# Interview with xNFT BackPack / Mad Lads CM. *by melo* By [melo](https://paragraph.com/@melo) · 2023-07-21 interview, web3, blockchain, social --- ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b97a8485c47bfbbf03db6eb58b4a39a5.png) [Backpack](https://www.backpack.app/) is the next generation Solana wallet that brings xNFTs. 1. **Please introduce yourself.** ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/7606afa33ebca06cca56929d256bf417.png) My name is Anton, I am Community Manager in xNFT BackPack and Mad Lads projects. 2. **How long have you been in the crypto and what brought you here?** Came to crypto in 2017, I started to get maximum activity at the end of 2021 after seeing a couple of interesting articles about the sphere and opportunities here, earlier I was busy with my main IRL job. 3. **Where did you start, what were the first projects on your radar?** ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/f85b192d3ff22f198e8c5a9d98b9ebaf.png) It's actually quite hard to remember anything specific, because there was a huge information noise from all cracks: IDO here, retrodrop there, flip here, buy this shitcoin here.  I tried everything I could, and it did not lead to any result.  After a series of failures I did not give up and continued to explore projects, and for this purpose I made a bot that monitored the tweets of projects and sent me notifications, it was thanks to this bot that I found xNFT\_Backpack. By a lucky coincidence I managed to get into the then still closed community and I immediately liked very much how open the team was in communication and their background, how they saw the future of the project and how they were developing. Thanks to them, I got to know more about the Solana ecosystem and learnt how to separate the seeds from the chaff. 4. **How did you come to work in web3?** ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/77397c44bb1fa6c4699844033ca5a31f.png) By the time I got into the closed BackPack community, I had a realisation that I was more interested in being part of a community of ecosystem builders than hunting for drops and rewards. I just kept counter-tweeting and making the best memes and videos in the community for Backpack Twitter. 5. **How did you get into backpack?** In September 2022, the most active members of the community received job offerings and I of course accepted. 6. **What was your portfolio at the time of your "employment"?** All my luggage is videos and content I made for the project, you can check it out on my [Twitter profile](https://twitter.com/iguandot) or the Backpack discord museum. 7. **What are your responsibilities?** – Standard moderation + discord automation (Dyno); – Content creation (tutorials for youtube, memes for reels and twitter); – Filling the gitbook; – Conducting various events inside discord (quizzes mostly); – Helping developers from time to time. 8. **How do you communicate with the project team, do you have a working chat, team calls to plan future goals?** There is a group chat and we hold a meeting once a week on Google Meet. 9. **How does the project team contact a user in order to recruit a person to their team?** It varies, it depends on how the person got into the team. For example, I was contacted via Discord, one of the developers was hired because he was very productive working on the Backpack repository, he was probably contacted via Telegram or Twitter. 10. **Were you given a contract so that you were officially considered a member of the project team and were "legally" protected?** I was not given a contract. It is worth realising that this is not the same as working for Google or an American company in the general sense. This is a start-up, after all, and you have to realise that it is a dynamic environment. 11. **What are your payment terms and job requirements? If under an NDA, please provide a range, for example, $1000 - $2000.** 2000$ - 3000$ per month. 12. **How do you receive your salary? Is it paid in stablecoins, Solana, or to a bank account?** I receive my salary in $USDC (USD Coin). 13. **What advice would you give to people who want to work full-time in web3 and increase their chances of getting into a top-tier project?** – Find something you want to specialize in, something where you can be in the top 25%. – Improve those skills and create value for the project that other developers can't provide. – Don't be afraid to communicate in English, even if you need to use a translator. – Learn how to join communities faster than others. ### Small blitz. 1. **What stands out the most to you in the world of cryptocurrencies?** There's so much happening every day; it's hard to pinpoint one specific thing. It seems like a new paradigm is set almost every week. In general, my belief in an independent financial system has only strengthened after experiencing sanctions and moving to a new place. I was able to settle in without much trouble, and that left a lasting impression. 2. **A project that surprised you.** Recently, [Bonk](https://twitter.com/bonk_inu) was an outstanding case that showcased the speed and scalability of the Solana network. Another one I can mention is the new Solana client from Jump - [Firedancer](https://twitter.com/jump_firedancer). 3. **A project that disappointed you.** Perhaps, FTX, and to be more specific, Alameda. The ordeal that the Backpack team went through in the last two months after the collapse says a lot, as even those who were inches away from the epicenter couldn't fathom that SBF was behind it all. 4. **Your personal discovery or a future trend that others currently overlook.** xNFT as a technology for tokenized code. In reality, the dApps in Backpack are just one of the potential use cases for this technology. Let's see where it leads. 5. **A problem that most projects have, but many fail to notice.** Terrible tokenomics, especially in play-to-earn projects, is something that many people are lazy to study and, consequently, overlook. 6. **Is there a person who serves as a role model for you in the crypto space?** I don't like seeking idols, but let the answer to this question be Vitalik Buterin. 7. **An inspiring quote.** > "Blockchain technology is more than just money. It's a new way of thinking about how the world operates." - Andreas Antonopoulos. [Subscribe](https://paragraph.xyz/@melo/memberships) [Share](https://paragraph.xyz/@melo/YNEBtjNetMtILNorPGTs) [Collect](https://paragraph.xyz/@melo/YNEBtjNetMtILNorPGTs) --- *Originally published on [melo](https://paragraph.com/@melo/backpackcm)*