Dan Edlebeck is an entrepreneur and thought leader in the crypto space who co-founded Sei Labs, a layer-1 blockchain focused on optimizing digital asset exchanges. Dan has over ten years of experience in leadership roles in various companies and nonprofits. He's founded companies such as Deedle Connects, Sei Labs, and Exidio. ^[1]

Education

Edlebeck attended the Wisconsin School of Business and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in 2009. During that time, he also studied abroad at the University of Seville in 2007. ^[1]

He later pursued his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business in 2020 while also studying at Bocconi University in Italy. ^[1]

Career

Edlebeck began his career as a sales associate at JC Penney, gaining product knowledge and personal selling skills. His journey continued through roles such as a management internship at Cintas Corporation, co-owner & manager of MadBadgers.com, and a business analyst intern at Target. ^[1]

Edlebeck’s career changed in subsequent years, encompassing positions like retail sales representative at Nestle, social media sales consultant at Meltwater Buzz, and roles in youth development programs. Edlebeck also worked as a full-time volunteer at Casa de Los Angeles in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he improved daily operations and contributed to the community’s welfare. ^[1]

Transitioning into the nonprofit sector, Edlebeck served as a corporate account manager at The Cara Program, assisting homeless individuals in securing full-time employment. The journey continued with a stint as a Peace Corps community economic development advisor in Costa Rica, followed by marketing and community development roles. ^[1]

He later co-founded and served as the CEO of Exidio, a company focused on creating decentralized VPNs. Additionally, he founded “deedle connects,” a blockchain marketing solutions agency, and currently holds the position of head of ecosystem at Sei Labs. Edlebeck is actively shaping the infrastructure for the next era of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications in his current role. ^[1]

Interview

Importance of Web3

At the Cosmoverse Conference in 2021, Edlebeck talked about the evolution of the web leading up to Web3. He discussed how privacy has become a critical issue for web users. He said: ^[2]

“Privacy is a core tenet and a core issue that we faced in operating in this world for the past 15-20 years in Web 2.0.”

He went on to talk about how big corporations like Facebook and Marriott manipulated and used user data for monetary purposes. He mentioned that web users have “consistently traded off security and privacy for convenience and better user experience” and went on to say: ^[2]

“We've witnessed numerous instances where major companies have exposed user data, posing a significant security concern. A friend of mine experienced identity theft, preventing her from buying a house for three years as she fought to recover her compromised identity. This incident stemmed from a large company, Marriott, which leaked information of 500 million individuals, including passport details.”

Edlebeck then explained the tenets of Web3 in his presentation. Putting the focus on money, decentralization of apps, and user data control, he said: ^[2]

“Not only is money and value a core tenet of Web 3.0, but we're also building decentralized applications that are inherently peer-to-peer. This enables us to share with one another, actively participate in value accrual, and regain control over our information and data through technologies like ZK SNARK. We can now disclose information based on our preferences within the frameworks defined by the protocols.”

He also discussed the various Web3 protocols that return data ownership to the user, like the Akash Network and Omniflux. ^[2]

“We are actively developing Web3 protocols that exist across the entire stack. For decentralized storage, key protocols include CYA Coin by Skynet Labs and Arweave. In addition, we have a variety of layer 1 blockchains, decentralized cloud compute exemplified by Akash Network, decentralized domain names such as those provided by Name Bases (Handshake Network), last-mile internet connectivity through Althea, and decentralized bandwidth through Sentinel.”