How to Source Web3 Talent

Morgan Stone: All right, good morning everyone and thank you for joining us today. My name is Morgan Stone and I have the privilege of leading two companies in the Web3 space. One being Roo Labs and the other being Seekr. Now Roo Labs is at the forefront of NFTs and blockchain tools with our successful NFT project called Roo Troop, while Seekr is revolutionizing Web3 recruitment through our unique proof of experience approach.

The synergy between these two companies gives me a bird's eye view of what really goes on in Web3 recruitment from both the employer and the employee perspectives. So today we're going to tap into that insight. And you're probably wondering what we're going to go through in the session. So we will dissect the layers of complexity in Web3 talent acquisition, compare it with traditional Web2 hiring practices, And understand how decentralization ethos permeates to the very core of hiring in this domain.

So whether you're an aspiring Web3 professional or a business owner looking to build a formidable Web3 team, there's something in this presentation for you guaranteed. As we go through the slides, consider how these insights could benefit you in your Web3 journey. And also, I will just call out Probably understanding that I am not Kiwi.

I live here in Auckland but from the States, moved out here about a year ago and no plans to go back. I'm loving New Zealand so far so that's why I'm in with Web3NZ, and yeah, looking forward to this presentation today with all of you. Let's start by taking a quick look at the agenda for today.

So today's agenda is designed to take us through a journey of understanding and strategizing web3 talent acquisition by sharing practical advice and real world examples that you'd actually see out there. So we'll start with an essential understanding of what web3 is all about. This will be particularly helpful for those new to the domain.

Next we'll compare and contrast web2 and web3 to see how the decentralization ethos in Web3 affects recruitment strategies and what you need to look out for. The roles in Web3 section will give us a deeper dive into the types of roles you can expect to see in a typical Web3 project, as well as those that are in high demand versus those that are a little bit more challenging to fill.

Understanding distributed teams is key in this age of remote work, especially in the Web3 space. So we will delve into some of the cultural and logistical challenges that comes with that and how to manage them. After that, we'll share some proven strategies for sourcing Web3 talent, including innovative methods that leverage blockchain tech itself.

For the aspiring Web3 professionals in the room, if you are looking to kickstart your Web3 career, we've got a section for you called Career Advice for Web3 Aspirants that will equip you with actionable steps to gain a foothold in this new emerging sector. We'll also be taking a look at a real world case study of how Seekr's proof of experience approach is helping both employers and job Seekrs with some notable metrics and success stories.

Finally, we'll wrap up with emerging trends, look into the near future of Web3 hiring, followed by a summary, key takeaways, and an interactive Q& A session. So, as we go through this, I would encourage you to jot down any questions or thoughts you have, so that we can have a rich discussion in that last segment.

Morgan Stone: So let's begin by demystifying what Web3 actually is. For many, Web3 represents the third era of the internet. The first era, or we can call it Web1, was about static information, static websites, where you could read and maybe download content, but not much else. Then came Web 2, the interactive era, with social media, e commerce, and the gig economy.

Now we're entering what we call Web 3, which promises a more decentralized, transparent, and user empowering experience. It's not just an upgrade, it's a paradigm shift, and at its core, Web 3 enables peer to peer interactions without the need for central authorities or single points of failure.

So let's break down some key attributes before we jump in fully. Decentralization first and foremost. Unlike Web2 where data is stored in centralized servers, Web3 relies on blockchain tech to distribute data across a network. A job related example that comes with this is that in a Web3 company you might find roles like decentralized finance analysts who study decentralized networks rather than traditional financial markets.

Transparency. All about transparency in Web3. Transactions and data are openly verifiable, bringing a new level of trust to the digital world. And in Web3, there's often a need for what we call blockchain auditors, who specialize in verifying the transparency and security of transactions on the chain.

Another term that you're going to hear thrown around is tokenomics, which refers to economic models built on tokens that offer a new way to incentivize and reward user participation in ecosystems. So roles such as tokenomics designer are becoming increasingly popular. These workers are developing economic models to incentivize network participation and maintain stability.

Another term I want to throw out is smart contracts. which are essentially self executing contracts or code that enable complex transactions and agreements to be carried out without intermediaries automatically. And so, one of the most in demand jobs today in Web3 is a smart contract developer, or a solidity developer is the coding language that they work in.

They write in code that automatically executes agreements when predefined conditions are met. And so, understanding all of these attributes is crucial for anyone who wants to operate in the Web3 ecosystem, be it hiring, job seeking, or just project development. So, now that we've laid the groundwork for what Web3 is, let's dive into how this affects the hiring landscape.

Morgan Stone: And so, while Web3 offers numerous possibilities for a more democratic and a more transparent hiring process, it also brings its own set of unique challenges and opportunities. One of the standout features of blockchain is its ability to preserve anonymity. So this presents a dual dynamic. It's an advantage when it helps negate biases in initial screenings.

However, this anonymity can be problematic when candidates overstate qualifications. The trust factor here becomes critical and informal more conversational interviews often emerge as a key strategy for gauging the authenticity behind the anonymity. These laid back interviews allow the candidate and the employer to delve deeper into the skill sets and the mindsets that might not be visible through blockchain credentials alone.

The Web3 world demands specialized skills like blockchain development and smart contract expertise. Here, supply lags behind demand heavily, leaving many organizations scrambling to find the right talent. It's a talent gap that's driving innovation and how we evaluate skill levels often through practical tests or project based assessments rather than traditional resumes. And as exciting as this freedom and fluidity of Web3 are, they also contribute to a lack of standardized norms in hiring.

So, things like, do you pay in tokens or do you pay in traditional currency? What does the ideal betting process look like? As these questions loom large, the Web3 hiring sphere finds itself in a formative stage, still exploring best practices for everything from interviews to compensation. To add to the lack of standardization, many Web3 companies are adopting a less formal, more conversational approach to interviews.

These aren't just friendlier, they're more effective at digging into what makes a candidate tick, providing valuable insight that a traditional, rigid interview might miss. And so with all of this, trust plays an enormous role in this decentralized setup, especially given the anonymous nature of many interactions.

Those informal interviews we talked about can act as a mechanism to build this trust, to kind of humanize the blockchain, so to speak, letting employers and potential employees gauge mutual compatibility beyond what a resume can really capture. And so navigating the Web3 hiring landscape requires a different set of tools and mindset. Recognizing and understanding these complexities is your first move. Next, we'll get into discussing the types of roles that are cropping up to accommodate these unique challenges and these unique opportunities.

Morgan Stone: So, one of the first things that we come across when we're talking to new candidates at Seekr that have traditional Web 2 experience, but not much Web 3 experience, is the fact that they just don't know where they fit in, right?

And a lot of that comes from the fact that there's new roles, there's new titles and new job descriptions. And so we're going to dive into what some of these roles are. Web3 is brand new. You know, it's a new landscape, it's got new opportunities, but it's also got some challenges. And in this new landscape, new roles are emerging.

Like I said, Some are in high demand and others are particularly hard to fill. So, let's dive into each side, starting with the high demand roles. First being a Solidity Developer, Blockchain Developer, Smart Contract Developer. These are the engineers that build the foundational layers of any Web3 project.

Due to the nascent nature of blockchain technology, their skill sets are scarce, but highly sought after. Similarly, smart contract auditors are experts that scrutinize smart contracts for vulnerabilities. You can think of them as blockchain security experts. As more value is transacted on chain, the importance of these roles can't be overstated.

The next two might shock you a little bit. And you might wonder why a role as traditional as a social media manager would be high demand in Web3, but it's the number three most common role that we help fill at Seekr. And the twist here is that the requirement for an in depth understanding of blockchain, crypto, and ethos of decentralization to communicate effectively with the community is critical.

And this is very specialized knowledge, specialized skills that traditional social media managers might not have. The last is a community manager, which is crucial for fostering a sense of belonging among a decentralized network. Making sure the voices are heard and community's concerns are addressed is of utmost importance, as you'll find, because there's kind of more of a linear hierarchy of demand, as, or, or command, rather than from top down. It's kind of across the board. Community decisions are made. Community manager acts as that bridge between the core team and the community.

On the other side, you've got some really hard to fill roles like a tokenomics designer, which isn't just someone who understands economics or game theory, but they also need to understand a unique blend of subjects along with blockchain knowledge to create innovative incentive mechanisms that propel a decentralized project forward.

The next is a governance architect, and this role goes beyond just technical or legal expertise, it involves weaving these elements seamlessly into a governance model that works for a decentralized and often a global community. The last two, again, might shock you a little bit, but again, specialized talent, specialized skills.

Crypto accountants, with new tax regulations and the complexity of blockchain transactions, crypto accountants who can navigate this space are in really short supply, and speaking from my own experience, if you are transacting on chain, if you are running a Web3 business, I highly recommend getting in touch with a crypto accountant as early as possible in the tax season, so you have plenty of time to sort through and figure out all the ambiguities that are definitely there, but these crypto accountants, high demand, very hard to fill right now.

Blockchain legal experts you know, similar to the crypto accountants, as regulatory scrutiny around blockchain projects increase, the demand for legal experts specialized in this new tech is also rising. And so here's where things get really interesting and a bit complicated. The anonymous nature of Web3 creates specific challenges for these roles, especially the high stakes ones like governance architects.

The anonymous environment complicates the vetting process, making it difficult to ascertain the credibility and expertise of candidates. Likewise, the absence of industry norms makes the hiring process informal and often reliant on community vetting. While this approach has its merits, it's not foolproof and often leaves gaps in the candidate verification process.

And finally, to talk about trust again. Web3's blockchain backbone offers a paradox. It provides unprecedented transparency, but also ambiguity. This duality makes it incredibly important to ensure that the person you're hiring is not just qualified, but is also honest about their credentials. It's a trust issue that resonates deeply in the Web3 community given the irreversible and transparent nature of blockchain transactions.

And so these unique roles and complexities associated with them set the stage for our next topic, which is how to manage distributed teams in Web3 where these challenges can amplify further.

Morgan Stone: So, Web3's decentralized approach isn't just confined to its tech. It shapes the very essence of its teams as well. Often remote and globally distributed, these teams present a fascinating mix of opportunities and challenges that diverge from traditional organizational norms. On the advantages side, one of the most exhilarating aspects of Web3 is its borderless nature.

You're not confined to local talent, you have the entire world as your recruiting ground, which exponentially increases the skills and expertise available to you, and this global recruiting ground is something that's typically reserved for later stage companies, Series B, Series C companies, but now you're seeing startups with employees around the world.

And so the global distributed setup naturally fosters a diverse work environment as well. Different perspectives can enhance problem solving and innovation, making diversity not just a social imperative, but also a business advantage. And the remote nature of Web3 work allows team members to choose their own work environments, leading to improved work life balance and consequently increased productivity and satisfaction that come along with this flexibility.

On the other side of the coin, you've got some challenges to navigate as well, the first being time zone coordination. When your team members could be anywhere from San Francisco to Singapore, coordinating in real time becomes a logistical hurdle. The next is cultural barriers. And so diversity is a double edged sword.

While it brings in various viewpoints, it can also lead to cultural misunderstandings that need to be managed carefully. The last thing to touch on for this slide is trust and accountability, and with distributed teams, traditional oversight methods may be less effective, making trust and accountability all the more critical.

And so here's some tangible insights and examples to kind of shed light on these points further. Let's say you have let's say a governance architect located in New Zealand working closely with a U. S. based developer implementing Async comms tools like Slack threads or specialized project management software ensures that important updates are not lost in the time zone shuffle.

Or you could consider a social media manager in Europe coordinating tasks with someone in Australia. Scheduling regular virtual stand up meetings helps to maintain alignment on tasks and objectives, ensuring that everyone is on the same page despite these geographical and time differences. In summary, Web3's distributed teams come with their own unique set of advantages and challenges, each requiring tailored management strategies, things to watch out for if you're running a team.

By implementing thoughtful approaches like async comms and regular virtual check ins, the challenges can not only be mitigated, but turned into more opportunities for improved team collaboration and efficiency.

Morgan Stone: And so next I want to dive into some cultural aspects of managing these Web3 teams, managing these distributed Web3 teams, and in many ways the culture of Web3 teams serves as a mirror reflecting core tenets of blockchain tech, decentralization, anonymity, and a strong emphasis on community as well.

Understanding these cultural nuances is imperative, especially when you aim to merge traditional HR practices with the unique challenges and ops of Web 3. So some of the cultural cornerstones we could call them of Web 3 include decentralized decision making. This is what I was hinting at earlier, being that, unlike traditional corporate hierarchies, decision making authority is often more evenly distributed across team members and sometimes even the community.

This diffusion of power can facilitate quicker decision making, enabling the project to adapt and evolve at a rapid pace, which is really necessary in Web3, which moves at an unprecedented pace. The next is anonymity and privacy. One of the most intriguing aspects of Web3 culture is the prevalence of pseudonyms.

While anonymity empowers individuals by removing societal biases, it also poses a unique set of challenges in ensuring accountability and trust. And the last point on the cornerstone side is community driven, this idea of building with the community and for the community. In Web3 projects, the community isn't just an audience, and they're not just customers.

The community is often an active participant, we could call them, or even an extended team. They can influence project direction, feature development, and even governance in ways that are generally not possible in traditional corporate structures. And so, on the other side of the coin, we've got traditional work culture benchmarks.

The first being hierarchical structure. Here, the chain of command is clear. Decision making power is often centralized, and directions flow from the top down. CEO gives direction to the manager, manager gives direction to the employee, things just flow top down. The next is transparency and accountability.

In traditional work environments, employee identities are not hidden, which fosters a different, more straightforward kind of accountability. You know who you're speaking to, you see their face, you know their name. You might even know things about their family, where they're from, et cetera. And the last is employee centric.

Traditional companies are often built around internal team dynamics. While external community engagement may exist, it's rarely essential to the mission as it is in web three projects. And so, we can apply these cultural insights to some practical scenarios. Again, let's take the role of social media manager, for instance.

In a traditional setup, the job might have defined KPIs, report to a department head, and follow structured corporate narrative. However, in a Web3 project, the same role could be part of a DAO, or a Decentralized Autonomous Organization, where decisions are made collectively, and performance metrics are often dictated by communities engagement and sentiment, and then further on, voting.

So, the takeaway from this is that the management strategies you've been using effectively in traditional spaces may require rethinking, and in some cases, a complete overhaul to be applicable in the Web3 environment. Whether you're figuring out how to conduct performance reviews for anonymous team members or crafting a strategy to involve a community in your decision making process, understanding these cultural nuances is really key.

And so, as we transition into the next segment we're going to dive into some strategies for sourcing Web3 talent.

Morgan Stone: So we're now in an era where recruiting talent isn't just about sifting through resumes, and it isn't just about conducting interviews. In Web3, the game has changed pretty drastically.

And so here we're going to explore some key strategize, key strategies that are revolutionizing the landscape of talent sourcing, hiring, and recruiting. The first is something we're really familiar with at Seekr, and we'll dive a little bit deeper into that later, which is blockchain based credentials.

So in traditional Web 2 environments, validating credentials often involves back and forth with educational institutions or previous employers or those references that candidates include at the bottom of their resumes. And in Web 3, blockchain based credentials eliminate this hassle, offering unparalleled transparency and security for vetting candidates.

At Seekr, we're leveraging this technology through the use of soulbound tokens, which are essentially NFTs that cannot be transferred out of a wallet once they are accepted into that wallet. We do this to eliminate a lot of the need for trust and to make the hiring process more thorough and efficient.

Blockchain credentials are not just a niche with us though, they're rapidly becoming the industry standard.

The next is network leverage. And what I mean by that is your professional network is more than just a social asset in Web3. It's now a strategic resource for talent acquisition. The rise of affiliate programs means that your connections can directly contribute to hiring, bolstering placements across the board, as everyone wins.

And time is money, so advanced search algorithms specialized job boards these can help you zero in on the most fitting candidates, reducing the hiring time significantly. It's like having a personal scout that knows exactly what you're looking for if it's in this niche industry, this emerging tech world.

The fourth is direct outreach. And, you know, that... probably sounds very normal because sometimes the conventional channels aren't enough. You just got to get into the trenches and out, reach out to candidates on your own. So direct outreach allows you to connect personally with potential candidates. And this targeted approach has proven a significantly increased response rates compared to traditional methods.

And we believe that comes from the fact that in web three, there's this idea of As a community member, as a candidate, as an applicant, having access into the core team that you wouldn't typically have in the traditional world. There's kind of this window that the core team leaves open and so direct outreach from the team and you being the team can have a really big impact on the candidate that you're trying to recruit.

The last is something we discussed earlier, which is global teams and remote hiring. So Web3's inherently global nature translates to a broader spectrum of hiring opportunities and challenges. Platforms that cater to the nuances of managing remote teams, like Seekr will, can save employers a lot of time in team management.

And so the Web3 talent landscape is as diverse as it is dynamic, from blockchain credentials to affiliate networks and targeted outreach. A multi pronged strategy is typically essential for sourcing and retaining top tier talent. Let's jump over to some advice for the job hunters on the other side.

Morgan Stone: So, as we step into this new landscape of Web3, the question that resonates for many aspiring professionals is, where do I even start? So let's break this down into three crucial components. First being areas of focus, the second being skill types, and the third being resources for skill building.

Web3 isn't just about coding or smart contracts. That is one of the biggest myths about getting hired in the space is that you have to be technical. You have to be a developer. You have to be an engineer. You really do have a broad canvas to paint your career on here. So if you're technically inclined, blockchain development, solidity development might be your calling.

But if you're interested in the crossroads of art and tech, perhaps NFT marketing is where you'd excel. Each domain comes with its own set of rewards and hurdles. For instance, while blockchain devs might enjoy high demand and really high salary, they may also have to keep up with fast evolving tech in a more stressful work environment.

Into soft skills versus hard skills. This is something we discuss with talent at Seekr all the time is that they might think that Web3 is all about tech prowess, but our experience suggests otherwise. And otherwise points to a blend of around 60 percent soft skills to 40 percent hard skills. That tends to be the winning formula.

Things like communication, adaptability, and a knack for collaborative problem solving are skills that will actually distinguish you in any professional landscape, including Web 3, where things move quick. And tech is new. Information is flowing day by day. You need to be adaptable, you need to be able to communicate, and you need to be collaborative with your maybe small, maybe lean team.

Some resources that you can dive into if you're looking to jump into Web3 careers. The good news is that you don't have to enroll in a four year degree to become proficient. Plenty of online resources can set you on the right track. From Discord communities like Surgence. I would definitely recommend reaching out to them.

It's S U R G E N C E dot I O. Fantastic Web3 community that's all about... fostering relationships with builders, helping people learn new skills, and even get placed in their first Web3 job. You can also find dedicated Web3 forums on Reddit. Reddit is a very underrated tool for skill building in this space.

And so, while learning in a group has its merits, individualized attention through mentorship can also fast track your growth. There are so many advisors in the space offering their knowledge and time. Definitely take them up on it, but watch out for the scammy ones. There's a lot of scammy garbage out there, just like there is in any industry.

But a lot of really smart people who are willing and able to offer you a lot of expertise that can kind of offer you personalized insight that you will struggle to get elsewhere. And believe it or not, hackathons are not just playgrounds for coders. Whether you're interested in business development, UI, UX design, or even ethical considerations in blockchain, participating in a hackathon can offer really valuable real world experience as well as foster a lot of relationships.

And so as we pivot to our next section, which is about finding your fit in Web3 jobs, consider this. The opportunities in Web3 are as limitless as they are diverse. The key is identifying your unique strengths and aligning them with the specific challenges and needs of the Web3 ecosystem. So, let's dive into how you can find your ideal role in this new frontier.

Morgan Stone: If you're new to the Web3 job market, It may feel like you've landed on a different planet at times, with job titles like Director of Vibes, or Blockchain Auditor, and roles that sound like they're straight out of a science fiction novel. But, what if I told you that these seemingly unfamiliar positions often parallel roles you're already familiar with in the Web2 world?

For instance, let's take a front desk attendant in a Web2 company. Skills like customer service, organization, and multitasking can effortlessly translate into a role as a Discord moderator for a blockchain project. And Discord is one of the main channels of communication that Web3 projects use just because of the transparency, the collaborative features that are involved, and so that opens up a whole new range of roles and jobs that you can essentially fill.

And on the other side, let's say for those who've been in project management positions in the web2 space you've been managing timelines, teams, and deliverables these are skills that directly apply to becoming something like a DAO facilitator. The difference is that you'll be managing decentralized teams and community proposals, embracing a new but similar form of management.

Or, if you've been a data analyst, your skills can be leveraged in the Web3 world as an on chain analyst. You'll still analyze data, but this time it's on chain data related to blockchain networks. And for those in PR and marketing, your expertise in community engagement and brand loyalty can lead you to a role as a community manager in Web3, where the community isn't just an audience, but also stakeholders in the project.

And, you know, community manager... in the top five roles that we see come through Seekr. Also a very lucrative role, paying a very, very decent amount. We're helping a client, a VC backed client right now, fill a community manager position for 65k USD a year and a community lead position, which is going to be paid out anywhere from 90 to 120k per year.

So these aren't just You know, basic kind of part time roles that aren't going to pay you much. They can actually be life changing opportunities. And a lot of the time, what you've been doing in Web 2 directly translates to prep you to be able to do this and excel at it in Web 3. And so the secret sauce here and this is, this is something that we, we, we tell people all the time.

is that it's all about translating your existing skills into what you're seeing take place in Web 3. So, if, you know, look at what you're doing in your day to day, look at what you're doing in your Web 2 job, look at what you're doing in your hobbies, or what you have done in the past, and break that down into saying, okay, Here are the different skills that make me fantastic at these hobbies, or that make me great at this job, that make me a quota crusher in this biz dev role.

And now, look at some positions in Web3, find some people who are posting about stuff that you find interesting, they're doing stuff with companies that you're intrigued by. And break down what they're doing to be great at the role that they are in, right? Same exact process. And what you're going to find is there's a huge overlap of the skills you already have and the skills that the person in the role that you're trying to get to has as well.

And so as we venture into the next topic squeaky wheel gets the grease is what we're calling it. Remember that making your way in Web3 isn't just about translating skills, it's also about making yourself heard. The Web3 ecosystem values active participation and initiative. So let's explore how taking the proactive approach can actually set you apart in this competitive yet exciting space.

Morgan Stone: So now you've broken down your skills, you've broken down skills of different roles in the space that you hope to fill. You found your place. Now what do you do? You roll up your sleeves and you dive in because in the Web3 space, action speaks louder than words. Things move really quick. There's a lot of people jumping in every day.

There's a lot of people teaming with excitement and and being vocal about opportunities that they want to get into. So let's start with kind of an age old saying that really rings true here, and it's something we tell people all the time at Seekr, which is that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Active participation is your golden ticket. Join community forums, hop on Discord servers, engage in meaningful discussions related to your chosen domain, even if they're on something like LinkedIn. Don't just be a lurker, be a contributor. Your insightful comments can actually fast track you from an outsider to an insider.

So utilize platforms that allow you to demonstrate your expertise. You could commit code to an open source project, or pen a thoughtful medium article, or start a Twitter thread about the latest trends and challenges. I've seen so many people get hired. just because they have consistently posted fantastic Twitter threads about a project, about the space, about a company, about a certain builder, etc.

It's all about building up a portfolio that isn't just a CV, but a collection of valuable contributions to the ecosystem that can be identified and pulled. And don't forget the golden rule here, which is that you should always provide value before asking for value. Make yourself indispensable to the community by offering solutions to existing problems or bringing innovative ideas to the table.

By doing this you're not just a name on a screen anymore, you're someone that the team actually wants working with them when it's time for hiring. Or you might actually initiate a role being opened up just for you. I've seen this happen countless times. This active involvement positions you not as a stranger knocking on the door, but as a recognizable figure in the community who's already a part of the household.

You shift from being just another username to becoming an invaluable community asset, and when you finally decide to seek opportunities, you're someone who's already recognized for the contributions. So as we pivot to discussing Seekr in our next section, I'll keep it brief. Think about this. While individual proactivity is key, how great would it be if there was a dedicated platform to streamline this process?

A place that nurtures your proactive energy by connecting you with the right opportunities and community. That's exactly what Seekr aims to provide and we'll dive into that a little bit in the following slide.

Morgan Stone: So with new Web3 challenges, new Web3 opportunities that we've spoke on comes also new Web3 tech to support the ecosystem. Platforms like Seekr are redefining the Web3 recruitment landscape, where cutting edge technologies have been adopted to combat age old inefficiencies on both sides of the hiring equation, whether you are an employer or a job seeker.

We've all heard the Catch 22 you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job. Seekr is revolutionizing this conundrum with our Proof of Experience feature. We utilize Soulbound Tokens which I explained earlier, basically NFTs that hold information and cannot be edited cannot be sent out to a different wallet. They are undeniably and verifiably yours.

So utilizing these SBTs on chain we create an immutable record of your skills and your experiences, significantly enhancing trust between employers and candidates. Traditional recruitment often feels like a one way street. With Seekr's Opportunity Connector and affiliate programs, not so much.

By monetizing community engagement, we're turning recruitment into a win win situation where both recruiters and referrals gain tangible benefits. In a world where borders are becoming less relevant, Seekr transcends geography. We've facilitated successful job placements on a global scale, embodying the borderless essence of Web3.

And in the digital age, identity is truly currency, and so through those SBTs we discussed, we ensure that your credentials are your own, virtually eliminating the risk of fraudulent use and enhancing platform integrity. And lastly, let's face it, Blockchain can be intimidating and kind of overpowering.

That's why Seekr prioritizes a user centric design. We strip away the complexities of blockchain, allowing you to focus solely on finding the right opportunity or candidate. You need a crypto wallet on the platform. There are crypto transactions happening on the platform. Soulbound tokens are being minted and transferred over to different profiles, but at its core the blockchain transactions are happening behind the scenes where you can sign into the platform using email, Google, Twitter, discord, and we create a wallet and connect it to your account in the backend.

Things like minting and sending out Soul Bound tokens is actually an automatic process that happens when you signify you've hired a candidate from Seekr. This token gets automatically created and sent out to that user. Things like paying out employees, even if there are, even if you are paying out in crypto, you can pay with a credit card and we'll handle the crypto transactions in the backend for you.

So, now that you've seen a little bit about how Seekr is altering the Web3 recruitment paradigm what broader trends can we anticipate in Web3 hiring? And I think you'll be surprised to see how some of these features are becoming new norms, not just on Seekr, but across the industry. So that's what we'll explore next as we delve into the emerging trends shaping the Web3 hiring landscape.

But before we jump in, I will just give a quick plug because David told me I could give a quick plug. If you are looking to fill vacancies on your team with qualified Web3 native talent, please feel free to email me at stone@seekr.io. It is on the screen there. If it's blurry for you, Seekr is S E E K R dot IO.

We've facilitated over 300 placements in the web three space from clients ranging from fresh startups to globally recognized brands. I just got the green light to name drop them so I will. Most recently we placed five members on FC Barcelona's Web3 team. And so on the other side of the coin, if you're looking for Web3 work if you're looking for new opportunities, please hit that same email and I'll get back to you with next steps for joining our talent pool.

Morgan Stone: So let's shift our focus to some of the emerging trends that are redefining the Web3 hiring landscape. We briefly touched on a couple of these, but we will expand further. The phrase decentralized isn't merely a technical feature of blockchain. It's a philosophy that permeates Web3 organizations. Teams are increasingly distributed across locations, time zones, and even continents.

Personally speaking, we've got people, myself in New Zealand, we've got people in the UK, the US, Canada. Someone in Nigeria, Indonesia, literally everywhere in the world. And so this decentralization offers both companies and employees greater flexibility and taps into a more diversified skill set.

Flowing naturally from the concept of decentralization is the opening up of a global talent pool. In a Web3 environment, your next star employee could very well be located halfway across the world. Gone are the days when your geography limited your options. This global reach has tremendous implications for both employers and job seekers, transforming the way we think about the job market.

And blockchain is finally breaking out of its financial pigeonhole. At Seekr, we've leveraged it for our proof of experience, which not only validates skills, but also raises the trust quotient between employers and candidates. In the web3 world, diversity, equity, and inclusion aren't just buzzwords, they're necessities.

And DEI doesn't just enrich your team, it could very well be your competitive edge. The next big trend is about companies choosing to build in public. And a company to call out that does this really fantastic is Pudgy Penguins. They've got a very prominent NFT project but they're harnessing their IP in a way that is allowing them to produce toys, collectibles, etc out to the masses, right?

And something that they have done really well is started this whole build in public series where their executive team posts, I believe it's a weekly or biweekly video showing some behind the scenes footage of, you know, just really raw things happening in the office, which has established the sense of trust and community amongst, you know, everybody on the team in the community, broader space who's not even involved yet.

And so this involves more transparency with brands frequently updating their community about ongoing projects and future plans. It's not just about open source software and in the blockchain space, it's also about open source branding. And so as we discuss building in public, we also see a rise in community and social media management roles.

These roles are skyrocketing in demand as companies aim to be more transparent and interactive with their communities. To round off our list here, we can't overlook the speed at which hiring processes are evolving in this space as well. The Web3 world moves really fast, and so does its talent acquisition.

Employers and job seekers alike need to be agile and responsive to adapt to this rapid pace. I can't tell you how many times I've had a client say, Okay, hey, we've got this opportunity, we need candidates in 24 hours, and the role's off the table in a week, they need to be working then. And I've reached out to a dozen candidates, and you know, some get back to me ASAP, jump in interviews, some get hired, and then someone will respond three days later, and I'm like, well, you know, the opportunity's missed by now.

So really, really want to drive home, be agile, be responsive and, and, and, you know, pay attention to detail. If, if, if someone's reaching out to you with an opportunity that is time sensitive, take that seriously. So to sum up the future of Web3 hiring is increasingly decentralized, globally connected, deeply committed to transparency, community engagement, and remarkable for its speed.

And so speaking of summing it up let's get into our next slide where we will pull together all these insights into a concise summary.

Morgan Stone: So we have unpacked a lot today and we'll unpack it further as a, as a conclusion to this session. So, firstly, we dove into the fundamentals of Web3, a decentralized world that takes power away from single entities and places it back in the hands of the community, a world that's not just an evolution, but a revolution in how we interact online.

And as we transitioned from the very concept of Web3, we ventured into the nuanced hiring landscape. We acknowledge that Web3 is not just Web2 with a new coat of paint. But the challenges are unique, and so are the opportunities, and that differentiation is key to understanding how to approach sourcing talent and finding work.

And speaking of talent, we didn't just skim the surface, we went in depth into roles, both in high demand and those that are harder to fill. Whether you're a business owner or someone who's looking for Web3 work opportunities, this roadmap of roles should serve as your compass in the maze of Web3 talent.

From roles, we shifted our focus and attention to cultural aspects that form the bedrock of effective remote work. Managing a decentralized team isn't just about logistics. It's about fostering a culture that values trust, flexibility, and open communication. We then shifted gears to look at practical strategies for sourcing talent, where we saw how Seekr is a paradigm shift in this context.

Platforms like these are not an alternative, but rather a necessity in today's rapidly evolving Web3 landscape. And for those eager to step into Web3, we talked about career development. The advice shared today is more than just tips. Consider it a survival guide, a survival kit, as you navigate this complex space.

And I really do want to drill home, you know, there's nothing in it from us, for us Surgence is a fantastic community to start in, or go join a DAO. They're typically free most of the time and just ask questions, be vocal. People are really, really willing to help. So. We wrapped up most recently by addressing emerging trends, including the fast paced nature of Web3 that has not only captivated our attention, but is also reshaping traditional hiring timelines and roles.

So, definitely dove into a lot of stuff today. I want to thank everyone for joining this session. I hope the insights shared have been as enriching for you as they have been for me as a cool experience to write all this stuff out and get it all on paper after being in the trenches with it for the last few years.

You know, the landscape of Web3 is exciting and challenging in equal measure and I hope that you leave here today better equipped to navigate it. So as we wrap up the summary I just want to turn the mic over to you guys the audience and yeah, we can jump into a Q& A if there's anything from the crowd.

David Ding: Cheers for that Morgan. That was awesome. I think I've got a question that's top of mind currently, and that is the process of verifying your experience. Could you just walk us through how that works?

Morgan Stone: Yep. So today at Seekr it is a very manual process, right? So we jump into a call with the organization's hiring team, their HR manager, head of talent, whatever they call it at their organization.

And we have them prep a list of their current staff. Their roles, their titles, the job descriptions they were hired for, when they were hired, if they're still there, if their employment ended. And then we jump into PolygonScan because Seekr is built on the Polygon chain. And we manually enter all this information into a smart contract that we have developed and also patented in the U. S. that allows us to distribute a soulbound token out to the employee that is, that should be the recipient of that token. They hold that title, they hold that job, etc.

And this token is immutable... ish and when I say ish, I mean we give the employer an opportunity to come back, and say.... Okay, this person actually completed this job, they got promoted at this time, and we can add that on to the soulbound token credential but we can't take anything off of it.

And once it is sent out to the employee, they can't send it anywhere, so it is undeniably theirs. And, you know, you're thinking this is all clunky, like nobody really cares about a token yada yada. On Seekr's front end, it shows us verified work experience, and none of this is live for the public yet, this is still in beta. But how it will work is basically you can think of your Seekr profile as an enhanced LinkedIn profile, so to speak, right?

You will be able to enter your own work experience, but then there will be a signal that shows where there is verified work experience, meaning it came directly from their employer. So there is no doubt in your mind. No need to chase up references. No need to call back past employers. And in the future when we open it up for public use, this whole process of creating and sending them out will actually be automatic.

So, how it'll work is an employer comes to us with an opportunity, we create that opportunity on Seekr, it acts as like a job listing, a job advertisement, and then we send over candidates to the employer on the platform for them to select to interview, maybe they reject them, maybe they move them to the next stage.

And at the end of it, when they're ready to hire someone, They just click, Hey, we've hired this person. Do you confirm? Yes. And once they do that, the soul bound token is created in the background and it already knows what information to plug in where, because we created the job opportunity, so it houses no personal information. We do want to cater to the anonymous nature of Web three and really promote a skill-based hiring ecosystem.

So when we create that opportunity, it's got things like the role title, the company name, maybe the project name, if it's a project underneath a parent company and then it's got that initial job description. So when they click, they've hired David you know, Seekr already has all that information, creates a token, sends it out to David's wallet.

Now it shows on David's profile as verified work experience.

David Ding: Wow, that's... Gee, the potential for that is quite huge when you think about it. So, to your mind, it's kind of like LinkedIn on steroids.

Morgan Stone: Exactly. And so, you know, the idea for that, I'll just throw some pretty shocking stats at you, so you understand, kind of the weight of this, over 55 percent of applicants admit to lying on their resumes in some capacity, and the top things they lie about are their years of experience, their length of past employment.

Just their downright skills and capabilities and these things are really hard to verify, especially when you consider that the number, number of Google searches for how to fake a job reference and how to fake employment is up 60% year over year. And the number of employers that have admitted to making a bad hire due to an insufficient or a kind of a janky background check is staggering.

So the cost of employee turnover is really, really expensive. We hope to reduce some of that fraud that takes place in the hiring process, but also, you know, it's not just for the employer's benefit. It's also for the employee's benefit, especially if you're a freelancer, right? It can be really hard to chase up quality references.

And so you want to have a very efficient and transparent way to show off your credentials and your experience to future clients, future employers, in a way that doesn't leave them questioning your legitimacy. And so by having verifiable credentials, you drastically reduce the amount of time that a potential client or potential employer needs to vet you and you reduce the amount of trust they need to extend out to you.

You also enhance your ability to pick up work as an anonymous individual operating in this space.

David Ding: That's so cool. You know, I think yeah, I think a lot of us can see the potential for this, but the question I've got is because we work with a lot of founders who are really struggling to fill key roles. You know, some of them you've identified.

What would be the ideal way for a founder to work with you to help solve that problem?

Morgan Stone: Yeah, absolutely. Right now, as I said, we're doing things very manually, very lean. It's just me and my co founder today. So I'd say reach out to me via email. If you've got any founders, anybody in your network that's looking to fill a position on their team connect me via email and we can get started right away.

You know, if you're familiar with recruitment and how recruitment models typically work recruiters typically take between a 15 to 30 percent placement fee meaning, you know, if you're coming to me with a 100k a year solidity dev position, we place that person on your team, you're now paying me between 15 and 30k.

That's one of the inefficiencies that we're trying to solve with Seekr being that we view it as predatory for startups and, and people who are operating with limited to no funding. You know, a lot of people are bootstrapping their business. So we come in and drastically undercut every competitor at 7.5 percent placement fee. There's no upfront costs, no risks associated, comes with a full guarantee for the hire as well. If they don't pan out in a certain amount of time, yada, yada, we'll replace them for you.

But I would say connect us via email stone at Seekr. io, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn, just Morgan Stone, also on Twitter Morgan Stone with three E's you'll see our Seekr community there, we've got a Seekr discord which I can send over to you.

But yeah, right now, you know, from engagement to sending out a shortlist to our clients, you know, we're, we're averaging around 36 hours. So once we get a service agreement signed and sealed we've got a very deep talent pool of Web3 native talent who are actively looking for new opportunities. And I will just call out we do specialize in remote opportunities, but we do tend to have a lot of talent on this side of the world as well.

David Ding: Okay. Very cool. So one question I had when I was listening is I realized the platform is Web3, is powered by blockchain, but do you envisage a scenario where Web2 roles are also being advertised on this?

Morgan Stone: Oh, 1000%. You know, it, It would be silly of us to think the biggest opportunity lied within Web3.

We are leveraging Web3 tech. Just to provide some context for the association between the two companies, RooTroop, our NFT project, served as a few things. One being the initial funding round for us to develop Seekr. Two, the initial proof of concept. We were doing this kind of recruitment just for free in this space through Rootroop for several months before starting Seekr.

And three, the initial community building so that we position ourselves to be in a place to launch Seekr from a place that wasn't ground zero, and we've already got a community supporting and backing it. And so that's why we took that path. But the undeniable largest opportunity lies outside of Web3, right?

And so that's why we have wrapped the entire blockchain experience. That's why we have integrated the login method the way we did. We've integrated with a company called Web3 Auth, which allows users to jump onto Seekr and not even know they're using a blockchain product, even though when they sign in with their email or their Google or their Twitter or their Discord, Web3 Auth and our integration is creating a private key in a wallet in the back end and assigning it to that profile.

Things like escrowed payments in the future. Even though crypto transactions will be taking place in the back end to ensure transparency and security you'll be able to just swipe a credit card and you'll be able to pay out your employees as you normally would. Like I said, with the minting and distributing of the soulbound tokens, you're not ever hearing that it's a soulbound token.

You're not transacting. You're not opening up your wallet. You're just clicking hey, we've hired David from Callaghan Innovation and Web3NZ. And now in the background, Seekr as a platform handles the creation and distribution. So we have kind of future proof, proofed it in that sense, because the issue of fraud in the job market and the issue of verifying credentials persists well outside of Web3. It's just something that we feel is exaggerated in Web3 with that sense of anonymity at play.

David Ding: Yup, that makes sense. And is there a, is there a link between LinkedIn and your platform where people can pull their skills from there and populate stuff in your platform? Or is that a plan?

Morgan Stone: We'll see, we'll see. You know, maybe for enhanced profile set up down the line, they would be able to just kind of port information from LinkedIn.

But again, you know, all of that experience would be ported in as user specified work experience, not necessarily verified work experience. Because today, right? Like, I can go on to web three. I can go on LinkedIn and say that I am the executive director at Web3NZ and there's nothing you can really do about that in a timely manner, right?

The process to remove me from your company as an admin, will take weeks, maybe months, if you even get a response, right? Meanwhile, I could be out there in the job market taking interviews as, you know, this former executive director for Web3NZ and, you know, you know, holding myself to a really poor standard, which then puts Web3NZ in a negative light. So that's like one of the, one of the points that we're trying to solve.

So if we were to port information from LinkedIn, It would definitely stay on that user specified side as opposed to verified work experience.

David Ding: Yeah. Yep. That totally makes sense. And so in terms of you as a, as a founder with your founder hat on, what, what are the challenges you're trying to overcome at the moment? You know, what, what's your mission?

Morgan Stone: Oh, man. The challenges of the day, the flavor of the week, we should say. I don't know. Right now, I think things are a little bit slower in, in Web3, right? It's a, it's peak bear market. Sentiment is low across the board. I think we have done really well of separating ourselves from kind of the noise and, and from kind of the waves of, super high excitement is super low lows in depression.

So we kinda stay floating at this middle ground, which is good. But with kind of a slower Web3 ecosystem right now comes less opportunities. So the bulk of those 320, almost 330 placements that we've made. Really came prior to the last six months over the last few weeks, we've gotten some really high caliber opportunities come to us and we're working on some vacancies for some huge VC backed Web3 clients and, you know, recruitment is enough to where, you know, if we fill those, we'll be sustained and all good. But, you know, as a founder, as a startup founder operating in this space, the thought of funding and cash flow is always in mind especially because we were operating for free for a lot of that time we were just trying to prove our concept and, and position ourselves for this time that we're in now.

You know, other than that, like, I think things are going good, like community sentiment is solid amongst our community. But I'm looking forward to when the bull market comes back and a lot of our RooTroop community comes back because they see prices skyrocketing. And when they come back, you know, they'll be supporting not only Roo, but also Seekr.

So community engagement online, our announcements, et cetera, will be amplified even further, which we're really looking forward to.

David Ding: Yup. That makes a lot of sense. Okay, so if there's if there's no one in the chat that wants to plonk a question in, I think we'll wrap things up here. I've sent a link to you in the chat.

We'd really appreciate your feedback on how we can improve if you've got time to fill out that survey. Otherwise, thanks so much for your time, Morgan. I really appreciate that. And I personally got a lot out of it as well. And I hope things go well for you. And I'd love to see a mass exodus of people off LinkedIn and onto your platform at some point.

Morgan Stone: Well, thanks so much, David. I appreciate you hosting and yeah Edie, John and Paul thank you all for joining up. Really appreciate your time today and yeah, hope you got something out of it. Feel free to tap in with me on LinkedIn, on Twitter and Discord, or via email if you're a boomer like me, I'm like the youngest boomer ever who prefers email but yeah, DMs are open, messages are open, would love to connect, whether you're looking for work or looking for talent so with that, yeah, just thank you all and hope you have a great rest of the day.

David Ding: Appreciate it. Cheers, Morgan. Bye bye. Bye now.