Leaving the big factory, All in Web3

Written & Interviewed by: 0x5willows, Deep Tide TechFlow

In the face of an unprecedented plunge of Chinese concept stocks in early March, even the financially robust internet giants could no longer sit idle, with frequent news of layoffs emerging from Web2 companies. Of course, as major corporations, maintaining a dignified image is essential, and countless once-envied employees have been "graduated" or "sent to contribute talent to society."

Once, entering an internet giant was the ultimate dream for workers. Now, that golden age has passed, and faced with an increasingly severe external environment, the growth of these giants is no longer rapid; the ceiling of this industry has become clearly visible.

Those who experienced the Web2 wave and ultimately stood at the pinnacle of the internet are now seeking new paths. Many of them have turned their attention to a brand new field: Web3.

Thus, we spoke with several friends who transitioned from Web2 giants to the Web3 world to discuss their experiences and feelings about participating in Web3. Some of them have gone all in, like Zolo, Li Ge, and Jose, who have fortunately discovered new opportunities in the Web3 field, bidding farewell to the 996 culture of big companies and becoming entrepreneurs; others are still balancing both worlds, waiting for the right moment to fully commit to Web3.

During our conversation, the most frequently mentioned word was "sense of achievement." Despite their different experiences, every interviewee is optimistic about the future of Web3 and enjoys contributing to its development. Here are their stories.

Li Ge - Former PM at a Big Company, Now Head of a Web3 Tech Team

I have a relatively rich experience; I had started a business before joining a big company. That was back in 2011 when I was working on a short video platform, but I didn't persist, missing the opportunity to create Douyin. After that, I joined a big company in 2015, working in technology.

I got involved with crypto-related things quite early; I bought coins back in 2013, but like with my startup, I didn't hold on to them. My next foray into this area is this current venture.

I consider myself an entrepreneur for the sake of entrepreneurship, but that doesn't mean I'm rushing in blindly. In today's Web2 giants, technology is no longer the most important aspect; most are actually driven by operations and resources. I hope to create a project led by technology that doesn't rely on investment.

Analyzing this, the scope isn't large, and crypto-related projects fit perfectly.

In June 2020, a client approached me to help with an IPFS project. After some analysis, I thought it was feasible, and at that point, I prepared to resign.

Another reason is that my previous job was exhausting. In a big company, you need to spend a lot of time on communication and coordination, leading to a lot of unnecessary consumption. When I worked at the big company, I had meetings every day from morning until night, sometimes even two meetings at once. Many colleagues would spend the day in meetings and then write code at six in the evening.

Compared to my time at the big company, my current working hours may not be significantly less, but it feels much freer and more relaxed because the time isn't scheduled for me; I manage it myself. I think this is also an attractive aspect of Web3: there are many opportunities for remote work, and the teams are small, which reduces unnecessary consumption.

However, the growth of internet giants over the past decade has actually been faster than that of most small companies, and their success has its reasons. The most important thing I learned from the big company is to view problems from a higher level. In my previous startup, when user numbers reached tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, I didn't know what to do next; it was essentially trial and error. In a big company, you have the opportunity to manage projects with millions of users, and the knowledge gained from that experience is something you can't learn elsewhere.

In the future, Web2 may integrate with Web3, just like the initial integration of PC internet and mobile internet. I don't think there will be significant barriers to its acceptance; after all, when smartphones first came out, people had to jailbreak them to install software, which seemed complicated. Now, you can just go to the app store and install with one click.

Currently, many people's lack of understanding of Web3, even prejudice, is simply because this phenomenon is still in its early stages, and it will take some time for it to become widespread.

Zolo - Former Marketing at a Big Company, Founder of YouTube Channel DiamondHands

Like most people, I entered the crypto world through Bitcoin; I bought some Bitcoin in 2016 and have kept an eye on the industry since then, though my involvement was limited, as my main focus was on my job.

At the end of 2020, around autumn and winter, I felt that many new things were emerging in this industry, and they were quite practical. After that period, I began to invest more effort into researching this field and wanted to dedicate more energy to it.

Making this happen was a matter of seizing the opportunity. I originally worked in marketing and strategy at my company, so alongside buying coins, I would write some market analyses. Then, I delved deeper, transitioning from part-time to full-time, and launched DiamondHands last June. Before starting this, I didn't have 100% confidence, but I felt there was a good chance of success.

When I talked about these things with friends around me, I found that most of them didn't quite understand what I was doing or what this industry was about. Even now, when we share our articles and videos, friends still find them hard to comprehend or don't see the value in them, so it's quite difficult to resonate with friends while working at a big company; more often, it's just me in this circle.

So far, this circle is still relatively closed; it needs more projects like NFTs to break through. This is also what we aim to do—not just analyze the projects themselves but also explain the underlying technology and the value behind them. This is our positioning, though there is still much work to be done.

The first is content. Our content is relatively in-depth. Many projects are still at a shallow stage, but they are worth sharing, or we believe a certain project has great potential, but due to the current market and audience maturity, we need to use strong language to tell everyone that this project might be worth looking into and following.

The second is community. The current community is larger than we initially imagined, so the loose operation we designed, where everyone just chats and provides a space for communication, doesn't quite meet the demand. A good community, in my opinion, should provide more valuable content or better operational methods.

The third is product. Recently, we've been thinking a lot about what kind of product DiamondHands should become and how far we can go in terms of value. I think Web3 currently resembles the early days of the internet, with many unmet needs. We have also identified a promising track and are incubating a product, hoping to amplify the value through this product. Therefore, we welcome friends from Web2 giants to join us in creating products for the Web3 era.

Xiao Y - Researcher at a Big Company, Web2-Web3 Middleware

After graduating with my PhD, I joined my current company as an industry researcher. I don't consider myself a typical person transitioning from Web2 to Web3; my research direction is also Web3, and I've led many blockchain-related studies at the company, so I often say I'm middleware between Web2 and Web3.

I entered this circle in 2016, coinciding with the rise of blockchain and smart contracts. I was attracted by the underlying technology and have been quite interested in it ever since. The emergence of the Web3 narrative in 2021 was a later development. Initially, crypto was only used in pure on-chain financial fields, but as its applications gradually expanded to non-financial areas through NFTs, GameFi, and the Metaverse, the prototype of Web3 began to take shape.

What drives me to engage in Web3 is, first and foremost, belief, though that sounds a bit abstract. I believe Web3 aligns with future trends because it can realize the confirmation and privatization of assets and identities, decoupling the value layer from the internet, which Web2 cannot achieve. Moreover, Web2 has become saturated, turning into a mature market where various giants are embroiled in a competition for users' time.

Our company's atmosphere is relatively open and inclusive, which relates to my work content, as I research this area. I often share Web3 industry dynamics and insights in my social circles. Of course, I must ensure it doesn't interfere with my primary job. Other colleagues may have some reservations and might not let the company know they are paying attention to Web3.

Although the compensation at Web2 giants is good, the large scale inevitably brings some issues. On one hand, companies that initially thrived due to innovation inevitably develop "big company syndrome" as they grow, leading to a decline in their innovative capabilities; on the other hand, the external environment is also changing, with Web2 giants facing increasingly severe regulatory pressures.

The business and organizational models of Web3 will change, and some of the issues faced by Web2 during its development will be resolved in Web3.

Specifically regarding work experience, even in the most humane Web2 giants, you still need to be accountable to the company, while Web3 is protocol-driven, allowing you to demonstrate your value through proof of work; in Web2 giants, you might have stock incentives, whereas in Web3, whether as a builder, user, or investor, there are diverse incentive mechanisms that will certainly provide a greater sense of achievement.

Additionally, since the pandemic, I have become accustomed to remote work, which is certainly easier to achieve in Web3.

I believe the pandemic's impact on the world is likely much greater than we imagine, and we may only feel it in a few years. The most significant change is that the real-world environment has become harsher; we can see global economic growth slowing and disorder, such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, people with shared values still need to connect, and Web3 just provides such a connection.

I also believe that the new order of the future will be nurtured within Web3.

Jose - Former Alliance Chain Developer at a Big Company, Now All in Web3

I started getting involved with these things during college when the concept of Web3 didn't even exist. Back then, I was playing with mining machines and mining, and after graduation, I joined a big company, working in blockchain development, specifically on alliance chains.

At the end of last year, I started a venture with some friends, and now we mainly focus on creating a DAO, providing a platform for learning and communication on one hand, and doing some construction on the other. Our big vision is to provide infrastructure for the upcoming Web3 era.

Our company's atmosphere is quite open, perhaps because my colleagues are all from technical backgrounds. When I was at the company, the discussions among my peers often revolved around blockchain and crypto-related topics.

Our team has a close relationship with the Ethereum Foundation, so when I was still at the company, we invited Vitalik to give a talk, which did attract some colleagues, but most people still found it hard to accept, as this concept was still too new.

I was quite certain about resigning; it felt like a natural progression. I liked my previous job, but I felt it lacked meaning. What I'm doing now feels groundbreaking, and I pursue that feeling.

In terms of work intensity, it might be even higher now than at the big company, and since our team is distributed globally, major events in this industry mainly happen in the U.S., so I often have to wake up in the middle of the night for meetings. However, working on something I genuinely love doesn't feel tiring; instead, it feels exciting.

Many around me find it hard to understand, especially older family members. They think big companies are great, with high incomes and various guarantees, but they know nothing about Web3. So, it's not surprising that they don't agree with my decision; I was mentally prepared for that.

I think, first and foremost, you need to prove to your family that entering this new field won't lead to a significantly worse life than before; this is the most important and direct thing. Additionally, you can share some Web3-related information with them, and gradually, they will start to recognize it.

Whether to stay in Web2 or enter Web3 ultimately comes down to personal choice; there's no best option, only the most suitable one. I might be the type who wants to get things done, which is why I jumped out.

I also want to mention that while Web3 indeed presents many opportunities, its high returns are certainly accompanied by high risks. Before going all in, you must ask yourself if you can bear this risk; if so, then consider whether to go all in.

Finally, while making money is great, don't forget the original intention that led you to enter this field.

H Jun - Operations at a Big Company, Web2 OG, Head of a Thousand-Person DAO

I work in operations and can be considered a veteran of Web2, having been in the Web3 circle for just over half a year.

In fact, Web3 is not a new concept; the original Web3 referred to the semantic web, while the Web3 everyone talks about now was proposed by Gavin Wood and gained traction last year. Last year, I was responsible for a company's NFT project, during which I systematically learned about Web3-related knowledge and underlying technologies, and then decided to participate in Web3 and do something.

Although I have participated in some significant projects at Web2 giants, I felt like just a cog in the machine. After staying in a big company for a long time, it feels a bit like a state-owned enterprise, where future development is linear and predictable. In contrast, Web3 is still in the stage of going from 0 to 1; the opportunities in this field are vast, and the potential for what can be done is equally large, which is what attracts me.

I remember when I first took over the company's NFT project last year, it felt quite challenging because there is a cognitive threshold in this field, requiring a lot of new learning. During that time, the company's projects were also very busy; I often returned home at midnight, then looked at relevant materials and worked on DAO matters, frequently staying up until three or four in the morning, only to sleep for five or six hours before going back to work. This continued for quite a while.

Of course, my body felt a bit overwhelmed, but I managed to cope. I feel that participating in Web3 is more like an entrepreneurial experience, and the process of involvement is very fulfilling.

Additionally, I find that most friends in the Web3 field are very nice and willing to share, so I received a lot of help from them during my entry into this space. The fact that I can manage a DAO with over a thousand members isn't because I'm particularly impressive, but because employees in Web2 giants are generally anxious; after all, the ceiling in this industry is already quite evident, leading some to think about Web3 and wanting to understand and participate. So, even if this proportion isn't high, the absolute number is still quite large.

Regarding the prospects of Web3, I am cautiously optimistic. For something to work, it must be profitable. In the future, Web3 will replace Web2 in areas where it has advantages, but Web2 still has its application scenarios, just like there are still many Web1 products on the current internet; they are in competition with each other while occupying their respective positions.

In the past few years, there have been too many so-called wealth creation myths, both true and false, mixed together. Many people entered the field without understanding, such as the recent hot topic about whether to go all in on Web3, which is a reflection of this.

In the future, I may fully commit to Web3, although I'm not a technological optimist, I believe it is the trend of the times.