The Developer
Tech Builders
Implements products and systems on top of foundational technology
The Developer builds the second layer: wallets, interfaces, tooling, integrations — everything that makes foundational technology usable. They're not inventing protocols but translating them into working products. High demand in every hype phase because the gap between research and usable software is always large.
How it earns
Salary at funded companies, freelance at premium rates during hype phases, equity in early-stage projects, or building their own product over time.
How it fails
Gets exploited: builds excellent products without understanding the business model, then discovers the organization was extractive (FTX/Alameda pattern). Also: staying in pure execution mode without accumulating equity or audience.
Real examples across cycles
Linux / Open Source
- Alan Cox (kernel, employed by Red Hat)
- Greg Kroah-Hartman (kernel maintainer)
- engineers at Red Hat, SUSE, Intel's Open Source Technology Center
Crypto
- Thomas Voegtlin (Electrum)
- Solidity developers
- dApp builders
AI
- Boris Jabes (Claude Code)
- Cursor Team
- Ollama devs
People who play this role
Your first step
Build a tool you personally need — and open-source it immediately.
Is this your role?
The assessment scores you against all 27 roles — free, no account needed.
Find your role — free