Foundry "NYC 2.2" proves the unique value of the Monad Foundation in ecological construction.
Written by: Deep Tide TechFlow
Recently, the market's attention has been drawn to U.S. stocks, Circle, and the siphoning of stablecoins, leading to fewer reports on projects focused on ecological construction. As one of the most anticipated mainnet launches in the crypto industry for 2025, the Monad Foundation has just concluded the Foundry "NYC 2.2" event in New York, which has sparked discussions among many entrepreneurs still dedicated to building on social media platforms. Many participants expressed:
In providing feedback for early founders, Monad Foundry "NYC 2.2" is top-notch.
As a leader in parallel EVM, Monad aims to improve Layer 1 network performance and enhance EVM execution efficiency through parallel processing, thereby unlocking the potential of the EVM ecosystem. Foundry "NYC 2.2," as an annual ecological event meticulously crafted by the Monad Foundation for 2025, is designed specifically for application products and developers, aiming to attract global developers to build innovative projects based on Monad.
The event has been praised for its efficient organization, in-depth technical exchanges, and practical market guidance. Let us feel the strong support that the Monad Foundation continuously brings to its ecological project builders through the sharing of participants on-site in New York.
Face-to-Face with Core Members of the Foundation, Leading Ecological Projects, and Renowned VCs
From June 17 to 21, 2025, Foundry "NYC 2.2" was held in New York, USA.
As an annual offline event meticulously organized by the Monad Foundation, Foundry "NYC 2.2" is dedicated to providing a concentrated opportunity for communication and learning for Monad ecological builders, attracting developers from different cities around the world to explore new paradigms of ecological innovation in just one week. After application and review, a total of 44 projects and 79 builders from 30 cities worldwide participated in the event, with over 50 venture capitalists watching the presentations on-site.
The collision of multi-perspective thinking and resource sharing under diverse participation is a prominent highlight of Foundry "NYC 2.2." The main participants of the event included:
Core members of Monad: including Monad co-founders Keone Hon and Eunice Giarta, Monad Foundation Consumer Lead Shreyas Hariharan, Monad Foundation Director of BD Joey Anthony, Monad Foundation NFT Lead Karma Gora, and several other core members;
Founders of leading projects in the Monad ecosystem: covering a variety of popular ecological projects in DeFi, Consumer, Gaming, AI, DePIN, and NFT sectors;
Representatives from renowned VCs: dozens of representatives from well-known industry VCs gathered, including Paradigm, Electric Capital, Dragonfly, Pantera Capital, Figment Capital, Volt Capital, Ethereal Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Hack VC, and more.
With such a luxurious lineup, participants unanimously expressed: during the event, you could easily feel the collision of ideas and comprehensive support, including:
One-on-one communication with core members of the Monad Foundation: receiving targeted guidance from core members on technical issues, product design, and market strategies;
Collaborating with outstanding project founders in the Monad ecosystem: in-depth discussions on GTM growth strategies and exploring potential future collaboration opportunities;
Direct interaction with VCs: gaining valuable advice from a first-hand perspective and potential funding opportunities;
Competing for roadshow slots to gain additional exposure: through roadshows, developers can showcase their projects to the foundation, investors, and other ecosystem members, gaining more attention and resource support.
Not Innovating for Innovation's Sake: Focusing on Practicality to Find Product-Market Fit (PMF)
Building products based on actual user needs and feedback, first validating a small and repeatable cycle effectively, and then exploring scalability.
This is one of the core ideas conveyed by the Foundry "NYC 2.2" event. Many participants also shared their insights through social media.
Patrick Hizon, co-founder and CEO of Mu Digital (Twitter: @hizonpm), stated after attending:
User feedback is key. Don’t build what you think is right; build based on measurable user feedback. If you’re not communicating with users, what are you really doing?
As a beloved project in the Monad ecosystem, RareBetSports (RBS) CEO J (Twitter: @RBS_Gyarados) also expressed a similar viewpoint:
After spending a week with some top founders, I learned some key points on how to take RBS to the next level:
Identify the key points for growth and double down on them. Keep experimenting.
Once you identify the channels, messages, or mechanisms that truly drive user growth, invest decisively and expand actively.
Build for users first, then consider scaling.
Solve the real problems of today’s small groups. The insights and loyalty you gain will lay the foundation for future scalable growth.
A consistent feedback loop combined with a clear GTM strategy will lead to growth. When you continuously learn from users, each iteration generates a compounding effect. Growth becomes a rhythm rather than a blind guess.
The Monad team is working hard for long-term ecological development, not just building its own infrastructure but also building the ecosystem to assist founders.
*LootGO, a beloved treasure-hunting game in the Monad ecosystem, had its co-founder Yuki (Twitter: @yuki__app*) participate in this event and share his insights on **GTM:
Last Sunday, I met @PareenL (Founder Community Lead at the Monad Foundation), who gave me some very candid but necessary feedback: a repeatable closed loop × a clear GTM lever = scalability.
Whether it’s a repeated activity or a self-contained game loop, prove it works before considering scaling.
We don’t need to do everything; we just need to do that one thing that can truly drive progress. (Thanks to @keoneHD "Monad Co-founder" for recommending books on how to address constraints and GTM).
Around the central idea of "focusing on users' real demands," Monad Foundation NFT Lead Karma Gora (Twitter: @wagmigently) also shared on social media:
Founders lie to themselves, thinking they have achieved product-market fit (PMF); users lie, saying they like the product (actually because of incentives); angel investors lie about why they don’t invest (because it’s easier than giving direct, sharp feedback); partners lie about the quality of your application (because the standards in the crypto industry are low).
The Monad Foundation breaks this cycle.
The days of securing funding with just Figma prototypes are over. Every team that gained VC interest this week had a usable application or demo, along with user-validated results. Build first, then fund.
The next wave of crypto adoption won’t be driven by teams chasing narratives but by founders focused on solving real problems for real users.
This week taught me a lot about how to identify and support these builders.
Delivery Speed is Greater than Everything: Start with Building an MVP
In the fast-paced industry of Crypto, speed is one of the key factors determining a project's success or failure. Whether it’s product development iterations or rapid market responses, it concerns whether a project can seize opportunities in a rapidly changing market. Many attendees at Foundry "NYC 2.2" expressed deep agreement.
Monad Foundation NFT Lead Karma Gora (Twitter: @wagmigently) illustrated the importance of rapid delivery and iteration with a vivid analogy:
Want to build a car? Start with a skateboard.
Teams often spend weeks solving non-existent problems. Instead, it’s better to create the simplest, roughest MVP (Minimum Viable Product) first, complete the core tasks, and then iterate based on real user feedback.
Pumpfun didn’t even have half of its features when it launched!
@keoneHD (Monad co-founder) doesn’t ask, "What’s your six-month plan?" every Friday; he asks, "What did you do this week?" We see many teams in the Monad ecosystem making improvements within hours of receiving feedback. That’s the mindset of winners.
Regarding the importance of rapid delivery and flexible adjustments, LootGO co-founder Yuki also stated:
During this week, I worked with other outstanding builders and the Monad Foundation team, learning a lot about rapid delivery and even slightly adjusting our direction mid-week.
In the face of the immense pressure to pursue delivery speed, Mu Digital co-founder and CEO Patrick Hizon displayed a more positive attitude:
Don’t shy away from pressure; face it head-on.
Only the brave are willing to enter the arena. If you haven’t failed, it means you haven’t tried hard enough. We are here to build unicorns, so aim higher.
Breaking the Circle: From the Crypto Niche to the Mainstream Vision
Mass adoption has always been a core issue in the Crypto industry that has been repeatedly mentioned but never fully resolved. At the Foundry "NYC 2.2" event, participants captured many unique insights about breaking the crypto circle through exchanges and collisions of ideas.
Mu Digital co-founder and CEO Patrick Hizon shared his insights on breaking the crypto circle on social media:
Build for widespread acceptance, not just within the crypto circle.
While Monad is our base, we are building for the entire Web3 and all users. Monad to Millions = Expand your orbit (thanks to @0x_eunice "Monad co-founder" and @PareenL "Founder Community Lead at Monad Foundation" for their specific advice).
LootGO co-founder Yuki shared valuable insights on breaking the circle that he gained during the event:
Several members of the Monad team pointed out that LootGO has real potential beyond Monad and the crypto-native circle. It’s time to define our core advantages, clarify our users, optimize the user onboarding process, and find effective channels to reach them.
Constantly Challenging Oneself in Equal and Sincere Communication
A friendly and open atmosphere permeated the entire Foundry "NYC 2.2" event. Whether it was core members of the Monad Foundation or participating ecological builders, everyone offered sincere advice and shared experiences.
As a participant in Monad Madness New York, TownSquare founder JC Zhang (Twitter: @realjcz) stated:
I strongly recommend anyone to participate in Monad's future plans.
The Monad Foundation truly cares about you as a founder and the success of your project. You won’t feel the politicized atmosphere found in other ecosystems that makes it hard to focus on product growth.
However, friendliness does not mean glossing over issues or avoiding problems. On the contrary, in a sincere atmosphere, discussions about products and projects are deeper and more challenging.
Mu Digital co-founder and CEO Patrick Hizon shared his feelings about the atmosphere on-site:
At first, it might be seen as a "harmonious meeting" with familiar faces and teams, but it quickly evolved into a "shockwave" that constantly challenged us to reach another level.
This "shockwave" experience was also echoed by other participants. As the winner of the evm/accathon hackathon, Gorillionaire founder Luduvigo (Twitter: @luduvigo) compared the series of advice he received at the event to "a slap in the face," but he admitted that this was the kind of slap he needed:
Receiving direct and candid advice from top industry experts, accepting challenges, being in the same room with the best companies in Monad, collaborating with @MarcoRoccon and @imellepi, and connecting with our community through Discord for product feedback.
This saved us six months.
The organization, advice, and reality checks provided by @PareenL (Founder Community Lead at Monad Foundation) and @thetinaverse (Monad ecosystem lead) are top-notch.
Thanks to @keoneHD (Monad co-founder), @0x_eunice (Monad co-founder), and the Monad team for giving us the opportunity to participate in this incredible project.
Meanwhile, Opinion Labs founder and CEO Forrest (Twitter: @ForrestOLAB) shared more detailed insights from the event:
Spending a week at The Foundry, working with the Monad team and talented peers. This intense and in-depth collaboration made me feel the atmosphere of YC— that drive to constantly challenge assumptions and push boundaries.
This week we delved into:
How to make trading any viewpoint and complex financial products as simple as tweeting (UI/UX, AI Oracle, liquidity);
Building together with the community, making everyone a part of this journey;
Challenging our path, pushing limits, and realizing our vision: to become the infrastructure for trading anything.
What makes Foundry special is its mindset: zero-sum, never satisfied, constantly questioning, and maximizing possibilities. Keep building, keep delivering!
Five Teams Stand Out: Injecting New Energy into Ecological Prosperity
In the end, among the 44 participating teams, five teams stood out and earned roadshow qualifications.
Notably, on June 19, Monad announced that the second phase of testnet validation nodes had gone live, including 161 validation nodes from 64 cities in 33 countries, reflecting Monad's commitment to decentralization and pursuit of performance. The second phase of the Monad testnet (Testnet-2) is primarily aimed at validation node operators, intending to better prepare for the mainnet's arrival, which also means Monad is approaching a critical time point for the mainnet launch.
Foundry "NYC 2.2" proves the unique value of the Monad Foundation in ecological construction. Through a friendly atmosphere and sincere advice, the foundation provided participants with an open platform for communication; through candid feedback and profound challenges, the foundation helped teams quickly find breakthrough directions and achieve efficient growth.
With steady progress in ecological construction, the Monad mainnet is getting closer. Let us look forward to and work together to build a positive and sustainable ecosystem.
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