Chase Chapman

What is your background?

I was always super interested in the intersection of humans and systems. Empathy for the human experience has felt like a core part of how I approach the world, but I’ve also had this fascination with economics and politics as phenomena that emerge when humans organize together. In high school, I did lots of Model UN, business clubs, all of that. And so by the time I got to college, Business felt like the perfect vehicle to explore strategy, humans, and systems.

How did you become interested in web3?

I first fell down the web3 rabbit hole when I was working in marketing and we were dealing with all of these data provenance issues and who owned what data was a big question. At the time, crypto was being proposed as this “perfect solution” to some of those challenges – so I started diving deep into how the technology worked. As I learned more, I realized this was actually a much larger movement and I never looked back!

What is your role and what do you do?

My role in web3 is really hard to define in one neat sentence. I’m a cofounder-turned-advisor of a company called Decentology, I contribute to several DAOs (Index, RabbitHole, occasionally Forefront), and I host a podcast called On the Other Side. It seems like I’m doing a lot (and it feels that way too sometimes), but there’s a lot of transferability across these different roles. What I learn in Index, for example, is really crucial for shaping how I think about discussions on my podcast. 

How did you approach your web3 job search?

I started as a founder, which felt like more of a calling than a job search and to be very honest, I’ve never gone through a traditional job search in web3. Every project I’ve been involved in has been very organic where I see projects on Twitter or meet people working on a project (IRL or online) and learn a bit about what they’re doing. If I feel like there’s alignment (on vision, mission, etc), we continue having a conversation and see if there’s a place for us to collaborate. I know that’s not an approach that works for everyone – and me being non-technical probably also plays a big role in that – but that’s what has worked for me.

It’s easy when you first get into the space to feel like you need to know everything – I promise you do not. You don’t need to know everything about proof-of-work vs. proof-of-stake and every new NFT drop happening. I think the best approach is to pick a niche and really dive into that niche deeply. Start engaging on Twitter, find people who care about the things you care about, see what organizations those people are associated with and talk about. From there, things are very organic.

Quick note on Twitter: I resisted it for so long, but Twitter is an incredibly powerful platform. You have a better chance of finding a job in web3 on Twitter than LinkedIn or any other platform – not only is it the place to meet people, but people often have “hiring” in their Twitter names if they’re hiring. A few tips for leveraging Twitter:

1. Share your learnings as you go. Creating content can be uncomfortable, especially when you’re still learning about the space but it’s one of the best ways to get feedback and signal to others what you’re interested in.
2. Don’t be afraid to DM. People have “hiring” in their Twitter name or bio for a reason – they want people to reach out.
3. Find your niche. Finding a niche and going deep is a great way to ground your thinking and start building your voice in the space (and not just social presence, but how you approach the space more broadly).
   

From your experience, what do Web3 companies look for in new hires?

Passion about web3 and willingness to learn. Right now I’m seeing a lot of hiring for people who might be new to web3 but have domain expertise from web2 (marketing, product management, etc). If you want to develop that expertise in web3, that works too! More than anything, it’s about willingness to learn.

In terms of crypto knowledge, you need to have a baseline understanding of the technology and the culture around it, but find what you’re passionate about and follow your curiosity. You’d be surprised how quickly your curiosity turns into a job.

Any tips for people looking to make a similar transition? 

I can’t speak to technical roles, but for non-technical roles, immerse yourself in the culture. Often that means spending some time on Twitter or in Discord – start to understand what the web3 community cares about and why. Find people you enjoy, hang out in the Discord of projects that resonate with you – start to make your little corner of the internet feel like home. Not only does it make navigating the space easier, but it also makes web3 so much more fun.