Hello World - From Finance to Web3
Hello World - From Finance to Web3
Hey! Welcome to my little corner of the internet. I'm Eric, and I figured it's about time I start writing about what I'm building and learning in Web3.
So... Who Am I?
I'm a fullstack dev who loves frontend work. My path here was pretty unconventional—I spent years in finance, sales, and payments before I ever wrote a line of production code. Honestly, that experience has been super valuable. It taught me to think about why we're building something, not just how to build it.
Day to day, I live in TypeScript, React, Node.js, Next.js, and Tailwind CSS. Pretty standard modern web stack. But what really gets me hyped is building decentralized apps and contributing to open source projects in crypto—mostly on Solana these days, though I'm always down to explore other chains and Web3 infrastructure.
How I Got Here
The Early Days
I started out just tinkering with code and building things. Looking back, I worked on some pretty cool stuff:
- Redesigned APIs to handle 100+ million records (yeah, that was fun)
- Built RTMP servers and transcoded live streams with FFmpeg
- Made a platform for NYC electronic music events
- Created user review systems and photo gallery services
All that taught me the basics: how to build things that scale, how to make them fast, and most importantly, how to make them actually useful for people.
Then I Found Web3
One day I stumbled into blockchain tech and it just... clicked. Everything about it made sense to me:
- All the code is open by default
- Users actually own their stuff
- Innovation happens crazy fast
- But the fundamentals still matter (scalability, UX, performance)
My first big Web3 gig was Jet Protocol in 2021-2022. I worked on the frontend and SDK for this DeFi lending thing on Solana. Watching it hit $50M in TVL and seeing real people use something I built? That was wild. Everything's on GitHub if you want to check it out.
DAOs, DAOs, and More DAOs
After Jet, I kind of fell into the DAO space. Turns out I really enjoy building governance tools and helping communities coordinate. Here's what I've been up to:
Polkadot stuff:
- Built the entire frontend for GenesisDAO back in 2023
Stellar (with Soroban smart contracts):
- Made ElioDAO - lets people create and run DAOs
- Built MultiClique - a multi-sig wallet tool
Back to Solana:
- Led the frontend for a governance platform we took to the 2024 Solana Hackathon
- Built a payment app in React Native using Solana Pay (QR codes, transaction history, cashback for merchants—the whole thing)
- Made the trading UI for a memecoin platform (because of course)
Why Start a Blog Now?
Good question. A few reasons:
1. Learning Out Loud
Writing stuff down forces me to actually understand it. If I can't explain it simply, I probably don't get it well enough. Plus, future me will thank me for documenting all the weird bugs and gotchas I run into.
2. Sharing the Hard Stuff
Web3 dev is... different. Wallet integrations, transaction handling, optimistic updates, state management across chains—there's a lot that's unique to this space. I've spent way too much time figuring out stuff that should have been simpler, so hopefully I can save you some of that pain.
3. Connecting with People
Web3 is all about community. Whether you're deep in the blockchain trenches, a Web2 dev who's crypto-curious, or just getting started—let's learn from each other.
What You'll Find Here
I'm planning to write about whatever I'm working on or learning. Probably stuff like:
Technical stuff:
- How to actually interact with Solana programs
- Smart contract integration (the real way, not the tutorial way)
- Building frontends for dApps that don't suck
- React patterns that actually work in production
Project stories:
- What worked, what totally didn't
- Hackathon war stories
- Lessons from open source
Web3 things:
- DX challenges in crypto (there are many)
- Building for multiple chains
- Tools I actually use
Regular dev stuff:
- TypeScript tricks
- Next.js and React tips
- Tailwind patterns I keep reusing
Let's Chat
That's it for the intro. If you're building something cool in Web3, want to contribute to open source, or just want to talk shop—hit me up!
Find me at:
- GitHub: GHesericsu
- LinkedIn: esericsu
- My site: ericsu.xyz
Thanks for reading. Let's build some cool stuff. 🚀
P.S. - This blog is open source and built with Next.js. Check the repo if you want to see how it works. Everything's transparent, just like it should be.