EasyA x Polkadot Hackathon Winners accepted to YCombinator to secure Web3

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As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen eye for promising startups, I must admit that the success story of Gecko Sec, backed by Y Combinator, is nothing short of inspiring. Hailing from the same EasyA hackathon where they first experimented with their groundbreaking ideas, this duo – Artemiy Malyshau and Jeevan Juttla – have come a long way since their initial foray into the world of Web3 development.

San Francisco, United States, October 28th, 2024, Chainwire

As an analyst, I’m thrilled to share that the victors from the latest EasyA hackathon, often referred to as “gigabrains,” are on their way to Y Combinator. Artemiy Malyshau and Jeevan Juttla were initially participants at the EasyA x Polkadot hackathon about two years ago, where they embarked on the journey that eventually led to Gecko Sec. Now, they’ve been accepted into the renowned Y Combinator accelerator, a program that has supported numerous successful Web3 companies such as CoinBase, Filecoin, and others.

Gecko Sec, as per the team, allows Web3 developers to create secure code swiftly without spending time on tools that fail to produce results or relying on infrequent human penetration tests that soon become outdated. They are currently refining their innovative software for teams working on Polkadot projects. Ensuring code is secure and reliable is a major worry for Web3 developers, with millions of dollars spent monthly on security audits just in the Web3 sector alone.

EasyA played a significant role in providing both Jeevan Jutla and Artemiy Malyshau with the initial push they needed, and served as an inspiration for their success.

Artemiy Malyshau, Co-Founder of Gecko Sec, stated, “Our journey began at an EasyA hackathon, which eventually resulted in us receiving backing from Y Combinator. A big thank you to Phil and Dom for encouraging us to step out of our comfort zone and helping us reach this point!

Besides having impressive professional and academic backgrounds, Jeevan Juttla and Artemiy Malyshau stand out. Specifically, Jeevan Juttla, the CEO and co-founder of Gecko Sec, earned his First Class Degree in Electrical Engineering from King’s College London. Following graduation, he was recruited by the UK government’s National Cyber Security Centre to safeguard the British Government’s data. Later on, Jeevan moved to Binance as a Security Engineer.

Artemiy Malyshau received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with First Class Honors from King’s College London, one of the top universities in the UK. Subsequently, he obtained a Master’s Degree with Distinction in Applied Computational Science and Engineering from Imperial College University.

GeckoSec is among the illustrious winners of EasyA hackathons who’ve since thrived in the blockchain sector. Other victors from these hackathons, like Axal established by Harvard alum Ashlan Ahmed, have been supported by a16z and are set to disclose their upcoming funding round within this month. To date, the founders stemming from EasyA events have already created companies worth approximately $3 billion collectively.

As an analyst, I can express it this way: I’ve learned that venture capital firms have shown interest in tapping into EasyA’s startup pool. While the specifics remain undisclosed at this time, EasyA hints at its ambition to establish a fund dedicated solely to investing in its intellectual powerhouse community and hackathon champions.

Dom Kwok, co-founder of EasyA, remarked that witnessing our brilliant minds at EasyA transition from debuting at our hackathons to being accepted into Y Combinator is a clear demonstration of the exceptional talent and entrepreneurial spirit thriving within the EasyA community. I’ve never come across anything quite as impressive.

The triumphs of EasyA hackathon winners can largely be attributed to the influential role played by the company’s co-founders, Phil and Dom. These two are often present at EasyA hackathons, motivating developers to create the next groundbreaking startups, akin to unicorns. With over a decade of experience in blockchain technology, Phil and Dom bring expertise to EasyA from their previous roles at Sullivan & Cromwell (Phil) and The Blackstone Group (Dom). Their impressive academic backgrounds have also provided them, as well as EasyA, with an exceptional pool of talented founders from across the United States and Europe. Notably, Phil was a distinguished scholar at Cambridge University, while Dom graduated Cum Laude from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, holding the titles of Joseph Wharton and Benjamin Franklin Scholar.

As reported by Phil and Dom, their endeavors are merely at the beginning stage. A series of significant fundraising declarations are anticipated to emerge from the EasyA community in the upcoming months.

About EasyA

One of the most widely-used apps within the Web3 sphere, EasyA, empowers users to grasp the concepts of Web3 directly on their mobile devices. Users can earn incentives as they master new skills, with top performers receiving invitations to attend in-person hackathons in prominent tech hubs such as San Francisco, London, and Singapore, where they can launch their startups. Notable alumni from EasyA have founded companies valued at close to $3 billion and have secured investments from prestigious venture capital firms like a16z, Founders Fund, YC, among others.

EasyA, created by brothers Philip and Dominic Kwok – distinguished alumni from the University of Cambridge and The Wharton School – boasts more than a million users and was even honored with Apple’s prestigious App of the Day recognition.

Contact

Dom Kwok
dom@easya.io

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2024-10-28 19:34