POD OF JAKE

Avichal is a co-founder and partner on the investment team at Electric Capital, an early stage venture firm focused on cryptocurrencies, blockchain, fintech, and marketplaces. Before starting Electric Capital, Avichal was a serial entrepreneur with executive experience at Google and Facebook. He also served as a part-time partner at YCombinator and has been a successful VC and crypto investor for many years. Follow Avichal on Twitter @avichal and learn more about his firm at electriccapital.com. [2:18] - How Avichal's childhood primed him to become a successful serial software entrepreneur [7:24] - Why crypto poses disruption for Web 2.0 incumbents [13:39] - Predicting how Facebook and Google will transition into the Web 3.0 future [22:08] - Takeaways from working with world-changing founders like Zuckerberg & Page [29:36] - Transforming education through online learning [37:40] - Measuring where we are in crypto's adoption lifecycle [44:46] - Weighing crypto investments against their probabilities of success [50:38] - Evaluating token economics for crypto investments --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Danielle is Co-Founder and General Partner of 1517 Fund, a venture capital firm backing founders at the earliest stages of their careers and companies. In particular, 1517 focuses on investing in teams led by dropouts, deep-tech scientists, and founders working outside of tracked institutions. Prior to 1517, Danielle founded and directed her own charter school and helped to lead the design and operations of the Thiel Fellowship from its founding in 2010. Follow Danielle on Twitter @DStrachman and learn more about 1517 at 1517fund.com. [2:18] - How Danielle’s appreciation for education prompted her to first start a charter school and later help run the Thiel Fellowship [16:14] - Common differences between homeschooled students and private and public school students [21:08] - Applying lessons from homeschooling to the Thiel Fellowship [27:05] - The Thiel Fellowship's approach to founder development [33:00] - Systematically identifying extraordinary founders for the Thiel Fellowship [47:25] - Defining the key characteristics to look for in seeking to identify exceptional talent [56:10] - 1517’s goal of becoming the anti-establishment educational institution --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Anatoly is the co-founder and CEO of Solana Labs, the organization behind Solana. Solana aims to be the fastest and most scalable decentralized blockchain in the world. Anatoly previously spent more than a decade at Qualcomm after graduating from The University of Illinois in 2003. Follow him on Twitter @aeyakovenko and learn more about Solana at solana.com. [2:18] - Anatoly's story and how he came to see the opportunity to build Solana [6:51] - Carrying Qualcomm's culture over to Solana [9:46] - Leveraging incremental software improvements to create the fastest blockchain [14:25] - Anatoly's solution to the "clock problem" in a distributed network [17:52] - Why Solana might not exist if not for the obscure sport of underwater hockey [19:21] - Building through a bear market and why focus matters more than funds [22:41] - The toughest trade-offs of maintaining a singular focus on Solana's performance [25:58] - The importance of censorship resistance and information symmetry [31:52] - The engineering mindset of building something useful [32:47] - What excites Anatoly about the super connected world Solana seeks to enable [36:45] - Advice for aspiring young founders on starting companies and biking uphill [41:10] - Anatoly's hope for a decentralized future --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Paul is the Co-Founder & CEO of Molecule as well as the Co-Initiator of VitaDAO. He has spent several years working in the blockchain space from organizing Ethereum meetups in South Africa to serving as Director of Business Development for ConsenSys. Paul is working on building a marketplace for drug discovery and development through the use of blockchain technology, enabling IP NFTs and bootstrapping DAOs to invest in them. Follow Paul on Twitter @paulkhls. [2:18] - How online forums led Paul to drug development and cryptocurrencies [14:34] - Paul's perspective on the US patent model and how it can be improved to foster innovation [24:05] - Molecule's use of NFTs for intellectual property ("IP NFTs") in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries [34:29] - Rethinking fundraising in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries [41:10] - Democratizing access to longevity technologies [44:12] - The future of decentralized drug development --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Bored Elon Musk is a pseudonymous individual with over 1.7 million followers on Twitter. What began as a humble parody account tweeting complex solutions to simple problems has over several year become a highly influential and lucrative account. Today, Bored Elon is angel investing, buying and selling NFTs, and working on several projects in web3. His blockchain gaming project, MetaMars, is set to debut within months of this episode's release. Follow Bored Elon on Twitter @BoredElonMusk. [2:18] - Bored Elon's journey from a pseudonymous parody account to his own unique brand  [5:50] - Stepping out of Elon Musk's shadow [12:33] - Bored Elon's journey in crypto and ideas for the metaverse [19:22] - Rethinking arcade games with MetaMars on the blockchain [25:00] - Magic The Gathering's contribution to blockchain gaming [30:34] - Predictions for what will allow blockchain gaming to go mainstream [36:50] - How gaming will go from entertainment to earning opportunity [42:38] - The pros and cons of building a pseudonymous brand --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Lola is the Founder and CEO of Base, an app that pairs with at-home lab testing to help people improve their health in areas like sleep, stress, energy, diet, and sex drive. Prior to founding Base, Lola served as the Head of Engineering at Cor and as a software engineer at Instagram, Facebook, and Amazon. Follow Lola on Twitter @lolitapriego and learn more about her company at get-base.com. [2:18] - How overworking forced Lola to explore her health issues [10:24] - The complicated path to diagnosing and finding solutions to health problems today [13:58] - Base's approach to addressing issues around diet, sleep, stress, and energy [21:22] - My experience trying out Base for the first time [30:38] - Lola's strategy to unwind before sleep [33:54] - The pros and cons of trading sleep for late night work [38:05] - Explaining the logistics of Base's blood testing process [44:02] - Lola's experiences working in Spain and across many U.S. cities [48:05] - Lola's favorite aspects of being a founder --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Sandeep is the Co-Founder and COO of Polygon, a leading blockchain scalability platform. He is also the Founder of India Covid Relief Fund which raised over $400 million in crypto. Follow Sandeep on Twitter @sandeepnailwal. [2:18] - How providing for his family ultimately led Sandeep to crypto [10:45] - Sandeep's feeling of responsibility to give back to those around him [16:46] - The creation and impacts of the India Crypto COVID Relief Fund [23:15] - Why Ethereum originally captured Sandeep's attention [27:38] - An introduction to Polygon and its role in scaling Ethereum to the masses [41:28] - Polygon Studio's focus on NFTs, gaming, and increasing daily active users --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Daniel is the Founder and CEO of Pioneer. He previously created a search engine called Cue which was acquired by Apple where he went on to lead various AI and search projects. Daniel was the youngest founder to be accepted into Y-Combinator in his late teens and later returned as a Partner and started YC's AI program. He has been an early investor in companies including Uber, Instacart, Coinbase, GitHub, SpaceX, Opendoor, Airtable, Figma, Gusto, Notion, Cruise Automation, and dozens of others. Follow Daniel on Twitter @danielgross. [2:18] - How Daniel's early interest in computer programming kickstarted his journey into entrepreneurship [10:11] - Replacing people with software in the venture capital process and how to measure success [16:56] - The impacts of venture capital and startup culture expanding beyond Silicon Valley [24:33] - Living a balanced life in health and productivity [32:58] - Daniel's perspective on longevity [39:57] - Self-improvement and the third-person mindset [46:07] - Optimizing for flow in designing one's days --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Jeff is the Founder and Managing Partner of Chapter One, an early-stage venture capital fund with a focus on product. He previously served as the VP of Product and Revenue at Tinder as it became the #1 top grossing app in the App Store and one of the top grossing products in mobile history. Jeff's investments have included Cameo, Compound, Dapper Labs, Lambda School, Lyft, Mercury, Pipe, Ro, Roam Research, Superhuman, and many others. Follow him on Twitter @jmj. [2:18] - How Jeff's early career moves led him to discover his passion for products [6:32] - The art of asking for what you want in life [12:45] - Finding the right startups to join or invest in [16:34] - Transitioning from a world of physical serendipity to digital serendipity [20:11] - Jeff's takeaways from beginning his career in Kansas City [24:21] - Jeff's love for writing [27:07] - The pros and cons of building in public and having an online presence [35:36] - The importance of overcoming rejection and leaning into the underdog role [39:15] - How Jeff discovered crypto in 2013 and his current perspective on the space [43:03] - Why Dapper Labs and ENS domains are interesting [50:04] - Chapter One's investment approach and the future of the fund --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com

Eric is Founder and CEO of Elysium Health. Elysium's mission is to translate critical scientific advancements in aging research into accessible health products and technologies. Eric previously joined Sequoia Capital as its youngest partner to lead growth investing in mobile technologies. He earned his BA from Princeton University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Use promo code "JAKE" to get 10% off an annual or semi-annual subscription to Basis, Matter, or Format at https://www.elysiumhealth.com. (Expires November 4, 2021) [2:18] - How Eric's interest in entrepreneurship pulled him away from traditional career paths [8:45] - Lessons learned from the Sirtris Pharmaceuticals case study [19:54] - Finding the conviction to go all in on an entrepreneurial idea [28:17] - A fundamental explanation of how Elysium's Basis works [35:42] - Using Elysium's Index to measure biological age and potential for reversal [40:39] - Preserving memory with Elysium's Matter [46:54] - Introducing Elysium's Format, a new product for advanced immune support [50:30] - The future of Elysium and longevity technology --- Support the show by checking out my sponsors: Join Levels and get personalized insights to learn about your metabolic health. Go to https://levels.link/jake. --- https://homeofjake.com