POW with Kenneth Roluma

Kenneth Roluma is the CEO of Alpha Philippines (Alpha PH), the largest and exclusive Filipino-only Alpha and Web3 community.

  What were you doing before Web3?

I’m not indulged with Web2 employment yet. Therefore, I would like to share a lil bit of my journey and education before I ventured Web3.

I am a former DOTA2 local tournament & betgame player here in Cagayan de Oro. I also been into DOTA2 items buy and sell business with my co-founder in Alpha PH who is Josh.

Moreover, I came from a not so financially stable family. However, I managed to start this DOTA2-related side hustle in order to supplement my income and continue my study.

I am proud to say that I’ve been a full scholarship beneficiary for 4 years in college. I graduated with flying colors as a Cum Laude Awardee last May 2022 at Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Financial Management.

How did you get into Web3?

I first became interested in Web3 while learning the popular P2E game Axie Infinity. I didn’t only want to be a scholar, so I sought to come up with a business model that would allow me to make money other than just from playing the game.

So, I thought of starting a guild where Josh and I could act as middlemen for Axie Infinity investors who didn’t have the money to hire and train scholars.

The plan is to make and buy a good meta-axie team, train the scholars, and then get a cut of every payout.

As far as I can recall, we had at least 90 scholars who joined our guild before the value of the SLP token began to decline, we started to lose investors, and the scholars’ interest began to decrease.

We disbanded our guild, and I immediately started looking for other Web3-related gigs after setting up a profile on Upwork.

I got hired after 1-2 days of job hunting as a whitelist grinder. However, I didn’t like the idea of whitelist grinding, so I stopped after 1 week of doing it.

I switched my focus to becoming a Discord moderator and ventured to the Discord server setup service. I updated my Upwork portfolio. After a week of self-training, I started to find a job.

In March 2022, I was hired as Donte Walker’s (an NFT influencer) virtual assistant and moderator of his alpha group. After that, I got promoted to the lead collaboration manager role after months of showing good performance.

I met a lot of Filipinos in space while working on collaborations. Therefore, I made the decision to start a Discord server in August 2022, first called PinoysInNFTs and then Alpha Philippines.

What was your first crypto or NFT project?

The first NFT project I got involved with was Axie Infinity which is a Play-to-Earn NFT game. 

How would you explain what you do to someone outside of Web3?

I just tell them that my job is related to a digital currency. I sometimes say that I work under Crypto Industry because most are familiar with Crypto already.

Which creator or thought leader do you enjoy learning from?

I actually got 3 answers to this question. Donte Walker, CryptoBulls and Legato from DWC NFT Alpha Group team.

Not being biased but Donte Walker taught me to become patient and understanding as a moderator.

Cryptobulls taught me how to manage people and how to become a Discord Manager.

And Legato taught me how to deal with collaborations in a fun way.

They are the core people of my Web3 journey. I am very proud to share that they are really really good mentors which I am very grateful for.

What is the biggest highlight of your career so far?

I think the biggest highlight of my career so far is the success of ALPHA PH Christmas community outreach led by me and my co-founder Josh last December 23, 2022.

We raised a total of ₱51,662.93 ($944.530) worth of donations and we gave out 70x Noche Buena Bundle, 100x Candy/Sweets bundle and 150x Jollibee Spaghetti + Chicken Joy food pack to Security Guards, Habal-habal/foodpanda/grab riders and Homeless people in Cagayan de Oro City.

I consider this as the biggest highlight of my career so far because this shows that I am making a change in Web3 PH scene.

What tech or crypto trend are you watching this year?

Definitely the Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Integration!

What advice would you give someone starting out in web3?

Dream big and work hard. I started from the bottom and now I am here leading a group of Filipino Web3 enthusiasts.

It’s not an easy way up but I tell you that it’s very astonishing to realize what I have become so far. And how my group went from 8-10 believers and now we have like 500+ verified kabayan members.

Just dream big but don’t forget to work hard because miracles will not work for you. Miracles are just a bonus in life, working hard is the main fuel to start the engine and reach the destination you want.

If you could do a TEDtalk on any topic, what would it be?

“Hustle Smart” – hustle smart > work smart > work hard 

What is the one thing you would bring if you were stuck on a deserted island?

A long knife