Rajeevan Rajendran

ex-VC writing about venture, tech, web3, and markets | Pattern recognition over storytelling

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

Tokens became crypto’s biggest shortcut.

Fundraising shortcut.
Liquidity shortcut.
Narrative shortcut.

Some tokens are fundamental.
Most are not.
But the industry treats them the same.

I wrote about the difference and why it matters more than people admit.

Read here:
https://t.co/BGvahmNaur

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@Melt_Dem @brexton @OrnnExchange @ComputeDesk @netbackyard @Aravolta_X25 Wow! Glad to see you invested in @OrnnExchange. So excited about this company. I am just wondering if anyone is trying to bring their data on-chain. Wouldn't be surprised to see a compute market on HIP-3 in the near future

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@hosseeb @blknoiz06 @Lighter_xyz @variational_io Nice one! Look forward to it

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@0xDepressionn Is it better to keep just one markdown for memory that logs all your daily decisions and progress? Or is it better to just log things in multiple markdowns, and save for eg. in Obsiadian, and ask Claude to read that whole repo before a session?

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

Wow! Here again. Mostly North Korea with their loot crypto strategy! $290m

[LayerZero @LayerZero_Core]

https://t.co/3vIHs3Xgs4

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

Gotta give it to him! King Kohli!

#IndiaVsNewZealand

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@elonmusk one feature request. Can you please allow me to turn off the ability for anyone to tag me in a post? Only my followers should be able to do that.

Irony is I am doing the same to you now.

But the amount of scammy posts I am getting tagged is overwhelming. This is getting dangerous!

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@a_derll The team is playing with some intent. But lacks tooth in offense, not creating chances or shooting enough

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

I know the football world loves Pep-style systems and total football. Some Madridistas included.

But I’ll take one moment of Vini brilliance or a Kroos through-ball that dismantles a defense over 50-pass tiki-taka any day.

That’s what makes Real Madrid special.

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

Unpopular opinion: Xabi leaving Real Madrid is good.

He’s a brilliant system coach. But Real Madrid doesn’t need systems. It needs someone who can manage elite egos and unleash individual brilliance.

That’s not Xabi’s strength.

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

Real Madrid had no tactical edge this season.

Most wins were carried by Mbappé’s individual brilliance or one-off moments of inspiration of others.

Either Xabi couldn’t outthink opposing coaches tactically, or he lost the dressing room and players stopped executing his plans.

Both scenarios are bad.

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@Cointelegraph DFINITY

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

Most people think VC career success is about picking winners. The real formula:

~70% relationships & perception management
• Sourcing quality deals = your network depth
• Principal → Partner = LP relationships you can close
• Internal credibility = how you communicate judgment, not just being right

~30% analytical skill & pattern recognition
• Thesis development, market timing, diligence rigor
• These matter, but they're table stakes, not differentiators

The harsh reality: 10-year feedback loops mean you're judged on interim signals (follow-on rounds, founder references, co-investor quality) more than actual returns.

If you need fast feedback and pure merit-based progression, VC will frustrate you.

If you're energized by relationship-building under uncertainty and can thrive with ambiguous scorecards, it's incredibly rewarding.

Know which game you're playing.

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

Oversimplified take. Economics isn’t ideology, it’s context.

Post-war, post-crisis, or post-colonial economies need Keynesian intervention. Markets can’t build the foundations: infrastructure, education, institutions.

Capitalism needs affluent consumers to extract value from, but can’t create that base affluence itself.

Once the foundation exists, Austrian/free-market models work. Trickle-down actually functions when there’s already a prosperous base.

The debt from Keynesian Phase 1? That’s the cost of building momentum. That will create a debt crisis and a devaluation of fiat.

Bitcoin as a non-sovereign hedge? Smart. But countries can’t run on libertarian heuristics.

Glad Balaji or Elon aren’t heads of state. Would be a disaster!

[Balaji @balajis]

The end of Western Keynesianism will be even bigger than the end of Soviet Communism.

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@APompliano Yes being cocky!

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

VENEZUELA THREAD: Notice how colonial apologetics are flooding X right as the US literally invades Venezuela? That's not a coincidence. The "they can't govern themselves" narrative is being weaponized RIGHT NOW to justify regime change. 🧵

1/ The Playbook:

Trump: "We're going to run the country"
Translation: Take control of world's largest oil reserves

Justification: "Maduro is a tyrant, Venezuela is corrupt, they're drug traffickers—they need US intervention"

This is colonialism 2.0, and the apologetics are surging to manufacture consent.

2/ The Colonial Apologist Formula:

Step 1: Point to dysfunction in Global South countries Step 2: Ignore how colonialism/intervention CREATED that dysfunction
Step 3: Claim "they can't govern themselves"
Step 4: Justify new intervention as "helping"

Venezuela RIGHT NOW is the perfect case study.

3/ Let's Talk About Venezuela's "Dysfunction":

- Decades of US sanctions devastating the economy
- Multiple coup attempts backed by Washington
- Assets frozen, oil revenue blocked
- Then the US points at the crisis and says, "See? They need us!"

You break it, then blame them for it being broken, then claim you need to "fix" it by taking their resources.

4/ This Pattern Has Data Behind It:

Research shows 1/3 of global income inequality today stems from colonial legacies. Areas under extractive colonial rule have 30% lower GDP now.

India: 190 years of British rule = 0% increase in per capita income
Global South: Lost $152 trillion to extraction since 1960

Colonialism creates the "dysfunction" apologists later point to.

5/ "But They're Authoritarian!":

You know what colonialism did? Deliberately destroyed local institutions and governance systems.

You know what decades of US intervention do? Destabilize democracies, back dictators when convenient, create conditions for authoritarianism.

Then: "See? They can't do democracy! We need to intervene!"

6/ The "Without Western Intervention They'd Be Worse" -> Lie

Countries that threw out Western control and intervention:

• Japan (never colonized) → 3rd largest economy
• China (ended Western dominance) → economic superpower
• India (gained independence 1947) → now 5th largest economy, projected to be 3rd by 2030
• Vietnam (defeated US intervention) → fastest growing economy in Asia
• South Korea (after ending US-backed dictatorship) → tech powerhouse

Self-determination works. Colonialism doesn't.

7/ Why This Narrative Explodes NOW:

Because they NEED you to believe "Venezuelans can't govern themselves" to justify:

- Military invasion violating international law
- Seizing control of their oil
- "Running their country" (Trump's words)

It's Iraq 2003 all over again. Weapons of Mass Destruction → "Narco-terrorism"
Different lie, same imperial playbook.

8/ The Tell:

Trump literally said US firms will develop Venezuela's oil reserves and "recoup stolen oil money."

STOLEN? It's THEIR oil. In THEIR country.

This is naked resource theft dressed up as humanitarian intervention. And colonial apologetics provide the moral cover.

9/ To Be Clear:

This isn't about Maduro being good. It's not about defending authoritarianism.

It's about recognizing that:
- Military invasion is illegal
- Resource theft is colonialism
- "They can't govern themselves" has ALWAYS been the excuse

And if we let them use it now, where does it end?

10/ The Pattern:

Every time you see sudden surges of "colonialism was actually good" takes on social media, check what's happening geopolitically.

They're manufacturing consent for current imperialism by whitewashing past imperialism.

Don't fall for it.

11/ What You Can Do:

- Call out colonial apologetics when you see them
- Share the actual data on colonial impacts
- Connect historical patterns to current events
- Oppose illegal military interventions

The narrative they're pushing isn't about history—it's about justifying what they're doing RIGHT NOW.

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@Mishi_2210 1050

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

@VittoStack Ai

[Rajeevan Rajendran @raj33van_]

First of all India is not economically impoverished now.

A country 2nd in GDP before Britain colonized became a country where 85-90% of its population were under extreme poverty, and where millions perished in famines - because of Britain.

Indians built the country from ground up to become the economic & military power it is today - 4th in the world.