In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Jared Politis, a blockchain marketer, ICO veteran, and VC partner at Blockteam Capital. Jared shares how a simple change of a single word on his Upwork profile shifted his career from generic tech work to blockchain, illustrating the power of serendipity. He emphasizes that cryptocurrency markets are fundamentally driven by human emotion, and that success hinges on information, forecasting, and business fundamentals in an unregulated space. Jared’s broader business advice centers on treating people well, being reliable, and offering value without expecting immediate returns, a strategy that has earned him a strong reputation despite being a newcomer. He advises his younger self to enjoy the moment and avoid over‑thinking. When discussing happiness, he stresses self‑knowledge as the first step. The book that most influences him is Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, from which he draws Stoic principles about focusing on controllable factors and discipline. His favorite quote, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” reflects his concern about social‑media‑driven envy. Finally, Jared invites listeners to connect with him via LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by WagsMedia. WagsMedia provides you with everything you need to generate more customers and grow your brand. Head on over to wagsmedia.com, W-A-G-S-M-E-D-I-A dot com, to enter a contest where you can win a free, done-for-you custom website valued at $2,500 for a limited time only. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Jared Politis with us. He's a blockchain marketer with over 50 ICOs experience. Experience, VC investor and partner at Blockteam Capital, a digital nomad and a minimalist. So welcome to the show, man.
Thanks, Tyler. Good to be here. Appreciate it.
Grateful to have you here. We'll dive right into the first one. The first question I have for you, Jared, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Yeah, so I think I'll start with, you know, we briefly touched on this offline, but, you know, how I got into blockchain is really unique. Essentially, I went on to Upwork, which is a platform that connects freelancers with companies. I was in the middle of me doing a job that I wasn't really passionate about. It was a great position, but I was getting really enthralled with cryptocurrency, trying to find a way in. Right place, right time. Went on to Upwork, changed one word from tech to blockchain, and that completely created this new career path that I've been on for a little over a year now professionally, a year and a half for fun, but about a year professionally. So I think the message there is, you know, you can prepare and overthink and overanalyze and try to plan out life the best you can, but sometimes things just fall into your lap by doing something as simple as changing one word.
So that's so awesome, dude. It really is. That's such an awesome story. The next one I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yes, I think when you look at cryptocurrencies in general, the one takeaway is that people are emotional. Humans are emotional creatures. You see this moving the markets, you see how people react to news, you see this as the underlying factor of the ICO industry of people seizing the moment and creating something that traditionally maybe would not have performed as well as far from a fundraising perspective. Yeah, I think that's one thing. And then also information is key too. So given it's an unregulated market, I mean, you know, the more experience you can bring with forecasting, budgeting, you know, raw business knowledge and just knowing how people think and react, the better you'll do in the cryptocurrency markets, I think, in general. But with that being said, who knows what's going to happen tomorrow? Nothing's definitive.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?
Yeah, I think just treat people well. I mean, I think for me, I came in professionally in 2017 into this space. You have to think there's people that's been in for 5 years, 6 years at this point. So it'd be very easy for them to look at me and be like, okay, this guy's jumping on the bandwagon. But I think I've built a good reputation by treating people right, being reliable, being honest, and just offering as much value as I can without asking for anything. And I think that's important. Today and tomorrow, I think combined I had 18 or 19 calls and a lot of them are just me helping somebody think through a project or an idea and just trying to offer as much value as possible.
Yeah. And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Enjoy the moment. Don't overthink. It's so hyped up and worked up on figuring things out and trying to plan and You know, just, it's too much, right? You have to enjoy the moment because things move too fast in life.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
That's the million-dollar question. I think it's different for everybody. But I think you need to really, you know, take a step back and get to learn yourself first and realize what makes you happy. Maybe that's family, maybe that's freedom of time, maybe it's, you know, money, financial resources, but You know, once you have a good understanding of that, I think it's much easier to go out and find it.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Yeah, this goes back to, I think, a couple of the previous points. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, which has been pretty hyped by, like, you know, lifestyle entrepreneurs like Tim Ferriss and I think Ryan Holiday as well. But it's a book on Stoicism, so Stoic philosophy. Really about living in the moment and learning how to control things that you can control and not to stress too much about things that are out of your control. So it's a little bit about discipline and just outlook in life.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
That's a good one. Comparison is the thief of joy, if I had to pick one. And this goes back to, I think, younger days when people, and especially social media, it's going to be hard for the younger generation, but comparing yourself to others and being envious or feeling any jealousy is very, you know, dangerous and harmful for a state of mind. And I think, you know, if you can avoid that, you're going to save yourself a lot of stress.
Yes, man. Dude, thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find and/or connect with you online?
I'm super open, Tyler. So yeah, LinkedIn, Twitter, anywhere I am, you guys feel free to reach out. I'm always happy to help with anything in this industry or anything in general.
Awesome, man. Thanks again for hopping on.
Cheers. Thanks, Tyler.
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