Meet Callahan, aka Tin Huzek Kitan – the performance marketing mastermind behind Solflare, one of the leading wallets in the Solana ecosystem.

With a background that bridges data-driven growth and creative storytelling, Callahan has played a key role in positioning Solflare as more than just a wallet — but a powerful gateway into the world of Web3. From navigating bear markets to scaling adoption during Solana’s resurgence, he’s been at the forefront of how wallets can evolve into full-stack platforms. In this episode of SuperBuilders, we dive into his journey, strategies, and vision for the future of on-chain experiences.

1. You’ve been part of Solflare during a period of rapid growth and transformation. What initially drew you to the Solana ecosystem and Solflare specifically?

I’ve told this story many times now, but it never gets old. Back in 2020., a good friend of mine told me: “You don’t want to look back in 30 years and feel regret for fading crypto, like our parents faded the internet”. That sentence stuck with me, and I started to explore this amazing new world full of opportunities.

However, me being a degenerate as I am, I actually bought my first Solana coin because I liked the logo. Yep, that was my whole conviction: “I like how they designed the logo on this one.” So, even though my entry point to Solana was rather foolish, I began to explore it. I began to experience it. I began to realize why it was far superior to other chains and how it was massively underrated at that point in time ($SOL was trading at $2 back then).

That was basically when I fell in love with Solana, and started to grind my way up. I used to work 9-5 in a marketing agency, and then 6pm-2am in web3. NFTs, defi, trading, rug pulls, burn-outs, memecoins, FUD, bull and bear…..I’ve been through it all….and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I’ve met amazing people on the way and worked with even more amazing projects and companies. That alone gave me a lot of connections in the space and a much better perspective of which companies are truly here to stay and make Solana better for everybody.

After a while (and quite a few projects I worked with in the space) Solflare reached out to me and offered me the position of their Performance Marketing Lead. To be completely honest, it was a dream come true. Real builders, underdogs, with superior tech and man power (when compared to competition), with massive growth potential, and a vision to truly change the world from a fin-tech point of view.

And that was when I fell in love with Solflare. Because you have to understand, Solflare is Solana. Solana is Solflare.

2. As Head of Performance Marketing, how do you approach promoting a non-custodial wallet in a space where trust and usability are key challenges?

This is precisely what Solflare is trying to achieve in such a space (but even beyond it); true financial independence by empowering people with self-custody products and services.

We want to create a central hub, a kingdom if you will, where all of your finances will be handled by YOU, and owned by YOU. Hence our rebranded vision: In every wallet a kingdom. On every head a crown.

So, promoting a non-custodial wallet definitely comes with a lot of educational content and moments where you have to carefully explain to people how they can manage their own finances, and that the only person who is in charge is actually them.

That’s why channels like X, app stores, streaming services, partnerships in general, are very important to handle this community aspect of our growth and to educate people about these topics.

Campaign by campaign, initiative by initiative, we’re getting there.

3. Solflare is often described as more than just a wallet – it’s a gateway to the Solana ecosystem. What are some of the most exciting features or updates you’re currently working on?

That is 100% right. Solflare is your gateway to Solana. We’re only focused on Solana and will remain so forever.

I always like to use a fun metaphor here when explaining why Solflare is only focused on Solana, and why we won’t go multichain.

While others shift their focus to other planets in search of life (other blockchains) which are uninhabitable and inferior to our planet Earth (Solana), we chose to focus solely on our home and to build a better future for us all here, AT HOME.

With that being said, we’re obviously working on some very exciting things and new releases (some already live):

1. Our rebrand also came with an improved product, making our wallet even faster than before and providing users with more performance + new cool customizable features
2. We’re currently developing a separated wallet which will be specifically built for the upcoming Solana Seeker smartphone (incorporated in the phone)
3. Solflare cards are coming! I wouldn’t say that it will be revolutionary, but let’s just say that you’ll be able to pay with your crypto in real life like never before, because your crypto will never have to leave your wallet. No top-ups, no third-party dashboards, everything happening in Solflare wallet; your funds never leave your wallet!

I could go on, but let’s not give too much alpha just yet. 🙂

4. Solana has seen a major resurgence in 2024/2025. From a marketing perspective, what lessons did you learn during the bear market that are now proving useful in the bull?

The bear is always hard when it comes to marketing. Because if there is no momentum, no liquidity being pumped in the Solana market, and no confidence in the whole crypto ecosystem from users….we can do whatever we want, but there won’t be much results.

This space is not like others. If a recession hits, Nike for example will still sell shoes, people will still need and want shoes (maybe in smaller quantities, but still). On the other hand, if the bear hits, people have fear, uncertainty, and doubt (the famous FUD), and there is very little liquidity being poured into the ecosystem, resulting in much lower demand from users for products like Solflare.

However, ensuring enough treasury funds in the bull market, will ensure that there is enough momentum still being generated in the bear.

Maintaining partnerships, collaborations, growth campaigns, quality content, and paid ads through bear market is crucial to be fully prepared for the bull.

In growth and performance marketing things are very simple. Either you are an always-on player, or you don’t exist. Because once you start, there is no going back. Users will really forget about you THAT fast if you’re not constantly present.

5. How do you balance education and growth marketing when dealing with Web3-native versus Web2-curious users?

We actually have four different levels of target audiences based exactly on this:

1. People who are Web2-curious users (still not onboarded to crypto)
2. People who are onboarded to crypto, but only on CEXs (like Binance and Crypto.com)
3. People who are onboarded to crypto and self-custody wallets
4. Crypto power users (traders, stakers, DeFi protocols users, dApps users)

Since all of these people have different interests and habits, each and every one of our campaigns and growth efforts needs to be tailored specifically for that target audience, with different communication, channels, creatives, and overall approach.

Also, there are all kinds of different KPI metrics for each target group, but also the final result that we’re looking for.

That would look like this going through these four mentioned target groups:

1. Educate them about crypto and Solana, and onboard them to web3
2. Educate them about self-custody and onboard them to Solflare
3. Educate them about dApps, protocols, wallet features, etc. and make them benefit from the whole Solana ecosystem through Solflare
4. Provide top-notch wallet experience and focus on user retention and acquisition (if they’re not already Solflare users)

6. The wallet wars are heating up. What do you believe sets Solflare apart from competitors like Phantom or Backpack?

Three things: superior wallet performance and features, brilliant team members and outstanding community.

As many users actually told us during our research interviews, they like Solflare mainly because of its reliability, speed of transactions, and overall UX and performance. Also, with a new rebranded look, we have a few cool customization options + far superior UX and UI.

On top of that, our whole team (which grew from about 35 to almost 90 team members) of exceptional professionals is working every single day with incredible passion and vision to make Solflare a central financial hub for every single user on Solana and beyond.

Lastly, our community. We recognized that investing in community goes a long long way, and I’d say that this is maybe the most important part of it all. If you don’t have the people of Solana behind you, you have nothing.

That’s why we keep pushing for new partnerships with OG NFT collections, evolving our Guardians and Ambassadors program, doing live events and meet-ups, providing our community with cool incentives and rewards, sponsoring major Solana conferences, and supporting Solana oriented groups of people from many countries worldwide.

It all starts and ends with a supporting and happy community.

7. Can you share an example of a marketing campaign or initiative you’re especially proud of — one that really resonated with users or made an impact?

I think that our latest marketing campaign was the best one so far. It was the one where we did our whole rebrand and presented Solflare in the new light.

Everything was done perfectly. From the rebrand itself (where we wanted to emphasize the importance of self-custody and financial independence), new brand book and visual aspects, growth campaigns and quests, content we pushed out, mystery NFT mint in collab with OG NFT collections, all the way to our performance campaigns where we achieved amazing results when it comes to number of impressions, video views, engagement rates, and app installs.

Our main rebrand video was seen more than 22M times, got more than 6M video views, and more than 1M people watched the video for more than 15 seconds!

On top of all of that, there was practically no backlash from the community (as it’s usually the case when brands do this kind of stuff). More than 96% of people had positive feedback and our #HoldStrong hashtag went viral, achieving more than 500M impressions while trending for more than 7 days!

Outside of Solflare, I must say that I’m particularly proud of the time while I was working for Sniper Marketplace, where our team delivered a full go-to-market strategy and campaign for the release of Sniper’s NFT marketplace and rebrand (they were Solsniper before that and only NFT aggregator).

The most impressive part of that campaign was that their market share went from 0,1% to more than 2,5% (while fighting with Tensor and Magic Eden).

8. Outside of Solflare, what parts of the Solana ecosystem are you personally most excited about — any underrated projects or trends we should keep an eye on?

Outside of Solflare, I’d say that I’m the most excited about the Solana itself and its community. The technology behind it and the superiority it has over other blockchains speaks for itself.

That alone is the reason why huge global companies recognize Solana as the leader in tech and fin-tech departments (such as Google, PayPal, Visa, even the US government). Not only that, but in the past 6 months we’ve seen billions of dollars being pulled from other blockchains and injected into Solana.

However, as I said, it all starts and ends with community. That’s why I cherish tight-knit communities of builders, investors, founders, smart-money people, and true crypto enthusiasts and experts.

One of those communities is for sure Dead King Society, an NFT community of 100 Dead Kings and 300 Nobles, which all work together to make Solana a better place for us all.

I’ve been a Dead King for more than a year now, and it was the best decision of my web3 career. Job offers started to pour in, investment opportunities were (and still are) simply incredible, recognition I got in the space was out of this world, and it all led me to where I am today (at Solflare).

So, I’d say to keep an eye on communities like DKS, Lucid Drakes, Solflare Guardians, Geckos, etc., and you’ll experience the true value of Solana connections.

And remember…

In every wallet a kingdom. On every head a crown.