Consensus 2022 Interview with Spooky BizDev: OwenP
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At a special session held June 11 at Consensus 2022, CEO of the Fantom Foundation, Michael Kong, took the stage with prominent Fantom community members and builders to discuss innovation across the Fantom network. Addressing what was a global in-person and virtual audience, the speakers included Spooky’s very own OwenP who offered important insights into Fantom technology, innovation in the ecosystem, and the growth of the community.
We sat down to get more background, thoughts, and advice from our Spooky business development lead, Owen Palmer.
Patchwork: Hi Owen! What’s your background, and what are you working on at Spooky?
OwenP: I have had a pretty diverse career, I’ve worked in finance, electronic component sales, the space industry and was even a teacher. None of these jobs, however, felt like a career to me, instead they just acted as layovers until I could find something more meaningful and engaging. My hobbies and family always seemed to come first over my career, I think mostly because working not only seemed boring but meaningless. I was never that interested in making money, it was a secondary pursuit for me. In Spring of 2021 Crypto became my hobby and thankfully I have been able to springboard that into a career in this space. As for what I am working on now, I do what I do everyday, work to help make Spooky the best DEX in Crypto. To be more specific, I generally work on partnerships.
- How was your experience at Consensus 2022? What were your thoughts leading up to attending the event?
OP: This conference was such a great experience for me both professionally and personally. Leading up to the event I was pretty relaxed, I was aware that I would be making a speech but I didn’t overly stress about it. SpookySwap really is such a great product and brand it makes it an easy product to sell. I know for a fact I have never had a better brand to sell than this one.
As for the conference itself, this was my second crypto conference, my first being Bitcoin Miami in April. Seeing that it was my second conference it just made things more casual and relaxed for me. I had many friends I was able to see again which is always nice and it really helps having a conference under my belt already. Like anything, experience is helpful. In this case it gave me a better understanding as to what was and wasn’t a good use of my time.
The next thing about this conference that made it such a great experience is the number of partners I was able to interact with. I was able to hang out with the QI DAO, Beefy and Ankr teams. Most everything we do is online these days so to be able to meet these people in person just gives you a different perspective, it makes it more personal and really does help build more trust.
Another thing about Consensus 2022 is I was finally able to openly represent Spooky to both the everyday user and to much of the Fantom ecosystem I had learned to love. I met so many amazing, diverse, intelligent, and friendly people who really had nothing but glowing things to say about SpookySwap. It really is a pleasure to interact with so many people who love your product. I really cherished every moment I had to talk to people about what we do and how much we care about our investors. There are so many cool and interesting people in this space, I only hope that I was able to make as good an impression as they did on me.
I was able to meet some people personally who really brightened my day. One in particular was a young man who had bought two of my early NFT works. It was such a great personal moment for me to have someone appreciate something I poured my heart and soul into. It really was a surreal moment. This space attracts a select group of people from the population, they really are my people and they make me feel at home.
Lastly, this was kind of a watershed moment for me at this conference because I was able to make a public speech representing the great team at SpookySwap. I feel like I did an alright job and I hope people were pleased with what I had to say.
- What did fellow developers or investors have to say about Spooky?
OP: We had badges on lanyards at this conference and it made it so much easier to present both who you are and to know who it was you were talking to. I spent the conference walking around holding out my badge introducing myself enthusiastically. One Chinese investor remarked glowingly about my enthusiasm and I suppose he was right. I am very enthusiastic for SpookySwap.
Developers that know about us love our work and know our place in the ecosystem. I talk to developers all the time online but to see some of them in person is always a treat. I sometimes forget that I am often the guy working for the big dog and the protocol I am talking to is the under dog. We really get nothing but positive feedback from developers and avid interest from investors. When I tell people we don’t have any venture capital it usually results in a proverbial ooh and ahh from the VC I am speaking with.
- Which Fantom observations, news or presentations excited you the most?
OP: I really enjoyed Michael Kong’s technical presentation on what they have planned for Fantom. I think we often forget that there is a core team working on optimizing the EVM and eventually replacing it all together. I was very encouraged to see the foundation refocusing on the tech that made so many of us fall in love with Fantom.
Next the FTM Alerts presentation was a great focus on community building and what is a Fantom power user. The take away was that the Fantom Ecosystem is unique in how it supports one another at both the user and protocol level and how we really shouldn’t allow that to change.
- Any advice for readers interested in getting started in DeFi Business DevOps?
OP: I get this question or a variation on this question a lot. Thinking back on it, I gave this exact advice to someone during the conference.
- Find an ecosystem that is early in the cycle
- Learn all you can about the ecosystem and get to know all the players
- Look for every opportunity to support devs on the business side
- Get a reputation in the space and keep working till you can find a quality project that wants you
A big “thank you” to Owen and to our Spooky community for the continued support! Consensus 2022 affirmed that the Fantom community remains incredibly energized, and there is extensive building on the protocol. We’re committed to making 2022 the year that DeFi becomes even more accessible to new blockchain investors thanks to fast transaction times, low fees, and the all-in-one DeFi Hub Spooky.Fi.
Stay Spooky!
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