Ishan Negi
Summary
Candidate with mature web3 experience and network, experienced in protocol ecosystem partnerships, business development, growth and strategy while possessing a breadth of web3 knowledge across domains.
Equipped with strong interpersonal/communication skills and work ethic, capable of wearing multiple hats and working closely with the C-suite/top management.
Key skills: Partnerships/Business Development, Ecosystem Growth, Program Management, Tokenomics, Strategic Account Management, Web3 Strategy, Research.
Overview
3
3
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Infrastructure Partnerships Manager
Polygon Labs
03.2023 - 04.2024
- Leading a team of four; setup the infra partnerships team, roles & responsibilities, operating model
- Leading the Solution Provider (SP) Strategy, Program - set up scalable models for infra providers across Polygon protocols, working with key product/engineering stakeholders and managing critical pieces, for Infra x Protocol readiness (Polygon zkEVM, CDK, AggLayer, Miden), infra ecosystem growth, dev ecosystem enablement and value propagation; Solution Provider Network (SPN)
- Building, managing strategic infra onboarding/relationships for Polygon CDK, AggLayer, specific focus on chain abstraction UX
- Solution Provider Network (SPN) - Helped refine product vision, ideation and build; launched in May '23 with 40+ essential zkEVM-supporting infra providers; led the launch marketing plan, amassed 191k+ impressions on X
- SPN growth - focused on supply (infra provider side) growth; onboarded 215+ infra providers (across Polygon POS, zkEVM, CDK) leading to 500+ dev-infra provider connections
- Striking, managing deals with key providers essential for protocol launch/growth (Polygon zkEVM, CDK, AggLayer, Miden)
- Key relationship holder with strategic infra providers (wallets, DA providers, payments, indexers, social, interop, et al)
- Led critical onboarding of 40+ top infra partners on Polygon zkEVM in a short 2-week span to ensure protocol readiness for devs, working in close conjunction with the zkEVM product, Solutions Engineering team
Partner Success Manager
Polygon Labs
07.2022 - 02.2023
- Managed key accounts like Animoca Brands, Lens Protocol, OnePlanet, OpenSea, Hypermint, amongst others, along workstreams related to investments, growth and product consultancy
- Helped in success planning, strategy with key clients, resulting in 100+ ecosystem forged partnership efforts
- Led strategic initiatives around Web3 Thought Leadership (vertical, regional, use-case) and Product (Supernets, ID, zkEVM, POS), working with stakeholders incl Product, DevRel, BD, Partner Success to develop internal ops frameworks
Chief of Staff to CEO (Ryan Wyatt)
Polygon Labs
02.2022 - 07.2022
- Onboarded senior leaders like the CEO, COO, CFO, SVP (Partnerships) as they joined Polygon Labs
- Helped setup the Partner Success org alongside SVP (Partnerships), VP (Game Design) - setup initial operating model for onboarding legacy projects; hired 2 Success Managers
- Served as liaison with staff, senior leaders, and CEO on company climate, employee well-being, project planning
Helped in interviewing, hiring and onboarding new key management personnel (marketing, partnerships)
Operations Lead, Polygon Studios
Polygon Labs
02.2021 - 02.2022
- Founding team member at Polygon Studios (now restructured to @PolygonGaming); successfully solidified self as the “go-to” person for anything Polygon Studios/NFTs
- Onboarded ~250+ NFT/gaming projects and 20+ DAO tools; helped provide administer microgrants to 150+ projects
- Closed key deals and assisted in partner management of such key deals, including UNXD (Dolce & Gabbana drop that sold out for $6mn), Deadmau5’s Head5, Dvision Network; provided close consultancy services to said partners
- Hired key personnel, including Head of BD North America, Head of Ecosystem Marketing, and Growth managers/associates (3)
- Closed high-value deals, including Recur (Star Trek, NFTu, Paramount Films, Nickelodeon IP holders, among others), Lens Protocol, Darewise (Animoca Brands subsidiary building Life Beyond), Tokenology amongst others
- Strategic advisory to key projects, including Mint Songs (acq by Napster), Rusk Media, WWF UK, et al
- Opened BD channel partnerships with various IDO platforms, launchpads, DAOs, VCs that led to an increase in inbound BD leads by at least 10% WoW
Education
MBA - Marketing
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Bangalore, India03.2016
B. Com (H) - Commerce
Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi
Delhi, India05.2014
Fuel Labs | 05/2024 - Present
- Formulated Fuel Points Program for Phase 1/Phase 2 alongside Openblock, leading to pre-mainnet TVL accrual of $450mil
- Ran the (then) biggest attackathon with Immunefi worth $1.3mn for Mainnet; Led to 343 bug reports by over 90+ white hat hackers
- Handpicked, evaluated, onboarded network's initial set of 12 genesis validators for decentralised sequencer alongside finalising token delegation program
- Spearheaded a cross-functional tiger team of senior leaders to drive Mainnet launch, aligning Engineering, Marketing, Growth and Ops to deliver a high-impact release on schedule
- Contributing to the Orderbook tiger team for Fuel's onchain orderbook SDK on design, development, economics, growth/partnerships strategy
- Member of Token launch team to design, evaluate, execute airdrop #1 strategy/logistics; worked close-handedly with executing partners: Openblock, Vending Machine
- Leading strategic infra partnerships, including but not limited to RPCs, AI, Fiat on-ramps, Data & Analytics, Chain Abstraction, zkTLS
Additional Web3 Experience
Founding Community member | mClub (grant DAO for Mirror.xyz creators) | 04/2021 - 09/2022
Host Committee member | Friends With Benefits FWB (largest social DAO in the world) | 09/2021 - Current
Pre-Web3 Work Experience
Assistant Partnerships Manager | Haqdarshak | 09/2019 - 08/2020
- Helped capture business worth $1.05 mn from clients including JP Morgan, Nespresso, Monsanto, among others
- Helped set up process flows with product and operations teams, thereby creating new hybrid models as new growth channels, like tech integrations
Manager - Special Projects | Danamojo | 04/2018 - 08/2019
- Platform Head - oversaw 10x vol growth, improving systems/processes resulting in 15% pickup volume growth; onboarded 5 of the largest non-profits
- Designed platform automation module, resulting in operational efficiency by 25%
Lead Advisory TAS | Ernst & Young (EY) | 05/2019 - 08/2016
- Involved in M&A (marketing, financial modeling), involving India's largest players in the PIM and the architectural industries
Timeline
Senior Infrastructure Partnerships Manager
Polygon Labs
03.2023 - 04.2024
Partner Success Manager
Polygon Labs
07.2022 - 02.2023
Chief of Staff to CEO (Ryan Wyatt)
Polygon Labs
02.2022 - 07.2022
Operations Lead, Polygon Studios
Polygon Labs
02.2021 - 02.2022
MBA - Marketing
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
B. Com (H) - Commerce
Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi
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