1460
Alana Levin
@alanadlevin #1460
Investing @variant, writing at https://backoftheenvelope.substack.com/
6419 Follower 212 Following
Rules of thumb when hiring for early stage co's
Employees 1-10 should be sourced from founder's network (or from external devs experimenting with the product!)
Employees 10-30 will likely be attracted by the mission / vision
After that, probably becomes about traction and pmf
Employees 1-10 should be sourced from founder's network (or from external devs experimenting with the product!)
Employees 10-30 will likely be attracted by the mission / vision
After that, probably becomes about traction and pmf
SAVE THE DATE
On April 8th, we're co-hosting a Protocol Security Day alongside our friends at Blockaid, Spearbit, and Anchorage
It'll cover best practices for security hygiene across the stack
Chain and protocol builders, register here: https://lu.ma/3bhzeh3i
On April 8th, we're co-hosting a Protocol Security Day alongside our friends at Blockaid, Spearbit, and Anchorage
It'll cover best practices for security hygiene across the stack
Chain and protocol builders, register here: https://lu.ma/3bhzeh3i
If @fredwilson.eth still blogged daily, I bet we would have gotten an essay on the Ghibli phenomenon today
1/ Gold visas: a new market catalyst for financing undiscovered talent
A major difference between today vs the 2021 market is the amount of leverage
Last cycle, there were far more lending desks - which supercharged higher highs, but also created bigger crashes
Many wound down following Luna / FTX. That side of the industry hasn't really rebuilt
Last cycle, there were far more lending desks - which supercharged higher highs, but also created bigger crashes
Many wound down following Luna / FTX. That side of the industry hasn't really rebuilt
One of the signs of a builder bull market is new category creation and enablement
We're seeing that across the board today
- DAOs 2.0
- Attention marketplaces
- Frames / mini apps
- Tokenization of the AI supply chain (compute, model contributions, data)
What else?
We're seeing that across the board today
- DAOs 2.0
- Attention marketplaces
- Frames / mini apps
- Tokenization of the AI supply chain (compute, model contributions, data)
What else?
I was 1 km away from today's mystery location 📍. Can you beat me?
Can't believe Navarro lost that round
Games seem like a massively undertapped source for training data
MMORPGs in particular
Ability to learn how crowds behave in various simulations (pandemics, resource shortages, etc) seems immensely valuable for LLMs focused on improving public-policy decision making
MMORPGs in particular
Ability to learn how crowds behave in various simulations (pandemics, resource shortages, etc) seems immensely valuable for LLMs focused on improving public-policy decision making
Kraken acquisition of NinjaTrader today reinforces that the logical end state is for every exchange to offer every type of asset
Many ways to get there
- Equity platforms offer crypto (eg Robinhood)
- Crypto exchanges expand into add'l assets
- Tokenize everything
Many ways to get there
- Equity platforms offer crypto (eg Robinhood)
- Crypto exchanges expand into add'l assets
- Tokenize everything
Feature gripe: Warpcast keeps adding new pinned frames for me. I’ll unpin them and then the app re-pins
Really, really annoying
Really, really annoying
Increase economic freedom
Build internet capital markets
Turn users into owners
Make money move better
All good slogans, good goals if you ask me
Build internet capital markets
Turn users into owners
Make money move better
All good slogans, good goals if you ask me
Farcade games have really leveled up in the past week
Cool to see the impact the Studio product is having already
Cool to see the impact the Studio product is having already
Really impressed with the caliber of events at ETH Denver this year
Feels like we're at a very weird point in the "crypto feels contrarian" to "crypto is popular again" spectrum
In 2010, there were just 14 unicorns
In 2020, there were over 600
Today, there are nearly 1500 (and approx 50 decacorns)
Individual investors are increasingly getting shut out of the opportunity to invest early in their favorite products. Onchain capital markets help fix this
In 2020, there were over 600
Today, there are nearly 1500 (and approx 50 decacorns)
Individual investors are increasingly getting shut out of the opportunity to invest early in their favorite products. Onchain capital markets help fix this
What happened in the 1980s?
New Essay: What's Happening at Reddit?
https://www.backoftheenvelope.xyz/p/whats-happening-at-reddit
https://www.backoftheenvelope.xyz/p/whats-happening-at-reddit
META 5x'ed its net income over the past two years
Insanely impressive for any company, but especially one at that scale
Insanely impressive for any company, but especially one at that scale
If you believe LLMs are eating the world, the logical conclusion should be to publish more online
One of the most direct ways to ensure your voice / opinions get (at least a little) incorporated in the models
It's all training data
One of the most direct ways to ensure your voice / opinions get (at least a little) incorporated in the models
It's all training data
Three categories seem to be dominating crypto VC mindshare / dealflow right now
1. crypto x AI
2. financialized social
3. stablecoins
1. crypto x AI
2. financialized social
3. stablecoins
New piece reflecting on the state of crypto, covering H2 2024
There were three major inflection points:
1. The new administration + new Congress
2. Truth Terminal tweeting about GOAT
3. The Hyperliquid airdrop
More on why they matter here: https://www.backoftheenvelope.xyz/p/reflections-on-the-state-of-crypto-165
There were three major inflection points:
1. The new administration + new Congress
2. Truth Terminal tweeting about GOAT
3. The Hyperliquid airdrop
More on why they matter here: https://www.backoftheenvelope.xyz/p/reflections-on-the-state-of-crypto-165
