The Web3.0 Chief Operating Officer
From Developer and Project Manager, to COO
Prior to becoming a Chief Operating Officer and Business Consultant in the Web3 Space, I didn’t know I had any experience applicable to fulfilling such a role. Couple that with the infancy of the Web3 Industry, and I found myself without any “how-to” guides on being a successful COO. So how does one become an expert in a field where truly no experts exist? There is no bulleted list on running a successful Web3 Business, especially in a world where the true meaning of Web3 is currently still being defined.
I started at my current company, GoldenX and it’s subsidiaries, as a Project Manager. Before that, I developed a mostly unsuccessful NFT project; this is what helped open the door to the business side of NFTs and Web3. While developing this project, I quickly realized a lot of illogical decisions were being made that wouldn’t enable us to meet our goals. “They” were trying to make decisions to instead change our goals to something seemingly more obtainable, instead of putting the work in required to fulfill the promises we had made. So I tried to steer them towards success and manage the project, but, despite being labelled a co-founder, project manager, and lead developer, I feel it was my perceived lack of overall experience in this field that ultimately caused my advice to fall on deaf ears. All while decisions were finally made that destroyed any hope of the project realizing its full potential.
So I left. I interviewed with GoldenX, first as a developer, then when I learned of their need for a Project Manger, I quickly changed direction. This is where I felt most comfortable, and where I saw the greatest potential for my skills. Even if I didn’t fully know what those skills were yet.
Before long, I not only noticed the extent of their desperate need for a Project Manager, but quickly realized that, while full of numerous incredible ideas, they lacked a much needed path to follow, a sense of direction. This is to no fault of the amazing team I work with; at the time we were comprised of an Artist, four Developers, and one Business oriented person who was mostly focused on finding and onboarding clients. Then there was me.
So I began to steer and direct the company, attempting to find a path that would allow us to realize all the dreams that they were bringing to the table. Soon, after some restructuring of the organization, that “Business oriented person” became our Chief Executive Officer, one of our lead developers became our Chief Technology Officer, and I became the Chief Operating Officer.
Nothing had technically changed, but I quickly felt that I had a far greater responsibility to ensure the success of this company as opposed to when I was just a Project Manager.
Traditional Titles in the Wild Wild West
Many people are still treating the Web3 Industry like the wild west, and when they see traditional corporate titles such as CEO, CTO, and COO, they could be a bit thrown off.
The reality of it is, the Web3 and NFT Industry are no longer the wild west. The wild west is gone, it has been tamed. We are in mainstream media, holding auctions at the world’s largest auction houses, and in many countries, we have to pay taxes on our cryptocurrency and NFT earnings. Facebook, ahem, Meta, has filed multiple trademarks¹ relating to cryptocurrency, digital wallets, and of course the metaverse; going against everything the decentralized world of Web3 stands for. And if you don’t follow through with your Roadmap for your NFT project, you could be facing criminal charges².
So it was only a matter of time where Web3 Companies would begin to use traditional corporate titles. I know we, GoldenX, are not the first, and the reason may not be what you think. It isn’t just about professional appearances to the outside world. The reason for these types of titles in any business are really (at least) three sided:
- Professionalism
- Leadership
- Empowerment
Professionalism is fairly straight forward. If for instance we meet with a large “Web2” corporation looking to expand into Web3, we now have a similar executive team structure. This will enable them to not only relate more easily with our team, but also recognize whether or not who they are meeting with has the decision making power required to move forward with any deal.
Leadership is a bit less straight forward and has the potential to be a sensitive topic in a small start-up. Early on, a start-up between friends may make everyone feel as though they are all on the same plane of authority. The sometimes nervous truth of it all is that every company, no matter the size, needs clear, defined leadership roles. We need these leaders to direct the company and make decisions, as well direct employees. If every employee is “the boss”, genuine group consensus will be hard if not impossible to achieve, and nobody has anyone holding them accountable. Except the customer or client — but sometimes we need more. So the key here is to provide that necessary leadership, while not allowing it to stifle creativity, ingenuity, and innovation.
Empowerment is where the sudden feeling of greater responsibility came rushing in once we made our executive promotion decision. As a Project Manager, I didn’t feel I had the authority to always do what was needed to excel at my job, all while pre-promotion, I was wearing multiple hats and already filling the role of COO. Earning this title gave me that empowerment, just as it gave our CTO the empowerment to move forward with his own processes and technology, enabling us to standardize our basic product offering.
While professionalism is likely the least important objective on the list, without proper leadership and empowering the employees of a company, it is more likely the company remain stagnant, or worse, fail completely. It is incredible that these simple titles, and of course successfully filling these roles, can help direct a company towards greater success.
So, what do I do exactly?
I am asked this question. A lot. From friends, family, and sometimes even clients. Hell, sometimes I ask myself this very question. The answer depends on the day, and even the time of day, but my role goes far beyond that of a traditional COO.
My day-to-day is typically back to back meetings with clients, or potential clients. Myself and the CEO spend each day meeting with people who are looking to integrate Web3 into their business, or launch an NFT project. From there, I continue the conversation with them, gather their project requirements, write up and deliver contracts, then essentially hold our clients’ hands throughout the process of developing and launching their project.
So far, it just sounds like I’m a client-facing Project Manager. To intensify this imagery, I also host daily Stand-Ups where we review the tasks we are working on, I build out and schedule all tasks in our Project Management tool, and I host biweekly Retrospective meetings to go over what did and did not go well during the past two weeks. This, by itself, is a full time job. Especially when we have clients booking us out two to three months in advance, and the tasks on our calendars don’t quite look achievable for a team of currently three Developers (including our CTO). And yes, depending on when you’re reading this, we are hiring.
So, what do I do that is beyond the work of an overwhelmed albeit incredibly happy Project Manager? What does a COO do, and what does that look like in the Web3 Space?
In short, a Chief Operating Officer’s primary responsibility is to help the CEO of a company achieve their vision. This comes in many forms, from documenting Polices and Procedures, developing a company’s culture, and generally overseeing the day-to-day functions and activities of a company. The latter being the most important part. All while the CEO is the public face of the company.
At GoldenX, it isn’t much different, our CEO attracts the vast majority of our clients and is our first-line client relationship manager. Once onboarded they are, for the most part, handed over for me to manage and together, we both maintain that relationship. So, what about all that other stuff?
When it comes to helping the CEO with their vision, a company first needs to realize what their vision is. Together, the CEO, CTO, and I continuously meet to discuss our goals as a company and come to a consensus on what we actually hope to achieve. For transparency’s sake, the CEO and CTO are the primary idea people and creatives, and while I pitch in, for the most part, my role as COO is translating their dreams into actionable items. This includes both short term and long term planning, taking into consideration:
- Short-term goals required to be able to focus on long term initiatives
- How to continue to be profitable when our long-term goals require our full-time dedication
- Implementing Policies and Procedures that will enable us to spend time focusing on our long-term goals
- Ensuring those that are working on our long-term goals actually have the time to work on them, even when these goals may be weeks or months away from generating revenue
The biggest challenge here is ensuring we all continue to get paid while also enabling ourselves to innovate, build, and define the future of Web3.0. It is a challenge that I embrace seven days a week, in a role, company, and industry that is likely evolving faster than any other industry there is.
So what does this mean for you?
If you’re looking to start a Web3 Project or Company, whether it be a standard NFT project, or a full fledged Decentralized Finance Business, don’t underestimate your need for executives early on. For an NFT project, at the very least you need a Project Manager to keep everything, and everyone, on track. That of course isn’t an executive role, so beyond that, make sure you have someone that can help you achieve your dreams and ensure you are setup for success.
