Tyler Williams is the Head of Policy @ Galaxy Digital (https://www.galaxy.com). Galaxy Digital is a company that offers solutions to the digital asset and blockchain industry, such as global markets, asset management, and digital infrastructure. In this episode, we discuss the posture of market regulators and the executive branch toward crypto, key legislative battles on the horizon (and how crypto fits), whether crypto self-defeats in policy discussions, what material progress could look like for policy related to the crypto space, and much more.Recorded Friday February 9, 2024.

Burnt Banksy is the Founder of Burnt (https://burnt.com). Backed by Animoca, Circle, Multicoin, Spartan, HashKey, & more, Burnt is a web3 foundry, on a mission to advance society’s financial and creative freedom, by any means necessary. Burnt is currently building XION, the first blockchain built to make crypto, human,  by empowering developers & brands to create frictionless Web3 experiences with a toolkit that removes technical barriers for any user, anywhere. In this episode we discuss the genesis of Burnt Banksy’s journey in crypto, what it means to “rebuild broken systems of ownership by any means necessary,” some interesting ways XION is seeing adoption, how to build the right team for a studio model, what’s changed in crypto since 2021, his unreal plans for XION's mainnet launch, & much more.Recorded Tuesday February 6, 2024.

Yubo Ruan is the Founder @ Parallel (https://parallel.fi). Backed by Sequoia, Founders Fund, Polychain Capital, Coinbase Ventures, & more, Parallel is both a lending protocol and a Layer 2. In this episode we discuss his path to conviction as a founder, what’s exciting about Parallel’s trajectory and roadmap, what happens to the space writ large if Parallel’s adoption continues to grow, an analysis of the future of crypto, & much more.Recorded Monday January 29, 2024.

Tejas Kulkarni is the Co-Founder & CEO @ Common Sense Machines (https://csm.ai). Backed by Intel Capital, Toyota Ventures, & more, Common Sense Machines (CSM) is an end-to-end generative AI platform that creates game-engine ready content – enabling users to generate 3D Worlds from images & text. In this episode we discuss Tejas’ fascinating journey through MIT and Google Deep Mind, the remarkable bet on the pace of technological advancement, what CSM gets uniquely right about approaching their problem set, how gaming and entertainment could change because CSM exists, his best advice for early-stage founders, and much more.Recorded Thursday January 25, 2024.

Henri Stern is the Co-Founder of Privy (https://www.privy.io/). Backed by Paradigm, Sequoia, Electric Capital, & more, Privy’s created one simple library to add beautiful authentication flows and powerful embedded wallets to your app. In this episode we talk about two things they’ve had to get right for Privy to work (and the insights behind that thinking), how web3 has changed since his beginnings in the space, Privy’s earliest challenges and opportunities, the ultimate vision of what Privy’s building toward, & much more.Recorded Thursday January 11, 2024.

Brandon Thorpe is the Founder of FORMLESS (https://www.formless.xyz). Backed by WAGMI Ventures, a16z Crypto CSS, & more, FORMLESS is a decentralized network and digital space that empowers individuals to connect, create, collaborate and share in a multiplayer digital economy. In this episode we talk about Brandon’s background across music (signed artist) and technology (Apple, Google), his experience navigating the legacy music industry (and how lessons there flowed into creating FORMLESS), how to shift the natural processes of distribution in a creator-friendly way, interesting FORMLESS use cases thus far, advice for founders at the intersection of Web3 + creative industries, & much more.Recorded Thursday December 21, 2023.

Jeff Morris Jr. is the Founder & Managing Partner @ Chapter One (https://www.chapterone.com). Backed by Sequoia & Marc Andreessen, Chapter One is an early-stage fund seeking protagonists - those who are eager to embark on the formidable task of inching the world forward. With 50+ investments across web3 verticals, Chapter One is a significant force in venture. In this episode we chat about his past work as VP Product, Revenue at Tinder, what it means to build the new Internet, his outlook on consumer applications in web3, the earliest challenges (and solves) at Chapter One, advice for founders new to web3, how to think about the present inflection point in market sentiment, his best advice for founders from the investor side of the table, & much more.Recorded Friday December 8, 2023.

Kaledora Kiernan-Linn and Marco Antonio are the Co-Founders of Ostium (https://www.ostium.io). Backed by General Catalyst, WAGMI Ventures, LocalGlobe, & Alliance DAO, Ostium is building the first perpetuals decentralized exchange for real world assets. In this episode we chat through what it means to create a DEX built for RWA assets, what Ostium’s success ultimately could mean for the broader crypto space, the story behind their fascinating macro research, how to think about our current moment in crypto, Ostium’s progress thus far and upcoming launch timeline, & much more.Recorded Monday December 11, 2023.

Brett Gibson is the Managing Partner at Initialized Capital (https://initialized.com). Initialized Capital is an early-stage venture firm that champions some of today’s most inspired and obsessive builders and thinkers, with 27+ unicorns (like Coinbase, Instacart, & Flexport), $3.2b in assets under management, and 175+ portfolio companies. In this episode we discuss Brett’s fascinating journey from software engineer to early YC founder to Managing Partner at Initialized Capital, the investment thesis for crypto at Initialized, what’s most exciting these days across the crypto landscape from Brett’s unique vantage point, how to interpret the present moment in crypto, his most generalizable advice for crypto founders (from an investor perspective), and much, much more.Recorded Tuesday December 12, 2023.

Zac Townsend is the Co-Founder & CEO at Meanwhile (https://meanwhile.bm). Backed by Sam Altman, Lachy Groom, 6th Man Ventures, Gradient Ventures, & more, Meanwhile is creating the first and only life insurance company denominated in Bitcoin. Before building Meanwhile, Zac was an Associate Partner at McKinsey, Chief Data Officer of the State of California, Co-Founder & Head of Product at Standard Treasury, & CTO of the City of Newark. In this episode we discuss his path to conviction for launching Meanwhile, the various archetypes of who’s attracted to what they’re building, why they’re presently focused on Bitcoin, how they think about eventual differentiation as a first-mover, the interesting trajectories Meanwhile could take, & much more.Recorded Monday November 27th, 2023.