Science & Technology

Robert Leshner and Jesse Walden: Deep Dive on Decentralization

Published

6 years ago

June 10, 2020

Jesse Walden, a former a16z investment partner and Mediachain cofounder, and Robert Leshner, founder and CEO of Compound, do a “Deep Dive on Decentralization.” Walden starts with a playbook for progressive decentralization — the process by which crypto project creators build a useful product, create a community around that product, and then gradually hand over control of the maturing network to the community. This process is in keeping with the cooperative model of crypto networks, which drives rapid, compounding innovation through better alignment of incentives and open participation. Leshner follows with a case study of his experiences at Compound, an automated money market for crypto assets in which lenders and borrowers can come together to transact without the involvement of third parties. Compound, one of the first crypto projects to move through the full progressive decentralization model, built a thriving community of third-party application developers, who have set up shop on top of Compound’s smart-contract protocol. The Compound team has gradually brought this community further into the protocol’s inner workings; in the final stages before handoff to the community, the founding team made changes transparently, with greater reliance on the community’s input, and created a sandbox for experimentation to test governance mechanisms. Decentralizing “allows the protocol to live forever,” Leshner says, which fosters innovation because developers can trust the protocol with their businesses and livelihood.

Andreessen Horowitz’s Crypto Startup School brought together 45 participants from around the U.S. and overseas in a seven-week course to learn how to build crypto companies. Andreessen Horowitz is partnering with TechCrunch to release the online version of the course over the next few weeks.

Find more Crypto Startup School videos plus additional reading and info:

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15 Comments

Cythz

June 10, 2020 at 8:01 pm

Loved it

Reply
Rahul Mathur

June 21, 2020 at 5:15 am

This was great ????thank you very much!

Reply
- Arian Finnegan
  
  June 17, 2021 at 4:07 pm
  
  dont know if anyone cares but if you’re stoned like me during the covid times you can stream all the latest movies and series on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend recently =)
  
  Reply
- Kyrie Dustin
  
  June 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm
  
  @Arian Finnegan definitely, been watching on instaflixxer for years myself =)
  
  Reply
- Brody Emmitt
  
  June 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm
  
  @Arian Finnegan yea, I’ve been watching on InstaFlixxer for since december myself =)
  
  Reply
- Malachi Nova
  
  June 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm
  
  @Arian Finnegan Yea, been watching on instaflixxer for years myself 😀
  
  Reply
Nandit Mehra

August 30, 2020 at 9:19 am

great video on building an awesome decentralized product

Reply
mathis P

October 24, 2020 at 8:48 am

mmm… He didn’t actually answer what is their business model… does anyone know ?

Reply
Happy D

January 22, 2021 at 7:19 am

Give us free Compund Robert

Reply
Monopoly

January 29, 2021 at 2:55 pm

Thanks

Reply
Abhi Goel

May 16, 2021 at 10:51 pm

thank you!

Reply
Wetware Records

August 24, 2021 at 11:32 pm

We really love this video! Very inspiring. Especially for our team that’s working on decentralized social media daily.

We’d love to send you our whitepaper

Reply
prasad mahadik

September 30, 2021 at 6:56 am

Great videos! Are there going to be more of these videos?

Reply
Leonardo D Giuseppe

December 2, 2021 at 2:03 am

mi mind blow at 25.
essa aula é um grande passo para a humanidade. Amado, gratidao por todos seus ensimentos.
this class is a big step for humanity. Beloved, gratitude for all your feelings.

Reply
Daniel Ospina

January 3, 2022 at 3:20 pm

Very old fashioned thinking. No wonder they are a web2 VC

Reply

Science & Technology

When it Comes to Pitching, Don’t be Nice, Just Slay │ Build Mode Podcast

For women entering the founding and startup ecosystem, Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan has a wealth of insights, especially on why you shouldn’t hold yourself back. Listen in on the latest episode of Build Mode for our full interview with her:

Published

3 hours ago

April 2, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

For women entering the founding and startup ecosystem, Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan has a wealth of insights, especially on why you shouldn’t hold yourself back.

Listen in on the latest episode of Build Mode for our full interview with her:

CNET

The ‘Camera’ That Can Do Anything | What The Future

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Published

14 hours ago

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0:00 Inside the Avatar: Fire and Ash Production
0:29 Phase 1: The Volume & Performance Capture
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#movie #film #jamescameron #movies #avatar #camera #futuretech

Science & Technology

A diverse team will make your startup more successful with Leah Solivan, Taskrabbit l Build Mode

If one thing has become clear this season, finding the right talent for your team isn’t as easy as picking from a pile of resumes This week’s guest is Leah Solivan, the founder of Taskrabbit and now an early-stage investor who has seen that the power to change a homogenous startup exosystem comes from empowering…

Published

16 hours ago

April 2, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

From bootstrapping TaskRabbit on credit cards to scaling it into one of the defining companies of the gig economy, Leah learned firsthand that the hardest part of building a company isn’t the product, it’s selecting the right people to build it.

In this episode, Isabelle Johannessen and Leah unpack what it really takes to build diverse teams from day one and why most companies get it wrong by waiting too long. They also explore how the lack of diversity in venture capital directly shapes who gets funded, and ultimately, who gets hired.

Apply to Startup Battlefield: We are looking for early-stage companies that have an MVP. So nominate a founder (or yourself): techcrunch.com/apply. Be sure to say you heard about Startup Battlefield from the Build Mode podcast.

TechCrunch Disrupt: If you’re thinking about applying to Startup Battlefield, then October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, we’re back for TechCrunch Disrupt, where the Startup Battlefield 200 takes the stage. So if you want to cheer them on, or just network with 1000s of founders, VCs, and tech enthusiasts, then grab your tickets.

Use code buildmode15 for 15% off any ticket type.

Chapters:
00:00 The hard way to hire diverse talent
01:20 From engineer to Taskrabbit founder
03:39 The moment that sparked Taskrabbit
07:39 Why building teams is the hardest part
12:06 Learning how to hire from scratch
17:36 Why venture capital lacks diversity
27:25 How to build diverse teams from day one
39:42 What founders get wrong about competition

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.