Hi Friends 👋🏽, A warm welcome to the 117 new subscribers who joined us last week! If you haven’t subscribed, join 998 crypto-curious members by subscribing here: Some quick housecleaning:The latest One Big Idea Podcast with Zeneca is now available on YouTubeOne Big Idea is on TikTok and InstagramLet’s get into it With 30,000 podcast downloads per month and 50,000 newsletter subscribers, Adam Levy’s Mint is one of the most successful media companies covering the Web3 creator economy. This pa...

Hi Friends 👋🏽, A warm welcome to the 117 new subscribers who joined us last week! If you haven’t subscribed, join 998 crypto-curious members by subscribing here: Some quick housecleaning:The latest One Big Idea Podcast with Zeneca is now available on YouTubeOne Big Idea is on TikTok and InstagramLet’s get into it With 30,000 podcast downloads per month and 50,000 newsletter subscribers, Adam Levy’s Mint is one of the most successful media companies covering the Web3 creator economy. This pa...

I spent five years at Amazon where I watched the city of Seattle burgeon into a tech metropolis. South Lake Union, an abandoned warehouse district when I interviewed in 2013, has transformed into a tech campus. Google, Apple, and Meta have all joined Amazon in setting up shop under the watchful eyes of the Space Needle.South Lake Union, before and afterSouth Lake Union. Before and After Amazon It’s not just the tech giants who have transformed the city. The startup scene is one of the best in...

I spent five years at Amazon where I watched the city of Seattle burgeon into a tech metropolis. South Lake Union, an abandoned warehouse district when I interviewed in 2013, has transformed into a tech campus. Google, Apple, and Meta have all joined Amazon in setting up shop under the watchful eyes of the Space Needle.South Lake Union, before and afterSouth Lake Union. Before and After Amazon It’s not just the tech giants who have transformed the city. The startup scene is one of the best in...

Over the past three weeks I spent many hours traveling by plane, bus, train, and foot. Suffice to say I had plenty of downtime. Inevitably, I filled much of this time catching up on my reading and podcast listening. On one of these catch up sessions, as I trudged my way through the Italian Dolomites, I was listening to the All-In podcast. A new favorite of mine, All-In is a podcast by four venture bros discussing tech, finance, and current events. While highly educational I find myself coming...

Over the past three weeks I spent many hours traveling by plane, bus, train, and foot. Suffice to say I had plenty of downtime. Inevitably, I filled much of this time catching up on my reading and podcast listening. On one of these catch up sessions, as I trudged my way through the Italian Dolomites, I was listening to the All-In podcast. A new favorite of mine, All-In is a podcast by four venture bros discussing tech, finance, and current events. While highly educational I find myself coming...

Humans are hierarchical by nature. Our instinct is to classify out of self-preservation. We are status-seeking. We look for indicators of where we stand on the totem pole of life by comparing our position to others. We are influenced and subconsciously (or consciously) mirror those we believe to be of high status. In Robert B. Caldini’s Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion, the author breaks down the six principles of influence. They are:**Reciprocation - **we hate feeling indebted. If som...

Humans are hierarchical by nature. Our instinct is to classify out of self-preservation. We are status-seeking. We look for indicators of where we stand on the totem pole of life by comparing our position to others. We are influenced and subconsciously (or consciously) mirror those we believe to be of high status. In Robert B. Caldini’s Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion, the author breaks down the six principles of influence. They are:**Reciprocation - **we hate feeling indebted. If som...

DAOs. If you’ve spent enough time in or around someone in the space, you’ve heard the acronym thrown around. During the bull market, it seemed the “solution” to every problem was to just DAO it (you can have this one for free, Nike). DAOs, or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, promised a future in which entities became unstoppable. Governed by smart contracts. All you had to do was set up some initial rules and let Ethereum take the wheel.Set It And Forget It GIFs - Get the best GIF on G...

DAOs. If you’ve spent enough time in or around someone in the space, you’ve heard the acronym thrown around. During the bull market, it seemed the “solution” to every problem was to just DAO it (you can have this one for free, Nike). DAOs, or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, promised a future in which entities became unstoppable. Governed by smart contracts. All you had to do was set up some initial rules and let Ethereum take the wheel.Set It And Forget It GIFs - Get the best GIF on G...

Envision yourself in the year 17,000 BCE. You and your fellow hunter-gatherers roam modern-day New Guinea in search of food and resources. As luck would have it you exist in a region packed to the brim with obsidian, the result of volcanic deposits on your island. You can use this resource to create knives to hunt food with. You are flush with animal meat and never go hungry. Unfortunately, your animal prey is very small. Impossible to skin for their fur and so your winters are very cold. Man...

Envision yourself in the year 17,000 BCE. You and your fellow hunter-gatherers roam modern-day New Guinea in search of food and resources. As luck would have it you exist in a region packed to the brim with obsidian, the result of volcanic deposits on your island. You can use this resource to create knives to hunt food with. You are flush with animal meat and never go hungry. Unfortunately, your animal prey is very small. Impossible to skin for their fur and so your winters are very cold. Man...

Last December, I escaped the freezing cold of Austin, Texas to venture down south to the land of Tropicana. Miami, Florida. It was Art Basel week. Fine art and culture were set to collide. This year with a twist. NFTs had taken over South Beach. Brands like Doodles, Heart Project, Cool Cats, and Poolsuite had descended on the sandy shores to show their wares to the world. From murals of Blue Cat and Letters to parties with (#free)Gunna and Amine. It was an extravaganza. Yet, it’s not the pomp...

Last December, I escaped the freezing cold of Austin, Texas to venture down south to the land of Tropicana. Miami, Florida. It was Art Basel week. Fine art and culture were set to collide. This year with a twist. NFTs had taken over South Beach. Brands like Doodles, Heart Project, Cool Cats, and Poolsuite had descended on the sandy shores to show their wares to the world. From murals of Blue Cat and Letters to parties with (#free)Gunna and Amine. It was an extravaganza. Yet, it’s not the pomp...

Good Morning Everyone, As you all know I will be transitioning out of my day to day role on Wednesday. I’ll be taking a quick break for the month of September before returning to advise Venice through the end of the year. Transitions offer us moments of reflection. As I reflect, I’m filled with immense gratitude. Over the past 3 years we have worked every day to fulfill our mission. To empower a community of independent artists to thrive in their career and live off their art. We have worked ...

Good Morning Everyone, As you all know I will be transitioning out of my day to day role on Wednesday. I’ll be taking a quick break for the month of September before returning to advise Venice through the end of the year. Transitions offer us moments of reflection. As I reflect, I’m filled with immense gratitude. Over the past 3 years we have worked every day to fulfill our mission. To empower a community of independent artists to thrive in their career and live off their art. We have worked ...

As the bear market marches forward, Web3 products are experiencing an ugly truth. Churn. Bored Ape Yacht Club, arguably the most successful NFT brand, has lost holders in its OG collection over the past 30 days.Acquiring customers is five times more expensive than retaining existing ones. On the flip side, increasing customer retention by just five percent can increase profits by up to ninety-five percent. Thus, churn's downside and retention's upside seem too critical to ignore. Ho...

As the bear market marches forward, Web3 products are experiencing an ugly truth. Churn. Bored Ape Yacht Club, arguably the most successful NFT brand, has lost holders in its OG collection over the past 30 days.Acquiring customers is five times more expensive than retaining existing ones. On the flip side, increasing customer retention by just five percent can increase profits by up to ninety-five percent. Thus, churn's downside and retention's upside seem too critical to ignore. Ho...

The Scalability Trilemma & Cosmos The perfect blockchain would be decentralized, scalable, and secure. It is decentralized to be credibly fair and censorship-resistant, scalable to handle the masses, and safe from exploitation. Unfortunately, the perfect blockchain does not exist. Instead, what we have is the scalability trilemma. The tradeoffs required to develop a blockchain necessitate deprioritizing one of these pillars to benefit the other two.Bitcoin and Ethereum have prioritized decent...

The Scalability Trilemma & Cosmos The perfect blockchain would be decentralized, scalable, and secure. It is decentralized to be credibly fair and censorship-resistant, scalable to handle the masses, and safe from exploitation. Unfortunately, the perfect blockchain does not exist. Instead, what we have is the scalability trilemma. The tradeoffs required to develop a blockchain necessitate deprioritizing one of these pillars to benefit the other two.Bitcoin and Ethereum have prioritized decent...

Reddit Avatars, “digital collectibles” (NFTs, cough cough), took the Web3 world by storm last week. With over 3 million wallets owning a customizable on-chain Snoo (Reddit’s mascot), the collection is bigger than all wallets purchased NFTs on OpenSea…combined. Some are calling this the trojan horse moment for NFTs. For the technology to assimilate into Reddit’s community, one whose anger towards NFTs is well documented, is a win for any who hope for mainstream adoption. Yet, most of Crypto Tw...

Reddit Avatars, “digital collectibles” (NFTs, cough cough), took the Web3 world by storm last week. With over 3 million wallets owning a customizable on-chain Snoo (Reddit’s mascot), the collection is bigger than all wallets purchased NFTs on OpenSea…combined. Some are calling this the trojan horse moment for NFTs. For the technology to assimilate into Reddit’s community, one whose anger towards NFTs is well documented, is a win for any who hope for mainstream adoption. Yet, most of Crypto Tw...

Last week, Art Gobblers, the highly anticipated mint from the creator of Rick & Morty Justin Roiland, dropped and proceeded to be the hottest thing in NFTs since sliced bread. A free mint, the project soared to a floor price of over 20 ETH within 24 hours. While a select few expressed gratitude for finally being on the receiving end of generational wealth, many more were left in the cold, looking for someone to blame for their misfortune. And where do you think their ire went? Influencers, of...

Last week, Art Gobblers, the highly anticipated mint from the creator of Rick & Morty Justin Roiland, dropped and proceeded to be the hottest thing in NFTs since sliced bread. A free mint, the project soared to a floor price of over 20 ETH within 24 hours. While a select few expressed gratitude for finally being on the receiving end of generational wealth, many more were left in the cold, looking for someone to blame for their misfortune. And where do you think their ire went? Influencers, of...