Welcome to web3 with a16z. Today we’re talking about a founder’s journey from academia to the tech startup world — and the many lessons he’s learned along the way. 

We dig into big ideas, like what people mean when they call blockchains "truth machines." We also share practical advice and insights, like how to go about deciding on your life’s work; what you can do to keep increasing — and compounding — your leverage; plus, how a bungled interview question can change your life.

Today’s episode features a conversation between Eigen Labs Founder Sreeram Kannan, formerly an associate professor at the University of Washington where he led its Blockchain Lab, and a16z crypto General Partner Ali Yahya. 

This conversation originally took place in the fall at our CSX crypto startup accelerator in New York. If you like what you hear, subscribe to the a16z crypto YouTube channel for this video and many others like it.

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(1:25) open innovation

(4:08) evolution of blockchain technologies

(12:34) journey from academia

(16:00) one of the best life lessons

(19:40) impact of network information theory

(24:31) activation energy and moving earth

(29:13) building a trust network

(36:20) blockchains as commitment engines

(45:17) Q&A

(45:57) the power of narrative

(52:19) restaking and the memetic sphere

(56:01) two approaches to problem solving

(59:53) startup focus and exponential games

(1:04:56) professor coins

(1:09:03) win-win or no deal

(01:13:59) conclusion

As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as tax, business, legal, or investment advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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