The Buildooor

In this session, Catherine sits down with Tre Upshaw (Founder/CEO) and Justin Lin (Head of Growth) from Polysights. They pull back the curtain on the psychological warfare of startup fundraising, the transition from Intern to Head of Growth, and why they’re building an intelligence layer to track "insiders" on-chain.

If you’re a builder navigating a term sheet or a user trying to find the signal in prediction market noise, this is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:41 Finding Polymarket insiders

05:20 The "Day Off" dilemma

06:44 The path from Intern to Head of Growth

09:54 Hiring for startups: What actually matters

13:08 Why build in crypto?

16:30 A newcomer’s POV on the space

18:31 How Army discipline scales a founder

23:10 The brutal reality of raising funds

28:46 Lessons for the next generation of builders

33:48 AI agents and the "average" user

37:51 Growth tactics: How to attract users in 2026

42:44 Can we actually prevent insider trading?

47:50 Radical transparency: Sharing every bet

___________

Follow The Buildooor:

→ Twitter (X): https://x.com/The_Buildooor

→ LinkedIn:   / the-buildooor  

→ Instagram:   / the_buildooor  

→ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@the_buildooor 

Also on: 

→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2NDQCochFaLHJEQ2K9YLAb

“Bitcoiners don’t leave Bitcoin” says OP_NET co-founder Chad Master to chief buildooor Catherine Ross and Chainstory co-founder Tal Shmuel Harel.Watch the latest episode to find out:- why building on Bitcoin could be ‘lonely’, but still crucial- how to maximize your crypto conference hustle- and why you should hire the “Taylor Swifts” of crypto developers for your startup___________Timestamps:0:00 Intro04:03 Chad and OP Net 09:46 Tal’s sad eyes 10:24 Is DeFi on BTC even possible?13:33 Original use case of BTC17:49 BTC as a story of value narrative21:22 Are people still building on BTC?23:12 Challenges of building on BTC 28:50 Being a founder in the Bitcoin space33:30 Why sticking to one narrative is essential to success35:22 Living and building in a hacker’s house41:20 Is it worth going to conferences these days? And how to make the most of it if you do go52:20 Anonymity in crypto: trend or necessity54:40 How to hire efficiently for your team___________Follow The Buildooor:→ Twitter (X): https://x.com/The_Buildooor→ LinkedIn: / the-buildooor → Instagram: / the_buildooor → TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@the_buildooor Also on: → Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2NDQCochFaLHJEQ2K9YLAb

"I read the news and just slid onto the floor under my desk."

What happens when you’re closing your first funding round the exact week the industry’s biggest exchange implodes? Aya Kantorovich (Co-Founder & Co-CEO of August Digital and UpShift) joins Catherine Ross-Mychka to share the "unfiltered" reality of building in the trenches.

From surviving the FTX contagion to managing two companies simultaneously with a 9-month-old, Aya breaks down the "vaultification" of crypto, why she admits to being a micromanager, and how she uses AI to remove human bias from her management stack.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The "Trench" Reality: Surviving the week term sheets were pulled.

• Operational Excellence: Why 9-to-5s are dying and how to set real SLAs.

• The AI Manager: Using Claude to reclaim 30% of your efficiency.

• Founder Balance: Managing two startups and motherhood through "pockets of focus."

• Vaultification: Why the future of on-chain asset management is in vaults.

Aya is a relentless buildooor who proves that stress is a privilege - as long as you aren’t bored.

Timestamps:

1:54 VC Perspective vs. Founder Reality

4:33 Why 9-to-5s are dying in crypto

9:10 Running two companies at once

11:50 Making the wrong priority decisions

12:55 The "Micromanager" Hard Truth

17:04 Using AI to remove management bias

20:20 How we use Claude in our startups

22:30 Founder's daily schedule

25:40 Is "Stress" a privilege?

29:39 How a baby made me more efficient

32:20 Raising a Seed round during FTX week

36:15 Hard Truth: It won't get easier

43:30 The "unwind" ritual

48:33 A book every founder should read

"The banking system isn't just outdated, it’s a cartel."

Panos Mekras (CEO, Anodos Finance) joins Catherine Ross-Mychka to discuss why the "crypto" label is a marketing liability in 2026. From surviving the Greek financial crisis to building "invisible" tech on the XRP Ledger, this is a masterclass in building utility that legacy systems can't ignore.

Chapters:

• (00:00) Intro
• (01:20) Anodos Finance: Crypto or Fintech?
• (05:40) Overcoming the 2026 Crypto Stigma
• (11:13) Good vs. Bad Crypto Marketing
• (15:49) The Global Banking Cartel Exposed
• (21:11) Why Banks Are So Controlling
• (25:12) Can Crypto Replace the System?
• (28:27) Founding a Fintech in Greece
• (31:30) Hardest Part of Being a Founder
• (33:33) The Reality of the XRP World
• (37:13) Building in "Cult-like" Communities
• (45:16) Advice for XRP Buildooors

Get the Signal:𝕏: https://x.com/The_Buildooor

"You can’t build the product without the team."

In this episode, Catherine sits down with Fredrik Haga, the mind behind Dune. We dive into the "Hard Truths" of being a founder: the regret of scaling too fast, the friction of government policy, and the personal habits that keep a unicorn CEO sane.

What we cover:

• 01:32 - Spotify, Bach & Rap for deep work
• 13:48 - Why AI isn't the real existential threat
• 15:42 - The "Norway Exit": Why Fredrik left home to build Dune
• 30:15 - Why building a startup is like surfing the wave
• 38:40 - The Biggest Regret: Scaling 4x in a year

Follow The Buildooor:

→ Twitter (X): https://x.com/The_Buildooor

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-buildooor

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_buildooor

→ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@the_buildooor

"If you're a solo founder, one day you will give up."

Itamar Lesuisse (CEO of Ready) doesn't build for the bull market; he builds for the decade. From accidentally running up a $1M monthly gas bill to surviving multiple bear cycles with a mandatory 3-year runway , Itamar has seen the "broken dreams" of the 2017 era and lived to tell the tale.

In this episode of The Buildooor, we strip away the hype and get into the technical and emotional constraints of building a self-custodial neobank that doesn't suck to use.

Inside the trenches:

The $1,000,000 Mistake: How misjudging scalability can bankrupt you in 30 days.

The 3-Year Rule: Why 18 months of runway is a trap in a volatile market.

Managing Mood Swings: Keeping a team motivated when personal bags are down 90%.

Conflict without Ego: Why you need to be able to "shout and fight" and then grab lunch 2 minutes later.

Crypto Singularity: The point where self-custodial UX finally beats Web2.

Timestamps:

00:00 Trailer 

1:52 Intro 

2:22 From tech to volatility 

4:23 The web’s original sin

5:30 Ready: an app, a wallet, and a neobank

8:57 The vision: then vs now

11:45 Leading a remote company efficiently 

14:15 A founder’s life  

16:58 UX/UI in web3 vs web2

20:12 Being a great leader

24:04 Supporting your team throughout bear cycles

26:25 Planning your company’s financials as a pro

29:28 Fundraising in 2025-2026

32:47 From [crypto] trauma to sanity 

34:10 Staying friends with your co-founders, really 

39:16 Tweeting as a crypto founder: ups and downs

Follow The Buildooor:

→ Twitter (X): https://x.com/The_Buildooor

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-buildooor

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_buildooor

→ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@the_buildooor

Catherine sat down with Philipp Zentner, CEO of LI.FI Protocol, to reveal the side of building that rarely gets told. What started as an idea now powers $50B+ in swaps for Meta Mask, Phantom, Robinhood Wallet, and 650+ teams.

In this episode, Philipp shares his journey, the immense pressure of scaling, and the most crucial lessons worth learning for any founder or builder in the space. Learn about the unexpected role yoga plays in leadership, the two traits that matter most when hiring, and how to successfully build through any market cycle.

In this powerful conversation, Philipp shares:

• The leadership rule that helped them scale LI.FI to $50B+.

• The 2 traits that matter most when hiring.

• Why yoga is his secret weapon for staying sane under founder pressure.

• The tough trade-offs and sacrifices behind every major decision.

• How to build through any market cycle and what it takes to raise capital today.

  
  

Guest: Philipp Zentner, CEO of LI.FI Protocol

Host: Catherine Ross-Mychka

Ryan is the resident memecoin degen reporter at Decrypt, and how of What's The Meta? podcast. 

In this episode of Beyond the Beat, host Pedro Solimano speaks with Ryan about the bizarre and often disturbing trends in internet culture, particularly in the realm of live streaming and meme coins. 

They discuss the extremes people go to for money, the emergence of AI in the crypto space, and the divide between speculative and meaningful projects in the crypto community.

Episode chapters:

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In this episode of Beyond the Beat, Pedro Solimano and Veronica Irwin discuss the recent turmoil at CoinDesk, the evolving landscape of stablecoins, CBDCs, and the implications of regulation in the cryptocurrency space.

The two articles:

- "Billionaire Justin Sun allegedly pushed CoinDesk’s new owners to remove banana article, editorial chair Matt Murray resigns," by Leo Schwartz.

- "U.S. Stablecoin Bill Would Rein In Tether, Boost Coinbase And Circle, Outlaw Algorithmics," by Jason Brett.

Veronica is the regulatory reporter at Unchained Crypto. 

Episode chapters:

0:00 intro

3:28 Nobody's talking about the CoinDesk x Justin Sun controversy

10:03 The future of crypto journalism 

15:57 A deep dive

20:05 Conflicts of interest in crypto media

23:54 Tether - A different POV on stablecoins

31:08 Are CBDCs just the next step for stablecoins?

35:54 A private or government-owned panopticon called CBDC

40:32 Banning algorithmic stablecoins

43:07 Is Cricle manipulating regulation to push USDC?

50:15 Book recommendations

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Beyond the Beat THE EXPERIMENT!

In episode 26, I and I alone dive into two fascinating topics that tore through the Bitcoin and crypto ecosystem last week. 

A reminder that from now on, myself and my guests will review two stories that made the headlines in crypto. We look for clues in the writing, storytelling, and diving into what's shaping the narratives in crypto. 

This week I talk about a controversial Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) and Crypto's allegedly final legacy. 

Today's articles:

Timestamps:

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