Recap of How to Find a Job in Crypto Panel and Panelist Bonus Q&A
Ali Ayyash, Co-Founder in Stealth, previously at Beetoken, Google, and Amazon
Q: Are you currently hiring? For which roles?
A: Yes. 1 Full Stack Engineer. 1 Designer.
Q: What interview questions do you ask if / when you interview people?
A: Tell me about your previous projects.. in details. Gauges technical skills, passion, communication and leadership.
Q:What do you look for in people’s resumes?
A: Previous experience and projects
Q: What are some good resources for people looking to break into crypto?A:Youtube, whitepapers, conferences/meetups
Q: Are you currently fundraising?
A: Still in stealth, but will start soon.
Q: If people want to connect with you, how can they reach you? (Telegram, email, etc.)
A: Telegram: @ali_ayyash;
Email: ali.k.ayyash@gmail.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akayyash/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/akayyash
Q: What is unique about your background?
A: I have both traditional tech experience and blockchain tech experience. I’ve been through the end to end process from inception of a blockchain idea, through fundraising and ICO till platform launch. I’m highly technical, yet understand most of the legal and market limitations.
Q: How did you get into crypto?
A: Investing in early 2017, then building my own ETH smart contracts, then quitting Google to start Beetoken.
Q: Are you advising any projects that are hiring? For which roles?
A: Multiple. Mostly engineers.
Q: What is a good growth hack for networking in crypto?
A: Go to 2–4 events a week, and get at least 10 peoples contact information. That’s almost 200 new connections a month.
Q: How do you identify culture fit in candidates?
A: Passion, personality & communication, during interviews usually.
David Sneider, Co-Founder of Deco.Network
Q: Are you currently hiring? For which roles?
A: Startup Generalist: Community / Ops / Content; Smart Contract Devs
Q: What interview questions do you ask if / when you interview people
A: Really depends on the role — mainly i just talk to them, ask about what they’ve done etc
Q: What do you look for in people’s resumes?
A: growth
Q: What are some good resources for people looking to break into crypto?
A: Twitter; Meetups; Picking a direction, don’t just ‘network’ for too long
Q: How is finding a job in crypto different from finding a job in tech otherwise?
A: Smaller community with a unique knowledge barrier to entry
Q: Are you currently fundraising?
A: Yes, value add token buyers in the private pre sale
Q: If people want to connect with you, how can they reach you? (Telegram, email, etc.)
A: david@deco.network
Q: How did you get into crypto?
A: It’s the future of many things and where creative business dreams can be build.
Q: What are the biggest mistakes you see candidates making in the hiring process?
A: Not taking the time to read / research about what the tech is
Q: What is a good growth hack for networking in crypto?
A: Cold email
Tegan Kline, VP at IPwe
Q: Are you currently hiring? For which roles?
A: We are currently hiring for a COO. We will be hiring a few others post our equity raise.
Q: What interview questions do you ask if / when you interview people?
A: It depends on the person and role, but a few general questions are: What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? When have you failed and how did you overcome that failure? What was your biggest accomplishment? What do you do when there is a conflict in your team? What are three things you value most in life? From your job?
Q: What do you look for in people’s resumes?
A: A coherent resume that follows a standard format. Not longer than one page. Good job experience and a demonstration of how they improved processes
Q: What are some good resources for people looking to break into crypto?
A: Podcasts: Invest like the Best; Unchained by Laura Shin; Coloring Crypto; https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unchained-big-ideas-from-worlds-blockchain-cryptocurrency/id1123922160?mt=2&i=1000398406081;
Apps for News: Feedly App; Ethereum Blog; Bitcoin Magazine; Coindesk; Cointelegraph.com News; Cryptocurrency Tech Talk; Books: Book of Satoshi; Truth Machine
Whitepapers: Bitcoin; Ethereum
Q: How is finding a job in crypto different from finding a job in tech otherwise?
A: Because it is such a new space, the hiring process is less structured. Thus, many people start out as crypto enthusiasts
Q: Are you currently fundraising?
A: Yes, only accredited investors
Q: If people want to connect with you, how can they reach you? (Telegram, email, etc.)
A: Telegram: TeganKline, Email: Tegan.Kline1@gmail.com
Q: What is unique about your background?
A: I grew up in a small town, hustled to get a full scholarship to a school in NYC, got into banking, was offered a promotion out in SF and learned about crypto the first week I was here in The Bay
Q: How did you get into crypto?
A: I volunteered and was heavily involved in the crypo community (events every week sometimes every day)
Q: Are you advising any projects that are hiring? For which roles?
A: I head up Triangles in the US. We are accepting volunteers, members and sponsors
Q: What are the biggest mistakes you see candidates making in the hiring process?
A: Going into crypto / blockchain for the money and not the passion
Q: What is a good growth hack for networking in crypto?
A: There are no “hacks” just hard work and effort. Join telegram chats, fb groups, attend events
Q: How do you identify culture fit in candidates?
A: Overall attitude, ask them what they value most in a job.
Coleman Maher, BD at Origin Protocol
Q: Are you currently hiring? For which roles?
A: Office manager; Software engineer
Q: What interview questions do you ask if / when you interview people
A: Elaborate on past job history; What they know/think about blockchain
Q: What do you look for in people’s resumes?
A: Relevant experience; Pedigree; Grammar
Q: What are some good resources for people looking to break into crypto?
A: https://blockgeeks.com/; https://cryptoeconomics.study/; https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki; /r/Ethereum and /r/btc; Various developer twitter accounts and blogs/websites; Hackathons and meetups; NOT conferences
Q: How is finding a job in crypto different from finding a job in tech otherwise?
A: Crypto is usually open source so you can contribute to their codebase and reach out without a direct introduction or connection. Many people start as volunteers or enthusiasts and don’t go through a formal hiring process
Q: If people want to connect with you, how can they reach you? (Telegram, email, etc.)
A: coleman@originprotocol.com
Q: Are you advising any projects that are hiring? For which roles?
A: HireGo and Aworker are hiring advisors and BD people
Q: What are the biggest mistakes you see candidates making in the hiring process?
A: They refuse to engage us on our Discord or display enthusiasm or any follow-through
Q: What is a good growth hack for networking in crypto?
A: Join groupchats
Q: How do you identify culture fit in candidates?
A: I just look for competence, honesty, and bias towards action. The culture fit is for the whole team to decide and isn’t important to me personally.
Jake Kuczeruk, Head of Partnerships at Dispatch Labs
Q: Are you currently hiring? For which roles?
A: Yes. Dev relations is the big one but analysts, copywriters, community. We’re hiring 10+ roles and Diane will be on-site to coordinate the career fair.
Q: What interview questions do you ask if / when you interview people?
A: What inspires them? Relevant past work? Where do they see themselves in 5 years? Knowledge of blockchain? Experience working with devs? Organization tools? More than anything they have to align with our mission
Q: What do you look for in people’s resumes?
A: Blockchain Experience (beyond trading), ability to coordinate with many verticals (fintech, health, etc), ideally advisory experience, startup experience/self motivated.
Q: What are some good resources for people looking to break into crypto?
A: Events, reddit, bitcointalk, meet up, Telegram, Blockchain blogs, webinars (and hackathons if they’re technical)
Q: How is finding a job in crypto different from finding a job in tech otherwise?
A: Way more competitive, ideally gotta have experience. It’s a small industry so connections are key.
Q: Are you currently fundraising?
A: Yes
Q: If people want to connect with you, how can they reach you? (Telegram, email, etc.)
A: email or TG
Q: How did you get into crypto?
A: Worked for a VC who was interested, had friends trading, joined a fund
Q: Are you advising any projects that are hiring? For which roles?
A: We advise 14 ICO projects and all are hiring
Q: What are the biggest mistakes you see candidates making in the hiring process?
A: Focusing too much on crypto/trading
Q: What is a good growth hack for networking in crypto?
A: Start your own meet up or university club is there is an open opportunity to. Write notes on whoever you connect with (on their business card, if possible), blockchain moves fast and you’ll want that context.
Q: How do you identify culture fit in candidates?
A: Culture is a huge focus for us. We can tell pretty easily if they’re extroverted enough to mesh here but often ask them about their personal life, passions, etc. Once we get them talking about a subject they enjoy, they’ll start flowing.
Tyler He, Investor at ZZ Ventures
Q: Are you currently hiring? For which roles?
A: We are looking for additional venture investment professionals
Q: Are your portfolio companies hiring? For which roles?
A: Ripple and Addepar are hiring in almost every functional area, Decawave is mostly hiring engineers
Q: What interview questions do you ask if / when you interview people?
A: If you had 5 million dollars to put in an early-stage company which one would you put it in and why. What is the most misunderstood company or sector that you think represents an excellent venture investment opportunity
Q: What do you look for in people’s resumes?
A: I don’t spend that much time on resumes as it’s usually a quick check on relevant experience
Q: What are some good resources for people looking to break into crypto
A: LinkedIn, Twitter
Q: How is finding a job in crypto different from finding a job in tech otherwise?
A: It’s a little more of a wild west which is both a positive and a negative
Q: Are you currently fundraising?
A: If people want to connect with you, how can they reach you? (Telegram, email, etc.).LinkedIn is best
Q: What is unique about your background?
A: I’ve spent time across venture, early stage startups and
Q: How did you first get into crypto?
A: Zhen, Don, Min :)
Q: What are the biggest mistakes you see candidates making in the hiring process?
A: In interviews I prefer an honest “i don’t know but here’s how i’d think about it” to a confidently nonsensical answer
Q: What is a good growth hack for networking in crypto?
A: Always try to be helpful
Q: Have a crisp description of what you’re good at
A: Think about leverage — people who are well connected and want to be helpful
Q: How do you identify culture fit in candidates?
A: Honest and direct while being respectful, independent while being a team player
David Roebuck, Principal at Sora Ventures
Q: Are you currently hiring? For which roles?
A: Sora Ventures is not currently hiring although we may consider bringing on an intern
Q: Are your portfolio companies hiring? For which roles?
A: Origin Protocol is hiring. They have a couple job postings on AngelList. I believe Numerai is as well.
Q: What interview questions do you ask if / when you interview people?
A: What do you look for in people’s resumes?
Q: What are some good resources for people looking to break into crypto
A: LinkedIn, Twitter, going to small private events
Q: If people want to connect with you, how can they reach you? (Telegram, email, etc.)
A: Telegram: @roebuckdm
Zhen Cao, Investment Director at JLab at JD Capital
Q: Are you currently hiring? For which roles?
A: Looking into expand the team, would love to find someone both technical and community building
Q: Are your portfolio companies hiring? For which roles?
A: Yes. Community managing, blockchain developers with large scale distributed systems dev experience
Q: What interview questions do you ask if / when you interview people?
A: How do you see the pain point of the current industry. Which company you are looking forward to supporting. What is your current portfolio. Which are the fundamental investment thesis.
Q: What do you look for in people’s resumes?
A: How detail oriented and long term career plan, working/ learning experience with credited entities
Q: What are some good resources for people looking to break into crypto?A: Industry report, eg, from Multicoin Capital, books eg, Denationalisation of money, Starfish and spider, etc.
Q: How is finding a job in crypto different from finding a job in tech otherwise?
A: Require technical and economy knowledge in the same time, but the most important thing is learning speed
Q: If people want to connect with you, how can they reach you? (Telegram, email, etc.)
A: TG: Czzcaozhen; Email: caozhend@jdcapital.com; Wechat: Czzcaozhen
Q: How did you first get into crypto?
A: Partner of the previous VC is a long time blockchain builder
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