Case Study · tea Protocol / DeFi
tea Protocol → TestNet Launch
Designed, built and launched the token utility and incentive system from a white paper into a gamified ecosystem → truly 0 to 1.
Outcome
$85M FDV · 1.2M users · 80 days · 58% DAU
My role
Head of Product. Owned strategy and team end-to-end; coached an early-career PM through 0→1.
Context
tea Protocol focused on re-designing the incentive model for Open-Source developers. I led the development of the protocol's TestNet from designing the onboarding process, transaction signing method via Account Abstraction, staking mechansims, governance model and UX/UI.
Approach
Product Management & Ownership
- 01
Built the product and token economy from a white paper → designed token utility, staking rewards, governance rights and reputation systems from first principles.
- 02
Designed and executed the technical roadmap end-to-end: staking mechanism built on LIDO liquid staking framework, account abstraction via Safe AA SDK, and indexer/data-layer integration to power real-time dApp rendering.
- 03
Created the protocol governance structure with Discord and Tally integration, including delegated voting flows.
- 04
Designed and executed a bug bounty program with a $250k budget → structured scope, eligibility, judging criteria, and reward tiers to surface critical vulnerabilities before mainnet.
- 05
Operationalised the design as a gamified TestNet program with explicit success metrics defined before launch.
- 06
Tracked outputs rigorously and iterated incentive design on signal → separated long-term engagement from mercenary participation.
Leadership
- 01
Owned product strategy and team end-to-end as Head of Product.
- 02
Coached an early-career PM through 0→1 product work; they now ship at an AI startup.
- 03
Established executive reporting cadence communicating ecosystem performance, operational risks, and strategic priorities while aligning leadership on roadmap changes and organizational improvements.
Go-to-Market & Ecosystem Development
- 01
Aligned and collaborated with protocols and integration partners on roadmap development and requirements, integration priorities, developer needs and adoption strategy including product syncs and co-marketing campaigns.
- 02
Served as primary point of contact with all external integration partners including Base, Web3Auth, Alchemy, GitHub, and SAFE → managed roadmap dependencies and ensuring all external APIs met product requirements before and during launch.
- 03
Owned the early adopter program end to end; including identifying and pitching open source developers on joining a contractual incentive program, negotiating cash-based milestone agreements, and supporting participants through onboarding, milestone tracking, and social media content development to drive ecosystem activation → 90% of developer pipeline closed and developed an OS that directed feedback from developers back to our product, marketing and engineering functions.
- 04
Represented the protocol externally at ETHDenver, Paris Blockchain Week and a Base × tea workshop to drive ecosystem awareness.
Results
- ◆
$85M FDV · 1.2M users onboarded in 80 days.
- ◆
58% daily active engagement throughout the program.
- ◆
Distributed $50k in bug bounty rewards for security-related bugs.
- ◆
Launched fully functional TestNet infrastructure and UI.
- ◆
Coached PM now shipping at an AI startup.
Artifacts
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