How do I pitch myself to blockchain founders in 60 seconds?

For which role are you applying?

I am looking for smart contract developer job.

Hey, I've been in your exact position. Months of rejections from blockchain jobs compelled me to realize the harsh truth. Founders don't care about your Solidity skills until they trust you can solve their actual problems.

Here's what finally worked for me when cold-reaching founders:

Start with their pain, not your skills. Instead of "I'm a smart contract developer with 2 dApps," try: "I noticed your latest contract deployment had 3 failed transactions due to gas optimization issues. I've built similar DEX protocols and cut gas costs by 40% using assembly optimization."

Lead with immediate value in 20 seconds. I started doing mini-audits of their GitHub repos before reaching out. "Your staking contract in repo XYZ has a potential reentrancy vulnerability in line number xyz Here's the one-line fix" gets responses because you're already helping before asking for anything.

You should be specific about what you've built. Don't just say "2 dApps." Say "Built a yield farming protocol that handles $50K TVL and processes 200+ transactions daily on Polygon." Numbers make founders attentive.

Skip the technical deep-dive first. Founders care about business impact. "My AMM implementation reduced slippage by 15% for users" hits harder than "I optimized the swap function using advanced Solidity patterns".

End with curiosity, not desperation. "Would be curious to hear what gas optimization challenges you're facing" works better than "I really want to work for you."

The founders who hired me responded within hours because I proved I understood their specific problems. Your 2 dApps are proof you can code - now show them you can think like a founder.

Where can I learn defi from basics

For me, what worked wasn’t leading with skills or numbers, but showing that I understood the stage the founder was in. Early-stage founders don’t just want developers, they want people who can wear multiple hats.

So in my 60-second pitch, I’d usually frame it like:

15 seconds on who I am (“I’ve been building small DeFi tools and dApps, mostly on Polygon”).

20 seconds on where I can plug in (“I’ve handled frontend + Solidity + user testing myself, so I’m comfortable jumping between code and community feedback”).

20 seconds on why I’m drawn to their project (“I saw your roadmap on [X feature], and I’ve been experimenting with something similar. I’d love to explore if my learnings can help you work faster”).

I keep one or two “mini-examples” prepared like how I onboarded early users into my dApp without spending on marketing because founders are willing to hear execution stories more than just tech.

In short: I’d pitch myself less as “here are my skills” and more as “here’s how I can make your life easier tomorrow.” That shift made the conversations smoother for me.