A must-read for project developers: Learn from Shi Yongxin how to market through group thinking.

In 1981, at age 16, Shi Yongxin entered the Shaolin Temple, which at the time was nearly forgotten. The temple had just nine monks, scraping by through farming and sparse incense offerings. The turning point came a year later: Jet Li’s film “Shaolin Temple” became a nationwide sensation, propelling the ancient temple into the spotlight overnight. Shi Yongxin quickly recognized this “mindshare dividend.” He didn’t invent kung fu, nor was he the greatest martial artist, but he accomplished generational brand positioning: he etched “Shaolin Temple = Chinese Kung Fu” deeply into the global consciousness. Over the next several decades, he systematically organized martial arts texts, promoted overseas shows, led cultural outreach, and built out commercial licensing. Starting as a religious site, Shaolin became the gateway to global “kung fu awareness.” More importantly, this awareness didn’t just create “cultural impact”—it drove real business: ticket sales, IP, real estate, intangible asset management, and more. Perception became the entry point to the business itself. This is the power of “collective cognition”: When you plant a clear, unique idea in users’ minds, you earn the right to tell your story, set your price, and sustain your legacy.

How Much Does Collective Cognition Matter for Web3 Projects?

You might wonder: What can a monk’s four decades of branding at Shaolin possibly teach a Web3 project? I highlight Shi Yongxin not because he’s skilled at livestreaming or cultural intellectual property, but because he achieved what nearly every Web3 project pursues—and few achieve: he secured the right to define a keyword in the minds of global users. Web2 is about business operations and market share—your share of users in a given vertical. Traditional businesses, whether valued by revenue or market cap, rely on products that compete directly in the marketplace. But for Web3 projects, I’d argue “collective mindshare” matters far more than “market share in practice.” But “care about collective cognition” isn’t just a slogan—it runs through every phase of a project’s journey from inception through TGE (Token Generation Event), especially at this critical milestone. After TGE brings liquidity, your project’s entire operating logic shifts: it’s no longer just about storytelling or attention, but about real market pricing, arbitrage, and competitive games. This shift can be abrupt—without preparation, all that early momentum and hype can collapse in days. That’s why project teams must think ahead: Before TGE, what kind of user mindshare do you want to capture? What story should you be telling? How do you want to position yourself in users’ minds? Let’s break this down. ### How Should Project Teams Build “Collective Cognition” Pre-TGE?

For most Web3 projects, TGE is the first time they appear in the open market. But what really determines success happens before TGE. This is your golden opportunity to capture user mindshare—not just for a successful token launch, but to plant a lasting idea in users’ minds during a fleeting “collective attention moment.” How well you clarify your positioning, build trust, and set realistic expectations during this window determines whether you attract truly valuable early believers. Fail, and you won’t launch—you’ll fail to launch. I usually advise pre-TGE projects to start with “three mindshare questions”: #### 1. What Tier Do You Occupy in Users’ Minds?

Are you a top contender in your vertical, or more peripheral? Ultimately, this boils down to a simple equation: How users rank your project = Their expectations for your TGE = The time and focus they’re willing to devote = Your real-world metrics—and more. #### Your user engagement and data often reflect whether users believe you’re worth betting on. That perception depends less on what you’ve done, and more on “what tier you seem to occupy.”

2. What Do Users Actually Remember About You?

This is where most founders overestimate themselves. Teams often present logically and thoroughly, but after twenty minutes, I’ll still ask, “So, what’s your big hook?” The truth is unforgiving. In today’s ultra-fragmented attention economy, where countless projects vie for attention, don’t expect users to fully grasp your story. They’ll only remember keywords that spark emotion or associations. You need to distill your message down to three takeaways: they must be memorable, create a sense of profit opportunity in users’ minds, and connect to your future upside. Most projects lack clear, straightforward communication. #### 3. Is Group Trust Sustainable?

How do you make your project truly trusted by users? This is the most overlooked—and most fragile—layer. No matter how strong your tech or narrative, if users begin doubting your persona, your team, or your behavior, that trust can unravel quickly. Trust doesn’t usually collapse due to major crises but through the buildup of small slights: ignored questions, repeated delays on promised rewards with no communication, team silence when criticism arises, or a cold “we’ll address it internally.” Sometimes, while the surface story looks polished, rumors swirl that “it’s just another cash grab.” Even minor disappointments can erode the initial trust of your earliest and most enthusiastic supporters. Once they lose faith, they’re the quickest to leave and the least likely to return. Just as Chinese kung fu conjures “Shaolin” for most of the world—not Wing Chun, Baji, or Tai Chi—it’s not that Wing Chun is inferior, but it lacks its own Shi Yongxin. You need to become the architect of your project’s collective mindshare. ### After TGE: The Project Becomes a Financial Asset

Once TGE passes, your project isn’t just a product, vision, or story—it’s a financial asset with a price, liquidity, and secondary trading. Questions like “Is it worth holding?”, “Is it undervalued?”, “Can it pump?” all get answered in the real, public market. Your user base changes, too. Early users who helped shape the project and build community become both users and traders. But now, a much larger group of traders is just arriving. They’re not here for your story—they’re here for one thing: “Can I make a profit with this token?” In Web3, hardly any project is irreplaceable. Even if you outperform the competition by 20–30%, if your token price stagnates, you’ll be left behind. Users won’t wait for you; they’ll move to the next project with perceived potential. So you must answer one straightforward question: Why should anyone buy your token? This question maps to three typical user mindshare models: #### 🌞 Entry-Level User: “I make a good product.” User: “That doesn’t matter—I’m not afraid to buy, but I need to see action.”

These projects believe their superior tech and user experience entitle them to success. The market disagrees. User response: “You talk a big game, but is there volatility? No? Then I’m out.” This is the classic “product value divorced from financial value.” In Web3, products alone—without price action—don’t earn trust. To the market, you’re just another “uninspiring token.” Great product experience is no longer rare; a compelling price action narrative is. What you think of as a product race is actually a contest for financial sentiment. #### 🌞 Mid-Tier User: “I have good news; I pump the price.” User: “I’ll speculate for quick gains, then I’m out fast.”

Most Web3 users are short-term speculators. They’re not expecting to help build your project, but if you have price moves or positive news, they’ll jump in. They aren’t believers or evangelists. But if you create tradability, they’ll play the momentum. This is a good sign: it means you’ve generated attention. Once users believe you’re a “tradable” project, they’ll add you to their watchlists and wait for your next move. The journey from obscurity to participation to dedicated tracking—that’s how “market-driven mindshare” grows in Web3. #### Advanced User: “Make users believe, ‘If I sell, I might never get back in.’”

The ultimate and hardest-won mindshare is when—even as users consider selling—they choose to keep your token. Instead of trying to make a fast buck, they think: “I’ll need this project in the future,” or “If this token rallies, I may never buy back in at these prices.” To reach this status, a project must establish a robust trust-feedback loop, at minimum fulfilling four requirements: · Clear long-term vision and consistent messaging · Steady product development to provide visible hope · Delivering positive news; the token price demonstrates sufficient activity · Price resilience: bullish moves create new stories, while pullbacks are seen as opportunities to regain momentum These tokens don’t have to skyrocket daily, but users know “this is a long-term asset,” so they willingly hold, promote, and defend it. SUI: A Real-World Case in Mindshare Turnaround

Take a token I’ve recently included in my long-term portfolio: $SUI. SUI boasts a highly reputable team (the project and R&D group from Meta at Facebook) and a multi-billion-dollar primary market valuation that’s attracted major institutional Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). To be honest, at launch I thought SUI performed poorly—the consensus in the community was that the team was arrogant and disconnected. About a year and a half ago, SUI realized the importance of community and began simultaneously building its ecosystem and engaging users. I’ll set aside secondary market details due to regulatory factors. Since then, most users now know the story. SUI’s market perception flipped—it became “the little SOL,” and made it onto users’ long-term hold lists. This summer, Sui weathered two major confidence shocks: first, at the end of May, ecosystem project Cetus suffered a security incident that drained about $223 million from liquidity pools; second, in early July, 44 million tokens—worth nearly $200 million—were unlocked, the largest release of the quarter. Under normal circumstances, such repeated blows would cause a price crash and a community crisis. But the opposite occurred: SUI wasn’t dumped. In fact, just three days ago, it hit $4.39—a yearly high since February—and became one of the sector’s most actively traded projects. Why did SUI hold up? The key wasn’t just the team’s direct response to the hack—they took responsibility quickly. More importantly, over a year of consistent actions, Sui reshaped user perceptions, turning a “cold, aloof” image into a project users felt was “trustworthy and worth a long-term bet.” After the Cetus hack—a risk that arose from a third-party smart contract, not Sui itself—the team didn’t point fingers: they swiftly paused affected contracts, froze relevant wallets, coordinated a validator vote, and arranged a loan with the Sui Foundation to guarantee full compensation. Ultimately, 90.9% of validators approved the release of $162 million in frozen assets, and the plan went through. The entire process was transparent, rapid, and executed with strong resolve, making it clear to everyone: this team steps up and delivers when it matters most. The lesson is clear: if you build a clear mental anchor early and consistently follow through after TGE, the market will reward you with time and space. ### Trust: The Only Direction I’m Willing to Bet On

Many projects reach out to me for marketing, but I cooperate with few—not because I’m so discerning, but because I’ll only invest my time and reputation in teams I trust. Before deciding to help, I always do a thorough due diligence (DD) with two core criteria: is the team trustworthy, and does the community believe in them? If either answer is no, I’ll walk away—no matter how pretty the narrative. I don’t believe a single marketing campaign can fix a project, and I won’t entrust my credibility to a team that isn’t accountable. Ultimately, a Web3 project’s true edge isn’t its technology or funding—it’s whether you can claim a clear, credible, memorable place in users’ minds. This exemplifies collective cognition and demonstrates a successful approach in Web3. ### Disclaimer:

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