The Future Is Now: Harold Eytan Of Particle On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
I would say that like with any early stage project it is very important for everyone to dedicate 100% of their time to it. There are no shortcuts, and no one knows your business as much as you do.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Harold Eytan.
Harold is an operator who launched and until recently led Operations at Numan, the UK’s largest digital men’s health platform treating over 600k patients.
Previous to Numan, Harold started his career at Rocket Internet, where he took numerous ventures from idea to launch in their signature 90 days. Harold will be putting all the pieces together and making sure Particle runs like a well oiled machine.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My background has always been as an operator. I’ve always enjoyed and sought being involved in businesses from their inception. My time at Rocket Internet is what taught me about the importance of execution, and I’ve brought that to all projects I’ve been involved in since — getting projects from idea to launch in 90 days. Throughout the various companies I’ve been involved with, mainly in e-commerce, what always struck me as particularly challenging was the building of loyal and engaged communities. Many say they have such communities built around their product, but the reality is it all stems from a very analytical approach to performance marketing. Only a very few manage to crack organic network effects. NFTs and the crypto space in general forces new projects to address this head on. There are no shortcuts to building long-lasting initiatives in this space. You need to have the community in mind first.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
What we do at Particle is enable a wider community to be minority owners of fine art masterpieces. What we mean by that is that is Particles hold title to a digital reference of the painting, and holders of these NFTs will be the only non-charitable owners of these works. This will enable people that previously had no access to such works to build their own “fantasy collections” and be able to express themselves through a fine art collection like only the elite collector community could in the past.
How do you think this might change the world?
This will redefine what an art collection will look like in the future. An art collection built for the people and sustained and supported by the community will inevitably be one interacted with by a much more interested and engaged audience. This means democratizing the world of fine art — from collection all the way through to discourse and ultimately enhanced enjoyment.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
I wouldn’t make any parallel with Black Mirror. I will however issue a note of caution to anyone wishing to delve into the NFT space in general. There are a lot of projects out there that don’t have strong foundations and don’t have longevity in sight. If you are to invest your money and time in anything, do your research and make sure what you dedicate your resources toward will actually bring value to yourself, whether in the physical or digital realm.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
The tipping point was with our co-founder Loic Gouzer. When he was young, he used to build his fantasy art collection by cutting up auction house catalogues. He always dreamt of being successful enough to one day build a real collection. When he heard of NFTs, he right away thought that this could be the way to bring fine art collecting to a wider audience. Loic then called Philip, who’s the co-founder and Chairman of Voyager Digital, to see if this was something that was doable. Philip then brought on Adam and Shingo Lavine as crypto experts, as well as Oscar Salazar, to form a founding team everyone was convinced could make a project like this a success.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Better user interfaces and experience. Like any technological advances in their early stages, only early adopters with the time to invest in understanding how things work are able to benefit from the new technology. This will change as newcomers in the industry come in and apply better UI and UX to different applications of crypto/NFT/Web 3.0 fundamentals.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We took a very deliberate decision not to do any paid performance marketing for the launch of Particle. We believe our vision and mission would have enough weight to make ripples in both the crypto and art communities. We are therefore taking an organic approach to marketing, one that means that we are going to have to put a lot more effort in content and community building than traditional Web 2.0 businesses. So far, I must say it has paid off.
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?
There isn’t one person really but many mentors I have had since childhood — from my father and older brother, to university professors and colleagues that have genuinely enriched my competencies and ultimately my life. I am a strong believer in being a sponge absorbing as much as possible, speaking less, and listening more.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I try to make charitable donations to causes dear to me, but really I am seeking to build more of a reputation for myself to be able to leverage to make more of an impact on the world. I am not quite there yet, but one step at a time I hope to use my time and my network to better the world on as large a scale as I can.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
We’re only at the very beginning of our journey, so ask me that in a year’s time! For now, I would say that like with any early stage project it is very important for everyone to dedicate 100% of their time to it. There are no shortcuts, and no one knows your business as much as you do.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” — Wayne Gretsky — Michael Scott (Steve Carell)
Gretsky’s quote I think is a powerful one — but taken from Michael Scott in The Office gives it even more meaning in my view. Every shot you take, make sure you have a good time doing it!
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Particle’s mission to leverage the blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to radically change the way people own, collect, experience, and ultimately enjoy art. We are going to acquire some of the most important fine art masterpieces in the world, and to put them in the hands of the Particle community. These masterpieces will be held by the Particle Foundation, who will maintain, preserve and tour the collection internationally and in the metaverse for everyone to enjoy. Fine art is a $50 billion market controlled and enjoyed by a minority of the population. We believe that through Particle we can open up that market to interact with a wider and even more engaged population.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
@collectparticle on Twitter — where you’ll find links to our Discord and Instagram accounts.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
The Future Is Now: Harold Eytan Of Particle On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
