Tell us a little about your career journey.
My career started in 2014, as soon as I left my university. I had won the world prize for higher education qualifications, awarded by the British Computer Society based in the UK. I was offered multiple job opportunities from a multitude of multinational companies which had a presence in Sri Lanka. Ultimately, I decided to join a US based tech consultancy firm that had one of their offshore advanced technology centers in Sri Lanka. I started out as a business consultant, working as a product manager and a project manager. I was fortunate to work with multiple multinational Fortune 500 clients from the US. I lead product development for many of these clients, designing, building and enhancing their software and products. I quickly rose through the ranks being promoted over six times within 6 years and managed to become a lead.
Why did you decide to startup a company?
Ever since I was a teenager, my ultimate goal in life has been to create something that changes the way people interact with the world for the better. Coming from a tiny island nation in south Asia, I had seen the economic destruction that had been brought on by corruption and careless decisions made by a few individuals in power. I wanted to build something that would help people in my country protect their hard-earned wealth, wealth that had been wiped off within mere months. Wealth was ultimately the hard work that people had saved up, and to see it be destroyed in matter of months to me was devastating.
Blockchain was the savior that would help with this problem, it could alleviate corruption and bring about a stable standard for storing wealth. This is how my passion for VRRB started up, thanks to my co-founder Andrew Smith.
What are some of the ups and downs of having a career in the web3 space?
The web3 space is still incredibly volatile. You read about hacks, regulations, bans coming from powers that be. While it is an incredible opportunity of the future, the web3 space will not flourish without the help of a grand community. And it will take time to build up that community, to build trust in blockchains. Until that trust comes, we are all at risk of losing what we have built up so far. But that’s also the neat part about working in web3, the community. Meeting a multitude of people who are interested in the space and are actively working towards building the web3 space is what makes it interesting and gives us hope.
What is VRRB and what is unique about what you do?
VRRB is a startup that is building a new, innovative, computationally lightweight block mining and consensus algorithm known as Proof of Claim. Proof of Claim allows for fast, decentralized, fair validation of transactions and block mining. Due to the lightweight nature of the algorithm, launching and running a node will simply be accessible to anyone with a computer. Proof of Claim is a consensus algorithm that aims to solve many of the issues currently present with both Proof of Work and Proof of Stake.
What would you single out as the biggest web3 trend for mass adoption?
Web3 has seen a recent trend of adoption, but as it is a new technology, the adoption has come from primarily tech enthusiasts and investors. If web3 is to survive in the long run, we have to ensure that your average person understands what it is and is actively involved in it. If we want to reach average people who just want to interact with the technology, we need to make it approachable for them and not make it too technical. Ease of use is the key to mass adoption of the web3 space and blockchain technology.
What are you currently working on and what is next on your roadmap? Is there anything you can share today?
We are currently focused on perfecting our consensus algorithm and getting to a live net launch. We aim to complete this by the third and fourth quarters of 2023. Our team is hard at work making this objective a reality. We have a global team of highly skilled engineers that are working tirelessly towards the live net launch.
What is your advice to startup Founders
Find a co-founder. Even if you think you have the skills to do it alone, find a cofounder. The startup journey is not an easy one. You will face so many rejections that you will ultimately end up questioning your own abilities. Having a co-founder will ensure that you can share that pressure and focus on building what is important. Find someone that you can click with and know that you can build a long-lasting relationship. It doesn’t have to be someone from your city, or even your own country. We live in a world where the internet has made it possible to find a co-founder from the other side of the world. Just make sure that you are both committed to the long term goal.
