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From Zero to One in the Crypto Industry, with Head of People at Immutable, Ami Patel

FNDN Series #6

Author

Matt McFarlane
December 08, 2024

And just like that, 2024 is drawing to a close.

Had you asked me at the start of the year whether I’d start a podcast, I’d have laughed you out of the room. Now we’re releasing our fifth and final episode of the year!

If you’ve enjoyed this series (and especially if you haven’t), the only Christmas gift 🎄🎁 I ask of you is your feedback.

What do you like and what could be better? 👈 (this goes straight to my email).

December is always a month of reflection, and I recently took a moment to look back on everything we’ve accomplished in these five short months. From something that started out as a novel idea for a newsletter, to turn into the scale and magnitude that it is now has been nothing short of amazing.

2024 brought:

I’m taking a very European-style break over the Australian summer, from December to the start of February. As such, there won’t be a ‘normal’ edition sliding into your inbox in January. Although, sunburn pending, I’m planning to write a piece reflecting on my first year running a solopreneur business, something I’m asked about on the regular. Let me know if you think this would be interesting and I’ll use that to motivate me away from the beach.

Speaking of which, life update for me — I’ve moved to the beach! This first year of solopreneur has given me so much, but the freedom to work where I like might be one of the best yet. Here’s my new front yard.

Photo of beach at sunrise with surfer riding a wave

My new view

The series will return to normal programming in February, where I chat with the first ever CHRO of LinkedIn. Sometimes I still can’t believe these incredible people are talking to me…

Until next year, have an incredible holiday period — whatever you may be celebrating or taking respite from — you deserve it.

Matt

Year in review: how often would you like to receive this series?

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Decorative

From Zero to One in the Crypto Industry

with Ami Patel, Head of People at Immutable

I had the pleasure of speaking with Ami Patel, Head of People at Immutable, a Web3 gaming company that’s pioneering new ways for players to own in-game assets through Blockchain technology. Ami shared insights on tackling the unique challenges of startup compensation in a fast-evolving and highly competitive industry. From learning the ropes of compensation to creating a transparent pay strategy, Ami’s approach is full of lessons for People leaders looking to refine their own practices.

We covered

  • Ami’s jump from a background in education, to organisational design, to a completely new frontier tackling startup compensation.

  • Building Immutable’s compensation framework: from the ground up.

  • Immutable’s approach to pay for performance.

  • Embedding transparency and communication principles in compensation.

  • And working out what the heck to pay crypto people when there is no benchmarking.

Some takeaways

  • Ami emphasised the importance of transparency in pay practices to reduce employee anxiety and build trust across the organisation.

  • Lean on your network of peers, consultants, and industry experts to help simplify complex compensation challenges, especially in rapidly evolving industries.

  • Ami highlighted how aligning compensation with company values and culture strengthens engagement and helps attract and retain top talent.

  • It’s not one and done. Regularly revisiting your compensation philosophy ensures it evolves alongside the company’s scale, market dynamics, and employee needs.

  • Pay-for-talent models, when designed thoughtfully, can simplify performance conversations and keep employees focused on growth rather than contentious reviews.

For anyone wrestling with the complexities of pay transparency or startup compensation, Ami’s experience offers a roadmap of practical strategies and thoughtful approaches.

You can follow or connect with Ami on LinkedIn here.

Read the full interview here, or watch it on YouTube or Spotify.

If you ever want me to cover a specific topic or would like to nominate a guest, hit reply to this email.

Decorative

Thinking about compensation for 2025?

THE WRAP UP

Here’s some of the stuff we found interesting this month.

Australian Salary Outlook

One of the most common questions I’m asked is ‘what should our salary increase budget be for the year?’. A helpful proxy is understanding things like the projected outlook from companies like Mercer, who can tout broad participation and insights. Surprising to me is that, on one hand, I read about lots of companies projecting growth (see the next report), and on the other, projected salary increases are remaining stagnant. Quite possibly this is industry related though, with Mercer focused on larger, more institutional industries. Savvy operators recognise that with industry wide growth comes more demand for talent which in turn raises salaries. My prediction is that is how things will play out, especially within the tech space.

How are Australian Companies Hiring?

A report out of Rippling who are making big strides in the region, focused on how relatively small/mid-sized companies are focusing on hiring in the new year. Most surprisingly (in a good way) was that 97% of talent acquisition teams are using AI. It’s incredible to see this kind of adoption in a space that is ripe for it. Aside from the intention to grow there’s a sprinkling of Gen Z bashing, which seems a favourite thing to do at the moment. Interesting sentiments around expectation to hire internationally, despite reduced likelihood of hiring candidates unwilling to work 5-days onsite. Something that will invariably fall away as the market swings back in the favour of talent.

I need a $270k salary to feel successful

An interesting data point more than anything is a survey released by Axios looking at generational expectations of salary needed to feel successful. While $270k was the average, quite surprising was that Gen Z feel like they need an eyewatering $580k+ a year to feel successful. Not sure whether this is influenced by highly publicised and lavish influencer lifestyles, or the growing cost of living pressure. The silver lining? Gen Z were most likely to think they would achieve that figure in their lifetime. Can’t fault the optimism.

And in news that surprises nobody

Gen Z values work/life balance more than salary and benefits. Important insights for a generation that is soon to comprise 25% of the workforce. In tandem with the ongoing burnout pandemic, companies could gain a lot from ensuring they are focused on creating space for work to be done, but shielding lifestyles from the continued emphasis on optimisation and growth that many companies are pursuing.

But maybe this is the real reason nobody wants remote workers anymore?

How was this edition?

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That’s all for this week.

Sure, this is technically the end of the newsletter, but we don’t have to end here! I’d love this to be a two-way chat, so let me know what you found helpful, any successes you’re seeing, or any questions you have for me.

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