At next week’s Bitcoin Conference the favorite to be the next President of the United States will be speaking. I was walking to pickleball last week when I saw the news Trump had agreed to speak at the conference. It was a pleasant surprise President Trump viewed Bitcoin as such a central part of his campaign that he would take the time out of his busy schedule to address the conference. Bitcoin has come a long way in such a short period of time. On my walk home from pickleball I did reflect on one of the great “what ifs” of my life. What if I had gotten that Bitcoin job…
In late July 2022, exactly one week after my wife gave birth to our daughter, I received an email from a recruiter at Bitcoin Magazine for a General Counsel position I had applied to via LinkedIn. We set up a call and the interview process began. My initial interview was with a recruiter and we had a cordial, high level conversation about Bitcoin. The sole purpose of this phase of the interview process was to make sure I had a true interest in Bitcoin. Following that I began the process of talking to the more senior people at Bitcoin Magazine. It was thrilling to talk to people who have been in the space since the earliest days of Bitcoin and learn their perspective on myriad issues. I left each call wishing we had more time to continue our Bitcoin conversation.
After what seemed like interviewing with half the company over the next six weeks (which was an awesome part of the experience because who does not love talking about Bitcoin with other Bitcoiners?) I had the opportunity to talk with the CEO, David Bailey. I researched David’s background extensively prior to our discussion and found it puzzling he had a polarizing reputation within the Bitcoin community. This was before ordinals too so it has only gotten worse.
My biggest take away from my hour-long conversation with David was he was one of the most hardcore Bitcoiners on the planet. David’s zeal for Bitcoin and his vision for hyperbitcoinization was palpable despite being on a video conference. My read was David would be a demanding boss, but only because his passion and vision for Bitcoin are so extraordinary. That’s why his voice is so important. Sometimes when you follow the voice with the most far-reaching expectations, you will get a whole lot further than you expected you could.
Last year, the team at Bitcoin Magazine was able to convince Robert F Kennedy Jr. to speak at the Bitcoin Conference and to come back and speak again this year. The Bitcoin Magazine team topped that accomplishment on July 10, 2024 when the team announced Donald Trump would be speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville at the end of July. I’m grateful that President Trump has courageously agreed to keep his commitment after the failed assassination attempt on July 13, 2024. Combined RFK Jr. and President Trump will receive a majority of the votes in the 2024 election. This will mean for the first time in history a majority of the votes cast for a Presidential candidate will be cast for a Presidential hopeful with an open pro-Bitcoin position. That’s incredible! In part, this is a testament to the hard work, vision, and persistence from the team at Bitcoin Magazine. I know David and his team are not finished. I’m sure David is dreaming up a roundtable for the 2025 Bitcoin Conference with top representatives from all the political parties participating.
Shortly after my conversation with David the recruiter gauged my interest in the position. I told the recruiter I wanted the job and received a response to expect good news soon. I remember boarding a flight from Los Angeles to New York and thinking I would have the job by the time I landed. Things dragged out for some time until the team reached out to tell me funding had dried up and Bitcoin Magazine was unable to fill the position. That brings me back to my walk home from pickleball. What if…
Looking back at how close I was to joining a Bitcoin team changing the United States political landscape, the only thing that is clear to me is the “dream job” was the consolation prize. After my wife went back to work, the kids became my responsibility when we did not have coverage through child care or school as a result of my current job flexibility. Life was pure chaos as we relocated our family from Santa Monica to St. Louis and tried to buy a house. Through nobody’s fault but my own we did not have a lot of child care coverage when we moved which meant I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my kids. My daughter starts school and my son starts his last year of preschool in less than a month. Kids are only little and innocent for so long and I am eternally grateful for all of those extra stay-at-home dad memories, those walks to and from school on the perfect fall day, those conversations you can only have with a pure hearted four year-old like why our golden retriever’s parents never come visit him, and those afternoons when my kids insist on listening to Van Halen’s Jump on repeat as we bounce on the trampoline I had as a result of the position not working out in the end. Sometimes it is just not meant to be.
That’s my story of how I fumbled my Bitcoin job opportunity at the goal line. Here are my tips for anyone looking for a job in Bitcoin and keys to having a successful interview process.
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- Create a website and write about Bitcoin. Writing is an amazing way to learn about any subject and Bitcoin is no exception. The list of Bitcoin articles are endless but I have found it productive to leverage areas where I have experience and explore how a Bitcoin ecosystem might fit into that subject matter. For me that involved publishing my articles related to retirement plans in a newsletter called BenefitsLink. I have written extensively about the Affordable Care Act for more than a decade and can vouch that opportunities will come your way if you write quality content.
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- Know your Bitcoin story. Every conversation I had throughout the process started out with some variation of how I got into Bitcoin? It was an easy place to launch the conversation. This question allows you to highlight some aspects you find most interesting about Bitcoin and steer a portion of the interview in that direction. Have your Bitcoin story ready.
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- Come up with good questions. This is probably in every article written about interviewing but it is so easy with Bitcoin positions. Bitcoin is evolving and there is so much to still be discovered so coming up with good questions is not challenging. Put a little effort into this before the interview and you should be able to come up with some solid questions.
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- Research Who You Are Talking With. Again, this is probably in every article written about interviewing, but it is so easy with Bitcoin. Almost 75 percent of the people I talked with at Bitcoin Magazine had done multiple podcasts. It was easy to learn their Bitcoin stories and areas they found interesting. Solid research will enrich your conversation with whoever you are talking with about Bitcoin.
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- Apply to any Bitcoin job that interests you. There are websites dedicated to Bitcoin jobs – https://bitcoinerjobs.com and https://bitcoinjobs.com are two I am aware of but I am sure there are more. As Wayne Gretzky said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
I encourage everyone who is truly passionate about Bitcoin to explore a job in the space. Even if a position does not work out, the experience will allow you to learn more about Bitcoin. I have nothing but positive things to say about everyone I interacted with at Bitcoin Magazine and the team should be proud of everything they have accomplished since we last talked. This fall both my kids will be in school most of the time. I plan on spending more time exploring and writing about Bitcoin. However, what I’m truly looking forward to in the fall is those perfect October days walking somewhere with my kids.
