The Web3 VC Differentiation Dilemma

The typical Web3 venture capital pitch has become all too familiar, with claims of extensive networks and strong relationships that have lost their impact due to overuse. This has led to a situation where liquidity providers have become desensitized to such statements, making it challenging for emerging managers to differentiate themselves. At TBV, we recognized the need to develop a distinct approach, one that focuses on creating tangible value through infrastructure rather than relying solely on relationships. Our solution was to create a people-centric deal engine, leveraging events as a means to generate data, build connections, and provide value to founders. By flipping the traditional model of paying for access, we instead focused on building our own environment, owning the data, and creating relationships at scale. This deliberate infrastructure has yielded significant results, with our event series drawing over 43,000 attendees and more than 100 partners in 2025. The key takeaway is that emerging managers must prioritize building something that makes their story self-evident, rather than simply trying to tell a better story. This can be achieved through various models, such as our events-based approach, the accelerator model employed by Outlier Ventures, or the technical contribution approach used by Paradigm. What is clear is that the next generation of successful managers will be those who create funds with utility beyond capital, providing a genuine reason for founders to choose them over others.