Lacey Kaelani is the cofounder of Metaintro, her second human resources tech startup. Metaintro is a Web3 professional resume wallet that replaces the PDF resume. Besides that, she is also included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list this year.
💼 What were you doing before Web3?
I’m a 2x startup founder in the HR tech space, now currently building Metaintro – the professional resume wallet for Web3. The multi-chain custodial wallet holds proof-of-employment, proof-of-skill, and proof-of-education, replacing the PDF resume. Metaintro is backed by NEAR Blockchain, Aave, Druid Ventures, and other web3 investors having just raised $5.6M.
🤔 How did you get into Web3?
When my co-founder, Brad Larson, and I were in the process of selling our previous HR tech startup, we found ourselves asking the question, “what’s next?”
After careful consideration, we brainstormed and conducted extensive customer research to determine what the future of HR tech could be.
This led us to create Metaintro. Today, Metaintro has already assisted thousands of individuals in discovering their next job opportunity within the Web3 ecosystem.
🚀 What was your first crypto or NFT project?
The first NFT project I bought into was Space Out Station. An NFT project that unfortunately rugged the entire community. What a crazy way to get introduced into the space.
🧠 How would you explain what you do to someone outside of Web3?
Web3 is the next iteration of the internet.
💡 Which creator or thought leader do you enjoy learning from?
My favorite thought leader specifically in the Web3 space would most likely be Matthew Ball. If you don’t know who I’m talking about – then you haven’t spent enough time learning about Web3!
🥳 What is the biggest highlight of your career so far?
Over the past few months, I’ve experienced two pivotal moments in my career that I believe are noteworthy. The first was successfully concluding our seed round to fund the development of Metaintro, which amounted to $5.6M – the largest amount raised by a female founder for an HR product in the Web3 space. The second moment was being recognized as a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree for Consumer Tech, which was an exciting achievement.
More on our latest raise here.
📈 What tech or crypto trend are you watching this year?
For many obvious reasons, I’m very interested in the digital identity space. I’m excited to closely watch all of innovation that comes specifically from this corner of Web3 over the next year.
🤝 What advice would you give someone starting out in Web3?
Don’t let a job description that requires 2+ years of Web3 experience scare you. Just apply – you never know what could come of it!
🎤 If you could do a TEDtalk on any topic, what would it be?
If I could do a TED talk on any topic, it’d probably be something around “Startup Fundraising Without Warm Intros”. We raised our last round primarily from cold DMs on Twitter. Being a good DM writer can go a long way!
🚨 What is the one thing you would bring if you were stuck on a deserted Island?
A boat. So I could get off of the deserted island.
POW stands for “Proof of Work.” It is a new feature article series in The Mega Maxi to highlight the savviest builders in the Web3 space.
