👀👀
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
That would be awesome. Thanks for having us and should you need anything else from us, don’t hesitate to contact. Thank you and your community.
Blaze™️:
[In reply to Dave Donnenfeld]
Thanks so much my man. well amped for the launch and looking forward to you booming through 2021 and beyond.
Mark | Avalaunch:
You can check out everything here, https://avalaunch.app/ — from here you can follow through to our Medium, Twitter, and TG. That’ll cover you!
Dave Donnenfeld:
[In reply to Blaze™️]
Cheers.
Blaze™️:
All the best gents
Mark | Avalaunch:
Thanks. guys
About Avalaunch
Avalaunch is the first protocol, exclusively for the Avalanche ecosystem, to offer promising and innovative projects a fast, secure, and efficient platform for decentralized fundraising. The platform aims to solve the inequitable crowdfunding model and optimize it via interoperable swap pools, driven by the XAVA token to ensure stable prices and informed contributions.