metaverse special move down a gear or two. The most important lesson for me is that to be successful in most professions and especially in entrepreneurship requires a combination of curiosity, drive, bravery, efficiency, resilience, and emotional intelligence. Perhaps the most important lesson, and which I apply every single day in my work, is that EQ trumps IQ. Every single time. I pay a huge amount of attention to the recruitment process, closely followed by the retention and development processes. I urge my colleagues across the ventures that I have built to select highperformance people that possess the highest level of capability for a role (skill) together with behaviours that fit the culture of a team (behaviour); when we compromise on any of these components, we often create toxicity and mediocrity which are my least favourite words. Secondly, I have learned that output is a more important measure of high-performance individuals and teams than input. I have never been impressed by individuals that try and impress me by the number of hours that they spend at work. I like working with people that are action leaders and in fact, this is a title we use at Metapolis, to describe those that ‘do’ and not just ‘talk’. Finally, I adore humility in any human being and not just in the workplace; one’s success should never affect this quality. In the words of the legendary soul band Sounds of Blackness, ‘be optimistic’ (1991). What do you hope your legacy to be? My greatest wish is to create long-duration companies that can bring change to people’s lives across the planet, bring delightful experiences to the masses and that create world-class future entrepreneurs that are brave enough to launch their own ventures and that bring delight to the masses. I do hope that one day I can truly be thought of as a blockchain-age industrialist who brought the very best people and infrastructure together to create amazing experiences and products in the areas that have shaped me. 17 ABOUT MAXKANTELIA Max is a serial entrepreneur who has been described as a ‘new age industrialist’ with over 25 years of experience in the startup and rev-up of fast-growth companies in London, New York, and Singapore. He has been focused on building an entire blockchain-based ecosystem since 2015 which started with the launch of Zilliqa, the Layer 1 protocol, one of the most advanced technology platforms for decentralised applications offering fast transaction processing, low fees, high security and very low energy consumption. Since the launch of Zilliqa, Max has been focused on investing in and guiding founders who can bring the benefits of Web 3.0 and blockchain technology to vertical markets with large user bases. In 2021, he co-founded XCAD; a hyper-growth social media venture which allows content creators to create NFTs to get better engagement with their followers and TokenTraxx; a ground-breaking new web3 music venture In 2021, Max helped to launch Metapolis, the first Metaverse as a Service platform which can help established and rising brands to rapidly build a presence in the metaverse to create hybrid digital and physical products which can provide access to new markets. With a burning drive to prove that blockchain technology can become a weapon against illicit trade in the luxury goods marketplace and that the metaverse, as powered by Metapolis, will become The Next Internet, Max is now exploring the application of these technologies together with brands across the fashion, automobile, jewellery, and entertainment industries. Max is a highly experienced public speaker and regularly speaks about blockchain at family offices and luxury industry events. He holds a degree in Engineering Science and was part of the London Business School Enterprise 100. He is an avid collector and enjoys fine wine, jazz, and all things automotive. LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/maxkantelia
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