When I first came across blockchain I knew I wanted to do something with it. But being a non-developer, I did not have the benefit of just diving right in. Sure I’ve taken a few CS classes on Udemy in my spare time, but truthfully, I still couldn’t tell you the difference between an object and a method. Regardless, I was determined to gain a foothold in a crypto project. Through lots of twists and turns I ended up meeting the amazing team at the Origin Protocol who ultimately gave me a chance to contribute to their exciting project.

Since then, it has been an exciting couple of weeks with lots of activities taking place here in the office. We are excited to have over 5000 members on our Telegram and over 600 active participants in our Slack channel. While we’ve done our best to address all the questions we’ve received, we thought a blog post might be the best medium to address the most common question we have received.

“If I am not a developer, how can I get involved with a crypto project like Origin?”

Here are four ways to do so:

Know the Technology

While being a developer is the fastest and easiest way to dive head first into any project, that doesn’t exclude non-developers from contributing in meaningful ways. Our first piece of advice is to really lean into the technology and learn what makes that project different from all the other crypto projects out there. Look beneath the covers and really learn what makes that project tick. At Origin, we are leveraging Ethereum as our blockchain and IPFS as our data store. Each piece of technology plays an integral part in making our project unique and ultimately these choices are carefully chosen to increase our odds of success.

There are so many great resources online to learn the intricacies of blockchain. We are not saying everyone needs to learn how to code a smart contract(but it helps!), we do think that being able to discern the differences between a distributed ledger and blockchain will really make you stand out. Know that there currently aren’t many crypto experts out there in the world so everyone is on even footing at this point. Just knowing one more thing than the next person will get you a leg up.

The best way to start is to read up on the project’s whitepaper. Not only will you gain a good technological understanding of the project, but many of these whitepapers also provide really solid use cases for why the project even exists in the first place. More importantly, the whitepapers will give you a good starting point on what technological pitfalls you will need to work on. To further fill in the gaps, we recommend visiting the project’s Bitcointalk post to get a good read on how the community is interpreting the project’s value proposition.

Check out Origin Protocol’s own whitepaper and discover some of our use cases right here.

Do your Due Diligence

With so many projects out there, it is getting harder and harder to weed out the real game changers to the so-called scams. Realize that this is a marathon and not a sprint so take your time and do your due diligence. Don’t be afraid to ask a bunch of questions to the project founders on Twitter. Many of them are surprisingly helpful!

A good starting point is to check out a top crypto project lists (such as this website) that lists out some of the top projects out in the marketplace today.

To really stand out, pick a project that most closely resembles something you’ve done in the past. In my prior life, I worked for a legal services marketplace that aimed to connect lawyers and small business owners together. As I had previous experience developing a marketplace, I knew my past experience would be the perfect fit for what Origin is looking to achieve. Even if my current role isn’t exactly like my previous role, I am definitely still contributing.

Reach Out

Being proactive is the best way to get yourself out there. Because most crypto projects are still fairly new, the project founders are focused on getting feedback from their potential users, supporters and investors. As a result, the majority of the crypto projects have a Slack channel or a Telegram to engage with their communities. Be sure to check out the project’s website to gain entry into these portals.

The beauty of using Slack/Telegram is that there is always something going on throughout the day. Unlike a static webpage, you’ll see people from the community asking questions, chatting with each other and generally hanging out. This is especially cool when everyone in the channel is as passionate about blockchain as you are!

Even if you have nothing to add to the conversation, a simple “hello” is sufficient to get started. More often than not, the founders will be on the Slack/Telegram channels to welcome you aboard.

At Origin, we’ve worked with countless number of people who got started by chatting with us on Telegram. Check us out by joining our Telegram.

Be Proactive

Just like with any startup there is always something that needs to be done. Many of the team members at Origin began as individual contributors because they liked the project and really believed in the vision.

For people getting started, really think hard about what you would like to do. If you are going to reach out to one of the project founders, offer up a few ideas and roles that you think you are perfect for. Often times these founders are so busy, they don’t realize what kind of help they actually need.

Lastly, don’t pigeonhole yourself into only roles you’ve done in the past. Sales guys can become marketers. Marketers can become bloggers. At the end of the day, what you are getting into is a startup, and a startup requires you to be flexible.

Favorite web readings to get you started:

A gentle introduction to blockchain technology

A gentle introduction to digital tokens

What’s the difference between a distributed ledger and a blockchain

Beginner’s Guide Series on Cryptoassets

Best books on blockchain:

Blockchain Revolution by Don & Alex Tapscott (Amazon)

Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (Amazon)

Join us on our Telegram to find out more about our current project status. If you are interested in contributing right away, we highly encourage you to join our Slack channel. Currently, we are actively looking for people to help us localize our platform all around the world. So if you can help us with our translation efforts, please join us on Slack and add yourself to the #translation channel. We look forward to seeing you there!

Lastly, be sure to check out the Origin Protocol website to find out what we are working on! We are always down to be friends on Twitter =)

Learn more about Origin: