"Age of Miracles"

Not Boring just turned two years old. Packy reflects on the last two years of Not Boring and looks to the year ahead.

Each of the first two years of Not Boring had a defining "thing."

Year 1: Grow the newsletter and survive

For Year 3, Not Boring is building a Liquid Super Team. Packy discusses why he was originally hesitant to build a team, what has changed, and what the new team will be focused on. Plus, Packy shares a redacted version of the Not Boring Capital Q1 2022 update that was shared with LPs last not.

Mariam Hakobyan is the co-founber and CEO of Softr. Softr is an easy-to-use no-code platform to build powerful websites, web-apps and client portals from Airtable, in 10 minutes. With Softr, non-technical users can easily build web-apps that previously would’ve required engineering resources.

Softr is riding the No-Code wave, and in this discussion Packy and Mariam discuss the progress of No-Code, how it will transform the ways in which we work, and why Softr is well positioned to become a leading player within the industry.

Mariam also shares how Softr won Product Hunt’s Golden Kitty Award for Product of the Year, what building a community actually looks like, and the importance of building easy-to-use products.

Hadrian is different than the companies we normally talk about in Not Boring. While it relies heavily on software, its main focus is in the world of atoms. It uses big machines to make precision parts for rockets and satellites. It blends automation and high-skilled labor.

It’s an incredible example of something we’re going to see a lot more of in the coming years (partially because Hadrian exists): startups tackling very hard, government-level problems in the physical world (and space). I’m very eager to see what happens as the worlds of bits and atoms continue to interact and co-evolve.

If Hadrian succeeds in its boldest missions, Americans will build hard things with speed once again, we’ll grow a new skilled labor force by making manufacturing cool, and freedom will reign among the stars. High stakes.

Bryan Pellegrino is the co-founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs. LayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol that enables the realization of cross-chain applications with a low-level communication primitive — simply put, LayerZero enables more secure and affordable cross-chain activity.

During the podcast, LayerZero announced it had raised a $135M round co-lead by Sequoia, a16z, and FTX. For someone who was likely receiving hundreds of congratulatory messages while recording, Bryan seemed wholly focused on the conversation at hand. Bryan has been in the crypto space since 2013, spent eight years as a professional poker player, and has started & sold multiple companies. When asked why he’s working on LayerZero, Bryan stated he likes working on hard problems.

SPONSOR

Season 2 of Not Boring Founders is sponsored by FTX US.

You may know FTX because of its innovations in crypto derivatives or its ultra-rich & altruistic founder, SBF -- but what you may not know is that the FTX App is available in the US for all crypto traders...and that it's the cheapest exchange out there, with no minimum, ACH, or withdrawal fees.

The company is moving fast and now offers crypto trading (Bitcoin, Eth, Sol, Doge, ect) and supports NFTs -- and is releasing new products seemingly every month.

Download the FTX App today, invest $10 and get a free coin from FTX in exchange.

Use this download link and enter code "notboring" when you sign up to redeem the offer.

Kaeya Majumunday is the founder and CEO of Swaypay. Swaypay is a platform that allows customers to get cashback for posts on TikTok. Customers earn cashback for posting about their recent purchases and brands can get free content and distribution from authentic brand ambassadors.

Kaeya and Packy discuss Swaypay’s recent copycats and why she takes it as a strong signal of success for her company. Kaeya has been working on different iterations for Swaypay for over 10 years, after she launched her first company on Sharktank at the age of 19. Since then, she’s obsessed over the idea of turning sway into value for both customers and brands alike.

Sponsor

Season 2 of Not Boring Founders is sponsored by FTX US.

You may know FTX because of its innovations in crypto derivatives or its ultra-rich & altruistic founder, SBF -- but what you may not know is that the FTX App is available in the US for all crypto traders...and that it's the cheapest exchange out there, with no minimum, ACH, or withdrawal fees.

The company is moving fast and now offers crypto trading (Bitcoin, Eth, Sol, Doge, ect) and supports NFTs -- and is releasing new products seemingly every month.

Download the FTX App today, invest $10 and get a free coin from FTX in exchange.

Use this download link and enter code "notboring" when you sign up to redeem the offer.

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Elon Musk sparked The Current Thing Meme. There's another meme happening: The Current Financial Thing. 

Everyone agrees that things are bad, and they agree in the same way. They even agree on how things are going to play out. 

Groups of humans aren't typically right when they all agree on what the future will bring. Will they be this time? 

You can read the full post at Not Boring.

Thanks to our presenting sponsor for all Q1 Audio Editions... Masterworks

Alice Albrecht is the founder and CEO of re:collect. re:collect is focused on augmenting human memory and creativity. The product tracks what you're reading and ingests other content information (like notes, highlights, ect) and hands you "thought building-blocks" in the moment of creation. They are building an automatic bridge between you, your digital knowledge, and your ideas. 

But re:collect is not your standard "productivity app," in fact, Alice breaks down why most productivity apps fail and why her product may be different. Packy and Alice discuss how re:collect is really only possible within the last few years, thanks to advancements in AI/ML, but why humans will always have the advantage of creativity over machines.

In starting re:collect, Alice brings with her over a decade of data & product management experience as well as a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience (Psychology) from Yale Univeristy. You can find Alice on Twitter @alicealbrecht and signup for re:collect at www.re-collect.ai

SPONSOR

Season 2 of Not Boring Founders is sponsored by FTX US.

You may know FTX because of its innovations in crypto derivatives or its ultra-rich & altruistic founder, SBF -- but what you may not know is that the FTX App is available in the US for all crypto traders...and that it's the cheapest exchange out there, with no minimum, ACH, or withdrawal fees.

The company is moving fast and now offers crypto trading (Bitcoin, Eth, Sol, Doge, ect) and supports NFTs -- and is releasing new products seemingly every month.

Download the FTX App today, invest $10 and get a free coin from FTX in exchange.

Use this download link and enter code "notboring" when you sign up to redeem the offer.

Ben Rollert is the co-founder and CEO of Composer. Composed is an automated trading platform that allows users to build hedge-fund like strategies with a no-code visual editor. Ben and Packy first met while working together at Breather over 6 years ago, where Ben established himself as "the smartest person Packy has ever met."

Composer aims to bring modern software thinking to asset management -- users can create, remix, and share their investing strategies. Ben believes the lines between retail and institutional investors are going to continue to blur, as companies like Composer democratize access to sophisticated tools previously only available to hedge funds. Finally, Ben shares his thoughts on how Composer creators can monetize their trading strategies -- and why that differs from traditional copy trading.

Composer was the first investment Packy made out of the Not Boring Syndicate, and to date, it's made him look smart. Following Packy's investment, First Round came in to back Ben and the Composer team, and Composer's found product-market fit early.  

SPONSOR

Season 2 of Not Boring Founders is sponsored by FTX US.

You may know FTX because of its innovations in crypto derivatives or its ultra-rich & altruistic founder, SBF -- but what you may not know is that the FTX App is available in the US for all crypto traders...and that it's the cheapest exchange out there, with no minimum, ACH, or withdrawal fees.

The company is moving fast and now offers crypto trading (Bitcoin, Eth, Sol, Doge, ect) and supports NFTs -- and is releasing new products seemingly every month.

Download the FTX App today, invest $10 and get a free coin from FTX in exchange.

Use this download link and enter code "notboring" when you sign up to redeem the offer.

Today, Ramp announced that it raised $750 million -- $200 million in equity and $550 in debt -- at an $8.1 billion valuation from existing investors, led by Keith Rabois at Founders Fund. Not Boring Capital participated. It also hit $100 million in annualized revenue just two years after launching. 

For this piece, Ramp's co-founders Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh let me peek behind the curtains to help understand what Ramp is building and how. I think that they have a Google-sized opportunity in front of them. 

You can read the full piece at Not Boring.

Thanks to today's sponsor, Masterworks, the best place to invest in world-class art without needing a world-class bank account. 

Rushir Parikh is the co-founder and CEO of Popchew. Popchew is a platform that allows creators to build their own restaurant brands at a national scale. When Packy first met Rushir, he passed on investing -- in this conversation, Packy explains how he (thankfully) was able to invest later on and Rushir lays out the massive vision that Packy missed the first time around.

Popchew has three main stakeholders: creators, consumers, and operators. Rushir explains how Popchew gives creators a new way to connect with their audiences, consumers a more fun way of eating, and operators additional volume.

60% of Americans report getting food delivered at least once a week. Rushir believes Popchew can make that experience more fun and profitable.

SPONSOR:

Season 2 of Not Boring Founders is sponsored by FTX US.

You may know FTX because of its innovations in crypto derivatives or its ultra-rich & altruistic founder, SBF -- but what you may not know is that the FTX App is available in the US for all crypto traders...and that it's the cheapest exchange out there, with no minimum, ACH, or withdrawal fees.

The company is moving fast and now offers crypto trading (Bitcoin, Eth, Sol, Doge, ect) and supports NFTs -- and is releasing new products seemingly every month.

Download the FTX App today, invest $10 and get a free coin from FTX in exchange.

Use this download link and enter code "notboring" when you sign up to redeem the offer.