The Understory with Emon Motamedi

Solana Podcast Network
Solana Podcast Network

Every breakout company has an understory: the early scramble before the headlines or the bets that could have gone either way. Emon Motamedi from the Solana Incubator sits down with top founders from tech and crypto to trace that story from the beginning: finding product-market fit, navigating early-stage growth, and the pivotal calls that define a company's trajectory. incubator.solanalabs.com https://x.com/incubator?s=20 https://x.com/EmonMotamedi

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    On Building One of Bitcoin's Earliest L2s and Why Bear Markets Filter for Real Builders: Muneeb Ali, Co-Founder of Stacks

    Muneeb Ali left the Bitcoin whitepaper unread in a folder called "To Read" for two years. When he finally opened it, he abandoned a nearly finished Princeton PhD and started over with a new thesis on scaling blockchains, which became the foundation of Stacks. Stacks went on to become the first token offering ever qualified by the SEC.  Along the way he built a social network on Bitcoin that grew to 60% of the network's traffic, went through Y Combinator in Sam Altman's first batch, and became one of the few people technical enough to publicly critique Ethereum's early designs. He sits down with Emon Motamedi on why Bitcoin is still the dark horse, what an SEC-qualified offering actually looks like, and why the founders worth knowing are the ones building right now.

  2. Aug 5

    On staying uncomfortable and building a career worth having: Chad Fowler, GP at BlueYard and former CTO of Wunderlist

    Chad Fowler was playing saxophone on Beale Street when a friend applied for an IT job on his behalf and drove him to the interview. That accidental start led to a career with no straight line through it: Ruby pioneer, the CTO who re-architected Wunderlist and led its engineering team through the sale to Microsoft, venture capitalist. He sits down with Emon Motamedi on learning by doing, why you should always be the worst player in the band, and how following your curiosity can shape a life worth living.

  3. Jul 22

    From Founding Indiegogo to Backing the Next Generation of Founders, A Deep Dive with Slava Rubin

    When Slava Rubin co-founded Indiegogo in 2008, crowdfunding barely existed. He funded it with retirement savings and credit cards and heard “no” from 93 VCs before finally raising capital. Now an investor, he sits down with Emon Motamedi on the early days, the pivots that got it growing, and why difficult markets can be the best time to build.

  4. Jul 8

    From Founding Venmo to Building on Solana - A Deep Dive with Iqram Magdon-Ismail

    In this episode, Iqram Magdon-Ismail shares the story of building Venmo, the creative marketing strategies that fueled its growth, and his latest venture Jelly Jelly on Solana. Discover how early ideas, network effects, and human connection drive successful product development. Follow on X: @iqramband @jellyvideochats

  5. Jun 8

    Founding FanDuel: Lessons from Nigel Eccles

    Nigel Eccles, co-founder of FanDuel and BetHog, shares his entrepreneurial journey from Northern Ireland to leading innovative startups in betting, prediction markets, and crypto. This conversation covers startup strategies, navigating regulatory challenges, and leveraging AI and blockchain technology. https://www.bethog.com

  • 5 Episodes

About

Every breakout company has an understory: the early scramble before the headlines or the bets that could have gone either way. Emon Motamedi from the Solana Incubator sits down with top founders from tech and crypto to trace that story from the beginning: finding product-market fit, navigating early-stage growth, and the pivotal calls that define a company's trajectory. incubator.solanalabs.com https://x.com/incubator?s=20 https://x.com/EmonMotamedi

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