The Ownership Economy

This week, we welcome Ben Fielding, Founder and CEO at Gensyn. Gensyn is a proud sponsor of this year's summit.Ben recounts his journey from deep learning research to addressing the critical issue of compute resource monopolization in AI, leading Gensyn's pioneering decentralized approach. Ben explains how they're solving the fundamental problem of trust in distributed compute networks, a challenge that even past volunteer computing efforts like SETI@home struggled with due to incentives. Their key innovation, Verde, is a robust verification system ensuring the reliability of machine learning computations across untrusted nodes.Learn about Gensyn's vision for open protocols in machine learning, drawing inspiration from the internet's early days to foster broad participation and emergent AI capabilities. Ben discusses their work on horizontal scaling, including RL Swarm and its new backend, GenRL, aiming to create a "MapReduce moment" for AI that leverages global compute power.Ben Fielding will be speaking live at the Ownership Economy Summit in New York on October 7th, 2025.Gensyn on the webBen Fielding on TwitterGet your summit tickets here at the lowest price — prices go up 7/31!Link to tickets: https://www.ownershipeconomy.com/registration

In Episode 081 of The Ownership Economy Podcast, we welcome John Abrams, pioneering founder of South Mountain Company, a 40-person architecture and building worker co-op. John shares his journey from inadvertently starting his business in 1973 to converting it into a worker co-op in 1987, where every member-owner has one share and one vote after a unique 5-year tenure. He discusses how this model offers a positive succession story for founders, how this contrasts with traditional business exits that often leave founders with broken hearts, and employees feeling let down. John also breaks down the main approaches—Worker Co-ops, ESOPs, and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs)—and advises founders to start now in their transition planning. John Abrams will be sharing his invaluable expertise and case studies at the Ownership Economy Summit on October 7th in New York, for founders looking to build cooperatives or shared ownership enterprises. Grab your tickets to the summit here at the lowest price before they go on 7/31:https://www.ownershipeconomy.com/registration

Is Crypto Finally Becoming... "Boring"? A Deep Dive into Mainstream Adoption with Coin Fund's DavidJoin us for a captivating conversation with David, Managing Partner and Head of Investments at Coin Fund, as he shares his unique journey from Venrock and consumer internet startups to the forefront of the crypto space. With nearly a decade in the industry, David believes we're on the cusp of a "boring moment" for crypto – and that's a good thing!In this episode, we unpack:The "Road to Boring": Discover why the widespread adoption of stablecoins is the key indicator of crypto's maturity, enabling the movement of fiat-like money on blockchain rails at incredibly low costs.Legislative Catalysts: Learn about the pending US legislation, including the Genius Act and the Market Structure bill, that could unlock massive institutional adoption and dramatically increase stablecoin market cap and transaction volumes, potentially reaching over $1 trillion and $100 trillion respectively.Unlocking New Behaviors: Explore how a "pay" button in every app, 24/7 global payments at fractions of a penny, and yield-bearing stablecoins will transform personal finance, payroll, and business operations. David discusses how these innovations stand to disrupt traditional financial services like remittances and even fundamentally reshape banking's net interest margin.The "On-Chain" Movement: Understand what it means to be "on-chain" and how the combination of stablecoin usage and strong demand for digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum is accelerating the movement of wealth onto blockchain networks.DeFi 3.0 & Real World Assets: Get insights into the next evolution of decentralized finance, including the explosive growth in staking, perpetuals, and the tokenization of Real World Assets (RWAs) like private credit and potentially even equities, leading to 24/7 global trading.The Future of Digital Collectibles: David provides his outlook on NFTs, distinguishing between the past "picture-based" boom and the current, more practical uses of NFT technology in areas like AAA gaming and "IP on-chain".David also highlights the immense opportunities for founders to build the next generation of decentralized financial products, including privacy-protecting payment solutions. Prepare to hear why a small community of developers has built infrastructure poised for adoption by giants like Amazon and JP Morgan, signaling a catalytic moment for the entire crypto ecosystem.Tune in to understand why crypto's journey to becoming "boring" means it's more exciting and impactful than ever before.

Christian Kroll, founder of Ecosia, a search engine that plants trees, discusses the trials of building a purpose-driven company. He shares his journey of turning Ecosia into a steward-owned entity, revealing the unexpected legal challenges faced in Germany and the importance of integrity from investors. Christian reflects on how a focus on environmental impact can create a competitive edge against giants like Google, while emphasizing the need for strategic flexibility to balance profit with purpose.

Julie Menter, Program Director at Transform Finance, advocates for businesses that prioritize people and the planet. She dives into alternative ownership enterprises like employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and cooperatives, using examples such as New Belgium Brewing and Tony’s Chocolonely to illustrate their societal benefits. Julie emphasizes how these models address wealth inequality and promote community engagement. The discussion also touches on innovative funding strategies and the necessity for business structures to align with founders' values, shaping a more equitable financial future.

In 2008, Juho Makkonen and his co-founder built what was essentially Facebook Marketplace before Facebook Marketplace. Their student-focused platform at Aalto University in Helsinki quickly morphed into ShareTribe, a company that empowers entrepreneurs to create their own online marketplaces. ShareTribe offers a powerful yet user-friendly software solution that allows entrepreneurs to launch marketplaces without coding and provides no-code customization options for more complex needs. They even have a network of developers to help with advanced customization. But ShareTribe's journey wasn't without its challenges. Early on, Juho and his team realized the misalignment between traditional venture capital and their purpose-driven mission. In 2018, they made the bold decision to transition to a steward ownership structure, buying out their investors and raising €1.1 million through crowdfunding. This shift ensured ShareTribe remained true to its values of sustainability and impact, prioritizing the needs of its customers and employees over hypergrowth. Tune in to hear Juho's story and learn about the challenges and rewards of building a purpose-driven, sustainable business in tech. Juho will also be speaking at the Ownership Economy Summit next week, December 4th, 2024 in New York. Get your ticket now, with a 30% discount for listeners (use EXCLUSIVE30 at checkout). https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-ownership-economy-summit-registration-920820347447

Nathan Schneider returns to the Ownership Economy Podcast to discuss strategies for building a more equitable economy through shared ownership. He argues that we need to create new "destinations" for cooperative businesses to thrive. While there's a lot of energy focused on supporting co-ops in their early stages, he believes we need to think more strategically about how to enable these businesses to achieve significant scale.Drawing on examples like the Rural Electrification Act and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Nathan highlights how targeted policy changes can help unlock the potential of shared ownership. He points out that the current venture capital model, focused on rapid growth and exits, often leaves shared ownership ventures behind. To counter this, Nathan calls for new financial structures and policy frameworks that align with the goals of shared ownership and prioritize long-term sustainability and community well-being.This conversation is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of work, economic justice, and building a more equitable economy.

Can you build wealth without owning a home? Dr. Michael Barnes, founder of Viva Benefits, believes you can. In this episode, we trace Michael's journey from teaching in under-resourced communities to starting a tech company that's tackling the housing crisis head-on. Discover how Viva Benefits is providing renters with access to financial tools, benefits, and even cash back on rent, all while improving the economics of multifamily properties. This is a must-listen for anyone interested in social impact, entrepreneurship, and the future of housing. Mike will be joining us as a speaker at this year's Ownership Economy Summit as well - grab your ticket below, use the code EXCLUSIVE20 to get 20% off, just for podcast subscribers: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-ownership-economy-summit-registration-920820347447

In this episode, we sit down with Adam Silver, CEO and co-founder of Plural, a company that's revolutionizing the way we invest in renewable energy. Adam explains how Plural is using blockchain technology to make these investments more accessible and efficient, allowing anyone to own a piece of the clean energy future. We explore the benefits and challenges of this innovative approach, and Adam gives us a sneak peek at an exciting project involving Bitcoin mining and solar energy. Plus, we get a preview of what he'll be discussing at the upcoming Ownership Economy Summit. Join us as we explore the future of renewable energy finance with Adam Silver.

In this episode of the Ownership Economy, we're joined by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who dives into crypto regulation in the EU vs. the US, how she is thinking about regulation for entrepreneurs building in crypto, and what 2024 might bring. Note: This episode was recorded in January 2024.