Marv
Chinmay invited me to his home in Brampton to have a nice long chat. This was after a glorious dosa dinner at Annalakshmi. I’ve only been in Canada 6 months but oh boy did I miss this little slice of home. And the sambar was proper south Indian stuff, so an actual improvement to what we get in Mumbai.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time with Chinmay since moving to Toronto. He’s a staple in our local Farcaster scene, and we have a lot in common with the way we see the crypto space. Most importantly, a question we keep asking - “why does this need to be built.” He’s a business owner with experience of building on crypto’s frontiers, such as the open rails of Farcaster. While he is certain that crypto is here to change the world, he acknowledges the path to get there will not be straightforward. Many more big bets, swings and misses lie ahead, but one success is all that’s needed to change the entire game.
We discussed a lot in this episode, and here are some of the key takeaways. If you’d like to listen to this episode in full, the links are at the end of this piece. As is the Pods link, where you can listen, mint and collect it right into your wallet, all while supporting my media journey.
Chinmay grew up in Gujarat, India, and now runs a company in Toronto, Canada. After initial fear about committing a business faux pas due to cultural differences, the reality was much more easygoing. Through mentors, colleagues, and positions at various companies, he learned that only 2 things really matter in business - we solve problems, and we consider there’s a person at the other side of every conversation.
"There is literally nothing different compared to doing business in India and doing business in Canada. Fundamentals are the same. Just be human and solve problems."
As a builder, looking down at certain parts of the market just ends up closing you off from opportunities. We can have our views of how we would like this market to be, and there’s lots of room for idealism. But there’s also the reality of how the market moving, and swimming against the tide all the time can exhausting, sometimes expensive.
"Being skeptical, I didn't buy into NFT buzz early. I didn't buy into meme coin buzz early. And I basically positioned myself in an ivory tower where I'm like, I'm a builder. I'm going to build something useful. I'm going to build a utility and utility only, but that basically detached me from what market really wanted."
We all have a favourite ‘game changer’ technology that failed to live up to its lofty expectations. Juicero, is way up top of my list, Humane AI pin comes close. Do let me know about your favourites. But the point here is that the all-important product-market fit can be elusive to even the best-funded of ventures that garner all-consuming levels of hype. Of course having a lot of funding helps, but it’s mainly providing a cushion for more mistakes. Every company makes mistakes, all you can control are the lessons you take from them.
"Everyone goes through a lot of trial and error. Doesn't matter the size of the company. If you are early stage, if you are a mid stage series AB or you're late stage, pre IPO, post IPO, or even companies like Microsoft and Apple, everyone gets their decisions wrong and product positioning wrong."
When I asked him about the parts of the crypto space he thinks have been a success, there wasn’t much hesitation. And now with Farcaster tokens, AI agents and improved user experiences only making this more accessible and hands-off. Will we see another resurgence of de-fi in the coming years? Could it even happen during this cycle? Chinmay thinks that could be the case.
“De-fi is the biggest conviction on crypto. Period.”
While I don’t often talk about investing on this space, I felt that this was useful advice that deserved highlighting. These markets are cyclical, and we shouldn’t be left holding the bag when the music stops. I always sell on the up, because if we’re going to regret our timing I’d rather have some profits to show for it. Of course, not investment advice, it’s how I see the market. This pragmatism is all in service if people around in the next cycle, with more deployable liquidity. Think of the end of every market cycle like the evacuation from Dunkirk. Sometimes it's ok to back off, retreat, regroup, and have another stab at it.
"If you can exit and you can create a life changing sum of money by exiting [...] don't wait for the best of the best of the best returns. Just do that. Take those deals [...] take the profits and create those stronger launch pads for your next cycles.”
Building in crypto is a trial by fire. The market is always changing, regulation provides curveballs out of the blue, and users can be fickle. But when you get it right, it can be a thing of beauty. This market is littered with what you may believe are “overnight successes,” but we don’t see the years of toil that go into it.
Chinmay is the type of builder that’s fixated on his purpose - build for people, and drive this space forward. Don’t be afraid to experiment, but it really does need to be an experiment - hypothesise, test, record, analyse, repeat. No shots in the dark. I have every faith that you'll see Chinmay & his products hit the mainstream in the coming years. You saw him here first
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