Marketing, PoolTogether and the FIFA World Cup
PoolTogether Community Interview #16: Loitering_Sean
Welcome to the latest Community Interview where we share the real-life stories of our Community Members. You will experience the stories of people from all over the world, with all levels of technical skills and backgrounds and experiences, with everyone committed to contributing to the Community.
Today, we have someone who in his short time with the DAO has really shaken it up, namely Loitering_Sean. Here is his incredible story:
Tell us a bit about yourself. Describe yourself in a few words/facts:
I’m a 40-something father of two from Toronto, Canada. Although I have been born and raised here, I am extremely fortunate to be well travelled. I have had the pleasure of living in Sweden for a short while- jag kan inte pratar svensk, förlåt- and have also been able to visit every continent in the world- except for Antarctica.
I’m an avid sports fan- like literally any sport from F1 to Aussie Rules (probably my two least favourites, but I still love them) and everything in between. Every single sport is amazing but sadly my natural talent has never allowed me to compete beyond playing for my high-school way back when, so I’m just a fan and rec-league athlete.
My other passions are business, i’m a partner in an advertising agency, but have also been an angel investor/consultant in a bunch of start-ups across a variety of different industry sectors- and I mean who doesn’t love a good show on Netflix or Amazon Prime?
Tell us your FIFA World Cup 2022 Story
Back when I graduated undergrad in 2003 I made a bet with a friend of mine who was a huge Canada soccer fan, an overly optimistic one in my opinion. We bet $500 (which was a lot for us back then) that Canada would not qualify for the World Cup Of Soccer for the next three qualification rounds. The bet ended in 2014 and I won quite easily, Canada never even sniffed the hex so I was cocky.
I offered to re-up the bet with larger stakes- Canada would not qualify for the next three World Cup of Soccers (2018, 2022, 2026). If they did qualify, then I as the loser would have to pay for both of us to fly to the host country and attend a Canada World Cup game.
2018 came and went, then the bottom fell out- first it was announced that Canada would host the 2026 World Cup and as such, automatically qualify. I bet I would lose, but seeing as we live in Toronto and there is to be games in Toronto, not a terrible loss. BUT, now Canada is knocking on the door of qualifying for Qatar. They beat the US twice, they beat Mexico once and drew them once...if they don't get in I will be shocked....SO I'M GOING TO QATAR THIS NOVEMBER (unless covid changes anything)
How long have you been into crypto?
This is actually a more difficult question- back in 2018 I consulted with a crypto-based loyalty startup that never really got off the ground. I learned a bunch about crypto back then, but when the startup pretty much got sold for talent at the end of 2018, I didn’t think about crypto again until late-2021 when I started to learn about the power of Defi.
Since then i’ve been all-in, learning, growing and trying to understand how the non-technical world is going to take advantage of everything Crypto offers.
Do you want to tell us about the main lessons you have learned since then?
We’re on the precipice of a new world. The simplest innovations like a crypto wallet as a gateway to the blockchain are going to have profound implications globally. The biggest lesson I’ve learned: Stop chasing APY, start chasing AP5-10Y (Returns in 5-10 years) because when the mainstream ‘jumps down the rabbit hole’ look out!
What was your best crypto moment?
Buying ETH in 2018 then not selling it in 2019
I bought the eth out of pure speculation. Between the startup I was consulting with, my friend and my own research, I believed Etherium was going to be the platform that everything was going to be the dominant crypto platform...I thought there was still a bubble, but I figured I would dip my toe in...then the market crashed.
I didn't sell because even though I've been a marketer for 16 years, I studied economics in undergrad and as a masters. Ask any economist and they will tell you- you can't beat the market, buy a diverse portfolio that represents the economy and hold it until you retire....I have mostly lived by that. I very rarely sell assets- stocks, bonds or crypto...I have some fantastic stories where that philosophy has worked immensely for me and stories where I've missed out on some key profits. But I really try not to sell anything…unless I don’t understand it…
And your biggest fail?
Not buying in earlier. I have a friend who is well connected to the Etherium development team who was screaming to go big on ETH back when it was well below $100…not listening- biggest fail!
How did you find out about PoolTogether?
When I got back into crypto in the late-2020’s I wanted to find ‘real world’ applications for crypto. It surprised me that the vast majority of applications were crypto-centric- you really needed to be deeply engrained in crypto to take advantage.
I came across Pool Together and it made sense- incentivized savings, big prize potential, global reach…seemed like the perfect opportunity to add value from my previous experiences and learn.
What made you stick around?
The community, full stop.
What I liked/like about the PT community is how welcoming everyone is...what really drew me in was one of the Community Members in particular. When I put up my hand to say I can help with marketing, they went out of their way to reach out and chat with me even though I could not make the group meeting.
It was this conversation that made me realize I can help here and I decided to go "all in"....from there I've chatted with a TON of amazing people underthesea, bravenewdefi, torgin, taleskeye, leighton, brendan, kris, tjark, tuna...not to mention the core MWG Smart Investor, Anne, Tim, StarTree...regardless of what happens in the future, I am both emotionally invested and hopefully more soon- financially invested in the success of the DAO and the protocol.
How are you involved in the community? Tell us about it.
I was lucky enough to join the community right when the idea of the Marketing Working Group started to come together. I’m very involved in getting that up and running.
We are excited that we got community approval on our mandate and we are now organizing into sub-committees so that we can start to deliver work effectively.
Would you recommend PoolTogether to others? How would you describe it to them?
Yes, and I have. The positioning that has seemed to resonate is that VCs are subsidizing bigger and more frequent prizes to stimulate growth. So get your money in now to take advantage of some of the safest, highest returns in crypto.
Are you involved in any other projects or communities?
Not yet in the crypto, web3 space. However, I am actively looking so if you have suggestions of great DAOs projects, please send them to me!
Do you have any other thoughts and comments you would like to make?
I have had the great fortune of being able to have conversations with a bunch of the community members here. First and foremost, thank you for your time and patience explaining what I am sure are basic concepts to you, but important learnings to me. I am continually blown away by your knowledge and experience. Second, let’s not sell ourselves short.
There will be at least one crypto-based protocol that powers PLS’ across the globe, if PoolTogether is not the market leader, we’ve done something wrong. PT is ready for the next phase of growth, all the tools are here, let’s continue to organize and go get it!
We hope you have enjoyed this PT Community Interview. Remember you can find out more about PoolTogether and how to deposit at PoolTogether.com. Plus, get involved with our Community including the weekly PT Community Calls every Friday, at the Official PT Discord.