How Edge & Node’s Rodrigo Coelho Is Reimagining the Web with The Graph

How Edge & Node’s Rodrigo Coelho Is Reimagining the Web with The Graph Rodrigo Coelho is no stranger to building from scratch. From co-founding startups in the '90s to now leading Edge & Node—the core team behind The Graph—his path reflects a blend of entrepreneurship, technological foresight, and a deep-rooted belief in the decentralized future of the web. In this HackerNoon "Behind the Startup" interview, Rodrigo sits down with Ishan Pandey to reflect on his journey, The Graph's evolution, and how he envisions a future where Web3 is not just real—but inevitable. Rodrigo Coelho is no stranger to building from scratch. Ishan Pandey: Hi Rodrigo, it's a pleasure to welcome you to our "Behind the Startup" series. Your journey from co-founding tech startups in the late '90s to becoming the CEO of Edge & Node is quite remarkable. Could you share what inspired you to transition into the Web3 space and how your previous entrepreneurial experiences have shaped your vision for Edge & Node? Ishan Pandey: Rodrigo Coelho: I originally got interested in gold prior to the 2008 financial crisis, and had gone down the whole Fed and fiat currency rabbit hole. I started to get interested in Bitcoin around the 2010 Domino’s Pizza purchase. I had followed the industry and got more intrigued in 2016 after I moved to San Francisco and met more builders. But what made me take the full leap and transition into web3 was meeting Yaniv Tal at a coworking space in late 2017 when he was working on the pitch deck for The Graph. Rodrigo Coelho: I had been a serial entrepreneur, founding 3 other tech startups, so as a fellow founder I offered to help him on the deck or make introductions to investors. We developed a friendship and months later, I joined him as the first employee. My prior entrepreneurial experiences helped me because in my first role I was a jack of all trades from setting up the social channels, to handling the booth and the swag at hackathons, to setting up the accounting system, to handling people operations. I had done a bit of everything in my career. Being at the company from the very beginning allowed me to have very deep contextual knowledge, including having interviewed and onboarded everyone in the company, so once I stepped into the CEO role a few months ago, I was able to hit the ground running. I’d say the biggest energy I’ve brought is operating a sense of urgency and returning to an engineering culture and shipping mindset. Ishan Pandey: Edge & Node has been instrumental in developing The Graph, a decentralized protocol for indexing and querying blockchain data. With your recent appointment as CEO, what strategic initiatives are you prioritizing to enhance The Graph's capabilities and support its expanding ecosystem? Ishan Pandey: Rodrigo Coelho: The first step for me was to really look under the hood and examine every corner of E&N with honesty and curiosity, and lay everything on the table. I wanted to create space for people to bring their boldest ideas and biggest visions forward. No more coloring inside the lines. I don’t want to build within the rules of imagination, I want to expand them. Rodrigo Coelho: That’s how we bring the best of the best to our users across the entire stack. What excites me most right now is the real traction we’re seeing in mainstream sectors: traditional finance, real world assets, and enterprise use cases. This is how we close the gap between Web2 and Web3. This is what signals we’re not building an alternative internet–we’re building the next internet. Ishan Pandey: The Graph has integrated with nearly 100 blockchains, which is a significant achievement. What challenges have you encountered in maintaining such extensive interoperability, and how do you plan to address them moving forward? Ishan Pandey: Rodrigo Coelho: Interoperability at this scale is no small feat. Each blockchain presents unique technical and governance complexities. In the past, our goal was to integrate with as many chains as possible—but we’ve since refocused our approach. Now, we're prioritizing quality over quantity, concentrating on the chains where developers are actively building and where there’s real excitement and momentum. This shift allows us to better allocate resources, deepen support, and ensure long-term sustainability for The Graph ecosystem. Moving forward, we’ll continue to streamline integration efforts while staying aligned with where real innovation is happening. Rodrigo Coelho: Ishan Pandey: Developer experience and community engagement are critical for the success of decentralized protocols. What specific programs or resources is Edge & Node implementing to empower developers within The Graph ecosystem? Ishan Pandey: Rodrigo Coelho: Since 2022, Edge & Node has operated the House of Web3 in San Francisco which has become a hub of activity in the crypto ecosystem. We host many in person events specific to developers such as — Intro to Full Stack dapp Development, The Graph Workshop: Quickstart to Subgraph Development & Querying, Substreams Demystified: A Practitioners Guide to High-Performance Blockchain Indexing, Lofi Hack, Artificial Intelligence Workshop with Semiotic Labs, Hackathon Warmup with BuidlGuidl, Sui Hackerhouse and Demo Day, San Francisco Ethereum Developers Meetup, and more… Rodrigo Coelho: In addition, our developer relations team hosts many online events including live ones on X and YouTube such as the ETHSF 2025 Opening Ceremony, Hard Crypto: Bridging Digital and Physical Worlds, BuildETH Patterns, Discussions on Crypto Accounting for Businesses, and more… Ishan Pandey: The Web3 landscape is rapidly evolving, with new trends and technologies emerging constantly. How is Edge & Node positioning itself to stay ahead of these developments, and what role do you envision The Graph playing in the future of decentralized applications? Ishan Pandey: Staying ahead isn’t just about reacting to trends, it’s about defining them. Staying ahead isn’t just about reacting to trends, it’s about defining them. Rodrigo Coelho: At Edge & Node, we’re builders at heart. We created Subgraphs and Graph Node, foundational pieces of the decentralized stack. This isn’t surface-level innovation. We’ve poured real heart, real sweat, and real code into bringing things into the world that didn’t exist before. We don’t copy and rebrand; we create. I see The Graph becoming synonymous with data itself. The world’s data will flow through The Graph in some form in a structured, queryable, and open way. And our goal is to make that flow as seamless as possible, with a user experience that’s as intuitive and powerful as a one-click interaction. That’s the future we’re building toward. Rodrigo Coelho: Ishan Pandey: Navigating the regulatory environment is a common challenge for blockchain-based projects. How does Edge & Node approach compliance while staying true to the principles of decentralization? Ishan Pandey: Rodrigo Coelho: We take compliance seriously and work with experienced counsel to understand and navigate global regulatory frameworks. At the same time, we remain committed to the ethos of decentralization—designing systems that don’t rely on centralized control. It's a delicate balance, but one we believe is achievable through transparency, decentralization by design, and community-led governance. Rodrigo Coelho: Ishan Pandey: Maintaining a cohesive organizational culture in a remote-first company can be challenging. What strategies are you employing to foster collaboration and innovation among your globally distributed team? Ishan Pandey: Rodrigo Coelho: We prioritize intentional communication, regular virtual gatherings, and async collaboration tools. But beyond that, we invest in rituals that celebrate wins, acknowledge contributions, and create a sense of belonging. We do offsites a few times a year between the Graph Foundation and Edge & Node, which gives us a chance to meet face-to-face, collaborate in person, and deepen the connections that drive our work. We also have a “Celebrating Wins” Slack channel where we hype each other up, along with channels for music, parenting, food, and more, little spaces that help foster a close-knit environment, even when our teammates are spread out across the world. Rodrigo Coelho: Ishan Pandey: Previously, you held the title of Chief Spirit Officer at Edge & Node. How did that role influence your leadership style, and are there aspects of that position you continue to incorporate as CEO? Ishan Pandey: Rodrigo Coelho: Being Chief Spirit Officer was about nurturing the soul of the organization, fostering creativity, purpose, and connection. As CEO, I still hold that spirit close. I lead with empathy, curiosity, and a belief that culture is a strategic advantage. That mindset influences everything from how we make decisions to how we support one another as teammates and humans. I also keep an open-door policy. No idea is a bad idea, and I’ve made sure the team knows that. I don’t want anyone to be afraid of failing. In fact, I believe in failing up. That’s how we grow, innovate, and ultimately do the work that changes everything. Rodrigo Coelho: Ishan Pandey: Looking ahead, where do you see Edge & Node and The Graph ecosystem in the next five to ten years? What legacy do you hope to build during your tenure as CEO? Ishan Pandey: Rodrigo Coelho: Our mission has always been to make web3 real, and now, we’re closer than ever. I envision The Graph as the backbone of the new internet, the invisible infrastructure powering every truly decentralized application. Not web2, not web3—just the web. The future. A world where users have ownership, data flows freely, and innovation isn’t bottlenecked by gatekeepers. At Edge & Node, we’re building more than technology, we’re building a movement. I want our legacy to be that we didn’t just talk about what’s possible, we made it inevitable. Rodrigo Coelho: Don’t forget to like and share the story! Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYO Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYO Vested Interest Disclosure: Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYO business blogging program business blogging program