About
Nick Duddy.
Operator and growth leader with 15+ years across digital marketing, Web3, and emerging tech. I am most useful at the layer where operations, growth, and people either work well together or don't.
I've spent 15 years working at the operational and growth layer of tech businesses — as an operator, a founder, and a mentor. My career started in SEM and digital marketing, moved through ecommerce and mobile app growth, and went deep into crypto and Web3.
Along the way I was COO at Coinscrum — one of the UK's longest-running crypto communities — Head of Growth at The Defiant, a leading Web3 media platform, and Global Coordinator at OpenMined, a privacy-focused AI/ML community.
I ran Miratrix as a consultancy throughout, taught marketing through Marketers Code, mentored at Techstars London and eō Business Incubator, and conducted app store research at UCL.
Most recently I founded Populus — a creator-led prediction market platform built on Base blockchain, targeting emerging markets. We validated a geographic GTM hypothesis with real data: a 21-day Nigeria pilot with a £500 budget demonstrated a 15× higher sign-up rate with localised content, reaching users in 18 countries with zero marketing spend.
I'm working with a small number of tech businesses — fractionally or in a full-time leadership capacity — that are navigating growth, complexity, or a need to operate differently. Particularly interested in companies working in AI, health tech, Web3, or adjacent spaces.
One thing I'm keen to explore with the right team is the practical integration of AI agents into daily workflows — not as a talking point, but as a genuine change in how a business operates.
Career
Built a Web3 prediction market from zero to live MVP. Led product, growth, and fundraising.
Led audience development and growth for a leading Web3 media platform. +53% social engagement in two weeks.
Mentoring early-stage founders on growth, marketing, and operations.
Created and taught a marketing education programme for founders and early-career marketers.
Coordinated a global network of meetups for a privacy-focused AI/ML open source community.
Led operations for one of the UK's longest-running crypto communities.
Academic research into app store optimisation and mobile marketing dynamics.
Mentored cohort companies on digital marketing and growth.
Growth consultancy specialising in ASO, SEO, and digital strategy for startups and scaleups.
SEM, email, and digital marketing roles at Hilton Hotels, Equator, s1jobs, Drive Business, and CARGO eCommerce.
Beyond work
Not as hype — as genuine operational change. Particularly interested in AI agents and what they mean for how teams work.
Physical and mental health as a foundation for everything else. Not separate from work — integral to it.
Clarity of thinking, presence, and intentional decision-making. The stuff that actually matters in high-pressure environments.
The emerging science and wellness applications. An industry at the same early stage crypto was in 2017 — and with similar potential.
Decentralisation, data sovereignty, and the infrastructure of a more open internet. Been in this space since OpenMined.