Interview with ToniqLabs- The Internet Computer's Leading Developer
ToniqLabs have been making waves in the Internet Computer community recently. They are the developers behind impressive projects such as 'Cronics' and 'Rise of the Magni.'
We sat down with them to discuss their initial success and vision to secure extra funding and grow the team to ensure even greater productivity in the decentralized Internet Computer ecosystem.
1. What attracted you initially to Blockchain?
Bitcoin was always interesting, and I first looked into it about 10 years ago and started mining with my PC. It seemed cool and different, but it was until Ethereum came around when I truly saw potential in blockchain technology and the decentralized web. The idea of “trustless-ness” and immutable laws written in code completely sold the concept to me.
2. Of all the platforms you could have chosen, why did you decide to build on the Internet Computer?
I’ve worked with many chains, all with slight differences, but the most significant thing these chains had in common was fees. I’m someone who wants to develop for adoption and to appeal to those outside of the crypto space - but that was just too hard to achieve if everything on-chain interaction with a smart contract required gas/fees.
The IC’s reverse gas model is precisely what I have been waiting for - we can now truly develop decentralized tech that can serve (and currently does serve) users with and without cryptocurrency.
Rise of the Magni does this currently - when you create an account (which you can do with a Google login), we generate a non-custodial wallet for you behind the scenes and the in-game Magni are actually NFTs. I have non-crypto friends and family playing the game, and they were impressed to know that they now have a crypto-wallet and their own crypto tokens without even knowing it.
3. How long has your company been established, and what is your business model based on?
I have been in blockchain development for over 4 years, working closely with my business partner Mac. We decided to create ToniqLabs in May this year to take advantage of developing within a new ecosystem - we have many ideas, and we wanted to build hard and fast.
The idea was to establish ourselves as developers within the space and begin working on some ideas that we had initially started years prior, for example, Rise of the Magni. We were also encouraged to apply for a grant to help kickstart our work, and we are really thankful for being given the opportunity by the DFINITY Foundation.
4. What makes your company marketable, and what will ensure its long-term success?
We have now achieved some very impressive milestones! I think we possess a good balance between building and engaging with our community. Some projects lean too far one way and can cause issues either with missed deliveries or upset communities. We try to strike a solid balance and want to keep this culture going forward.
5. What challenges have you faced while building your company?
We wanted to enter the space to collaborate with other teams and developers - I believe a collaborative effort can yield some awesome results for an ecosystem. I think other developers were just too focused on their own work, and we were new to the ecosystem that we didn’t make as many collaborative relationships as we would have hoped.
6. What overall vision do you have? Do you have a roadmap? If so, what does it involve?
Build stuff, grow the team. Rinse and repeat. We have built enough now that we are into the growing phase, which requires funding. We are confident we can continue with this simple strategy and really look forward to the next few years. As a general roadmap, we hope to secure funding and build a bigger team before the end of the year so we can spend all of 2022 building the future on the IC.
7. What advantages do you believe you have over other competitors?
I’m not sure, to be honest. My business partner and I seem to gel really well, and we can brainstorm an idea, draw up a concept, and build a functional and user-friendly MVP within a day. On top of this, we are just not afraid to try something new.
8. Tell us about the team
Originally Toniq was made up of myself (CEO/CTO/Lead Dev) and my business partner Mac (COO/Lead Designer). We at times use contractors to assist, but most of the work comes from us. We are expanding and looking to bring on at least 6 additional personnel to assist with all aspects of a growing startup.
9. What advice do you have for anyone working in the same space as you?
- Just build it, ideas naturally evolve, and communities will build themselves around these ideas.
- Don’t be afraid, and start now - the IC ecosystem is very young, and right now is the best time to get started.
- Think outside the box - you start with the outrageous, and you find the middle ground.
10. What other projects building on the Internet Computer are you most excited about?
Cross-chain bridges really get me excited! But generally, everything being built on the IC is just amazing. I’m so fortunate to be part of this!
11. Do you have any plans to collaborate with other projects building on the Internet Computer?
For sure! Easier said than done, but I’m always open to discuss collab ideas!
12. Do you have any token sales planned for the future? If so, when? Can you give details?
We have the Cronic sales in October, where we are selling the remaining Gen0 Cronics. We have not decided about any other future token sales, but we are looking into the idea.
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