“It’s not the strong that survive, it’s the one who adapts the fastest to new environments and challenges.” I want to start this post with this basic evolutionary concept. Why? Cause change and adapting is the only constant… for us as humans, but also companies.
Cake was started almost five years ago, and much has since changed. Growing from a small startup to over a million customers with a billion dollars in AUM at its peak. By design, it was intentional and no coincidence. Articulating the vision and hiring the right people to build new financial services for the crypto industry of tomorrow. Some say we got lucky. I say we got it right.
Over the years, we’ve seen and survived multiple market cycles, yet remained steadfast and undeterred – despite the fear, uncertainty and doubt. While many crypto companies contracted and collapsed, we kept the course, building throughout the volatility. Sticking to the path and staying the course paid dividends, but it wasn’t always this way.
Transparency is one of our founding principles and a cornerstone to the success of the Group. I believe it’s just as important today as it was when we started almost five years ago. Like every ambitious business, we made some calculated bets. We backed new ventures and expanded into new verticals. Not all of them are fruitful. As CEO, I remained committed to ensure each venture was supported with the resources needed to succeed. Yet, there are times that demand balancing today’s risk over tomorrow’s reward.
It means betting on your winners and being ok with deprioritizing – not dropping – the rest. It means, being ok when not everyone on the team has the same vision as you and coming along for the entire journey. It means staying flexible and adapting to change. This requires executive decisions to prioritize the best interests of the company. Regretfully you can’t please all the people, all the time. In such situations, you can only prioritize what’s right for the business as a whole, and remain on course with the people who share your vision.
With that, there have been discussions about potential changes to our organizational leadership. I have seen some of these rumors on social media, including a journalist reaching out to me for comment. At this point in time, I can confirm that we are refocusing our efforts on our core business (in an extremely positive way, as you will read further below). I also want to underscore that while discussions about potential leadership changes have been happening, nothing is solidified or certain to date. Once it is, you can be certain – in the spirit of transparency – it will be shared with you.
What remains certain: My active participation in the group’s future. I love what we do here at Cake. I would also like to reassure customers and partners, should a leadership transition occur, it would not be sudden. The prioritization of business continuity means nothing less than an impeccable handover and transition plan.
In any event, we’re blessed with a very strong technical leadership team punching well above their weight. Most community members will be aware of our exceptional technology team leads in all verticals: Ben at Bake, Prasanna at Birthday Research, and Fuxing at Levain. All three have been leading the way for engineering and technology in each vertical, ensuring not only business continuity, but delivering major accomplishments. All three function like CTOs in each of the verticals, and our company has great faith in their leadership. They are veterans, with Ben being Bake’s Lead Engineer since day one. Our technology and systems are in highly capable hands with the entire senior leadership team we have.
On top of potential leadership changes, I’m excited to share with you an evolution in the Cake Group, starting with the new future of Bake: It’s Bake evolved, streamlined and leaner, with new laser-focused services on what you, our customers and community have always asked for: Empowering dedicated teams to work on dedicated projects with greater autonomy. Bake evolved introduces positive changes to our product, our service, and our leadership.
The outcome: we’re stronger, from team talent to product offerings and new services, a healthy runway, and new licenses. The change brings new opportunities to Bake; opportunities I’m excited to reveal to you soon. And while change is the only constant, some things at Bake will never change, like transparency and the commitment to our customers and community. For some, change is scary, for us here at Cake, it is the basis that makes us successful.
To the teams who built what we have today, we wouldn’t be one of Asia’s leading crypto powerhouses without you. To this, I am grateful and extend my heartfelt appreciation.
Onwards and upward.
Julian Hosp
CEO, Cake Group