How We Took Aleph Down the Crypto Rabbit Hole
36 hours + 19 crypto newbies = 4 great crypto startup prototypes
Every time Aleph General Partner Tomer Diari dropped the words “crypto” or “Web3'’ into a conversation here at Aleph, he would be greeted with blank stares. Whether it was out of naivety or fear of the unknown, the world of crypto was foreign to many of us, and it was time this changed before we were all left behind. If you thought teaching your grandma how to use Zoom during the pandemic was challenging, we needed a way to educate an entire team about a new era of technology. Our solution? A firm-wide hackathon!¹
After working at Aleph for only two months as Tomer’s executive assistant, the idea of anything crypto or anything hackathon was, to say the least, daunting. How would I take the lead and plan such an event without any experience and in just a month’s time? The challenge was on!
From Amorphous Buzzword to Concrete Experience
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years, you have almost certainly heard about the rising trend of crypto, Web3 and blockchain technology. From financial institutions to governments to everyday investors, there is an increasing interest in cryptocurrency and the technology behind it. VCs have invested more money into crypto startups in 2021 than all prior years combined, from $5.4 billion in 2020 to over $30 billion in 2021 — an impressive 450% jump (source).
Do the majority of people truly understand these concepts and buzzwords? Maybe not. However, one thing I can reveal from planning and executing Aleph’s crypto hackathon is that not only is it possible to grasp the concepts in just 36 hours, it is even possible to create a working prototype for a crypto startup.
Laying the Foundation
Web3 embraces decentralization, where the power lies in the hands of the individuals. This sector more than fits the bill when it comes to disruptive, new technologies. Since at Aleph, we invest in companies that do just that — create meaningful impact and make technological breakthroughs within a traditional industry — a crypto hackathon was a perfect fit for Aleph’s internal team to develop familiarity and gain practical experience with the crypto industry.
Everyone came in with a different level of understanding (or lack of understanding) of crypto and Web3, so it was important for us to touch on the basics and provide everyone with a foundation. Throughout the month leading up to the hackathon, we held a series of talks: Amos Meiri, Founding Partner at Node Capital, spoke about the lessons he’s learned from the industry; Tomer discussed the evolution of the internet into Web3; Yael Elad, Tal Bussel and Sagiv Malihi gave their varied insights on the topic.
We also encouraged everyone at Aleph to familiarize themselves with Discord, a prevalent social platform in the crypto community. To test the waters, I joined a variety of Discord servers (a collection of voice and text channels) to study how their online communities operate, from the jargon to the role of community managers. After learning the ins and outs, I created Aleph’s very own Discord server where all hackathon-related communications were conducted (taking us away from our Slack comfort zone).
Let the Hacking Begin!
The rules of the hackathon: there are no rules.
For 36 hours, we all stepped away from our everyday roles at Aleph, divided into four teams and put on our competitive hats to take on the challenge of creating a meaningful crypto venture.
Here is what we came up with:
Vote of Confidence — A social experiment via a decentralized application (dApp) where participants place votes of confidence and publicly endorse and support the leaders they deem inspiring in their field in return for potential rewards or incentives. Daphna Mergi, Erica Marom, Joanne Shamshoum, Lia Levin, Sagiv Malihi
Crypto-Based Aleph Alumni Network — A unique NFT granted to Aleph alumni for entry to an exclusive Discord channel where they can connect and maintain access to Aleph’s network and Ampliphy platform. Andrew Jacobson, Asia Trakshisnky, Gili Leska, Yael Elad
Mine to Give — A platform where individuals can donate their computer idle time to mine cryptocurrency, which would in turn be used to encourage and reward call-center volunteers for their charitable work. Elion Arieli, Sophie Gothold, Shaked Aricha Levi, Tal Bussel, Uri Ar
MiSelium — A platform to take advantage of idle computer power and utilize the processing power to save lives. ‘MiSelium,’ a blockchain-based network, would transform every connected PC or IoT device into the world’s most powerful machine to predict hurricanes, cure disease, map the human genome and more. ‘Selium,’ the network’s native currency, would be given to contributors as a reward or incentive. Bar Schneidman, Daniel Zautner, Gali Baram, Liza Zautner, Roni Liss
And the Winner Is…
At the end of the hackathon, each team presented to the Aleph partners, who judged the competition entries based on the novelty of the idea, the execution and the presentation.
The results? The fourth group, with their idea for MiSelium, were chosen as winners!
The reward? Ethereum, of course — which the team members could only receive by opening a digital wallet.
Daniel, the mastermind behind MiSelium, even compiled his ideas into a white paper which was published in two SSRN eJournals — quite impressive considering he came into the hackathon without any prior knowledge of crypto.
Hackathon Takeaways
Undoubtedly, the hackathon broadened our minds regarding the world of blockchain and Web3. We became acquainted with crypto concepts and the Discord platform, developed proficiency with the technology underpinning decentralization and, most importantly, overcame our fears surrounding the subject through a fun, team-bonding experience.
Not only are we better equipped to engage in crypto conversations, but our newfound knowledge will allow us to better support current and future Web3 companies in our portfolio. We even just recently invested in Embed, a decentralized marketing solution that connects brands, creators, collections and NFT holders.
On a personal note: I have always been intrigued by crypto but was far too intimidated to make my own way down the rabbit hole. Now, after planning and executing our hackathon, it is safe to say that I have been converted into a crypto-believer — even holding some cryptocurrency myself! Not only did I walk away with first-hand experience managing communities on Discord and being part of a crypto startup, but I have gained an underlying foundation of knowledge that will keep expanding as I continue to immerse myself even deeper into this ever-growing field.
One thing is for sure: the next time Tomer initiates a conversation around crypto, blockchain or Web3, he will no longer be met with puzzled expressions. Quite the contrary: let’s keep the conversation going!
¹ We are no stranger to hackathons at Aleph! The first Aleph hackathon was held for entrepreneurs and focused on building tools to make the path of entrepreneurship less challenging. More recently, a hackathon was held for Aleph’s Ampliphy team to encourage the use of machine learning among the non-developer team members.
