The Web3 space continues to expand, driven by technologies such as cryptocurrency and NFTs. At its core, blockchain offers full transparency into every exchange by setting up a publicly recorded and auditable ledger where all user transactions can be traced.
Someone who understands the importance of building this trust is Won Jun Choi. His path into the industry did not begin in computer science or venture capital but in a barbershop, where he learned that relationship-building, trust, and discipline are essential to sustaining a business and growing a loyal base.
Today, he applies those same principles as COO of OtterSec, a blockchain security audit firm dedicated to ensuring that crypto transactions remain safe and reliable for users worldwide.
An Unlikely Entry Point into Web3
Growing up in Burnaby, British Columbia, Choi learned early how to work with people. He took on his first job cutting hair professionally at the age of 14, building a loyal clientele in the process, all while still in high school. This taught him how to connect with people on a deeper level and to build a following for a service, two attributes that are crucial to succeed in nearly any area.
Years later, while studying engineering at the University of Toronto, Choi began more actively looking into blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrency and Web3, at a time when both industries were growing in stature and becoming major presences in the mainstream eye. He quickly saw common ground between his barbering background and the crypto space: just as it's critical for clients to trust the skill of a barber, blockchain projects demand assurance that their technology is auditable, reliable, and secure.
Just two months later, he was recruited by Robert Chen, the founder of Web3 startup OtterSec, who sought a business-minded leader to help guide the fledgling company through its earliest operational and strategic challenges.
How Choi Scaled OtterSec Without a Playbook
OtterSec specializes in providing security audits for blockchain projects. The platform focuses on identifying vulnerabilities within the inner code of smart contracts and Web3-native applications before they impact real-world users. In an industry that's still dealing with how to properly address security breaches that can erase millions in seconds, their work aims to protect both project teams and their users.
When Choi joined in 2022, at a time when the company still had no outside funding or formal blueprint, he and founder Robert Chen, both in their early twenties, were forced to learn every aspect of running a service-based tech company in real-time.
Choi immersed himself in sales and business development, personally attending conferences to secure early clients and building relationships that would later evolve into long-term partnerships. As the team grew, he transitioned into project management and customer success, where he worked to ensure that audits were delivered on schedule and to rigorous technical standards. He also handled the company's finances, hiring processes, and brand design, taking on every non-technical role necessary to keep operations moving smoothly.
These new responsibilities gave him a broader view of both OtterSec's strengths and its pain points in need of addressing. As a result, he was able to implement larger strategies and initiatives to grow the company, such as providing clear workflows, defining interface workflows for users to onboard easily, and coordinating teams across different countries. The result was a deliberately paced expansion strategy that avoided the instability often seen in fast-scaling startups.
By establishing consistent workflows and focusing on building a sustainable infrastructure for all its teams, Choi helped OtterSec grow into a 50-person team generating eight-figure annual revenue.
Growing His Leadership Skills
Through these experiences, Choi was forced to adapt and grow his skillset to navigate these environments. With no senior mentors to guide him, he got by on trial and error, taking in lessons from the work he and his peers did and forming a resilient mindset along the way. This allowed Choi to build a leadership style that he now applies to others, one built on collaboration and transparency.
Equally important to Choi is the impact he can make beyond the business world. For example, he recently established an annual scholarship for his former high school, a community-centered institution serving refugees and families from lower-income backgrounds. Each recipient also receives personal mentorship from Choi himself, which further seeks to establish him as a mentor to new engineers.
One recent awardee, a student who fled Ukraine during the war, is now pursuing an electrical engineering degree—an achievement Choi continues to support closely as part of his commitment to steering young people toward opportunities in engineering and technology.
Broadening the Scope of Web3 Security
Won Jun Choi's trajectory from a neighborhood barbershop to COO in OtterSec shows how those in leadership roles can acquire the necessary skills from different walks of life. In his case, the foundation built in one of the oldest service professions now supports one of the newest technological frontiers—a reminder that the skills needed to develop client trust, establish long-lasting relationships, and scale a business can transcend industries entirely.
