Meet HackerNoon Contributor Dana Kachan: A Strategic Marketing Consultant & Startup Advisor

We’re excited to interview Dana Kachan, whose article has recently become a TOP Story on Hackernoon.

So let’s start! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I work as a strategic PR & marketing advisor to tech companies. I am also a business author and contributor to big media including HackerNoon, Entrepreneur, VentureBeat, and UX Magazine.

I earlier worked as a Chief Marketing Officer of BullPerks (decentralized VC & crypto launchpad) and GamesPad (GameFi, NFT & metaverse ecosystem and launchpad).

I have a track record in marketing advisory of high-tech and Web 3.0 startups all over the world. Along with other reputable experts, I contributed to a few research papers, including “Metaverse: Emerging Business Opportunities” by GamesPad and “Global ECommerce Trends” by Divante and Kantar.

Interesting! What was your latest Hackernoon Top Story about?

My latest story featured the innovative vision of luxury brands through the vintage cartoon aesthetics of the world-famous 3D artist Gal Yosef who earlier collaborated with global brands such as Dior, Nike, and Porsche, as well as celebrities Justin Bieber, Steve Aoki, and others.

Do you usually write on similar topics? If not, what do you usually write about?

The topic of art is pretty common to me. I’ve written a lot about art and design on Medium. Since I have extensive marketing and management experience, I often write about startup marketing, corporate life, and business in general.

Great! What is your usual writing routine like (if you have one?)

Ideas for my articles are being born very organically. Acquiring experience and overcoming different challenges, I just feel the natural desire to share my findings with others.

People who have ever worked with me know that I am very honest in my articles and share only what I really think.

I have an extraordinary approach to content creation. It doesn’t look like anything that content writers and SEO specialists usually advise, and it might even meet criticism.

Everything starts with the mission of the article. Before writing Op-Eds, I always question myself why should it matter to people. The internet is full of useless content, how to make mine different? How can it be particular?

Based on that, I formulate the topic and start writing down a free flow of consciousness - a collection of my insights, thoughts, and conclusions. No structure. It's like a sketch on a bare canvas.

Later, I structure all the content into an easy-to-understand article, adding statistics and interesting facts to back my concepts. Of course, this approach only works for Op-Ed articles and will unlikely work for businesses where everything requires a very clear structure.

Being a writer in tech can be a challenge. It’s not often our main role, but an addition to another one. What is the biggest challenge you have when it comes to writing?

The biggest challenge is to make an article thought-provoking. While sharing some professional insights, it’s also important to me to motivate people to read between the lines and understand important things that can bring change to our world.

This is how viral content is usually born. It should resonate with people's pains and wants.

What is the next thing you hope to achieve in your career?

Nowadays, we can see many ambitious startups in clean tech, fintech, crypto, AI, and other emerging industries that are poised to become game-changers in the modern world.

I want to be a part of this change and help these companies turn their inspirational ideas into reality, guiding them in marketing.

My other goal is to become an educator and share my insights with like-minded people. I am actively moving in this direction, joining startup accelerators as a mentor.

Wow, that’s admirable. Now, something more casual: What is your guilty pleasure of choice?

I try to keep a healthy lifestyle, but sometimes, I give in to the temptation to eat something sweet like chocolate, ice cream, or cakes. :)

Do you have a non-tech-related hobby? If yes, what is it?

I like walking or jogging near the sea. It’s really relaxing and helps clear the mind.

What can the HackerNoon community expect to read from you next?

I can only say that I will try to make something extraordinary, educational, and definitely worth your time to read it.

What’s your opinion on HackerNoon as a platform for writers?

HackerNoon is a very progressive platform. I like the content you pick for publishing. As a marketer, I am really amazed by your newsletters. They are so creative, fun, and catchy!

Thanks for taking the time to join our “Meet the writer” series. It was a pleasure. Do you have any closing words?

Thank you for this opportunity! HackerNoon is a great magazine, and it’s a great pleasure for me to be one of your contributors and share my insights with your readers. Thanks once again!