Joel Monegro, co-founder of Placeholder, joins us to discuss Solana's compounding advantage. Joel is a crypto OG, a prolific writer (wrote The Fat Protocol Thesis in 2016) and co-founded Placeholder with Chris Burniske. In this episode, we cover Joel's Solana thesis, upcoming infrastructure consolidation, app-specific L2 use cases, Joel's updated thoughts on The Fat Protocol Thesis, finding your investment edge and more!

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Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in London this March! DAS is the #1 institutional conference in crypto, hosted by Blockworks. Use the link below to learn more, and use LIGHTSPEED20 to get 20% off your ticket! Sign up now because the price goes up every month. See you there!

Learn more + get your ticket here: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london/home

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Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction

(01:20) Ethereum vs Solana: Two Design Approaches

(09:45) Solana Pre and Post FTX

(15:30) A Consolidation of Infrastructure

(23:24) DAS London Plug

(24:33) The Fat Protocol Thesis

(39:01) Investment Philosophies & Application-Specific L2s

(45:07) Joel’s Path to Venture Capital

(53:24) How to Improve Your Writing

(59:57) Finding Your Investment Edge

(01:04:42) Rapid Fire

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Resources

Placeholder

https://www.placeholder.vc/

Ethereum and Solana by Joel

https://www.placeholder.vc/blog/2023/10/10/ethereum-and-solana

The Fat Protocol Thesis by Joel

https://www.usv.com/writing/2016/08/fat-protocols/

Joel's Website

https://monegro.org/work/2018/2/1/fat-protocols

Carlota Perez

https://www.amazon.com/Technological-Revolutions-Financial-Capital-Dynamics/dp/1843763311

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Disclaimers:

Lightspeed was kickstarted by a grant from the Solana Foundation.

Nothing said on Lightspeed is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mert, Garrett and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.