Searching for Mana with Lloyd Wahed

Welcome to The Missing Link, in partnership with Searching for Mana, a podcast where crypto and insurance come together. Join Dan Roberts and Danielle Wall Elliott of Nayms to explore the vital role insurance plays in crypto, and how blockchain will disrupt insurance. Whether you're in crypto, traditional finance or just in need of a new podcast, join us in finding the 'missing link'. Get to know your co-hosts in this first episode of The Missing Link. Nayms CEO Dan Roberts, and COO Danielle Wall Elliott, introduce themselves and what to expect from this brand new show. If your aim is to dive deeper into the topical world of crypto and insurance, or just learn a little more about the rapidly changing space, kick off the journey with this introductory special.

This week’s guest on the Searching for Mana show is Head of Plaid Europe, Ripsy Bandourian. A journey from Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Apple and Booking.com has led Ripsy to her most recent role at Plaid, helping to strengthen a Trans-Atlantic bridge for the open-banking leader. How does open-banking enable the goal of accessible fiscal liberty for everyone, and what are Plaid doing to achieve that? One of the tropes this podcast has covered across episodes is culture, and with Ripsy we explore how culture changes within a business as it scales, and what specific changes are necessary. Lloyd also speaks with Ripsy on her background, with pivotal elements such as learning English through school and the freedom of choice in studies at university helping to shape a fantastic career. Subscribe for more content, and please visit our website for other episodes. [ 0:00 - 4:12 ] Trans-Atlantic Bridge, connecting US and Europe[ 4:13 - 6:12 ] Humans make business happen[ 6:13 - 14:33 ] Culture and change[ 14:34 - 18:55 ] Plaid elevator pitch[ 18:56 - 23:56 ] Value and potential in open banking[ 23:57 - 26:12 ] Competition and collaboration[ 26:13 - 32:38 ] Origin story[ 32:39 - 38:06 ] Belief in optionality[ 38:07 - 43:25 ] Goldman and McKinsey[ 43:26 - 49:09 ] Apple in its early stages[ 49:10 - 54:58 ] Family and perseverance[ 54:59 - 1:04:17 ] Quick-fire round[ 1:04:18 - 1:06:06 ] Hollywood outcome for Plaid

On a pathway to hiring Apple CEO Tim Cook? Pascal Gauthier is the CEO and co-founder of Ledger, a global leader in security and infrastructure solutions for cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications. Now one of the most respected, outspoken and well-known leaders in web3, Lloyd walks us through Pascal’s founding journey and how he has scaled Ledger from zero to over 1000 employees.  Pascal discusses the importance of Ledger’s hardware and software security, which offers complete protection for web3 digital assets. From psychology, to hiring, to thought leadership and entrepreneurship, Pascal offers insight for all those founding, looking to get into or curious about the blockchain space. [ 0:00 - 9:45 ] Ledger’s product [ 9:46 - 17:47 ] UX and 100% web3 security  [ 17:48 - 28:18 ] Size & Scale of Ledger, Apple inspiration & Ian Rogers [ 28:19 - 35:09 ] Pascal’s masterclass in hiring[ 35:10 - 48:54 ] The origin story and Pascal’s career journey [ 48:55 - 57:00 ] The Mana Round [ 57:01 - 1:05:09 ] Future projections for Ledger and Web3

Joining Lloyd this week is Floww CEO & FinTech expert Martijn de Wever. Partnered with The London Stock Exchange, Floww provides data to increase transparency & liquidity across private markets. Former Venture Capitalist and trader Martijn sheds brilliant light into the state of UK FinTech, the pros and cons of private vs public companies, and how his contrarian style has fuelled his success. Highly insightful, honest and always with a touch of humour, Martijn is a brilliantly entertaining guest, and example of how outlier experiences so often make brilliant entrepreneurs. [ 0:00 - 8:32 ] An intro to Floww’s product[ 8:33 - 20:35 ] The Macro Market & Working with the LSE[ 20:36 - 30:52 ] The Big Vision for Floww[ 30:53 - 40:02 ] Martijn’s background & contrariasm[ 40:03 - 51:16 ] Trading, 2008 and entrepreneurship[ 51:17 - 57:26 ] Martijn’s venture thesis[ 57:27 - 1:07:33 ] The Mana round[ 1:07:34 - 1:21:22 ] Crypto and Floww’s Hollywood outcome

This week’s podcast episode guest is Bolt Financial CEO Maju Kuruvilla. A former executive at Amazon, where he helped launch Amazon Fresh, Maju has taken over at Bolt to help build the future of e-commerce.   Searching for Mana is about finding future category leading tech firms in real-time. Almost every business goes through ups and downs, and the path to the top is never completely smooth. Bolt has scaled to great heights already, but also faced challenges, competing against the likes of Amazon, Shopify and Alibaba to create the future of e-commerce. Lloyd dives into Maju’s background, from helping the family business during his childhood in India, how this gave him perspective and shaped his leadership style, to becoming CEO at a leading FinTech player. Inspired by the Ride of a Lifetime, by Bob Iger, evening walks, and with a love of building, Lloyd dives into Maju’s psychology. Please subscribe for more content and check out our website for other episodes. [ 0:00 - 4:37 ] Size and Scale of Bolt [ 4:38 - 10:09 ] Commerce 3.0: Taking on Amazon, Shopify[ 10:10 - 13:46 ] Decentralised commerce & crypto [ 13:47 - 21:43 ] Bolt: seamlessly managing the checkout experience [ 21:44 - 25:57 ] Quick-fire round [ 25:58 - 32:58 ] Walking, walking and more walking & Maju’s Mana[ 32:59 - 39:10 ] Maju’s background and family shop [ 39:11 - 47:45 ] Competitiveness, Maju’s winning mentality and causing fundamental change[ 47:46 - 54:58 ] Helping merchants and providing solutions for the modern consumer [ 54:59 - 59:18 ] The Hollywood outcome for Bolt

Joining Lloyd this week, is Austin Allison, CEO of Pacaso, the fastest-growing tech unicorn of all time. From humble beginnings, and an unusual path, Austin Allison, founder at Pacaso, has taken an unconventional path to the top. A self-proclaimed “troubled teen” and near high-school drop-out, Austin, on the back of an epiphanical moment, turned his life around to become a top performer at college, and become a multi-unicorn founder. Son of a carpenter, with a clear entrepreneurial streak from a young age, selling birdhouses having seen the joy a birdhouse made by his father brought to his mother, Austin started his first business aged 8. Fast-forward a number of years, and Austin has founded a business sold for 9 figures, and now founded the fastest-growing tech unicorn ever. From 0 to a $1B+ valuation in 5 months! However, what stands out with Austin is his attention to culture. Despite all this success, where Austin really takes pride is in the environments he has created and the room for his team to flourish. Infusing Pacaso with an Infinite Mindset, focused not on the short-term, nor even long-term, but aiming to build a business that outlives even himself, Austin’s mentality is inspirational. A fantastic episode on how to build cultures, how to build sustainably in bear markets and really, a modern tech founder’s guide. Book recommendations: The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz The Infinite Mindset - Simon Sinek  [ 0:00 - 3:26 ] An introduction to Pacaso - the fastest growing tech unicorn of all time[ 3:27 - 10:46 ] Fractionalised ownership of 2nd homes & angry Cornwall seagulls[ 10:47 - 15:55 ] The How and Why of Pacaso[ 15:56 - 22:01 ] How Pacaso went from 0 to $1Bn+ in 5 months[ 22:02 - 28:38 ] The macro-market and building sustainably in a bear market[ 28:39 - 33:08 ] Austin’s background, from humble beginnings to unicorn founder[ 33:09 - 39:45 ] From being unproductive to maximum productivity[ 39:46 - 44:28] Austin Allison’s Forbes: He earned it[ 44:29 - 49:57 ] The cruciality of culture[ 49:58 - 55:46 ] The Infinite Mindset[ 55:47 - 58:59 ] The modern leader: vulnerable and empathetic[ 59:00 - 1:06:11 ] Future projections & Closing thoughts

Anatoly Yakovenko, Founder and CEO of Solana, talks about the incredible speed and potential of his blockchain platform, citing over 6,000 transactions per second. He shares insights into Solana's rise, struggles, and innovations, including their new mobile phone, Saga. The discussion explores the NFT boom, decentralization, and how Solana could transform into a public good like Linux. Anatoly emphasizes the importance of collective action in blockchain's future, leaving listeners with a sense of excitement for what's to come.

Amy Wu, Head of Ventures, M&A and Gaming at FTX represents one of the best-known and most successful Venture Capitalists in the crypto and web3 spaces.Having had FTX’s US President Brett Harrison on as our opening guest of the series, Amy is another individual leading this generational business, with a mandate of investing in further generational businesses.Formerly a Partner at Lightspeed, where she served on the Board at FTX, Amy switched sides at the start of the year, moving to Bahamas to work full-time 10 feet away from Sam Bankman-Fried, the youngest billionaire on the planet, who Amy describes at the greatest decision-maker and businessman of a generation.In this superb episode, Amy sheds light on her journey, from piano prodigy, to serving on the board of one of Asia’s largest e-commerce businesses at the age of 23, to becoming one of the leading venture capitalists in web3. Charismatic, engaging and highly insightful, this episode is not to be missed! [ 0:00 - 4:45 ] FTX, The Bahamas & the state of crypto[ 4:46 - 7:16 ] Decision-making at FTX Ventures [ 7:17 - 13:44 ] Bear Markets, M&A and SBF the visionary[ 13:45 - 20:15 ] Amy the Piano Prodigy[ 20:16 - 24:11 ] Insight Partners, mentors and appreciation of brilliance [ 24:12 - 28:15 ] Quick-fire round: Finding the right time to aggressively deploy capital[ 28:16 - 36:45 ] Vibing with founders and being a female role-model in crypto & venture[ 36:46 - 45:35 ] The role of a modern Venture Capitalist in Web3 & being on DAO boards [ 45:36 - 53:33 ] L1 wars, decentralisation and the timeframe of web3 mass adoption [ 53:34 - 60:14 ] Working for a generational business, investing in generational businesses

Few others’ experiences and career path have left them so destined to found their business, with Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Chris Dixon coining “perfect founder-market fit” to describe him, than this week’s guest, Diogo Monica, Co-Founder of Anchorage Digital. With a resume boasting a PhD in Network Security, working as an early employee at Square, and rounding out his skill-set at Docker, Diogo’s rise to the top has been meteoric. Diogo is now in charge of a leading crypto custodial player that has raised upwards of $450m from the likes of KKR, A16Z, Visa, PayPal and Goldman Sachs. On a pathway to supporting 20% of the world’s economy in the next 5-10 years, Anchorage is primed to be one of the most influential tech leaders of this generation, taking on 200-year-old incumbents in the likes of JP Morgan and BNY Mellon. Having already achieved incredible success, and clearly with so much more to come, maybe, just maybe, dreams of San Diogo will become a reality! A truly amazing episode, with one of the most impressive and likable guests to date.  [ 0:00 - 4:57 ] San Diogo, Pirate Custody & helping institutions build crypto platforms[ 4:58 - 8:39 ] Size & Scale of Anchorage and the Neumann Flow[ 8:39 - 12:11 ] AngelList and StableCoins[ 12:11 - 17:21 ] Angel Investing[ 17:22 - 24:59 ] Growing up in Portugal, computing superpowers & making video games[ 24:59 - 31:34 ] PhDs & Doctors decide dinners[ 31:34 - 36:50 ] Square & working with Jack Dorsey[ 36:51 - 41:08 ] Quick-fire round, Diogo’s worldview and mantra[ 41:09 - 47:29 ] Diogo’s Mana, coffee and reading in the rain in Seattle[ 47:30 - 53:40 ] The Nathan story = The Anchorage Story, Docker and founding[ 53:41 - 57:40 ] Anchorage projections: supporting 20% of the world’s economy[ 57:41 - 1:00:55 ] AI, morality and bear markets

Mike Weissman, CEO of music and tech giant SoundCloud needs no introduction.Leading one of the most prominent and well-known consumer tech companies on the planet, SoundCloud sits at the forefront of innovation within the music industry. Empowering the next generation of artists to launch their tracks and musical career, SoundCloud is connecting communities of fans and artists to transact directly.Lloyd and Mike walk us through the technology underpinning SoundCloud’s success, their culture that brings musical creativity into a technology company, kickstarting the careers of the likes of Post Malone and Billie Eilish, and what the future of the industry might look like.With an acute fascination in music, going from aspiring guitar player to band manager, at a young age, Mike combines a close personal passion for music, with business acumen developed in his early career working on Wall Street. Whilst many of his cohort from Wharton pursued careers in finance, Mike went against the grain to follow this interest, serendipitously landing himself into this world, and working at iconic names including the likes of Vimeo, Viacom and Universal Music.A truly brilliant episode to get into the mindset of someone driving innovation within the music industry, and leading the platform where the next generation of musical talent starts. [ 0:00 - 5:41 ] SoundCloud, and enabling fans and artists to interact[ 5:42 - 9:08 ] Post Malone, Billie Eilish and Lloyd & The Mana-ites[ 9:08 - 12:33 ] Helping artists to launch a career, building communities and creating genres[ 12:34 - 15:35 ] Size & scale of SoundCloud[ 15:36 - 20:37 ] Building and evolving SoundCloud’s culture[ 20:38 - 24:48 ] Communities, Web3 and NFTs [ 24:49 - 28:39 ] Quick-fire round, Mike’s Mana and steering the future of music[ 28:40 - 31:48 ] Reading 2 hours a day and building habits[ 31:49 - 36:38 ] Mike’s background and formative interest in music [ 36:39 - 40:29 ] Serendipity and starting a career in music [ 40:30 - 45:01 ] Mike the Marathon Runner, Cable TV & Mike’s journey to SoundCloud[ 45:02 - 49:50 ] Predicting the Future of Music