Grains0x - Web3 Development WG Nomination 07/2024

Help & Resources Prior Elections
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Personal Information

Discourse ID: @Grains0x

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Grains0x

Country of Residence: United Kingdom

Educational Background:

Failed computer science at Nottingham University but went on to develop software after leaving early. Started my first company at age 18.
No other formal certifications, but proud to have been a finalist in The Times newspaper’s Entrepreneur of the year

Professional Background and Relevant Experience:

Failed computer science at Nottingham University but went on to develop software after leaving early. Started my first company at age 18.

1988 - Began a concert travel company, which became the biggest bus-to-concert vacation company in the UK.

1999 - Started Affiliate Window (Awin.com), which I exited in 2012 to Axel Springer in Germany with 200 staff located in several countries and around $170 million in revenues. This included acquiring a company from AOL (https://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/uncategorized/aol-sells-affiliate-network-buy-at-to-digital-window/6224/) and our biggest competitor.

2011-2014 - Grew the Australian Pink Floyd (Band) to be the biggest tribute band in the world. The Times article

2012 - Formed GigRev, later renamed FanCircles, which began as an artist-to-fan platform and has helped artists take back control of their income. It now trades under both FanCircles.com and Access.xyz, which is a more corporate brand for any community platform.

Nomination Statement:

I believe the ApeCoin DAO community should elect me due to my extensive business experience and proven track record of innovation and leadership. Starting my first company at age 18, I’ve demonstrated resilience and an entrepreneurial spirit. I built a concert travel company into the largest in the UK, founded Affiliate Window (Awin.com) and grew it to a $170 million enterprise, and led the Australian Pink Floyd to become the world’s biggest tribute band. Through my venture FanCircles, I empowered artists to regain control over their income.

I excel at working with teams to reach consensus and am driven by creating products and services that help people, believing financial success follows. I bring a unique perspective as a free thinker who loves to innovate. My vision for the DAO is to foster a culture of innovation, inclusivity, and transparency, ensuring we deliver real value to our community. My diverse experiences make me uniquely qualified to contribute to the DAO’s growth and success.

Motivation, Vision & Goals:

My journey from starting my first company at 18, building a concert travel business into the largest in the UK, founding and growing Affiliate Window to a $170 million enterprise, and empowering artists through FanCircles, has fuelled me to drive meaningful change.

My vision as a Working Group Steward is to leverage these experiences to foster a culture of innovation and inclusivity within the DAO. I aim to drive product development that delivers real benefits to our community, enhance member engagement through open dialogue and collaboration, and ensure the DAO’s long-term financial sustainability. Transparency and accountability will be at the core of all initiatives to build trust and align our actions with community values. My goal is to make a positive impact and support the continued success of the ApeCoin DAO.

Values & Commitment:

My core values of innovation, collaboration, and transparency align closely with the ApeCoin DAO community. I have a proven track record of developing innovative solutions and working collaboratively to achieve common goals, as demonstrated by my ventures like Affiliate Window and FanCircles. Transparency and accountability have always been central to my approach.

Concluding Statement:

I consider myself the most suitable candidate for the position of ApeCoin DAO Working Group Steward due to my extensive business experience, innovative mindset, and proven leadership abilities. From founding and growing successful companies like Affiliate Window to empowering artists through FanCircles, I have consistently demonstrated my commitment to creating value and fostering collaboration. My core values of innovation, transparency, and accountability align perfectly with the principles of the ApeCoin DAO community. I am dedicated to actively contributing my time, expertise, and passion to ensure the DAO’s success and growth. My diverse background and unwavering commitment make me uniquely qualified to serve and drive forward the goals of the ApeCoin DAO.

meme - Kevin Brown

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Good luck grains! I can tell you’ve given the inner workings of the ApeCoin DAO (and others!) much thought and look forward to future conversations with you. I think you’ve got the right attitude, skillset and knowledge to make many positive contributions to the working group. Good luck!!!

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Thank you @NFTartCollective Ryan. Appreciate your comment and support.

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This is a serious accomplishment, love seeing the quality of candidates in the running this cycle! :heart: :gorilla:

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Thanks for the kind comments MB

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Good luck Grains! Sounds like you’d be a great fit! :blue_heart:

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Thanks @Balou. Appreciated

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@Grains0x nice to see you get stuck into the DAO over the last few months: from writing AIPs; being part of MAYC; joining BOTB; Delegating; taking part in X spaces and generally absorbing quickly what the DAO is about.

Good to see people with a rich work experience in traditional industries. As we need to see how find ways to cross over and onboard the bridge. What are your thoughts on this?

How do you see getting the music industry to be interested in ApeChain?

100% agree that creating products and services that help people and financial success will follow.

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Thanks for the question @bigbull. Just to stress, music is only part of what I can bring to the table, but things in music are changing quickly. NFTs are still not in favor with labels yet. However, the push towards superfans, rather than simply streaming, opens up possibilities. I see music NFTs as a VIP pass to artist experiences rather than NFTs that simply “play” music. Politically, music-only NFTs face a lot of resistance.

I have my ear to the ground though, and at the right time, I’d like to see ApeCoin (and of course ApeChain), with its historical music connections, as a place for artists. I intend to watch this space closely for opportunities.

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Tell us more about tech certifications that you have and tell us about any last project you accomplished to complete

What was your favourite job you ever did and why it is?

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Thanks for the questions. I started as a PHP and MySQL developer and built AffiliateWindow’s software myself. I also used to write games as a kid, so I always think of myself as having a developer’s brain. This means I like to explore every option before ruling things out and strive to find the best solutions. I ensure things are scalable by setting up the right database structures from the beginning. This skill has allowed me to grow all of my businesses. I see it all as very much intertwined.

I have a team of developers that I work with every day in my current company, FanCircles. I don’t develop anymore, but I understand how the whole system functions on a micro scale. It’s all mapped out in my head. I make the decisions on the direction of the software and pass these to my CTO, who I’ve worked with for over 20 years through all of my companies. FanCircles is both a Web2 and Web3 platform, allowing superfans of any kind of community to either pay to subscribe to their fandom or use NFTs for lifetime membership. My understanding of Web3 drove us to create a hybrid Web2 and Web3 solution.

Favorite job? Everything I have done. I’ve enjoyed the whole journey. I’ve always worked for myself, sometimes in 2-3 man teams and grown teams up to 200 people, as I did with AffiliateWindow. The one common thing in everything I have been involved with is that every project has always been about making people happy, and earning money is just a measurement of success.

Hope this answers your questions.

Grains (Kevin)

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Thank you for your support @Balou

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This is a beautiful journey. It seams like you have some transferable skills that will be very relevant. Tell me what excites you in WEB3 particulary and what would you love to work on?

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Sorry, just saw this.
What excites me are the things that aren’t on Web3 right now. In 2021 every innovative company had web3 teams or plans for Web3 teams. This fell away - a lot.
Online stores, music and entertainment were very disillusioned with Web3 and NFT after the crash in 2022.
So to reach out to these companies now and with the ability to help them to understand the incremental sales and benefits from the niche but highly motivated fandoms within crypto communities seem obvious.
I want to be able to do that, and there is now, after a period of no interest, interest again, even from the most risk adverse industries like music.
The space has been forced to reinvent to survive, and through this, better ideas have surfaced. Mocaverse has shown this more than ApeCoin, but bringing some of this (but not only games) to ApeChain can be a game changer for ApeCoin.

Thanks for the questions @TheFatherOfAllStorms