Meet Succinct’s First Employee: Kevin Jue on Impact, Crypto, and Zero-Knowledge

What It Was Like to Join Succinct as One of the First Employees

We interviewed Kevin Jue, the first employee at Succinct on why he believed in Succinct and what his experience has been like since inception. From employee #1 to now a global company, he shares insights on past, current and future mindset of Succinct's path to proving what's real.

Q1: What made you take the leap and join Succinct so early?

Kevin: I joined Succinct when there wasn’t much more than a vision, a tiny team, and a burning conviction that zero-knowledge proofs were going to reshape the internet, if someone could make them usable.

What convinced me wasn’t just the idea, it was the clarity. The founders had this unique ability to describe impossibly complex concepts in simple terms, and they had a roadmap that felt inevitable. I realized I wasn’t joining a startup; I was joining the foundation layer of an industry shift.

Q2: How did you know the team was special?

Kevin: In early conversations with Uma and John, I kept noticing the same thing: no one was hand-wavy. No ego, no fluff, just extremely sharp thinking and an obsession with getting the details right.

There was this moment where I thought, “If I don’t join this team now, I’m going to regret it 10 years from today.” It felt like standing at the edge of something generational.

Q3: What was it like in the very early days?

Kevin: Scrappy. Intense. Fun. We were pushing boundaries every week. One day you’re designing the prover architecture; the next day you’re writing documentation, interviewing candidates, or helping name the product.

There was no “that’s not my job.” Everyone owned everything. But that level of responsibility was energizing, you felt your impact immediately.

Q4: What was the hardest part of being so early?

Kevin: The hardest part was the ambiguity. There are no instructions for building the future of ZK. We had to make the blueprint while constructing the building.

But honestly, that freedom is what attracted me. If you want to shape the direction of a company, and a technology, you have to be comfortable in the unknown.

Q5: What did you learn about Succinct's culture from the inside?

Kevin: Succinct’s culture is defined by two things:

Precision – We care deeply about getting things right, especially in a domain where trust is everything.

Velocity – No bureaucracy, no ego, just speed and clarity.

We give people space to do the best work of their lives. Everyone is expected to take ownership, but you’re supported at every step. It’s an environment where high-agency people thrive.

Q6: What made you believe Succinct could win?

Kevin: Succinct isn’t just building a faster prover. It’s building:

SP1 → a general-purpose zkVM

SPN → a global network to scale proving

These aren’t isolated products. Together, they form the infrastructure layer the world will rely on as ZK becomes mainstream.

Most companies focus on one piece of the stack. Succinct is building the whole architecture.

Q7: How did joining early shape your career?

Kevin: It changed everything. When you join this early, you’re not just an employee, you’re a steward of the mission.

I got to influence product direction, culture, hiring, partnerships, and long-term strategy. I grew more in one year here than in five years anywhere else. Succinct pushes you, but in the best possible way.

Q8: Why should someone consider joining Succinct today?

Kevin: Because we’re still early. Yes, we’ve shipped major breakthroughs. Yes, the team is larger, and the ecosystem is growing fast. But the biggest opportunities, the ones that will define ZK adoption globally are still ahead.

If you’re curious, high-agency, and want to work with one of the most capable teams in crypto, this is the place.

Q9: What do you feel when you look back at the decision?

Kevin: Gratitude. Pride. Excitement for what’s next.

Joining Succinct early will always be one of the best decisions I’ve made. We’re building something that will outlast all of us, a trust layer for the internet. And being part of that from the beginning is something I’ll never forget.

Q10: What are you working on now?

Kevin: We are an exclusive ZK partner to Arbitrum. We are bringing ZK not only to web3 technologies but to real-world applications. More to come on this soon!