Started a stake pool on Cardano with 500 ADA and a willingness to learn and do the work. I was told daily it's not possible anymore, years on from when staking was launched. So I wanted to prove them wrong.
What I am getting at here, is there was no backing from founding entities. No delegation programme propping things up. Just me on my own, showing up consistently, learning in public, connecting with people, and a community that chose to support what I was doing. Without that support, it would not have lasted.
I do not know another blockchain where this is a common or even viable path. I think that really matters. It says something about how Cardano has grown from the ground up, and how much of it is still genuinely organic. But also how it provides global business opportunities to people across the world.
Anyone can contribute. Anyone can build something real. Anyone can play a part in decentralisation, reliability, and security. Not in theory, but in practice and this stake pool is an outcome of this to prove it is actually possible.