GM, mendo here. Founder of Icarus Labs, and collector of internet coins since 2017.
Genesis
My origin story is simple: 10 years ago I asked my cousin to teach me about the stock market and how to start investing. Instead, she told me about this thing called Bitcoin. I’ve been hooked ever since.
My obsession started the moment I bought my first 100 bucks worth of BTC. Followed by endlessly refreshing Blockfolio. Good times.
The day I hit my first ten-bagger, I thought I was a genius. And I was! For a couple months at least. Then the music stopped. I have loved crypto and I have despised it at times. This was definitely a moment of despise.
Annoyed, but mostly bored by the red candles, I went into slumber for most of the bear market.
Exodus
Crypto eventually re-caught my attention around 2019. I started taking it more seriously. Not just watching Ian Balina on YouTube, but properly researching the core concepts.
How does a blockchain *actually* work? What drives the value of a token? Many light bulb moments let me to eventually start sharing my findings with other noobs like myself.
cryptomendo.com was born.
Not because I’m super smart or considered myself an industry expert. I just liked sharing my findings with others. It would more than justify my work if my readers would derive even a sliver of value from it.
Leviticus
My blog has opened a lot of doors for me. Despite the fact that it is relatively unknown.
It created many opportunities to connect with others in this industry. It showed founders that I have some level of understanding of what they’re building. Or at least make an attempt to understand.
They appreciated my excitement about what they’re actually building, versus getting hooked on buzzwords used by their BD’s.
Throughout the years I have built a large network of founders, Venture Capital firms, Angel investors, KOLs, Market Makers, and Business Developers. One of these groups jumps out as my main area of expertise: KOLs.
I’ve been on both sides of the isle and know the ins and outs. I’ve participated in KOL rounds, dealt with various KOL managers, but I’ve also been the KOL manager at times.
Nowadays, I mainly help projects with structuring their KOL round, as well as filling it up with KOLs who invest their own money.
My goal is simple: to strike a perfect balance between the needs of the project and the needs of the KOLs.