If not now, when? May’s event was at Fintech House, in the heart of Lisbon. A historic building now home to new ideas, where guests gathered in a lovely light and cosy space on the ground floor. A surprise extra touch really added to the atmosphere at breakfast: live music with an electric harp. The turnout was great once again, with many first timers getting involved.

The crowd then moved upstairs for Filipe Macedo’s talk on the theme of ‘Now’. He talked us through Web3 and its connection with Blockchain, DAOs and NFTs - not easy concepts to grasp for the uninitiated. Luckily he gave us some simplified explanations and metaphors.

He also detailed his unconventional career path, which led him to Web3 via a stint as a computer engineer, “the shortest modelling career in history”, DJing, advertising, turning down a partial scholarship for an MBA, and trying out various short-lived projects. He emphasised that learning what you don’t like is also useful when navigating what you want to do for a living.

Next he told us what he’s currently building: Talent Protocol, which is a Web3 professional network with the purpose of allowing anyone to invest in their own careers and those of others. The team want to address the issue that careers are currently “single player games where few people can win” and build a supportive community. Filipe noted that it’s an experimental and long-term project, but one which he’s excited about.

He shared his enthusiasm for Web3 and its opportunities for people to contribute and earn within a community. His desire to get everyone involved led to giving the audience the homework task of installing MetaMask, a cryptocurrency wallet. He also provided a free Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) for everyone present.

The Q&A section happened organically this time, as people wanted to know more about how Talent Protocol worked. This led to a more detailed description of how people can use the network to further their careers or help others while also benefitting from a decentralised system.

Filipe gave us the advice to learn by doing, not by reading, and left us with his final thought: live your career as an experiment. A concept that takes the pressure off to some extent, moving forward from traditional ideas and fitting perfectly with May’s theme.

Text by Alexis Somerville

Photos by Tessy Morelli