Ep 239 – Lifelong Entrepreneur and Founder of Metaintro on Innovating in Web3
Lifelong Entrepreneur and Founder of Metaintro on Innovating in Web3
For Lacey Kaelani, a 9-5 work day was never the dream. And even when it was a reality, her parents were in her ear, giving her business ideas and telling her it was time to follow the dream of entrepreneurship that had permeated throughout her entire life. But for Lacey, the hardest choice wasn’t committing to a less traditional career, it was the transition from whiteboard to product, a process she laments is one of the most difficult parts of going out on your own.
In this episode of Peers2Peers, powered by Shopify, Web3 pioneer Lacey joins the podcast to discuss taking your internal monologue seriously, the logistics of selling one start-up and securing millions in funding for another, and the difficulties of hiring in the Web3 space.
Lacey Kaelani:
The daughter of two entrepreneurs, Lacey Kaelani continued her family tradition from a young age: selling stylish erasers to her peers in primary school. Her passion continued, as she experimented with different ventures from high school to university, all the way onto Web3. She’d always maintained that entrepreneurship came in many forms, from her eraser enterprise to her father’s decision to start a late-life peanut farm in South America. For Lacey, its most recent forms were Casting Depot, a networking service for the media industry, which was sold in 2022, and the hugely successful Metaintro, a digital resume wallet for Web3..
An expert entrepreneur, Lacey’s been involved in every stage of the start-up process. Moving from whiteboard to product, from venture capital to sale. The sales process in particular is an aspect of the start-up journey rarely discussed or documented, but for Lacey it emphasises another one of the lessons learned through a life of creating products: that everything is temporary. An important lesson during hard days, but also an important exercise in mindfulness during the good days.
In this episode of Peers2Peers, powered by Shopify, Lacey shares lessons learned through a life of innovating. How to prioritise your internal monologue seriously, the logistics of selling one start-up and securing millions in funding for another, and the difficulties of hiring in the Web3 space.
Street Cred:
Lacey Kaelani is the co-founder of Metaintro, a digital resume wallet for Web3, which stores proof of employment, skills, and education, replacing the PDF resume. The startup has been able to secure $5.6 million in funding from sources such as NEAR Blockchain, Aave and Druid.
She previously spent three years growing Casting Depot, a professional networking service for the media and industry, which was sold to Shuffl last year.
In 2023, Lacey was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Consumer Technology list.
Learn More:
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Check out Metaintro: https://www.metaintro.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/metaintro
Connect with Lacey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceykaelani/
Follow The Peers Project on Instagram: http://bit.ly/3adVmYG
