peaq and EWOR are launching a new program to jointly support five entrepreneurs with early funding, world-leading educational material crafted by serial entrepreneurs, and unparalleled networking opportunities as they build machine-focused dApps on the peaq network

April 25, 2023 — Peaq Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting peaq, the Web3 network powering the Economy of Things, and peaq’s canary network krest, joins forces with EWOR, a blend of a master’s degree and early-stage VC firm that identifies, educates, and invests in the most promising entrepreneurs with early cheques. The result: A Web3-focused program for founders building decentralized applications for machines, robots, and vehicles. This 10-month program will grant prospective builders, hand-picked jointly by peaq and EWOR, a vast array of skills as well as mentoring and networking, while also backing them with funding opportunities of up to €150,000.

Opening the floodgates of the Great Resignation, the pandemic era also brought about an uptick in entrepreneurship. As hundreds of new founders join the fray, though, the old statistic holds true: About 90 percent of startups fail. In the Web3 space, a new frontier for most mainstream entrepreneurs, failure rate for projects is even higher. On top of all that, the risk-averse investment climate among today’s larger macroeconomic pressures keeps founders awake at night with fundraising concerns. 

To help daring disruptors reverse these trends, Peaq Foundation and EWOR are launching a unique program for aspiring Web3 founders looking to build Economy of Things dApps on peaq. The 10-month program launched in April, welcoming five entrepreneurs hand-picked by EWOR and peaq from thousands of applicants. The Web3 cohort includes:

• Andres, the founder of the first PropTech company in Latin America,
• Radovan, an LSE graduate who bootstrapped his company Kykeon Advisors from $0 to $300k+,
• Usman, a guest lecturer at Exeter and a passionate technologist with a trove of fintech experience,
• Faizah, an ed-tech startup co-founder and disruptor passionate about financial inclusion, 
• Elliot, an experienced data scientist passionate about AI and blockchain. 

The program leverages EWOR’s Education Circle platform with high-quality Web3 courses co-created by EWOR and peaq and grants the students a vast array of mentorship, coaching, and networking opportunities with their peers and investors. It also includes weekly online sessions with seasoned entrepreneurs who have already built successful companies such as Adjust co-founder Paul H. Müller and KW Commerce founder Jens Wasel.  

The most promising projects will be able to leverage the funding opportunities provided by the two organizations. As part of the collaboration with peaq, EWOR may opt to invest in the most promising Web3 EoT projects, signing tickets of €75,000 up to €150,000. Peaq Foundation, on its end, will bolster the builders with funds from its Ecosystem Grant Program and introductions to investors backing peaq. Where relevant, builders will also get introductions with companies and projects participating in the Gaia-X 4FM moveID project that peaq is part of alongside such enterprises as Bosch, Continental, and Airbus.

EWOR’s mission is to focus the world’s smartest people on the world’s biggest problems. Its partnership with Peaq Foundation, which is working on making the Economy of Things fair and decentralized, can generate a massive impact. The goal of the partnership is to empower a handful of entrepreneurs to work on topics such as:

• Making intimate healthcare data more secure and owned by the people
• Peer-to-peer solar energy trading
• Distributing machine-generated income more fairly 

“Disruptive decentralized applications are the crucial component of the Economy of Things on peaq,” says Leonard Dorlöchter, peaq’s co-founder. “By teaming up with EWOR, we are focusing some of the smartest people in the world on some of the world’s most urgent challenges. We are excited to lend our support and skills to the prospective founders and help them transform entire markets and industries with Web3 tech.”

“Impact follows a power law,” says Daniel Dippold, Co-Founder and CEO at EWOR. “A small number of people are responsible for most of the change in the world. Our approach to making impact is to empower the most extraordinary visionaries to build enterprises with global impact. Through our partnership with peaq, we are granting Web3 entrepreneurs a program that will help them bring their ideas to life with all the support they need. We are making sure that the 1% who make 99% of the difference can leverage Web3 to fix the global ills of today.”