A Journey Through Cirrina's Startup: Examining the Idea to Its Disintegration

I refused the offer and did not succeed. For the past 17+ years, I have been an Entrepreneur and Product Manager, designing products for 25 different markets. My experience lies in Banking and FinTech, however, I am no stranger to launching projects from the ground up and immersing myself in new industries. I have extensive experience managing products for classifieds, marketplaces, and neobanks. I was successful in recruiting and managing large cross-functional teams of over 100 people, leading them to create and deliver products in startups, my own businesses, and sizable organizations like Revolut and Bolt. Additionally, I established an accounting platform from the ground up at Osome, which has so far raised a combined total of $50 million in rounds A and B. For over seven years, I have been greatly motivated by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies, introducing them into my product development. Additionally, I am proud to be part of the MentorMeander community and to have been endorsed by Tech Nation for the UK Global Talent Visa. It all began rather straightforwardly. Alex and I were in my living room, and he inquired: “Did you realize that all info on Web3 is public?” This revelation made me aware that I hadn't considered this before nor had I given it any significance. During the creation of Osome, I continually stressed the need to have accurate data, since it was indispensable for the successful completion of the product. It all starts with Bookkeeping, which is a necessary requirement before the Accounting and Tax Filing processes can be initiated. Once we began to get documents from customers in a timely manner, transaction data lagged behind. In Singapore, our primary market then, open banking was not available. I was fully aware of how much effort and time was required to integrate with just one bank, as well as how difficult it was to find a suitable provider for such data. One phrase regarding the availability of data in Web3 was the impetus for everything that transpired in the course of 2023. Let's compile a substantial amount of open data, format it, and offer it on an API to all who may be keen on obtaining it. Upon doing a bit of research, I found out that there are a bunch of enterprises globally that have already implemented this, with several of them having passed the billion dollar mark for valuation. After pondering for a while, I made a decision to go down the path of analytics. More particularly, Blockchain analytics for those who are just starting out. Following further research, I was astounded to discover Dune's remarkable story; while it served as motivation for me, it also revealed that this sector was strongly dominated by an entity that had secured substantial investment. However, based on my primary consumer-centric use case, I considered the B2B Total Addressable Market to be diminutive. As I was researching the market and main players, I got sucked into the Web3 world. I purchased some NFTs, opened a few wallets, and made an account on Coinbase. All the while, I couldn't shake off the feeling that this environment was too complex. But when I saw research by BCG and A16z State of Crypto saying that 1 billion users will come in by 2031, I realised it couldn't be that hard. My conclusion: it must be possible for the average person to get their head around it. I chose to communicate with users to address their worries. I interviewed over a hundred people, inquiring about their issues and presenting potential solutions. This is the set of questions I used in each meeting: Below are some of the learnings I gleaned: Insights gathered from user interviews were studied. Analysis of insights obtained from user interviews was conducted. I undertook qualitative research and attempted to calculate the number of users and demand for the services most frequently referred to. This is what I was able to determine: I encountered further information, ideas, and forecasts from open sources and when speaking with industry specialists. has been disappointing. The numbers for the market in its current state [winter 23] have been underwhelming. What awaits us in the future? It is an exciting prospect to ponder. Contemplating the future is thrilling. We can only imagine what's in store. After looking into the details, talking with users concerning their issues, and consulting with industry experts and other entrepreneurs, the concept of Cirrina.io arose organically. Cirrina.io's superapp can help you manage your Web3 finances, from making your initial digital asset purchase to filing taxes. With the chance being presented, there is a potential issue that could arise.. The trillion-dollar Web3 market 🦄🦄🦄 is expected to draw in a billion users 🏃 over the coming years. However, Web3 was designed by techies for techies and is too complex 🤯 to be navigated easily by the typical user, who likely would struggle to maintain assets across various services and grasp how to file taxes properly.: The town's population has decreased drastically over the past few years. A marked decline has been witnessed in the inhabitants of the town in recent years. Superapp that's easy to use for those new to Web3 finances; helping you to discover, possess, and oversee your own digital assets, including the ability to purchase your first digital asset and tax filing! your attention on the task at hand. Concentrate your efforts on the job in front of you.. Developing a superapp is no small feat, and we chose to start small by concentrating on Tax Filing for Web3 Newbies in the United Kingdom and United States. Over the past decade, I have initiated my own initiatives on a regular basis; either through bootstrapping or self-funds. Some have been a success, some have failed; but each time I have avoided raising investments. Consequently, seeking financial aid for this project was my foremost strategy. we would take each step one at a time. Our strategy was straightforward: we would proceed one step at a time. I comprehend exactly what it takes for a team to develop a genuine product, proceed expeditiously, and remain cognizant concerning the marketplace, clients, and their criticism of our production. To this end, I extended invitations to my acquaintances, conversed with roughly seven to nine people, and was ecstatic when highly capable specialists who had prior experience with Revolut, Google, and Osome consented to join. I proposed a clear offer composed of two parts. The initial part entailed a share of the company in return for a minimal amount of work weekly, with a 2-year vesting and a 1-month cliff, for which the proportion of contribution was hefty. The second stage, once the first investment was made, involved a salary as well as another option plan with a 4-year vesting and 12-month cliff. I was familiar with practically all of my new team, and we hadn't put anything into writing. Nevertheless, in line with my preference for complete transparency and in order to safeguard the team's well-being, I created this letter, recognizing that an electronic mail is legally binding in the UK: It is possible to debate the definition of an MVP or MLP for a considerable amount of time. In our scenario, the situation was further complicated by the fact that users file taxes annually and the due date in the UK is January 31. This made it hard for us to find users who could give a realistic appraisal of our product as it was launched shortly afterwards, in April.. We developed a straightforward interface, implemented Google sign-in, combined Coinbase API and Moralis, and this was the outcome. Along with the creation of the MVP, we created a Prototype as a demonstration of our possible future product (click 'R' to begin). I've been really concerned regarding the estimated high cost of acquiring customers for the Taxation aspect. What if we conceptualised the journey of a Web3 novice user (who apparently generate 500k enquiries to Google every month) as an acquisition funnel? Is it feasible to conceive a product that lures users in at a much lower cost – let’s say $20 or even $2 – at the beginning of the funnel? The assumption is that by introducing this 'Discovery' product, the CAC could be reduced drastically and users could eventually be funneled into portfolio administration and tax filing services. My goal was to create a prototype that would not only illustrate the 'Discovery' product concept, but also create a realistic environment in which I could observe and learn from user actions during Solution Interviews, allowing me to gain genuine feedback. We were still a ways off from the finished product, but we wanted to see how our value proposition and product design would be received by users. To this end, we embarked on a small advertising venture and looked into the possibility of forming partnerships. has long been recognized as a valuable tool for establishing a successful business. For quite some time, marketing has been acknowledged as a fundamental component in creating a thriving business. We crafted a landing page at https://www.cirrina.io and conducted our initial marketing trials (limited). CTR for our Facebook ads was 0.54%, CPC was $6.3, and cost per lead converted to our waiting list came in between $27 to $45. Landing page conversion rate increased to 21.6% and ultimately we welcomed the first 40 users to our waiting list. We have entered into a Letter of Intent with a respected partner providing us with two advantageous options. I devoted much effort towards this, following both Y Combinator's How to build your seed round pitch deck and Guy Kawasaki's The Only 10 Slides You Need in Your Pitch for guidance. My primary aim was to form a story that would be simple to relate, comprehend, and recall. At first, I wasn't taking this into account, but then I watched a George Levin video and got some useful tips from Anna Buldakova. I made sure to have about 50 investors that were relevant to me on my list and concentrated on getting as many introductions as I could. This is what the list looked like. From the beginning, I realized I would have to communicate in several places, so I developed a few different templates for email, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Every time I reached out, though, I would make sure to investigate the people I was communicating with, their websites, works, and current activities. Here are a few examples: In May, we began our fundraising efforts. My contact list included over 100 potential venture capitalists, and I initially thought I would get at least 30 introductions. Initially, I planned to request all the connections on the same day. However, I then received a seemingly sensible suggestion to consult with the first 10-15 investors, collect feedback, and make any necessary revisions to my pitch before going on to reach out to the remaining contacts. Every week I provided my team with updates to keep them informed, which included what happened, statistics, news, next steps, and a to-do list for everyone. It was an exciting and absolutely wonderful time of conferences and getting to know extremely fascinating people. At the same time, there were numerous incoming inquiries. For example, we were privileged to be included in a STATION F newsletter, which yielded 7 queries. Plus, there were around a dozen more. In my original list, there were not many Angel investors; around half to three-fifths of the money came from the US, another third from Europe, notably the UK, and the remainder from other nations such as Brazil, China, Singapore, Thailand, etc. We received feedback from a number of small funds which were fully prepared to invest 100–250k, but only if we located a major investor. A few of these responses were: On the one hand, I was ecstatic. On the flip side, however, I wanted to make sure we would be a good match and had extensive conversations with the team about this. I would like to express my immense respect and gratitude to the small, dynamic fund from Asia, despite having virtually no portfolio and being largely disconnected from not just Web3 and FinTech, but the online realm as a whole. After numerous conversations, it became apparent that our ideas and perspectives were too dissimilar for us to collaborate. In the subsequent months, I went on to interact with numerous other funds and gained even more connections. This is the sum total of my count: I provided updates to all those still taking an interest in my progress. I attempted to contact a large number of funds, but sadly didn't receive any more offers. The ‘nos' I heard were classified into three distinct sections; one encompassing the various ‘others’, while the other two made up the main categories of rejections. 'I think we should go to the grocery store.' The first suggested going to the grocery store. The other I came to the conclusion that fundraising was a funnel that ultimately led me to a dead-end. I had tried to convert my assets into money, hoping to create a source of funds, but to no avail. After much difficult consideration along with an honest talk with the group, I chose to put all plans on hold. As I wrote this, three ideas were in my head: Finally, I want to conclude with a compilation of my personal reflections. I anticipate further revelations. Keep watching, never be content, and let us all carry on developing, adapting, and developing. Best of luck to all! A snapshot from our last get-together as a team. A shout-out to Lorenzo, Nikita, Alex, and Vladislav — I'm incredibly proud of you all!

Source: https://medium.com/@andryemel_64742/cirrinas-odyssey-complete-story-of-my-startup-from-idea-to-failure-37d1d32dd0ce?source=rss------fintech-5