From UX/UI Designer to Founder: Why building a RWA AI platform feels like fighting VC trauma
Hi everyone! I’m Miguel 👋
Long-time lurker in the product space, finally jumping in to share a bit of my journey and a major frustration I’ve run into lately.
A little about my background:
- Spent years deep in UX/UI design before transitioning into gaming environments to break traditional interface tropes and build more engaging behavioral loops.
- Now, I’ve taken the leap into the founder world, building Project "STYX: Echoes of Gold"
We are developing a B2B Premium AI Data Platform with gamified infrastructure, but here’s the twist: our yields are fundamentally backed by Real-World Assets (RWA). No smoke, no algorithmic mirrors. Real, tangible value distribution.
And that brings me to the hard truth of fundraising right now.
Lately, pitching to Venture Capitals feels less about product architecture and more about navigating their PTSD.
Finding investors who can actually differentiate between pure, speculative crypto hype and a legitimate, asset-backed yield infrastructure has become an uphill battle. Many funds seem completely traumatized by past market cycles, filtering out anything that touches decentralized rails before even looking at the underlying business model or the B2B data utility.
I'm curious to hear from other builders here:
How are you pitching real-yield or hybrid models in a market that's either chasing pure AI hype or completely terrified of decentralized infrastructure?
Excited to connect with other makers, swap fundraising war stories, and get feedback on navigating these filtered investor gates!
Replies
Interesting perspective, Miguel.
As someone currently building an AI-powered product in the crypto space, I've noticed a similar challenge, although at a much smaller scale.
It seems that many people immediately associate anything related to crypto with speculation, which makes it harder to have conversations about actual utility, infrastructure, or long-term value.
My impression is that founders need to spend much more time educating than pitching. Sometimes explaining the problem being solved and the value being created is more important than discussing the underlying technology or rails.
Curious to see how other founders here are approaching this as well.
Best of luck with STYX!
Love hearing about founders pushing through the VC noise to build something with real asset backing. Sounds like a meaningful challenge. If you're up for it, I'm launching on PH soon...would appreciate a follow (See "PRODUCT HUNT LAUNCH" Link in my profile). The Sponge is an AI-powered flashcard app that turns any webpage into study material to help knowledge actually stick.