Non-Fungible Tokens: Francisco Quartin de Macedo Of STAGE On The 5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Question the lenses through which you see the world; position yourself as close to the truth as possible and don’t be limited by your past influences. Then you have a real chance of doing something with a genuine impact.
Many have observed that we are at the cusp of an NFT boom. The thing is, it’s so cutting edge, that many people don’t know what it is. What exactly is an NFT and how can one create a lucrative career out of selling them? To address this, as a part of our interview series called “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Francisco Quartin.
Francisco Quartin de Macedo is the CEO and co-founder of STAGE, a company looking to change the future of music through fairer distribution of revenues, decentralization — allowing music fans to have a say on who becomes a star and be rewarded from their success — and transparency. Previously he led the trading desk at blockchain.com scaling it to over 600+ employees. He first started out in his career completing algorithmic modeling for sports at Bet365. Francisco holds a Double PhD degree in Data Science.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
I was always a curious child but I ended up going with the flow and following the career path I felt was expected of me, so it took me many years to realise that there was a lot more to life, beyond living up to the expectations of others. My career, which had been mainly about maximizing wealth, was not bringing me fulfilment. I was lucky to be involved in crypto from 2018, when the hedge fund where I worked was bought by blockchain.com, which gave me more financial freedom and connected me to blockchain technology.
In 2020, that inquisitive inner child began to question things more, and something was starting to feel off about the path I was on. I started to work with a coach who challenged me in different ways. Little by little, I started to see the bigger picture and how my personal vision had influenced my choices. So I shifted my perspective to search for a broader meaning to life and, in 2021, I started to work on a project that aimed to generate this change in others through music: STAGE.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I actually keep a list of those that impacted my life the most, as it is always good to be able to go back to them!
Firstly, M. Scott Peck’s The Road Less Travelled has been a huge reference for me in the last two years. It forced me to rethink all the wiring I was living by, all the automatic programs I had in my routine that I did not consciously decide to engage with. It suggests that most of the time we are unwilling to see the truth about ourselves and do something to change our unhealthy traits. Becoming more in touch with this reality led me to acknowledge that working like a machine, which had turned me into a source of inspiration for many of my friends, was mostly just a nice narrative for my ego. Now, I can turn the efficiency of my work into true effectiveness, doing things for a purpose that is more real and loving.
I was also inspired by 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It is, as the name suggests, a book about effectiveness, but it applies to all areas of our lives, not just the professional. It makes us question certain paradigms so that we can build towards a scenario of synergy with others. Through my life’s influences I saw the world through a dog-eat-dog lens, but now, each day that goes by I explore the true meaning of sharing and trusting — all the synergy that can come from interdependence.
I also appreciate the values and different perspectives I get from listening to some podcasts, including Jordan Peterson’s. He lives by the principle of dedication to reality. He is happy to have serious confrontations to defend his values. People usually become children in the body of adults (as he very well explains), wanting to live in a peaceful pseudo-community where hard topics are avoided, and end up never leaving their comfort zone and failing to grow as a result. Jordan Peterson teaches us that if we want to change the world, we must be ready to confront and be controversial if needed. To do this, we must have opinions.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in this new industry? We’d love to hear it.
The idea of decentralization is something that attracted me from the beginning. The world is dominated by a minority of very powerful people, while there is an idyllic scenario where the world is less centralized and each individual is more empowered. Hopefully one day there will be far more social mobility than there is now. Fighting for equality in opportunities for all humanity is a very important motivation for me. When I joined blockchain.com in 2018, this was what drove me to embrace a career in blockchain; the principle of the company around each person being their own bank, which can be generalized to different areas.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
This is a key part of the context of my daily fight to change the paradigms I mention above. One day in 2021, my coach told me that I was clearly taking too much responsibility for solving the problems of the world and was not living at all, so he suggested I should leave my house for 30 minutes at lunchtime and go for a walk. I got nervous as I don’t usually stop work even for lunch, but I went with it. When we talked again later in the day, he asked me why I felt much more stressed than if I had just kept working, and I then realised I panic and feel guilty when I take time away from work to enjoy life. He said ‘The funny thing is that you are feeling guilty about the only special 30 minutes you had this week: everything else was just autopilot, and when you challenged this and went out of your comfort zone, you felt guilty. Instead, you should be extremely proud.’ I never forgot this as it shows how our patterns of behaviour can be so ingrained that they determine our whole world view. I was completely misled before I took that walk. It was months before I acknowledged the full significance of what he had told me!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
There are definitely many! We learn every day, and such mistakes are usually our most powerful learning steps.
One that I could highlight is a story that showed me how sometimes things are just meant to be, and we just need to be open to embracing moments of grace. I moved to London to work in a startup hedge fund, where I was meant to be a trader, and the day I arrived in London with all my bags, I got told that the company was going to be sold to blockchain.com. I had literally moved to a new city for a new opportunity that, in reality, did not exist. I call this a mistake because I should have done my research into the company’s prospects. Had I done so, it would have been apparent that it wasn’t making any money, and had already been planning for an exit like this. And yet, ultimately, this is what got me into blockchain!
When I started to investigate whether I actually wanted to stay in the traditional finance world or move with this company to blockchain.com, I realised that this was a huge breakthrough for me.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
It is not easy to mention just one person because, although my “machine mindset” would have me believe that I did it all by myself, I am deeply aware that, without the people who extended themselves to raise and help me, I wouldn’t be here now. My mother, father and sister, my grandparents (my grandfather in particular worked all his life to be able to pay for my education), my godfather (an example of perseverance I took inspiration from).
There is a particular story that has made me grateful lately, and that concerns the importance of my wife in changing my mindset and finding a better balance. I would say that the person you marry needs to be someone that challenges you and encourages you to be the most authentic version of yourself. This is exactly the case with her. One question I asked myself for years was ‘how can she enjoy life while being successful?’ In my head, it was either machine-like work, or enjoyment, and there was no space for fun while I was being productive. This was part of my process of questioning my methods and aiming to be a less obsessive person, while maintaining my determination, just with a different energy and a bigger sense of the importance of the present. Past and future only exist in our heads. This is not just about being happier as a person, but also allowing space for creativity as when we only focus on execution, we miss out on the planning capability which is a crucial part of good leadership.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I am now the CEO of a music project that is using blockchain technology to change the recognition that musicians get for their labor, and to help discover new talent. It will be an app where users vote for their favourite artists with the potential to profit if such artists become famous later, in a gamified, competitive environment, inspired by music shows like The Voice and The X Factor. The aim is to enable upcoming artists to showcase their talents and receive the majority of the amount spent by the fans who voted for them as payment. Ultimately, the goal is that ordinary people have a say in who becomes famous, which isn’t currently the case. Right now, many musicians can’t afford to focus on their art as their only income stream. While they produce art that carries beautiful messages to millions of people, they aren’t getting the right recognition for it. Ultimately, music deserves to be valued and supporting it with this project is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done. I’ve therefore fully committed to bring this idea forward.
Aside from this, I am deeply focused on personal development, in the quest for becoming a better, more effective person through continual self-reflection and pushing myself to leave my comfort zone. I also share this process as much as I can with the people around me, while aiming to guide them — simply reading books is not enough. I have had multiple private conversations with people and challenged them on their own specific autopilot tendencies. When we read books, we don’t actually want to apply their contents to our own lives, content simply to congratulate ourselves for going through the motions of turning the pages. Having these direct conversations requires each individual to let go of all the comfort and routines they have lived by for years. Doing this is scary, so supporting people on the same journey of self-discovery is not only something that I believe is necessary, but also a genuine pleasure.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. I’m sure you get this question all the time. But for the benefit of our readers, can you explain in your own words what an NFT is, and why people are spending so much money on them?
Trying not to get too technical, I would just say that NFTs are assets that have identification codes which make them unique, and contain data, called metadata.
The applications of NFTs that are changing the world are related to the tokenization of tangible, real assets, or of rights more generally. A specific example from my STAGE project, is that some users that vote for an artist in one of our competitions will get an NFT that will contain the right for the user to claim a prize (e.g. a Zoom call with the artist). The biggest advantage of using them is that the ownership is clearly determined, and the associated rights and all of the associated information is intrinsically linked to the NFT. This makes it a lot harder to commit any sort of fraud with these assets.
People spend money on them because in some cases the NFT has an intrinsic value, as in the cases mentioned above, and in other cases trading is part of a speculation game that people love to play. Those are the two extremes of it, but both can involve big amounts of revenue.
The NFT industry seems so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
- Decentralization is very exciting — as mentioned, anyone can check who owns an NFT, and the owner has full control over their owned assets, with no possibility that some authority manipulates it.
- Smart contracts make the world cleaner and more transparent — they are programmed rules that can be used to define logic and drive transactions, making sure that there is no problem with certain parties failing to fulfil their commitments. Under the current system, this would have to go to the courts and people spend years reaching a resolution.
- Power of tokenization — already covered.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the industry? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
Some of the main advantages discussed above can also be seen as disadvantages, especially in these formative years, when most people are not yet fully educated on how NFTs work.
- Irreversibility of transactions and no resetting of accounts — if a transaction is not properly done, or someone loses the credentials for their accounts, there is no one who can fix it. This is the consequence of people having full control over their possessions, but people are used to relying on a ‘recover password’ option, where ‘someone’ can solve their problem.
- Potential for scammers to exploit the vulnerable — the current lack of education in this field allows people with bad intentions to take advantage.
- Sustainability — it has been broadly discussed how there is a huge consumption of energy associated with keeping all these systems running, but the fact is that there is more and more work being put in to change that, as Ethereum’s recent research into proof-of-stake reflects; we could not expect an optimal solution from day one, and this needs to be seen as work in progress.
Most of the above problems will be solved with time, as people become more confident with the industry. That is always the natural sequence as new, improved solutions take over! Sustainability concerns are also being prioritized by the leaders of most projects, and it has been predicted that those who fail to change their systems for the better will disappear from the market..
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about NFTs? Can you explain what you mean?
I would say the most damaging myths are around the idea that NFTs are playing cards with no intrinsic value, associated with images of irrelevant figures (such as random smoking monkeys). In reality, there are many very useful NFTs. This does not mean that people cannot use their potential to also create gambling, hype-based ones. It is up to each person to get involved with the right type of project! Seeing crypto or NFTs as platforms for malicious scammers to take your money is wrong and limited. It is a perception created mainly by greedy people who tried to chase quick profits and got involved in such projects, and are now bitterly spreading this perception, having lost their own money.
This is unfair, given the seriousness and hard work that a lot of people, including myself, have dedicated to improving the world through this amazing new reality.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they enter the NFT industry? What can be done to avoid that?
The main mistakes are usually around trusting dishonest traders. The classic example is inexperienced people investing in overhyped projects that have no actual content. Unfortunately there are a large number of people reaching out to me on a weekly basis, who have been scammed. In general, it comes down, once again, to education and, on a more common-sense level, questioning what you’re paying for before blindly trusting someone.
How do you think NFTs have the potential to help society in the future?
I truly believe that if everyone has access to a platform where they create value, be that through music, art or even new solutions for problems, then there is a huge potential for this value to reach the right people. We’ve watched as, every day, more and more ordinary people can have an influence on others. For example, YouTubers are increasingly becoming known for the useful content they provide. Of course, there will always be the problem of regulating what is out there, but we have to constantly reconsider how we balance that with enabling freedom of speech. It is the same adjustment that each of us needs to focus on with decentralization — to explore the source and judge if it is supported by well-intentioned people who are allowing the creation of new opportunities and value. Giving people the chance to have the visibility they need to influence the world can be a wonderful thing. Imagine buying tokens with paintings or designs from an artist that lives across the world from you! The access that you have to it through NFTs is something that the average person couldn’t otherwise hope for.
Ok, fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Highly Successful Career In The NFT Industry?”
I will not focus specifically on the NFT industry for the most part since the main principles are about human characteristics overall, and apply to individual behaviour — specifically leadership across all fields.
1 . Question the lenses through which you see the world; position yourself as close to the truth as possible and don’t be limited by your past influences. Then you have a real chance of doing something with a genuine impact.
One example for me was having to accept that the obsessive machine I have been in the past did not make me special, and actually the process of adjusting myself from that extreme has been much more relevant and rewarding than just running the old program. I am becoming a more settled and joyful person in the process, but also, at a professional level, a more creative individual, rather than a thoughtless machine of execution.
2. Acknowledge that nothing stays the same. We are brought up to believe that there is a moment in our lives when we reach the pinnacle of success and are able to finally relax. Realistically, we need to keep improving and adjusting, and we can’t act like children that separate work and play time. Work will become a form of play if we are truly passionate about what we are doing at the moment!
The example concerning how I was taking all the stress of the world and not being able to stop for even 30 minutes at lunch time is a very good illustration. Back then, I thought I was sacrificing my happiness in the present in order to achieve something in the distant future and now I know that was simply a lie I was telling myself to allow myself to continue in a routine that felt comfortable.
3. The present moment is the only thing that is real. Past and future do not exist, except in our heads. The only utility of the past is to teach us about what we should not do again — it should never paralyse us with fear. Finding stillness is incredibly challenging but it is the only way to feel fully free and creative. The journey is more important than the destination, despite us living constantly for the future, for the next big thing.
The example of the 30 minutes at lunch time is again very good to illustrate this. I was working with all my focus on the achievement, living for the destination and, in reality, not living at all. Achieving goals while having no pleasure at all was my main characteristic, and this led to frequent burn-out. I used to memorise complete books with mathematical proofs from start to finish, so that I could put it all down in an exam. I forgot to enjoy the way that each piece of the puzzle made sense in these logics, and to appreciate the little eureka moments. Right now, my passion for mathematics has still not fully recovered from all those years spent racing through the studies to achieve things faster.
4. Always think win-win. Our world is characterised by a win-lose mentality in which people have internalised the idea that, in order for them to succeed, someone else needs to lose, that there is only space for one at the top. This implies that, for our personal satisfaction, we should surround ourselves with people that don’t really want to leave their comfort zone as they are easy to beatand that could not be more wrong. Ultimately, people seek validation, and most of the time this also implies a self-centered mindset, forgetting the value that can be generated when people work together. If we surround ourselves with people who are ambitious and want to help and challenge others, there will be a very powerful synergy effect. We struggle to see the problems in ourselves, so it is crucial that we have people to confront us and be straight with us; this adds immeasurable value to one’s growth, and this sense of community is something I aim to build more and more, alongside people who share my mindset!
5. Mission first, financial rewards later. This advice is more specific to crypto, since there is a big tendency for people to get lost with the potential upsides and forget why they got involved in this field in the first place. As someone who has been around for a couple of years, I have seen how the best time to build and improve is exactly when the markets are down and there is a negative feeling, as there is less distraction and people focus on what matters. This should be the attitude even when the market is going up: this new world we are building is for the long-term!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Right now, I am the CEO of STAGE because I can’t stand that artists are changing the lives of so many without being properly rewarded for it. Art can help open people’s minds and allow them to look more deeply into themselves, so it’s definitely a catalyst for good. Personally, I always loved to sing, and it was the only way for many years that I could get in touch with and express my deepest feelings.
More generally, my mission is to help others achieve more extensive goals and experience real joy through awareness and mindfulness. I truly believe that if we act more to serve others, our attitude will have a knock-on effect. The impact of this sounds quite utopian but it’s what I feel we’re here to do. I try to face my own fears daily, and I am humbled when I can help others in their parallel journeys. Ultimately, I want to be a positive influence on others and I hope that this can work like a chain movement where gradually everyone can take more ownership of and responsibility for their identities, and then work together in an interdependent way, each contributing with the best they have to offer; this would most likely be enough to solve most of today’s most serious problems.
I would love to be more and more immersed in an environment where the people surrounding me have similar intentions and are willing to go against the norm and the comfort of the usual routine to solve societal problems, making the world a better place. That is what I am here for!
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would have to say Jordan Peterson because, despite being a controversial voice on many topics, I really appreciate his ability to move between logical soundness and intense vulnerability. His belief in each of us taking responsibility for our own path has been a strong influence on me. Things don’t happen out of thin air, we make them happen and I would love to speak to him about how we can change the world for the better, for more people. I know that he is a controversial figure, I see his influence with balance and, although there are things I disagree with, I appreciate the challenge to look at things from different perspectives.
Another figure who has inspired me as much through his actions as through his words is Roger Federer. He seems to be extremely calm in the most emotional moments, and achieves the best results as a natural consequence, not by obsessing and dissociating from enjoying living in the moment. He obviously worked extremely hard, but he made things look simple, even relaxing. This moves me, and is something I look up to on a personal level. Although I struggle with my own vulnerability, I did cry when he retired and, who knows, maybe he would be up for crushing me in a tennis match after lunch!
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Non-Fungible Tokens: Francisco Quartin de Macedo Of STAGE On The 5 Things You Need To Know To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
