Randamu Distributed Computing Case Study | SproutVest

Overview

Client: Randamu
Industry: Decentralized Infrastructure / Cryptography / Web3
Project Duration: 24 months
Core Services: Executive Leadership, Venture Operations, Product Strategy, Web3 Ecosystem Development

Randamu, a decentralized infrastructure company spun out from Protocol Labs and based upon the work of the drand project, set out to commercialize a new generation of cryptographic coordination primitives — including verifiable randomness, threshold encryption, off-chain compute orchestration, and programmatic settlement.

As part of its spin-out, Randamu engaged SproutVest to provide executive leadership and operational guidance during its first two years of development. SproutVest, led by Erick Watson, who served as Interim CEO, overseeing fundraising, team formation, product development, and ecosystem partnerships that culminated in the successful launch of dcipher.network — Randamu’s flagship platform for decentralized programmatic settlement.

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Challenges

As an early-stage cryptography company emerging from a research environment, Randamu faced a unique set of strategic and operational challenges:

1. Leadership Gap Post-Spin-Out:
   After separating from Protocol Labs, Randamu required executive leadership to define its vision, structure operations, and establish an independent governance framework.

2. Defining Product-Market Fit:
   The team needed to translate drand’s open-source cryptography, offered as a free public good, into a portfolio of commercially viable products for Web3 ecosystems, gaming platforms, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

3. Fundraising & Investor Relations:
   Randamu needed to craft a compelling story and financial model to secure capital while balancing its open-source ethos with commercial goals.

4. Building a Distributed Team:
   As a globally distributed organization, Randamu needed operational systems to ensure collaboration, communication, and delivery consistency across time zones.

5. Ecosystem Partnerships & Go-To-Market:
   Establishing partnerships with blockchain networks and infrastructure providers was essential for adoption of its randomness, encryption, and programmatic settlement services.

SproutVest stepped in to fill the CEO role, providing strategic vision, operational structure, and product leadership during this foundational period.

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Solutions Implemented

SproutVest, under Erick Watson’s leadership, guided Randamu through its early growth phase — establishing strategy, structure, and execution discipline while positioning the company for scalability and launch.

• Vision & Strategic Roadmap:
  Defined Randamu’s mission to build secure, unbiased, and verifiable cryptographic infrastructure for decentralized systems. Created a two-year roadmap aligning technical milestones with funding and market goals.

• Fundraising & Capital Strategy:
  Led the company’s early fundraising, securing $3.3M in pre-seed funding from Protocol Labs Venture Studio (PLVS) as strategic investors, ensuring runway for R&D and early ecosystem development.

• Team Formation & Governance:
  Assembled a high-performing, distributed team of engineers, cryptographers, and product leaders. Implemented governance structures through the Swiss Threshold Association, ensuring compliance and ecosystem transparency.

• Product Development Leadership:
  Oversaw design and development of dcipher.network — a programmable platform for randomness, conditional encryption, and off-chain compute — enabling developers to build verifiable, trustless systems.

• Ecosystem Development & Partnerships:
  Built strategic alliances with Layer 2 networks, gaming studios, and cryptographic research institutions to accelerate platform adoption and integration across the decentralized ecosystem.

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Results

SproutVest’s leadership transformed Randamu from an early-stage spin-out into a fully operational Web3 company — culminating in the public launch of dcipher.network.

• 🚀 Launch of dcipher.network:
  Successfully delivered and launched Randamu’s flagship platform — dcipher.network — a decentralized infrastructure layer offering verifiable randomness, threshold encryption, and programmable settlement services.

• 💰 Funding & Growth:
  Secured $3.3M in pre-seed funding, enabling over two years of sustained product development, team growth, and network expansion.

• ⚙️ Product Development Execution:
  Delivered multiple production-ready cryptographic primitives, transforming Randamu’s vision into an enterprise-grade developer platform.

• 🌍 Ecosystem Expansion:
  Established partnerships with Filecoin Foundation, SSV Network, DIA Data, Scroll and other major Layer 2 ecosystems, positioning Randamu as a trusted infrastructure provider in the Web3 stack.

• 🧭 Venture Scalability:
  Built the operational foundation for Randamu’s next stage of growth — including tokenization strategies, developer ecosystem programs, and multi-chain integration pathways.

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Why PLVS Chose SproutVest

SproutVest provides hands-on executive and product leadership to help early-stage ventures transform from research prototypes into scalable commercial enterprises.

With expertise in cryptography, distributed systems, and venture formation, SproutVest enables teams to achieve rapid execution, operational clarity, and investor confidence.

Key Strengths

• 💼 Executive Leadership & Strategy:
  Experience serving as Interim CEO for emerging technology ventures, driving strategic clarity and early growth.

• 🔐 Deep Technology Expertise:
  Technical fluency in verifiable randomness, threshold cryptography, and secure multi-party compute systems.

• 📈 Fundraising & Investor Relations:
  Proven ability to structure fundraising rounds, manage investor communications, and position ventures for long-term capital success.

• 🌐 Web3 Ecosystem Development:
  Extensive network across blockchain foundations, venture studios, and decentralized protocol partners.

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Impact Summary

Through SproutVest’s CEO leadership, Randamu successfully transitioned from an academic spin-out to an independent, venture-backed Web3 infrastructure company — culminating in the public launch of dcipher.network.

This milestone represents not only the commercialization of threshold cryptography and programmable settlement, but also SproutVest’s ability to provide executive leadership, product direction, and operational excellence to early-stage ventures shaping the future of decentralized technology.