Receiving how many "no's" is not important; you only need one "Yes" to trigger an avalanche effect.

Author: Jocy

In June 2023, amidst a sluggish cryptocurrency market where Bitcoin struggled to maintain around $25,000, many investment institutions chose to refrain from making moves or to wait and see. It was at this time that we encountered Pierre and Adli, the founders of Usual. A shocking USDC de-pegging event had just occurred, revealing risks and vulnerabilities even in the safest stablecoins. In contrast, USDT reported record profits and was expected to surpass BlackRock this year. This contradictory phenomenon in the stablecoin market not only highlighted severe vulnerabilities but also contained immense potential.

In July, our investment team specifically visited Usual's office in Paris, where they had assembled an eight-person team using their own funds. They had booked a modest meeting room in a shared office to pitch and converse with us. We communicated for about two hours, and during that week, we also arranged a second interview regarding technology with Usual's CTO, Manfred. Pierre's background as a former French congressman and advisor to President Macron is quite interesting.

When Pierre articulated their vision, we were initially shocked by its depth and detail. Their strong passion and meticulous thinking were evident, which meant we had to invest more time to understand them and assess the possibility of investment.

During the due diligence process, we held multiple internal and external meetings and engaged in detailed written communications, ultimately accumulating 50-70 pages of materials. As we delved deeper, we became increasingly impressed by how they meticulously integrated every detail into a grander vision. Their responses to our questions were never vague; instead, they were always based on thorough research, demonstrating a profound understanding of future challenges.

What truly set them apart was not just their technical strength or attention to detail, but their genuine passion and belief. Clearly, they lived for Usual 24/7 (which is very different from the common perception of the French); their enthusiasm was infectious, making us believe in their vision to disrupt Tether. We clearly saw that these individuals were not chasing a market cycle but were fundamentally aiming to change the landscape of stablecoins.

We decided to make one of the largest seed round investments in IOSG's history. However, even after we committed to lead the investment in August, it took nearly two months to complete the entire round of financing. In fact, IOSG invests in fewer than 15 deals each year, of which about five projects we will lead. The process of leading investments is quite challenging, as exemplified in the Usual case. After confirming our lead investment, we compiled a complete list of Eastern and Western investors for the project, but at that time, these investors did not provide any commitments within a month; everyone wanted to wait and see, uncertain if the financing would succeed. During the toughest times, our colleague Momir even personally attended an investment committee meeting of a certain investor to help explain Usual's entire stablecoin and DeFi mechanism design and answer the committee's questions. Fortunately, this institution eventually came on board. This deal made us feel an unprecedented lack of consensus; when 20 mainstream investment funds in the industry said no, we remained resolute and continued to support the team in completing that round of financing, which was certainly aided by the founders' resilience and persistence.

Ironically, even the fund that introduced Usual to us ultimately abandoned this round of investment. At one point, a local early-stage fund in France pointed out that foreign investors did not recognize Pierre's outstanding background, yet they themselves also gave up on this round of investment. Looking back at Usual's financing journey, it is regrettable that among the many VC funds they approached, only 3-5 funds truly delved into the project details. During the three months of completing the financing, we watched Pierre and Adli continuously refine their vision and advance development progress. The resilience displayed during this period further strengthened our belief. In the end, we were fortunate to complete this round of financing with like-minded funds such as Kraken Ventures, which also invested significant time to understand the details of Usual's concept.

After the investment, the team's execution speed even surprised us. Their attention to detail during the preparation phase translated into outstanding execution in practice. They achieved milestones faster than our most optimistic expectations. Later, IOSG's post-investment team joined in and organized a list of well-known KOLs from both East and West. After multiple discussions and selections, we helped the Usual team choose KOLs with different backgrounds and strengths, then introduced and recommended them one by one. Additionally, through multiple pitches to one of Asia's largest TVL communities, we helped Usual successfully enter this largest DeFi community in Asia, allowing their product to achieve the first $200 million in TVL during the gray testing phase.

Reflecting on this journey, it should serve as encouragement for future founders. Receiving how many "no's" is not important; you only need one "Yes" to trigger an avalanche effect. Today, we are more convinced than ever that our "willingness" towards Usual will become one of our most important decisions. Sometimes, that’s all it takes - to say "Yes" at the right moment, to the right team, with the right vision.

The difficult journey makes these important milestones even more gratifying. We are delighted to see Usual beginning to receive the recognition it deserves, while also being acutely aware that this is just the beginning of a long journey. There is still a lot of work to be done. Keep moving forward!

Thanks to all IOSG team members who supported the decision to invest in Usual during the bear market's low point. Usual's growth has allowed the team to experience the power of growing alongside the founders, with each member becoming an ambassador for Usual.

In most of the projects led by IOSG, we strive to help them complete the early product launch from 0 to 1, including subsequent GTM. We even have an internal IOSG guidebook dedicated to providing the entire post-investment service needed for project growth cycles. IOSG has persisted for over seven years, and as a long-standing fund in the crypto industry, we understand the difficulties of investment. However, we are willing to help entrepreneurs in the crypto industry reach for the stars and achieve success!

Looking forward to the next entrepreneur who comes to us to become the new Usual! You’re unUSUAL!

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