Conversation with the founder of Token2049: People like to see overnight success, but underestimate the difficulties behind it.

Interview: Sunny, Deep Wave TechFlow

Editor: Min Sunny, Deep Wave TechFlow

Preface

He named you. You must be special.

-- K (Protagonist of Blade Runner 2049)

In 2017, the big screen in Hong Kong is still a science fiction blockbuster about bioengineering replacing future humans. Desolation, ruins, future cities, guns and spaceships are intertwined between light and shadow. Bathed in golden, warm light, human clones face off against their predators.

At that time, the concept of a blockchain-led global financial system had not yet swept the mainstream cultural system. Blade Runner 2049, which won the Hollywood Film Award in the same year, mainly explored human nature, identity, memory, and humans and artificial life. The theme of blurred boundaries between bodies.

While most people are still wandering around in hazy hallucinations of artificial creatures in the future, Alex Fiskum is the one who is experiencing the movie clips in reality.

This European from Norway and living in Hong Kong created the worlds largest encryption event in 2023 - TOKEN 2049 in Singapore. The 2049 conference attracted more than 10,000 participants, more than 400 sponsors, 250 speakers and spawned more than 450 side events. More than 70% of the attendees came from outside Asia, including 10% to 15% come from the United States. TOKEN 2049 has truly become a global encryption festival from an Asian regional encryption summit.

Under the hustle and bustle of Token 2049, the rumor that Alex and his Token 2049 team may be the biggest winners in the bear market spread among the attendees. I heard that the organizer of TOKEN 2049 made 15 million US dollars this time! The figures circulated always make people stunned.

Regarding the rumors, Alex bluntly stated that people underestimated the material cost, time and effort required to organize such an event. They are currently preparing for the Singapore Token 2049 event in 2025.

So who is Alex, the co-founder of TOKEN 2049? What exactly does TOKEN 2049 mean? Deep Wave TechFlow talks to Alex about the story behind it.

TechFlow: What is your experience in the crypto space? Everyone is very curious about your background. Can you share it with us?

Alex:

My background is in venture capital, focusing on financial technology (fintech), and I work in Hong Kong.

Around the second half of 2016, cryptocurrency began to enter our field of vision. At that point, we started trying to interact with it from a research perspective and made an initial investment on a personal level. I still vividly remember taking screenshots on my phone as I watched the price of Ethereum (ETH) skyrocket, with ETH consistently trading over $10 to $50. Later, we became more and more interested in it, but at that time we didn’t have many connections in the Web3 cryptocurrency space.

then,The original intention of Token 2049 is actually that we explore how to quickly expand our connections in this field.So, we decided to host an event where we invited the smartest people we knew in the field, and then they would recommend other instructors and programs, and it really snowballed.

I remember our first event in 2018 attracted about 1500 people. Obviously,This is a great opportunity to get to know everyone in this field, because it provides us with human resources.

So, my experience with cryptocurrency really started from a venture capital perspective. At the time, we thought it was an interesting potential investment opportunity, and we started trying to get involved. We looked for many ways to get involved, from attending conferences to building projects to investing in exchanges. Since then, 2049s business has grown.

TechFlow: Why do you choose to develop Crypto in Hong Kong now?

Alex:

My past experience is indeed somewhat complicated. Ive lived in Sweden, Switzerland and Norway, studied in Norway, Singapore and China, and worked as a data scientist in the Philippines before gradually moving to Hong Kong.

I think where I am today is the result of a lot of chance factors and random circumstances. At first, I never thought about settling in Hong Kong, but Im so glad I chose here and Ive been living here for eight years now.In fact, the only other place on earth I would consider moving to is Singapore.

Most of our team is also based in Hong Kong. In the spirit of cryptocurrency, our team and organizational structure are also relatively decentralized.We have five team members in Hong Kong and team members in the UK, Thailand and the Philippines.We also have some extended team members in Singapore and elsewhere.

Hong Kong is a very dynamic city. In my opinion, it is almost an international city, very connected and interconnected. For me, Hong Kong is easily the most unique city where you have quick access to pristine beaches and 10 to 30 minute hikes. For a Norwegian like me, the climate, food, etc. are very exotic.

Of course, from a company structure perspective, weve been growing here since we held our first event in 2017, weve hired people here, we have a team in Hong Kong. That being said, there is nothing stopping us from moving to Singapore and that may be our choice in the future.

TechFlow: Why was it named 2049 in the first place? What does 2049 mean?

Alex:

There are several reasons for this. One of the reasons was to make him sound mysterious, and I wanted our listeners to understand that. It also foreshadows something to come. This number makes people feel very sticky, so there must be a sense of technology and future buried behind the name.

For example, if a conference name is difficult to pronounce, it may be popular among Chinese, Korean, or Japanese audiences, but may not be as easy to remember for European and American audiences. We find that numbers are easier to remember, so we often see people refer to them as 2049. Participants from different countries can easily remember this name. Overall, one of the important aspects is that this number has an implicit message,A harbinger of the future in 2049 and beyond.

TechFlow: This time in Singapore 2049, in addition to Asian faces, we saw a lot of people from Europe and the United States. Do you have any statistics? How many people are from the United States? In your opinion, what attracts them to this conference?

Alex:

I think thats a part of our business that we do really well.2049 is definitely still an international event,rather than a local event. For example, when I look at our data, its also interesting to see how it changes over time. About 70 per cent of attendees at last years event were from overseas. And this year, over 80% of attendees were from overseas and we had over 10, 000 participants, which means we attracted a large number of international participants to Singapore.If I drilled down into the data, I would estimate that about 10 to 15 percent of the attendees were from the United States.

And this was during Formula One (F1) racing week, hotel prices are not cheap, I think it is an achievement that we were able to attract so many attendees to fly to Singapore during that week to participate in TOKEN 2049.

Why does TOKEN 2049 attract so many international audiences?

I think there are several reasons. First of all, 2049 itself is a global event. We’ve done it in Hong Kong, Singapore and London. I think people underestimate the time and effort required to organize an event. To give you an idea,We have now started preparations for our Singapore events in 2024 and 2025.

If we focus on something more regional, local, like the ecosystem in Hong Kong or the cryptocurrency landscape across Asia, or from a more macro perspective, like the regulatory situation in the U.S. or Europe, we cant attract international attention. audience. So we combine content from East and West, and I think that gives people a great platform to fly to Singapore.

Singapore is a transportation hub between the East and the West, and it is relatively easy to fly from Singapore to other places, such as to places further east, whether it is China or Japan. We are focused on making 2049 an international event and we always keep that at the forefront. Whether its from a speaker, sponsor, or our community perspective.

TechFlow: From the perspective of crypto investment, what did you discover after communicating with the crypto investors attending this conference?

Alex:

We spoke to key investors in the crypto investment community who saw a significant increase in their investment volume post-FTX. They believe the market was closer to bottom in November,Both from a liquidity and private trading perspective.But we also note that secondary market trading has slowed, which may reflect caution among retail investors. Now may not be the time to be too focused on risk investing.

Regarding market sentiment during 2049, most people believe that the market has bottomed, but I do not make price predictions. Markets were more panicked in September last year than in November, which was more uncertain.

Currently, it is widely believed that new projects and enterprises are emerging, especially in Asia, which is more active than in the West. Additionally, many well-known cryptocurrency venture capital firms continue to invest and allocate capital.

TechFlow: Everyone is curious, how much money did the organizer make this time? The US$15 million is currently widely rumored. I know this topic is a bit sensitive. Can you disclose it a little bit?

Alex:

I would like to highlight that many people may underestimate the actual cost of hosting an event during F 1 weekend in Singapore. For example, hotel prices in Singapore can triple as the F 1 season approaches. And for large events, the cost will be higher because it involves a lot of manpower and resources. When we arrange the TOKEN 2049 event before the F 1 race, it means that we not only have to book the venue in advance, but also invest a lot of time and resources in preparation. When considering the economic benefits of TOKEN 2049, people should understand that hosting such an event requires huge investment, including costs for venues, equipment, personnel, etc. Organizing such an event requires a huge amount of work,We are already planning events for 2025.

Funding associated with this activity is typically determined years in advance, making this a capital-intensive business model. We dont want to disclose specific numbers at this time, but thanks to our amazing team, business is doing very well.

Think of it as our secret recipe when it comes to strategies on how to make money from events. Similar to the which came first, the chicken or the egg question. To be successful, you need to attract speakers, audiences, and sponsors, but without any one, the others suffer.

TechFlow: TOKEN 2049 canceled London and added Dubai. What was the reason for this?

Alex:

I love London and identify as European. But this year, we have chosen not to hold the 2049 conference in London, but to move it to Dubai. This is not to say that we have given up on London permanently, but it is because of a variety of considerations.

Although London’s cryptocurrency ecosystem is active, it is still not as large as Singapore and Dubai. Its not easy to scale an event in London, especially in the heart of the city. We have chosen the West Greenwich area for our 2022 event and although it is centrally located, it will take participants 20 to 30 minutes to get to. To expand the event to 10,000 people, it may be necessary to look for a location further away from central London. Add to that the high costs of London and by all accounts this is a huge challenge in the short term.

In contrast, Dubais development momentum is strong. Its extensive range of venues, accommodation, logistics and transport make it our top choice. Although Dubai often has a variety of small events, we wanted to bring a unique, truly global Web3.0 event brand to it.

TechFlow: Are there any unforgettable moments in TOKEN 2049 this time for you?

Alex:

I’ve been organizing the 2049 Conference for seven years, and this year feels different than previous years. Although organizing such a large event is emotional and stressful, and involves a lot of money and participants, this year I feel like we reached new heights.

In the past, despite much preparation in advance, the stress of preparation continued to build as the event drew closer. I always feel that2049 After the conference, you almost have a feeling like you built a sandcastle on the beach and then the waves come and the sandcastle is washed away and you have nothing left. You have been building it all year and invested so much. So much time and resources, and then suddenly its all gone.

But this year, I feel we achieved unprecedented results. The 2049 Conference is no longer a one-off event but has formed a real ongoing community, which is reflected on our social media. Im sure that over time, our community will have a greater network effect.

I am extremely proud of the success of the entire event, especially when seeing the sponsor booths and the main stage. This gives me a huge sense of satisfaction.People like to see overnight success, but behind it is often more than ten years of work.As I emphasize, this is a team effort and we would never have been able to accomplish such a feat without our team.

TechFlow: It seems that you are also doing investment. Can you share with us other businesses you are doing besides activities?

Alex:

Working at Token 2049 fills me with excitement. We often learn about many secret projects well in advance, and some projects contact us long before they even go to market because they want to promote them at our events before they go public.Its a privilege to get to know these projects behind the scenes,Maybe not everyone has that opportunity.

During our events, we saw a variety of decentralized projects, including some large ones, in areas ranging from decentralized storage to decentralized computing, especially related to artificial intelligence of. There are many such projects participating in the 2024 event and they are also planning to participate in the event in Dubai.I noticed that many people were particularly interested in the topic of artificial intelligence at the Dubai event.

Although I am responsible for the operation of TOKEN 2049 full time,But we are more like a family office, and we are also looking for some projects for strategic investment.

postscript

Alex is a low-key person. He stands behind the scenes of the bustling stage of Token 2049 and watches all of this silently, just like the lyrics in Ascetic:

I want people to see me but not know who I am.There are no results for no reason. What people see is the excitement of Token 2049. The organizer has attracted a lot of money, but behind it is the 7 years of efforts of Alex and the team. The hard work has not been wasted. 7 years of sharpening the sword, now is the time to reap the rewards. .

The end of Blade Runner 2049 left many unanswered questions, and TOKEN 2049 is not over yet. In April 2024, the Dubai Conference will let us meet again.