An Interview with Entrepreneur Mike Dudas

Introduction

Mike Dudas is the founder and CEO of The Block, the leading media & information brand in the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem. The Block’s expert-based model, in which all journalists and researchers are deep industry participants, has received universal acclaim and led to 300K monthly users in under 6 months.

Previously, Mike was co-founder and CRO of Button, the leading global, mobile performance marketing platform. Mike is a builder of mobile commerce businesses, having worked at Google, Braintree/Venmo and PayPal. Early in his career, Mike worked in corporate M&A and strategy for Disney. Mike earned a BA from Stanford and an MBA from Kellogg

Are you an entrepreneur looking for your MVP built? Get in touch with us at hello@devathon.com

Devathon has built software for companies backed by the world’s leading investors like Betaworks, Greylock, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, KPCB, Lightspeed and many more.

In an exclusive interview with Devathon, The Block founder and CEO Mike Dudas traces his journey so far and his plans for the years ahead.

When did you first discover your entrepreneurial spirit and How is your entrepreneurial career developing so far?

An entrepreneurial spirit runs in my family. My father started a business — and I always aspired to do so myself. However, I didn’t start my first business until I was in my mid-30s. That business, Button, is now over 100 employees and an incredible success. I was lucky to be a co-founder with such a great team. The Block is a new challenge and a completely different business. I learn every day from my teammates.

What has been the biggest success and biggest failure stories you went through?

Biggest success was getting The Block off the ground from an idea to a successful business headed towards profitability and becoming a leader in the digital asset space
The biggest “failure” was being years too early with Google Wallet. Despite a great team and good sales success, the product found little consumer adoption. It took 5-6 years before the product eventually became successful as Android Pay and then Google Pay.

How did you come up with the idea for The Block Crypto and how did it all start?

I came up with the idea at 3am one morning — and immediately tweeted that I’d had a stroke of lightning hit me! I had left Button on great terms a month earlier (January 2018), and the idea for The Block hit me in February 2018 when I was having trouble sleeping. I knew that I wanted to work in cryptocurrency, but until that moment, I didn’t know if I wanted to be an investor, operator at a big company or something else. In that moment, I realized there was so much information complexity in the crypto ecosystem that I could help clear up and deliver to people.

Tell us something about The Block Crypto

Everyone on our team is a missionary rather than a mercenary. We have not hired a single person from LinkedIn. Everyone has joined the team through our personal networks and a shared love of the crypto ecosystem. We are true crypto natives.

What are your growth plans for the near future?

We plan to expand the editorial product to include more data elements as well as data-driven analysis. On the business side, we plan to grow our Genesis membership program significantly via enterprise sales.

Looking back, what did you learn and what would you have done differently?

I would have skipped MBA — it was 2 years and $125K in expense that I did not need. I would have jumped into tech earlier in my career rather than do more schooling.

In your opinion, what are the hurdles that keep people away from starting an entrepreneurial career? What advice would you give to the new entrepreneurs?

Generally, people overestimate the reputation risk of “failure.” It is generally very easy to find a job if you work hard, make good contacts and act in good faith. That is one hurdle. The other hurdle is good ideas. There are only so many good businesses in the world 🙂
My advice to new entrepreneurs is: “make sure you love what you do, because it’s likely you’re going to be doing it for a long time with many others depending on you along the way.”

Are you an entrepreneur looking for your MVP built? Get in touch with us at hello@devathon.com

Devathon has built software for companies backed by the world’s leading investors like Betaworks, Greylock, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, KPCB, Lightspeed and many more.