Author: Jocy

In June 2023, amidst a sluggish cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin struggled to maintain around 25,000, while many investment institutions chose to refrain from action or observe during the bear market. It was at this moment that we encountered Pierre and Adli, the founders of Usual. At that time, the shocking USDC de-pegging incident occurred, revealing risks and vulnerabilities even in the safest stablecoins, while paradoxically, USDT reported record profits and even aimed to surpass BlackRock this year. This contradictory phenomenon in the stablecoin market highlights both severe vulnerabilities and enormous potential.

In July, our investment team specifically went to Usual's office in Paris. They had formed an 8-person team using their own funds and had booked a modest conference room in a shared office to pitch and talk with us. We communicated for about two hours, and during that week, we arranged a second interview regarding technology with Usual's CTO, Manfred. Pierre's background as a former French member of parliament and advisor to President Macron is quite interesting.

When Pierre articulated their vision to us, we were initially shocked by its depth and detail. Their strong passion and meticulous thinking were evident, which also meant we had to invest more time to understand them and assess the investment's potential.

During the due diligence process, we held multiple meetings and detailed written communications both internally and externally, ultimately accumulating 50-70 pages of materials. As we conducted in-depth research, we became increasingly impressed by how they intricately integrated every detail into a larger vision. Their responses to our questions were never vague but were always based on thorough research, demonstrating a profound understanding of future challenges.

But what truly sets them apart is not only their technical strength or attention to detail - it is their genuine passion and belief. Clearly, they live for Usual 24/7 (which is very different from the common perception of the French); their enthusiasm is infectious, making us believe in their vision to disrupt Tether. We clearly see that these individuals are not chasing a market cycle but are fundamentally aiming to change the landscape of stablecoins.

We decided to make one of the largest seed round investments in IOSG's history. However, even after we committed to lead the investment in August, it still took nearly two months to complete the entire financing round. In fact, IOSG invests in fewer than 15 deals each year, of which about 5 projects we will lead. The leading process is quite challenging, as vividly demonstrated in the Usual case. After confirming our lead, we compiled a complete list of Eastern and Western investors for this project, but none of them provided any commitment within a month; everyone wanted to continue observing, uncertain if this financing could succeed. During the toughest times, our colleague Momir even personally attended an investment committee meeting to help that investment institution explain Usual's entire stablecoin and DeFi mechanism design and answer the committee's questions. Fortunately, this institution eventually came on board. This deal made us feel unprecedented non-consensus; when 20 mainstream investment funds in the industry all said no, we still persisted and continued to support the team in completing that financing round, which was undoubtedly due to the founders' resilience and persistence.

Ironically, even the fund that introduced Usual to us ultimately gave up on this round of investment. At one point, a local early-stage fund in France pointed out that foreign investors did not recognize Pierre's outstanding background, yet they themselves also gave up on this round of investment. Looking back at Usual's financing history, it is regrettable that among the many VC funds they approached, only 3-5 funds truly delved into the project details. During the three months of completing the financing, we watched Pierre and Adli continuously refine their vision and advance the development progress. The resilience displayed during this period further strengthened our belief. In the end, we were fortunate to complete this round of financing with like-minded funds such as Kraken Ventures, which also invested a significant amount of time to understand the details of Usual's philosophy.

After the investment, the team's execution speed even surprised us. Their attention to detail in the preparation phase translated into outstanding execution in practice. The speed at which they achieved milestones exceeded our most optimistic expectations. Later, the post-investment team from IOSG joined in, and internally organized a list of well-known KOLs from the East and West. After multiple discussions and selections, we helped the Usual team choose some KOLs with different backgrounds and diverse strengths, introducing and recommending them one by one. In addition, through multiple pitches with one of Asia's largest TVL communities, we helped Usual successfully enter this largest DeFi community in Asia, allowing their product to secure the first 200m TVL during the gray testing phase.

Reflecting on this journey, it should encourage future founders. The number of "no" responses you receive is not important; you just need one "Yes" to trigger an avalanche effect. Today, we are more convinced than ever that our "willingness" to support Usual will become one of our most important decisions. Sometimes, that's all it takes - to say a "Yes" at the right moment, to the right team, with the right vision.

The challenging journey makes these important milestones even more gratifying. We are pleased to see Usual beginning to receive the recognition it deserves, while also soberly realizing that this is just the beginning of a long journey. There is still a lot of work to be done. Keep moving forward!

Thanks to all IOSG team members who supported the decision to invest in Usual during the bear market's low point. Usual's growth has allowed the team to experience the power of growing alongside the founders, with each member becoming an ambassador for Usual.

In most projects led by IOSG, we strive to help them complete the early product launch from 0 to 1, including subsequent GTM, and we even have an internal guidebook dedicated to providing the entire post-investment services needed for the project's growth cycle. IOSG has persisted for over seven years, and as a long-standing fund in the crypto industry, we understand the difficulties of investment, but we are willing to help crypto entrepreneurs move towards the stars and success!

Looking forward to the next entrepreneur who will come to us to become the new Usual! You’re unUSUAL!