Coingecko is the world’s largest independent cryptocurrency data aggregator with over 150 million page views per month. In a bull market, this number was 600 million.

What few people know is that this giant in the crypto space was actually founded in Malaysia by Malaysians. They became a top player in the crypto world without a single cent from venture capital funding.

CoinGecko started off as a side hustle with founders Bobby Ong and TM Lee, spending 20 hours of their free time after work on this every week.

In 2017, they started doing this full-time, and the team has since grown to 55 employees in Singapore and Malaysia.

In this interview, I speak with Bobby Ong, Co-Founder of CoinGecko to uncover his journey, how to maintain conviction when so many people are doubting what you do and building an a-class team and culture.

Here are some key takeaways:

The key to resilience in hard times is having a high conviction

To spend 20 hours of free time on your side hustle every week, ride through a few major downturns and persevere when many did not see the value of cryptocurrency is not easy. At their lowest point in 2016, they even thought of selling the company.

How did Bobby thrive through all these? In his words, “Conviction plays a big role, and conviction comes from education.”

Throughout the years, he had been reading several whitepapers and essays to dive deep into the technology and understand its future potential. “Everything we see today, like DeFi and NFTs, were all captured in whitepapers and studies several years ago,” he explains.

Be prepared to adapt fast and seize opportunities

Preparation also helped them be ready when they were at the right place and time. In 2020, when their competitor CoinMarketCap got acquired by Binance, several users were looking for an independent data aggregator and flocked to CoinGecko.

CoinGecko seized this opportunity as they spent a few years earlier clearing up technical debt and preparing their platform for a surge in traffic.

Another opportunity they seized that helped them accelerate their growth was also being able to be the first one to be able to track trades on a decentralized exchange.

In Bobby’s view, in this space, every six months to a year, there will be one big innovation. The one who can adapt fast “stands to gain a lot of market share.”

Transparency is necessary for a good culture

Despite bootstrapping and facing a volatile market, CoinGecko kept employee morale high, as seen by their 4.6 Stars Glassdoor rating and 100 per cent CEO approval.

Bobby explains that transparency is a big part of this. “When you are not open, and information leaks out, it will take on a negative tilt,” Bobby explains. Employees are aware of what salary they can get in each band. This not only prevents resentment but also closes the gender pay gap.

To watch the full interview, you can do so on YouTube, or listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Jump to the critical segments:

1:37: Ong’s story, from side-hustle to the world’s largest independent cryptocurrency data aggregator.
7:40: What is the problem that CoinGecko is solving?
13:56: Why CoinGecko did not raise funds from venture capital?
23:42: Where does Bobby Ong’s conviction in crypto come from?
29:40: How does the ability to respond fast to trends help them scale?
36:15: Sharing his views on the crypto space, valuation and trends on Twitter.
40:53: What actionable steps did he take to build a great culture in CoinGecko?
44:04: Why Bobby Ong believes that leaders need to be open and transparent?
45:19: How to maintain culture as the team grows?
48:14: How CoinGecko approaches hiring?
53:41: What is CoinGecko focusing on during Crypto Winter?
55:42: What was the lowest point for CoinGecko?

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The post From Moonshining to Shining – Story of Bobby Ong’s crypto data aggregator, CoinGecko appeared first on e27.