In December, we published Bet on Builders. The thesis was simple: builder recognition is broken, and we're fixing it by ranking builders based on verified impact, not follower counts.

All types of recognition can be valuable. But I believe money is still the highest form of recognition for builders. Getting paid for building is the ultimate vote of confidence. That's what most builders work towards, and what we help them unlock.

Our product vision is to track the entire builder journey, from first hackathon to seed round, so:

• builders can convert reputation into capital

• ecosystems and investors can fund future founders

• companies can hire quality builders

Everyone's looking for founders. Ecosystems say they want "builders" but they're really hoping those builders become founders who build profitable apps that drive TVL and usage. Investors obviously want founders to invest in. And retail traders will more likely “bet on builders” if they're future founders.

But builders need capital at every stage, not just when they're raising. Small rewards validate early work. Grants fund exploration. Bigger checks come later. The journey matters.

Tracking builders early is how you find future founders. Some ecosystems are shifting from broad grants to more concentrated bets (ex.: accelerator model), but they still lack the tools to identify quality builders early. Investors face a similar problem. The alpha is in early builder signal.

Builder activity is fragmented across hackathon platforms, grant programs, GitHub, socials, accelerators. Each sees a slice, no one sees the full picture.

There's no one tracking the builder journey end-to-end. So by the time a builder becomes "fundable," everyone's already seen them and the opportunity is gone.

Talent helps ecosystems and investors find quality builders before they're obvious. Because we've been tracking them since their very first commit.

We see builders and their projects across chains, giving a complete picture no single ecosystem can see.

Ecosystems are moving toward a more integrated view of the builder journey. Base, for example, made their 2026 priority clear: "helping onchain builders raise onchain capital" by connecting "high-conviction investors with high-quality builders and their assets."

Our product vision maps directly to this: we provide the quality signal that enables long-term conviction.

Talent is becoming the builder department for ecosystems that really care about builder success.

We're not just tracking builders. We're replacing the fragmented tools ecosystems use today with one full-stack platform.

Top Funnel → Attract Weekend Builders

• Focus: Weekend builders are the ones building side projects, learning, exploring. The goal is to bring them in and start collecting signal.

• Builder promise: "Get rewarded for building."

• How: Builder rewards, project registration (even side projects get registered so we start tracking early), badges, and gamification. Or even exploring an opportunity board to aggregate hackathons, grants, and bounties in one place.

Middle Funnel → Qualify Serious Builders (the 1%)

• Focus: Builders shipping consistently, with solid track records. Serial builders.

• Promise to builders: "Level up through competition and community."

• How: Project tracking and weekly rankings (we measure how projects evolve over time, their growth and impact). Challenges and async incubator programs. Peer endorsements. IRL community through Talent House and Builders Table dinners.

Bottom Funnel → Surface the Best Builders (the 0.1%)

• Focus: The best builders either become founders (solo/startup) or get hired by top teams. Both outcomes require the same thing: being discovered by the right people.

• Promise to builders: "Get discovered by the people who fund startups and hire top talent."

• How: Talent Pro (an AI-powered search tool to find the best builders). Watchlists for tracking builders. Sourcing for investors/accelerators. Eventually, a betting layer via personal tokens.

We just shipped better rankings that measure real impact, not vanity metrics. Builder earnings are now the main driver of reputation: up to 50% of the Builder Rank. If you're getting paid to build, that's the signal that matters most.

Next up: Projects. All activity and impact data will flow through registered projects, not individual profiles. This creates proprietary data (project attribution, builder graph) while reducing costs and increasing engagement.

Capital, not just recognition. We used to say "give builders recognition." Now we're saying "help builders get capital." Capital is the best recognition.

Founders, not just builders. Not all builders are equal. The goal is tracking the 1% who become fundable.

Projects, not just profiles. Projects are what gets funded. We track the builder, the project, and eventually the token.

Programs, not just data. Challenges and competitions find future founders. Passive data tracking isn't enough.

If you're running grants or an accelerator, we can help you find quality builders before they're obvious. If you're a builder, go to talent.app and check where you stand.

In December, we published Bet on Builders. The thesis was simple: builder recognition is broken, and we're fixing it by ranking builders based on verified impact, not follower counts.

All types of recognition can be valuable. But I believe money is still the highest form of recognition for builders. Getting paid for building is the ultimate vote of confidence. That's what most builders work towards, and what we help them unlock.

Our product vision is to track the entire builder journey, from first hackathon to seed round, so:

• builders can convert reputation into capital

• ecosystems and investors can fund future founders

• companies can hire quality builders

Everyone's looking for founders. Ecosystems say they want "builders" but they're really hoping those builders become founders who build profitable apps that drive TVL and usage. Investors obviously want founders to invest in. And retail traders will more likely “bet on builders” if they're future founders.

But builders need capital at every stage, not just when they're raising. Small rewards validate early work. Grants fund exploration. Bigger checks come later. The journey matters.

Tracking builders early is how you find future founders. Some ecosystems are shifting from broad grants to more concentrated bets (ex.: accelerator model), but they still lack the tools to identify quality builders early. Investors face a similar problem. The alpha is in early builder signal.

Builder activity is fragmented across hackathon platforms, grant programs, GitHub, socials, accelerators. Each sees a slice, no one sees the full picture.

There's no one tracking the builder journey end-to-end. So by the time a builder becomes "fundable," everyone's already seen them and the opportunity is gone.

Talent helps ecosystems and investors find quality builders before they're obvious. Because we've been tracking them since their very first commit.

We see builders and their projects across chains, giving a complete picture no single ecosystem can see.

Ecosystems are moving toward a more integrated view of the builder journey. Base, for example, made their 2026 priority clear: "helping onchain builders raise onchain capital" by connecting "high-conviction investors with high-quality builders and their assets."

Our product vision maps directly to this: we provide the quality signal that enables long-term conviction.

Talent is becoming the builder department for ecosystems that really care about builder success.

We're not just tracking builders. We're replacing the fragmented tools ecosystems use today with one full-stack platform.

Top Funnel → Attract Weekend Builders

• Focus: Weekend builders are the ones building side projects, learning, exploring. The goal is to bring them in and start collecting signal.

• Builder promise: "Get rewarded for building."

• How: Builder rewards, project registration (even side projects get registered so we start tracking early), badges, and gamification. Or even exploring an opportunity board to aggregate hackathons, grants, and bounties in one place.

Middle Funnel → Qualify Serious Builders (the 1%)

• Focus: Builders shipping consistently, with solid track records. Serial builders.

• Promise to builders: "Level up through competition and community."

• How: Project tracking and weekly rankings (we measure how projects evolve over time, their growth and impact). Challenges and async incubator programs. Peer endorsements. IRL community through Talent House and Builders Table dinners.

Bottom Funnel → Surface the Best Builders (the 0.1%)

• Focus: The best builders either become founders (solo/startup) or get hired by top teams. Both outcomes require the same thing: being discovered by the right people.

• Promise to builders: "Get discovered by the people who fund startups and hire top talent."

• How: Talent Pro (an AI-powered search tool to find the best builders). Watchlists for tracking builders. Sourcing for investors/accelerators. Eventually, a betting layer via personal tokens.

We just shipped better rankings that measure real impact, not vanity metrics. Builder earnings are now the main driver of reputation: up to 50% of the Builder Rank. If you're getting paid to build, that's the signal that matters most.

Next up: Projects. All activity and impact data will flow through registered projects, not individual profiles. This creates proprietary data (project attribution, builder graph) while reducing costs and increasing engagement.

Capital, not just recognition. We used to say "give builders recognition." Now we're saying "help builders get capital." Capital is the best recognition.

Founders, not just builders. Not all builders are equal. The goal is tracking the 1% who become fundable.

Projects, not just profiles. Projects are what gets funded. We track the builder, the project, and eventually the token.

Programs, not just data. Challenges and competitions find future founders. Passive data tracking isn't enough.

If you're running grants or an accelerator, we can help you find quality builders before they're obvious. If you're a builder, go to talent.app and check where you stand.