Today, December 24, 2024, Alex, the Executive Director of the Aleo Foundation, shared his parting thoughts on X on his last day in the position, noting that although he will no longer be the Executive Director after tomorrow, he still holds the role of Chair of the Board and is not leaving the Aleo Foundation; he is simply transitioning from Executive Director to Chair of the Board, remaining within the Aleo Foundation.
From my perspective during my time at Aleo, the technology has been realized and is successful, but in terms of price, Aleo is a complete mess, with the market generally believing that Aleo's price should be around 20 to 30∪ after going live on the mainnet, and the over-the-counter trading price was also around 8∪, but after announcing the formal mainnet launch, the price on the first day was only in the low 2s∪, and it was listed on a few small exchanges; people generally believed it would definitely list on Binance or OKEx, but reality is always vastly different from expectations. Although Aleo's price rose in the following days, it has been declining after reaching the 6s∪ mark, and now the price is only 1.1, close to breaking 1∪. I hope the new Executive Director can improve the coin price.
The following is Alex's original translation, worth reading and reflecting upon:
Today marks my last day working full-time at the Aleo Foundation, concluding a journey of four and a half years with @AleoHQ. Although I will continue to be involved in the project as the Chair of the Board, I would like to take this opportunity to share some parting thoughts about this experience and offer advice to anyone currently on or considering an entrepreneurial journey.
For me, @AleoHQ has been an incredible learning experience. It has taught me a lot about startups, cryptocurrency, leadership, and myself. Over the years, I have held every executive leadership position in two organizations: the Aleo Foundation and Aleo Systems Inc. (now known as Provable). We have tried hard. We have succeeded.
Looking back, I am immensely proud of our success. I also regret my mistakes. If Aleo represents all startups, this experience has truly been a rollercoaster. But I wouldn't trade the last four years for anything.
I cannot encapsulate this journey in one article, so the following is just a few pieces of advice based on my early reflections. I write this for my future self and for others because I plan to start another company someday (soon).
1. Success requires unwavering confidence in yourself and your ideas. To motivate others to support and follow you, you must be the most steadfast believer—the rock that people can rely on in difficult times.
At Aleo, there were countless times when things were hanging by a thread. We faced years of product delays, losing a large number of developers each time. Beyond that, we encountered many legal and regulatory challenges, some of which were a matter of life and death. Overcoming these challenges required days, weeks, or even months of 'thankless work'—doing unpleasant and laborious tasks that had to be done.
I believe that zero-knowledge cryptography will fundamentally change the internet in the short term. Some people I respect think the current issues with this technology (such as prover performance and poor developer experience) make this belief unreasonable. But this belief—despite seeming illogical to some—has helped me persist. Because I persisted, others chose to keep going for a day, a week, a month, a year, or longer.
However, this belief should not blind you to reality. There is a saying in the venture capital world: getting in early means getting it wrong. Talk to any venture capitalist or founder, and you will hear countless stories of having the right idea at the wrong time.
2. Therefore, maintain a pragmatic attitude towards the product and understand the distinction between features and the product. It’s simple: build what people want, not what you think is cool. Ruthlessly cut unnecessary features, conserve energy, and rely on data to guide decisions.
This does not mean abandoning the vision that inspires you. But it does mean acknowledging that your users may not see the world as you do; great marketing alone is not enough to convince people you are right; you must provide them with tangible things they value today. Startups that fail to do this almost always fall into the category of 'having a good idea at the wrong time.'
This pragmatism also applies to your own time. As a founder/CEO, everyone wants a piece of you. Every day you need to say 'no' to what you can do and choose what you should do, which brings to mind the third piece of advice: build a team you can trust.
3. One mistake I made was wanting to do too many things myself; my desire to lead by example hindered the best interests of the organization and the team. Trusting the contributions of others does not always come naturally, but it is the only way to scale. As the saying goes, 'If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.'
Many crypto projects build followings around specific individuals or ideas. However, few projects can build teams composed of outstanding individuals whose collective achievements exceed the sum of their individual accomplishments. Founders should adopt a 'gardener' mindset, focusing on empowering others rather than creating a cult of personality.
In this spirit, any crypto project should be committed to building a community where any individual member can become a leader within the ecosystem. This is a high standard, but focusing on quality rather than quantity can establish a resilient ecosystem that stands the test of time.
In summary, successful leadership of a startup requires you to do the following:
a) Have a firm belief that you are right and will succeed.
b) Be absolutely rational in deciding what to build and how to allocate your time.
c) Be patient, wise, and inspired while nurturing a team to double your efforts.
4. Of course, no one can fully meet these standards. So perhaps the most important advice I can give is: be kind to yourself. Do not embark on this journey for anyone but yourself. Only then will it be truly worth it.
Finally, I would like to quote this timeless saying from Theodore Roosevelt, which I believe is particularly applicable to anyone who has led or founded a company:
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”