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You Better Have a 30-Year Goal (with Eigen Labs)

Mar 25, 2025

Sreeram Kannan, Founder of Eigen Labs and former associate professor at the University of Washington, shares insights from his transition from academia to tech startups. He explores the concept of blockchains as 'commitment engines' that enhance human coordination, emphasizing the importance of long-term goals. Kannan discusses the necessity of compelling narratives in crypto to foster community engagement and highlights lessons learned in leveraging relationships and creating win-win investment scenarios in the fast-evolving blockchain landscape.

01:15:09

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Sreeram Kannan

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Quick takeaways

The podcast highlights the transformative evolution of blockchain technologies from Bitcoin's financial focus to Ethereum's modular architecture fostering diverse applications.

Sreeram Kannan shares his personal journey from academia to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of actionable outcomes from research in blockchain innovation.

The conversation underscores the critical role of narrative in articulating a blockchain project's vision, aligning with community desires and achieving long-term success.

Deep dives

Understanding the Evolution of Blockchain Technologies

The podcast discusses the evolution of blockchain technologies, highlighting the journey from Bitcoin as a vertically integrated solution primarily for financial transactions to Ethereum's modular architecture that separates application functionality from security and consensus models. It emphasizes how Ethereum's shift to a roll-up era allows for diverse applications that leverage shared security while customizing execution environments, paving the way for rapid innovation and development across the crypto space. The concept of Eigenlayer is introduced as an enhancement to Ethereum's framework, enabling developers to create their applications on a decentralized trust network without the need to rebuild foundational elements. This separation of trust and innovation exemplifies the limitless possibilities for building on blockchain technology and its implications for future developments.

Intro

2min

Empowering Decentralization with Eigenlayer

11min

From Academia to Entrepreneurial Vision

24min

Blockchain as a Commitment Engine

9min

Crafting Compelling Narratives in Crypto

20min

Reflecting on Investment Biases and the Importance of Relationships

5min

Self-Enforcing Systems: From Gold to Blockchain

5min

Welcome to web3 with a16z. Today we’re talking about a founder’s journey from academia to the tech startup world — and the many lessons he’s learned along the way.

We dig into big ideas, like what people mean when they call blockchains "truth machines." We also share practical advice and insights, like how to go about deciding on your life’s work; what you can do to keep increasing — and compounding — your leverage; plus, how a bungled interview question can change your life.

Today’s episode features a conversation between Eigen Labs Founder Sreeram Kannan, formerly an associate professor at the University of Washington where he led its Blockchain Lab, and a16z crypto General Partner Ali Yahya.

This conversation originally took place in the fall at our CSX crypto startup accelerator in New York. If you like what you hear, subscribe to the a16z crypto YouTube channel for this video and many others like it.

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(1:25) open innovation

(4:08) evolution of blockchain technologies

(12:34) journey from academia

(16:00) one of the best life lessons

(19:40) impact of network information theory

(24:31) activation energy and moving earth

(29:13) building a trust network

(36:20) blockchains as commitment engines

(45:17) Q&A

(45:57) the power of narrative

(52:19) restaking and the memetic sphere

(56:01) two approaches to problem solving

(59:53) startup focus and exponential games

(1:04:56) professor coins

(1:09:03) win-win or no deal

(01:13:59) conclusion

As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as tax, business, legal, or investment advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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web3 with a16z crypto

You Better Have a 30-Year Goal (with Eigen Labs)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Understanding the Evolution of Blockchain Technologies

Eigenlayer and Open Innovation

The Founder's Journey from Academia to Entrepreneurship

Commitment Systems in Blockchain Dynamics

The Importance of Narrative in Building Blockchain Projects

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts