I’ve been following Bitcoin on and off since 2010 although only started working professionally in the space since early 2018. Learning about Bitcoin spurred me to learn about cryptography and eventually lead me down the path of studying for an MSc in Information Security. Getting jobs with a PhD in Astrophysics turned out to be harder than expected!

While I am heavily involved with building out the Polkadot ecosystem, I do take a fairly agnostic approach to blockchain and don’t believe there is a one-size-fits-all.

Web3 Foundation

Since starting at Web3 Foundation (in Zug, Switzerland), I have covered numerous responsibilities including technical writing, technical education, security, collaboration, community management, and grants.

I helped to promote our activities by engaging the community with thoughtful communication (including writing technical blogs and answering questions). I was also heavily involved in the collaboration (“business development”) efforts to bring in new teams to work within the Polkadot ecosystem. Part of my collaboration efforts revolve around engaging our community with regards to our grants program.

Grants

I helped to create the grants program back at the end of 2019, and covered every aspect of the program since I was the only person in the foundation covering grants then.

Here are the key tasks in managing the pipeline:

• Finding teams to build out the Polkadot ecosystem.
• Helping the teams through the application process.
• Reviewing applications.
• Preparing the legal contracts.
• Assessing the technical deliverables (compiling and running code!) and comparing to the contract.
• Writing the winners’ blog post each quarter.

Understanding Blockchain

I have written numerous blogs on blockchain technology and the ecosystem. I have a diverse interest within the space covering topics from technical deep-dives to getting a bank account!

Non-technical blogs

Technical blogs

Index of writing