Mumbai: Soclly, a decentralised social network powered by LensProtocol for web3.0 influencers, educators, and artists, is looking to raise $3 million at a valuation of $30 million. The co-founders, Prayag Singh, Naresh Katta, and Charan Kumar Borra, have created a platform that allows web3 creators to interact with their audience in a more meaningful way. Soclly currently includes more than 15 web3 creators from different streams.

It will shortly release a brand-new edition of the product called Soclly V0.2. Creators will be able to post and monetize their content. Soclly is extending the capabilities of LensProtocol, built by Aave. LensProtocol enables users to create decentralised and composable social graphs using Polygon Blockchain. In Soclly V0.2, creators can mint their profiles, follow other users, and make and gather any publication entirely on-chain. As a result, it enables creators to control their data, social graph, and content. According to the company's business model, the platform levies a five per cent commission fee. The fee does, however, go down if the content creator has a significant enough volume and popularity on the platform.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Singh said that the company has been bootstrapped so far. "We have invested nearly $650,000. At a $30 million valuation, we intend to raise three million dollars. Initially, we are focusing on web3 users, and in parallel, we have begun working to streamline the user onboarding process so that web2 users will also enjoy a seamless onboarding experience like they do in web2."

He asserted that widespread web3 adoption has already occurred. Aave, Biconomy, and Polygon Blockchain were used by JP Morgan to accomplish its first decentralised finance (DeFi) transaction recently. In addition, Meta began testing a method for minting and selling NFTs on Instagram, powered by Polygon Blockchain.

Singh also underlined the importance of the regulatory structure, noting that there are approximately 1.3 billion people in India and that appropriate regulations are necessary to protect both small and large investors. Because there is currently no regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, web3 companies are moving their headquarters to Dubai or Singapore. With the proper regulatory framework, India may become a leader in web3 technology.

The concept of Soclly was first established in 2021. The co-founders got in touch with the creators and voiced their worries. It has become apparent that authors frequently receive spam and trolls in their direct messages, and the majority of users submit fillers in the DMs, which increases noise. There was no way to select users based on the quality of their queries.

The creators were unable to establish a personal connection with their audience. After having a discussion with a creator, the audience hardly ever posts anything on social media about how great the interaction was. This is a problem that Soclly has attempted to address through its platform.

Singh further explained the difference between web2 and web3. Web2 refers to the version of the internet most of us know today. The internet is dominated by companies that provide services in exchange for your personal data, while web3 allows complete control and ownership of your data. Soclly's goal is to reach every corner of India, as platforms such as Meta, Instagram, and Paytm have done. The goal is to teach people about web3. "They should use the web3 platform the same way they use the web2 platforms," he says.

A significant amount of education will be required. It is the most important consideration here. Singh emphasises, "Our primary goal is to educate people about blockchain and how it works. People are currently investing in cryptocurrencies to make quick money without understanding the underlying technology. This must be addressed as soon as possible."

According to him, the growth opportunity is that, while there are 207 million content creators worldwide, only 10 per cent earn $1,00,000 or more annually. 26 per cent earn between $10 and $1,000. There are numerous gaps to be filled. "Our attention is focused on this gap. We want to help web3 creators monetise better. They can start making money right away. That is the power of web3. For instance, in web2, YouTube takes 45 per cent of a creator's ad revenue. In web3, you keep the majority of the revenue."

In 2023, the emphasis will be on bringing on more web3 content creators, improving marketing, and increasing team size.