Michael Shlayen

Connecting Web3, Crypto, Blockchain, AI Ecosystems - Recruitment | Executive Search | Talent & Jobs | VC | Funding | Marketing | Advisory | Real Estate | Bitcoin | Ethereum | DeFi

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Follow me for insights on Crypto, Blockchain, Web3, Bitcoin, Stablecoins, DeFi, Ethereum, Infrastructure, and AI - especially around jobs, careers & hiring in this fast-moving industry.

👩‍🔧 If you’re hiring top crypto-native talent - feel free to connect & DM.
👩🏽‍🚀 If you're exploring career opportunities in the industry - apply via https://blockchainheadhunter.com/jobs
📩  Join our talent communities here (over 300k+ followers) https://linktr.ee/blockchain_headhunter

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🚀 About Me

With over two decades in recruitment, executive search, marketing, and consulting, I help founders, funds, and teams scale globally.

In 2016, I discovered Bitcoin and blockchain and immediately recognized their potential to reshape finance, ownership, and work itself. Since then, I’ve been deeply involved in building the crypto talent ecosystem - connecting innovators with builders, investors, and visionaries shaping the future of money, infrastructure, and decentralized technology.

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🔹 Blockchain Headhunter — blockchainheadhunter.com

Founded in 2017 as one of the first specialized crypto & Web3 recruitment agencies, we’ve completed 340+ placements across DeFi, Infra, Layer-1s, Layer-2s, Gaming, AI, and Stablecoin projects, from startups to unicorns.
Our 300,000+ community of crypto professionals gives us unmatched reach into developers, founders, investors, and executives across the ecosystem.

Roles we place:
🧠 Engineering (Solidity, Rust, Cosmos, zk, smart contracts, protocol, infra)
📈 Marketing, Growth, Community, Tokenomics, Product
⚖️ Legal, Finance, Operations
🎯 Executive & C-suite (CEO, COO, CTO, CMO, CFO, Head of Engineering, Head of Product)

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🔹 Crypto Funding — cryptofunding.vc

We connect Web3 startups, investors, and venture funds, helping early-stage teams raise capital and expand through our global founder and VC network.
We’ve facilitated multi-million-dollar rounds and bring insider visibility into funding trends, token launches, and strategic partnerships.

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🔹 Crypto Real Estate — cryptorealestate.cc

The largest platform for buying and selling real estate with crypto, featuring 1,500+ listings globally. Explore opportunities, list your property, or diversify your portfolio using digital assets.

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🔹 CryptoCareer.cc — cryptocareer.cc

Helping professionals transition, grow, and advance their careers in Web3 through expert coaching & insights

Founder & CEO

🔹 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 - https://blockchainheadhunter.com/

I founded one of the first recruitment agencies in the space at that time in 2017, which remains among the leading talent providers in crypto & web3 ever since.

During these years we have completed hundreds of recruitment assignments for some of the top companies and startups in the industry. We have also built the largest online talent community in crypto with 150k followers across various social platforms. which provides us with a unique insight and access to top professionals, companies and stakeholders in web3, allowing us to make meaningful connections.

If you are exploring jobs or hiring in crypto, web3, blockchain, defi, nft you are welcome to connect here or via Telegram @blockchainheadhunter. 

You can also explore, apply for all open positions as well as join our communities across the web here - https://bit.ly/3JNu65s.

Positions we are placing - Software engineers, developers, architects, devops (ethereum, solidity, smart contracts substrate, rust, polkadot, cosmos etc); Marketing, community, copywriting, social media, content managers; Tokenomics; Product; Legal; Finance; Operations; C-suite, CEO, COO, CMO, CTO etc

BetterBro

Head of Business Development

Onchainpay

All-in-one platform payment gateway, ensuring secure global transactions and comprehensive management for businesses. 

Lower transaction fees 
Transactions on the blockchain are generally cheaper than traditional payment methods. 

Borderless transactions
Cryptocurrency can be used globally, and payments can be made without the need for currency conversion. 

Faster Settlements
Seamlessly receive payments, securely store funds for future use, efficiently manage your finances, and gain insights into address-specific transactions.

Suppostat

During my journey related to Customer Experience, I’ve met a lot of great people. That’s why I decided to create my own CaaS (Care-as-a-Service) solution to provide startups with a fast and professional Customer Service out-of-the-box solution.

- Customer Acquisition and further outreach via Linkedin Sales Navigator. Set up
calls with potential leads and spot common ground.
- Supervised our team’s Support Managers who provide services to our clients.
- Held marketing campaigns, testing the best marketing-related hypotheses.

Co-Founder

Afford.Capital

I brought 18 new tier1/tier2 VCs, aiming to increase the list of strategic partnerships, run deal flow, and exchange our expertise related to venture investments. Attracted 300+ startups (Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages) in order to expand the list of the fund’s portfolio startups. Held 12
Pitch Days. Onboarded 12 Individual/Angel investors.

- VC acquisition: searched for new venture funds to sign a
strategic partnership and further collaboration
opportunities.
- Maintained warm relationships with the fund’s existing
partners, regularly having calls to keep them in the loop
concerning Afford. Capital’s updates, milestones, and
events. Provided the startups’ updates to make them
interested in them.
- Communicated with the fund’s portfolio startups on a daily
basis in order to collect their updates and development
milestones, so that it can be used for SMM and B2B deal
flow.
- Constantly search for new solid startups via Crunchbase,
Apollo, and other venues. Reached out to them via Linkedin.
Set up further calls and communications in order for them to
submit the brief to get to our CRM.
- The full process of organizing and moderating Pitch Days
with our portfolio startups.
- Organized online & offline events for the CEO in order to find
new leads and boost brand awareness among investors,
entrepreneurs, and business owners.
- Led several contractors who were responsible for Lead
Generation across Linkedin. Maintained weekly reports and
controlled metrics.
- Headed the SMM & Copywriting directions: contribution with
banners (Figma/Illustrator) and writing blog articles as well
as hottest ad-hoc announcements

Cindicator

Customer Service Supervisor

Xena Exchange

Head of Business Development & Customer Experience 

Stealth Startup

There are 2 separate projects within one ecosystem I engaged with simultaneously:

1. DeFi’s first, guaranteed fixed-yield bond market, through financial NFTs, built on the Solana blockchain

2. A market collective of decentralized entities that enables permissionless credit issuance and secondary market liquidity (LNDEX). Users could borrow, lend or trade by using one venue.

Alpha5 Exchange

Head of Business Development (EMEA)

Waves.Exchange

The first journey from CM to a Senior role took me almost 3.5 years.

- Maintained strong metrics in the Customer Service department
- Successfully closed 30 000+ inquiries.
- Deployed the Ambassador Program from scratch.
- Supervised activities of 50+ ambassadors worldwide.
- Organized in-depth reports of the program on a monthly basis.
- Processed deposits and withdrawals through the payment gateways
- Sorted out any customers’ problems with the fiat providers.
- Anti-fraud activities: deactivated phishing domains, and prevented scam activities across social media in a fast manner.
- Led weekly calls with the Customer Service department in order to improve the department's quality
- Closely worked with the Marketing department and contributed to any activities and events.
- Managed reviews of several ecosystem mobile applications via Google Play & App Store.

taplio

The Battle

Michael Shlayen

Yaroslav Nekhaevsky

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