Exploring VeChain: The Ultimate Tokenization Tool
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Space Summary
This Twitter Space discussion provided valuable insights into Vechain's technology, partnerships, and future objectives within the blockchain industry. Key points included the focus on business blockchain solutions, iterative Dapp development, strategic collaborations with partners like BCGA, global team size, operations in Dublin, BMW partnership benefits, ambitious transaction volume goals, enterprise projects, community incentives, and the importance of detailed use-case development. The highlights emphasized continuous improvement of Dapps, strategic discussions, team structure, partnership impact, ambitious goals, and appreciation for the audience and community contributors. The discussion delved into topics such as crypto, tokenization, sustainability in blockchain, grants for projects, liquidity challenges, and the evolving landscape of the digital economy.
Questions
Q: What is the main focus of Vechain's technology?
A: Vechain's technology focuses on blockchain for business use.
Q: How often does the team iterate on Dapps?
A: The team iterates on Dapps frequently to enhance user experience.
Q: Which partner do they engage with regularly for strategy discussions?
A: Vechain engages with partners like BCGA for strategy discussions.
Q: How many employees does Vechain have globally?
A: Vechain has around 90-100 employees globally.
Q: Where is Vechain's largest team based?
A: Vechain's largest team is based in Dublin.
Q: What benefits does the partnership with BMW offer?
A: Partnership with BMW Material Traceability enhances transparency.
Q: What ambitious goal does Vechain aim to achieve?
A: Vechain aims to 500x the transaction volume.
Q: What type of projects are Vechain working on with enterprises?
A: Vechain is working on collaborative projects with various enterprises.
Q: How does Vechain incentivize community members?
A: Vechain provides incentives for community contributors.
Q: Why is detailed use-case development important for Vechain's strategy?
A: Detailed use-case development is crucial for Vechain's strategy to ensure clarity and effective implementation.
Highlights
Time: 00:02:33
Introduction to the Twitter Space, Overview of the session's structure and introduction of the guest, Sonny.
Time: 00:07:15
Early Crypto Insights, Discussion on the technical focus of early crypto days and the shift towards business applications.
Time: 00:12:03
Crypto Trends and Real-World Value, Comparison of crypto trends with the evolution of the internet, emphasizing creating real-world value.
Time: 00:17:08
DAO Governance Model, Detailed explanation of the dual token model and its implementation in governance.
Time: 00:22:48
Launching New DAOs, Strategies for launching new DAOs with clear, easy-to-understand outcomes.
Time: 00:30:23
Focus on Sustainability, Strategic focus on sustainability and leveraging partnerships for impactful projects.
Time: 00:36:03
Blockchain for Traceability, Example of using blockchain for food traceability and its significant efficiency improvements.
Time: 00:50:32
Tokenization and Community Impact, Discussing the impact of tokenization on community-driven sustainability projects.
Time: 01:04:26
Future Plans and Challenges, Sonny outlines future plans for blockchain applications in sustainability and addresses ongoing challenges.
Key Takeaways
- Vechain focuses on blockchain technology for business use.
- The team iterates on Dapps frequently to enhance user experience.
- Engages with partners like BCGA for strategy discussions.
- Vechain has around 90-100 employees globally.
- Significant operations based in Dublin.
- Partnership with BMW Material Traceability enhances transparency.
- Vechain aims to 500x the transaction volume.
- Collaborative projects with various enterprises.
- Incentives for community contributors.
- Emphasis on detailed use-case development.
Behind the Mic
Hi, Lalit. First and foremost, thank you so much for joining me on today's interview. Thank you for having me. Amazing. So to begin with, let us talk about the various professional experiences and milestones throughout your journey so far. Could you also please tell our listeners about why you moved to London and when you started your journey? Sure. I have over a decade of experience working as an entrepreneur. I moved to London because my wife is a British citizen. It was always in our plan that if we settle, it will be in the UK. So because of that, we finally moved to London in 2011. And that's when we started our journey in the UK as a strong team and as a family. Also, you were talking about professional experiences. So, one of the milestones that I have before I moved to London, I started a company with my friend in India. It's a small IT services company. We were doing web development and mobile app development. When we started the journey, we never thought that it would go so well. But for 4-5 years, we were serving different global clients and their projects. Eventually, we started to get good traction through it. Along with that, my wife started joining the company, and she used to design assets for our clients. So we set up a solid team in Mumbai, Calcutta. But we always wanted to move to London and basically stay here. So in 2011, we finally moved to London. We started from scratch again. We didn't have many clients there. Just one client, I would say. So we started the journey and then we started going to different networking events, talking to people, attending meetups, meeting investors and everybody. That's how I started growing my own professional network here in the UK. And then eventually, I started growing the different businesses that I started running. For example, just before we moved to London, we started a new platform called Uplance together. So, Uplance was a platform where you can hire a freelancer for web design and development. And actually, I was working on this when the other businesses were running well by their operational team. so, Uplance was growing good, then I started a few more businesses. Recently, I became an author, and I have a book called, Agile Launch. So that's where we are now. Interesting journey, Lalit. I'm sure you may have learned a lot of lessons and gained experiences throughout your entire journey moving from India to London. So what I am curious to know is you have worked both in India and London. According to your experience, which place would you consider is better for setting up a tech-based company? From my own experience, both places are actually quite good. In India, it's a different level of journey in terms of entrepreneurial spirit because everything is a hustle there, right? And the type of energy you put into setting up a business. So everything is a hustle there. In the UK, we have a better ecosystem, startup ecosystem. There is a more mature startup ecosystem here. And you will find like-minded people to work alongside with you very easily here. So in terms of businesses, I think the UK has an edge because of all the government support, policies, and everything. But I think as we are moving toward global citizenship, it will be easier to do business from anywhere you are. So now, moving forward with this perspective, let us talk specifically from the lens of building and scaling a tech company in India rather than London. Given the talent market available in India, the boom that is currently happening in all things tech, and the demand for innovation, how would you advise an entrepreneur to do the initial client sourcing and team setup in India to successfully run and sustain a tech company? Absolutely. So the talent market, as you mentioned, is booming in India. So there are many platforms where you can find and hire the talent. In terms of the initial client sourcing, I would suggest the ideal platform would be a freelancing platform or a network platform like Upwork, Uplance, Freelancer, and so on. Where you can start bidding for clients, you can take a look at the similar projects there and do a bit of research. Just follow the whole process which other companies are doing. Initially, I would suggest trying to grab a few clients by offering them some discount or offering them a free trial for the first project. Those kinds of things. That's how people build their initial networks. Once you have one or two clients, then you start gathering momentum and then clients start referring you to other people. And that's how it will grow. So when you have some initial clients, you should focus on hiring the team. Again, there are many platforms to hire talent, like Upwork, for example. In fact, I started a platform called Uplance which is focusing on only hiring talented people from a niche market. For example, you need someone from AI or blockchain, those kinds of things. So the initial client sourcing should be through platforms like Upwork or network events. Hire and train your initial team members from platforms like those. I see. Now, when you are talking about client sourcing and team setup, we discussed in part the Indian context. Now, I'd specifically like to know, how did you manage to start everything from scratch again when you moved to London? What were the challenges you faced at that time and how did you overcome them? Firstly, it was quite challenging when I moved to London because when I came, I had to start everything from scratch. I didn't have a strong network from my Indian business. So, I had to start everything from scratch. The biggest challenge I faced was to build that network, to go to the networking events, to talk to the people, potential clients, and investors. It took me a while to get my first client and it was a hustle to basically get everything back in order here in the UK. But I kept doing it. I kept believing in what I was doing every single day. So, learning from that, I built my own processes, strategies. I didn't just try to replicate what I was doing in India because I realized there are completely different markets here. The way you approach clients, the way you talk to them, the way you should present your proposal to investors is a different approach altogether. So, I took some time to understand the market, the potential clients, and everything here in the UK. So, based on those inputs, then I started to build things from scratch. I started going to more network events, understanding the way people work here, what's the culture here, and how you approach people, how you do all the formalities. Those kinds of things were the challenges initially but as you go on, you learn those things and implement those strategies in your business. Those are some very good points, Lalit. Thank you so much for sharing your insights on this. Let us now move to a more specific aspect. As an entrepreneur, I am sure you must have faced multiple challenges while scaling your tech company. So, what are some of the most notable challenges or disadvantages that you have experienced while you were scaling your businesses from startup to growth stage and how did you tackle them? Very good question. It's challenging to scale a business from the startup stage to the growth stage. One of the biggest challenges is to keep the quality intact when you are scaling your operations. So, at the startup stage, you build a core team and they have an emotional attachment to the business. But when you start scaling, you start hiring people outside. So, it's a big challenge to keep the same momentum, same kind of feeling among your employees. That's the biggest challenge that I faced when I was transitioning from the startup stage to the growth stage. To tackle this, what we were doing was putting in place the strong HR processes. In fact, one of my friends, my core team members, helped me to build that HR practice and those kinds of things. So, having a scalable process in terms of quality check and everything. We tried to put forward different engagement programs for the employees to bring them under the same umbrella. So they can have that emotional attachment, that same kind of feeling with the company. Apart from that, one challenge is definitely, the market conditions. Many times the market conditions change. Let me give you one example. So, we had a client and we were doing their project from scratch. We were doing a beta project and everything. Then suddenly, the market conditions changed. And the client said, we have to put a pause on this project because they are not getting as much traction from the market. So it's a big challenge when you are predictability is not 100%. So constantly react and adapt to the market change. Having a good core team in place to help you to keep the process streamlined. And to keep yourself all the time updated with technologies. So these kinds of challenges are there. Running out of cash flow and those kinds of things are always there to keep your momentum going. These are the big challenges I have seen myself and I have tried to overcome them in different manners. Very interesting points, Lalit. I like the fact that you mentioned about the market conditions, which is true in most cases, many times we often overlook it. So thank you for sharing your insights on this. Now based on your vast experience, what do you think are the top 3 skills or qualities that an entrepreneur must possess that are crucial for succeeding in building and sustaining a tech company? Very good question. So first and foremost, an entrepreneur should be passionate about what he or she is doing. There are different phases in the entrepreneur's journey where they feel like giving up. Where they feel this is not going to work. They feel it is really challenging. But if the entrepreneur is passionate, they will go through that phase. That same spirit will keep them motivated to keep going and keep believing in it. So one should be very passionate about what they are doing. The second quality or skill is perseverance. Perseverance is the key to keep going. If you are not persistent, you will not achieve your goal. As we say, it's the persistence which differentiates success from failure. Thirdly, leadership. As an entrepreneur, you should have leadership skills. Because you have to lead your team, you have to lead your business. You have to be confident and have belief in yourself. These are the key qualities and skills I would say entrepreneurs should have in order to succeed. Definitely wonderful thoughts, Lalit. Thank you for sharing those insights with us. Let us now circle back and talk a bit about your latest book, Agile Launch. Can you share with our listeners what Agile Launch aims to address, and how an entrepreneur can benefit from this book? Absolutely. Agile Launch is a book which addresses the challenges every entrepreneur faces while starting and scaling up their business. So the concept behind the book is to build a sustainable and agile business which can quickly react to the market conditions, client changes, and everything. The book is structured in such a way that it gives you a step-by-step process to start your company and to grow from initial sales to scaling the business growth of customers and everything. Along with that, I have shared some hands-on experiences and learnings that I have had while growing my own businesses. So it's not just a theoretical book, it's like a reference that entrepreneurs can refer to at each and every stage of their journey and learn something from it. They can adapt some of the strategies, checklists, or best practices and everything. So that is the concept of the Agile Launch book. And it has been very exciting. Many entrepreneurs gave me good feedback that they could relate to the different stages and they could adapt those strategies and keep them going. But the idea is to keep it simple, keep it straightforward and to implement it quickly. That's the concept of Agile Launch book. Very interesting, Lalit. I am sure our listeners will benefit greatly from your book. Now before we conclude, I know several entrepreneurs are tuning into our show today. What is the one critical piece of advice that you would like to share with them as they embark on their journey of building and scaling their tech companies? One piece of advice that I would share with the entrepreneurs is that to be flexible and open-minded. The journey of an entrepreneur is never straightforward. There are always ups and downs, twists and turns. And one should never get demotivated or disheartened by failures. So, always be open to learning, always be open to adapting to new market conditions, new client changes, everything. So the more you keep learning, the more update you keep to yourself from the latest technologies and the latest market conditions, the better you will grow. So that's the key. Always be flexible, be open-minded, and go with the flow. Thank you so much for joining us today, Lalit, and for sharing all your valuable insights with our listeners. I'm certain that our audience has gained a lot from your experiences and advice. It was a pleasure talking to you, and I wish you all the very best in your future endeavors. Thank you so much. It was my pleasure sharing my journey and all the insights. Thank you so much for having me. All the best to everyone out there. Thank you, Lalit. Thank you.
