Dialogue with Solana Founder: Don't try to chase the market, focus on what you love to do

Interview Source: thepavlovictoday
Compiled by: Baize Research Institute

Summary:

• The freedom to do anything I want is more important than any measure of success.
• Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX founder SBF) moves quickly, and that's why I think we work well together.
• The lack of crypto regulation and uncertainty makes it really hard for startups in the U.S., which is an urgent issue.

Driven by founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana is changing the crypto industry and the world of DeFi. As the fastest blockchain in the world, Solana is significantly advancing the development of the crypto ecosystem.

This summer has been dubbed "Solana Summer," and there is ample reason for that. Once seen as a failure, Solana has rapidly risen and established its place in the crypto world. In addition to price increases, many innovative crypto projects are built on the Solana blockchain; the crypto derivatives exchange FTX launched a Solana NFT marketplace that allows users to trade, mint, auction, and verify Solana-based NFTs, and it is thriving.

Solana places a strong emphasis on speed, and so does its founder, former Qualcomm engineer Anatoly. Let's hear his story of "chasing dreams."

As the son of first-generation immigrants from the Soviet Union, Anatoly's story is one of resilience, a journey from immigrant to inventor in America. Although he finds it difficult to explain the details of the crypto industry to his parents, he knows they are proud of his achievements. "It's hard for me to explain what I'm doing because they really don't know. They hardly understand how computers work, let alone what a decentralized computer is," he says passionately.

As a trained engineer with a computer science degree from the University of Illinois, Anatoly has always been interested in solving complex problems through "simple math." However, what seems simple to him does not appear to be simple for most people. Many are still trying to understand what DeFi (decentralized finance) does and what it truly means.

The future of Solana is bright, but Anatoly defines his personal success as "being able to do anything I want. That is more important than any measure of success. I could choose to surf for the rest of my life, waste time, or continue building a company to fulfill my dreams. It would be the same in any industry; you work hard, and then you can build a pleasant, productive life filled with passion, interest, and excitement," he explains.

Experience Review

Anatoly grew up in the former Soviet Union, in what is now Ukraine, dreaming of America. "I had this idea of being a businessman, moving around and making things happen. I thought that was exciting. As an adult, I am an engineer, and I love to dive into the specifics of problems and solve them," he says.

Looking back at Anatoly's beginnings and the origins of his passion for entrepreneurship, he co-founded a startup with friends while in college. "This was around the time of the .com crash; we were building something that now looks a bit like Google Voice," he says. Once the internet bubble burst, many companies that thrived during the internet boom vanished into thin air. However, the experience of structural collapse was not unfamiliar to Anatoly.

He had already seen it in the Soviet Union. "I do remember that time in '91; it was clear that everything was over," he says. Growing up in Ukraine in the '80s was "a bit different" from the American experience, but he still believes that the '80s in the Soviet Union "might have been the best time in the country" because there was enough political freedom, and people weren't as afraid, while society and the economy remained stable to some extent. "I still remember my brother having to go to the army during the Afghan war, and I was just scared for him," he reveals.

Creating Solana

Anatoly's entry into the crypto industry and DeFi space is simple: traditional finance requires a lot of paperwork. He realized that with the right software and the right protocols, the whole process could be much more efficient. He sees blockchain as a transformative opportunity to bring people closer to cryptography.

The world of decentralized finance is a hot topic, but Anatoly realizes that people often feel confused and do not understand "decentralization." What are these protocols?

"Protocols are just the mathematical definitions of something, how the system works. They exist to manage the logical rules of the protocol, and cryptography can provide guarantees that other methods cannot. So, that's where the idea comes from that DeFi will consume finance. Why? Because we trust someone in a regulated bank to oversee our handling of funds. It's very inefficient and slow," he says, insisting that using protocols can make things "a thousand times better."

With simple cryptography and thousands of lines of code in the protocol, consumers can receive the same guarantees. This is also why he built Solana.

Solana resists censorship, but Anatoly understands what censorship means in his world. "People will say, 'What is censorship?' The protocols define the rules of the crypto industry to be passed on to everyone around the world who wants to see them. That's all it does, it guarantees that all users can access it. It's a very simple thing," Anatoly explains. The Solana network will remain open, allowing decentralized applications to run freely, and transactions will never stop.

Solana Grows Amid Market Collapse

Anatoly launched Solana four days after the stock market crash on March 12, 2020, when both Bitcoin and the S&P 500 fell by 70%. On March 16, Solana officially launched. "That was an interesting time because it was below everyone's expectations," he says.

Although the market crash was the worst thing that happened, from Anatoly's perspective, "it seemed like the best time to start a business. Because this kind of crash can't happen again, you have the opportunity to start from the bottom. In terms of opportunity, DeFi was just beginning to heat up. It really felt like this opportunity was too good."

A Wonderful Collaboration with SBF

Anatoly is collaborating with crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) of FTX. How did the collaboration come about?

"We have common investors in FTX," Anatoly says. "I just started talking to SBF and showed him, 'Hey, look, Solana is the next-generation blockchain; it's very cheap, very fast, and decentralized. It scales in all directions. Now is the early adoption phase of the blockchain industry, and we can actually bring a billion people into cryptography,'" he adds.

Image: Anatoly chatting with SBF at a dinner

Although SBF is not an engineer, the two share similar ideas. "SBF was able to change the timeline for FTX to adopt Solana as the underlying public chain from months to days, moving quickly, and that's why I think we work well together."

As many people in American businesses come home exhausted after work, with mental and physical health issues becoming a side effect of the pandemic, what is Anatoly's approach to stress and burnout?

"When you can really accomplish something, you gain energy. If you stay up too late at 4 a.m., you obviously feel tired. But that's different from burnout. You really work hard for a few weeks, then take three days off, and finally, you come back to work. But because I've accomplished something, that's what keeps me going," Anatoly says.

The Shift in America's Attitude Towards the Crypto Industry

Anatoly currently lives in San Francisco and has no plans to leave. "The changes that have happened over the past decade are that companies have almost become the product itself. Risk-averse investors only invest in growth companies that have already established successful businesses. At that time, very few investors put money into crypto assets," he says.

But America's stance on crypto assets is changing, not only through cultural shifts but also through politics.

The newly elected mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, vowed to take his salary in Bitcoin for the next three years, signaling that New York City is open to innovation.

The interesting thing about the crypto industry is that it is dominated by several key players who constantly collaborate with each other. "It's not a zero-sum game," Anatoly is clear. "The market is growing so fast that your competitors will succeed faster," he explains, "every success pushes the market forward."

Anatoly shares a common view with crypto investors: they all hope for regulatory intervention.

"The lack of crypto regulation is driving dreamers away from this place. The lack of regulation and uncertainty makes it hard for startups in the U.S. This is a huge problem," Anatoly says. "So these people just moved overseas, simply because the regulatory environment in the U.S. is so uncertain. Compliance is the most pressing issue for seed-stage companies."

Mastercard recently introduced Bitcoin on their payment network. Does Anatoly see this as a bigger step for the crypto industry or just an attempt to keep up with the trend without losing customers?

"That's definitely a good thing. Because there is a lot of compliance internally, in terms of how to handle the custody of crypto wallet private keys. It requires a lot of good engineering, personnel, and compliance. Hopefully, these people will get closer to regulators and can explain to them in a way that they understand it's just a bunch of technology and they don't need to be afraid," he says.

Canadian politician and prominent venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary recently stated that crypto assets will become the 12th sector of the S&P 500. Anatoly agrees, saying, "100% yes. The entire financial industry accounts for 20% of global GDP. If DeFi can replace 1% [of the work involved in keeping the financial system running], there will be a lot of work that doesn't need to be done. In other words, you could now work four days a week and maintain the same standard of living."

On the Development of the Solana Ecosystem

The beauty of Solana is that it provides tools for NFT artists to scale globally without the need for expensive gallery exhibitions. There are so many emerging artists wanting to join but lacking a simple step-by-step guide on how to get started. Anatoly provides the answer.

"Solana is energy-efficient and green. It doesn't require any fees. All the tools are free. So you can even Google how to start a Solana NFT project? It's open-source software, and you can create NFT artworks and build a community for free."

With over 350 projects built on Solana, ranging from DeFi and Web3 Dapps to games and NFTs, what is Anatoly's management style?

"A full-throttle development management style," he jokes.

When discussing the legacy he hopes to leave as a human footprint, Anatoly wishes to "live a life that avoids suffering for others as much as possible." As a husband and father, Anatoly hopes to teach his children "to find the goals and dreams that drive them. Because that will give them a fulfilling job to accomplish something amazing."

Anatoly Yakovenko has certainly found his life purpose and has valuable experiences for others to learn from.

"I really enjoy developing and exploring problems in operating systems, and that passion just happens to be the reason for my success. If I were passionate about painting or surfing, maybe it wouldn't be materially successful, but I would still lead the same fulfilling life." He pauses for a moment. "Don't try to chase the market; instead, truly find what you are good at. Look for what keeps you awake at night. That's the most important thing."

As the Solana ecosystem continues to expand, Anatoly will keep writing new chapters in DeFi, and his dreams will carry on.