Behind The Blockchain: an interview with Devon Martens, Principal Blockchain Engineer at Sweet

In this edition of Behind The Blockchain I spoke with Devon Martens. Devon has made a huge impact to the Web3 community by writing and teaching blockchain courses for Universities in the US. On top of that Devon is the smart contract lead for a cutting edge NFT business called Sweet. Devon gave us an insight into her career so far and gave us some top tips about developing a successful career in Web3. Devon shared her opinions on the problems in the NFT space, the future of NFTs and potential use cases in a variety of industries.

So, let's get into it...

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Jack "For people who don’t know who you are, could you Introduce yourself?"

Devon "Hi there! My name is Devon. I am a smart contracts developer at Sweet but I’m also full stack. I prefer to build on blockchain because I think the world can benefit from the way it can increase equity, innovate how we use technology, and add transparency. I have an amazing family – a wife, two kids, a dog, and a cat. I went to Montana State but live in Atlanta now."

Jack "Can you talk us through your career journey so far?"

Devon "I started programming on my own because things were not working and I can’t stand that. Once I started to fix things, people noticed, which led to a job offer and a solid paycheque. After that I worked in education, at 2U. This is where I discovered a passion for blockchain as I started to write solidity courses. Then, I took the jump into blockchain as a career becauseI take every opportunity I can find to learn, challenge myself and grow."

Jack "Could you talk us through your current job and what it entails?"

Devon "At Sweet I am the smart contract lead. I take charge of all smart contract architecture, building, and testing. I also help with blockchain processes and back-end development. These means lot of solidity work but also some Python and Node.js."

Jack "Can you talk to us a little more about Sweet?"

Devon "Sweet is a really innovative company. We offer a unique way for brands to connect with users directly. We take companies on the entire journey to build something that really represents their personality in Web3 but at the same time offer users an easy to buy, easy to trade gateway to enter new users into web3. In this way we drive adoption of the technology and users see for themselves how they can use it to connect with brands, sports, and artists through ownership of NFT’s."

Jack "Why did you choose to join Sweet?"

Devon "People, product, process! I did a lot of research on multiple companies that I was actively interviewing with and I got a few offers. Sweet stood out. Sweet’s hard work was clear in their NFTs, artwork and some of their partnerships. Every department from marketing, sales, to engineering took great care throughout the whole delivery process when producing work for clients.

I first interviewed with Ken Ellis, our CTO, and left the interview thinking “Wow, that guy is smart, if he gave a speech I’d go.” Then met with with Adam Cottrell, who actually made me laugh during the interview and was super intelligent and interesting. I’ve learned a lot from both men at Sweet.. When the recruiter told me I’d be getting an offer I was ecstatic."

Jack "So, why did you initially take an interest in Web3 and Blockchain?"

Devon "I initially took interest in blockchain because growing up I’ve watched technology change and I always wanted in on the new thing. I jumped when Ethereum started gaining traction and dove in even more as I began to realise blockchain’s potential."

Jack "In your eyes, what is the biggest impact blockchain and Web3 will have on the world and why?"

Devon "I may not know the answer to this question. The obvious, and not the answer you’re looking for, is that it will organise the way our current financial systems work and how we distribute assets. It has the potential to really unlock some opportunities for people to make money in third world countries. Reshape the real estate market and health care.

Blockchain is now as the internet was in 1997. The internet is the use of message boards, games and has now turned into the place where the majority of commerce lives. For example buying online, all services can

be web based. This is how finance will change and how the way we exchange assets will evolve."

Jack "Talk us through some of your predictions for how the landscape of Web3 will change over the next few years?"

Devon "I think that once people begin to explore the use of cryptocurrency and digital assets then it will gradually outpace and replace technology we’ve already accepted as standard.

The more people have easy access to onboarding and using it the the more TVL will end up flooding into protocols.

This means more potential for dominance in terms of methodology in which we invest and utilise our income.

The more developers that build the more potential for innovation will sweep into all corners of our world.. There are free courses out there such as https://www.web3builders.dev/ - a 10-week immersive and intense course that teach rust smart contract languages and is a great place to start.

In the future, I think we will see NFT’s as a key source for documentation and asset distribution."

Jack "In your opinion, what are some of the potential problems which need to be overcome before blockchain and NFTs become mainstream?"

Devon "Trust. People hear the words Terra and FTX and well they lose interest. We need more open communication as to “where the funds and assets are.” companies are not willing to be transparent could be the biggest barrier to adoption.

In terms of DeFi, There are better exchanges that are truly decentralised and smart contracts that add layers of security and transparency. This is why I push developers to use good documentation. Not everyone can read a smart contract and that shouldn’t be a barrier to using blockchain. A user should be able to know what’s happening with their funds and assets at all times."

Jack "What are some of the challenges with ownership which NFTs can solve?"

Devon "An NFT doesn’t leave a user’s wallet without permission from that user or a shared private key. On the same note, you can't take my things unless I give them to you This is where the solution lies. Using NFT’s to prove ownership will one day be huge. It also allows us to place them in smart contracts to set rules for transactions."

Jack "If there was 1 problem you would love the opportunity to solve using blockchain or NFTs, what would it be and why?"

Devon "There’s not one, there are a ton! I would like to see a real-estate application use NFT’s exclusively in a large market. I’d also like to see universally shared documentation for health care. There are opportunities for insurance as well. Fans can also more closely connect directly with artists, sports teams, brands, you name it!"

Jack "Could you talk us through your solution in a little more technical detail?"

Devon "There are chains such as “secret” where you can store information on-chain without making it public and protocols for bridging as well such as IBC. Let’s imagine something where you can scan someone finger like a QR code and boom income there medical records. Now we know his blood type before it’s too late!

In addition, imagine I’m a developer, I am but a real-estate developer. I build a neighbourhood and I sell the houses as NFT’s on a smart contract. This contract keeps track of taxes owed via an oracle and ensures people pay. It also caps the costs to be relative to market rates and could help address challenges that seem insurmountable right now, such as skyrocketing housing prices.

These are things I'd like to and maybe one day will build and problems I’d like to solve."

Jack "As someone with a very strong background in educating people about blockchain, how do we teach people the benefits of blockchain without making it complicated?"

Devon "Custodial wallets like those used at Sweet allow easy onboarding without having to memorise your private key. Trustworthy third parties can build solutions on top of blockchain to make them user friendly. These user-friendly solutions will make things less complicated for everyone to get involved.

In my opinion, people should do a lot of research and try to learn exactly what they are buying or investing in, where it is, and how to access it."

Jack "Could you talk us through the skills, both soft and technical, which you needed to develop to reach your current position?"

Devon "I am nice but I also make sure my voice is heard. I can’t stress enough how important communication is in everyday life and career choices. I also have the ability to be both a player and a coach when it comes to team dynamics. I can coach others to help them do their best work. I have managerial skills but I am also technically strong. I can dive into the application and build on any part of it.

I do learn fast. I am not going to be modest about that because it’s not because I’m a genius, it's because I work hard. I tell myself hard work will beat talent every time. I think that’s a basketball quote but it applies here. I still study every Friday and Saturday night after my kids go to sleep and on weeknights.

Technical skills are easier to list, but it depends on what you want to do in your own career. I use Solidity, JavaScript, Node.js, Python, and Rust are my strongest technical skills."

Jack "Where could someone go to learn what you have?"

Devon "I gave a link to a free web3 course above I have worked with as a teacher. I also think w3 schools and programming language pages are a great resource. Udemy and pluralsight are great. It’s expensive but eattheblocks has some great courses too. Youtube is also free knowledge."

Jack "As an engineering leader in Web3, what advice would you give to people looking to follow in your footsteps?"

Devon "Take the jump but be prepared for the work. Take every opportunity to learn. Test your code. Please, test your code before putting it on-chain. There are a lot of free resources out there. Google find them or reach out to me on LinkedIn. There’s a lot of challenges to getting there but the rewards are worth the hard work."

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We really enjoyed understanding Devon's career journey and why she loves working in Web3. She shared some interesting thoughts on the future of NFTs and shared some brilliant advice on skills to learn and develop to build a career in the space plus where to learn them.

We'll be keeping a close eye on Devon's journey for years to come!

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To get involved with Behind The Blockchain or for recruitment related conversations reach out to Jack on Jack@unveilrecruitment.com