# BUILDING, LEARNING, AND BRIDGING TECH WITH MARKETS.

This week at BlockFuse Labs was a significant shift for many of us—not just as developers, but as future entrepreneurs, builders, and leaders in Web3.

## Beyond the Code: Insights from Marketing and Research Expert

We kicked off Week 16 with a powerful meetup featuring a Head of Marketing and Research (**Adeola Adesina**) from the Web3 industry. It was a refreshing reminder that building a great product is only half the journey—getting it into the hands of users is what defines success.

### Some key takeaways:

**Build the Market Before the Product:**
A major mistake developers make is building in isolation, assuming if you build it, they will come." Wrong. Products succeed when they solve a real, painful problem for an already engaged market.
Research, community building, and validating demand must happen before a single line of code.

**Storytelling Matters:**
In a saturated Web3 world, the difference between a thriving app and a ghost town often comes down to how well you communicate your value. Your pitch, your branding, your user journey—all of it must tell a story people want to be part of.

**Feedback is the Lifeblood:**
Early and continuous feedback loops prevent massive product-market fit failures. Talk to users early. Build in public. Let the market guide the product evolution.

> In Web3, community-first isn't just a buzzword—it's survival.

## Base Batch Africa Hackathon:
Our team decided to stretch ourselves and build two products simultaneously:

**1. Onchain Dating Dapp Miniapp (Dupple)**

We're creating a social dating platform, fully onchain, designed as a Telegram Mini App. Users can meet, match, and interact in a trustless environment with verifiable identities (NFT profiles, onchain reputations, etc.).

Key features we’re working on:

Onchain matching algorithms (proof of compatibility)

Tipping and rewards to incentivize meaningful connections

NFT-based profiles to verify and personalize user identities

In-app wallets for seamless transactions and micro-tipping

Our biggest challenge:
Balancing blockchain’s transparency with user privacy—something we’re tackling with clever use of encryption and optional private messaging channels.

**2. Telegram/WhatsApp Crypto Transfer Bot (Kirapod)**

The second project is a simple but powerful idea: Send crypto directly to your friends through Telegram or WhatsApp—even if they don't have a wallet yet.

How it works:

A user sends crypto to a Telegram/WhatsApp username.

If the receiver has a wallet linked already, funds are delivered instantly.

If not, the bot invites them to set up a wallet and claim their funds.

This tool breaks a major Web3 barrier: complexity.

> People shouldn't need to understand wallets, addresses, or chains to receive value.

We're simplifying crypto transfers to the point where it feels like sending a text.

## CONCLUSION

Week 16 was a wake-up call that building in Web3 isn't just about smart contracts, DAOs, and DeFi protocols—it's about human connection, empathy, and storytelling.

As we move forward, these lessons will remain central:

Talk to your users before you code.

Build community first, product second.

Focus on real problems, not imaginary "cool ideas."

User experience will always win over technical sophistication.

We’re not just learning to code—we’re learning to build movements.

BlockFuse Labs isn’t just shaping us into developers.
It’s shaping us into founders.