In this episode of Inside the Hutt, host Brooke Pollack welcomes Simao Cruz, founding partner of Lightshift Capital. Simao shares insights on building Lightshift as a venture firm and engineering platform focused on early-stage blockchain projects. The discussion delves into Lightshift's origin story, its engineering-driven investment strategy, and how the firm acts as a "third co-founder" for portfolio companies. They also explore the challenges and rewards of contributing hands-on technical expertise, discuss Lightshift’s strategic focus on decentralized technologies, and examine how Lisbon is becoming a hub for blockchain innovation.
Key Points From This Episode:
Introduction to Simao Cruz and Lightshift Capital’s founding team
Lightshift’s engineering-centered approach and “third co-founder” philosophy
Focus on low-level infrastructure and high-growth market applications
Differentiation through early-stage support in product development and engineering
Role of Lightshift in project incubation and the firm’s approach to incubating startups
Strategic investments in decentralized health data sharing and tokenized domain name services
The importance of tokenization and the overlooked impact of decentralized data
Lightshift’s engineering diligence process and alignment with portfolio founders
The growing prominence of Lisbon as a blockchain ecosystem hub
Regulatory contrasts between the U.S. and Portugal’s stance on blockchain
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