Working in Web3

It’s been over a year since i left LinkedIn and took the plunge into the web3/blockchain sector. In the past year, I have been in a blockchain team helping to grow active users and Dapp (decentralised apps) activities.

A year ago, I don’t think i was in any way prepared for the crazy adventure that awaited me. Looking back, i can only say ‘it’s one helluva ride’!

In this post, i’ll touch on web3 culture and reasons for being a part of the sector.

PS: I acknowledge that employees in different organisations may have different experience, so this piece reflects more of my perspectives.

Casual Culture

Lets start with the culture. If you’ve ever sat in on any AMAs (ask me anything), u’ll know its a super casual culture. In big tech, i was already used to t-shirts and jeans. But web3 takes it to another level. Don’t be surprised to see people walking into offices or even conferences in bermudas and caps!

The casual culture translates to the way we communicate too. Meetings with external stakeholders are more casual compared to my LinkedIn days. There’s generally a sense of camaraderie amongst folks in this industry, perhaps it’s because the industry is still small and we know we’re all a little crazy and probably sacrificed something to be in this sector right here right now.

And yes, if you are guessing that there’s lots of informal meet-ups over drinks, you're right. After parties are common at web3 conferences, and there are frequent meet-ups u can join to network with like-minded industry mates.

Casual yet hardcore

While wearing berms and tees sounds casual, don’t let this ‘chill’ image fool you.

People in web3 work extremely hard (at least my colleagues do!). I think the reason is that people who join the industry at such an early and uncertain stage tend to be real passionate believers of the revolution that web3 will bring, and it shows in their work attitude.

In addition, many of the things you are doing in web3 could be ‘first in the industry’. And a good initiative and execution can lead to visible results on overall metrics since most projects are still pretty much startups. This further motivates employees to do their best.

Very very global

Working global hours is to be expected. Why? There is currently no concentration of projects and VCs in any one country (yes, there is a bigger developer hub in US and VC hub in Singapore, but its still pretty dispersed globally). So if u’re looking for blockchain partners, investors, developers etc, u have to be prepared for calls at odd hours often.

Keep up with the pace!

And if u’re joining web3, u’d better be used to lots of messages. Much of the communication is not through emails, but rather through messaging apps like telegram, signal and slack. Why? It enables faster collaboration and responses, reflecting the pace of change in this industry. I have been constantly surprised at how fast initiatives roll out. What will take typical companies 3-6 months to complete, takes probably just a month in web3. This spans across all kinds of initiatives from marketing campaigns to product enhancements.

That is why many web3 folks say that one month feels like a quarter, given that so many things happens in a month. Competitors spring up very quickly and often, though we've seen several declines as well. You could be enjoying majority marketshare in one month, and lose the lead to another project in the next month (and perhaps even regain it back soon after). High intensity is probably a good way to describe this sector. A good idea, product or tech improvement could change the game, given that the sector is still in nascent stage and no one has claimed a dominant lead position yet.

Nature of work is quite different from web2. We’re still early in the game.

I joined LinkedIn in 2012. It wasn’t a small company then, but it was still early days then. But even at that stage, it was more about scaling the business. The product market fit was generally established, and the objective was to scale up sales and product adoption.

In web3 however, we are at an even earlier stage. Even for several high profile projects, the user metrics are far below what we’re used to seeing in web2. So most web3 projects are still experimenting different business models and use cases and trying to find the right product market fit. Fast experimentation and pivots are crucial to survive, especially in the bear market we are in now. This also means the work scope can encompass several different initiatives vs a longer-term and more focused approach. If you’re looking for a well defined work scope, this ain’t the place.

There’s no standard playbook, yet

What is the right tokenomics structure for gamefi? what is the right way to go to market?

Proven approaches are far and few in between at this stage of the industry cycle. This is why creativity is extremely important. Many of the successful products in web3 today have innovative concepts or different launch plans. Experience is important to know what doesn’t work. but experience alone won’t get you there. A deep understanding of the space coupled with a dose of creativity is critical to doing well in this space.

Read regularly or fail to catchup…

To stay on top of things, you have to read ALOT. Every project has a whitepaper that details their project’s working mechanism?and roadmap. On a daily basis, i browse through news and research/opinions from Twitter, Messari, Bankless etc. The web3 world is evolving so fast and new projects spring up everyday - you have to read almost daily to just catch up.

Note to LinkedIn: while most web3 entrepreneurs will setup their LinkedIn profile, most of the engagement in web3 sector are actually on Twitter (we call it CT or crypto twitter). Perhaps we should get more of the web3 engagement over to LinkedIn!

Sounds like a tough job… so why be in it?

Alright.. so to sum up.. working in web3 involves long hours, high intensity/stress … and crypto prices are falling off the cliff ... what’s the draw here?!

It took me a while to really appreciate the elegance and disruptiveness of the industry. In fact, it reminds me of my early days at LinkedIn. I recall having to explain why LinkedIn is so powerful when most organisations were ‘satisfied’ with relying mostly on job boards and headhunters (It was even common back then to spell out ‘LinkedIn’ at the start of cold calls!). It’s the same now in web3, having to explain to most people why web3 is so disruptive beyond the usual crypto hype that’s reported in the news.

Web3 is not just about trading tokens (it is only a part of it). The features that web3 brings - tokenisation, immutability of records, transparency of transactions, automation of processes through smart contracts, decentralisation of asset ownership - are disruptive (and positive) to business models, organisational structures and consumer choices.

Below are a few examples.

1. Token issuance can help to build a vast network without huge initial investment

This post by Bill Ackman probably explains it best, but i’ll attempt to explain it here anyway. Take the case of Helium that has built a global wi-fi network. Helium’s global network of almost 1 million hotspots was crowd-contributed by individuals who purchased and deployed Helium hotspots to mine HNT token. Users who need access to the wi-fi (especially in more remote areas) will need to purchase and burn HNT, introducing demand to balance out the supply of HNT. The use of token incentivisation here kickstarted an entire wifi network.

Think about it - Helium would not be able to build such a vast network without a token. The only other way is to raise lots of funds from a VC (perhaps tens of millions?) to setup the million hotspots, which may not be an option for most companies. The use of tokens (promise of higher future value when demand increases) enables companies to bootstrap a project that requires network effect, but without a huge fund raise. This will fundamentally change how network-based businesses build and grow over time (and make it easier). It levels the playing field so that smaller companies with good concepts and technology can kickstart their product despite limited access to funds.

2. NFTs bring new monetisation models

If you are thinking of ‘bored apes’ or ‘pudgy penguins’, do know that that is only one use case of NFT (out of many). The promise of NFTs as a digital representation of an asset extends far beyond digital images.

Imagine if you are going for a concert today. The current way is to get a hardcopy or digital ticket with a barcode or QR code. While these options work in getting you into the concert, it doesn’t provide much utility beyond that.

If the ticket is an NFT, you can do alot more with it. Event organisers can interact with concert goers, host surprise giveaways, provide token-gated services etc, it’s no longer a one-time use ticket. On the other hand, NFT ticket holders can be granted access to exclusive celebrity-fan experiences.

3. True ownership of your digital items

When you play a game, u have your game character and other in-game items like weapons and game points. When u purchase stuff, you may collect loyalty points. When you submit details on social media platforms like instagram, you will have a profile created.

What if u want to swap weapons with your friends or bring your favourite game character into a metaverse? What if you are lazy to find the most optimal way to use your loyalty points and would prefer to trade it for something else (or sell it)? And what if you want to export your profile, connections and other data from instagram to a new social media platform?

The problem is that you can’t do the above in most cases, because you do not actually ‘own’ the assets. The companies do. The web3 model is one that’s open and gives more freedom of choice to the consumers. When more companies start to allow you to own your data/points and have the freedom to use them on different platforms or trade them, consumers will increasingly demand for such options. The tipping point hasn’t arrived, but when it does, decentralised ownership will not be in question anymore.

4. Transparency and automation of platform transactions

With the fall in FTX (centralised crypto exchange), it is apparent that how your deposits are used is pretty opaque in centralised institutions. The beauty of DeFi (decentralised finance) is that all transactions are executed according to smart contract code which is usually open and transparent for everyone to see. Hence you can ‘trust the code’ instead of worrying if the financial institution could be doing something else with your deposits (codes are usually audited by security firms to ensure the code does what it promises to do and that there are no security loopholes).

Another huge benefit is the efficiency due to processes being carried out automatically via the smart contracts. This massively reduces the need for a big workforce, and reduces disputes since the smart contract will act accord to the rules in the code. In a typical exchange, there are several processes and clearing/settlement that needs to be done which takes time. But on Decentralised exchanges, the entire end-to-end process is carried out according to the smart contract code and almost instantly - there’s no need for manual clearing or transaction processing.

In conclusion

The above are just a handful of use cases, there’s too much to cover in one article. What is most critical to understand, is that web3 technology and concepts enable these new use cases that otherwise is hard to implement. Be it cryptocurrencies, NFT, or governance tokens - the concept of tokenisation and blockchain technology is changing the operating model for many real world cases.

That is why web3 industry is filled with so many passionate individuals - there is an understanding that it’s an innovative disruption that’s still in early stages. As the web3 industry matures and more devs join the movement to build dapps, the value proposition will become clearer over time - that web3 will fundamentally change business models and give back more power and freedom of choice to consumers.