Web2 vs. Web3: The Changing Face of Tech Leadership
The tech industry has always been shaped by specific leadership archetypes. In the Web2 era, we saw the rise of the “tech bro” — the often young, aggressive, and ambitious figures who were determined to “move fast and break things.” While the underlying ethos has evolved, the personalities haven’t entirely disappeared; in the Web3 space, they are operating in a fundamentally different ecosystem.
According to Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, this is simply a natural progression, and the so-called “crypto bros” are just a cycle or two behind their Web2 predecessors. “Remember, all those Web2 tech bros started poor. They didn’t have any money or status. Now they’re the richest, most powerful people in the world. Crypto bros are just one or two cycles behind,” he noted.
But what exactly has changed? How do the leaders of Web3 compare to the Web2 era’s key players?
The Web2 Tech Bro: The Dawn of the Digital Elite
The Web2 tech bro emerged during the dot-com boom and flourished during the social media revolution. These leaders built companies like Facebook, Uber, Twitter, and Google – platforms that reshaped the internet while simultaneously consolidating immense power in the hands of a select few.
These founders frequently embraced a monopolistic approach, seeking to dominate their respective industries through sheer scale and aggressive acquisition strategies. Their guiding principle was to “move fast and break things,” which often prioritized disruption over regulation and oversight. The Web2 ecosystem was largely controlled by venture capitalists, Stanford graduates, and ex-Googlers, which cultivated an exclusive “Silicon Valley club” mentality, where access to capital was usually the defining factor for success.
Ironically, despite their supposed countercultural origins, many Web2 tech bros eventually aligned with governments, Wall Street, and regulators as their companies grew too large to fail. This ultimately meant that the disrupters became the establishment.
Web3 Tech Bros: Decentralized and Ideological
Web3 arose as a reaction to the excesses of Web2. This new era promises decentralized networks, financial sovereignty, and privacy-first solutions. While Web2 leaders built empires on centralized platforms, Web3 leaders focus on community-driven models, leveraging token economies, DAOs, and grassroot funding. This new structure is often chaotic, with competing blockchains, fragmented governance, and numerous ideological divides.
Yet, Web3’s power dynamics mirror those of Web2. In-fighting is a common occurrence, such as the ongoing debates between Ethereum and Cardano, Bitcoin maximalists and altcoin advocates, and centralized exchanges and DeFi purists. These often mirror the struggles that took place in the Web2 space.
As Hoskinson states, “Web3 is no different. We just haven’t quite penetrated the zeitgeist in the same way yet, but we will. And there’ll be an Ethereum movie, and I’m sure they’ll get some schlump to play me.”
Jay Boisvert, CEO of Wunder, a new social media platform, believes that the ultimate success of Web3 depends on its ability to scale, which is in turn, achieved by earning the trust of end users. “As confidence in traditional institutions continues to erode, Web3 has a unique opportunity to step in, but it must become more visible and open to scrutiny. The core principles of Web3, rooted in ideology and transparency, provide a foundation for building fairer, more verified, and authentic communities, communities like Wunder,” he said.
The Big Question
While Web3 markets itself as a more ethical, decentralized alternative to Web2, some critics argue that it is headed down the same path. Instead of Zuckerberg-style monopolies, Web3 has a new class of oligarchs – early crypto adopters who hold disproportionate amounts of power through VC-backed blockchains and billion-dollar treasuries.
Some Web3 projects are also subject to pump-and-dump culture, relying heavily on hype, celebrity endorsements, and retail speculation, rather than real-world adoption. Likewise, some Web3 founders favor regulatory evasion over genuine innovation, often seeking out offshore jurisdictions to avoid compliance.
However, there are fundamental differences that suggest Web3 could evolve in a more equitable direction:
- Smart contracts replace middlemen: Unlike Web2, which centralizes control, Web3 automates transactions on-chain, reducing corporate power.
- Open-source ethos: Many Web3 projects are built in public, with permissionless access — a stark contrast to Web2’s closed systems.
- Tokenized incentives: Users can actually own parts of protocols through governance tokens, unlike Web2’s “you are the product” model.
Web2 vs. Web3: The Future of Tech Leadership
The transition from Web2 to Web3 is more than a technological shift — it is a cultural movement. In the traditionally male-dominated tech field, a more inclusive “tech-gal” culture is starting to emerge, and it’s reshaping the way companies are built, scaled, and evaluated. Women founders, engineers, and thought leaders are taking on important new roles and pushing the narrative beyond profit-driven KPIs toward sustainable and value-driven growth models. As history has demonstrated, the integrity of the metrics that companies pursue is directly tied to the culture behind them.
Lisa Loud, executive director of Secret Network Foundation, sees the collapse of FTX as a cautionary tale. Its downfall wasn’t solely due to bad investments or poor financial planning—it was rooted in a work culture that prioritized hitting arbitrary financial metrics over values like transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making. “When you strip away those values, you’re left with a house of cards ready to fall at the slightest disruption. What the FTX case exemplifies is that a toxic, short-term “win-at-all-costs” mentality isn’t just a risk—it’s a recipe for disaster,” she stated.
Web3 offers a real opportunity to do things differently. One of the key innovations driving this change is the power of direct community input. Unlike the Web2 era, where tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Twitter could make sweeping decisions based on shareholder profit, Web3 actually empowers its user base. With decentralized governance models, token holders and users can shape the future of platforms directly. Founders no longer have the luxury of making decisions in isolation and are encouraged to interact with users through transparent, real-time feedback loops on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Discord.
This growing dynamic is fostering a more positive balance of power between companies and their communities. The Web3 model can encourage decision-making that considers long-term effect and user trust more than immediate financial gains. For founders—especially the women who are breaking barriers in this space—this represents a massive paradigm shift. “We’re not just building companies; we’re co-creating ecosystems where success is measured not only by profitability but by community satisfaction, ethical governance, and genuine innovation,” said Loud.
While Web2’s titans such as Zuckerberg, Musk, Bezos, and Page, are deeply intertwined in global power structures, Web3’s most prominent figures, including Vitalik Buterin, Hoskinson, Changpeng Zhao, and Anatoly Yakovenko, are still fighting for legitimacy.
As Web3 continues to grow, it must consider the same challenge Web2 faced: what happens when the rebels become the new establishment? Hoskinson is optimistic about Web3’s future. “Crypto bros are not too far behind. We’re just one or two cycles behind the Web2 guys.”
The big question remains: Can Web3 actually preserve its decentralized nature, or will it simply create new tech overlords in different hoodies?
