Co-founder and CSO of Aethir, Mark Rydon is focused on building decentralized cloud infrastructure to scale the future of latency sensitive and resource intensive cloud applications – think Human-AI interactions and real-time cloud rendering for the gaming industry.
“By decentralizing cloud infrastructure resources, we are able to offer access to GPU computational power at a fraction of the cost, with significantly improved performance, optimized for latency sensitive cloud applications,” he says on his Linkedin profile.
Rydon joined us to talk about his career, how the Aethir community has prospered and strategies for succeeding in Web3 Projects. He also explains his reasons for coming on board as an advisor for Tashi Protocol.
His career in web3 has been defined by focus and perseverance, especially through the bear winter of 2021. Rydon’s key strengths include staying market-focused, using effective communication, and building strong partnerships. Highlights include a record-breaking node sale, raising significant funds, and becoming a major player in enterprise GPU infrastructure. Successes with Aethir involve raising over $130 million and establishing a robust ecosystem supported by notable investors.
How would describe your web3 career – what have been your highlights and strengths
My career in web3 has been all about building and sticking to our goals. We launched in 2021, which was a pretty crazy year, but we kept our heads down and focused on building even during the tough times. Now, we’re starting to see the results of all that hard work.
One of my strengths is being able to stay focused no matter what’s happening in the market. I also have a good sense of what’s going on in the market and can communicate the most important parts of our business really well. Building strong relationships and partnerships has also been key to our success.
One of the biggest highlights was our node sale, where our community bought over 71,000 checker nodes, which brought in about 41,000 $ETH. This showed just how supportive our community is and how much they believe in what we’re doing.
Tell me a bit about your successes with Aethir?
My journey as a founder has been full of ups and downs. But some of the biggest successes I can highlight include the largest node sale in history with 71,000 nodes sold and 42,000 ETH raised. Another key highlight for us is that we have the largest enterprise GPU DEPIN, with 42,000 GPUs connected, and hold the biggest collection of Nvidia H100 GPUs in Web3, providing critical infrastructure for enterprise AI. Backed by prominent investors such as Framework Ventures, Merit Circle, Hashkey, Animoca Brands, Sanctor Capital, and Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC), we have raised over $130 million for our ecosystem.
How is a Web3 OG different from a Web2 OG – what skill sets are needed in Web3?
The main difference between a Web3 OG and a Web2 OG is the commitment to community and usually, decentralization. As a cofounder, I can attest to our belief in decentralization, which shapes our hiring, tech development, and culture. Our globally distributed team is hired based on their knowledge and passion for Web3, not just traditional metrics like universities and grades. There is a lot of volatility in the Web3 space and without conviction, you’re at risk of getting shaken out.
Aethir has always prioritized community from day one, making decisions with the community in mind, often at the expense of what would be considered an optimal Web2 roadmap. However, we fully believe in the trades we made and we wouldn’t be here without our community.
In my opinion, the key skills required for success in Web3 include curiosity (to keep up with constant evolution), innovativeness (to explore new frontiers), risk appetite (to handle ambiguity), and being a self-starter (to embrace trial and error).
Coming as a Web3 OG to a startup – how can you fast track your startup’s experience?
Even as a “Web3 OG” transitioning to building a startup (which I wouldn’t classify myself as!), it is always scary. You may have some valuable insights and experience, but there are no guarantees. However if you are looking to fast-track your startup’s journey here are some suggestions to leverage your expertise to expedite your startup’s growth –
- Tap Into Your Network: Utilize your existing network within the Web3 community to gain access to resources, partnerships, and potential investors. Leverage your relationships to secure early adopters, advisors, and mentors who can provide guidance and support.
- Stay On Trends: Continuously monitor emerging trends, technologies, and developments within the Web3 space. Your deep understanding of blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, and other Web3 concepts positions you to identify opportunities and pivot quickly to capitalize on market shifts. You don’t need to pivot every week, but explaining your relevance to a particular trend can bring huge attention to your project.
- Embrace Decentralized Principles: Embrace the ethos of decentralization in your startup’s operations and governance model. Leverage decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), tokenomics, and community-driven initiatives to foster transparency, trust, and inclusivity within your ecosystem. Constantly be thinking about how you can involve your community in what you are doing.
- Iterate Rapidly: Adopt an agile approach to development, iterating quickly based on user feedback and market validation. Your experience can help you identify and address product-market fit early on, accelerating your startup’s growth trajectory. In a bull market, you need to be thinking about how you can get to market ASAP, or if you are already live, see some exponential growth. You make money in the bull so you can build in the bear.
- Engage with the Community: Actively engage with the Web3 community through participation in forums, conferences, and online communities. Your presence and contributions can help you establish credibility, attract talent, find investors and forge strategic partnerships within the ecosystem. Cross pollinate, share in the success of others and share your own!
- Stay Compliant: Stay informed about regulatory developments and compliance requirements within the Web3 space. Your knowledge of regulatory frameworks and industry standards can help you navigate legal complexities and adapt your startup’s strategy accordingly. You can make a lot of money in the bull market, don’t mess it up.
How did you meet the Tashi team?
I met the Tashi team in Singapore as we often run in the same circles within the APAC blockchain and gaming communities. I was excited to get to know a team that had been building in Singapore for a lot longer than us, and have learned a lot from them!
What appeals to you about Tashi and its goals?
I was really excited by Tashi’s consensus mechanism. As a company with Gaming roots, the idea of fully on chain games has always been exciting for us. The type of consensus that Tashi has built really opens the opportunity for this type of gaming experience and that’s a big step forward for the Web3 gaming industry.
What are the key elements to a successful project in your opinion?
There is no one-size-fits-all to creating a successful Web3 project, but here are some key elements that should definitely be a focus for projects building in this space –
- Vision and Purpose
Web3 is very much about moon shots. The community wants to know they are getting in on the ground floor of something big. As a result, your project needs to think big and have a plan to build towards that objective.
- Product
We are early, but the Web3 community wasn’t born yesterday. Excite them with a product or MVP that actually works and you will be miles ahead of 99% of other projects.
- Community Engagement
Always think about how you can engage your community and how your roadmap aligns with their engagement. Partnerships will get you one step of the way, but you need to have a community and for that you need to build a reason for that community to exist.
- Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations
It is lonely building alone, and it’s also really hard to build a community in isolation. Work with other projects and convince bigger ones to support you.