W3S group

Advancing an open and sustainable economy through Web3.

We support, develop and invest in Web3-powered companies building tomorrow's

About

W3S group is a global Web3 venture studio.

We support, develop and invest in Web3-powered companies building tomorrow’s open economy.

We are experienced entrepreneurs, technologists, designers, marketers and makers looking to address the world’s most important challenges and opportunities.

Our team of crypto-natives bring strategic and regulatory insights, deep technological expertise, operational capabilities and forward-thinking capital to empower organisations and startups to take advantage of Web3 technology and innovation to build a better and more sustainable economy.

We have supported a variety of Web3 projects, including blockchain-based video platforms, agriculture technologies, cyber-security dApps, decentralised art curation, NFTs and cryptocurrencies, as well as decentralised finance (DeFi) and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs).

We are always looking for ambitious entrepreneurs and organisations to help them launch their next big project and enable Web3 innovation at scale.

Expertise

We partner with startups and organisations to help them build, scale and operate web3-solutions that create the greatest impact on business and society.

We help identify opportunities for adopting the Web3 technologies that maximise the potential of your business. Such as integrating dApps into your existing product or service offering or by building new products or services that leverage the decentralised web.

We advise on technology and infrastructure to help you design and build new products and services using Web3 technologies, such as blockchain and decentralised applications (dApps), with immediate and tangible benefits to your customers at scale.

We architect roadmaps for adaptation and help scale the opportunities quickly to accelerate performance and growth. Including recommendations for how to implement and market the solution, training employees, building key partnerships and attracting investments.

Our approach is fast, robust and iterative to generate both immediate and long-term impact. We are always committed for the long-term, dedicated to excellence and profound value creation for all stakeholders.

Team

Jonathan Pullinger

After studying at Cambridge, JP went to work for JP Morgan. In 2012 JP left the traditional banking world behind and moved into Web3. Starting his journey in bitcoin mining, he soon moved into coding, marketing, fundraising and business strategy (his current fundraising efforts total $621.25m).

JP began crypto marketing in 2013, developing sales and marketing plans for our bitcoin mining solution, working with angel investors and single-family offices for funding, and generating healthy returns over five years. He firmly believes that the future of DeFi (Decentralised Finance) is rooted in choice, speed of execution and reduced settlement costs. Not the simplistic view that everyone should and wants to become a bank.

JP has worked as a consultant for over one hundred Web3 projects - many via Outlier Ventures, successfully advising them while offering market foresight and competitive insight to improve success.

In his spare time, JP enjoys walking his dog, reading, playing video games, travelling, film, visiting art galleries, model trains and Scalextric.

Esben Svane Stockmarr

Esben is an entrepreneur, venture developer and financier with more than 14 years of experience across technology, ﬁnance and private equity.

Esben got involved with blockchain and Web3 in 2016 and has since been involved with multiple blockchain projects across media, art and decentralised finance - advising on strategy, business development and capital raising. He strongly believes that Web3 technology has the potential to transform business models and enhance technology across a number of verticals. Esben advises several private equity funds and family offices on technology, blockchain and Web3.

Prior, Esben founded PE-backed venture studio Uruz Labs, was a venture developer with Rocket Internet in Europe and Asia and a VC investor at Heartcore Capital. Esben holds a BSc in marketing and economics and an MSc in Economics and Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School. Esben is an alumni of MIT’s global entrepreneurship bootcamp.

Esben has lived on 3 continents, loves travelling, martial arts, reading and enjoys art and music.

Ry Leong

Driven by an educational background in traditional engineering disciplines as well as a fascination for modern internet culture, Ry quickly discovered whilst hanging out in a small corner of the internet that working with the Web3 community was the best way for her to meld her interests together.

Prior to W3S, she worked in multiple facets of Web3 marketing and business strategy for various dApps and blockchain infrastructure projects, most recently as the Social Media Lead at API3.

Aside from marketing, Ry also brings a strong understanding of business fundamentals from her professional experience in corporate finance and controlling.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading books where nothing really happens, as well as partaking in any and all things music-related, especially electronic music and jazz. Her absolute favourite thing about working in this industry is the open attitude towards technological and philosophical innovation.

Alexandre Caillol, CFA

Following his French engineering MSc & corporate finance MBA, Alexandre went on leading sales operations for major traditional finance technology providers such as Bloomberg, Moody’s Analytics and Brevan Howard’s Sigtech.

In 2021, following series A funding, he was hired to build Nansen’s institutional sales strategy, hire & manage the global business development teams in preparation for their next successful round. Alexandre is now consulting for other creative on-chain data analytics startups. He enjoys collaborating directly with CEOs & founders as well as coaching more junior team members.

Versatile, entrepreneurial, result-driven coach-player with 18 years of experience structuring diverse pricing models & managing strategic partnerships, Alexandre has a proven track record of hiring & leading overachieving sales teams. He supports large & nimble organisations alike, through a deep understanding of clients’ workflows, complex sales cycles & emerging use cases.

You may also catch Alexandre cycling, hiking or geeking out on AI, permaculture & experiential event production.

Leah Stuhltrager

LEAH STUHLTRAGER founded one of the early gallery spaces in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where she specialized in creative technology. LS expanded to Berlin, Germany in 2012 as THE WYE GmbH to work with innovators (Seedcamp, BOB/Tech Crunch Europe, Made in NYC Media Center, Projekt Zukunft, Ocean Protocol, aeternity blockchain, Lexus, BMW, Recruit Technologies, Medienboard, Billboard, Berlin Senate, among others.)

She’s curated programming for CYFEST, SOFA, Convergence as well as Lincoln Center, Coachella, E-Halle, Contemporary Istanbul, The Hermitage Museum, Oriental Pearl Tower, Roppongi Hills, London's Great Eastern Wall, and Cà Foscari Zattere during the Venice Biennale.

She’s mentored at accelerator programs, advised governments, consulted for corporations including Outlier Ventures, Coca Cola, L’Oreal, and Deutsche Bank. She’s served as Editor-in-chief of AHEAD - a full color ART :: TECH magazine distributed with the Sunday edition of prestigious FAZ newspaper; powered by TEDxBerlin where she served as a Board Member.

Her longtime passion: blockchain.

Jack Boreham

Jack Boreham is the editorial director and acclaimed writer of Metaverse Insider: a leading metaverse-focused website considered the most successful metaverse publication globally. He has been at the forefront of the platform's enormous growth as a Metaverse specialist -writing and advising projects in the Metaverse space.

Jack also works with Hackernoon and The Economist.

Insights & Research.

Blockchain Terminology

Keyword	Definition
Blockchain/ Blockchain Technology	A blockchain is a growing list of digital records known as ‘blocks’ which are interconnected using cryptography.
Blockchain as a Service (BaaS)	Solution for managing blockchain applications using cloud based resources.
Blockchain Ecosystem	Internal and external stakeholders who contribute, in different ways, to create a specific environment for a blockchain based project.
Blockchain Governance	Formal and informal structures used to make decisions within the structures of a blockchain project.
Block Reward	Compensation for crypto mining (finding and validating), these are usually in the form of cryptocurrency.
Bridge	Application that connects two (or more) blockchains. Bridging allows users to send digital assets from one network to another. AKA cross-chain swap.
Hashrate	The total power that is being used to mine and process transactions on a Proof of Work (PoW) platform.
Lightning Network	Layer 2 solution for bitcoin. Its purpose is to expand the Bitcoin blockchain's capacity to process transactions quicker.
Miner	A computing device known as a node that uses microprocessors to mine PoW cryptocurrencies.
Mining	Creating new cryptocurrency through the process of solving cryptographic problems.
Mining Pool	The process of miners combining their assets to work together and split rewards between participants.
Nonce	“Number only used once”, or the number added to an encrypted block (hash). The nonce is used to validate the information contained within a block.
Proof of Stake (PoS)	A cryptocurrency network based on committed capital from private investors in the form of the native token.
Proof of Work (PoW)	A cryptocurrency network based on miners solving complex mathematical problems. By solving they place a new block of transactions on the chain. The first to solve the problem receives a reward.
Self-amending Blockchain	A platform that adapts and adopts new features through online governance processes and structures.
Sidechain	A blockchain connected to a parent blockchain which may have its own protocol.
Smart Contract	A smart contract is a self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement directly written into lines of code. The code and the agreements are then stored on a decentralized blockchain network.
Validator Nodes	Is a physical computer system used to support validation process.
Validators	A validator is used to approve a transaction that has been submitted by a user or blockchain client.

Business Terminology

Keyword	Definition
Accelerator	A scheme that provides business support (usually financial), as well as advice and guidance to startups for a set period. They usually focus on early stage companies in a prelaunch phase.
Crypto Fund	A fund created to invest in a specific blockchain, which may include crypto assets purchased start up equity, pre-sale options, or ICO sale.
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)	A partnership of people that is usually governed by a crypto token. They are collectively owned and managed by its community. Its members make decisions around a set of rules encoded on a blockchain network.
Fintech	A term used to describe financial technology and more recently the asset class of financial technology.
Incubator	An open-ended collaborative opportunity to help startups and entrepreneurs refine their business ideas and build out their business plan. The program provides a complete business infrastructure, including access to investors and a workspace with necessary equipment.
Reverse ICO	An established Web2.0 company issues a token as an alternative to standard fundraising methods such as an initial public offering (IPO), giving it access to funds without the same regulatory scrutiny. They have started to receive some scrutiny from the SEC.
Roadmap	A set of milestones released by a crypto/ defi project to show direction of travel and what early investors can expect.
Whitepaper	A crypto version of a business plan, a document created by founders to explain the approach and technical specifications of a project.
Venture Capital (VC)	Finance provided to help startup companies with a view to receive benefits when the company starts to deliver.

For The Culture Terminology

Keyword	Definition
Alpha	Term used to describe previously unknown information provided by someone in authority about a project, that gives the recipient a chance to act early.
Bags	Term used to described individuals crypto holdings.
Bitcoin Maxi or Bitcoin Maximalist	Crypto investor that only invests and advocates Bitcoin.
Crypto Natives	Those already interacting with blockchain-native platforms and services.
Decentralized	A system that has no single authority or administrator, and the opposite of a centralized government.
Degen	Short for ‘degenerate’, term used to describe someone that makes impulsive crypto purchases with little to no research. Investments usually based on high level news and trends.
Discord	Communication application that has been adopted by Crypto, Defi and NFT projects to share updates and for their owners and communities to interact.
Diamond Hands	Someone that buys and hold crypto assets and is able to avoid selling when there is a dip in the market or bad news regarding the project.
Doxxed or Doxxing	Term used to reveal the identity of a once anonymous crypto project founder or investor.
DYOR	Acronym for ‘do your own research’, advice given to potential investors when looking into a defi or crypto project.
Floor or Floor Price	The lowest price to purchase an NFT from a particular collection on the secondary market or the lowest priced NFTs on the market.
Floor Sweep	To buy the lowest price NFTs of a particular collection on the open market.
FUD	Acronym of ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’, misinformation usually shared to cause panic selling and reducing the floor price. This is so the person sharing the information can purchase at a lower price.
Grinding	Term used to describe the process of being active in multiple communities and on social media to gain free NFTs or whitelist spots for their forthcoming mints.
HODL	Acronym for ‘hold on for dear life’ a term used to describe holding crypto assets even when everyone else around is selling them.
In Real Life (IRL)	A term used to describe real world activities usually to compare to the digital world of say a Metaverse.
Key Opinion Leaders (KoLs)	People of influence within the crypto sphere, usually provide paid promotion opportunities to improve sentiment of a particular project.
LFG	Acronym of ‘Let’s f*****g Go’, term used when a community is enthusiastic about a piece of news shared by a project.
Meatspace/ Meatverse	The physical or real world, as opposed to the virtual world (i.e. Metaverse).
Meta	Something that is self-referring.
Metadata	Data that refers to other data.
Metaverse	A term coined in the novel Snocrash (combination of Meta and Universe) and is now used to describe virtual and expansive environments accessed through augmented reality, virtual reality, and internet infrastructure.
Moon	A term used to describe if a project is going to or is doing well e.g. this project is going to the moon.
Newb or Newbie	Someone that is to know to the ecosystem and therefore has little knowledge of the culture or history of the space.
NFA	Acronym of ‘not financial advice’ a term used to avoid litigation for losses resulting from receiving inaccurate advice.
Non–crypto-native users	Those who interact with decentralized applications for the first time with limited or no knowledge of the specific ecosystem.
Peer-to-peer	When individuals interact directly with one another on a decentralized platform.
Paper Hands	The opposite of diamond hands, a term used to describe someone that does not hold on to crypto assets, often selling early at a loss at the first sign of bad news or a dip in the market.
PFP or Profile Picture	NFTs gave rise to ownership of images on the blockchain, one of the first use cases was to have your NFT as a profile picture on a social account, these were known as ‘pfps’.
Pump and Dump	A project that uses media manipulation and false news to generate interest that leads to an increased price of a crypto asset and then once a price point has been achieved they exit the market (sell their assets) causing the price to crash leaving remaining holders with losses.
Questing	The process of carrying out tasks and instructions (usually testing) on behalf of a project for small, usually digital rewards.
Rug or Rug pull	A term used to describe theft in the cryptocurrency space, whereby project developers suddenly abandon a project after taking investors’ money.
Scammer or Scam Artist	A term used to describe someone that uses fraudulent tactics to obtain digital assets from targeted individuals.
Wallet Drain	A term used to describe the stealing of assets from an individual’s wallet.
Whale	A term used to describe someone who owns a lot of a particular asset or is extremely wealthy.
Web 2.0	The state of the internet that reflects more user-generated content i.e. social media.
Web 3.0	The next evolution of the internet that provides a more decentralized method of user-content ownership.

Cryptocurrency Terminology

Keyword	Definition
Bitcoin	The first peer-to-peer transaction protocol stored on a blockchain; developed and introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a type of decentralized digital currency traded on the Bitcoin platform.
Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)	An investment fund on a standard exchange that tracks the price movement of Bitcoin.
Burning	In cryptocurrency, the process of taking tokens out of circulation. Crypto Asset – Used to describe cryptocurrencies/ utility and platform tokens, NFTs and other digital commodities.
Deflationary	A deflationary cryptocurrency is a form of cryptocurrency with a depreciating supply of coins. Distributed Ledgers - Technology that uses multiple independent computers to store information and transactions, rather than a single centralized database.
ERC-20 Token	A token that creators produce as indistinguishable tokens to trade for other tokens.
ERC-721 Token	A token that creators to issue that each have a unique identifier code.
ERC-1155 Token	A newer token that allows one smart contract to represent multiple fungible and non-fungible tokens in addition to batched operations.
ETH or Ether	Tokens used for payment on the Ethereum network.
Ethereum	Ethereum is a blockchain network that is similar to Bitcoin. It has its own cryptocurrency, called Ether or ETH, and can be used to build, publish and monetize decentralized digital applications.
Gas	A fee paid by users to execute transactions on the Ethereum network based on the efforts by miners, needed to carry out specific transactions on the Ethereum network. Governance token or Utility Token - A token created by a decentralized exchange that enables holders to vote on proposals made by the community.
Halving	In relation to cryptocurrency, this is the reduction of the block rewards provided to miners by half. It is a process that ensures the issuance rate of new coins is steady until it reaches maximum. E.g. “Bitcoin halving” every four years.

First Published February 19th, 2023.