The Story
Dawson built Earni.fi, a crypto app that helps Ethereum users find and claim money they didn't know they had through airdrops. He grew it to 250,000 free users, 5,000 paid users, over $1M ARR, then had a successful exit to Bankless. The crazy part? He built the initial version in just 4-5 hours.
Dawson's path to entrepreneurship wasn't straightforward. As a kid, he wrote programs to help cheat on geometry tests - his first taste of product-market fit. But college killed his excitement for software. He almost dropped out until he discovered hackathons, which reignited his passion for building products real people use.
He worked at Uber in 2016 but became disillusioned with big tech inefficiency. He quit, traveled the world for a year as a digital nomad, and met people in Australia using Ethereum for nonprofit financial aid distribution. That pulled him back into tech and crypto.
Key Insights
The Ideation Process
- •Dawson knew the pain points as a user in the crypto community
- •He waited 2-3 weeks of a month-long hackathon just letting ideas bounce around
- •"Once I have conviction, the idea just flows more easily"
- •Built the entire solution in 4-5 hours once he started coding
The Viral Launch
- •Published a tweet with a video showing an address with tons of airdrops
- •Created FOMO: "This is what's possible out there"
- •People wanted to help others find free money - easy to retweet
- •10,000 organic signups in 48 hours
The Anti-Email Strategy
- •Dawson hates spam, so he only sent emails when users had money to claim
- •Open rates were through the roof
- •Eventually paywalled all airdrops - you see "$793 unclaimed" but need to pay to access
Viral Marketing Campaigns
- •"25 Days of Christmas": Tagged someone publicly on Twitter every day showing their unclaimed amount
- •Created community pressure - others wished they had airdrops to claim
- •Became a "fiend" for conferences and in-person networking
Differentiation in a Crowded Space
- •Obsessive about quality - only notified users about high-value airdrops
- •Competitors included too much, lowering quality and trust
- •Trust is huge in crypto due to hacking/phishing risks
- •Being early + providing quality = no one can catch up
The Exit
- •Got a Twitter DM from David Hoffman of Bankless podcast
- •Bankless had helped Dawson get into Ethereum originally
- •After 2 years of solo growth, Earni.fi was acquired by Bankless
Post-Exit Life
- •Living in a Sprinter van in Colorado, skiing
- •Felt a "freefall" after the dopamine wore off
- •Realized meaning comes from community and sharing experiences
- •Now doing consulting, open source projects, and building in public again
Tech Stack
- •TypeScript full stack
- •Node.js backend
- •React frontend
- •Next.js framework
- •VS Code editor
- •Maxed out MacBook Pro, split keyboard, 32" monitor
Key Advice
"Enjoy the process more. Don't have as much anxiety or worry - it will all work out."
Resources
- •Follow Dawson on Twitter/Farcaster