Building At The Edges
The USV Thesis & Investing in Consumer Crypto with Nick Grossman
Jan 25, 2024
Jess chats with Nick Grossman, Partner at Union Square Ventures, exploring USV's investment theses. They discuss transformative pressures in significant markets like social networks, vertical networks, crypto, and climate. They highlight the importance of long-term commitment to ideas and people, the value of long-term partnerships in the crypto industry, and the benefits of earlier liquidity for the growth of protocols. They delve into the evolution of consumer crypto, building on existing infrastructure, and the emergence of two parallel tracks: crypto native and crypto enabled. They also explore the lack of discussion around AI, the significance of open networks, and the tension surrounding value capture in crypto protocols.
55:51
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Quick takeaways
- Union Square Ventures (USB) invests in large markets undergoing transformative pressures to identify opportunities at the peripheries where change is most promising.
- Consumer crypto has two parallel tracks: crypto-native (social/community-driven projects) and crypto-enabled (payments, loyalty programs), offering exciting opportunities for startups.
Deep dives
Investing at the Edge of Large Markets
The thesis of Union Square Ventures (USB) is to invest in large markets that are under transformative pressures. This approach allows them to identify openings created by societal and technological changes and support startups that can capitalize on those opportunities. USB's focus is on the edges of these markets, where change is more likely to occur and where startups can have a significant impact. They believe in finding the little corners where innovation can happen and building from there.
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