Emin Kargöz (Kaptan), a developer from Turkey, traces his path into blockchain from initial curiosity about the technology to becoming an active Stellar ecosystem builder. Hackathons proved the turning point, offering deadline pressure and community that tutorials couldn't match. His project Subrosa, a privacy and coordination infrastructure on Stellar and Soroban, won the Build on Stellar hackathon in Istanbul. Now as a developer advocate, he mentors others.
Emin Kargöz (Kaptan), a developer from Turkey, reflects on three years building in Web3 and becoming an active Stellar ecosystem contributor. He discovered blockchain out of curiosity but found his real turning point in hackathons: the deadline pressure and builder community taught him more than documentation ever could. After his first hackathon two years ago, he committed to building full-time, participating in multiple competitions and winning recognition. His project Subrosa—privacy and self-coordination infrastructure built on Stellar and Soroban—started as a hackathon submission and evolved into an Instawards-funded grant project. Through his work at Overblock on developer education and as a community advocate, Emin now helps other builders find the same path: from curiosity, through mentorship, to shipping live products on Stellar.
