Many of us here on STEEM have made impacts in our community. However, only a few of us have made huge waves, improving the lives of many users.
@thecryptodrive, the founder and CEO of BuildTeam, has contributed to a variety of projects focused on fostering innovating blockchain ideas, improving the lives of Steemians, and creating new cryptocurrency-related projects.
How did @thecryptodrive go so far from making $1.35 on his first post to becoming a top Steem witness and leading the development of pioneering projects such as BuildTeam? In this article, we'll delve into the fascinating STEEM life of @thecryptodrive, and learn what it takes to go far in the STEEM ecosystem.
Beginning on STEEM
On June 11th, 2016 (over a year ago), @thecryptodrive made his first post on STEEM. He detailed the financial tension occurring at the time (Brexit issues, US Election turmoil) and argued that these issues would likely contribute to Bitcoin's growth.
Obviously, he was right, as Bitcoin grew over 1000%, and has recently hit a high of $6000.
@thecryptodrive earned $1.35 and received 24 upvotes from his first post.
In his fifth post (his introduceyourself entry), Mr. Goncalves announced that his show, aptly named "The Crypto Drive," would be arriving to Steem.
The community met his post with great praise, earning him an upvote from STEEM creator and Steemit CEO 
@ned and over $800 in rewards.
In another of his acclaimed posts, @thecryptodrive outlined the divide between the richest whales and the poor minnows on STEEM. He argued that the whales hoarded Steem Power and kept getting richer, leaving minnows to (relatively) get poorer.
He compared this financial issue with the issues surrounding the 2007-2008 financial crisis, and referenced how corporations were "stockpiling" cash reserves, leaving the most vulnerable without their necessities.
@thecryptodrive argued that the solution was a clever mix of Steem Power delegation and what he called "voting delegation." He outlined that the solution could involve whales donating some of their voting power to others so they could more accurately curate posts.
Today on STEEM, his solution has almost exactly unfolded, as Steem Power delegation becomes more and more common. The divide between the whales and the minnows is getting smaller every day, as more and more people see that everyone has a chance at financial freedom through STEEM.
Campaign for STEEM Witness
In October 2016 (a bit over a year ago), @thecryptodrive launched his STEEM witness campaign and announced that he was the first STEEM witness from Africa.
His announcement post earned over $500, and in just a few minutes after launching his campaign he was already in the top 70 witnesses.
In his announcement post, he detailed his work on projects such as 
@steemsports, which is currently the holder of the highest reputation score in all of STEEM (a mindblowing 78). He also mentioned his role in the creation of SteemVoter.com, a voting tool helping Steemians automatically vote for their favorite users and easily curate on the blockchain.
Clearly, Steemians love his work, as he is now the 15th Ranked Witness in Steem! @thecryptodrive runs his own dedicated server for his witness, and was the first one to do so in his entire continent. He also ran an RPC Server there, which eventually got replaced by 
@themarkymark's rpc.buildteam.io server (see here for more info).
Almost exactly a year ago, Mr. Goncalves ventured out to meet many other influential Steemians, including Steemit CEO @ned himself. @thecryptodrive flew 1 hour to Johannesburg where they had lots of fun trying out many native African foods, and from @thecryptodrive's willingness to fly out to meet Steemians, we could already tell how much he cared about STEEM.
Innovating on the Blockchain
There have been many occurrences where @thecryptodrive has shown his remarkable intuition, and helped push the development of innovative tools from SteemVoter to other BuildTeam Projects.
At the peak of tension, SteemVoter's lack of business model and lack of profits from posts caused 
@marcgodard (the leader of SteemVoter at the time) to consider shutting down the service.
However, @thecryptodrive saw the immense potential in the service, and pleaded Steemians to help keep it alive. Fortunately, Mr. Goncalves stepped in at just the right time, as SteemVoter is now a phenomenally successful product used by thousands of Steemians.
In @thecryptodrive's first post fully about 
@minnowbooster (a voting bot created by 
@reggaemuffin), Mr. Goncalves outlines MinnowBooster's delegation market and how many users can make up to 49% APR just through delegations.
MinnowBooster, a voting bot and all-purpose tool pioneered by @reggaemuffin, helps minnows and newbies on the STEEM blockchain get quicker access to the rewards and privileges of high Steem Power. Minnows can easily buy high-powered upvotes, Steem Power delegations, and more through their innovative system.
In @thecryptodrive's latest post, Mr. Goncalves reflects on juggling his roles as a husband, father, STEEM witness, and BuildTeam CEO. He promises to his constituents on the STEEM blockchain that, with the help of his friends at 
@buildteam, he'll continue to help innovate on the STEEM blockchain.
Conclusions
From a newly-joined minnow earning less than $2 per post to a reformed, renowned STEEM Witness creating blockchain tools and helping other Steemians, @thecryptodrive has went through a long and strenuous journey to get to where he is today.
Hopefully, we as Steemians can learn from @thecryptodrive and aspire to make as many waves as Mr. Goncalves made in the course of his life on STEEM.
Thanks for reading,
— 
@mooncryption
image sources: Bitcoins, Cryptodrive Logo, Minnowbooster Logo, Income Inequality, Steemit Promo, Africa Witness Thumbnail
references:
Thanks for reading "The Inquiring Times" by @newsteem
