Ava Lab’s Codebase program is built on the idea that creating a successful Web3 company requires more than just technical chops and an idea for putting an application on chain. Both of these elements are necessary, but the lessons from our first two Codebase cohorts have shown that they’re not sufficient. 

The founders who are successful in Codebase must also understand the unique unlocks of building in the Avalanche ecosystem, have a clear line of sight to their potential customers, a strong relationship with their founding team, and sufficient domain expertise to build their application. 

As Ava Labs prepares for its third Codebase cohort, we’ve assembled this short guide to help founders prepare for the program and set themselves up for success. 

Why Build on Avalanche? 

For Michael Martin, the Codebase program director at Ava Labs, one of the most important ways for founders to prepare for the program is to cultivate a solid understanding of not just why their application needs to be on chain, but why it needs to be built in the Avalanche ecosystem in particular.  

This means demonstrating an understanding of how Avalanche's ecosystem of interoperable blockchains enables new business models and go-to-market strategies. Simply having a blockchain-based idea isn't enough—successful applicants need to show how Avalanche's specific capabilities unlock unique value for their users.

"It's less important to understand everything about how Avalanche works,” says Martin. “It's more important for founders to understand how Avalanche could work for them and their idea.”

While founders should understand the basics of Avalanche's consensus mechanism and the broader vision of Avalanche9000, deep technical expertise or experience building on Avalanche isn't a prerequisite. The program provides comprehensive technical support through its relationship with Ava Labs' engineering teams and key ecosystem partners like AvaCloud. What's crucial is understanding how Avalanche could work for your specific idea and business model. 

“Avalanche is an ecosystem of blockchains that are now interoperable,” says Martin. “This is a groundshift in our space so founders should consider how that fundamental shift enables new business models and an ecosystem-wide approach.”

Who’s Your Customer? 

“Know thy customer” is a catechism familiar to most founders, but is too often forgotten or ignored when they’re incubating an idea. To prepare for the Codebase program, it is essential for founders to have a clear idea of who their customers are and how they’ll reach them once they’ve built their product. The reason is simple: A product without customers is doomed to failure, regardless of its technical excellence or the acuteness of the customer pain it is meant to address. 

"It's less about understanding everything about your customer at this stage than having a direct path to them,” says Martin. “Founders should be able to talk to and interview people who would be potential customers." Without existing relationships with target customers, founders might spend months just trying to find the right contacts to sell their product. This will dramatically extend their sales cycle and increase the odds that their startup will lose momentum before their product ever reaches the market. 

Founders should prepare for the Codebase program by developing specific customer profiles for their idea and they should be able to demonstrate that they have connections—or at least a way to make them—to potential users in their target market. Although Codebase provides significant executive storytelling coaching throughout the 10 week program, founders should also come prepared with a compelling story about their idea that will help them get investors and customers to sign on the dotted line once their product is built. 

Who’s Your Team?

Team dynamics play an equally crucial role in preparing for the Codebase program. Martin advises that founders should trust their team because they are going to be spending a lot of time together. Strong interpersonal relationships and complementary skill sets within the founding team help mitigate potential conflicts that could derail even the most promising projects. Before applying, teams should honestly assess their working relationships and ensure they have the right mix of skills to execute their vision.

One of the hallmarks of a successful Codebase team is the ability to quickly make decisions and execute on them. The Codebase program encourages exploration and founders regularly pivot to new ideas during the program. Founders will constantly receive feedback on their ideas from Ava Labs’ network of operators, investors, and other mentors, and they are expected to use this feedback to rapidly iterate on their product. 

“It’s important for founders to have a scalable idea, access to customers, and a go-to-market strategy, but more than anything success in this program is about being decisive," Martin says. One of the best ways for founders to prepare for the program is to work with their team ahead of time to create a framework for making quick decisions as a team during the program to avoid wasting precious time and seizing business opportunities as they arise. 

What’s Your Idea?

All Codebase teams are expected to come ready with ideas that solve real problems for a large user base while remaining grounded in practicality. Their idea should be targeted at a large market, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be revolutionary.

“The founder’s idea for a company should solve a problem that affects a lot of people, but should be more well-defined than ‘reinventing music’ for example,” says Martin. 

Martin advises founders preparing for the Codebase program to focus on clearly articulating how their idea addresses a specific market need and why Avalanche's ecosystem is essential to delivering that solution. The founders that tend to see the most success in the program are those that are able to demonstrate their domain expertise and show they've thought deeply about implementation and go-to-market strategies.

The key to preparing for Codebase isn't having a perfect idea. Many of Codebase's most successful projects, such as the Chiss protocol, weren’t the founders’ original ideas when they entered the program. The important thing is for founders to come prepared to test their assumptions and adapt their vision based on feedback from mentors and potential customers.

Are You Ready to Build?

As Codebase begins to evaluate applications for its third cohort, Ava Labs continues to focus on supporting founders who can build enduring businesses that solve real customer problems on Avalanche. The program's combination of financial support, technical resources, and strategic guidance provides a unique opportunity for Web3 founders ready to transform their ideas into real-world products. Success in the application process and the program itself comes down to demonstrating not just the potential of your idea, but your team's readiness to execute and adapt in the fast-paced world of Web3 development.

Codebase isn't looking for perfect ideas. We’re looking for founders who can turn good ideas into great businesses. Our program has proven that in ten weeks, prepared founders can go from concept to testnet. The only question is: will you be one of them?