How Helius raised $22M to build the best developer tools on Solana

In this episode of the Token Warrant, host Regan Bozman is joined by Mert, co-founder of Helius, and Breck, partner at Haun Ventures. The trio dives into the ever-changing crypto landscape with a spotlight on Helius’ contributions to the Solana ecosystem. Mert shares his transition from engineering at Coinbase to founding Helius, shedding light on the complexities of building developer tools tailored for Solana ecosystem. The conversation spans fundraising strategies, market trends, and the critical role of enhancing the developer experience. Together, Breck and Mert underscore the importance of practical solutions and fostering strong relationships with developers to fuel innovation and growth in the Solana community.

01:00 Breck introduces Haun Ventures and shares his journey into space starting with cross border payments on Stellar to Coinbase

04:30 Flash summary of Mert's background in Math/Physics to Blackberry and getting into Solana while at Coinbase.

10:30 Helius gets started with a human readable API for Solana to solve data challenges on chain before adding RPCs.

14:00 The Helius fundraising journey is catapulted by a Tweet - from Seed to Series B led by Haun.

23:00 Breck's cold outreach to Mert, developing the relationship and solving Solana's congestion problems.

31:00 Breck explains the idea of bottoms-up networks that begin with developers.

36:00 Staying convicted in Solana after FTX and trusting instinct around the solvable engineering challenges.

41:00 Backwards building from real use cases.

46:00 Solana defensibility starting with asset issuance and the flywheel of requirements and Helius supports that broader developer experience.

Links:
https://www.helius.dev/
https://www.haun.co/

Twitter Links
https://x.com/brxckinridge
https://x.com/0xMert_

Token Warrant
https://x.com/tokenwarrant
https://x.com/MikeZajko
https://x.com/reganbozman
https://www.lattice.fund/

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