Recently, due to the "airdrop witch" incidents at certain projects, I saw a discussion on Chinese Twitter:
"APAC Leads in Web3 projects are basically scapegoats."
When I saw this statement, I was actually a little taken aback 😂.
Because for the past few years, I've spent most of my time in this role.
Many people see APAC Leads as people who post Chinese tweets, organize events, are responsible for "generating buzz," and most importantly, are the ones who "take the blame" when problems arise. But in reality, it's not that simple.
After doing it for a while, you'll find that the boundaries of this role are constantly expanding. An APAC Lead is not just a marketing position; it's more like a systemic role involving cross-regional growth and ecosystem building, and a core node for integrating Eastern and Western resources and cultures, and within the platform.
When I first entered the industry, I focused more on publicity, community building, events, and media relations. My daily thought was: how to get more people to hear about the project.
Later, I started becoming a bridge between headquarters and regional offices.
This required repeatedly communicating about differences in understanding, coordinating resource allocation,
and sometimes even pushing forward key decisions under completely uncertain circumstances. This was especially evident before TGE, highlighting the challenge of effectively integrating users, attention, funding, and platform resources in the highly fragmented Asia-Pacific market. Without experiencing this comprehensive "war-like" environment, one might not understand the sheer number of tests, immediate decisions, and trade-offs this position and the entire team face.
Now, much of the work involves: collaboratively designing regional strategies, driving the implementation of ecosystem projects, and helping the team understand where the real opportunities lie in the Asia-Pacific market. A significant amount of time and energy is spent building relationships with numerous project teams and builders. Herein lies a crucial difference between Eastern and Western builders: Eastern builders excel at implementation but lack narrative skills and the ability to cultivate a market atmosphere. Western project teams often have a high-level perspective and strong storytelling abilities but weaker implementation capabilities. Top-tier APAC Leads even need to personally guide projects, identify shortcomings, and ensure continuous growth, bringing promising Eastern builders to the attention of Western investors while recommending established Western projects to suitable exchanges. This likely requires experience and resources akin to a combination of VC + incubator + marketing agency + listing advisor support.
Furthermore, in the actual implementation process, it even requires connecting with local capital, government, and industry resources, finding feasible paths amidst different regulatory environments and business cultures.
The difficulty of this job isn't just the sheer intensity. The real challenge lies in the daily effort to reassemble users, attention, funding, and platform resources across the Asia-Pacific region. Often, you need to understand both the logic and pace of Western teams and the realities and speed of the Eastern market. You must find the connection between two completely different systems.
If you don't do well, you're likely to be the first to be questioned.
So, is the APAC Lead a "scapegoat position"? To some extent, yes. But from another perspective, it's also a very real position:
You stand at the forefront of globalization. You see the most authentic changes in market sentiment. You also have the opportunity to personally drive a project from regional to global. This job is exhausting, but it's also incredibly growth-oriented and fascinating.
