Alisher Sherali
builder · dad · farmer
I compress the distance between a vision and its proof.
Exits
Fled a war zone when I was 7, survived a ghetto school in Penza, dropped two brainwashing government universities, and — once the disillusionment set in — exited the million-user, state-adjacent megacorps (VK Group and Yandex) I helped build. Left the oppressive Russian state behind. Walked through the years of deep depression with Nietzsche, Metzinger and the Bhagavad Gita. Helped launch and farewell a dozen-odd startups across social, law, genetics, telemedicine, security, and crypto. Finished the psychedelic fieldwork and the touring-DJ adventures; quit my Burning Man addiction (the event, not the spirit). Exited the growing number of proprietary ecosystems too, and wrote down how, so the next person leaves faster. Shed a few redundant identities on the way out.
Now
Tariqa Farm
- On five hectares in southern Spain, orange groves and pine hills, restoring a 120yo farm toward self-sufficiency — organic oranges, water, power, food, bees, spaces for volunteers and rituals. Moving toward connecting into the network of hyperlocal communities.
- Self-hosting maxi. Running my own servers and inference infra, built from gaming PCs, old consoles and office junk. Open-source LLMs, agents, all kinds of FOSS, and my own tools.
- Tinkering with mesh, solar and off-grid tech.
- Stewarding the growth of two happy kids.
Contributing to the Institute of Free Technology
- Logos — as an EcoDev: mapping the stack's capabilities to real needs, building Basecamp modules, red-teaming docs and nodes, breaking things on purpose and by accident, feeding what works to the community and what's missing back to the people building it.
- Keycard — as UX/UI designer and content creator. Just because it's the best cypherpunk hardware wallet on this planet — prove me wrong.
- Status — as UX/UI designer and user researcher. Status was my “gateway drug” into the IFT ecosystem 5 years ago. I still hold the understanding of what change it can make to the world, and contribute toward it — no matter what happens along the way.
Contributing to web3privacy — as a volunteer coordinator, think-tank contributor, amplifying force and helping hand at Cypherpunk events.
Field guides for leaving walled gardens — so the next person exits faster.
Cornerstones
- Autonomy over alignment — outcomes over politics.
- Find the gap and fill it — don't wait for permission.
- Proof before promises — walk first, talk second.
- Build with care. Have fun along the way.
Connect