Kishanbaalaji
Ecosystem growth leader with 10+ years building the go-to-market infrastructure that L1 and EVM networks run on — developer pipelines, validator programs, institutional partnerships, and content engines that compound adoption rather than spike it. In the Ethereum / EVM ecosystem since the mining era.
Influenced $187M+ in institutional pipeline, originated 780+ qualified ecosystem leads, and architected 400+ strategic partnerships across founders, validators, VCs, and KOLs. Managed a cross-functional team of 18. AI-fluent operator (Claude, GPT) building automation-resistant, signal-driven growth.
Experience
Head of Marketing & Ecosystem Growth
XDC Network
Dubai, UAE (Remote)
Owned ecosystem growth strategy across developer adoption, validator participation, institutional onboarding, and protocol expansion for the India region. Influenced $187M+ institutional pipeline through enterprise onboarding and partner origination. Led XDC’s presence at India Blockchain Week as Silver Sponsor — secured premium booth, partner visibility, and executive access via direct organizer relationships. Built flagship partnerships across OpenFX, Foundership, Onramp.money, and 0xilluminati to deepen protocol adoption.
Ran 16 ecosystem activations / hackathons across 15 cities with builder prize incentives, producing 780+ qualified leads. Directly managed a team of 18 (designers, performance marketers, analysts, KOL managers, video editors) — fully accountable for OKRs and KPIs. Led GTM across launchpad platforms, DeFi ecosystems, and infrastructure networks; contributed to $1.5M+ in project funding outcomes. Built & managed 400+ partnerships across founders, validators, investors, and creators.
Scaled the Cryptopragmatist community to 55,000+ subscribers from zero via education-led growth. Launched Daily Alpha Bytes (1,000 subs in 21 days) and produced the Gencast podcast.
Head of Marketing & Ecosystem Growth
Momentum 6 / Genesis Shards
Bengaluru (Remote)
Delivered 400+ activations across partnerships, sponsorships, and revenue programs; generated $200K+ in direct sponsorship revenue. Secured the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 official screening partnership; built brand deals with Diageo, Pernod Ricard, and Bira.
CMO / Senior Manager — Events & Marketing
Virtuous Retail
Bengaluru
BD Manager
Bluefrog
40% revenue / 60% footfall lift
Sr. Liaison Officer
Talent Mosaic
Project Head
Need Higher Education Council
raised ~$1M seed
BD Manager
Artistivity
₹1Cr+ revenue
Education
B.M.S. College of Engineering
B.E.
Vijaya College
B.Sc.
Skills
KEY EXECUTIVE ACHIEVEMENTS
Influenced $187M+ institutional & enterprise pipeline across L1 ecosystem expansion
personally originated and closed flagship onboards (Onramp.money, OpenFX) for OTC and treasury flows.
Onboarded a $500K network validator
a high-friction, high-trust close most ecosystem leads never complete.
Generated 780+ qualified ecosystem leads across 15 tech hubs via developer hackathons and builder onboarding
~65–70% rated high-quality founder/builder leads.
Architected 400+ strategic partnerships
spanning founders, validators, creators, KOLs, and top-tier South Korean market makers.
Spearheaded an RWA tokenization MoU with the Murindi Group
coffee-bean supply chain on-chain (Coorg → Australia export).
Produced a 64-episode founder-led podcast
generating 165K+ organic views with zero paid spend.
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
AI Capabilities and Limitations
Anthropic Skilljar
AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations
Anthropic Skilljar
Claude 101
Anthropic Skilljar
Claude Code 101
Anthropic Skilljar
Introduction to Claude Cowork
Anthropic Skilljar