Is being more human the smartest business strategy right now?In this episode, Marcus and Tim sit down with Grant and Alex from Blocmates to talk about brand, personality, trust, and why sounding more institutional is not always the same thing as being more credible. They get into how Blocmates grew from a scrappy blog into a media and research business, why personality and taste matter more in an AI world, and why both Blocmates and LO:TECH have tried to build businesses that feel human first rather than wrapped in the usual industry theatre. The conversation also covers crypto’s convergence with traditional finance, the challenge of building authentic brands at scale, and why distinct positioning matters more when everything starts to feel interchangeable. Also in this episode:How Blocmates evolved from editorial into podcasts, events, video, newsletters and media campaignsWhy personality, taste and character matter more as AI makes everything feel interchangeableWhy authenticity is not just for small brands, and can still scale if the foundations are rightHow LO:TECH and Blocmates think about trust, brand and credibility in a noisy marketWhy brand building is hard to measure, but still one of the most important things a business can doHow crypto and TradFi are starting to converge around speed, access and financial infrastructureWhy being “institutional” can become a costume if there is nothing real underneath itThe realities of building B2B businesses in crypto, from client expectations to remote team dynamicsWhy more firms are realising they need media, narrative and personality, not just distribution Subscribe for new episodes every week: @TheLocalWMC Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your fix. Follow us on X: https://x.com/TheLocalWMC