Sorry to any Rabbit Hole Roundup fans (not that I have any). Going a bit out of order here by going back to intros. Anyway, this is a little shameless self-promotion. Fugggh — I hate talking about myself. Kind of necessary these days, though, unfortunately. The nice folks at Re-Org: Rise of the DAO had a few questions and some good ones at that. Consider joining them/us on LinkedIn. Link to the group at the bottom. Interview by Isai Guerrero.
Isai @ RE-ORG: Can you share a little bit about yourself?
Sure! How far back should I go?
I’m a Minnesota kid originally. My career, oddly enough, started in the Culinary Arts. As in the Michelin Star/super fancy fine dining scene– back of the house. That experience laid a unique professional foundation, sense of urgency (helpful in Web3), and work ethic for what later became a career in tech. During rare off-hours from the kitchen, I taught myself web design and search marketing for restaurants, earned a few clients, and eventually worked my way into an agency at about 25 years old. I had no business being there, but it worked out. I think.
Eventually, I co-founded and built a decent-sized digital agency that specialized in Shopify. We offered custom theme design/dev, theme mods, eCommerce marketing, maintenance, and at one point, bespoke app development within the Shopify ecosystem. Our clients were mostly SMB, but we also served notable enterprise brands. I remain a Shopify Partner to this day, though I sold out of the above-mentioned agency in 2015. So, I’ve just been freelancing since, while exploring other interests outside of tech– like making surfboards and the arts.
I’ve been fortunate to have lived all over the US and Central/South America, including an extended two-year sabbatical in Brasil, which is where my wife is from. We currently live in Santa Cruz, California but we’ll soon be relocating to Whitefish, Montana. Pumped! What else on the personal front…? I do enjoy long walks in the Montana backcountry with my snowboard (sans people) and long walks with my surfboard to the more remote beaches of Northern California (also sans people). We have two dogs and I’m a Leo. ;-)
Professionally, these days (for the most part) I do Freelance Shopify consulting/design/dev via https://bravosolo.com. I’m also an eCommerce Advisor for America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), mostly via https://clicks2bricks.org, which we’re about to launch. On the side, I help friends, family, and their personal referrals with various eCommerce projects. Also, of course, I spend plenty of time exploring the Web3 rabbit hole. The Web3 thing is really more of a personal passion/obsession at this point than anything that I’d consider to be viable professionally– when it comes to real income, anyway. However, I have made dozens of strong Web3-related connections here on LinkedIn and it seems I’ll be earning a living via Web3, full-time, soon enough.
Isai @ RE-ORG: How did you end up in RE-ORG: Rise of the DAO?
I think someone shilled me? Really, I don’t remember. It was either a shill via DM, or potentially searching #DAOs on LinkedIn. Either way, I definitely connected with RE-ORG via LinkedIn, and I was immediately thrilled to have found it (though I need to participate more). Looking forward to that. RE-ORG will be of great value in terms of sharing knowledge, networking, and helping to build out teams in the future. Also, I’m now obligated to get more involved after doing this interview. Thanks, Isai!
Isai @ RE-ORG: How did you get into Web3 and how long have you been involved?
I’ve obviously been in Web2 forever. Well, since 2005-ish– via all of the things mentioned above.
About 6 months ago, I was asked to help set up an eCommerce Incubator for the SBDC. As I got deeper into that project, I started looking into how to deliver meaningful results for local merchants online. Way beyond what a typical agency might do.
All too often, the prescribed advice that’s given to a new eCommerce merchant is something like: “set up a store via Squarespace (or similar)” and “promote your products on social media”. That doesn’t really work if you want to scale and take digital seriously, and I’ve written extensively on the subject here: https://clicks2bricks.org/blogs/our-thinking, if interested. Anyway, after doing plenty of research, what ultimately surfaced was macroeconomics. Amazon, in particular, became a real target of my frustration. And of course, there’s a direct link between Amazon’s retail dominance and the capital markets.
I started out trading in the stock market via tools like SterlingTrader and Bookmap (definitely not Robinhood or similar, more retail-oriented apps). Scalping mostly. When I learned about all of the corruption in the financial system (the Robinhood fiasco, how Amazon kills competitors in tandem with hedge funds, etc.) and combined that experience with my research on how Amazon has impacted Main Street via my work with the SBDC, I got out of the traditional market and went into more long-term investing via crypto (after scalping for a bit via KuCoin). Actively trading crypto in that way also didn’t feel right, especially as I got deeper and deeper into the communities. The last straw (when it comes to active trading/scalping) was when I got invited into a few cringe-worthy pump-and-dump groups on Discord. Don’t go there… ever. And report any groups you get invited to.
So– while I technically jumped into the utility side of Web3 (in earnest) only about 3 months ago, my first superficial intro was through Crypto(currency), which I’ve been actively trading for the last 12–14 months. When I discovered the systemic implications of Web3 and the concept of decentralization, everything snapped into place. The challenges I was seeing in local commerce, institutional market dynamics, and politics were all connected. Web3 and DAOs, in particular, equaled an opportunity to change everything.
For the record, I have never actively participated in a pump-and-dump scheme but have observed many out of curiosity. It’s something we need to solve for and may become part of my Web3 trust project with GoodMark. Anyway, nowadays I’m more of a thoughtful passive investor, holder, and an occasional BTC swing trader– often just buying the dips.
My biggest holdings are SOL, ADA, and AVAX, with a little ETH and BTC.
Isai @ RE-ORG: What categories are you most passionate about? (DeFi, Dapps, DAOs, NFTs, etc..)
DAOs, 100%. The other stuff is exciting and all that– especially the PFP craze, and I’m stoked to see artists getting paid their due (10x+ over in some cases). That said, I can also see the static, low-utility projects as being more volatile and fleeting– at least at today’s elevated prices on Blue Chip PFPs. That’s not to say that in 20 years' time they won’t be super valuable (after they inevitably find their winter), I’m just not into taking that rollercoaster ride along with the whole “wen moon”/banana-boofing crowd. It’s great entertainment, though. And I love that community/used to be one of them.
Can I go on a bit more of a tangent here since we’re on the topic of entertainment? Because I don’t really consider the aspects of Web3 that are being hyped to death right now as being authentically core to Web3. At least not the utility-based category. It’s more of an exciting, new, interactive entertainment medium for what we have traditionally thought of as static animated series, graphic novels, comic books, etc. Sorry if that offends anyone, but it’s my truth and regardless, the space still has value.
The same caveat applies to the mainstream concept of what the metaverse is and will be, which IS different from what it is currently (though not by much). There again, for me– it’s more of a new entertainment medium and marketing mechanism for mostly old ideas and products (in a different package). Though it’s somewhat exciting, and will certainly be profitable, at the end of the day it appeals to and exploits our lesser, more self-destructive tendencies. That’s to say nothing of AR/VR, which obviously has numerous practical applications.
DAOs, on the other hand, are far more altruistic in nature and therefore consequential– so that’s definitely where I’ll focus my professional energy. After doing hundreds of hours of research on philosophy and the history of human civilization– particularly early civilizations, social structures, and market dynamics, I have distilled a much clearer picture of where DAOs are going, could go, and the implications they will have on society.
In many ways, DAOs are ironically bringing us back to a more intimate, stone-age-type social dynamic– at scale, via technology-facilitated trust. That’s never been possible before. So we can now basically replicate local dynamics at scale– socially, and economically, without having to deal with such issues as low productivity and efficiency that were inherent to local economies in the past (which ultimately drove us to ever greater centralization). Now that’s exciting, truly novel, and worth spending what will be the latter half of my career exploring– especially as it relates to dynamic, decentralized governance and zero-knowledge proof.
Isai @ RE-ORG: What projects/DAOs are you currently working on? Or how are you contributing to the Web3 ecosystem?
I assume that like most of the folks here, I’m involved in too many projects at the moment and I’m documenting most of that experience at https://thedaoist.io which contains links to everything I’ve discovered. Currently, I have a foot in Colony, Aragon, Proof of Good/Leyline, GROMs (which is working on a DAO), and a few others that have left me wanting– especially when it comes to community management, document versioning, and overall communications. Most are terrible at all of the above. I’m also working on my own personal project at https://goodmark.global, which has a (very small at this point) community built on Mighty Networks. That community will eventually decide on a DAO platform. Likely Aragon or Superdao.
All that said, since jumping headlong into the Web3 rabbit hole, I think I’ve finally hit something of a bottom over the last two weeks and found my path. Although, I have a feeling it’s a false bottom, and after spending a bit of time improving my blockchain dev skills and knowledge, I’ll likely go deeper into the AI and utility aspects of the space. We also need more scholarly, academic thinkers when it comes to ethics. So I hope to be that resource as well, at least within my limited network. Philosophy, Ethics, and Theory are critical because many of the tools associated with Web3 can be weaponized– not only to cause harm to society but also (in a more passive sense) to simply replace the current system with a faster, more intrusive, red herring kind of innovation that will suck talent from projects that really matter and leave the world no better.
Isai @ RE-ORG: What type of help do people come to you for?
eCommerce of course, specifically on Shopify, which now has some basic NFT functionality. But lately, I’ve had a few folks reach out needing what is basically NFT production consulting. While I have a decent base level of knowledge in terms of methodology, I also don’t pretend to be an expert. So I’ve been honest about my skills and we’ll see where those projects lead. At present, I’m of far more value on the planning, strategy, business, product management, and evangelism (marketing) side. I’m approaching my help to others (paid or not) through the lens of past Web2 experiences at the moment. So basically, what I’ve been doing to this point is more lean canvas > research > branding > product/market fit > team building > product design > project management > and community architecture/management (again, mostly via https://www.mightynetworks.com). Not a big fan of Discord or Slack, by the way. Too messy.
Isai @ RE-ORG: What individuals or teams would you be interested in meeting?
Anyone that imparts a clear impression that they’ll be a consequential and thoughtful figure in the space. Not only today, with all of the hype currently surrounding us, but also in the years and decades to come as Web3 matures and goes places that none of us can imagine. So, I’m interested in meeting people at every level of expertise– from total newbies to experienced PhDs working on serious ethics issues within the technology space. Every relationship and perspective is valuable.
The holy grail, however, would be to work with the team at SingularityNET. I feel that if that project does not succeed in setting a major precedent for the rest of us to follow, we’re in big trouble. That’s because the leadership team at SingularityNET does have a more altruistic view of blockchain applications. They’re also (obviously) very deep into AI, which we in the current Web3 community, don’t give enough attention to. The two will be deeply intertwined. Mark that.
Lastly, just to go full-on Singularity Fanboy here, if anyone reading this is not yet familiar with the work of Ben Goertzel, take some time to check him out, as well as his team at SingularityNET. Ben’s interviews, specifically on the Lex Fridman Podcast and some of his more recent YouTube videos are nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Isai @ RE-ORG: What is the change that you would like to see Web3 bring to the world?
We’re at an inflection point when it comes to societal norms and power structures. Either we grind to a halt and fall victim to the institutions that once served us (but are now holding us back, if not killing us) or we innovate, reset, and shift the power structure back to something that reduces friction in both upward mobility (without institutional permission) as well as just simple, everyday things like getting affordable healthcare or affordable insurance products that actually deliver when shit hits the fan.
As mentioned above, Web3 can facilitate a healthier society and a more equitable economy by bringing back the systems that made us successful in the first place– before extreme power and wealth consolidation. It’s tough to get away with things and be a bad actor in local economies when everyone can see what you’re up to, holistically. We can do that at scale while also being cognizant of privacy issues and getting too close to the radical idea of social credit. Basically, our system has just been allowed to go too far, for too long, with artificial financial support, and without any kind of embedded purge mechanism when it comes to policy, career politicians, and financial regulation. Web3 offers us the means for removal of intermediaries and bureaucrats and added trust, ownership, transparency, bottom-up governance, and information provenance. That, in my mind, is the real value and innovation of Web3. Yay for buzzwords!
Isai @ RE-ORG: Would you like to give a shout-out to anyone or any organization?
The folks at https://www.proofofgood.io (POG) and https://leyline.gg. They’re doing good work… pun intended. While POG is very much in the same vein as my GoodMark project (birthed before I was aware of POG), I plan to work on both projects in parallel and see where it leads, eventually leaving the weaker behind to pivot or die.
I also want to give a shoutout to Adam del Sol and Deebz over at https://groms.club for hosting a community space for a derivative NFT art project I’m working on. My first as an artist/illustrator. Currently, I’m trying to solicit collaboration from other community members on that Discord server after posting an initial draft of the character matrix, which I’m currently working through, and is the current state of the project. I would love for some new folks from RE-ORG to join the GROMs community, mint, authenticate, and help me out with that project under Community Studios > #Santa-Cruz-Groms. Warning, it is a bit niche. Also, sorry for the blatant shill.
Isai @ RE-ORG: What is your superpower — what are you best known for?
Behind the scenes, my superpower would definitely be critical thinking facilitated by an insatiable curiosity as well as diverse life and professional experience. In production, my superpower would be rapid company, product, category, and web design/dev. Maybe writing (on occasion).
Basically, I’m at about 75% proficiency in almost every aspect of Web3, including the business side. The exception there is blockchain dev, which is a huge weakness of mine at present and something I need to work on.
#WAGMI,
-Jake
Get involved here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12564095/
