Joining Variant: Jack Gorman aka J Hackworth

Why I’m going all in on blockchain analytics

July 12, 2023

by Jack Gorman

A year ago, I was working at Deloitte Consulting, building big data and machine learning applications for our clients. While I saw the huge potential of AI, I felt a growing itch to explore all things crypto.

So, I did what any budding degen would: I created a pseudonym. By day, Jack Gorman built data analytics solutions for slow-moving enterprises, and by night J Hackworth analyzed the chain in the fast-paced world of crypto.

The difference between these worlds was striking. Having worked with many unorganized, siloed databases within Fortune 500 companies, I was fascinated by the vast amount of data accessible through blockchain. I still remember the first query I ever wrote that tracked DEX volume across various protocols on Dune. As a data nerd, it felt like magic.

Beyond the openness of blockchain data, I was thrilled that being onchain let me leverage my analytics expertise to earn tokens and acquire ownership in protocols (thanks to initiatives like MetricsDAO and the Uniswap Foundation’s community analytics program). I became interested in analyzing the effects of token incentives and uncovering various drivers of growth through granular segmentation. Along the way, I shared my thoughts about trends related to NFT marketplaces and layer-2 expansion.

Analyzing trends was invigorating. But I wanted to work in crypto so I could go a step further: harnessing analytics to assist builders in actualizing their visions. The thesis of the ownership economy left me bullish on crypto, and Variant has done more than any other firm to push that view forward. There is still much work to do to bring the ownership economy to fruition, and data will play a crucial role in aligning the needs of protocols and users.

That’s why I’m happy to be merging my professional and web3 identities by joining Variant as a data scientist on the investment team. At Variant, I will be researching onchain activity to inform the firm’s investment strategy, supporting our founders with data-driven insights, and publishing analytics content to illuminate industry trends for the crypto community. I’m particularly interested in:

Exploring airdrops and token incentives to unveil tactics that improve token distribution
Analyzing trends to uncover emergent behavior around NFTs
Gaining deeper insights into factors driving ecosystems’ growth and retention

If you are interested in nerding out (or just talking) crypto analytics, reach out to me at [email protected].

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