Gm. Why'd the founder take a pill in Ibiza? To show a VC he was cool.

FRESH POWDER

Looking at one fund that recently topped up their coffers.

Sheesh, slow weekend.

WEB3

Chaos Monkeys Meets Bored Apes

Antonio García Martínez, the former ad-tech founder who chronicled the sale of his startup in the book Chaos Monkeys, is back with another ad-tech startup.

This time it's in web3.

Why does web3 need ads?

Currently, NFT projects can see what wallets bought their NFTs, but have no way to tell how the owners found the project. In the ads world, this knowledge is called attribution.

García Martínez's expertise in the art of attribution helped him sell one startup to Twitter and build Facebook's ads platform to the behemoth it is today. "There's a wall between web2 and web3," AGM, as he's known around Silicon Valley, told CoinDesk.

A few questions that AGM's new startup Spindl hopes to answer:

• What's a lending protocol like Aave’s ARPU, or average revenue per user, a basic monetization metric?

• What's a game like Sandbox's user retention rate by cohort, another basic metric?

• Did that NFT or token drop, like the one Optimism did, work and did it actually drive long-term engagement with the protocol?

Who cares?

Well, a lot of crypto legends do haha. Balaji and Pomp were two of the angels in the $7 million seed funding. Dragonfly and Chapter One led the round. It's a big deal.

"Correct attribution in Web3 isn't some horrible intrusion of skeumorphic web2 machinery, it's a way to correctly credit a digital asset with the revenue they produced, in whatever downstream form," AGM wrote. "Without it, the NFT market will struggle to be more than a speculative art market mimicking the real-world one."

To increase web3 adoption, attribution is a problem that needs to be solved. AGM is here to save the day.

GAMING

Gaming & Chill?

Just as Google gives up on gaming, Netflix is doubling down.

At TechCrunch Disrupt, Netflix's VP of Gaming Mike Verdu revealed Netflix is opening a new gaming studio in SoCal and are hoping to offer a cloud gaming option.

Netflix wants to give users a "natural way to play games wherever you are" (and an extra reason to press pay). With Netflix subscriber progress on the decline, gaming could generate massive revenue.

Can Netflix win gaming?

Netflix currently has 14 games in development and 35 games on their service right now.

It turns out there are 55 games in the works with gameplay based on original IP like Stranger Things as well as licensed IP like Spongebob. "We hope over time that the balance is like, 50% Netflix IP," Verdu said.

If Netflix does a good job, this could be massive for the company.

What games do we want to see?

Great question, we're so glad you asked. Here's a few experiences we're hoping for:

• To compete in Squid Games

• Run a casino with Wendy Byrde from Ozark

• Attempt not to get cancelled with Dave Chapelle

• Jump to a dystopian future with Black Mirror

• Shoot bad guys and take shots with the Peaky Blinders gang

What about you? Which Netflix shows do you want to see turned into games?

QUICK HITS

Seed Round

Stat: NFT project Azuki sold 8 Golden Skateboard NFTs that come with gold-plated skateboards ranging from $261,682 to $404,298. $50 says Bieber bought all 8.

Story we're watching: Celina Halioua, founder of longevity startup Loyal, told Wired we are hopefully "a few years away" from a pill to help dogs live longer. Can we get one to make their farts not smell as bad too? Plz and thanks.

Rabbit hole: Why are there not more Apple-quality products? (Hacker News)

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• Interpol launched a fully operational metaverse for law enforcement to interact via avatars. Meanwhile, the IRS tax payment portal is still from 1994.

• Ikea is teaming up with self-driving cars for delivery in Texas. Self-manufacturing bookshelves coming anytime soon my guy?

• Elon Musk's Twitter takeover is expected to close by EOW.

• The Fyre Festival location is getting a makeover... and NFTs are involved.

PICK THAT PITCH DECK

Hint: the website to ask questions

MONDAY MUSIC

The best work jams to write, focus, and build your company to.

Artist: AJR (Spotify)

Playlist: Old Drake Bangers (Spotify)

Song: Maybe IDK by Jon Bellion (Spotify)

P.S. If you have any songs or artists you love, feel free to reply to this email and send ‘em our way.

LAYOFFS TRACKER

Notable layoffs this week

Loom: 23 people (10.5%)

Antidote Health: 23 people (33%)

Roofstock: 100 people (20%)

FOUNDERS CORNER

The best resources we came across this weekend that will help you become a better founder, builder, or investor.

📚 WIRED's Fall 2022 reading list

💸 Founder Liz Giorgi gave her advice on getting a raise done without getting whiplash from all the feedback.

🍋 Lemon.io founder Aleksandr Volodarsky dropped a list of foundational articles about building your company.

PICK THAT PITCH DECK ANSWER

Quora!