Week 10 of Building in Public Genesis Cohort — Builder #3 January 29, 2026I. The end of advertising as we know itThe global advertising market is worth $876 billion. By 2032: $2.5 trillion. Most of it spent convincing humans to choose one brand over another. But what happens when your customer isn't human? What happens when AI agents handle purchasing decisions, comparing options based on verified data rather than emotional manipulation? What happens when a billion-dollar brand means nothing ...

Week 10 of Building in Public Genesis Cohort — Builder #3 January 29, 2026I. The end of advertising as we know itThe global advertising market is worth $876 billion. By 2032: $2.5 trillion. Most of it spent convincing humans to choose one brand over another. But what happens when your customer isn't human? What happens when AI agents handle purchasing decisions, comparing options based on verified data rather than emotional manipulation? What happens when a billion-dollar brand means nothing ...

Week 8 of Building in Public Genesis Cohort — Builder #1 January 2026I. THE REVEALS BEGINSeven weeks of architecture. Seven weeks of theory. Seven weeks of "here's what we're building." Now: seven weeks of builders. The Genesis Cohort isn't a thought experiment. It's seven real startups, solving seven real problems, building components that start feeding the 7 Nexi. The Harvest Model's Inversion: We don't build protocols and pray for adoption. We fund creators who need infrastructure to survi...

Week 8 of Building in Public Genesis Cohort — Builder #1 January 2026I. THE REVEALS BEGINSeven weeks of architecture. Seven weeks of theory. Seven weeks of "here's what we're building." Now: seven weeks of builders. The Genesis Cohort isn't a thought experiment. It's seven real startups, solving seven real problems, building components that start feeding the 7 Nexi. The Harvest Model's Inversion: We don't build protocols and pray for adoption. We fund creators who need infrastructure to survi...

We've covered a lot of ground: Week 1: The origin story—two Renaissance artisans who had what we lost Week 2: The six nexi—infrastructure for sovereignty Week 2.5: The seventh nexus—AI agents as economic citizens Now it's time to answer the most important question: Why now? Why is 2025-2030 the critical window? Why can't this wait? Why does timing matter so much? This is the sovereignty thesis.The Three ConvergencesThroughout history, transformative change happens when multiple forces converg...

We've covered a lot of ground: Week 1: The origin story—two Renaissance artisans who had what we lost Week 2: The six nexi—infrastructure for sovereignty Week 2.5: The seventh nexus—AI agents as economic citizens Now it's time to answer the most important question: Why now? Why is 2025-2030 the critical window? Why can't this wait? Why does timing matter so much? This is the sovereignty thesis.The Three ConvergencesThroughout history, transformative change happens when multiple forces converg...

Last week, I explained why 2025-2030 is the critical window—three convergences creating a once-in-civilization opportunity. Today I'm going to tell you something that might surprise you: We're not building infrastructure. At least, not the way everyone else does. Let me explain.The Cathedral ProblemHere's how most Web3 projects work:Write a whitepaper about revolutionary infrastructureRaise millions from investorsBuild the infrastructure in isolationLaunch and... pray someone uses itThe resul...

Last week, I explained why 2025-2030 is the critical window—three convergences creating a once-in-civilization opportunity. Today I'm going to tell you something that might surprise you: We're not building infrastructure. At least, not the way everyone else does. Let me explain.The Cathedral ProblemHere's how most Web3 projects work:Write a whitepaper about revolutionary infrastructureRaise millions from investorsBuild the infrastructure in isolationLaunch and... pray someone uses itThe resul...

Over the past four weeks, we've shared: Week 1: The origin—two Renaissance artisans who had sovereignty we lost Week 2: The infrastructure—six nexi for sovereignty Week 2.5: The discovery—why we need a seventh nexus Week 3: The thesis—why 2025-2030 is the critical window Week 4: The architecture—complete technical blueprint of all seven nexi Now it's time to answer a question some of you have been asking: How will The Forge itself be governed? If we're building infrastructure for sovereign ec...

Over the past four weeks, we've shared: Week 1: The origin—two Renaissance artisans who had sovereignty we lost Week 2: The infrastructure—six nexi for sovereignty Week 2.5: The discovery—why we need a seventh nexus Week 3: The thesis—why 2025-2030 is the critical window Week 4: The architecture—complete technical blueprint of all seven nexi Now it's time to answer a question some of you have been asking: How will The Forge itself be governed? If we're building infrastructure for sovereign ec...

Over the past five weeks, we've shared: Week 1: The origin—two Renaissance artisans who had sovereignty we lost Week 2: The infrastructure—six nexi for sovereignty Week 2.5: The discovery—why we need a seventh nexus Week 3: The thesis—why 2025-2030 is the critical window Week 4: The model—how we build infrastructure from the ground up Week 5: The governance—why we're becoming a DAO Today we're talking about something that will make many in crypto uncomfortable: A token designed not to be spec...

Over the past five weeks, we've shared: Week 1: The origin—two Renaissance artisans who had sovereignty we lost Week 2: The infrastructure—six nexi for sovereignty Week 2.5: The discovery—why we need a seventh nexus Week 3: The thesis—why 2025-2030 is the critical window Week 4: The model—how we build infrastructure from the ground up Week 5: The governance—why we're becoming a DAO Today we're talking about something that will make many in crypto uncomfortable: A token designed not to be spec...

Week 9 of Building in Public Genesis Cohort — Builder #2 January 2026I. THE $2 BILLION QUESTIONIn 2024, hackers stole over $2.2 billion from Web3 protocols. Not through sophisticated nation-state attacks. Not through zero-day exploits that required years of research. Through bugs. Simple bugs in smart contract code that "looked fine" to auditors. The DAO hack. Wormhole. Ronin Network. Poly Network. Hundreds of millions—sometimes over half a billion—gone in minutes. Not because the code was co...

Week 9 of Building in Public Genesis Cohort — Builder #2 January 2026I. THE $2 BILLION QUESTIONIn 2024, hackers stole over $2.2 billion from Web3 protocols. Not through sophisticated nation-state attacks. Not through zero-day exploits that required years of research. Through bugs. Simple bugs in smart contract code that "looked fine" to auditors. The DAO hack. Wormhole. Ronin Network. Poly Network. Hundreds of millions—sometimes over half a billion—gone in minutes. Not because the code was co...

Over the past six weeks, we've shared: Week 1: The origin—two Renaissance artisans who had sovereignty we lost Week 2: The infrastructure—six nexi for sovereignty Week 2.5: The discovery—why we need a seventh nexus Week 3: The thesis—why 2025-2030 is the critical window Week 4: The model—how we build infrastructure from real problems Week 5: The governance—why we're becoming a DAO Week 6: The token—$FORGE and why it doesn't want to be bought Six weeks of vision. Six weeks of architecture. Six...

Over the past six weeks, we've shared: Week 1: The origin—two Renaissance artisans who had sovereignty we lost Week 2: The infrastructure—six nexi for sovereignty Week 2.5: The discovery—why we need a seventh nexus Week 3: The thesis—why 2025-2030 is the critical window Week 4: The model—how we build infrastructure from real problems Week 5: The governance—why we're becoming a DAO Week 6: The token—$FORGE and why it doesn't want to be bought Six weeks of vision. Six weeks of architecture. Six...

When Six Wasn't EnoughLast week, I shared the six nexi—the foundational infrastructure of The Forge. I thought the architecture was complete. Six layers covering everything from venture creation to social coordination. A comprehensive system for restoring sovereignty. I was wrong. Not wrong about the six. They're all essential. But incomplete. Because while designing the governance evolution of Nexus 6, something became blindingly obvious: We weren't just building infrastructure for sovereign...

When Six Wasn't EnoughLast week, I shared the six nexi—the foundational infrastructure of The Forge. I thought the architecture was complete. Six layers covering everything from venture creation to social coordination. A comprehensive system for restoring sovereignty. I was wrong. Not wrong about the six. They're all essential. But incomplete. Because while designing the governance evolution of Nexus 6, something became blindingly obvious: We weren't just building infrastructure for sovereign...

Last week, I told you about two Renaissance artisans—the blacksmith who forged tools and the sculptor who revealed form. Together, they embodied sovereignty. This week, I'm showing you the tools we're forging. Not metaphorically. Literally. Welcome to the six nexi—the foundational infrastructure of The Forge.What Is a "Nexus"?Before we dive in, let's clarify what we mean by "nexus" (plural: "nexi"). Nexus (Latin): A connection, link, or tie between things. In our context, a nexus is:🔗 A conn...

Last week, I told you about two Renaissance artisans—the blacksmith who forged tools and the sculptor who revealed form. Together, they embodied sovereignty. This week, I'm showing you the tools we're forging. Not metaphorically. Literally. Welcome to the six nexi—the foundational infrastructure of The Forge.What Is a "Nexus"?Before we dive in, let's clarify what we mean by "nexus" (plural: "nexi"). Nexus (Latin): A connection, link, or tie between things. In our context, a nexus is:🔗 A conn...