ABOUT ME
A little bit about myself…
In short - I’m a crypto-obsessed, presence-seeking, directionally challenged, die-hard Chicago sports fan.
For the longer story…
Ask 100 people working in crypto how they ended up there and you’ll get 100 responses including the words “rabbit hole”. That’s because there’s something about this industry where you don’t simply come across it, dip your toes in, and think that’s enough for now. Instead, you’re lured in from an array of curiosities whether it be economic, technological, or social and while you may hope to find a quick answer before you know it you are spiraling down into a wildly intellectually stimulating world. One that promises a decentralized future where the most important institutions are no longer controlled by the elite, ruling class but by the masses who are all operating on a level, transparent playing field. To some, this seems farfetched, but for those who see the vision, it becomes a calling to help turn this into reality.
For me, it took several years of my staunchly libertarian brother preaching the good word of Bitcoin to finally delve in. Like so many others, the second I did I was hooked. As an ambitious 20-year-old with a slightly rebellious, anti-authority side to him, the appeal was too great. I wanted to be a part of this movement. Unfortunately, at the time circa 2015, there weren’t many non-technical jobs in the nascent industry. So, I did what many reasonably well-educated, largely money-driven, somewhat lost kids do at that time and sought a career in banking.
I patiently waited for my internship signing bonus so I could buy my first bitcoin to get my crypto fix. It held me over as I contemplated my full-time career which again at the time seemed like it had to be at a big bank. Lucky for me, my entrance into the real world coincided with the great bull market of ’17. By way of materially increasing what little wealth I had accumulated, it led me to an insatiable hunger to learn more about this space. The juxtaposition of learning how this burgeoning new industry could rearchitect the global financial system to then pulling comps and editing pitch decks made the future decision a no-brainer. Get the fuck out and work in crypto by any means necessary.
For the next 18-months, I sat at my desk consuming as much content as humanly possible, sending hundreds of cold emails, applying to every job under the sun before finally sneaking out of the office to hit the closest crypto meet-up. Most importantly though, I started writing. Now as a someone with a finance and math degree I didn’t exactly fancy myself a writer, but thanks to a call-to-arms from my now CEO I decided to force myself into this awkward task if it meant somehow landing my dream job. Fast forward to a text I got from a friend when I was hammered one night about Messari hiring and a reminder I set in my phone to “dm ryan” (the next morning I spent several hours thinking I got a girl’s number named Ryan) and voila dream job landed.
Now, this whole writing thing was more than a side hobby in order to get a job. It was my job. Every day I’d come into a small 8 person WeWork in Times Square and learn about everything I found interesting in an industry I was passionate about. And then write about it. And write some more. Eventually though, I found myself wanting to write about things outside of crypto. It began with journaling random thoughts. I found the physical act of writing to be conducive to slowing down my monkey brain just enough to generate meaningful insights that otherwise would have been lost. However, keeping these thoughts to myself meant I didn’t have to push myself to really articulate the ideas. I could always just move onto the next one. So, to bring it full circle I told myself I’d start publishing for the world to see so that the discomfort of letting people into my brain forces me to drill down on the truth while honing my writing in the process.
While this is selfishly helping my own personal growth, if these ideas are any good, I hope they can help others too. So, thanks for coming to my site! If you like what you read, you can follow me on Twitter and subscribe below to receive updates on future pieces.