Call for Applications for “Influencer by DNA”: A 6-Week Mentoring Program to Become Influencer and Thought Leader in the Blockchain Space
We have designed a 6-week-long program with 3 phases that will help ambitious crypto entrepreneurs and enthusiasts become influential people in the crypto space (the ideal age should be 18+). What does it mean in detail? Personal Branding, Social Marketing and Content Generation for Next-Generation Web3 Organizations and Blockchain Startups. Our goal is to particularly focus on building the next generation of influencers for the Web3/crypto space. This program is free of charge (EUR 0), you just have to apply. We will admit a maximum of 100 incoming influencers and thought leaders to this program starting on October 27, 2023. The application deadline is October 15, 2023. This program is operated by Blockchain Founders Group.
Introduction
The challenge for the blockchain ecosystem is that only a fraction of society understands these developments. All the more relevant and in-demand are educated thought leaders who accompany these developments and make them widely accessible. With this program, we seek to empower crypto enthusiasts to become a relevant voice in the blockchain space and equip them with the right tools and growth hacks to build a following as blockchain is here to change the infrastructures of finance, supply chains, trade, etc.
We envision that participants passing through our program sooner or later can follow these career paths:
- Web3 marketing manager building your company’s presence across all social media and communication platforms (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Discord, Telegram, etc.) through original content
- Crypto and blockchain influencer with a pulsing LinkedIn and Twitter follower base
- Blockchain event manager (offline and online) organizing in-person conferences and live online panel discussions around state-of-the-art topics and developments in Web3
- Brand ambassador sharing your project’s mission and vision in the form of a brand persona
- Marketing analyst specializing in exploring your startup’s data and presenting insights to reiterate the marketing strategy
- Startup founder using their personal brands to build strong relationships to potential clients, employees and partners
If we do not achieve these goals together with some of the participants we will coach, we will have failed.
Who is operating this program?
This program is operated by the Blockchain Founders Group (BFG). If you are interested as an organization in supporting this program, please contact us. Precisely, this is the core team driving this endeavor:
- Max Zheng, Head of BFG Superstars, Blockchain Founders Group
- Jong-Chan Chung, Venture Manager, Blockchain Founders Group
- Katharina Zeuch, CEO and Founder, Luna Vision
- Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandner, Head of Frankfurt School Blockchain Center, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and Board of Directors of Blockchain Founders Group (BFG)
What can you expect from our Influencer by DNA program?
Starting with our fourth batch on October 27, 2023, we will establish a small program, select a maximum of 100 high-potential talents and coach them over the course of a 6-week program to become influencers and thought leaders in the blockchain space. Every week, we will hold Zoom sessions to deepen your knowledge and build your following.
This program is different. We will not do mentoring the classical way and we do not want to do lecturing. This is successfully done elsewhere. With our stringent 6-week program, we will focus on empowering you to build a footprint in the blockchain ecosystem.
These are the key principles of our program:
- You are your own teacher. We want to empower participants to learn the basics of the technology by using blended learning concepts built upon peer learning. This is NOT a university lecture. We will facilitate the learning journey by providing you with a diligently curated study guide. It’s important that you commit to self-studying the proposed concepts and come prepared for our joint Zoom sessions.
- Sharing is caring. In the Zoom sessions, we will deepen our knowledge and clarify open questions. We will ask you to actively share your learnings and questions in these sessions to foster learning through guided individual and group reflection and sharing of our perspectives on a common topic. It is key to apply your newly won knowledge with a “Just do it” mentality.
- Content is king. You’ll become a blockchain co-creator, e.g., by writing a blog article or creating a video on a blockchain topic (e.g., on Medium or YouTube) and get public exposure. We want to foster execution. But no worries, we will assure that what you write will be brilliant!
Why should you apply for this program?
Enter into Blockchain. This program should allow you to build your network in the blockchain ecosystem. We believe that this program strongly improves your credibility and significantly benefits your career path.
Structured Learning Journey. You will also be equipped with the growth hacks and tricks to understand all the necessary social media channels. After 6 weeks, you will have found your positioning, will be present in the necessary social media channels and you will have started to use your following to connect with potential clients, employees, partners, and all kinds of stakeholders.
Thriving network. Finally, we will also provide our network and contacts to professionals in the blockchain domain. This is of particular importance because, in such a small and dynamic field, the breadth and depth of one’s personal network are key.
It is a blockchain “boot camp”. Please only consider applying if you are up to the challenge. We are waiting for your application. Shortly outline what brought your attention to blockchain and why you are the perfect fit.
What exactly does the program look like?
We aim to develop the participants into influencers and thought leaders in the blockchain space. Within our 6-week program, we will start by covering the basics and growth hacks of social media platforms. Building up on this we will support you to find your niche and your positioning in which you’ll build your following. In the last part, we’ll bring the pieces together to form your personal marketing and growth strategy. This structure ensures to equip the participants with all the necessary tools to successfully become an influencer in the blockchain space.
We meet every week virtually as a group. These meetings last 90 minutes and are meant to help share our learnings, discuss open questions, and learn from experts in the field. We will ask you to come prepared for the meetings.
What is the agenda for each Zoom session?
Each Zoom session will have the following structure and will each have a length of 90 minutes:
- Warm welcome (5 min)
- Impulse (15 min)
- Best practices (10 min)
- Reflections from the group (15 min)
- Assignment for next session (5 min)
- Guest speaker presentations, if scheduled (20 min)
- Outlook next topics (5 min)
In each Zoom session, the participants will present the findings of the assignment from the last session. The goal is not to lecture content to others. The goal is mainly to showcase what you have learned and what insights you have gotten — we call it “reflections”. Specifically, the participants should present their insights. They should not teach others. Learning of content is being done in the assignments the participants have to work on alone. The reflections will follow a structured format:
- Please share your key insight from the topic covered. What have you learned that you didn’t know before? What was so fascinating about it?
- Why is the topic you investigated important, or innovative to the industry? What problem was solved? How will this change our current economic system?
- What are the potential drawbacks or hindrances?
- Where do you have open questions?
After the participant presentations, we will discuss the patterns that occurred regarding the insights of the entire group. The goal is to deepen and enrich our mutual understanding of the topic at hand. Thereafter, the assignment for the next session will be presented. All participants will work in one joint Google Slides document. Link sharing will be turned on and everybody will work on her slides within this single joint document. We do this to foster knowledge exchange and reduce technical frictions when presenting. We then have guest lecturers, which we invite. Questions on their presentations will be discussed thereafter. Each session closes with an outlook on the new section.
What are the key characteristics of the Influencer by DNA program to be summarized?
- Starting: October 27, 2023
- Duration: 6 weeks
- Working mode: weekly Zoom sessions with assignments to be worked on in the meantime.
- Hours of classes: in the mornings (CET/CEST)
- Cost: EUR 0 (through application with our application form, letter of motivation as PDF) and resume/CV as PDF) or EUR 89 by joining Life Skills and paying for the program
- Size: maximum of 100 participants
- Language: English
Who should apply for this program and where to apply?
You should definitely apply if you fulfill the following criteria:
- Your age is 18+.
- You have at least 12 free hours per week to dig into the area of blockchain.
- You have your first experience in blockchain.
- You speak and write English quite well.
- It is OK for you to speak up for your interests in public.
- You’re not afraid of public exposure.
- You are entrepreneurial-minded.
- You are eager to fulfill the milestones of the program with a “the best I can do”-attitude.
- You seek to comply with the deadlines given.
- You give your best to attend every single session of our schedule (every Friday morning starting on May 5, 2023; starting approximately at 10h45 CET/CEST).
If you have decided to apply, simply apply via this application form. Alternatively, you can skip the application by joining the Life Skills community and paying for “Influencer by DNA” (EUR 89). In case you have questions, please contact us via an email addressed to influencer@blockchain-founders.io — we will respond to you as soon as possible. The program starts on October 27, 2023 and will consist of a maximum of 100 future influencers. The application deadline is October 19, 2023; 23h59 CET/CEST.
