Playground Founder and CEO Clinton Teh
As a blockchain entertainment user, Clinton Teh was frustrated by the massive gap in the discovery process for both new and seasoned blockchain users. It was time to do something about this so-called ‘Web3 information problem’, where the information is fragmented, subjective, often outdated and unreliable.
“I wanted to develop a gateway to Web3 entertainment for all new and experienced users, focusing on user experiences and anchoring on legitimacy,” Teh tells e27. “That’s why I left Binance to launch Playground.”
At Binance, his previous employer, Teh took on roles across investments, strategy, and venture building. Just before starting the works on Playground, he led several strategic initiatives for Binance’s decentralised blockchain. All these experiences came in handy when he started building Playground.
Incorporated in Singapore, Playground is a startup dedicated to Web3 gaming and NFT discovery. It offers a one-stop platform to bridge the information gap for all users in Web3 entertainment, with a laser focus on legitimacy and experiences.
On this platform, users can interactively discover all aspects of trusted Web3 entertainment projects and be kept abreast of updates and milestones for new and existing projects.
Users will also be able to engage with ecosystems and communities in debates and discourses on a neutral battleground in a burgeoning and rapidly evolving space where experimentation and new ideas abound.
“Playground will be a natural attention conduit mediating ecosystems, entertainment projects, and end-users. We will also be at the forefront of creating new information standards and uplifting the industry from an information transparency and legitimacy standpoint,” Teh continues.
Since Web3 is a global phenomenon, Playground looks to service users from all over the world. However, the current focus is on developing its product. It also looks to build its social presence.
Monetisation plans are on paper. Playground has a clear roadmap for monetisation across B2C and B2B and for building a decentralised economy around the protocol. However, these plans will remain confidential for now.
“Our central focus at Playground is to create value for ecosystems and communities in our initial growth phase. We believe the best Web3 projects have strong characteristics of public goods,” he says.
A few days ago, Playground closed its oversubscribed pre-seed funding, co-led by East Ventures and Mirana Ventures. Arc Capital (crypto fund affiliated with Pintu), James Z (Founder of Jambo), Adam Levinson, Murali Abburi (Graticule Asset Management), Benjamin Zhu (Azure Tide, a digital asset specialist firm), and a few unnamed senior executives from leading blockchain firms also co-invested.
But securing investment was no easy feat, Teh says. “We came to the market to fundraise at a challenging time for Web3 protocols, with the spectacular collapse of the Terra ecosystem coinciding with the blow-up of one of the most prominent crypto-native funds Three Arrows Capital. This was a challenging period for any startup seeking funding.”
“However, amidst this uncertainty, we could close our fundraising round quickly with invaluable support from our investors,” he says.
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With a 12-member team, Playground has exciting plans to introduce many new features and products. “We are just getting started and building a long-term protocol. We have plans to introduce many new features and products. We are confident that we can become a bridge for the next billion users into Web3 entertainment,” he signs off.
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