Source: X @GodotSancho
If there were a global award for "Model Worker" in Web3, Victor would be a top contender. As the co-founder of Manta Network, Victor is one of the hardest-working individuals I've ever met in this industry, if not the hardest.
When analyzing projects, some people focus on investment background, while others prioritize team strength. However, a crucial factor often overlooked is the project's ability to keep building.
After all, no project can stay in the spotlight forever. The dull and gloomy periods of a bear market are inevitable. What matters is how the team faces these changes and whether they can keep up with the evolving Web3 world.
Some projects will continue to languish until they disappear. However, those that keep building will rise again amid the ups and downs of Web3.
Last September, during Token2049 in Singapore, I followed Victor and Manta's ecosystem lead, Jennifer, to do business development for their ecosystem.
At that time, Manta Pacific's mainnet had just launched. The team members were scattered across various events like stars in the sky, from breakfast meetings to dinners and late-night gatherings, from 9 AM to 11 PM. It was exhausting. On the return flight, I fell asleep three times in six hours.
But for Victor and Jennifer, this is routine. From ETH Denver, ETH Paris, ETH Istanbul, and Token2049 in Singapore and Dubai, to the US, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, France, Turkey, Portugal, Malaysia, and Singapore, the Manta team is always on the move.
Below is a glimpse of Victor's daily schedule.
Here is Victor's itinerary during ETH Istanbul.
Here is Jennifer's typical BD meeting schedule.
For projects that have already issued tokens, they could easily choose to take it easy and wait for cash-out opportunities. Manta could have stayed within the Polkadot ecosystem, making occasional updates. Instead, the Manta team pushes forward despite criticism.
Expanding from Polkadot to Ethereum EVM and becoming the first project to use Celestia, Manta remains the first and largest modular Layer2, and the only Layer2 invested by Binance.
Adapting is better than stagnating.
Honestly, I'm not sure where Victor's drive comes from. Perhaps some people are just born builders.
