The Archive

Conversations with the founders, operators, and investors behind the most interesting businesses in crypto - @hi_Reverie |

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

I really enjoyed my conversation with @buffalu__ about all things @jito_labs.

We dive into the early history of Jito, what finding PMF was like, and what the future holds.

(1:23) What is Jito
(10:18) Why Solana stood out early
(16:06) Starting Jito
(22:58) FTX fallout and doubling down on Solana
(30:54) MEV politics and shutting down the mempool
(36:20) Memecoins
(38:59) Finding PMF and scaling to >90% of validators
(41:27) Jito airdrop and token launch strategy
(51:40) Expanding beyond infra to user facing apps
(59:12) The Solana ecosystem and what it needs
(1:16:00) Jito’s presence in DC and crypto policy

[Fireblocks @FireblocksHQ]

Michael Shaulov on building @FireblocksHQ:

"Position your team as close as possible to the tree. When the apple falls, they can catch it."

Fireblocks bet on DeFi in 2019. Acquired payments infrastructure in 2022. Now processing $6T annually for MoneyGram, Stripe, Checkout, and global banks.

Listen to how they survived 50% churn and kept revenue flat. Full episode 👇

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

I had a wonderful chat with Michael, the founder of @FireblocksHQ.

We talked about the early history of Fireblocks, scaling through DeFi summer, Unit 8200, how to successfully build a B2B crypto product, and much more. Hope folks enjoy!

(0:00) Intro
(0:34) Altitude
(1:31) Growing up in Israel, learning programming, and starting internet businesses
(7:49) Unit 8200 and the mindset it teaches
(16:05) First startup, mentorship, and early lessons
(20:20) Where the inspiration for Fireblocks came from
(28:18) Finding product-market fit with Fireblocks
(37:11) Enterprise-first vs bottom-up GTM strategy
(42:53) Catching the DeFi wave
(51:24) Surviving Terra, 3AC, and FTX
(1:08:44) How Fireblocks is evolving

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

Benchmark does not make many crypto investments, so when they did the Series A of @tryfomo, it's interesting to hear how it came together.

"We were very appreciative of how much time they spent getting to know the product."

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

How should a startup think about user feedback? Users don't always know what they want, and they may have differing views.

Se shares some insight into how to balance these issues: "often the solution is not the thing they propose...we needed everyone moment to be joyful."

[se @seyong]

the deepest ive ever gone on a podcast (and the most ive ever yapped)

would take any odds on @derekhsue becoming one of the core pillars of crypto podcasting

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

I had an incredible chat with @seyong, co-founder of @tryfomo.

fomo launched less than a year ago but has already had a remarkable rise, becoming a go-to trading app for both crypto-native and mainstream users alike.

We cover a lot of ground, from the original motivation to build fomo, to recruiting the early team, what worked (and didn't work) with user acquisition, and what he's learned over the past year.

Sometimes the success behind certain crypto products can feel random, but it's clear that fomo's is not. They've been extremely intentional with every part of the company (team/product/growth/fundraising), and it reflects in the feedback from users.

Was a pleasure recording this one.

(0:00) Intro
(1:13) Early life. Jersey and Yale
(7:03) Working on product at dYdX and meeting Paul
(14:06) The genesis of fomo, early team formation
(33:42) Product-first philosophy and obsession with UX
(46:24) User-led growth and getting to know your customers
(59:48) Raising Series A from Benchmark
(1:06:22) Where fomo is heading; the speculation graph era
(1:21:49) Building a social product to match its growth
(1:28:58) Memecoins as a category
(1:40:35) Other teams that Se admires

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

New episode of @Archive_Pod with @jmo_mx, co-founder of @gauntlet_xyz.

Anyone who knows John knows he's extremely direct, and he holds nothing back here. We discuss the evolution of Gauntlet through the years, the future of vaults, what's happening with Aave, and more.

Thank you to @altitude for making this show possible.

(0:00) Intro
(1:16) What Gauntlet does
(5:28) Risk management vs asset management
(11:09) What’s missing in vaults today?
(16:52) Innovation and investing in DeFi
(19:32) Can the blue chips get disrupted?
(22:07) The Aave DAO politics
(30:18) Regulatory environment - then and now
(41:01) Exploits and hacks in DeFi
(46:39) Gauntlet’s culture
(48:44) John’s truck and his love for chocolate milk

[ethn @ethanyish]

thank you to @derekhsue for hosting me on his podcast, i've always enjoyed all my conversations with Derek, and alas!

on this episode, we go through Allium's early journey, for those who want to listen, watch here!

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

For our second episode, I sat down with @ethanyish, founder of @AlliumLabs, which is the data platform serving the most important crypto companies today.

Ethan is incredibly thoughtful, and Allium's journey is a a case study of how to build a B2B crypto company that customers love.

We dive into Ethan's upbringing, what acquiring the initial customers looked like, and the nitty gritty of crypto data.

Timestamps:
(0:00) Intro
(0:25) Altitude
(1:15) Getting engaged in Argentina
(4:43) What Allium is
(9:44) Upbringing in Singapore
(19:08) Working in AI before crypto
(30:05) What starting Allium was like
(39:53) Building through the bear market
(43:05) Managing Allium’s internal infra
(48:04) Scaling Allium, mistakes, and customer acquisition
(52:28) Allium’s customer centric culture
(55:31) AI strategy at Allium
(1:09:31) Future of token distribution

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

I asked Keone why Monad didn't emphasize pre-launch TVL and farming campaigns like many other recent protocols.

"Protocol TVL and transfer volumes are easy to game ... to grow an ecosystem and establish real world PMF takes time."

[The Pipeline @pipeline_xyz]

🗣️@keoneHD talks about supporting founders through @DeltaV_xyz

DeltaV is a social network for founders that connects them with resources, conversations and investors. All built around a culture of shipping.

A place that helps founders get things done and achieve their vision.

[Monad @monad]

Catch @keoneHD talking about

- Common challenges L1s and L2s face
- His motivation to build Monad
- What's in the pipeline for @category_xyz

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

I asked Keone about the pros/cons of protocols taking a political stance. (e.g. Ethereum generally perceived as more left-leaning while Solana is perceived as more right-leaning/capitalistic).

"I don't think at the L1 foundation level we should express a political opinion."

[Larry Sukernik @lsukernik]

I'm super excited for @hi_Reverie's new podcast, which my partner @derek_hsue launched today.

Have always wanted to hear the personal stories of crypto founders/operators. How they grew up, what they liked to do as kids, and some of their non-crypto related views. And of course, to hear their longform thoughts on crypto.

That's what @Archive_Pod will be all about. Also, shoutout to @multisig and @SimkinStepan for partnering with Reverie on putting on the show!

[Altitude @altitude]

We're excited to partner with @hi_Reverie on their new show.

Altitude helps global businesses optimize their financial operations. The @Archive_Pod is made for the founders and operators behind them.

[Adyant Dagur @adyantdag]

We just launched @Archive_Pod where we bring on founders to talk about their journey in building + scaling some of the most important projects in crypto

Our first guest is @keoneHD, who walks us through everything from his early life and interests to building Monad from the ground up.

If want to learn about what it really takes to build a successful crypto project from the people who’ve built them, I’d definitely recommend checking it out: https://t.co/sAqzwUri7z

[Kam 🌑 @KamBenbrik]

Very excited about @derek_hsue’s new show @Archive_Pod!

What a guest for the first episode :)

[George @georgecalle_]

@derek_hsue @Archive_Pod @keoneHD @monad I Pledge Allegiance used to be one of my favorite pods. Excited your back in the host seat @derek_hsue !

[Derek Hsue @derekhsue]

Launching a new podcast today! Filmed at our NYC office, each episode of @Archive_Pod focuses on a founder or operator who has built an important crypto business/protocol.

The first episode is with @keoneHD, founder of @monad.

We dive into Keone’s upbringing, the early days of Monad and the journey to raising the seed round. Plus, we talk about recruiting + scaling the team, and the philosophies they used to launch and grow the network.

Here's what we discussed:

0:00 - Intro
0:42 - Altitude
1:32 - Monad's Launch
4:25 - Keone’s early life and interests
16:52 - Where Keone’s work ethic came from
19:52 - Working at Jump and how the culture passed on to Monad
24:26 - Starting Monad
30:05 - Raising the seed round for Monad
32:29 - Growing the Monad community and open-sourcing code
36:35 - How Keone hired for the early team
44:07 - The future of Category Labs
51:26 - Which metrics is Monad focusing on
1:00:24 - Building a base of loyal and passionate users
1:07:45 - The personality of an L1 founder
1:13:46 - Founders that Keone looks up to
1:18:34 - Day in the life of Keone
1:23:57 - The endgame vision for Monad