First 9 days into a new role + Web3 Debanking
What I'm Up To (Crypto), What I Reflected On (The First 9 Days), and What's Occupying My Mind (Web3 Debanking)- all part of Allen's Friday Flights
Hello Professionally Curious One!
Welcome to my Friday Flights, a collection of seemingly random things. And HOLY SHIT what a week.
Cheers,
Allen
Past Publications
What I’m Up To
TL;DR: Crypto
The Things:
I’m starting to enjoy Monday.com a lot more than I thought I should.
I’m almost done revamping my home office through the extension of new shelving and lighting, and a place for one of my lego sets. Also a wireless printer!
83(b) is one of the most geekiest things between equity and money that you should know about if you ever get your hand on restricted units at a startup.
Hogwarts Legacy is oddly fun - it is not a lazy game! I’m House Jigglypuff.
Chic Now Hainan Chicken Rice is my go to Hainan Chicken place.
I’m talking to CSULB students on March 15 about…wait what am I talking about?
Anyone want the most badass COO & Generalist for your venture, startup, or company? A fantastic individual I know is looking.
I really want this PC case but it’s too big. I also want to do a brand new PC build, but I know it’ll just sit there looking pretty. Oddly specific: RTX 3070 TIs have an audio tearing bug for anyone with a 4k 120hz setup.
The OC Restaurant Week VIP Party is the best food event I have ever been to.
Shoutout to Faizon for this great graph: The 8 Types of CFOs
Panda express offering…Lodge Skillets?
Episode 70. My husband thinks savings for our kids’ education is a waste of money is such a solidly great episode about finance, and it isn’t about finance.
What I reflected on
TL;DR: Create feedback cycles now by asking feedback that should be for other people, but for you.
The New Guy
A few days ago I started a new role. I’m in a state of “transition” so to speak. Truth be told, I haven’t operated like I have in a long time. The fundamental difference is that my professional confidence is now pegged to very different values, which in turn has created a sense of centeredness as I move around professionally.
I find the word value obfuscating and no one explains it. A value in this context isn’t “what are my core values”, as if to make an introspective and philosophical excercise. It’s actually more related to money: “What is backing my currency, or my confidence”. That’ll be a writing for later.
For now, I am making it a point to reflect often on my progression - so considers this a sort of mini-journal of sorts.
BEFORE STARTING
Before I started the role, I actually had dialogues with several people whom I would consider part of my “Personal Board of Directors”, even if they don’t know it.
Here’s some of the more tactical and actionable advice given:
L.M.:
Bootstrap it first, then ask for resources
Build alliances and use your “new factor” to learn the business, and the people
Don’t move fast and try to snipe all the low-hanging fruit. You’ll run out of fruit.
P.W.: Don’t sign anything. Personal liability. Also get service providers to shoulder things.
FIRST WEEK
During the start of the role, I started asking people for their feedback and advice - as if I was someone who had been there forever, and as if I was the persona they wish they could have just told straight:
A.M.:
Prioritize ruthlessly.
After a decision is made you don’t like, you need to move on. You can tell them “I told you so” later; but you don’t get to dwell and take no action after a decision you don’t like gets made.
K.B.: Finance & Accounting tends to be insular and not build relationships with different groups. Break that stereotype.
A great question to ask, especially in an interview - whether you’ve been hired or not, is to simply ask them for feedback about people they’ve encountered that are filling your role, or persona of a role. The last person filling your shoes in their life either left a positive, or negative, impression.
If it’s positive, you have shoes to fill.
If it's negative, it’a bias to overcome, but also an opportunity to win.
PROJECTED NEXT WEEKS
Here are some of my own thoughts that synthesize my past experiences. Way previous to this role, I used to be part of a venture at my old employer that saw the expansion of a group of 25 to 100 people.
The then version of me was energetic and brash, which consequently led to many experiences, but too many jobs. Eventually this would contribute to a vicious cycle that led to a burn out.
Fire myself from every job. If I’m not fireable, I’m not promotable, I’m not replaceable, and in an environment where the expectation is that “every day is different”, I need to shave things off or corner them down.
Mind your business: As much as I want to help every single person, I can’t. Nor is it my business to. The best learning here I can share is that whomever you choose to help, is it a one time thing, or are you expected to take on and man a process indefinitely;?
Healthy Boundaries: A role or a job isn’t meant to save me; that’s a bad expectation. A job is a job, and while yes it is very much what I put in is what I get, I have to very conscious about never eroding my boundaries between this line of work, and other buckets I want to fulfill.
Document: Ironically, in the most chaotic of environments (any startup really, or anything moving fast), document is godly. It is the continuous passive value that keeps on paying itself off. Documentation, whether writing or illustrating, is fundamental and create long-term passive value.
Ask for “Borrowed Feedback”: In your first week, people don’t know you so they can’t give you feedback. But they can give you feedback about previous people they have worked with who they think represent you, and you can ask for that instead and see where they are thinking. Solid way to create an expectation for feedback.
Ending Comments
It’ll be a while before I reveal what I’m doing but if you’d like to know, you can find time with me in April and beyond.
What’s On My Mind (Web3 Debanking)
TL;DR: Getting Debanked is a serious thing in Web3.
I didn’t publish this past Wednesday. To make up for it, here’s a Web3 related content here.
Web3 Debanking
This week (like 24 hours ago), Silvergate Capital Group - a Bank - collapsed. They were considered a cornerstone in the Crypto & US Banking world. Adjacent to them, Silicon Valley Bank also took a huge fall as investors at several venture firms, fearing the worst, asked companies to pull their deposits out inevitably causing a bankrun.
Why am I talking about these things?
Because I just experienced it. I work in a role that basically allows me to massive balances at these kinds of institutions, and losing access to their deposits in the same was of a 1930s or 2008 crash is no bueno. One of the things on my agenda is the mitigate the risk of being debanked.
What does it mean to be debanked?
To be cut from access to your funds. Imagine $1b, and you can’t get it.
You can lose access through:
Being a targeted industry perceived as “too risky”
Get asset seizure through criminal charges
The bank collapses
It’s a #1 risk right now for Crypto companies, and is easily top 3 concerns of any CFO in a blockchain company. Regulatory chatter will give you context on where the pressure is being applied, and market failures like FTX also cause an everlasting ripple effect that won’t be fully realized for 3 to 12 months.
What can you do to prevent it?
Diversify the banking - Setup multiple banks that are not interconnected. U.S. based and off-shore based.
Diversify the assets but maintain their liquidity - either through the ability to convert into stablecoins and offramp them elsewhere, or whatever creative means you can get.
There should be a twitter gal/guy on your team that monitors chatter. Trust me, you’ll know when someone does. Also a legal officer looking at twitter in the same capacity helps greatly; atleast someone who is connected.
Get a disaster recovery plan in place, but not for business operations, just for financial operations.
What can you do once you suspect it’s going to happen?
Phone call to the bank in question of debanking you also a must - your goal here being to withdraw.
Phone calls to specific people at different banking institutions that can accept your deposits are a must - your goal being to transfer your assets immediately
Get a Plan B, C, and D going. What if you can’t wire? What can you do before lock out?
Wait, what are you doing right now?
Bro I’m setting up banks.