From McDonald’s to Web3: How David Lolaev Built Sal’Ad Labs into a Digital Assets Powerhouse

Could you briefly tell us about your background and how it led you to start your business?

I started working quite early, at the age of 15, and my first job was at McDonald’s. It was a great experience—I still cite it as an example of how a company can outline a work plan for its employees down to the minute and maintain that across tens of thousands of locations worldwide. However, I’ve also spent a lot of time in various industries, including events, finance, procurement, and more. But the idea of entrepreneurship has always driven me, and at 25, I launched my first marketing company in the digital assets space, which I still run today.

What does your business focus on, and how is it positioned in the market?

We create products and solutions that enable long-term growth for companies in Web3, with the understanding that this is a highly competitive market where success requires staying ahead of current trends. The rules of the game change extremely fast, so our mission is to help clients choose solutions that remain relevant today.

What are your plans for growth or expansion in the near future?

We’ve long been a group of companies with multiple sub-projects that we’ve launched ourselves. So, in addition to our core client work, Sal’Ad operates as a factory for producing our own projects, which have been our main focus for the past year.

How has this year impacted your business, and what are your goals moving forward?

We’ve realized that local presence is extremely important. Currently, our permanent locations are Moscow, Bangkok, and our HQ in the UAE. When you’re consistently present in a region, trust in your business naturally grows, allowing you to scale faster. We’re absolutely certain that being in key hubs of the digital assets market is crucial for the success and growth of any strong company.

What advice would you give to startups or entrepreneurs in your industry?

Avoid hasty decisions — don’t rush, even if you’re pressured. Be prepared for mistakes. This market is full of innovation, but also innovative risks, so there’s no definitive playbook for how to structure everything correctly.

Looking back, what naive assumption did you have when starting that reality quickly corrected?

I used to think—and still sometimes do—that a brilliant idea will take off immediately after execution. But time and again, I’ve realized that behind every success lies the immense effort of an entire team, and it’s never as easy or glamorous as I imagined in my plans. That’s why I always push to move faster and even faster in every process.

What personal strength has been most valuable in building your company, and what weakness nearly derailed you?

Discipline is the foundation of any long-term endeavor—without it, you can’t build a sustainable business in any industry. As for weaknesses, the most damaging one is probably wasting time. Often, the biggest mistake isn’t that a company went in the wrong direction, but that it took far too long to realize it.

Can you share a pivotal failure that ultimately changed your approach for the better?

At one point, we hired a large sales team with a budget fit for a spaceship. Unfortunately, we couldn’t close a single deal that would even partially recoup our investment—90% of sales still came through my personal influence and reputation in the market. That experience led us to stop hiring traditional salespeople and instead focus on business development (BD) specialists to maintain market presence. Sales in Web3 (and frankly, in any B2B sector) is an art form.

How do you balance vision with practicality when making major business decisions?

I have a co-founder who excels at grounding my vision when necessary. While I drive the company’s growth, he ensures operational viability. This dynamic works well and often helps us avoid unnecessary mistakes.

What’s one unconventional leadership lesson you’ve learned that goes against standard advice?

Never work with amateurs—and I’m not talking about contractors, but clients. If people enter a business without understanding how it operates and then turn to you for help, they’re usually not looking for the best solution. Instead, they’re trying to pin blame for the inevitable failure (which occurs 99% of the time in these cases).

How has your definition of success evolved since you first started the company?

Since we’re also a racing team, there’s a great saying from that world: You can be the fastest car on a single lap, but the winner is the one who finishes the entire race.

What’s something you believed about your industry that you’ve completely reversed your position on?

I now clearly understand that the digital assets market is still in its infancy, and an even greater future lies ahead. So, in many ways, we’re still at the very beginning of its evolution.

Describe your most challenging ethical dilemma as a founder and how you resolved it.

I think the toughest challenge has been maintaining healthy team dynamics. We have people from over five different countries working together, and relationships aren’t always smooth due to cultural differences, time zones, mentalities, and national backgrounds. It’s complicated, but so far, we’ve managed to make it work.

How do you maintain your entrepreneurial spirit while dealing with inevitable bureaucracy?

Just hire competent people for it. You can’t underestimate the importance of bureaucratic tasks and obligations, but you also can’t approach them carelessly. Clean contracts, proper reporting, and mandatory paperwork with government agencies are essential parts of any business—something I’m sure less than 5% of entrepreneurs today can handle themselves. But there are always specialists in the market who can do it, and trust me, their fees will be far cheaper than the fines you’d pay otherwise.

If you had to rebuild your company from scratch today, what would you do fundamentally differently?

I wouldn’t launch a blockchain marketing agency today, haha!

What personal sacrifice for the business do you most regret, and which was most worthwhile?

It’s definitely time. As we all know, building a business takes far more time and commitment than a 9-to-6 job. Unfortunately, I’ve missed important personal and family events, neglected loved ones, and even myself. This is always the price you pay for future success—with no guarantees of a return, of course. But still, it’s an experience that’s undoubtedly priceless.

If your company disappeared tomorrow, what would you want your legacy in the industry to be?

I wouldn’t say we created trends, but we definitely built algorithms that other companies and clients have copied, improved, and still use daily. We raised the bar for high-class service in this space, and I love seeing that standard hold.

What question about entrepreneurship do you wish people asked more often?

Most people think entrepreneurship is an “easy game”—but it’s much harder than it looks. Many believe entrepreneurs have endless freedom, but that’s a misconception. I always say it’s not the hardest game in the world, but it’s certainly the most misunderstood. If you’re willing to play hard, you can win. But if you believe in fairy tales, you’d better get more experience before starting a business.