Financial literacy and Web3 investing for teens: the TryStack.io story :: with Will Rush

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Will Rush (https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-rush/) and I discuss his new startup, Stack (https://www.trystack.io/). Stack is all about promoting financial literacy and practical Web3/Crypto knowledge for investors under 18 years old. We talk about Stack’s five-point strategy of encouraging teens to consider long-term holding, diversification, periodic saving, engagement, and continual learning about the areas they are investing in. We also talk about NFTs, fixed-income products in DeFi, and general advice for teens looking for side hustles and entrepreneurial success.

Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-91 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. 

You can watch this episode via video here.

2:09 - Intro/background for Will and his journey thus far

4:34 - What’s the origin story for Stack?

6:09 - What is Stack?

10:38 - The five approaches: (1) Long term holding, (2) diversification, (3) periodic saving, (4) engagement, and (5) learning

11:14 - For the quizzes / engagement, how is Stack approaching this? What is the revenue model for Stack?

12:15 - Foundations from various networks/L1s have money to invest into (or grant money to) companies like Stack. Also, the importance of basic financial literacy.

14:20 - Importance of the product to be non-cost-prohibitive. For the price of a cup of coffee per month this service can be used.

15:08 - Pulling in content from Web3 and other places. 20% about financial basics and 80% about Web3/Crypto.

16:07 - What does engagement UX look like on Stack?

18:22 - Are NFTs part of this?

19:33 - How are users receiving rewards on Stack?

20:40 - By playing video games (many types), kids are learning a ton of applicable life skills. Blowback against NFTs from the gaming community. (more commentary about NFTs)

22:26 - Forward-thinking NFT groups. How Stack can think about NFTs moving forward. Yuga labs commentary.

24:00 - Long-term/periodic savings. Fractional node providers for the upcoming Beacon chain. Staking as a fixed-income product. Liquidity pools. Superfluid staking.

27:42 - Importance of learning about the top 20 chains. Rollups/sidechains. Potential for a panel discussion on this w/ Stack.

28:52 - Diversification. Limited number of coins to start on Stack, but this will grow.

30:21 - Different types of coins. Will stablecoins be on there?

30:59 - Long-term holding on the Stack platform

31:50 - Overall value proposition of Stack. What does Stack mean about “side hustle”?

33:41 - What is it about Web3 that is so compelling to Will?

35:31 - Audience as entrepreneurs, often younger / on Reddit, etc…. Final words for entrepreneurs. Importance of being a great listener and having the courage/resilience to get past the hard times.

38:51 - Go to trystack.io and get on the waiting list. App comes out in April. iOS is the start. 90% of the Stack audience has an iPhone.

39:45 - Thoughts/reflections as a parent of teens.

40:22 - Ambassador program that Stack is going to provide…helping teens get experience to be able to get their first internship. https://www.trystack.io/ambassadors