Emily Westerhold

finops @a16zcrypto// fmr cfo @vsco // sf, chi & phx //🏃🏻‍♀️🏀☀️⛷🤓🐶📚

[Chris Dixon @cdixon]

https://t.co/u1xbTIC8J6

[Chris Dixon @cdixon]

https://t.co/zAHyO5TJ0c

[miles jennings @milesjennings]

Financial transparency might not sound sexy, but this is a critical step in the evolution of decentralized orgs.

Financial statements and tax updates that tie to onchain and offchain activity not only bolsters compliance, it enables greater accountability and empowers members.

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

👇 Read it here: https://t.co/oGrLMITIwS

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

Alignment. Clarity. Tradeoffs. Dependencies.

Who’s doing what? When? What does it cost? How will you measure it? 🤔

Simple questions when running a startup — but not easy to answer.

Especially for founders, who face plenty of things they can’t control: markets, regulation, macro noise. What can you control? Execution. 💪

That’s where operating plans come in — they turn your big vision into a concrete, accountable roadmap. 🗺️

In this post, I share:

- Four pillars of a good operating plan
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Practical budgeting tips (yes, including zero-based budgeting)
- How to match your plan to your company’s current mode

Creating a plan doesn’t have to mean drowning in paperwork or meetings. But you do need one. And you do need a handle on your runway.

Happy planning! ��

[Chris Dixon @cdixon]

Clear rules for stablecoins and the road ahead

At the White House today, the first piece of U.S. crypto legislation will be signed into law: the GENIUS Act. It provides clear rules for stablecoins.

This is a historic moment — not just for crypto, but for the world at large. That’s because stablecoins give us something we’ve never really had before: open money infrastructure.

Stablecoins are a better form of money: faster, cheaper, and more global. They cut fees and eliminate intermediaries. They are auditable and programmable. They allow developers to build new kinds of apps that weren’t possible before: low-to-no cost remittances, programmatic micropayments, AI-native transactions, transparent and disintermediated global commerce, and more.

Stablecoins give the world access to the dollar, they spread financial freedom, and they ensure that the next generation of financial infrastructure is built on U.S. standards.

For too long, innovators in crypto have operated under legal uncertainty. That uncertainty has stifled progress, driven builders offshore, and created a fragmented internet. The GENIUS Act reverses this: it creates clarity for stablecoins and sets us on a path toward broader crypto market structure reforms.

This is how the internet moves forward: through clear rule-making. With the GENIUS Act, stablecoins have clear rules, paving the way for better payments, financial products, and an overhaul of the global financial system.

Next, we need the same for the rest of the crypto market. The Senate can do this by passing the CLARITY Act, which provides clear rules of the road for the broader crypto industry, opening a path for innovators while also protecting consumers from scams and bad actors.

We believe that the U.S. can lead the next era of the internet — the read-write-own era — by enabling open, user-owned protocols instead of the closed, corporate platforms that defined the last one. This legislation lays the foundation for that future. It's the beginning of a new chapter.

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

@azeemk Thank you @azeemk 😊 there are many things that end up being tougher than they should be in web3 - much respect to you and other founders doing the hard work each day to build! 💪🏻

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

It was cathartic to speak openly about the wave of debanking I've seen across our @a16zcrypto portfolio in recent years.

Deep thanks to @MinarikLaw for bravely sharing her story, to @rhackett amplifying it, and to the many founders who’ve stepped forward—publicly or behind the scenes—to shine a light on this issue.

Building a company is hard enough. Accessing and maintaining basic banking services shouldn’t be one of the challenges.

Hopefully, these become stories of old lore—not ongoing realities—in the not-so-distant future.

[a16z crypto @a16zcrypto]

Wait — the bank froze your life savings?

Debanking exposed...

Imagine waking up one day to find your bank account frozen.

No warning.
No explanation.
No recourse.

This is not a thought experiment. It’s a real situation. And it’s happened not just to crypto companies and their founders, but to ordinary people who are just trying to live their lives. That includes our guest today, who learned firsthand what it means to be “debanked.”

In this episode, we talk about the unseen algorithms that monitor people’s accounts, the ramifications of the Bank Secrecy Act, and how crypto and decentralized finance may offer a much-needed check — and safety net — against the opaque systems of traditional finance.

Full episode: https://t.co/oEBReIoDhX

Timestamps:
(0:00) Introduction
(2:03) The Problem of Debanking
(5:58) Debanking: A Personal Story
(7:33) Understanding the Bank Secrecy Act
(11:53) The Information Vacuum
(16:55) The Impact on Crypto Companies
(20:07) Addressing Skeptics
(22:07) Banks: Good vs. Bad
(27:35) The Scariest Moment
(36:17) “Operation Chokepoint 2.0”
(38:08) History of the Bank Secrecy Act
(44:04) Security Theater
(45:31) What Would You Change?
(48:45) The Impact of Financial Consolidation
(49:30) Crypto as Banking Solution
(53:02) Is Debanking Still Happening?
(58:35) Unresolved Mysteries
(1:01:47) One More Debanking Story
(1:08:07) Conspiracy or Coincidence?
(1:09:39) It Shouldn’t Be This Hard
(1:11:18) Out From Under the SEC’s Cloud
(1:14:23) The Urgent Need for Legislation
(1:17:26) Possible Tech Futures
(1:19:33) Advice for Founders
(1:22:04) Final Thoughts

w/ @MinarikLaw @EMinSF @rhackett

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

The same patterns tend to emerge across early stage companies when they're planning and building their businesses. It was a pleasure speaking with our @a16zcrypto CSX cohort in NYC about some key tips, tricks and common pitfalls in the planning process.

One key point I emphasized: simplify your planning. Make it work for you as a founder - don't overcomplicate it with unnecessary steps or academic jargon. It should be intentional, thoughtful AND agile - always evolving as your business grows.

Check out the full talk here:
https://t.co/pYkeGX9uJr

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

https://t.co/KaODS2wHuv

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

In an ideal world, every company holding digital assets would follow a standard reporting practice — allowing operators and investors to intuitively and transparently understand the liquid value of their assets.

This is the purpose of the new Statement of Digital Assets (SoDA).

Learn more below. 🧵
https://t.co/aakDQ28jal

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

Learn more about what the SoDa does here and join the growing number of endorsements:
https://t.co/8tsQU3FP3P

[AminoChain @Amino_Chain]

After 2 years of building in silence we’re so excited to finally share what we’ve been working on at AminoChain and announce our $5M seed round led by @a16zcrypto !

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

So excited about this company and Caspar’s vision - welcome @Amino_Chain 🙌🏼 https://t.co/XFCE0bSmqw

[Emily Westerhold @EMinSF]

I had the opportunity to speak to our CSX Fall 2024 cohort in NYC last week about best practices for building their operating plans and budgets.

There is always a great energy that comes from being in a room with a bunch of founders who are working on exciting new projects.

Here are a few takeaways from my talk:

- Focus on substance over form. Having the discussion about resource allocation, costs and tradeoffs is the most important part.
- Don’t forget to adjust your plan as information changes, especially when it comes to your budget.
- Leverage the power of sequencing your bets.
- A plan without a success metric is not a complete plan.
- Never be surprised when it comes to your cash burn!

Grateful for the chance to work with these incredible founders!