Welcome to our new series on Medium titled, “Conversations with our CTO” where we ask Stan a few questions and have him answer them directly. In Part 1, we introduce his background and thoughts on the industry with our community. In future parts of the series, we will discuss product development, the tech team overall, among other pertinent information. We hope that this series gives you a glimpse into our team and welcome your feedback as it progresses.

Konstantin Solodkyy, CTO of Konstellation & DarcMatter

Q: Please tell us a little about your background.

A: I was able to get a solid mathematical and statistical education in the early 2000’s in Ukraine. This educational foundation allowed me to quickly grasp new technologies and adapt to the constant changes in the industry. My career started with Windows API development and writing mobile applications using Java. I quickly mastered those technologies and transitioned into Product Manager roles where I drove mobile product development for a Silicon Valley based startup with more than 150 people. Later, I worked as a technology consultant for large companies in Europe helping them innovate on top of their legacy systems. After 2010, I resumed being actively involved with the startup community in the United States and started to build using remote teams for new ventures. I met Sang and Natasha in 2013 and since then we have been working on developing innovative technologies together.

Q: How did you get into the tech world?

A: I was always interested in new challenges and learning new things, as well as traveling and working with different cultures. As the Internet was becoming popular with products like Netscape, Altavista and Yahoo, it became clear to me that innovation was happening in different parts of the world. Using the internet, you could see this happening in real time and, of course, take part in it. That’s the exciting part of this business.

Q: What are your thoughts on the evolution of blockchain technology?

A: Blockchain technology has already proven that it can serve a large amount of users and transfer assets globally with a high degree of reliability. From another perspective, the emotions around the blockchain market can appear to be on steroids. We have seen dramatic rallies and downtrends in the past two years that make it difficult for companies to conduct business in a traditional way, by gradually building added value for their ecosystem. Instead, they are tempted to mix core business activities with opportunities to “buy and hold” and gain additional investment profits. However, with a technology like blockchain, it takes time for infrastructure to grow and good quality products to appear. I believe that the biggest breakthrough in the industry overall, and with each blockchain company specifically, will come from focusing on core strengths and systematically working toward achieving specific goals. That is our goal in exploring the synergies between DarcMatter and the mandate that we have given Konstellation to create this blockchain ecosystem not just for DarcMatter but for many other financial institutions all over the world.

Q: What are the 2 most exciting things about blockchain for you?

A: It might sound philosophical and naive, but with blockchain the world can feel itself as one, particularly now in the area of finance. Also, I adore the spirit of enthusiasm and energy that people around the globe are investing into this new industry.

Q: Any other thoughts that you would like to share with the Konstellation Community?

A: Things like blockchain and the ICO craze were hard to anticipate at first. I’m certain that in the next 5 years there will be something new to evolve that we didn’t predict in the past nor did we imagine was possible now. That is what I look forward to.

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