Onchain Growth Club: Crypto & Web3 Marketing Talks

Norman Wiese

Growth is crypto's biggest unsolved challenge. While the tech keeps evolving, most projects struggle to find their audience, keep them engaged, and scale beyond the crypto bubble. That's what the OGC Podcast explores - the tactics, playbooks and stories behind builders shaping crypto's emerging platform era. Host Norman Wiese, founder of Onchain Growth Club, sits down with growth leaders, marketers, and founders who are building and scaling the next generation of crypto products. In focused 30-minute conversations, guests share tactical strategies, frameworks, and hard-won insights driving real results in web3. No fluff. No obvious takes. Just genuine conversations with practitioners who are in the growth trenches. Whether you're scaling a DeFi protocol, working on an L2, building the next breakthrough app, or if you are a curious web2 marketer, this is where you'll discover what's working now - and what's coming next.

Episodes

  1. How Solana Turns Hackathons Into Startup Engines w/ Patricia Albrecht, Superteam

    7H AGO

    How Solana Turns Hackathons Into Startup Engines w/ Patricia Albrecht, Superteam

    Most crypto ecosystems still treat hackathons like weekend coding events. Solana treats them as five-to-six-week global startup competitions with millions in prize money, equity investment from its venture arm, and structured founder support after the fact. It's one piece of a broader model that no other chain has replicated at scale: country-level community teams running their own operations to source talent, support founders, and build local ecosystems from scratch. Patricia Albrecht leads one of those teams. Before crypto, she built her career across major organizations in Web2 and finance, funded her Oxford MBA with early crypto gains, and joined web3 full-time in 2023. She now runs Superteam's operations in Germany - one of the most active nodes in Solana's global network. In this episode, we break down how Solana's ecosystem engine actually works operationally, what "wartime vs. peacetime" means inside Superteam, how they measure success through hard startup KPIs, and why Europe's structural challenges around regulation and capital access are pushing its best founders to build elsewhere. Plus: where Patricia sees the biggest opportunities in RWAs, prediction markets, and stablecoin infrastructure. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction and This or That 2:49 Patricia's background and path to Solana 4:37 What ecosystem building actually means day-to-day 5:52 H1 2026 priorities: hackathons, the Accelerate Tour, institutional events 9:05 Target audiences across the Solana ecosystem 10:45 How Superteam measures success and tracks KPIs 13:18 Web2 talent flowing into crypto - a growing trend 17:46 The state of Europe: regulation, capital access, and talent flight 21:59 Cultural differences - risk aversion vs. go-getter DNA 25:13 Verticals to watch: RWAs, prediction markets, stablecoin infrastructure 29:17 The hype problem - why marketing outpaces product in crypto 30:12 The founder journey through Superteam's programs 34:35 Patricia's current rabbit hole: longevity About the OGC Podcast: The OGC Podcast tackles crypto's biggest unsolved challenge: growth. Host Norman Wiese sits down with founders, growth leaders, and crypto marketers sharing strategies and frameworks driving real results in web3. Learn more at onchaingrowth.xyz Connect with Patricia: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattiruss/ • Twitter/X: https://x.com/pattiruss_ • Superteam: https://x.com/SuperteamDE Connect with Norman: • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/normanwiese • Twitter/X: x.com/normanwiese • Onchain Growth Club: x.com/onchaingrowth Subscribe and Review: • Spotify: Listen on Spotify • Apple Podcasts: Listen on Apple Podcasts • Youtube: youtube.com/@onchaingrowth

    39 min
  2. Rethinking Grants: From Black Hole to Growth Engine w/ Mashal Waqar, Octant

    FEB 22

    Rethinking Grants: From Black Hole to Growth Engine w/ Mashal Waqar, Octant

    Grants were supposed to grow crypto ecosystems. Instead, hundreds of millions disappeared into a black hole - no accountability, no results, no clear strategy. The industry is still recovering from it. Mashal Waqar has been studying this problem longer than most. With a background in media, security, and serial entrepreneurship, she co-authored some of the most referenced research on crypto grants funding before joining Octant - one of Web3's most underrated experiments in sustainable ecosystem growth. Now CMO of the newly independent Octant Labs, she's building a model where yield funds operations, communities guide capital allocation, and ecosystems can finally measure what they're getting for their money. In this conversation, we unpack the full arc of grants in crypto, what ecosystems like Solana and Stellar are actually getting right, and why crypto marketing is finally growing up - beyond CT, beyond conference season, and toward real web2 playbooks. 0:00 Introduction1:00 Mashal's Background: Security, Media & Getting Crypto-Pilled4:10 What Octant Is and How the Funding Model Works8:25 Octant V2 and the Octant Labs Spinout13:10 The History of Grants in Crypto: From Bounties to Black Holes19:30 What Good Ecosystem Growth Looks Like Today22:35 Octant's Vault Products and Open Ecosystem Model28:45 The State of Crypto Marketing Right Now33:05 Conference Culture, InfoFi, and What's Actually Working38:30 DEVCON Location Debate: Accessibility vs. Capital Hubs42:50 Where to Find Mashal CONNECT WITH MASHAL: Mashal on X: https://x.com/ArleryOctant: https://octant.app/ CONNECT WITH NORMAN: X: https://x.com/normanwieseLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/normanwieseOnchain Growth Club: https://x.com/onchaingrowth ABOUT THE OGC PODCAST: The OGC Podcast tackles crypto's biggest unsolved challenge: growth. Host Norman Wiese sits down with founders, growth leaders, and crypto marketers sharing strategies and frameworks driving real results in web3. Visit www.podpage.com/ogc for all episodes!

    43 min
  3. From Solo Newsletter to Media Startup: Growing in Crypto & AI w/ TPan, Milk Road

    12/09/2025

    From Solo Newsletter to Media Startup: Growing in Crypto & AI w/ TPan, Milk Road

    Most crypto growth content is either too technical or too basic. Few people bridge serious web2 growth expertise with crypto-native insights. Fewer still build audiences from scratch and scale them to real businesses. TPan (Thomas Pan) spent 3.5 years building "web3 with TPan" from zero to 8,000 subscribers - writing 386+ essays dissecting everything from WIF meme coin mechanics to Blast's seven-layer airdrop burrito. Now as Head of Growth at Milk Road, he's scaling a media platform with 30-50x that audience across crypto, macro, and AI investing. In this conversation, we unpack the solopreneur journey, what makes content actually resonate in web3, why growth is about sustainable numbers (not just "number go up"), and how Milk Road is building a freemium media business with multiple revenue streams in a market where most media companies struggle to survive. 0:00 Introduction2:13 TPan's Background: From Mobile Gaming to Crypto8:30 The NFT Entry Point & Finding Web313:01 Launching "web3 with TPan" Newsletter16:25 Content Strategy & What Resonated Most22:30 Best Performing Content: WIF, Blast, Stablecoins28:06 Joining Milk Road: The Transition32:14 Milk Road's Business Model & Structure36:05 Growing a Media Platform: Freemium Strategy41:48 Expanding Into AI: The Emerging Tech Thesis45:57 Where to Find TPan ABOUT THE OGC PODCAST: The OGC Podcast tackles crypto's biggest unsolved challenge: growth. Host Norman Wiese sits down with founders, growth leaders, and crypto marketers sharing strategies and frameworks driving real results in web3. CONNECT WITH TPAN: TPan on X: https://x.com/TPan____Milk Road: https://milkroad.com/ CONNECT WITH NORMAN: • X: https://x.com/normanwiese • Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/normanwiese • Onchain Growth Club: https://x.com/onchaingrowth SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40h808BdpcWIhgXXQNQR52Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/onchain-growth-club-crypto-web3-marketing-talks/id1833519944 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@onchaingrowth

    43 min
  4. Building Crypto's 100-Person Superagency w/ Danny Gazit, Hype

    11/12/2025

    Building Crypto's 100-Person Superagency w/ Danny Gazit, Hype

    The crypto market moves fast. Metas change weekly. One day it's DeFi, the next it's meme coins, then AI agents. How do you build a sustainable marketing business in this chaos? Danny Gazit, CEO of Hype, has been navigating crypto marketing since 2017. From ICO boom to NFT mania to AI meta, Hype has scaled to 100+ people while most agencies didn't survive a single cycle. In this episode, we dive deep into the business of crypto marketing - the behind-the-scenes of running an agency, how to structure teams, what clients actually want, and why most projects fail at staying relevant. TIMESTAMPS: 1:07 Introduction and Welcome 8:00 Navigating Volatility as a Business Leader 11:00 Scaling Challenges and Structure Pivots 18:45 Top Marketing Objectives Clients Actually Want 21:14 Marketing in Crypto vs Traditional Marketing 23:12 Crypto Native vs Mainstream Audiences 24:05 TikTok Experiments: Case Study Deep Dive 28:33 Marketing Metas: The Loaded Question 35:52 Market Outlook and Marketing in Downturns 41:00 Conclusion and Where to Find Hype ABOUT THE OGC PODCAST: The OGC Podcast tackles crypto's biggest unsolved challenge: growth. Host Norman Wiese sits down with founders, growth leaders, and crypto marketers sharing strategies and frameworks driving real results in web3. CONNECT WITH DANNY: X: https://x.com/0xDannyHype Hype X : https://x.com/HypePartners Website: https://hy.pe CONNECT WITH NORMAN: • X: https://x.com/normanwiese  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/normanwiese  • Onchain Growth Club: https://x.com/onchaingrowth SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40h808BdpcWIhgXXQNQR52?si=a4249f90aff3425b • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/onchain-growth-club-crypto-web3-growth-talks/id1833519944 • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@onchaingrowth

    42 min
  5. From SEO to LLMs: The New Era of AI Marketing w/ Malte Landwehr, Peec AI

    09/30/2025

    From SEO to LLMs: The New Era of AI Marketing w/ Malte Landwehr, Peec AI

    Malte Landwehr, CMO of Peec AI, talks about the evolving landscape of marketing in the age of AI and large language models (LLMs).  We discuss the transition from traditional SEO to AI-driven discoverability (GEO), the challenges of traffic attribution, and the current state of LLMs in the market.  Malte shares insights on how brands can optimize their visibility in LLMs, the importance of understanding user behavior, and the practical tactics that can be employed to influence LLM outputs. — 0:00 Introduction and Welcome 04:53 Transitioning from SEO to AI and LLMs 11:08 The Evolution of Search and the Role of LLMs 13:11 Adoption Curve of LLMs  15:38 Understanding Traffic and Attribution Challenges 19:47 Current Landscape of LLMs and Their Market Share 21:22 Manipulating LLMs: Tactics and Strategies 29:39 Introduction to Peec AI and Its Offerings 32:22 Recommendations for Marketing Leaders 36:59 Conclusion and Key Takeaways — EPISODE LINKS: • Malte on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landwehr • Malte Landwehr on X: https://x.com/MalteLandwehr • Peec AI Website: https://peec.ai/ CONNECT WITH NORMAN: • X: https://x.com/normanwiese  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/normanwiese/ • Onchain Growth Club: https://x.com/onchaingrowth SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40h808B...  • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id... • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@onchaingrowth

    39 min
  6. Building Cross-Chain DeFi Beyond the Hype w/ Shaun Janse van Vuuren, ChainFlip

    09/12/2025

    Building Cross-Chain DeFi Beyond the Hype w/ Shaun Janse van Vuuren, ChainFlip

    Shaun van Vuuren, Head of Marketing and Comms at ChainFlip, breaks down how they're building cross-chain DeFi beyond the hype - native Bitcoin ⇄ ETH⇄ Solana swaps with no bridges or wrapped tokens.  As the space matures, ChainFlip shifted from narrative-driven marketing to product-led growth, focusing on user retention over vanity metrics.  Sean explains their multi-chain user segmentation strategy, how the $FLIP token secures the network while driving community engagement, and shares real tactics for building trust through transparency in DeFi's interoperability future. — 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 01:22 This or That Icebreaker 03:02 User Retention > TOFU Campaigns 05:24 Understanding ChainFlip's Role in the Ecosystem 11:08 User Segmentation and Market Insights 16:39 Interoperability and Its Importance 23:07 Marketing Strategies at ChainFlip 28:44 The Role of the Token in ChainFlip's Strategy 32:45 Final Thoughts and Future Directions — EPISODE LINKS: • Shaun Janse van Vuuren on X: https://x.com/bento_shaun • Chainflip website: https://chainflip.io/ • Chainflip on X: https://x.com/Chainflip ABOUT THE OGC PODCAST: The OGC Podcast tackles crypto's biggest unsolved challenge: growth. Host Norman Wiese sits down with founders, growth leaders, and crypto marketers sharing tactical strategies and frameworks driving real results in web3. CONNECT WITH NORMAN: • X: https://x.com/normanwiese  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/normanwiese/ • Onchain Growth Club: https://x.com/onchaingrowth SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40h808B...  • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id... • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@onchaingrowth

    36 min
  7. The End of Vanity Metrics in Crypto Marketing w/ Brett Li, Flipside

    08/19/2025

    The End of Vanity Metrics in Crypto Marketing w/ Brett Li, Flipside

    Brett Li, VP Marketing at Flipside, breaks down why web3 growth is finally maturing beyond hype-driven tactics. As institutional money flows in, protocols are ditching vanity metrics for real business fundamentals like user journey mapping and retention. Brett explains Flipside's stratgic shift to AI-powered intelligence, shares how Avalanche used onchain data to design smarter incentive programs, and talks how he sees AI tools being integrated into his team's workflows. --- 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 02:13 This or That Icebreaker 04:46 Flipside's Strategic Shift to AI Intelligence 09:39 Making On-Chain Data Accessible Through AI 13:41 Marketing to Protocols: ABM in Web3 15:38 What's Top of Mind for Protocol Teams 18:31 The Maturation of Crypto Growth Strategy 22:05 User Journey Intelligence: Avalanche Case Study 26:25 AI Integration: Platform and Personal Use 31:06 Future AI Automation and Agent Strategies 32:39 Final Thoughts and Resources --- EPISODE LINKS: - Brett Li on X: https://x.com/bretttheli • Flipside Crypto: https://flipsidecrypto.xyz • Flipside AI Chat: https://flipsidecrypto.xyz/chat • G Squared Growth Collective: https://t.me/gsquaredgrowth ABOUT THE OGC PODCAST: The OGC Podcast tackles crypto's biggest unsolved challenge: growth. Host Norman Wiese sits down with founders, growth leaders, and crypto marketers sharing tactical strategies and frameworks driving real results in web3. CONNECT WITH NORMAN: • Twitter: https://x.com/normanwiese • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/normanwiese/ • Onchain Growth Club: https://x.com/onchaingrowth SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40h808BdpcWIhgXXQNQR52 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1833519944 • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@onchaingrowth

    34 min
  8. The TradFi Trader Reinventing Brand Building w/ OSF, Rekt Brands

    08/18/2025

    The TradFi Trader Reinventing Brand Building w/ OSF, Rekt Brands

    Ovie Faruq (OSF) went from trading distressed credit at Barclays to minting 150 Bored Apes in a drunken late-night session - a move that set him up to build one of crypto's most interesting brand experiments. As co-founder of Rekt Brands, Ovie is pioneering the "brand coin" concept: tokenizing brand sentiment while selling actual drinks in 7-Elevens across America. From launching Rekt Guy as a purposely expectation-free NFT to giving equity to holders to creating a meme coin that rewards drink purchases, Ovie breaks down how traditional finance principles apply to crypto volatility, why DAOs are terrible for running companies, and what happens when normies start buying crypto-branded energy drinks without knowing they're earning tokens. A masterclass in evolving with the market while building something genuinely new. 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 01:46 This or That Icebreaker 04:35 From TradFi to Crypto Transition 08:54 The Infamous 150 Bored Apes Story 15:52 Becoming a Creator and Building Following 19:44 The Rekt Guy Free Mint Philosophy 22:24 Evolution to Rekt Brands and Token Launch 24:14 Equity Distribution to NFT Holders 26:20 Brand Coins vs Traditional Loyalty Programs 30:44 Token Treasury and Reward Mechanisms 32:38 Crypto Company or Drinks Company? 34:28 Mainstream Adoption and 7-Eleven Learnings Episode Links: • Ovie Faruq (OSF) on X: https://x.com/osf_rekt • Rekt Brands: https://rektbrands.com/ • Brand Coin Thesis (Pinned Post): https://x.com/osf_rekt/status/1924828742196539745 About the OGC Podcast: The OGC Podcast tackles crypto's biggest unsolved challenge: growth. Host Norman Wiese sits down with growth leaders, marketers, and founders sharing tactical strategies and frameworks driving real results in web3. Connect with Norman: • Twitter: https://x.com/normanwiese • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/normanwiese/ • Onchain Growth Club: https://x.com/onchaingrowth Subscribe & Review: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40h808BdpcWIhgXXQNQR52 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1833519944 • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@onchaingrowth

    39 min
  9. The Founder Who Talked to 1,000 Crypto Marketers w/ Justin Vogel, Safary

    08/15/2025

    The Founder Who Talked to 1,000 Crypto Marketers w/ Justin Vogel, Safary

    Justin Vogel, co-founder of Safary, breaks down crypto's bizarre marketing reality: why traditional growth playbooks don't work when your entire addressable market is just a few million people. From the rise and fall of airdrops to the current "InfoFi" meta flooding Twitter with AI-generated content, Justin reveals the underground strategies actually moving the needle. Plus: how Safary built crypto's most exclusive growth community and why their $500 certification program doubled in price with zero drop in demand. 00:00 Introduction and Welcome   03:20 This or That Icebreaker 05:30 Building a Community of Crypto Marketers 09:35 Mental Models to Navigate the Space 12:57 Driving Traffic and Mindshare  15:55 Unpacking InfoFi and Other Marketing Metas 23:40 Learnings from Building Safary Club 27:54 Crypto Marketing Education Program Episode Links: • Justin Vogel on X: https://x.com/jkey_eth • Safary: https://safary.club/ • Safary's Web3 Growth Stack: https://blog.safary.club/p/the-state-of-web3-growth-2024 About the OGC Podcast: The OGC Podcast tackles crypto's biggest unsolved challenge: growth. Host Norman Wiese sits down with growth leaders, marketers, and founders sharing tactical strategies and frameworks driving real results in web3. Connect with Norman: • Twitter: https://x.com/normanwiese • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/normanwiese/ • Onchain Growth Club: https://x.com/onchaingrowth Subscribe & Review: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40h808BdpcWIhgXXQNQR52 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1833519944 • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@onchaingrowth

    34 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

Growth is crypto's biggest unsolved challenge. While the tech keeps evolving, most projects struggle to find their audience, keep them engaged, and scale beyond the crypto bubble. That's what the OGC Podcast explores - the tactics, playbooks and stories behind builders shaping crypto's emerging platform era. Host Norman Wiese, founder of Onchain Growth Club, sits down with growth leaders, marketers, and founders who are building and scaling the next generation of crypto products. In focused 30-minute conversations, guests share tactical strategies, frameworks, and hard-won insights driving real results in web3. No fluff. No obvious takes. Just genuine conversations with practitioners who are in the growth trenches. Whether you're scaling a DeFi protocol, working on an L2, building the next breakthrough app, or if you are a curious web2 marketer, this is where you'll discover what's working now - and what's coming next.

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