I recently underwent the titanic task of building a tech startup. It lasted 4 years, and while the decision to close shop wasn’t an easy one, in hindsight, it was the right path for everyone involved.

Having a blank canvas to decide my next move was refreshing. The builder’s natural impulse is to try again and start a second company with all the experience and learnings of the previous one.

I asked myself a thousand questions. Should I build another startup in this recession? What should I focus on? What’s missing in crypto? Or…Should I work for other, more experienced founders? Should I do an MBA at Stanford to find a technical co-founder?

With no clear answer, ultimately It came down to a simple solution: define what I wanted to do/personal objectives and start grinding away. I ended up with this list:

1. Keep on building in crypto.
2. Learn about DAOs.
3. Focus on Growth related opportunities.

With that in mind, I accepted all the opportunities at my doorstep aligned with my objectives. And as a former founder, interest from other teams and VCs was not scarce.

I worked part-time for 4 DAOs, 1 institutional crypto trading firm, 1 VC fund, and 2 startups. Pretty ridiculous when I write it. Through that process, I was able to consolidate my Ikigai.

Now, I was initially happy working for Alliance because I was going to be talking to hundreds of founders. It was my way of doing research; I learned what people are building in crypto, why, and what was missing. Finally, some breadth of information instead of the depth of making one thing for years. I believed this was a great way to define my next startup idea.

It was a win-win. I learned while making money, and Alliance benefited from the deal flow. I ended up recommending 4 companies that were accepted in 2 cohorts.

The aha moment

Building another company was always the goal. Until I met the Alliance team, I learned more about our mission and why we are different in all the right ways.

1. The team. 1. An unreal bunch of over 10 former founders of successful crypto companies, CEOs, former FAANG, PHDs, and elite VCs. An explosive combination of people I can learn from provides considerable motivation. A drive to earn my place in this group. That feeling is hard to find.
2. The mission. 1. Become the #1 network of Web3 founders. I’ve been in crypto for 7 years, 4 years building, and through those years, I concluded that my life’s purpose is to help transition to a world of more economic freedom. A world with less corruption, open financial systems instead of closed gardens, no country as holder of the world reserve, and much more. Most builders in crypto are in it for the same reasons. So working on designing the most elite community of builders can’t be more exciting.
3. How we are doing it differently at AllianceDAO.
   1. Founder friendly. The program is equity-free and based on meritocracy. This means that founders don’t have to accept money at a standard dilution to get accepted. Maybe the company doesn’t need the money, and perhaps the valuation can be more beneficial for the founder. It’s a new paradigm.
      1. ☝️ Alliance does invest in teams that are seeking capital.
   2. Elite. Small cohorts of top 1% Web3 founders, 3 times per year. That constraint ensures we have systems and processes to choose companies with very high conviction. And it also increases the probability for founders to feel inspired by their peers.
   3. DAO structure. I can’t talk too much about this yet, but being a DAO increases our odds of aligning incentives across multiple types of stakeholders. And we are working towards decentralized governance, where everyone involved has a voice in our future.
4. Oh, and we are 100% remote and global.

In summary, I am joining a DAO that feels like a startup aligned with my personal objectives. Going through my first failed company taught me many things, but one I'd like to highlight is: taking the time to research what to build. Until I am 99% sure of my next startup, the smart move is not to risk my time and other people's money when I can join a rocket ship.

My new role

So as Alliance’s new Head of Growth, my responsibility is to ensure every founder in the world who wants to build in crypto thinks first of Alliance. And that every founder currently in our network can extract more value from Alliance than any other VC or advisor involved in their company. We’re here to provide Web3 specialized knowledge, tools, and a fully supportive network of peers, mentors & industry experts.

As you can tell, I’m ecstatic to be joining the Alliance team. I won’t be building another startup for now. Still, I will plant my flag and make Alliance founders succeed at achieving our mission.

If you are a founder and want to join Alliance, apply here. If you have any questions, reach out over Twitter.