In this episode, we chat with Cem Ozer, founder of Sovereign Labs. We begin with Cem’s personal journey in crypto, and how this experience led him to build Sovereign Labs. We then discuss how developers evaluate the many permutations of rollups and blockchain frameworks available today, and where Sovereign Labs fits into this landscape. We dive int…

In this episode, we chat with Jacob Arluck, head of strategy at Celestia Labs, and Andrew Huang, founder of Conduit. We cover a number of topics in the modular blockchain space, starting with the impact of DA solutions on the rollup landscape and the budding partnership between Conduit and Celestia, the leading RaaS and DA solutions in the market r…

In this episode, we chat with Emily and Alvin Hsia, co-founders of Shadow. We begin with their journey working on DeFi, MEV, an early idea to unify on-chain data, and their journey to building Shadow. They walk us through the challenges with events, their solution for developers, users, and data consumers, and other details on the product such as p…

In this episode, we chat with Ido Ben-Natan and Raz Niv, co-founders of Blockaid, a crypto security firm. They share their journey from the Israeli Defence Force cybersecurity unit to launching Blockaid, discussing their product and the importance of protecting web3 customers. Later, we dig into Blockaid's approach to a stealth launch, fostering a …

In this episode, we chat with Michael Shaulov, co-founder of Fireblocks. Michael revisits with us the early days of building Fireblocks and finding product market fit by solving customer pain points. We chat through both strategic and tactical approaches to building a B2B product in crypto, exploring lessons learned on early customer relationships …

In this episode, we chat with Henri Stern, the co-founder and CEO of Privy. We begin with Henri’s personal journey in Crypto, how it led him to build Privy, and how his vision for Privy has changed over time. We then get into Privy’s product mindset, how the primitives it enables benefit both users and developers, and where the product goes from he…

We kick off the podcast discussing Jessica’s trip to Bali. We move on to discuss Will and Jada. Why Rodney is looking forward to reading Jada’s book.[11:26] We move to discuss the war in the Middle East.[23:00] We talk a little NBA.[31:45] We talk about Usher hosting the Super Bowl halftime show.[37:45] What we are listening to? Why Rodney hates Dr…

In this episode, we chat with Neel Somani, the founder of Eclipse. We begin with an overview of Neel's personal journey in Crypto, from exploring Cosmos and appchains, to thinking about Rollups-as-a-service, to now building an L2. We then dig into Neel's dream customer, Eclipse's go-to-market strategy, and how they are building a differentiated eco…

We kick off the podcast talking about the start of the school year. We move on to discuss the UAW strike.[3:05] We turn our attention to Mel Tucker at MSU.[11:15] Week one of the NFL season.[21:00] New music NaS and Diddy.[27:00] Our favorite NaS songs.[37:00]저자 Rodney Fresh & Jessica Gates

In this episode, we chat with Yi Sun, founder of Axiom. We begin with an overview of what Axiom does and the core problems it's solving for Ethereum applications. Then, we dig into Axiom's go-to-market strategy, some of the use cases they're supporting, and some of the capabilities they're building for in the future. We also explore the broader zer…

We kick off the podcast discussing Donald Trump will he go to jail? Who should be the republican candidate?[4:00] We talk a little reality TV.[10:35] We move on to talk about YE.[19:00] We move on to discuss 50 years of Hip Hop.[22:30] What are our favorites moments fromthe summer.[27:00] We talk Steve Harvey.[35:30] New look “First Take”.[37:45]…

Where did the summer go? Rodney discusses his birthday and his son’s birthday. How does it feels to get older?[9:40] We turn our attention to if politicians should have term limits?[12:00] Why we are not looking forward to the 2024 election.[16:00] We transition to sports; we talk NFL and NBA Summer League.[24:00] We talk a little WNBA.[29:00] We t…

In this episode, we chat with Andrew Huang, founder of Conduit and Brandon Curtis, a long-time infrastructure builder and investor. We begin with a brief overview of Andrew’s background and what led him to build a Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) business. We then speak to the value proposition of RaaS businesses, compare them to previous iterations of b…

In this episode, we chat with Scott Sunarto, the founder of Argus Labs and former co-creator of Dark Forest. We begin with an overview of the current landscape of Crypto Gaming and the crypto gaming primitives Scott is excited about. We also talk about what most crypto gaming investors are getting wrong and the narratives within crypto gaming he di…

We recap Jessica’s visit to New York, and she got to meet her boo Anderson .Paak We discuss the impact of all of the SCOUS rulings.[8:35] Why climate change is important issue for both of us.[21:00] We move on to the CP3 trade and all the NBA movement.[26:10] ESPN layoffs and why we both will miss Jalen Rose.[32:28] Are the Las Vegas the best start…

In this episode, we chat with Aidan Salzmann and Vishal Talasani, the co-founders of Stride, the leading liquid staking protocol in Cosmos. Our conversation is a deep dive into Stride's long-term strategy, their execution-focused culture, and the lessons from building appchains. We also explore why Aidan and Vishal chose to build in Cosmos, lessons…

We are back with season three. We have a new studio home in the Imani Immersive Gallery in Ferndale. We talk about Janet Jackson and Ludacris.[5:15] We talk summer travel.[9:00] We talk Donald Trump will he acutally go to jail?[15:55] We move on to Hill Harper running for U.S. Senate.[23:40] We talk Chris Paul and what’s next.[26:30] Rodney talks h…

In this episode, we chat with Rune Christensen, the founder of MakerDAO. We dive into his ambitious Endgame plan, the long-term roadmap for MakerDAO, and the motivation behind these decisions. In particular, we talk about his new stablecoin and governance token, new subDAOs, and his role spearheading these initiatives. This episode offers clarity f…

In this episode, we chat with Diogo Monica and Nathan McCauley, the co-founders of Anchorage Digital. We discuss numerous topics, starting with their unique partnership and what they learned from working together at Square and Docker. We then dive into the founding story behind Anchorage Digital, the story of the initial seed round, and scaling the…

In this episodes, we chat with Christopher Goes, the co-founder of Anoma and Namada. Christopher has a wealth of knowledge about privacy in crypto, and has previously contributed to the Zcash and Cosmos ecosystems. We discuss the different "eras" of privacy dating back to 2017, and how Anoma and Namada builds upon the existing state of privacy rese…

In this episode, Larry and I chat with Matteo Leibowitz, Ventures Lead and former Strategy Lead at Uniswap. We discuss Matteo's research into DeFi at The Block, and how that led to his move to Uniswap to 2020. We also dive into what the day-to-day of a Strategy Lead at a major DeFi protocol looks like, and how Uniswap developed a dominant market po…

In this episode, we chat about the MEV landscape in Osmosis with Dev Ohja, founder of Osmosis, and Barry Plunkett, founder of Skip. Osmosis has had a very unique, first-principles approach to dealing with MEV, attempting to mitigate "bad" forms while allowing the protocol to internalize" good" forms. We discuss how MEV has been an important theme f…

In this episode, we chat with Lakshman Sankar, contributor to Personae Labs, an R&D lab focused on applying zero-knowledge technology to advance digital identity. Lakshman has been a long-time Crypto researcher, and was previously at the Ethereum Foundation. In this episode, we chat about Personae's new private voting tool - HeyAnoun, and the first…

In this episode, we chat with Travis Scher, founder of North Island Ventures. Travis has been investing in crypto startups since 2015, and has a wealth of experience across many market cycles. We go into detail about what Travis looks for when evaluating early stage startups, his experience at Digital Currency Group, and the importance of ethics/in…

We are back for 2023. We kick off the podcast looking back on our Christmas and New Year celebrations. Next we talk about the disfunction in the GOP and the Speaker of House vote. [6:30] We move on to Damar Hamlin.[14:00] Should Skip Bayless be fire?[17:30] We quickly disccuss Michigan vs. TCU. [39:00] We turn our attention to the NBA.[44:00] We en…

In this episode, we chat with Stani Kulechov, the founder of Aave. We cover the history of Aave, from the transition of ETHLend to Aave, to its current positioning as the leading lending project in DeFi. Aave has had a unique journey, and this episode goes into the nitty-gritty details behind the scenes. We also cover Stani's thoughts on Aave Gover…

In this episode, we chat with Mike Ippolito and Jason Yanowitz, the founders of Blockworks. Since 2018, they've built Blockworks up into one of crypto's largest and most prominent media companies. We dive into the early history, various product lines today, and where they see Blockworks in the future. They also share valuable feedback on how crypto…

We kick the show off recappingThanksgiving. We talk about “BG” finally being free, and our thoughts. Is this a political win for Joe Biden?[11:00] Should people be upset at Deion Sanders for leaving Jackson State?[19:20] We talk Lebron’s take on Jerry Jones and the media.[37:00] We discuss what we have been listening to the past two weeks, and our …

In this episode, we chat with Sam Hart, longtime contributor to the Cosmos hub and author of the ATOM 2.0 whitepaper. We talk about the history of Cosmos and how its governance has evolved since inception. We also discus how protocol narratives evolve over time, and how Cosmos' story compares to that of Ethereum and Bitcoin. Lastly, we talk about t…

We start off talking the mid-term elections. We discuss who should be the democrats selection for 2024. Why the republicans should be backing DeSantis for 2024.[8:00] Why its a good time for Nancy Pelosi to step down. [20:30] We turn our attention to the NBA and college basketball. [32:00] We talk Kyrie. [39:45] We talk news music.[45:00]Why Rodney…

In this episode, we chat with Joe Lallouz, the head of Coinbase Cloud and founder of Bison Trails. We cover the history of Bison Trails from early inception to acquisition by Coinbase, as well as broader thoughts on the crypto infrastructure landscape. We also discuss the staking industry's evolution over time, and how Bison Trails' value propositi…

We give an update on what we have been up to. Rodney updates his Biden’s grade. [7:00] We talk Kanye West. [11:00] We talk NBA, how we are feeling about the start of the new season. [26:45] We talk about what we have been listening to. [36:00] Rodey discusses why he loves Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s new album. Relationship question, “Is it hard to date …

In this episode, we chat with Esteban Castaño, co-founder of TRM Labs. TRM is a crypto compliance company working with some of the leading exchanges and protocols in Crypto including FTX, Binance, Uniswap and more. We chat about TRM's early history, how they settled on building a B2B risk and compliance product, and tips for other B2B crypto founde…

We are back and excite for season 2. Rodney talks about getting Covid, and how it affected has family. We talk Ime Udoka and Nia Long. [12:25] We talk Draymond Green and what’s next for Golden State. [29:10] We talk Kanye and “White Lives Matter” 42:00 We end the podcast with what we are listening to. [51:00]…

In this episode, we chat with Hasu and Sam Kozin (Lido) about Lido governance and the LDO <> stETH Dual Governance proposal. Due to Lido's key role in Ethereum, a major goal is to make the protocol more resilient from both a technical and governance perspective. We go through some of these governance initiatives, and discuss the LDO + stETH dual go…

In this episode, we chat with Rune Christensen, the founder of MakerDAO. We cover the original history behind MakerDAO, Rune's transition out of MakerDAO and his year-long hiatus. We also go into why he felt compelled to return, and his new Endgame plan he hopes to implement for MakerDAO's long-term survival. This episode is a dense one, and goes d…

In this episode, we chat with Fredrik Haga, founder and CEO of Dune Analytics. We cover the complete history behind Dune, their community and brand-building strategy, and the journey to finding product-market fit. Other topics covered include the future of the crypto data and analytics market and Dune's long-term plan. Lastly, Fredrik shares pieces…

We start the podcast talking about the raid of Mar-a-Lago. We discuss if Trump will actually be charged. Our next topic we dicuss the impact of student loan debt and the looming decision from President Biden. [6:30] We turn to sports and the impact of the NBA giving all teams Election Day off. [20:30] Is Serena Williams the G.O.A.T.?[26:00] For our…

In this episode, we chat with Tarun Chitra, founder and CEO of Gauntlet. Tarun shares the inspiration behind starting Gauntlet, how it has evolved over time, and their future plans. He condenses his years of experience building products for DAOs into tangible lessons for new founders. We also cover the history behind Robert Ventures, the venture fu…

Rodney recaps his vacation to Columbus for his son’s birthday. We discuss the primary election this past Tuesday.[7:45] We debate the Brittney Griner Russian prison sentence.[19:50] Find out why we feel Deshaun Watson should be suspended longer. [28:00] How good is Beyoncé’s album?[38:05] Our relationship question for this episode is center around …

In this episode, we catch up with punk4156, Noun40, and Noun22 about all things Nouns. We go over why NounsDAO is a thriving DAO with a consistent stream of quality governance proposals. We also cover key Nouns Primitives, such as the daily continuous auction mechanism, Prop house, and derivative projects. We also cover what are some open challenge…

We start off the podcast discussing on whether former President Trump will be charged. We move on to discuss the Brittney Griner situation in Russia. [4:30] How is gas prices affecting our lives? [14:00] We discuss the state of the NBA and this crazy off season.[20:10] We briefly recap the ESPYs awards.[28:15] We discuss Joey Bada$$’ 2000 album.[33…

In this episode, we catch up with MonetSupply about MakerDAO. As one of the first DeFi protocols, MakerDAO is a great case study on progressive decentralization, the working group model, and DAO governance broadly. We cover Maker's core unit model, its focus on real world assets, Rune's recent return and proposal, Hasu's proposal, as well as recent…

The shows starts off with Rodney & Jesscia discussing the impact of the Supreme Court overturning Roe V Wade. They discuss the NBA finals and NBA free agency. [12:30] Talk Miles Bridges. [23:00] After that they turn to music, review Lupe’s new album, why Rodney feels like this is not Lupe’s Illmatic. They talk about what albums they liked instantly…

In this episode, we catch up with Hasu about the current challenges of DAO governance and how it can be improved. Hasu is a prolific researcher, and is active in many protocols including MakerDAO, Lido, and Flashbots. We conduct a bird's eye retrospective of DAO governance, and discuss his takeaways as a leading delegate and participant. Specific t…

In this episode, we chat with Trent Van Epps and Tim Beiko, long-time contributors to Ethereum. We chat about different ways of funding L1 development, Ethereum's strategy, and the Ethereum Foundation's past, present, and future role. We also talk extensively about their new initiative - the Protocol Guild, a new program to fund core development an…

In this episode, we chat with Evgeny Gaevoy, the co-founder and CEO of Wintermute. They're one of the largest market-makers in crypto, and are active across many different markets, chains, and products. Evgeny does not mince any words here, and we go into many topics including the origins of Wintermute, the current state of DeFi, and which protocol…

In this episode, we explore VectorDAO, a new group of artists, creators, and designers focused on the web3 ecosystem. VectorDAO consists of over 70+ contributors, and works for a variety of startups, protocols, and DAOs. This conversations features VectorDAO's creators, Jon Yan and Yitong Zhang, who have thought extensively about structuring this n…

On this episode Rodney & Jessica discuss a lot of the major events of the past few weeks. With the NBA finals starting Rodney’s explains why he likes both teams in the NBA finals. Rodney discusses watching The Mo’Nique and DL Hughley conflict live at the Fox. [6:50] Following Jessica and Rodney discuss what the Hell is happening in America with the…

In this episode, I chat with Stefan George, the Co-Founder and CTO of Gnosis, the quintessential DAO tool. We cover the history of Gnosis, from its inception as a prediction markets protocol to where it stands today. In particular, we discuss the Gnosis multi-sig product, which secures billions of dollar in assets and is considered as one of, if no…