![[E2] 25-Year-Old Entrepreneur Builds $2.25B Layer 1 Blockchain in Just Two Years](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/1f/2e/26/1f2e26da-044f-e04f-860d-7167e0662be2/mza_12855686349974997894.jpg/250x250bb.jpg)
Episodes
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Mo Shaikhs is the co-founder and CEO of Aptos. He is also an entrepreneur and investor with extensive experience in private equity and venture capital, focusing on blockchain, finance, and infrastructure. Previously, he served as the Head of Strategy at ConsenSys, co-founded a company called Meridio, and worked in strategic partnerships at Meta. Now, he is the co-founder and CEO of Aptos.In this conversation, Mo shares his journey as a founder, Aptos's direction, and his meeting with Baek Kim from HASHED, as they explore how to move forward in the blockchain market.Timestamps
00:00 Highlight01:21 Introduction01:47 Baek’s Crypto Journey03:11 Baek and Mo’s Meeting05:23 Mo’s Story Growing Up as a First Generation Immigrant06:20 Mo’s Entry to Traditional Finance09:22 How Blockchain Can Fix Financial Problems10:55 Entrepreneurship of Meridio12:58 Aptos’ APT Approach17:37 Mo’s Facebook Journey19:36 The Birth of Aptos22:30 What Aptos is Focusing Right Now27:47 Visions that Aptos has in Korea29:08 Jessie’s Aptos Hackathon Experience33:15 Opportunities and Collaborations in Korean Enterprises35:29 Expansion in Korean Teams36:21 Green Flags in Finding Builders40:32 What Aptos Provides to Builders52:02 Expanding MoveVM Chains58:29 The Aptos Black Card1:00:38 What Korea Means to Mo1:03:22 Mo’s Daughter at KBW1:04:34 OutroSpecial GuestBaek: @baekkyoumkim
Co-HostsBrian: @brianjhhongJessie: @0xJESSIE_JW: @pillarbear_
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In April 2022, Luca Netz acquired Pudgy Penguins, a collection of 8,888 Ethereum-based NFTs, for 750 ETH—approximately $2.5 million at the time. Fast forward 30 months, and Pudgy Penguins has transformed into one of the most recognizable mascots in the crypto space.
Now, Igloo, the parent company of Pudgy Penguins, has acquired Frame and is building Abstract—”the blockchain leading the next generation of consumer crypto.”
Today, we explore Luca’s journey in transforming Pudgy Penguins into a global IP and crypto mascot, the rationale behind the Frame acquisition, and how Abstract aims to become the leading blockchain for consumer crypto.
Timestamps
00:00 Highlights
02:14 Introduction
03:01 The Acquisition of Pudgy Penguins
05:05 Luca’s Background and Experience
06:59 Was Pudgy Penguins' Success Just Luck?
09:02 Marketing Strategy Behind Pudgy Penguins
12:13 Breaking into Walmart and Target
14:36 Selling 1.5 Million Toys
17:06 Pudgy Toys as Trojan Horses
22:10 Biggest Risks Facing Pudgy Penguins
28:24 The Acquisition of Frame
33:41 Consumer Chains vs. General-Purpose Blockchains
38:14 Seamless 0-to-1 Consumer Journey and Onboarding
38:55 Network Effects and the Moat of a Consumer Chain
41:01 User Types and Experience on Abstract
44:17 Builders Seeking Product-Market Fit (PMF)
45:28 Abstract's Target Users
46:16 From Discretionary to Necessary Spending
48:23 Why Previous Consumer Applications Have Fallen Short
52:38 User Acquisition Strategy
1:00:45 Why Blockchain is Essential
1:04:13 Timeline for Adoption
1:10:24 Abstract’s Vision for the Next 10-15 Years
1:11:18 Outro
Co-Hosts
Brian: @brianjhhong
Jessie: @0xJESSIE_
JW: @pillarbear_
Links
Twitter: https://x.com/PFPpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pfppod
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Missing episodes?
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Zon Mangalji began his journey in the Cosmos ecosystem as a smart contract development intern at Terra. While working on a new protocol on top of Luna after leaving Terra, he successfully completed a funding round. However, soon after, Terra collapsed.
A few months later, after returning the raised funds to the VCs, Zon and Stan co-founded Initia, a new Layer 1 blockchain.
Initia aims to address key challenges in blockchain, particularly with interoperability. The project seeks to streamline the process of building app-chains, improve interactions between chains, and create aligned incentives for both developers and users.
Today, we explore Zon’s path from his time at Terra to the founding of Initia, including Initia’s vision, its incentive model, and his perspective on the future of the crypto industry.
Timestamps
00:00 Highlights
01:46 Introduction
04:06 Issues with Interoperability
05:16 The Biggest Challenge in the Cosmos Ecosystem
06:24 How Initia is Enhancing the Protocol
07:45 Overview of Initia’s VIP Program
09:48 How Initia Stands Out in User Retention
12:01 Zon’s Favorite Apps
14:22 Sectors Initia is Focusing On
16:27 Current Interactions Between Layer 2s (L2s)
18:14 Initia’s Value Proposition as a Layer 1 (L1)
29:02 Why Choose Layer 1?
30:19 Is Initia the “Apple” of Blockchain?
33:38 How Initia Empowers Developers to Create Advanced Apps
37:40 What Sets the Developer Experience on Initia Apart?
40:04 Zon’s Journey to Becoming a Developer at Terra
42:34 Co-Founding Initia with Stan
46:32 Zon’s Transition from Smart Contract Developer to CBDSM
47:45 Can Initia Replicate Terra Luna’s Success?
48:46 Zon’s Thoughts on the Next Crypto Cycle
52:39 The Vision for Initia
54:55 Initia’s Community
58:32 In-House Design Team at Initia
1:00:00 Why We Need a Separate Wallet
1:04:35 How to Hire the Right Talent
01:09:40 Jessie’s Elevator Pitch
Co-Hosts
Brian: @brianjhhong
Jessie: @0xJESSIE_
JW: @pillarbear_
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EjrWcgasA3AQlYkXFFSV8?si=dd4132dcc2ee436f
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/profile-pictures/id1762620325
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pfppod
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ICeZS4bNOphbfDKuTzygy?si=c9c1815d0b5b423e
Youtube: https://youtu.be/5Nt9SV5dqyA
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Before fully transitioning into the world of crypto, Sam began his journey as a medical student. In 2017, he co-founded Journal du Coin, which has since become the leading source of French-language news on crypto. Following this success, Sam went on to co-found Node Guardians, now the largest gamified learning platform for smart contract developers.
In this episode, we explore Sam's evolution from co-founding Journal du Coin to launching Node Guardians, his foray into the crypto space and angel investing, the current landscape of the cryptocurrency market, and the critical importance of maintaining a balanced life while working in the fast-paced crypto industry.
Timestamps
00:06 Introduction to Sam from Node Guardians
00:48 Sam’s journey to South Korea
03:57 How Node Guardians aligns with the local culture
06:45 Sam's Journey into the crypto
11:52 Building a crypto media platform in 2017
16:18 The importance of networking and relationships
21:01 Criteria in angel investment
25:41 Lack of demand in crypto
30:54 The dark and bright sides of crypto
33:53 Transitioning from medical student to crypto entrepreneur
35:58 The importance of maintaining balance in life
39:14 The vulnerability of people in crypto
41:52 Expectations for verifiable computing and ZK
43:50 Potential applications of blockchain
45:05 Predictions on the consolidation of DeFi
47:40 Current state of the crypto market
49:52 Preferences for credible systems and L2s
51:00 Node Guardians’ user-focused approach
53:14 Next milestones
56:40 Closing thoughts
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Before fully transitioning into the crypto space, Jason Zhao was the youngest Product Manager at Google DeepMind. Now, at 25 years old, he is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Story Protocol, which recently secured $80M in a Series B funding round led by a16z.
Addressing the issue of AI utilizing data without consent and benefiting from it without sharing rewards with original creators, Story is transforming intellectual property into IP Legos—modular and programmable assets that can be licensed, managed, and monetized via blockchain.
Today, we delve into Jason’s journey as the youngest PM at Google Deepmind, his venture into crypto, solving real-world problems through Layer 1 blockchain, the challenges of IP enforcement and protection, his biggest challenge as an entrepreneur, and his ultimate goals.
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Timestamps
00:00 Teaser
00:48 Intro
01:04 What is Story?
02:36 How Jason first started Story
02:49 Jason's work as the youngest PM at Google DeepMind
03:20 Recognizing the problem created by AI that blockchain could solve
04:56 How Jason met SY
05:23 How Jason got into crypto
06:15 Libertarianism, socialism, and capitalism of blockchain
07:24 Studying CS and philosophy as an undergrad
09:01 Favorite school of thought
11:46 Representing a company through socials
13:10 Real-world problems that Story is solving
17:35 Who are the power-users of Story
17:44 Story's ecosystem partners from both Web2 and Web3
18:43 Why open source AI is much more important than closed source AI
21:34 Explain Story like I'm five
23:36 How Story wants to become an app store
25:54 What is remixing on Story?
28:08 Addressing potential challenges of IP enforcement
29:40 Multiple layers of IP protection
31:42 Strategy to onboard as much IP as possible
33:46: Why Jason is in Korea
34:25 Why Korea is an important market for Story
36:48 Story's envisioned community
37:58 Tech stack of Story
39:40 Why Layer 1
43:32 Investors' and advisors' reaction when Story transitioned to Layer 1
44:26 Story as a data availability layer or a settlement layer
45:45 Not being an object of an algorithm but a controller and a subject
50:24 Constitution and spontaneous order of a blockchain
53:05 Dispute mechanism and principles of Story
56:53 End goal of Jason
1:00:53 Satisfaction is deeper than hedonistic pleasure
1:03:09 Biggest challenge
01:06:00 Closing Thoughts
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[FOLLOW JASON & STORY👇]
• Twitter(X): https://x.com/jasonjzhao
• Twitter(X): https://x.com/StoryProtocol
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• Twitter(X): https://twitter.com/PFPpod
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[FOLLOW CO-HOSTS👇]
• Brian: https://x.com/brianjhhong
• Jessie: https://x.com/0xJESSIE_
• JW: https://x.com/pillarbear_
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[DISCLAIMER]
The information provided herein is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. The content of this video reflects the opinions of the speakers, who are not licensed financial advisors or registered investment advisors. Trading cryptocurrencies carries a significant risk of loss, and the speakers make no guarantees regarding any specific outcomes.
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A few years ago, Taek, the CTO of ZeroDev, was expelled from Seoul National University (SNU), often referred to as the Harvard of South Korea. After his expulsion, Taek has since emerged as a top performer at Code4rena, a security researcher at Spearbit, and the CTO of ZeroDev.
Today, we explore Taek’s journey in crypto, the story behind his expulsion from SNU, strategies for generating recurring revenue, the biggest challenges and lessons learned as a CTO of a crypto startup, his advice for security researchers, and his insights on the landscape and interoperability of account abstraction.
[TIMESTAMPES]
0:00 Introduction
0:40 Overview of Zerodev
1:09 Starting in Crypto
2:52 Engineer's Dilemma
4:25 Working as a Security Researcher
6:56 Expelled from Seoul National University
10:34 Joining Zerodev as CTO
16:08 Why Zerodev?
17:29 Account Abstraction & Zerodev's Role
20:50 Interoperability of Account Abstraction
24:33 UX of Account Abstraction
28:36 Getting Married
32:12 Lessons from Being Expelled
32:42 Recurring Income from Code4rena
33:35 Freelancer vs. CTO
35:40 Challenges in a B2B Crypto Startup
38:27 Taek's Mission
39:05 Defining Crypto OGs
39:40 Embedded Accounts
40:56 Predicting the Future of Account Abstraction
42:26 Coinbase’s Strategy
44:32 Major Players in Account Abstraction
45:05 Next Steps
46:08 Motivation
48:47 Advice for Junior Security Researchers
50:18 Closing Thoughts
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[FOLLOW TAEK & ZERODEV👇]
• Taek: https://x.com/leekt216
• ZeroDev: https://x.com/zerodev_app
[FOLLOW PFP PODCAST👇]
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pfppod
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PFPpod
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EjrWcgasA3AQlYkXFFSV8?si=dd4132dcc2ee436f
• Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/profile-pictures/id1762620325
[FOLLOW CO-HOSTS👇]
• Brian: https://x.com/brianjhhong
• Jessie: https://x.com/0xJESSIE_
• JW: https://x.com/pillarbear_
__________________________________
[DISCLAIMER]
The information provided herein is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. The content of this video reflects the opinions of the speakers, who are not licensed financial advisors or registered investment advisors. Trading cryptocurrencies carries a significant risk of loss, and the speakers make no guarantees regarding any specific outcomes.
![[E6: Aptos] Revolutionizing Global Monetary System](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/1f/2e/26/1f2e26da-044f-e04f-860d-7167e0662be2/mza_12855686349974997894.jpg/80x80bb.jpg)