Vault

In the final episode of Vault's first season, Roberto Machado sits down with Nuno Correia and Filipe Castro, co-founders of Utrust, to explore their journey building one of Portugal's most successful crypto payment companies.

The conversation traces their path from early Bitcoin enthusiasm to creating a crypto payment solution during the ICO boom. They discuss navigating regulatory uncertainty, surviving bear markets, and the unique challenge of managing both a startup and a public token community.

Nuno and Filipe share insights about their compliance approach, how they survived when 99% of their ICO peers failed, the strategy behind their acquisition, the dangers of perfectionism in product development, and valuable lessons about knowing when to step back.

While the crypto payment landscape has changed dramatically since 2017, the lessons from Utrust's journey remain as relevant as ever.

In this episode of Vault, Roberto Machado sits down with Júlia, Studio Manager at Onda, to explore how Subvisual's design studio evolved from creating visuals to becoming a strategic brand partner for Web3 and tech companies.

The conversation covers Onda's transformation over five years, their collaborative approach with external partners, and recent projects that showcase their strategic thinking, from making tax software approachable with Modern to simplifying complex Web3 concepts with Quill. Julia shares insights on navigating the fast-paced Web3 ecosystem, the reality of AI's impact on creative work, and why human-centered design will become increasingly valuable, not less so.

From building flexible team structures to developing tools that give clients brand autonomy, this episode reveals the strategic thinking behind creating design solutions that go beyond aesthetics to drive real business impact in an increasingly digital world.

In this episode of Vault, Roberto Machado sits down with Pedro Oliveira and Filipe Macedo, co-founders of Talent Protocol, to explore their journey from chance encounters to building a blockchain-based professional reputation system.

The conversation traces their entrepreneurial evolution through career pivots and the sabbatical that never was. Pedro and Filipe share how they started with a dream rather than a problem—envisioning a world where you could "invest in talent"—and how this approach shaped their unique building philosophy.

The founders discuss their "redux culture" of building fast and killing projects quickly, their three-stage company evolution from initial launch through crypto winter to current focus on verifiable professional credentials, and their ambitious vision of Builder Scores influencing the future of work.

In this episode of Vault, Roberto Machado sits down with Diogo Coimbra, co-founder of Haven, to explore his journey from corporate finance to building decentralized infrastructure in Web3.

The conversation delves into career transitions, the importance of validating business models before building technology, and Haven's growth as a DePIN. Diogo shares insights on strategic decision-making, the value of prioritizing quality partnerships over cost savings, and the fundamental differences between corporate life and startup founding.

From building networks in emerging ecosystems to establishing trust with stakeholders in an evolving market, this episode uncovers the real challenges and strategic thinking behind creating infrastructure for the decentralized future.

In this kickoff episode of Vault, Subvisual's Founder and CEO, Roberto Machado, joins Alexandre Mendes, Head of Ventures and Strategy, to set the stage for Season 1 — a deep dive into companies built from the ground up.

They explore what it truly takes to build a startup from scratch: the make-or-break role of founders, the impact of putting the right people in key positions, and knowing when to step aside and let others take the lead. Through real examples like Coverflex and Utrust/xMoney, they discuss effective fundraising strategies and compare the experiences of first-time and serial founders.

From ego management to learning from failure, Web3 and token strategies to the challenges and rewards of venture building — this episode offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at creating meaningful ventures.