In this exclusive BrandTalk interview with Roc Zacharias—CEO and co‑founder of the Layer 2 DEX QuickSwap—he shares the key lessons from his journey as a Web3 founder.
Having left a doctoral program behind after reading the Bitcoin whitepaper, Roc explains how Sandeep Nailwal, Polygon’s co‑founder, approached him with the idea that ultimately became QuickSwap.
He also reveals why he declined a multimillion‑dollar investment offer from Lightspeed, Coinbase Ventures, and Mark Cuban—and how he built QuickSwap into a leading DEX without significant VC funding.
Roc emphasizes that prioritizing decentralization—rather than venture capital—was essential to QuickSwap’s success.
“No VCs to dump on, and truly permissionless access for users,” he says, “that’s how we became the top DEX in Web3.”
Further, he views the evolving pro‑crypto regulatory climate in the U.S. as a bullish sign for the industry, albeit wryly noting it’s thanks to “being the largest funders of the 2024 Web3 elections.”
Throughout the conversation, he stresses the value of social capital over purely financial gains and warns new founders that reputation is fragile: “You must earn community trust if you want lasting leadership.” He also counsels founders to balance community focus with sustainable revenue—“you still need to make money,” he jokes.
Roc Zacharias further highlights that for founders, the most obvious challenge remains the uncertainty – ups and downs – of the Crypto market. One must prepare for longetivity to ensure survival.
Moving ahead, he recounts why, despite seeing his token stake appreciate by 2,000×, he gave away all his tokens to the community—a decision he believes was critical to QuickSwap’s ethos and adoption.
Finally, he offers his ultimate advice for ambitious entrepreneurs seeking to make their mark in Web3.
Watch the full interview with BrandTalk host Lilly Douse to learn how today’s founders can thrive without over‑relying on VC dollars—and build truly decentralized, community‑driven projects.
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