“Dev Web2 won’t see earning opportunities on Web3 until they create them.”
Kelly Anh - COO at Solana SuperTeam Vietnam
I’m a Vietnamese student studying Marketing Analytics & Film Production Minor in the US, but due to Covid, I decided to start a startup and started a food delivery service called Saigon Smokehouse. Luckily, Saigon Smokehouse has now expanded to two beef steak restaurants in District 2 and District 7, and is preparing to open its third branch.
I stumbled into the web3 industry by chance. I was attending a Jobhopin event and started chatting with the CEO, and we just hit it off. We both had a passion for entrepreneurship, and he was really good at it, which fascinated me. I think he saw some potential in me, so he introduced me to the SuperTeam VN of Solana in November 2022, even though I didn’t know anything about blockchain or web3. So now, I’m juggling running my restaurant and working in the blockchain industry. It’s only been six months, but I feel like I’ve grown incredibly fast, going from a total newbie to the COO of SuperTeam VN. At first, though, I faced some challenges as a newbie. I would encounter terms and concepts I’d never heard of before, and I’d have no idea what anyone was talking about. It was like a duck listening to thunder! Usually, when you start at a new company, they onboard you properly, right? But here, I just jumped right in. I had a mountain of materials to learn and sift through, and there wasn’t really any formal training. It was all up to me to figure things out on my own.
Looking back, there were three things that helped me develop quickly in the Web3 industry. Firstly, I made sure to read and learn more about technical knowledge and news related to both Web2 and Web3 every day. I also read about the blockchain and crypto market in both English and Vietnamese to fully grasp the “language” of this industry. Secondly, I fully committed myself to the job. I wasn’t afraid to take on any task, whether it was research, marketing, event planning, content writing, or even hosting events. Our team was small, with only seven people, so I was able to learn about every aspect of the job and support the team as needed. Lastly, I connected with people who were better than me. I loved attending networking events and meeting new people. Sometimes, being in our own bubble can make us feel like royalty, but when we step outside, we truly understand where we stand and realize that we need to learn from those who are better than us in order to improve ourselves.
One of the great things about joining this project is that I’ve gained many insights from tech builders in this industry, especially insights from Web2 developers transitioning to Web3. Most Web2 developers face many challenges when shifting to Web3. The main reason is that the mainstream in the tech industry is still Web2, so the education system only teaches the foundation of Web2. Additionally, developers haven’t seen the huge earning opportunities in Web3, so they lack a strong motivation to learn the language of this industry and tend to be lazy when it comes to learning. However, I think that if developers see the opportunities that this industry brings, things might change. Instead of working 9 to 5 jobs, developers can be self-employed or work remotely for startups, create open source solutions to meet the needs of the community and apply for grants - like the grants/bounties offered by Superteam, which are abundant. Solana has allocated a budget of up to $1 million for the Vietnam and SEA markets in 2023, so the opportunities are vast. Our team has worked with grant hunters who earn $2-5k/month by doing grants work, without relying on any company and with the freedom to work on their own schedule.
If you want to enter the blockchain or web3 industry, you need to have a continuous learning mindset. You can attend workshops, read tech blogs specializing in blockchain and web3 such as CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, CryptoSlate, Ethereum World News. You should take blockchain courses at ConsenSys Academy, or learn rust code through buildspace.io. SuperTeam is also about to launch a free course on blockchain basics on Discord, where you can register to receive direct knowledge sharing from industry experts. Some popular blockchain books you should read include Mastering Blockchain (Andreas Antonopoulos), The Internet of Money (Andreas M. Antonopoulos), and Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps (Daniel Drescher).
Entering the web3 industry is not difficult. All you need is determination and hard work!
