11. Yos - Founder @ Formo

Welcome to product3 - where we decode the art and science of building in web3 with the people making it happen.

Meet Yos (@yosriady) - a software engineer turned product manager and founder. Previously, he was at Chainlink Labs working on onchain building blocks for the DeFi ecosystem and was the tech lead of Chainlink Staking. Prior to that, he worked at global-scale engineering teams in Paypal and Grab. 

Currently, Yos is building Formo - a product analytics and data platform for onchain apps. Formo makes it easy for crypto teams to measure what matters and make impactful decisions with data. You can unify offchain & onchain data through onchain attribution and wallet profiles, without a dedicated data team of SQL wizards to create dashboards and data pipelines. Instead of juggling several different tools (GA, Looker, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Dune, block explorers), you have one single data platform that gets you the full picture of what matters in less time.

In about 500 words, he shares:

• Why vanity metrics can be misleading in web3

• The three trends shaping web3's future

• His thoughts on the future of web3

What metrics do you find most valuable when measuring success in web3 products?

Vanity metrics like followers, likes, number of users, and TVL makes it easy to get fooled into thinking you have PMF when you do not. They look flashy, but they don’t tell you if anyone actually values your product especially when token incentives are at play. Farmers and bots will disappear as soon as the incentives run out.

There's a lot web3 founders can learn from web2 on how to create a viable business. The metrics that matter are revenue and retention. Are users finding value from your product? How many users stick around? Other metrics like CAC/ARPU/LTV and churn matter too. These are the truest signs of PMF. One great talk I recommend on this topic is "What DeFi Founders Can Learn From Web2" by Mike Szilagadze.

Measure what matters, and the rest falls into place.

In your opinion, what are the most exciting or influential trends shaping the future of web3 at the moment?

There are 3 trends I'm excited about: apps, zk, and stablecoins.

First, we're at a turning point in web3. A new wave of consumer apps is coming. After years of building the base-layer plumbing, the state of L2s today and improvements to wallet UX have paved the way for consumer apps that feel as smooth as Web2 products. 

Along with that shift comes a change in mindset: a lot of web3 teams are now focused on real product-market fit and utility, not just hype. Gone are the days of obsessing over TVL or token price; today’s successful projects track real usage, retention, and revenue. 

Vanity metrics are everywhere in this space. Hype is not traction. Token price is not product-market fit. The token is not the product. Instead, builders are asking: Are people really using this app? and Is it solving a genuine problem? I think it's a welcome change and I'm really looking forward to new apps coming out this year

Second is the spread of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). For example, Google Wallet recently integrated ZK proofs so you can verify things like your age or identity without revealing the underlying data. We’re also seeing ZK-powered apps like ZKP2P emerge. ZKP2P is a trustless P2P on-ramp: it lets you swap dollars for crypto using apps like Venmo or Wise, with no fees and no intrusive ID checks – thanks to ZK proofs.

Third, stablecoins are rapidly emerging as the new rails for payments and will likely replace legacy systems. Stablecoins have scaled faster than any other global payment rail: their total supply grew from roughly $5 billion to over $220 billion in just five years. Major companies and banks are taking notice.

In summary, we now have robust underlying layers, so builders are focusing on practical utility: creating polished user experiences, achieving real product-market fit, and earning sustainable revenue. Meanwhile, powerful new technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and stablecoins are coming out into the mainstream. That combination feels like a strong roadmap for the next wave of web3.

What would you advise your younger self?

Talk to users, build a great product, and move fast. 

The only things that create real value are the things you believe that others don’t. Be curious, get obsessed, and dive into it. Life is short so do what truly excites you.

If you’ve enjoyed this micro interview, share it with fellow web3 product people and give Yos (@yosriady) and Formo (getFormo) a follow on X.

Got a builder in mind whose wisdom we should share? Please share!

See you in the next edition!