In this episode, Ben sits down with Evan Fisher, Founder and General Partner of Portal Ventures. Evan started his career at Goldman Sachs and Insight Partners before launching Portal. At Portal, Evan invests across the industry, globe, and fundraising stage as he applies his traditionally trained venture skillset to protocol investing. Evan is a pragmatist with a business model oriented investment framework that has thus far resonated with founders and builders across the blockchain industry. Le...
Aug 02, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 25
In this episode, Ben sits down with Hootie Rashidifard, Founder and General Partner of Hash3. Hootie recently announced Hash3’s first fund dedicated to investing in disruptive crypto middleware and infrastructure. With a roster of LPs with experience leading unicorn tech start ups, Hash3 works closely with its investor base and venture partner network to help crypto founders operate and scale their protocols and businesses. Let’s get into it. Timestamps 2:41 Background and experience? 6:11 What ...
Jul 12, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 24
In this episode, Ben sits down with Kyle Samani , Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital . Kyle has been at the forefront of blockchain technology and innovation since founding the firm in 2017. Kyle is known for his non-consensus perspectives and his ability to break down business concepts and market structures to their core essence. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:50 What are the lessons learned from Pristine? 6:20 What were the biggest takeaways from Vision Pro? 12:30 How do you...
Jun 28, 2023•52 min
In this episode, Ben sits down with Matt Walsh, Founding Partner of Castle Island Ventures. Matt was instrumental in the development of Fidelity's blockchain efforts before leaving to found Castle Island in 2018. Matt is a leading crypto VC with a deep understanding of tech innovation driving adoption, and the regulatory dynamics impacting the blockchain industry. Let’s get into it. Timestamps 3:15 What is your background? 5:04 Why was Fidelity open to Bitcoin in 2014? 8:10 What gave you the con...
Jun 14, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 22
In this episode, Ben sits down with Arthur Cheong, Founding Partner of Singapore-based DeFiance Capital. Arthur is a DeFi OG with a track record of early home run bets in Synthetix, Aave, and DYDX. Arthur is now leading DeFiance as the firm executes on its liquid venture thesis. Let's get into it. Timestamps 1:43 What are things like in Singapore at the moment from a general business perspective? 3:45 What are the dynamics between Singapore and Hong Kong? 5:58 Are there lobbyists that are pushin...
May 31, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 21
In this episode, Ben sits down with Jason Yeh, Co-Founder and General Partner of Patron. Jason was head of international publishing and head of EU eSports at Riot Games where he was a key member of the team responsible for making League of Legends the most important game of the last decade. Jason is now investing in cutting-edge gaming content and infrastructure with much of the investible innovation happening right here in Web3. Let's get into it. Timestamps 1:52 What is your background? 3:07 W...
May 18, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In this episode, Ben sits down with Jeff Morris Jr., Founder and Managing Partner of Chapter One. Jeff was VP of Product and Revenue at Tinder and an active angel investor before leaving to start Chapter One. Jeff has a growth and product oriented mindset and has built his firm to identify founders with audacious missions and then support them on their entrepreneurial journey. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:01 What does it mean to get hit by a "Lucky Truck”? 6:10 What is your background? 10:57 ...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In this episode, Ben sits down with Tom Walton-Pocock, Managing Founder of Geometry. Building on his experience as a Co-Founder and CEO of the Aztec Network, Tom launched Geometry on the premise that deeply technical founders need investors who can relate to their engineering first approach to business building. Geometry is now a leading cryptography and mathematics research firm with a track record of successful early-stage blockchain venture deals. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:27 Background...
May 03, 2023•58 min
In this episode, Ben sits down with Pranav Kanade, Portfolio Manager of Van Eck's Digital Assets Alpha Fund. Pranav left an illustrious career as a credit Portfolio Manager at Millennium to lead Van Eck’s active crypto hedge fund strategy. The institution's robust platform paired with Pranav's thesis-driven investment process shines a light on how TradFi and crypto are blending together at the highest level of the investment world. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:47 What is the Ethereum Shapella...
Apr 26, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 17
In this episode, Ben sits down with Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric. Joe and Asymmetric blend deep technical knowledge and expertise with an institutional trader's mindset to market structures, trading strategies, and risk management. Joe and his team have decades of experience in finance and technology and therefore are able to take advantage of opportunities in both the private and liquid token markets. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:30 What is your background? 12:57 With cryp...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In this episode, Ben sits down with Lewis Harland, Portfolio Manager and Head of Research at Decentral Park Capital. Lewis is a prolific writer with deep research into cutting edge valuation methodologies that leverage on chain data and analysis. His top-down valuation frameworks are widely recognized among leaders in the crypto industry while also helping steer Decentral Park's investment strategy and portfolio construction. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:21 How has writing publicly online inf...
Apr 12, 2023•58 min
In this episode, Ben sits down with Regan Bozman, Co-Founder of Lattice Capital. Regan started his crypto career at CoinList where he was responsible for the launch of several of the industry's largest protocols. Regan then leveraged his go-to-market experience and partnered with his CoinList co-worker Mike Zajko, to launch Lattice Capital, an early-stage focused crypto VC firm. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:30 What is your background? 4:38 What was the impetus for AngelList to develop the Coi...
Apr 05, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In this episode, Ben sits down with Joyce Yang, Founder of Global Coin Research (GCR). GCR is a token-gated venture DAO with early-stage investments in various leading crypto companies and protocols. Joyce has built a vibrant community of thousands of accredited investors that together source, diligence, and invest as a collective. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:12 What is your background? 6:07 What's it like being a female founder in crypto? 10:35 What is a venture DAO and how do they work? 12...
Mar 29, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In this episode, I sit down with Balder Bomans, CIO of Maven 11 Capital based out of Amsterdam. Balder and Maven 11 have built a best-in-class venture firm on the back of their deep technical research, a commitment to community development, and active portfolio company support. Let's get into it. Timestamps 1:52 What brings you to San Francisco? 2:30 What is your background? 5:01 How are European crypto funds and companies dealing with the unbanking? 8:05 How did Maven 11 develop its presence in...
Mar 22, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this episode, Ben sits down with Jeff Dorman, Co-Founder of Arca and CIO of the firm's Digital Assets Fund. Jeff has two decades of portfolio management and trading experience, and now as CIO at Arca manages all aspects of portfolio sizing, trading, and risk management. Let's get into it. Timestamps 1:59 What is your background? 5:12 How important is understanding the technical underpinnings of blockchain when investing? 8:04 How have you ported over your traditional finance training to digit...
Mar 15, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this episode, Ben sits down with Kelvin Koh, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Spartan Group. Kelvin was previously a partner at Goldman Sachs and CIO of Indus Capital before launching Spartan out of Hong Kong. Spartan has a liquid hedge fund, a DeFi VC fund, a metaverse and gaming VC fund, as well as a prestigious advisory arm that has been involved in several large transactions within the industry. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:09 What is your background? 6:08 What was the response f...
Mar 08, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In this episode, Ben sits down with Jake Brukhman , Founder and CEO of CoinFund . Jake was one of the first to build a crypto investment firm and has since scaled CoinFund into a pioneering, institutional-grade asset manager with a liquid token hedge fund and multiple venture funds. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:14 What is your background? 4:11 What is your process for identifying emerging trends? 8:04 What was the insight to invest in crypto vs. found a tech start-up? 11:06 What did the first...
Mar 01, 2023•52 min•Ep. 9
In this episode, Ben sits down with Mahesh Ramakrishnan, Co-Founder of Escape Velocity 3 or EV3. EV3 is an early-stage venture fund investing in decentralized physical infrastructure networks and digital commodity networks. If you want to learn about the future of the telecom industry then this episode is for you. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:26 What is your background? 5:21 What gave you the confidence to strike out on your own? 8:04 What drew you to crypto incentive networks? 10:36 What mad...
Feb 22, 2023•59 min•Ep. 8
In this episode, I sit down with Richard Galvin, Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Asset Capital Management (DACM) based out of Australia. DACM is an award-winning long-only crypto hedge fund with a phenomenal track record and an institutional approach to digital assets. In today's show we discuss Richard's banking experience during the internet boom, DACM's on-chain participation, protocols vs. apps, and the future of Solana and Cosmos. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:15 What is the crypto scene li...
Feb 15, 2023•49 min
In this episode, I sit down with Hal Press, Founder, and CEO of North Rock Digital. North Rock is a fundamental, thesis-driven, long/short crypto hedge fund. We discuss Hal's assessment of blockchain technology from a first principles perspective and the mindset he uses to manage his hedge fund and trade his portfolio. Timestamps 2:20 How do you maintain self discipline and composure in these volatile crypto markets? 6:55 What does the planning process look like as you consider trade set-ups? 10...
Feb 08, 2023•54 min
In today’s episode, crypto veteran Dan Elitzer joins the show. Dan is the co-founder of Nascent, a team of builders backing early-stage founders that are creating products and primitives for an open financial world. We talk about Dan’s experiences as President of the MIT Bitcoin club and his work at Circle and IDEO before starting Nascent. We discuss Dan's perspectives on tokens, DeFi 3.0, project alpha and much more. We hope you enjoy the show! Timestamps 2:41 What is your background? 9:04 How ...
Feb 01, 2023•52 min
In this episode of Scenius Studio, host, Ben Jacobs, sits down with Peter Marshall, founder and CEO of Walden Bridge Capital. Walden Bridge is a research driven crypto hedge fund with an impressive track record dating back to 2017. Peter shares the challenges he faced while operating a crypto hedge fund before foundational asset management services were widely available for digital assets and how these experiences shaped his navigation of the crypto markets today. Peter also details his firm's r...
Jan 25, 2023•47 min
In the third episode of Scenius Studio, host, Ben Jacobs, sits down with Steve McKeon of Collab+Currency, an early-stage, crypto-focused venture fund investing into leading projects building the next generation of culture and consumer technology. Steve and the Collab+Currency team have been early to DAOs, NFTs, digital fashion, and several other emerging trends. In this comprehensive conversation, Steve shines a light on his crypto journey and the breadcrumbs of innovation and experimentation th...
Jan 18, 2023•50 min
In our second episode, Ben sits down with Cosmo Jiang ( Twitter & LinkedIn ), Founder and General Partner of Nova River . Nova River is a web3 crypto investment fund that conducts deep research and takes a fundamental, long-term thesis-driven approach to underwriting investment opportunities with the goal of compounding capital on a multi-year time horizon. In this show we discuss: - Cosmo’s path to founding Nova River - The application of traditional investing frameworks in crypto - Differe...
Jan 11, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In the inaugural episode of Scenius Studio, I am joined by NiMA and Anthony Avedissian of Seed Club Ventures. In this conversation, we discuss the novel structure of Seed Club Ventures as well as the Venture DAO's investment focus at the intersection of Community and Web3. We dive into some early indicators of investment success and why they believe the Seed Club Ventures model is optimally suited for investing in web3. I hope you enjoy this episode with NiMA and Anthony of Seed Club Ventures! T...
Jan 04, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 1
