2024 - A Year In Review
I’ve spent the last week strolling a subtropical island writing this review in my head. Planned in 22 degrees of sunshine and finished in 2 degrees of snow.
It’s a bit of a different one this year. Because its the first review that I’ve written about a year employed.
This is my sixth annual review. “Why do I write these reviews?” was another thing I pondered while walking the coastline.
I’ll continue to write them for myself while I find them useful for growth. And I’ll continue to write them for my kids so they can time travel in the future.
Plus, with the acceleration of AI technology; I feel this type of content is more important than ever.
Here’s a summary of my past year:
- I made more than last year’s ~$350,000
- I flew 22 times to 7 countries
- Family mode is the new normal
- I lost 1,000 followers on X
- I established myself as a crypto engineer
- Magic Eden became the #1 NFT marketplace in the world
- I learned and earned from my projects
- I broke some promises to myself
- Gratitude is my overriding emotion
Let’s take a look at the details:
Work
Now that I’m an employee (for the first time ever) I have a salary portion of my income.
I know folks will want to know how this transition has felt. Especially as someone who has been independent for the 14 years prior. There are some shocks to the system. But they’re not as heavy as you might imagine.
To expand, you need to be cognizent of two things:
- How you work best
- Does the company you’re working for accomodate that
One non-negotiable, for me, is remote work. Another, is being able to work mostly on my own time. I have 90% of my lifestyle and professional needs met under these circumstances. It feels good to have found “Company-Engineer-Fit” at Magic Eden.
(We’re hiring, come work with me!)
The main change is scheduling time off more corporately. My work style is sprint, short rest, sprint. There are intense periods during launches. But overall, the pace has matched what I’m used to.
When you care about your work you’ll own the responsibility whether you’re delivering a freelance project or a company feature.
I worked on a wide range of engineering projects across ~350 PRs. From owning individual features to leading partner communications and app wide integrations. Notable mentions:
- Dynamic wallet connect and user management integration
- Relay integration to support cross-chain currency purchasing on all surfaces
- Self-service product for creators to launch their own NFT projects
It was awesome to see the company become the top NFT marketplace in revenue during this time.
Many people have asked me why I took a job if I didn’t need one:
-
To prove myself at a new level
- “Could a self-taught developer from a small town in England cut it at a unicorn startup?”
- To deepen my engineering knowledge in a field I enjoy
- To earn some equity in a company I believe in
Onto what I made from my work in 2024.
As with most tech roles, compensation is broken into base and equity portions. In crypto uniquely, there’s a token portion, too. Alongside this income, I made a significant amount from my projects.
In terms of cash, across both streams, I made more than the $364,217.96 that my personal company made in 2023.
This does not include any non-cash compensation earned. Which makes 2024’s figure considerably higher at current valuations.
Product revenue is at an all time low of $835.94. As in 2023, I made little effort to promote my book on pricing and course on personal websites. I did enjoy writing two articles on pricing in Q4. It felt great to flex this muscle again.
I had many things that I wanted to build this year. I promised myself I would get them out and I didn’t. Specifcally, a new personal website and a digital art project I’ve been working on.
I’ve learned two things from this:
-
Lofty goals are good so long as you don’t dwell on ideas
- “Action or cut”
-
Beyond 1 or 2 main pursuits, your life has to take a hit to do more
- (And it might not be worth it)
So instead of feeling bad about what you didn’t do feel good about what you did do. There’s nothing wrong with trying to do a lot. But you need to be at peace when you’re unable to do it all at once.
Personal Finances
Even though costs have increased we still have multiple years of runway to continue living the way we are now should I decide to take a break.
I’ve always been an advocate of enjoying your money. I think extreme frugality is a poor lifestyle choice. With that said, I’m glad to have put enough away to feel secure about my family’s immediate future.
Software Engineering
Working in a bigger team of engineers has made me a better one.
I’ve been a freelance web3 developer since 2021 but I established myself in crypto this past year.
My range of knowledge across the whole stack has increased. I’ve particularly enjoyed working with smart contracts across multiple EVM chains.
I wrote more code than words. With 1,351 contributions on GitHub in 2024.
Projects
When you have a builder’s brain you’ll always be working on something. 2024 has been no different to the rest of my life.
I was invited to produce a regular column on pricing for Freelancer Magazine. The first two issues published in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025.
Every time I write I remember how much I like it.
On the development side, I’m fortunate to have talented friends who like making cool stuff. Select projects I helped with were:
- GLHFers website + NFT auction UI with Dith
- Based Punks NFT gallery website with Traf
- Blastoadz (now BasedToadz) smart contracts + game with Traf
In April, I shipped another update to Solidity Next.js Starter, my open source project for beginner web3 developers which sits at 350 stars on GitHub.
In 2025, I’ll look more at AI. Particularly, how I can use it solve some of my own day to day problems.
Digital Art
I’m still collecting NFTs. Mainly art based. You can view some of my collection here.
I love anything that uses blockchain mechanics to inject something new into a traditionally static canvas. That’s what excites me most in art x crypto.
I want to keep experimenting here.
Educational Products
I’m sad that I didn’t find time to do any new teaching in 2024. Perhaps this is where AI can help me in 2025.
Social Media
I’m mainly using X and Instagram.
I tried Farcaster but I couldn’t stick to using it regularly.
My X account lost 1,000 followers in 2024. Understandably, because I’m posting less frequently, less niche specific and there were no viral moments.
Life
I was planning a move to Dubai in time for my daugther to start school in September. I’d been researching for a number of years and I was confident about making it happen.
Once it got to visa stage, however, we decided as a family to take a step back.
I’m disapointed we couldn’t get there and I still hope to make a move abroad one day.
Family
Having kids is the hardest and best thing I’ve ever done.
After 5 years of having my first child, family mode feels like the new normal. I’ve fully transitioned from Tom to Dad as my default.
I’m thankful to my wife, Steph, for doing the heavy lifting needed to make everything work at home. I could not do what I do without her.
Health
On New Year’s Eve, we had a minor health scare with my son. It was the most stressful day of my life. Luckily, it was nothing but a lesson about the importance of good health.
I went to the gym 2-3 times per week in 2024. This has slipped. I’ll get this back up to 3-4 in 2025.
Walking has continued to be one of my favourite hobbies.
“A healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man only wants one”. — Confucius.
Travel
I travelled to:
- San Francisco, USA in January
- Paris, France in February
- Dubai, UAE in March
- Seattle, USA in April
- Bend, USA in April
- Chicago, USA in June
- Mallorca, Spain in June
- Berlin, Germany in June
- Westward Ho!, England in August
- Lisbon, Portugal in October
- Cancún, Mexico in November
- Tenerife, Spain in December
My highlights were walking (what felt like) the entirety of SF in a day, hiking in Smith Rock State Park and seeing my kids enjoy themselves.
It was awesome to see so much. But this was a lot. 12 trips didn’t make travelling lose it’s charm, however.
I’m looking forward to seeing more new places in 2025.
Home
No new work to our house. I didn’t get to revamp my office either.
Steph and I see a medium-sized rennovation on the horizon once our kids stop drawing on walls!
Investments
The percentage of my portfolio in crypto is starting to feel too large.
I didn’t write any new angel checks in 2024, but I’m open to doing so in 2025. Feel free to reach out if my experience would be beneficial to your startup.
On the degenerate side of the barbell I made some profit trading Solana memecoins.
Not investment advice.
Wrap Up
2024
The year I made the most money and the year I got least excited about making money. I feel less interested in sharing figures and more interested in sharing ideas.
The high expectations I have of myself got the better of me on a few occasions.
I got a lot done this year (despite it not being everything). My motivation is strong.
2025
I entered 2025 feeling grateful.
Software engineering is one of the best professions in the world. Crypto is an open industry where anyone can make a name for themselves if they put in the work. I like that. Getting to work from home and travel the world. Having a beautiful family who I love spending time with.
Life is very close to what I worked and wished for. It’s important to remember that while you continue to better yourself.
Wishing you good health and epic vibes in the year ahead.
This is my sixth yearly review. You can read the rest here:
Let me know if you write one!