Founder of the Week: Ivan Zhelev

• Ivan Zhelev is the co-founder of Paragon, a digital assets communications agency.
• At just 27 years old, Zhelev has been working as a professional in the digital assets space for over five years.
• Nowadays, his priority is focusing on helping Web3 companies create communication strategies that align with their goals.
• Zhelev’s goal is to find the sweet spot between the technical know-how needed by Web3 experts and the experience and expertise offered by public relations professionals – Paragon can do it all.
• In only a few months, Paragon has onboarded six clients in the blockchain industry across Europe and the USA, representing an exciting introduction for this niche startup.

 

 

Tell Me About Yourself and Paragon

 

I’m a 27-year-old startup co-founder and have been in the digital assets space for over 5 years. I haven’t held more than £5,000 in fiat at any time over the past few years. I tend to book flights and hotels with cryptocurrencies because it’s more convenient, and I use stablecoins to pay for some of my daily expenses. I truly believe that blockchain is a life-changing technology.

I began my career working with the traditional communications teams at Dropbox and Vodafone, and more recently, I used to cover markets for one of the biggest crypto publications: Cointelegraph. I’m currently a podcast host at Blockster and have spoken at eight industry events all across Europe in the last year.

A few months ago, Conrad Young, my business partner, and I launched Paragon to help companies in our industry evolve their communication strategies and start acting like respected technology organisations.

 

What Inspired You To Start Paragon? What Problem Were You Trying To Solve?

 

We started our company because we believe blockchain is a force for good. Sadly, the industry currently faces serious reputational issues that prevent mainstream adoption – this is something we want to change.

Nevertheless, crypto adoption is rising, and Europe leads the way in growing crypto ownership, according to Gemini. In 2025, 24% of respondents in the UK said they were invested in cryptocurrency, up from 18% in 2024. It was the biggest year-over-year jump of any of the nations surveyed. In the United States, adoption grew from 20% to 22%, and in Singapore from 26% to 28%.

At Paragon, we help crypto projects evolve into digital asset companies. Our team blends deep Web3 knowledge with the polish of traditional communications. 

While many Web3 agencies understand the technology, they often lack the strategic rigour and polish expected by institutional audiences. Conversely, traditional PR firms attempting to enter the space frequently fall short on technical fluency, leading to misaligned messaging and missed opportunities.

We have onboarded six clients within the blockchain sector across Europe and the USA in the last few months. They span a diverse range of use cases, from simplifying cross-border trade and tokenising commodities to enhancing everyday infrastructure through blockchain technology.

 

 

What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge So Far? How Did You Overcome It?

 

One of the biggest challenges for a start-up founder is finding a healthy work-life balance. (It’s amusing because I’m writing this at 6:48 in the morning, so I definitely haven’t found mine.) This stage of the business journey is often driven by blind belief in the mission, roles are loosely defined, and founders are wearing multiple hats just to keep things moving.

I used to think that “showing up” meant being at work and giving 100% every single day. But I’ve come to realise it’s more about giving 100% of what you have in the tank. Some days, that might only have 20% – and that’s okay. Consistency isn’t about being at your peak all the time; it’s about showing and giving your best when the tank is only 10% full.

I created the image below for our team, it’s a mantra I want us to live by. It’s about consistently showing up and giving whatever you have in your tank that day. I no longer feel guilty on the low-energy days. I just give my best, communicate openly, and let the team know that it might take me longer than usual to approve documents.

 

 

It’s a simple shift in mindset, but it’s made a big difference in how I show up, feel at the end of each day and stay consistent without burning out. 

 

Can You Describe A Pivotal Moment That Significantly Shaped the Direction of

Paragon? 

 

The moment we decided to become a technology-first company, we committed to building a proprietary AI agent to support our research, client reporting, and pitching.We hired a developer and have been working on the agent for over four months. We trained it on every press release, pitch, and client document we’ve produced, as well as whitepapers and books we have read. It’s also connected to 13 APIs of publications. It’s currently in Beta testing and we are adding the secret sauce to the recipe.

Amusingly, PR professionals often message me on social media asking for beta access because some people have already tested it and are impressed by it. Conrad and I got into digital assets early because we’ve always believed in embracing, not resisting, emerging technologies.

That mindset drives everything we do. One framework that’s guided us is Jeff Bezos’s concept of Type 1 and Type 2 decisions, introduced in his 1997 Amazon shareholder letter. Type 1 decisions are high-stakes and irreversible, requiring careful deliberation, while Type 2 decisions are low-risk and reversible, ideal for rapid experimentation. Understanding the difference has helped us remain agile, make bold moves when necessary, and iterate quickly elsewhere.

 

How Do You Define Success?

 

For A Business: This’s easier to define: We’re currently hiring for a Senior Account Manager, and are considering expanding the team with additional Account Executives in Q4, depending on how our client pipeline develops. Our goal is to reach 10–12 clients by the end of Q1 2026. While ambitious, this target is grounded in confidence, we secured our first six clients within just a few months of launching, which speaks to the strength of our approach and execution.

One of our greatest growth drivers has been client referrals, and this is the real success for me. Many of our current clients recommend us to their peers, effectively creating a network of business development champions who promote us without being on the payroll. We’re intentionally focusing on building our reputation and elevating the profiles of the founders, knowing that great work naturally attracts both clients and talent. For us, new clients and team growth are simply the byproducts of doing excellent work and keeping our existing clients genuinely satisfied.

As A Founder:  This is a tough question to answer because I’ve always wanted to be successful, but I tend to set unrealistic goals and constantly move the goalpost. By most definitions I set as a teenager and young adult, I should already consider myself successful, based on where I am today, but instead, I’m fixated on the next milestone. Currently, I’m focused on growing our company’s revenue by 50–100% by Q1 2026. 

On a personal level, I don’t have many goals, and to be honest, my life is a bit monotonous. I try to read around 30 business books per year, train 5 times a week and spend the rest of my time growing the business. One thing I am looking forward to is relocating to Morocco for a year in early 2026. My intimate partner and I’ll be driving from the UK to Marrakesh in our old car, and honestly, just making that trip would feel like a real success to me.

 

What Advice Would You Give To Someone Thinking About Launching Their Own Startup?

 

It won’t be easy, in fact, it might be one of the most challenging endeavours ever. Your most important job, especially in the early stages, will be becoming the best recruiter in the world. You will be required to find a complimentary co-founder and hire exceptional people bound by a culture and shared goal. Your first five employees will form the foundation of everything that follows. I always tell early-stage founders: “Top-tier talent hires top-tier talent, but it only takes one mediocre hire to dilute the performance and culture of the entire team.”

Never expect your team to do anything you’re not willing to do yourself. My co-founder and I are usually the last to leave the office/ log off, often around 7-8 p.m., and among the first to respond to emails by 7 a.m. the next day. Our team works hard because they see us doing the same. We rarely ask them to put in the extra hours, but most of them do, we lead by example, and that sets the tone for the entire company culture.

Don’t strive to be a perfectly well-rounded generalist. If financial planning or budgeting isn’t your strength, don’t force it, delegate it to your co-founder or hire a skilled accountant. Focus ruthlessly on what you’re exceptional at. The world doesn’t need mediocre doctors who happen to be good at math; it needs brilliant doctors who live and breathe medicine. Apply that principle to your own path. Be the specialist, be the “doctor” of your industry, and outsource or delegate the rest. 

 

What’s Next For Paragon? Any Exciting Developments We Should Watch Out For?

 

Beyond working with corporate partners, we’re advising trade bodies, regulated entities, and even political parties to help shape the future of digital assets in the UK, and soon globally. Our goal is to contribute meaningfully to the development of thoughtful, forward-looking regulation that supports innovation while ensuring trust and accountability in the space.

We’re also laying the groundwork for international expansion, with plans to open a second office in Dubai when the timing aligns, and to establish a presence in the United States next year. These moves will not only bring us closer to key markets but also allow us to engage directly with policymakers and institutions shaping the regulatory landscape.

 

Want to be featured as TechRound’s Founder of the Week? Find out more about this weekly feature and how to get involved here.

Founder’s Five with Ivan Zhelev

 

Ivan Zhelev is a young, dynamic entrepreneur with a knack for business and an incredibly exciting future ahead of him, with Paragon and beyond.  We wanted to know a little bit more about the co-founder and man behind Paragon.  So, here’s our exclusive “Founder’s Five” with Ivan Zhelev.

 

1. Favourite Business tool?

 

We’ve built a custom AI agent integrated with the APIs of 13 major publications, allowing us to track, summarise, and categorise all crypto-related articles published in the last three years.

The AI agent helps us stay ahead of emerging narratives and gathers in-depth media intelligence. It can analyse a journalist’s last 100 stories to determine their sector focus, improving the precision of our outreach. More impressively, it can assess the likelihood of a pitch landing and tailor each pitch to the journalist, referencing specific articles they’ve written to increase relevance and conversion.

 

2. One lesson you learned the hard way?

 

First, learn from the mistakes of others before you’re forced to repeat them. Second, the odds of being truly exceptional, part of the top 1%, are against you. You are closer to mediocrity than excellence, BUT you can still be unbelievably successful.

You don’t need to be extraordinary to succeed. What matters is being wise enough to avoid common pitfalls by learning from those who’ve been there before. When I was 18, I often dismissed advice from people in their mid-20s, convinced I knew better. Now at 27, I listen carefully to people in their 30s and 40s. I’ve realised that there’s almost always a grain of truth in their experience.

I’ve become a sponge,soaking up insights without judgment. Even if something doesn’t feel relevant now, it might prove invaluable later. That mindset shift has been one of the most important in my journey.

 

3. One Future Trend You’re Watching?

 

One of the trends I’m watching is the convergence of AI and blockchain. AI unlocks unprecedented productivity and automation, while blockchain introduces transparency, decentralisation, and new models of ownership. We’re entering an era where individuals can monetise their data, content, and even AI agents, without relying on centralised platforms. I’m unsure of how this will play out, but will shape out the future. 

At the same time, I’m closely watching macroeconomic shifts, particularly the growing debt crisis in the U.S. and the potential reconfiguration of global reserve currencies. As trust in traditional financial systems continues to erode, BTC becomes the next reserve currency. I can’t predict the timeframe, but it’s inevitable imo.

A great lens for understanding this transition is Ray Dalio’s The Changing World Order, which explores the historical cycles of rising and declining empires, monetary systems, and power shifts. Understanding these patterns is essential for anyone building in the next decade.

 

4. One Quote You Live By?

 

Socrates said: “By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.”

Ivan Zhelev said: “By all means, start a business. If you get a good co-founder, you will become wealthy; if you get a bad one, you’ll end up adding 10 titles to your LinkedIn… ‘Co-founder | Visionary | Strategist | Product Evangelist, etc”

 

5. One Book/Podcast You Recommend?

 

Blockchain Books:

 

1. The Bitcoin Standard – Saifedean Ammous
2. Creature from Jekyll Island – G. Edward Griffin
3. Read Write Own – Chris Dixon

 

Non-Fiction Books:

 

1. The Sovereign Individual – James Dale Davidson & William Rees-Mogg
2. Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl
3. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand

My Favourite Business Books: 

 

1. Zero to One – Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
2. Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss with Tahl Raz
3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz
4. Good to Great – Jim Collins
5. The Lean Startup – Eric Ries
6. Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman

 

Want to be featured as TechRound’s Founder of the Week? Know someone who deserves to be recognised as a founder making waves in the startup landscape? Find out more about this weekly feature and how to get involved here.