My guest today is my friend, Chris Pizzo, Co-Founder and General Partner of Druid Ventures. Druid Ventures is a boutique investment firm focused on Blockchain and Crypto. Druid’s team consists of Crypto and Web3 OGs including myself and Scott Melker and LPs ranging from prominent high net worth individuals and family offices. Chris has a background in investing in and working with companies to shape their goals and success. Prior to Druid Ventures, Chris was a Vice President for SCP & CO, a mid-market investment firm. Before his work at SCP and CO, Chris developed and managed the coaching and corporate partnership programs at Embarc Collective, a Tampa-based innovation hub spearheaded by Jeff Vinik. Chris oversaw the support of 44 early-stage technology companies and directly coached 21 with strategy, leadership, operations, and fundraising efforts. Previously, Chris held the position of Associate at the investment firm Murray-Bertron, LLC. While there, Chris divided his time between working with portfolio companies on operational improvements and sourcing/executing new transactions. His focus included deal origination and screening, structuring deal financing, due diligence, portfolio company monitoring, and investor correspondence. Prior to his position with Murray-Bertron, Chris co-founded VitalStream Networks, a remote patient monitoring company seeking to reduce hospital readmissions and achieve the quadruple aim. Chris received a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce & Business Administration from the University of Alabama and a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship in Applied Technologies from the University of South Florida. We discuss a variety of important topics including Druid Ventures, talent acquisition, crypto sectors to watch, early-stage investing, and much more. We begin our conversation by discussing Tampa’s burgeoning crypto scene. We also discuss how COVID is decentralizing talent and how Tampa is at the forefront of attracting this new wave of builders. We also touch on how crypto is dominating the mindshare of the youth and attracting them to the space in unprecedented numbers. Our conversation pivots to discuss how crypto has changed the culture around work and the importance of working for a company you believe in. The next major topic we discussed was the possible impact of Biden’s Executive Order on Cryptocurrency. Chris discusses how the executive order will lead to more regulatory clarity to open the doors for further investment into the crypto space. We follow our discussion about the Executive Order opening further investment into crypto by discussing the role of venture capital in crypto. Chris discusses why venture investing is vital to help progress the space forward. We also discuss why investing in bear markets is the best time to invest and frameworks for investing during volatile periods. Chris does an excellent job at explaining the market dynamics that exist within venture and how the current inflationary macro landscape is driving valuations artificially higher. Our conversations shift to discuss the future of DAOs. Chris discusses the possible pitfalls for DAOs but also discusses why DAOs are the future. Our next major discussion topic centered around where the next big opportunities could be within crypto. Chris breaks down possible sectors that could be disrupted by blockchain technology and crypto. Our final topic centered around the future of the metaverse and the real-world impact the metaverse is having. Please enjoy my conversation with Chris Pizzo.
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