The Future Is Now: Parker McCurley Of Decent Labs On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Take care of yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint. My first few years, I was so energized and all I wanted to do was push as hard as I could. The combination of computer work, business travel, stress, sleep deprivation, wining and dining did a number on me despite my eagerness to play the part. You can regain that energy with enough time spent on recovery, but it’s hard to make time for that and run a business so the best strategy is to avoid burnout altogether. Businesses often fail due to the personal issues of the management, not fundamental flaws in their model.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Parker McCurley.
Parker McCurley, Co-Founder & CEO Decent Labs, Core Contributor Decent DAO.
Parker McCurley, Co-Founder & CEO of Web3 venture studio Decent Labs, aims to create a more fair and equitable society by building DeFi and cryptocurrency projects making real and enriching impacts. Notable companies supported by Decent Labs’ marketing and design team include Celsius, ShapeShift, and BRD, the latter of which was recently acquired by Coinbase. Current portfolio projects envisioned, designed, and built by Decent Labs include Sarcophagus, FrostByte, and Rawrshak.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I was young, I felt like computers were the best vehicle to express my creativity. This drove me to learn about online communication and open software from very early on. One day I needed photoshop, but it was too expensive. That’s when I discovered two inventions that both fascinated and inspired me. The first came from the people clever enough to torrent a keygen so a user could download a cracked version of photoshop. The second was this application called GIMP. This was an open source alternative to photoshop that illuminated how a group of people can get online, use their programming brains to build a free version of powerful software, and then share it with the world. I have always felt like technology had the power to catalyze unity and challenge cultural norms. For instance, the Occupy Wallstreet Movement was fundamental in my path into cryptocurrency. The 2008 financial crisis hit my family hard, we struggled a lot. My family, like many others, ended up sustaining significant damage as a result of that. So, it wasn’t until Occupy Wallstreet rose up that I began to understand the economics behind the issue. That’s when I became cognizant of just how antiquated the financial, education, and health care institutions of the United States truly were. Then I discovered cryptocurrency for the first time. It wasn’t until years later that I returned to it as a software engineer, but by then the foundation of digital curiosity and institutional angst had already been laid.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
It’s not so much the story, but the characters within that story. The global nature of cryptocurrency has allowed me the honor to travel the world with my fiance Sarah. We’ve met people from all different backgrounds, cultures, and nations. That has been very special for me. It’s also been a privilege to meet my idols; these were people I dreamt of meeting and now I’m working with them. In both cases working alongside my peers has humbled me and broadened my perspective of the world.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Most of our work begins with thinking about how DAO’s are run. Coming out of a traditional startup accelerator, we’re focused on designing new standards for decentralized communities and open source software projects. We are building a framework for builders that empowers individuals, allowing for more equitable and accessible opportunities for people of all backgrounds. Rather than building companies, we are using DAOs to apply concepts of decision making, finances, mission, and values to start self-sustaining online communities that truly serve participants.
How do you think this might change the world?
Decent Labs is all about offering opportunity and empowering the individual. My co-founder says ‘Crypto is about giving individuals the same tools as institutions.’ To me, this speaks to cryptocurrency’s potential to bypass socio-economic barriers prevalent in our society. Barriers like education, employment, and nepotism can be leveled on the blockchain. Cryptocurrency serves as a framework for a meritocratic way of working that subverts the biases and ulterior motives embedded in traditional financial institutions.
Keeping a “Black Mirror-esque” scenario in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
When you look at the typical model for a blockchain, the playing field is leveled when all data becomes accessible. The drawbacks here can look like not being able to take back something you said electronically, or even governments and corporations devising more sophisticated methods to track and identify individuals. It’s very unsettling for me. Take the adoption cycle for instance: any emerging technology begins with individual empowerment and is funneled into commercialization. From there it turns into individual impressions and becomes a necessity in our daily lives. Think of how search engines are fundamental to our experience of the internet, yet their filters and censors dynamically change our encounter with the digital world. Consequently, a Black Mirror scenario is not improbable to me; the players in the traditional system have the same means to replicate their intrusion on the blockchain. So, this means people need to educate themselves. They need to size up what constitutes true decentralization and transparency so they don’t buy software that’s sold as such, but is actually reinventing the problems of yesterday.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
In 2017, when we were building blockchains in basements, my team remained open minded about what this technology should become. However, at the time there were also highly touted, well endowed corporate focused blockchain projects like the Hyper Ledger and IBM blockchain. As one starting my own business without much access to capital, it was frustrating to see how much money was being poured into private network blockchain initiatives that had nothing to do with decentralization or cryptocurrency. We even had companies with long resumes and deep knowledge of the financial and technology industries reach out to us with their funding or ideas. I discounted them. I was confused at the dissonance between where the capital, energy, and public opinion was going compared to where the innovation and value was to society. In the few years following those projects started to dissolve or trail off and fail. The corporate permission blockchain networks proved too much of a hassle to be worth the effort. And sure enough on the public and permission less side of the spectrum, cryptocurrency was thriving. The breakthrough for my company was using the right technology in the right way.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
We don’t need anything else to reach widespread adoption but time. With user experience improving everyday and the consistent growth of those educating themselves, widespread adoption is inevitable.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
It boils down to Discord and Twitter, much of the discourse lives there. Crypto is taking a much simpler approach to marketing than a B2B or SaaS company through its emphasis on active online communities.
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?
Seeking mentorship and asking for help has proven to be the most crucial asset in my tool belt as a founder. Being conscious of that, the list is too long for me to name just one person who has gotten me to this point. My best advice directs you to the awareness that success in this world is predicated on others helping you. You should be seeking to activate as many people around you to learn from each interaction you have. If you do that, you are in for a very full life.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
My company’s pretty young, so I’m not fortunate enough to be a philanthropist yet, but I can say that at Decent Labs, we’ve always been inspired to build a company where it’s employees enjoy coming to work and as a result are living fulfilled lives. The wellbeing of my team is my main priority on a daily basis. Outside of building companies at Decent, I’ve had the privilege to help a number of aspiring founders who are under-resourced like I was. Some of these people have actually become successful entrepreneurs, and those stories are ones I cherish.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
- First, something someone told me when I started: it’ll take you at least five years to succeed when starting your first business. Choose something that you can commit to, and understand it will be your primary commitment for half a decade if you wish to succeed. This has kept me going… only four more years! Three! Two… oh, wouldn’t you know. We got our act together.
- Next, is that the only way to fail as an entrepreneur is to give up. This is the optimistic compass that guides me. A lot of people never experience entrepreneurship because the fear of uncertainty is too great. In reality, being an entrepreneur is the most certain success there is — only limited by your patience and determination. I have and continue to sacrifice plenty in life for my entrepreneurial journey, but knowing as long as I hang on for the ride, it will always be worthwhile — that is a superpower.
- Third would be that it’s not about you! Some entrepreneurs I meet, many more successful than myself, have a warped sense of self importance that makes forming trust and long term relationships difficult. As the operator of a business, your job is to serve the various parties of your business well. That means taking care of your employees, creating value for your customers, returning profits to investors and paying vendors on time. Design a user experience for those who interact with your business.
- Fourth… take care of yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint. My first few years, I was so energized and all I wanted to do was push as hard as I could. The combination of computer work, business travel, stress, sleep deprivation, wining and dining did a number on me despite my eagerness to play the part. You can regain that energy with enough time spent on recovery, but it’s hard to make time for that and run a business so the best strategy is to avoid burnout altogether. Businesses often fail due to the personal issues of the management, not fundamental flaws in their model.
- Finally… get a coach as soon as you can. I’ve been very fortunate to have met many friends and mentors over the years to assist my journey, but having a professional coach early on would have saved me years of frustration. They will teach you how to solve problems and make decisions that will increase the success of your business in the most meaningful ways, not only financially.
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.
For a decentralized system to work, it requires not only the monetization of digital assets, but valuable projects that online communities find meaningful. I want to see community driven projects built on their mission and values. Not only will that drive like-minded individuals together who want to help, but it ensures that we’re using this technology for more than short-term financial gain. Being rooted in honesty and self-actualized critical thinking are of paramount importance to me.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Hard work is a better cure for worrying than whiskey” — this hung on a sign in the jimmy john’s I drove delivery for during my first (only) year of college. There’s a lot of wisdom on those walls, but this one stuck with me because I have a natural tendency to distract myself from stress and concerns — luckily not only with whiskey! This reminder serves that hard work can usually solve my problems and relieve me of my worries.
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 🙂
At Decent, we’re taking the venture studio model and replacing the standard financial model of investing and owning equity in companies with creative control over public goods and the network value associated with them. Since these goods take the form of decentralized protocols, they are governed, managed, and grown by open source communities rather than the hierarchical human resources of a traditional company. Meanwhile, tokenization offers incredible automation and liquidity for contributors.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
My personal Twitter is @parker_mccurley and you can follow everything we’re doing at Decent on our Twitter, @decent_dao and by joining our Discord server https://t.co/5kwcd8VAtn
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
The Future Is Now: Parker McCurley Of Decent Labs On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
