I’m straying away from crypto and DeFi analysis, and focusing on the under-appreciated value of the Team. Valuing a Team is highly qualitative, but requires a framework in order for investors to make educated and efficient decisions. I’ve worked for many companies, bosses, and built two businesses of my own. I highly prefer the self-sovereign life, but try to surround myself with a Team that provides resources, feedback, and positivity to enable a higher chance of success.
I am using my teammates as an example because I’ve never been so excited to get up for work every day, inspired to try new things, and have never felt judged or uncomfortable when I have questions. Here’s a list of common traits shared by the Team, which is the bones for my valuation framework.
Entrepreneurial - This Team has started and built businesses, had financial distress or life events that lead to failure, but continued to work towards finding success by innovating.
Passionate - The Team are 100% committed to the project or industry, remain accountable to each other and stakeholders, constantly share and research new opportunities, and have an extensive track record of experience.
Playing the long game - The Team has created a lifestyle around their work. It’s energizing, thrilling, becomes familial, and time flies. The goals set out are too big to believe - these can be financial metrics, adoption numbers, or getting a meeting or investment from HNW individuals or celebrities.
Self-sovereign - The Team has experienced working for large companies, worked with people above and alongside, and worked for themselves. Working for oneself provides intangible benefits like having a choice in who you work with, autonomy in the direction of an organization, responsibility for what one is most interested in doing, and the freedom to say no.
Thirsty for knowledge - Nobody knows everything. A leader knows one’s strengths, but also can quickly identify how and what to learn to achieve their goals. I’m a firm believer that desire, practice, and execution from an average intelligence individual will produce more than someone with a prestigious 4-year college degree and high test scores.
Humble - Confident but not arrogant. A humble Team always listens to those around for new ideas, areas of exploration, and knows when to change direction or course correct. A Team’ success should be measured by on how the actions taken compare to the goals set out ahead of time. When Teams fall behind or fail, humility is essential to make fixes for future success.
Deal makers - A good deal maker knows their own value well enough that they can identify good partners early. Winning is always mutual, and good deal makers put their partners’ interest first. The Team has experience working across organizations, customers, and have successfully navigated the myriad challenges of conducting business in complex legal and regulatory environments.
Perseverance - Teams face obstacles in the world of DeFi. Disrupting institutions like banks, navigating unclear and inappropriate tax/regulatory rules, and converting no coiners to fully red pilled DeFi fanatics is hard. Ethereum is an organic and grassroots movement that hasn’t relied on paid advertisement or spokespeople to educate new users on the power of blockchain based finance. The Team lives this ethos and are doing their part to free everyone from the shackles and ivory castles of traditional banking.
Gratitude
I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out some additional anecdotes and characteristics of my awesome team. I’ve been working with these four rockstar leaders since August, ‘20, in the depths of COVID, and have never felt closer or more part of a family.
A natural leader, fearless to ask questions or meet with anyone, has vision to see the power of what blockchain and the metaverse can bring, thinks huge in terms of growth potential, and somehow manages to keep it all prioritized and organized.
Ash
A calm, level headed, pragmatist who manages challenging personalities, and humbly organizes 8/9 figure projects. Not afraid to get his hands dirty, not above any task, and sees challenges as opportunities.
A creative, big thinker that makes decisions on great instincts, always bets big because of a keen understanding of the human psyche and behavior. A guy who’s never afraid to ask questions, and will talk to anyone big or small (HNW Silicon Valley investors or anonymous people on Discord).
Finally, in a world where we constantly tout the benefits of trustless and permissionless technology, working with PEOPLE you TRUST really matters. All of us have the ability to perceive people for who they are and separate authenticity from bullshit in an increasingly large and complex business environment. This is something only a ‘crypto native’ really can explain after spending months deep inside Twitter, Reddit, Discord, and Telegram.
This, I understand! Wonderful and universal words of what a team of individuals with diverse skills, character traits, IQ and EQ, can bring to an organization.