Li Jiayi guest on "Blockchain 100 People": Crossing the bear market, what is truly scarce is talent for growth

On August 12, Binance Square's "Blockchain 100 People" live interview featured Li Jiayi, the founder of Y Strategy, who shared her eight years of market growth experience in the crypto space. She candidly stated that she "knows her destiny" and prefers "small and beautiful" projects, insisting on not being greedy whether managing funds or providing services—because good projects are inherently scarce, and clients need deep support.

Li Jiayi does not agree with the notion that "AI will replace agencies." She believes that software is merely a tool, and tools will eventually become widespread; what is truly scarce is "the person in charge"—someone who truly understands the market, can formulate strategies, and oversee execution. She also bluntly stated that the biggest growth trap today is "blind spending," as non-human traffic has surpassed human traffic; KOL placements without strategy are simply wasting money.

When discussing why she bets on Binance Square, she believes that real users interested in crypto are all within Binance, and the Square and Binance community are tailor-made for crypto users, with completely different genes. As an investor, she provided a rather "mystical" set of judgment criteria: fate, luck, and the three genes that founders must possess.

Quotable Highlights

Choosing "Small and Beautiful"

· "I know my destiny; I particularly like small and beautiful things. When we were managing funds, our main focus was not to invest in too many projects—there simply aren't that many good projects in the market, and if there are too many, you can't manage or serve them well."

· "When providing services, you must first recognize the fundamental value of the project party. If I don't even recognize this company, I can't create a narrative that I can't even convince myself of for the market. Understanding what money can be made and what cannot is very OK."

Not Making Software, But Providing Services

· "The current threshold is no longer about technology or products; ideas are even less valuable because everyone wants them. What ultimately determines success or failure is the placement."

· "Software is a tool; useful tools will be popularized. But who is in charge and who uses it well is the most important thing. If you give someone a match and there’s no one who can cook, they won't be able to make good food."

Outdated Growth Strategies

· "The most useless thing is blind spending and wasting money. If a client comes with a budget of one million, I tell them they don't need to spend that much; it's a waste—lowering the budget also reduces my service fee, but using the money wisely is what matters."

· "Since May of this year, non-human traffic on social media has surpassed human traffic, and it is expected that in five years, human traffic will be less than one-thousandth of AI traffic. As human traffic decreases, it means placements are becoming more expensive. Placements without strategy are just wasting money."

The Growth Value of Binance Square

· "There are fewer and fewer people on Twitter, with decreasing expression desires and increasing AI-generated content. Where are these users? They are all within Binance—every trader interested in crypto is in Binance."

· "DC (Discord) was originally created for gaming but has been used by project parties to manage communities. However, Binance Square and the Binance community are specifically designed for crypto users, with completely different genes. The product still has a lot of room for improvement, but iterative development can fill the gaps—DC didn't become what it is today overnight."

Characteristics of Successful Project Parties

· "As an investor, I feel this is quite mystical. After looking at the background, track, and market sensitivity, there’s one more thing to add—whether this person has good fate. I have invested in very hardworking projects that did the right things and had good values, but they always seemed to lack a bit of luck at the most critical moments."

· "Project parties that are likely to succeed have several genes: first, they are not annoying to look at—not handsome or beautiful, but their aura is not off-putting; second, they are humble—believing they are not full, can still take in more, listen, and optimize; third, their understanding of the world—how they perceive the world will influence their judgment at the most critical junctures."

· "If these three points are present, and if they are also smart and truly willing to put in effort, even if what they are doing now is not good enough, they will iterate and find ways to improve, so they can survive and ultimately succeed."

How Has She Made Choices After So Many Transformations?

Host : Let's talk about your choices and transitions along the way. You've actually transitioned several times, from entrepreneurship to joining Binance, and now to being a founder of investment and strategy services. Do you think you are truly bold, or do you have your own judgment methods?

Li Jiayi : I feel that I have grown a lot in the past three years and have stabilized significantly. I used to think that as long as I wanted to do something, I could do it well. A lot of it is about opportunity, or suddenly thinking, "Oh, I think this is feasible, so I will try it." I am also very grateful to many people who have supported me, based on previous work connections; they trust me and have consistently supported me.

So compared to the average person, my threshold for entrepreneurship is honestly not that high. However, the state after doing something completely relies on your own strength.

My company hasn't grown very large; I know my destiny, and I particularly like small and beautiful things. When I was managing funds, we focused on not investing in too many projects. We felt there weren't that many good projects in the market to invest in, and if there are too many projects, you can't manage or serve them well.

Now, providing services is even more so because the project party needs you to provide market services. First, we need to recognize some fundamental values of the project party. Otherwise, it’s like promoting a company; if you don’t even recognize this company, then I can’t come out and create a narrative that I don’t believe in myself.

Based on this, understanding what money can be made and what cannot is very OK.

Why Transition from Traditional Agencies to AI?

Host : The market has cooled quite a bit in the past two years. Many agencies used to rely on project parties for promotion, KOLs, and media for growth. But now many companies have started to transform, either doing AI GEO or beginning to scale back their business. Can you introduce the biggest difference between your current transition and past agencies?

Li Jiayi : There hasn’t really been a transformation; it’s more of a marketing approach. It’s just a name change; the previous name was too poor because it wasn’t specifically created; it just happened to be a name that someone else wasn’t using, and I said OK, I’ll use it. Since I am a B2B service company, I don’t need to promote to C-end users, so I don’t care.

But later, the previous name, XDO, was just too unservice-oriented. Or our overseas clients found it too unprofessional. So we thought about Y Strategy, which is also based on some philosophical thoughts of our own. After serving for so long, we found that asking "why" is very important. Plus, my name is Jiayi, and the first letter of "one" in Pinyin is also Y.

What we are doing now, I believe, is a correct strategy. Because we can serve one to two clients at the same time, as I believe that doing market work requires a lot of thought and time. Nowadays, there are many fragmented aspects of marketing, and you cannot have the energy to serve many clients simultaneously. My strategy happens to be particularly suitable for the current bear market; I am originally a market strategy that provides deep support.

Host : Recently, I saw a viewpoint that I believe you might resonate with. It said that the next wave of AI entrepreneurship might not be about making software but rather about re-establishing a service company, where previously tools were sold, and now results will be sold. What do you think? Do you believe that agencies might gain new opportunities because of AI?

Li Jiayi : This is something I have been thinking about and trying throughout this year. But I do agree with the idea of not making software. I previously wanted to create an AI software for English. I believe that the current threshold is no longer about the so-called technology or products, or who thought of this idea; ideas are even less valuable because everyone can think of them. What ultimately determines success or failure is the placement.

We find that the cost of software placement is becoming increasingly expensive, and every year it gets more costly, which has already started to reverse. That is to say, the customer acquisition cost for a paid user is roughly equivalent to two years of their total consumption with you, which is very high.

However, exchanges are an exception; exchanges are very profitable.

Software is just a tool, depending on who uses it. If a company does not need very basic services but requires someone who truly understands the market to help formulate strategies, oversee execution, and upgrade the process, they may internally lack someone who knows how to use fire well or someone who understands cooking, right? If you give them a match, without a chef, even if they can make good food, the result will still be significantly different from someone else’s.

Software is a tool; tools will be popularized, and useful tools will be popularized, but who is in charge and who uses it well is a very important matter.

After So Many Years of Growth, Which "Effective Strategies" Have Actually Become Obsolete?

Host : So far, you have served so many project parties and have been involved in growth for many years. Are there things you think are very important but might not actively share with project parties? For example, some project parties might be using a certain growth strategy that you feel is basically useless, or a project might spend a lot of money on growth but actually sees no growth. Are there any pitfalls you realized after experiencing them?

Li Jiayi : It’s about blind spending and wasting money. For market placements, if I see any placements that I consider unreasonable or wasteful, I will clearly communicate that to the client. Some clients come with a budget of one million, and I tell them they don’t need to spend that much; it’s a waste. We will lower the budget. After lowering it, my service fee also decreases. But I believe this is a very valuable thing. Money should be used wisely, not just blindly cut.

Then, a very ineffective approach is randomly using KOLs for placements, especially in the current era. Just a couple of days ago, there was a research report, and Elon Musk seemed to agree with this viewpoint yesterday. There is actual data indicating that since May of this year, non-human traffic on social media has surpassed human traffic. The report states that in five years, human traffic will be less than one-thousandth of AI traffic. As human traffic decreases, it means placements are becoming more expensive. Therefore, placements without strategy are just wasting money. You need to understand what every penny you spend is doing.

Why Is There Increasing Emphasis on the Growth Value of Binance Square?

Host : You are currently helping clients manage projects and have also put a significant amount of energy into Binance Square, where the community has grown to nearly 5,000 people in just two days. Why are you considering Binance Square now?

Li Jiayi : 10,000, because in Chinese it’s 5,000, and in English, it’s also 5,000, but actually, it’s 10,000. I am one person and don’t want others to join, as it feels a bit chaotic.

When considering Binance Square, I previously thought that the cost-effectiveness of previous placements was decreasing. Where are the users? When asking why to place ads, it’s to find users that match the project party best and let them know what you are doing. You might guide them through your activities, spiritual rewards, or material rewards to achieve the desired actions or results from them. I believe this is one of the basic logics of doing market work.

You see, there are now fewer people on Twitter, with decreasing expression desires and increasing AI-generated content. The frequency of real people opening Twitter is also decreasing. Where are these users? They are actually within Binance. Because all traders interested in crypto are within Binance.

Twitter and the Square are a series; Binance has its own community. DC (Discord) and TG (Telegram) are a series. DC was not originally derived as a community product for financial services; it was created for gaming, but many project party leaders found that using this method to manage communities would be more efficient, so they started using it. However, Binance Square and the Binance community are specifically designed for crypto users.

Of course, from my experience, I believe the product still has a lot of room for improvement, but its genes are completely different. I believe that once the product and technology are understood, and manpower is added, it can be iteratively developed step by step. Because DC didn’t become what it is today overnight, right?

So I believe that in this early wave, establishing Binance Square, which is also part of Twitter, and building the community well to test what methods users really like and what will be efficient for project parties is very worthwhile to try.

When Investing in Projects, Should One Focus on People, Products, or Timing?

Host : Now, from an investor's perspective, when a project is presented to you, what do you look at first? Is it the founder, their product, data, market, or whether they have hit a good timing?

Li Jiayi : I feel that as an investor, this matter is quite mystical. When I first started investing, I would look at the founder's background, what track they are in, what they are trying to do, and whether it is likely to succeed, whether this track has a future. Then, I would consider market sensitivity and whether the market would buy into this. Because if you create something that the market does not buy into, and you produce a product that no one uses, that’s not good.

But now, I believe there’s one more thing to add—whether this person has good fate; luck is quite an important factor. Among the projects I have invested in, there are very hardworking individuals who I believe are doing the right things and have good values, and their backgrounds and abilities are very good. However, they always seem to lack a bit of luck at the most critical moments, which affects the final outcome. So the fate of this person is also quite an important matter.

From my investment experience, project parties that are likely to succeed have several genes. First, they are not annoying to look at. This is very important. It’s not about being handsome or beautiful; it’s about not being off-putting, which I believe relates to their aura. That’s the first point.

The second point is humility. I have seen many people who think they are very capable, as well as some who I think are very capable but are also very humble. The more humble you are, the more you maintain a humble state, believing you are not full and can still take in more, listen, and optimize.

The third point is their understanding of the world. What is their worldview? How do they see the world? This influences their judgment at the most critical moments.

If these three points are present, and if they are also smart and truly willing to put in effort, even if what they are doing now is not good enough, they will iterate and find ways to improve, so they can survive and ultimately succeed.