Monad Foundry concludes: Focusing on practicality, finding product-market fit, breaking boundaries and delivery speed are the keys to success.

Written by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Recently, the market's attention has been drawn to the U.S. stock market, Circle, and the siphoning of stablecoins, while news about projects focusing on ecological development has decreased. As one of the most anticipated mainnet launches in the crypto industry for 2025, the Monad Foundation recently concluded the Foundry "NYC 2.2" event in New York, which sparked discussions among many entrepreneurs still committed to building on social media platforms. Many participants expressed:

Monad Foundry "NYC 2.2" is top-notch in providing feedback for early founders.

As a leading parallel EVM, Monad aims to improve and enhance the execution efficiency of EVM on Layer 1 networks through parallel processing, thereby unleashing the potential of the EVM ecosystem. Foundry "NYC 2.2," as the annual ecological event meticulously crafted by the Monad Foundation for 2025, is specifically designed for application-oriented products and developers, aiming to attract global developers to build innovative projects based on Monad.

The event has been highly praised for its efficient organization, in-depth technical exchanges, and practical market guidance. Let us feel the strong support that the Monad Foundation continuously provides to the builders of its ecological projects through the sharing of participants on-site in New York.

Face to face with core members of the foundation, leading ecological projects, and well-known VCs.

From June 17 to 21, 2025, Foundry "NYC 2.2" will be held in New York, USA.

As an annual offline event meticulously organized by the Monad Foundation, Foundry "NYC 2.2" aims to provide a centralized opportunity for communication and learning for Monad ecosystem builders, attracting developers from different cities around the world to gather and explore new paradigms of innovation in the Monad ecosystem in just one week. After the application and review process, a total of 44 projects and 79 builders from 30 cities around the world participated in the event, with over 50 venture capitalists on-site watching the presentations.

The collision of multi-perspective thinking and resource sharing under the participation of multiple parties is a prominent highlight of Foundry "NYC 2.2". The main participants of the event include:

Core members of Monad: including Monad co-founders Keone Hon and Eunice Giarta, Monad Foundation Consumer Lead Shreyas Hariharan, Monad Foundation Director of BD Joey Anthony, Monad Foundation NFT Lead Karma Gora, and several other core members;

Founder of Monad ecosystem's leading projects: multiple popular projects covering diverse tracks such as DeFi, Consumer, Gaming, AI, DePIN, and NFT.

Well-known VC Representatives: Representatives from dozens of industry-renowned VCs gathered together, including Paradigm, Electric Capital, Dragonfly, Pantera Capital, Figment Capital, Volt Capital, Ethereal Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Hack VC, etc.

With a luxurious lineup, participants unanimously expressed: during the event, you can easily feel the collision of ideas and all-around support, including:

One-on-one communication with core members of the Monad Foundation: receive targeted guidance from core members of the foundation on technical issues, product design, and market strategies;

Collaborate closely with the outstanding project founders in the Monad ecosystem: engage in in-depth discussions about GTM growth strategies and explore potential future collaboration opportunities.

Face the VC: Gain valuable advice from a primary perspective and the opportunity for potential financing.

Compete for roadshow slots and gain extra exposure: Through the roadshow, developers can showcase their projects to the foundation, investors, and other ecosystem members, gaining more attention and resource support.

Not innovating for the sake of innovation: focusing on practicality to find product-market fit.

Build products based on actual user needs and feedback, first verify a small and repeatable loop is effective, and then explore scalability.

This is one of the core ideas conveyed by the Foundry "NYC 2.2" event. In this regard, multiple participants also shared their insights through social media.

Mu Digital co-founder and CEO Patrick Hizon (Twitter: @hizonpm) stated after the conference:

User feedback is key. Don't build what you think is right; instead, build based on measurable user feedback. If you're not communicating with users, what are you really doing?

As a highly popular Monad ecosystem project, the sports prediction market RareBetSports (RBS) CEO J (Twitter: @RBS_Gyarados) also expressed a similar view:

After spending a week with some top founders, I learned some key points on how to take RBS to the next level:

Identify the key points for growth and double down on efforts. Keep experimenting.

Once the true channels, information, or mechanisms that drive user growth are identified, invest decisively and actively expand.

Built for users, then consider expansion.

Address the real problems of small groups today. The insights and loyalty you gain will lay a foundation of confidence for future scalable growth.

A consistent feedback loop combined with a clear GTM strategy will drive growth. When you continuously learn from users, each iteration creates a compounding effect. Growth becomes a rhythm rather than blind guessing.

The Monad team is working hard for long-term ecological development, not just to build its own infrastructure, but to build an ecosystem and assist founders.

LootGO is a popular treasure hunting game in the Monad ecosystem, and its co-founder Yuki (Twitter: @yuki__app) also participated in this event and shared his insights on GTM:

Last Sunday, I met @PareenL (Founder Community Lead at Monad Foundation), who gave me some very candid yet necessary feedback: a repeatable closed loop × a clear GTM leverage = scalability.

Whether it's a repetitive activity or a self-contained game loop, prove it works before considering scaling.

We don’t need to do everything, just the one thing that can truly drive progress. (Thanks to @keoneHD "Co-founder of Monad") for recommending the book on how to address constraints and GTM.

Centered around the main idea of "based on the real demands of users", Monad Foundation NFT Lead Karma Gora (Twitter: @wagmigently) also shared on social media:

Founders lie to themselves, believing they have achieved product-market fit (PMF); users lie, saying they like the product (actually because of incentives); angel investors lie about why they do not invest (because it's easier than giving direct, sharp feedback); partners lie about the quality of your application (because the standards in the crypto industry are low).

The Monad Foundation has broken this cycle.

The days of securing funding solely with Figma prototypes are over. Every team that attracted VC interest this week had a usable application or demo, along with validated results from users. Build first, then raise funds.

The next wave of mainstream adoption in the crypto space will not be driven by teams chasing narratives, but by founders focused on solving real problems for real users.

This week has taught me a lot about how to identify and support these builders.

Delivery speed is greater than everything: start with building the MVP first.

In the fast-paced industry of Crypto, speed is one of the key factors determining the success or failure of a project. Whether it's the iterative development of products or the quick response to the market, it all relates to whether a project can seize the opportunity in a rapidly changing market. The attendees of Foundry "NYC 2.2" also expressed deep agreement.

The Monad Foundation's NFT Lead Karma Gora (Twitter: @wagmigently) used a vivid metaphor to explain the importance of quick delivery and iteration:

Want to build a car? Start by building a skateboard.

Teams often spend weeks solving non-existent problems. Instead, it’s better to first create the simplest, roughest MVP (Minimum Viable Product), complete the core tasks, and then iterate based on real user feedback.

Pumpfun didn't even have half of its features when it launched!

@keoneHD (Co-founder of Monad) asks not "What is your six-month plan?" every Friday, but rather "What did you accomplish this week?" We see many teams in the Monad ecosystem able to implement improvements within hours of receiving feedback. This is the mindset of a winner.

Regarding the importance of quick delivery and flexible adjustments, LootGO co-founder Yuki also stated:

This week, I worked with other outstanding builders and the Monad Foundation team, learned a lot, delivered quickly, and even made slight adjustments in direction during the week.

In the face of the immense pressure to pursue delivery speed, Mu Digital co-founder and CEO Patrick Hizon has demonstrated a more positive attitude:

Don’t avoid pressure, face challenges head-on.

Only the brave are willing to enter the arena; if you have not failed, it means you have not worked hard enough. We are here to create unicorns, so aim higher.

Breaking the Circle: From the niche of cryptocurrency to the mainstream perspective.

Mass adoption has always been a core issue repeatedly mentioned in the Crypto industry but has yet to be completely resolved. At the Foundry "NYC 2.2" event, participants captured many unique insights about breaking the crypto barriers through communication and brainstorming.

Mu Digital co-founder and CEO Patrick Hizon shared his insights on breaking into the crypto space on social media platforms:

Built for widespread acceptance, not limited to the crypto community.

Although Monad is our base, we are building for the entire Web3 and all users. Monad to Millions = Expand your track (thanks to @0x_eunice "Monad Co-founder" and @PareenL "Founder Community Lead at Monad Foundation" for the specific suggestions).

LootGO co-founder Yuki shared the invaluable insights he gained from the event that helped him break through the barriers:

Several members of the Monad team pointed out that LootGO has real potential beyond Monad and the crypto-native circle. It's time to define our core advantages, clarify our users, optimize the user guidance process, and find effective channels to reach them.

Continuously challenge oneself in equal and sincere communication.

A friendly and open atmosphere ran throughout the entire Foundry "NYC 2.2" event. Whether it was the core members of the Monad Foundation or the participating ecosystem builders, everyone offered suggestions with a sincere attitude and shared experiences with each other.

As a participant of Monad Madness New York, TownSquare founder JC Zhang (Twitter: @realjcz) stated:

It is highly recommended that anyone participate in Monad's future plans.

The Monad Foundation truly cares about you as a founder and the success of your project. You will not feel the politicized atmosphere found in other ecosystems, which makes it difficult for you to focus on product growth.

But being friendly does not mean glossing over problems or avoiding issues; on the contrary, in a sincere atmosphere, more in-depth discussions about products and projects bring challenges.

Mu Digital co-founder and CEO Patrick Hizon shared his feelings about the atmosphere at the event:

At first, this might be regarded as a "harmonious meeting" of familiar faces and teams, but it quickly evolved into a "shockwave" that constantly challenges ourselves, taking us to another level.

This "shockwave" experience has also been recognized by other participants. As the winner of the evm/accathon hackathon, Gorillionaire founder Luduvigo (Twitter: @luduvigo) likened the series of suggestions he received at the event to "a slap in the face," but he admitted that this kind of slap is what he needed:

Get direct and candid advice from industry-leading experts, take on challenges, be in the same room with the best companies from Monad, collaborate with @MarcoRoccon and @imellepi, and connect with our community through Discord for product feedback.

This saved us 6 months.

The organization, advice, and reality checks provided by @PareenL (Founder Community Lead at Monad Foundation) and @thetinaverse (Monad ecosystem lead) are top-notch.

Thanks to @keoneHD (co-founder of Monad), @0x_eunice (co-founder of Monad), and the Monad team for giving us the opportunity to participate in this incredible project.

At the same time, Opinion Labs founder and CEO Forrest (Twitter: @ForrestOLAB) shared more detailed insights from the conference:

Spent a week at The Foundry, working with the Monad team and talented peers. This intense and deep collaboration made me feel the atmosphere of YC—the drive to constantly challenge assumptions and push boundaries.

This week we delved into:

How to make trading any perspective and complex financial products as simple as tweeting (UI/UX, AI Oracle, liquidity);

Build together with the community, so that everyone can be a part of this journey;

Challenge our path, break through limits, and realize our vision: to become the infrastructure for trading anything.

What makes Foundry special is its mindset: zeroing out, never being satisfied, constantly questioning, and maximizing possibilities. Keep building, keep delivering!

5 teams stand out: Injecting new momentum for ecological prosperity

In the end, among the 44 participating teams, 5 teams stood out and qualified for the roadshow.

It is worth noting that on June 19, Monad announced that the second phase of its testnet validation nodes is now operational, including 161 validation nodes from 64 cities in 33 countries, reflecting Monad's commitment to decentralization and the pursuit of performance. The second phase of the Monad testnet (Testnet-2) is primarily aimed at validation node operators, with the goal of better preparing for the arrival of the mainnet, which also means that Monad is at a crucial time point very close to the mainnet launch.

Foundry "NYC 2.2" demonstrates the unique value of the Monad Foundation in ecological development. Through a friendly atmosphere and sincere suggestions, the foundation provides participants with an open communication platform; while through candid feedback and deep challenges, the foundation helps teams quickly find breakthrough directions for efficient growth.

In the steady and solid progress of ecological construction, the Monad mainnet is getting closer and closer. Let's look forward to it together and work towards building a positive and sustainable ecosystem.