In June 2019, I took a leap into the unknown to start a company, Proof of Talent. In my initial announcement blog post, I said “My aim with Proof of Talent is to create the go-to recruitment resource for rapidly growing companies in need of top blockchain talent, as well as candidates looking to advance their career in the blockchain industry.”
In many ways, I think Proof of Talent has succeeded in becoming the go-to recruitment partner for companies in the crypto/blockchain/web3 space. We have helped over 100 talented individuals find meaningful employment in the crypto industry. We have helped over 40 companies (large, small and everywhere in between) hire the talent they need to scale their businesses.
While Proof of Talent has proven correct my initial thesis that the unique nature of the blockchain and web3 industry requires specialized recruiters, there is still tremendous work to be done.
Which is why, when Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano and Colton Sakamoto approached me in early January to discuss what they were building at Inflection Points Inc and how Proof of Talent could help fill a missing piece, I was immediately interested. Thus far, Inflection Points has quietly built a profitable business focusing around individual/enterprise bitcoin and blockchain education, as well as a highly successful job board.
The vision for Inflection Points is compelling. To build the preeminent solution that ensures that every company in the crypto industry is able to hire the best talent, while simultaneously creating systems and programs to train existing employees on the relevant technologies.
Helping companies in the crypto industry to hire the best talent is exactly what Proof of Talent does, and has been doing for the past three years. The work we do at Proof of Talent is incredibly complementary to that of Inflection Points' existing hiring and education solutions, which in turn, will benefit the job seekers and clients we work with on a daily basis.
The opportunity for Proof of Talent to join Inflection Points was appealing for a number of reasons. Aside from the previously mentioned complementary business lines that benefit all parties, Pomp and Colton Sakamoto were also adamant about maintaining the operational independence and culture that Proof of Talent had already built. Which in practice meant that we could maintain our brand identity, and more importantly, the incredible team of recruiters who are a part of Proof of Talent.
So what does all of this mean for those we interact with on a daily basis, our job seekers and hiring employers?
What does this mean for our job seekers?
Proof of Talent will continue to operate as a stand alone team, as we have for the past three years. From the job seekers perspective, there will be no meaningful changes. You’ll still be interacting directly with our team of talent recruiters (more on them later), who will do their absolute best in helping you to find great opportunities in the crypto industry.
In addition to our current work, the Proof of Talent recruiting team will more closely support candidates from the Crypto Academy as well as PompCryptoJobs, who request to utilize our services.
What does this mean for our hiring employers?
As mentioned above, Proof of Talent will continue to operate as a stand alone team. If you’re a current client of Proof of Talent (more detailed thank you below), there will be no change to our current relationship. The entire Proof of Talent team has been retained through the acquisition, so there will be no new points of contact required.
We will continue to serve your hiring needs with the same dedication as we always have, but now with even more resources at our disposal thanks to Inflection Points, with the goal of helping you find the best talent possible.
Thank you
Proof of Talent would be nowhere today if not for the team of recruiters we have, our hiring employers, our job seekers and many more individuals.
I’d like to thank Colton Kirkpatrick for being the first person crazy enough to take the leap and join me in working on Proof of Talent. You were instrumental in getting the company off the ground and have been a great partner in the business. I couldn’t imagine a better first hire.
To my 2021 P Club winners, Jared Delin (million dollar biller heyo) and Jordan Barry, you’re both phenomenal recruiters and it’s a pleasure to have your leadership on the team. To the newer team members, Julia Draheim, Charli Robbins, Bri Williams, Sierra Magdaleno and Matthew Turpin, I couldn’t be more grateful for your efforts at Proof of Talent and I know you will all be incredibly successful here.
To our hiring employers, thank you. As someone who has grown a business myself (albeit not as large as most of yours!) I know how crucial it is to hire the right people, at the right time. It’s an honor that you’ve chosen Proof of Talent to represent your companies in such a crucial business function. And a special thank you to our earliest clients in 2019/2020, who took a chance working with us, simply out of faith and trust.
To our job seekers, thank you for entrusting us with one of life’s major decisions, your career. I thoroughly believe that work in the cryptocurrency/blockchain/web3 industry is intellectually interesting, exciting and meaningful, and I hope the job opportunities introduced through Proof of Talent have provided you with those same feelings.
There are many other people who have been instrumental in the success of Proof of Talent and deserve a thank you. My wife Nicole, for always supporting my aspirations for the business, no matter how long it took to get off the ground. My former colleagues from AirSwap/Fluidity, who provided me with my first professional taste of the industry and great working relationships that supported Proof of Talent. The crew from Crypto Twitter, from the suits to the anons, there are too many of you to name. The many VCs who were (actually!) helpful in providing introductions to portfolio companies and great talent looking for new opportunities.
While the thank yous above may seem like a goodbye, they are not. I am not leaving Proof of Talent. I, along with the rest of the Proof of Talent team, are staying on to deliver on our mission to connect elusive talent with core cryptocurrency and blockchain companies.
The thank yous above are simply that. A thanks to those who have made the progress of Proof of Talent thus far possible, and will also likely enable our future progress as well.
At Proof of Talent, crypto recruitment is all we do. We’re excited to continue this important work alongside the excellent team at Inflection Points Inc.
Onwards and upwards.