This week, we’ve got an exclusive interview with Manu, the founder and CEO of Sponstar, the fractional sponsorship marketplace that’s leveling the playing field for small and mid-sized brands to access high-profile sponsorship opportunities. Manu’s entrepreneurial journey, from traditional finance to web3, led to the creation of Sponstar—a game-changing platform that bridges physical events and digital experiences while redefining the sponsorship ecosystem. Manu shares her insights on fractional sponsorship, the intersection of blockchain, AI, and event marketing, and the unique challenges women founders face in the tech and crypto worlds. We also explore her guiding principles of spirituality, surrender, and how giving more strengthens a startup’s potential. Manu previously co-founded Alpha’a and alphaa.io where she changed the way companies connect with their fans, using web3 to help enterprises connect people, content and experiences.  She has been in the tech and collectibles sector for the past 10 years successfully raising funds from venture investors such as Metaprop, Lightspeed, C******a Ventures, and Gaingels  With a background in finance, Manu worked as an equity analyst at Gávea Investments, one of Brazil’s most reputable investment management firms. Notably, Manu was named by Bloomberg in 2022 as one of the top 100 most influential Latinos and Latinas worldwide, one of the top 10 people to watch in Fintech in 2023, and one of the 33-Under-33 entrepreneurs in 2018 in New York City.  RESOURCES & LINKS: Learn more about ⁠Sponstar⁠ Recommended Reading: ⁠The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer⁠ ABOUT THE HOST: Pete Townsend is an early-stage startup investor focused on the intersection of fintech, crypto, and web3. He also leads the ⁠Techstars Web3 Accelerator⁠. For more on Pete and how to get in touch, visit ⁠moneyneversleeps.ie⁠. SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ or ⁠Spotify⁠, and don’t forget to subscribe for future episodes of MoneyNeverSleeps. Until next time, stay curious and keep learning! Email us: [email protected] Follow on X(Twitter): Pete Townsend:⁠ https://twitter.com/petetownsendnv⁠ MoneyNeverSleeps:⁠ https://twitter.com/MNSshow⁠ Follow on LinkedIn: Pete Townsend:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-townsend-1b18301a/⁠ MoneyNeverSleeps:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/company/28661903/⁠ MoneyNeverSleeps newsletter:⁠ https://moneyneversleeps.substack.com/