In this episode, Ben sits down with Michael Dempsey, Managing Partner of Compound. At Compound, Michael oversees investments in AI/ML, robotics, biology, and of course crypto. His cross-industry knowledge and deep understanding of blockchain-native challenges and commercial opportunities makes him stand out from the crowd.   Let's get into it. Connect with the guest Compound https://www.compound.vc/ Follow Compound on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/compoundvc Follow Michael on...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Phil Bonello, Co-Founder and CIO of Plaintext Capital. Phil is an industry veteran, having spent time at Messari, Ikigai, and Grayscale before launching Plaintext.  Phil is a fundamental investor who understands what moves crypto markets intimately. He has a proven ability to find emerging trends and then find creative ways to express related trades before the narrative gets hot.  Let's get into it. Connect with the guest Plaintext Capital...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Ken Seiff, founder and general partner of Blockchange Ventures. Following a successful career as a founder and retail tech investor Ken discovered blockchain where he has repeatedly made contrarian, early bets that have paid off in spades. His insights into the history of internet innovation shine a light on where we are within the blockchain industry's growth and where we go from here. Let's get into it. Connect with the guest Blockchange...

In this episode, Ben sits down with James Parillo, Managing Partner of Figment Capital. Following a career in taxation and accounting, Jim developed an expertise in digital assets, which opened up the door to the world of venture investing. Now, as part of a collaboration with Figment, the industry's leading institutional staking provider, Jim and his team invest into critical infrastructure and middleware supporting the growth of the blockchain industry. Let's get into it. Connect with...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Allan Cassis, Founder and CEO of LVNA Capital. Born and raised in Mexico City, Allan is a crypto OG and has been operating LVNA since 2017. Following early bets in Bitcoin and the Ethereum ICO, Allan currently operates a liquid and venture strategy that focuses on infrastructure and other pragmatic applications of blockchain and digital assets. Let's get into it. Connect with the guest LVNA https://lvnacapital.com/ Follow LVNA Capital on Twitter/X...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Homer Sun, Managing Partner of Animoca Capital. Following an illustrious career as the CIO of Morgan Stanley’s Private Equity business in Asia, Homer took the web3 plunge to launch Animoca’s first growth equity fund. Now at Animoca Capital, Homer is investing in category defining blockchain-related businesses 3-4 years before a potential IPO or strategic acquisition. Let's get into it. Connect with the guest Animoca...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Larry Sukernik of Reverie. Larry led Digital Currency Group's corporate VC before launching Reverie's consulting and advisory business where he worked with leading crypto projects, such as Uniswap, dYdX, and Osmosis. Building off of his experience working with leading protocols and companies, Larry launched a 20 million fund to invest in founders at the earliest stages. Let's get into it. Connect with the guest Reverie https://www.reverie.ooo/ Follow...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Zoe Weinberg, Founder and Managing Partner of Ex/Ante, a venture firm investing in the next generation of privacy, security, and information tools. Prior to Ex/Ante, Zoe served on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and at Google AI. She has also had stints as an investor at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and at Goldman Sachs. Tune in for insights into Ex/Ante’s thesis of agentic tech and how blockchain...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise. Jeff has had an illustrious career with a variety of roles at Morgan Stanley, Harvard Management Company, and Corbin Capital Partners before focusing his career on crypto and multi-manager solutions at Bitwise. Jeff’s insight into the forthcoming Bitcoin Spot ETF is timely and informative. Moreover, his measured approach when evaluating actively traded strategies demonstrates his mastery of various methods...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Adam Benayoun Founder and General Partner of Collider Ventures. Collider is Israel’s preeminent blockchain-dedicated venture capital fund. Over the last five years, Adam has been investing in the asset class and steering blockchain and digital asset policy in Israel alongside Israeli-born blockchain unicorns such as Fireblocks and Starkware. Collider seeks to back Israeli teams where blockchain intersects with traditional areas of Israeli technological...

In this episode, Ben sit downs with Alex Lange Founding Partner of Inflection based out of Berlin. Prior to launching Inflection Alex held roles at Google and Index Ventures where he leveraged his technical acumen and deep understanding of hardware to begin exploring cutting edge and non-consensus blockchain investing. Now at Inflection, Alex invests into both the infrastructure and application layer as the firm continues to build its brand as a premier European based early-stage venture...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Rennick Palley Founding Partner of Stratos, a seed stage focused blockchain venture fund. Rennick is known for his research and understanding of blockchain infrastructure which he integrates into his equity research background. Stratos’ thought leadership into value accrual and token design offers unique insight for those interested in digital asset and network fundamentals. Let's get into it. Timestamps 1:36 How was the trip to Singapore? 2:08 What are...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Evgeny Gokhberg, Founder and CIO of re7 Capital based out of the UK. Evgeny is a DeFi OG having formed re7 as one of the first true on-chain market neutral hedge funds in the asset class. Now Evgeny operates three vehicles: a market neutral fund, a ETH yield fund, and a directional long-biased strategy as part of a joint venture with Republic. Nobody knows the opportunity set and shortcomings of DeFi better than Evgeny and in this episode we cover a lot of...

In this episode, Ben sits down with David Kalk, founder and CIO of Reflexive Capital. Dave recently spun Reflexive out of Commonwealth Asset Management where he was head of global macro and digital assets. Prior to Commonwealth, Dave was CIO of Peter Thiel’s Macro Fund and a trader at Goldman Sachs. At Reflexive, Dave brings an institutional mindset and cross asset market experience to liquid tokens and the early stage venture space. Let's get into it. ...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Anand Iyer of Canonical Crypo. Anand founded Canonical after a successful career as a founder, angel investor, and venture partner at Lightspeed and Pear VC. At Canonical, Anand invests into core blockchain infrastructure, middleware, and developer tooling. His thoughts on the intersection of AI and blockchain are representative of how these two technologies need each other to maximize their value to the world. Let's get into it. Timestamps 3:16...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Jon Moore and Gaby Goldberg of The Chernin Group Crypto. At TCG, Gaby and Jon invest in web3 consumer applications and related infrastructure. Deploying out of a $120mm Fund I, TCG has and continues to invest in payments, collectives, gaming, entertainment, and consumer related utility products. The fund has a unified thesis around digital ownership unlocking net-new and business accretive opportunities. Tune in for unique insights into the application...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Evan Fisher, Founder and General Partner of Portal Ventures. Evan started his career at Goldman Sachs and Insight Partners before launching Portal. At Portal, Evan invests across the industry, globe, and fundraising stage as he applies his traditionally trained venture skillset to protocol investing. Evan is a pragmatist with a business model oriented investment framework that has thus far resonated with founders and builders across the blockchain industry....

In this episode, Ben sits down with Hootie Rashidifard, Founder and General Partner of Hash3. Hootie recently announced Hash3’s first fund dedicated to investing in disruptive crypto middleware and infrastructure. With a roster of LPs with experience leading unicorn tech start ups, Hash3 works closely with its investor base and venture partner network to help crypto founders operate and scale their protocols and businesses. Let’s get into it. Timestamps 2:41 Background and experience? 6:11...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Kyle Samani, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital. Kyle has been at the forefront of blockchain technology and innovation since founding the firm in 2017. Kyle is known for his non-consensus perspectives and his ability to break down business concepts and market structures to their core essence. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:50 What are the lessons learned from Pristine? 6:20 What were the biggest takeaways from Vision Pro? 12:30 How...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Matt Walsh, Founding Partner of Castle Island Ventures. Matt was instrumental in the development of Fidelity's blockchain efforts before leaving to found Castle Island in 2018. Matt is a leading crypto VC with a deep understanding of tech innovation driving adoption, and the regulatory dynamics impacting the blockchain industry. Let’s get into it. Timestamps 3:15 What is your background? 5:04 Why was Fidelity open to Bitcoin in 2014? 8:10 What gave...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Arthur Cheong, Founding Partner of Singapore-based DeFiance Capital. Arthur is a DeFi OG with a track record of early home run bets in Synthetix, Aave, and DYDX. Arthur is now leading DeFiance as the firm executes on its liquid venture thesis.  Let's get into it.  Timestamps 1:43 What are things like in Singapore at the moment from a general business perspective? 3:45 What are the dynamics between Singapore and Hong Kong? 5:58 Are there lobbyists...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Jason Yeh, Co-Founder and General Partner of Patron. Jason was head of international publishing and head of EU eSports at Riot Games where he was a key member of the team responsible for making League of Legends the most important game of the last decade. Jason is now investing in cutting-edge gaming content and infrastructure with much of the investible innovation happening right here in Web3. Let's get into it. Timestamps 1:52 What is your...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Jeff Morris Jr., Founder and Managing Partner of Chapter One. Jeff was VP of Product and Revenue at Tinder and an active angel investor before leaving to start Chapter One. Jeff has a growth and product oriented mindset and has built his firm to identify founders with audacious missions and then support them on their entrepreneurial journey. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:01 What does it mean to get hit by a "Lucky Truck”? 6:10 What is your...

In this episode, Ben sits down with Tom Walton-Pocock, Managing Founder of Geometry. Building on his experience as a Co-Founder and CEO of the Aztec Network, Tom launched Geometry on the premise that deeply technical founders need investors who can relate to their engineering first approach to business building. Geometry is now a leading cryptography and mathematics research firm with a track record of successful early-stage blockchain venture deals. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:27...